Domestic Geek

I read a Sneaky Sugars article on Discovery Health earlier this week that talked about the incredible amounts of sugar in our diets. It said that 7 grams of sugar (on the nutrition label) is approximately 1 Tablespoon! Not small t teaspoon, but large T Tablespoon. I was appalled. Out of curiosity, I looked at the label of the Dannon Frusion I've been buying for breakfast lately (thinking it was healthy). One little 10 oz. bottle of mixed berry flavor had 48 grams of sugar—almost 7 tablespoons! Don't even get me started that part of that sugar was High Fructose Corn Syrup. No wonder I don't lose weight. Then people have the audacity to wonder why our society is so overweight. I'm making a concerted effort to rid my diet of as much processed sugars as possible. I'll still have an occasional Starbucks or a coke for a treat, but no more white sugar in my tea, no more processed beverages daily, no more!

Today is the last day that The Tattered Cover Bookstore will be open in Cherry Creek. I'm heading over there to have one last wander around. It's kind of sad since it's been there so long, but at the same time, maybe i'll go more often now that it will be somewhere that has close free parking. Now I have to park in the Cherry Creek mall's parking garage or park in one of the neighborhoods several blocks away and walk over. I hope it's not overly busy, but I'm afraid it will be. I'll kick myself if I don't at least give it a try, though.

I saw the coolest little gadget over at ljcfyi and had to make note of it here so that when I have money again, I can get one.



It's called a Butter Boy. Marcus is always having the darnest time buttering corn, so this would be really cool! He'd really like it because it's a little freakish, too.

So, yesterday my boss gives everyone in the office these Bono's Bucks to be used at Bono's Pit Bar-B-Q restaurant. The only one in Denver is at Dry Creek & I-25. The problem was they were photocopies and cut really weird. We were all afraid to use them. Well, the opportunity to have free ribs overcame my doubt as to the vailidity of the documents, so I stopped and to get some grub on the way home from work. Fortunately, the certificates were legit. It was actually quite good. They had fried okra, which, amazingly enough, Marcus actually really likes. I still have another certificate, so I'll have to do that again sometime next week.

I meant to write about this a few days ago, but I have been rather busy at work and really tired this week because good old Aunt Flo came for her visit and she's being a royal pain this week.

It's become common knowledge at work that I'm poor right now. Having a can of tuna fish everyday for lunch was probably a big tip off. Also crying and mentioning that I needed to quit and find a higher paying job was another! The owner said he'd help me any way that he could to get through this really sucky period Marcus and I are in because he really likes us both and doesn't want to lose me as an employee. Anyway, he gets all kinds of gift cards from restaurants that he never uses. He gave me some gift cards for El Senor Sol so that Marcus and I could go and have an evening out. There aren't any locations close to where we live. The closest ended up being over by Ocean Journey. We decided we were going to go for dinner on Sunday.

Sunday was the day we had a lot of hail here. After the hail let up, we ventured out. We got stuck in a traffic jam on Westbound I-70. I swear, there is not one day around here anymore that the traffic does not suck! I found the place easily enough. We were seated at a horribly rocky table. The place was so empty, we thought that they might be closing soon. When our waiter brought out a vacuum, Marcus asked what time they closed. He informed us that closing time was 9pm, yet it was only 7. Supposedly, there had been a children's party there earlier and the kids had made a horrible mess. Cleaning became more important to our server than checking on his table. Apparently this location is also a bar, so Marcus ordered wings as an appetizer. They never showed up. Our food arrived and it was pretty decent. Still no wings. Marcus asked the waiter about the missing wings. He comes back and claims that the wings were frozen and couldn't be cooked. Um...OK. Don't most wing places deep fat fry the wings frozen anyway? So, no go on the wings.

When it comes time to pay the check, Marcus asks the cashier if it is ok to put the tip on the gift card (since we're poor and have no cash). She says sure, but can't figure out how to ring up the gift cards. Eventually, someone figures it out, but they weren't supposed to put the tip on it. Oh, well.

So, a decent meal...just not a stellar dining experience. Definitely not someplace I'd go back to if I was paying. I've still got a couple of gift cards. We'll try a different location next time and hopefully have a better report.

All right...I'm going to go lay down. My cramps are killing me.

I tried some Jicama today. It tasted like bean sprouts, yet had the texture of a raw potato. It was tasty.