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Daily things 5️⃣ Three Things Thursday

The rule Wifey and I have is that, when traveling, don't eat at a place we can eat at at home. There are rare exceptions. (Example: you are in an airport terminal and only have 20 minutes before boarding, and there is a Burger King right there. In that case, don't go searching--take the easy and fast option.)

We had our first Waffle House experience last June in North Carolina, Verdict: meh. IHOP is much better.
It's not hard to have a bad experience at Waffle House. They are about efficiency and not worried about customer experience and atmosphere. There are times when you can have a great experience at Waffle House. While I don't drink much anymore, Waffle House at 2 am and Waffle House at 10 am (recovering from the previous night) are truly magical cures for hangovers.
 
I had Waffle House for dinner last night. Chicken melt hashbrown bowl diced and capped. It was awesome. That is all.
 
One Waffle House experience I remember all too well was my brother & I are sitting in a booth waiting for our food to arrive. This is around the 10:00 am time.

There's a baby crying at one table, some very loud talking & laughter from another, cashier ringing up someone, pans being dropped...& the song on the jukebox is Simon & Garfunkel's Sound of Silence.



There are a few others that stick in my mind too.
 
Since today is a de facto Thursday:

  • I really should get out and put the outdoor decorations up this weekend. It’s just not as easy since we don’t have rain gutters anymore. (They came down when we redid our siding last year and were too damaged to put back up.)
  • I wonder if there will be leftover turkey.
  • I have given up on the Commanders for the season, so I am now devoting more time to my Canucks. Their season has been “meh” so far.
 
1. Getting ready for tonight's PC meeting, I noticed the date is incorrect on the mailed agenda packet. If it was posted like that, that's probably enough to quash the meeting, but I let the planning manager know and will let her advise.

2. There is one action item, for which I am in the noticing radius. I have no other interest in the project, so I can likely proceed to discuss and vote, but I should at least announce that fact.

3. Christmas exploded in our lobby and front area.
 
1) Inherited a zoning case with some minor issues. Spent time on the phone with the engineer going through them, and I feel like I accomplished something good today!

2) Having dinner with family tonight. I'll probably be driving.

3) Did overnight crockpot breakfast last night, trying to use up some ingredients before they expired. Turned out pretty good, just needed more spice/hot sauce/something with a little kick. I used a can of Rotell but overall it needed more.
 
3) Did overnight crockpot breakfast last night, trying to use up some ingredients before they expired. Turned out pretty good, just needed more spice/hot sauce/something with a little kick. I used a can of Rotell but overall it needed more.
I'm listening...
 
^^ Here's what I used/did:
Cooked but cold shredded chicken from the deli
6 eggs, whisked
1 large tomato, cut in chunks
1 can rotell
Shredded cheese (rustic cut, not finely shredded)

Mix the tomato into the eggs
Pour 1/2 can Rotell into the crockpot, layer in 1/2 the chicken, then 1/2 the cheese, then the remainder of the chicken
Pour egg mixture into the crockpot
Pour in remaining Rotell
Stir items together
Add remaining cheese to the top

Cook on low overnight (I put mine in at 9:00pm, stirred again before going to bed)
Hubby stirred again at 5:00am
He put some in a tortilla, I ate mine off a plate

Needs something with some kick to liven it up. I suggest either hot sauce on the side, or spices added to the mixture in the crockpot.
 
1) Had a large coffee from the not-Starbucks place down the street. Yum!

2) Lots of research to be done today.

3) Sore throat - I cough when I talk. Not fun.
 
  • Still in Whammageddon and Careyopolpyse, but the danger time is approaching with a lot of holiday festivities planned for this weekend.
  • My allergies are awful, which is usually the case in December (I am allergic to Christmas trees), but it’s worse this year with the inversion causing the yucky air.
  • A developer is bringing in lunch for the whole staff today.
 
  • Climbing out of a dark couple of days mentally and feeling like I have momentum for the weekend.
  • Work should be calming down in December, but alas it got busier
  • Driving a Toyota Tundra with a thirsty V8 (my anti-planner ride) 60 miles RT to work is using a lot of gas. I love the truck, but wondering if I should scale back a bit.
 
1) Every year I spend the month of December evaluating what I have done over the past couple of years, what went well, and what didn't. I also reexamine my values and who I want to be. In looking back at the past few years, I am really surprised and proud of what I have been able to accomplish, but also recognizing that there is still a lot of work to do to get where I want to be. This allows me to have a foundation to set my goals for 2026.

2) My oldest had a choir concert the other night and I cannot get over how amazingly talented the kids in this community are. Not just in the choir, but also the theater productions, athletics, and so many other avenues.

3) I slept well, but pushed myself a bit with my workout this morning and now I am exhausted. I am pondering a coffee, but normally don't drink caffeine after lunch.
 
1. Last council meeting of the year tonight and it should be relatively short.
2. For some reason I volunteered to drive the truck towing the city council float in Saturday's Christmas parade. WTF was I thinking?
3. Visited Helen, GA this past weekend. It's a whole little town in the mountains that reinvented itself as an Alpine village many decades ago. I would not make it an every year kind of thing but it was pretty cool with the German Christmas market and all the lights and everything. Might go back for Oktoberfest sometime.
 
1. Last council meeting of the year tonight and it should be relatively short.
2. For some reason I volunteered to drive the truck towing the city council float in Saturday's Christmas parade. WTF was I thinking?
3. Visited Helen, GA this past weekend. It's a whole little town in the mountains that reinvented itself as an Alpine village many decades ago. I would not make it an every year kind of thing but it was pretty cool with the German Christmas market and all the lights and everything. Might go back for Oktoberfest sometime.
I used to trout fish just up the road, and remember when Robertstown was lots bigger than Helen.
 
1) Every year I spend the month of December evaluating what I have done over the past couple of years, what went well, and what didn't. I also reexamine my values and who I want to be. In looking back at the past few years, I am really surprised and proud of what I have been able to accomplish, but also recognizing that there is still a lot of work to do to get where I want to be. This allows me to have a foundation to set my goals for 2026.

2) My oldest had a choir concert the other night and I cannot get over how amazingly talented the kids in this community are. Not just in the choir, but also the theater productions, athletics, and so many other avenues.

3) I slept well, but pushed myself a bit with my workout this morning and now I am exhausted. I am pondering a coffee, but normally don't drink caffeine after lunch.
Our kids should be better looking and more accomplished than us.
 
Our kids should be better looking and more accomplished than us.

I agree, but the quality of these productions is unreal. I have been to the 'traveling Broadway' events at theaters in a few good size cities, and these kids are just as good as any of those paid actors. I am thankful that my kid can learn from this level of talent.
 
1. Last council meeting of the year tonight and it should be relatively short.
2. For some reason I volunteered to drive the truck towing the city council float in Saturday's Christmas parade. WTF was I thinking?
3. Visited Helen, GA this past weekend. It's a whole little town in the mountains that reinvented itself as an Alpine village many decades ago. I would not make it an every year kind of thing but it was pretty cool with the German Christmas market and all the lights and everything. Might go back for Oktoberfest sometime.
1 - nice
2 - BRAKE CHECK
3 - cool
 
3. Visited Helen, GA this past weekend. It's a whole little town in the mountains that reinvented itself as an Alpine village many decades ago. I would not make it an every year kind of thing but it was pretty cool with the German Christmas market and all the lights and everything. Might go back for Oktoberfest sometime.
Helen is fairly cheesy - the only thing interesting about it to me is that one of the approaches from the south brings you past a field with a large burial mound that some jackass decided to put a gazebo on top of decades ago.
 
Helen is fairly cheesy - the only thing interesting about it to me is that one of the approaches from the south brings you past a field with a large burial mound that some jackass decided to put a gazebo on top of decades ago.
I agree; a bit like a scaled down Gatlinburg but it was fun once. And very pretty for Christmas. I saw the burial mound and was like WTF?
 
I agree; a bit like a scaled down Gatlinburg but it was fun once. And very pretty for Christmas. I saw the burial mound and was like WTF?
We've always gone in the spring and summer. We liked to go tubing down the river. The last time we went there were so many people it felt like sitting in ATL during rush hour. There were portions of the river you couldn't see water.

Some friends go every year for Oktoberfest and that just sounds like too many people.
 
Helen is fairly cheesy - the only thing interesting about it to me is that one of the approaches from the south brings you past a field with a large burial mound that some jackass decided to put a gazebo on top of decades ago.
...like adding a giant gilded ballroom to the White House?
 
...like adding a giant gilded ballroom to the White House?
I'm never going to be able to wrap my head around that (even knowing that the White House is specifically exempt from NHPA review/compliance). I spent a freaking year-and-a-half working with the National Capital Planning Commission, the Commission for Fine Arts, the DC SHPO, DDOT, and the NPS on the design for pedestrian safety improvements on a NRHP-listed bridge in DC, so...
 
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