Simple Randomness

Gotta Love a Free Steak

Don’t you just love a nice juicy steak?  And even better, don’t you love it when the steak is free?

Well, today I went with some guys from the company I work for and we had lunch on the company.  We went over to Macaroni Grill.  I had their new Chianti steak, and man was it good!

Here’s the thing: Macaroni Grill has been on my black list of places not to eat.  This was simply because they used to have these italian nachos that were to die for.  Nachos are my favorite food after all .  So since then they’ve been on the black list, but now they’re off because that steak was so good.

And what’s better than a really good free steak?  Not much, that’s for sure!

I found this image on Flickr, and it is the exact same dish that I just had.  Good stuff!

For the Love of Seafood!

Ok, I first have to say that I really really like seafood.  The problem is that I live in Utah.  We’re pretty far inland, and so sometimes the seafood isn’t the freshest when we eat it here.  Still, I love it.

So if I had to pick one of my favorite seafood dishes, I think I would have to go with this bacon-wrapped shrimp alfredo that my wife and I used to get at a restaurant that went out of business.  This dish was so incredibly good!

Another really good seafood dish that I had once was some tiger prawns at PF Changs.  I don’t remember what all was on it, but it was really good as well.  I think it was some kind of a buttery sauce.

I’m honestly not sure what could make these dishes better.  I think the bacon-wrapped shrimp would go really good with a steak, or maybe with more of a lemon herb sauce than an alfredo sauce.  Ok, now I’m getting hungry!

Actually, if it was in more of a lemon herb sauce it might be a good contender for the Great American Seafood Cook Off. I’ll have to see if I can check this event out to get some really good seafood ideas!

By the way, it’s always a good thing to support domestic seafood. There are a lot of positives to it, such as knowing the source of where it came from, etc. I don’t really have that option here in Utah, so if you live on the coast you’re lucky in that regard!

It’s Almost August?!?!

I just looked at my calendar today and realized that it’s almost August!

What happened to the summer?!  There were a lot of things that I wanted to get done but haven’t.  Time flies by way too fast when you’re having fun I guess.  But then again, I didn’t have as much fun as I wanted to either!

Ok, I guess it’s time to get back to some good time management and make sure that I still finish what I wanted to.  The problem is that I’m a natural procrastinator.  But I have to admit that I am getting better at it!

Does anyone else struggle from procrastinatoritis?

Trying to Gain Weight

So I’m going on a new exercise program to actually gain some size.  One of the key things is eating a LOT more food.  This is one area that I never really gave enough attention to, and now that I’m trying to eat a lot more I can see why it makes such a difference!

Just yesterday I went to the gym and did some heavy squats and other things.  Normally I feel like I got some exercise, but for some reason yesterday I felt a real difference.  I don’t know if it was just because I have been eating more so there is more for my cells to work with, but it felt great.

Anyway, there’s an insight into the personal life of Dan and what I’m up to!

Going to a Baseball Game!

I don’t think I’ve ever really been to a baseball game.  I know that probably sounds really sad, but its true.  I played coach pitch a little bit when I was a kid, but that’s all the interaction I’ve had with baseball.

But tonight we’re going to a local league game.  And I’m actually excited to go, I think we’ll have a good time.  I guess we’ll find out once the game is going…

Honestly, I’m mainly a soccer fan.  It’s about the only sport that I can watch for more than an hour and not really get bored.  We have a local MLS team in Utah (Real Salt Lake) that I need to go see sometime, but I haven’t made it a priority yet.

Fridays are Just a Good Day

At least usually…

You have to admit - there’s something special about Fridays.  I think that for a lot of people it’s one of the best days of the week, or at least of the work week.  I know for me, I’m usually in a much better mood on Fridays than I am on other days.

I’m sure there are plenty of reasons for this, whether its the anticipation of the weekend, or just the fact that you’re done with another work week.  No matter what it is, I’ll take it!

So today is definitely one of those Fridays, so far it’s just turning out to be a happy day.  I hope yours turns out well also!

Renting a Nice Car in Paradise

Something my wife and I have always wanted to do together is go to Hawaii or some other place like that, and then while there rent a sports car or convertible and just drive around in paradise.

Doesn’t that sound like fun?  Just writing about it is honestly making me want to do it again…

So what’s the good news?  You can totally do that these days!  You can go to a car rental place and usually get good deals on nice cars.  In fact, I hear that Advantage Rent A Car is running a promotion right now where you can rent convertibles and luxury cars for 50% off!  Maybe I should consider doing our trip sometime soon while the deal lasts…

I’m Really Ready for a LONG Weekend

So with Friday being the 4th it’s already a short week.  Next week I’m taking Monday off so I’ll actually have 2 short weeks in a row.  I could really use this vacation, and I’m getting excited for it!  Granted, it is more of an ‘extended family vacation’, but that’s better than nothing at this point.

What I really need to plan is a weekend getaway for just my wife and me.  We haven’t done something like that for a long time, really not much since we started having kids.  Now that our oldest is about 2 1/2 and the youngest is about 5 months we’re getting closer to being able to do something like that.

Anyway, I’m ready for a long weekend.  It should be nice!

Firework Stands!

So I find it kinda crazy how every year around this time all these little stands show up to sell fireworks.  I think the thing that I wonder the most is, “Who are these people that do these stands?  Is this their only business and does it pay them enough to not have to work the rest of the year?”

I have to admit, that would be a pretty sweet deal if that’s the only thing that they did all year.  I have a hard time believing that’s the case, but wouldn’t that be great?  Only working for a few weeks before the 4th of July (and the 24th here in Utah, we do a lot of fireworks for Pioneer Day)?

Honestly though, I haven’t bought fireworks in years.  The last couple of years we’ve always done our 4th celebrations at another family member’s house, and they have provided the fireworks.  This year I’ll be on vacation at that time and I really don’t want to lug fireworks around.  But they sure are fun to watch!

Remembering a Trip to Orlando

Now that I’m on the topic of vacations, one really cool vacation that I had as a kid was when we went as a family to Orlando.  Naturally, the main attraction that we went to was Disney World (at least, that’s all I remember ).

There’s something about going to a Disney Resort as a kid, it just really seems to stick with you.  Some of the things I remember was getting a crazy hat that looked like a dragon (his name was Figment for those of you that have been there), going through the “Honey I Shrunk the Kids” area, and ditching the light parade to go ride Thunder Mountain over and over and over again.  By the way, that’s the best time to do those rides because everyone else is watching the silly parade!

So if you haven’t been to Orlando, you should go.  Maybe even check out Trusted Tours & Attractions, they can show you all the different things to do in Orlando.  They also have a great newsletter and online travel guides.  I don’t know if they have a Madame Tussauds, but those are pretty cool too if you’ve never been to one!

Anyway, summer is a great time for spending time with family and going on vacations.  Even if you have to keep the distances shorter because of gas prices, there’s nothing like getting out with the family and having a little vacation.