Archives for January, 2010
Saturday, January 23rd, 2010
My school books arrived a couple days ago for 2 classes that start in mid-February. I’ve been debating with myself ever since they arrived – do I start reading ahead in preparation for the upcoming classes or do I take advantage of my dwindling free time and wait until the classes actually start before starting to read the school books?
So far, my desire to keep doing fun things with my time has won out and I have not picked up the books and started studying ahead of time. I fully realize that I’m going to have significantly less free time once classes start, so I may as well enjoy myself while I can. To that end, I’m trying to finish up my gluten-free dining reviews from our recent trip to Disney. I posted the review tonight for the Whispering Canyon Cafe, but still have a few to go.
Tags: writing
Posted in blog, school, writing | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 19th, 2010
After a couple false starts, it looks like I’m finally going through with it – returning to school for my bachelors degree. Finally! I’ve been out of high school for MANY years, and although I’ve attended college in the past, I never finished. Something or other always came up and got in the way of my finishing my education. Well, no more! I’m doing this for a couple reasons, but mostly for myself – to finish what I started and to get that degree!
Due to my work and home life schedule, I’m going back to school by way of online university. It’s going to be a challenge, I know, but I’m committed. I’m not really looking forward to the loss of what little free time I had. It’s going to take some pretty shrewd time management. I’m going to try and make regular updates to my blog….sort of a Julie/Julia thing, although not for the same reason.
I remember all too well how difficult it is to find time for recreational reading and writing while going to school….and that was when I was only going to school and didn’t hold a full-time job and part-time job. My goal is to try and set aside time not only for family functions, but free time for myself….for recreational reading and writing (in this blog).
Let the games begin!
Tags: education, school
Posted in school, writing | No Comments »
Friday, January 15th, 2010
The Outback Steakhouse is another great place to eat if you’re on a gluten-free diet. They have a rather extensive gluten-free menu. At this visit, we learned that the gluten-free menu is included as a part of their standard menu!
We had a call-ahead seating reservation for 6:30, but all of us were hungry at 5:30, so we headed over to the restaurant. We had a tough time finding a parking spot, especially since many spots were taken up with piles of snow because the snow plows had nowhere to put it all. They gave us a pager and we were told that it would be a 10-15 minute wait. We
Salad with Ranch Dressing (gluten-free)
only ended up waiting about 3 minutes!
We rarely order appetizers when we eat at Outback, but Rick & I almost always get a side salad. We both order our salads without croutons and dressings on the side. When they arrive at the table, Rick gives me his tomatoes and I give him my cucumbers. We almost always choose the same salad dressings – I like the Ranch dressing and Rick likes the Honey Mustard.
Fresh Bread & Butter (NOT gluten-free)
They also brought out the standard loaf of bread to the table – which always annoys me because I can’t eat any of it. It makes me miss the gluten-free bread that I was served when we ate at the Disney restaurants.
For his entree, Dad ordered the all-you-care-to-eat fish (tilapia), which he had never had before, but he had heard people talk about that type of fish. The first serving only included 5-6 pieces of the fish and smallish serving of fries. When the server came to see how we were enjoying our meal, Dad should have asked for more tilapia because he had quite a wait when the server returned and asked if he
Tilapia & Fries
wanted more fish. When they brought it out, they brought him two orders at the same time, so that was pretty decent.
Pork Tenderloin
Rick ordered something new from the menu – pork tenderloin. It was served with what the menu described a “sweet tangy glaze”. It came with steamed green beans and garlic mashed potatoes, but Rick substituted the garlic mashed for their french fries. The mean was delicious and something that he’d definitely order again. This item is on the gluten-free menu, although they say to avoid the crunchy crumb topping.
Alice Springs Chicken & Veggies (gluten-free)
I ordered the Alice Springs Chicken and steamed veggies with no seasoning. The Alice Springs Chicken at Outback is one of my favorite meals there. In the past, I ordered garlic mashed potatoes with the meal, but I’ve been calorie conscious lately, so the steamed veggies are a more healthy choice.
Outback also offers a flourless chocolate cake “Chocolate Thunder from Down Under”. I did not order this tonight, but I have had it in the past and it is FANTASTIC! By far, the best gluten-free dessert offering in town.
