Jimmy

Well, I'm back from my first regional Morgan show.  I'll always remember this Gold Cup more for the food and catching the plate on fire in the microwave than for the actual horsie events.  In terms of performance, it was disappointing and has made me think about a lot of things, namely whether or not I want to spend the money to take Nyk to the Grand Nationals.  I never thought we would win there, but I was kind of hoping for middle of the pack results.  We couldn't even do that at a regional show.  This was very disappointing; will hard work make it possible to be more competitive?  I just don't know.

Peanut

I rode down to Springfield in the Party Bus, and I enjoyed staying at the fairgrounds.  It was a lot of fun, and so much more convenient then driving back and forth from a hotel.  The showers weren't bad, there was free WiFi access in the bar, and the food carts, though expensive, were tasty, for the few meals that I was forced to eat at the fairgrounds.  Still, charging 2 bucks for a cup of coffee and 6 for a breakfast burrito is one step shy of criminal.  Glad I remembered to bring a can of coffee, and after scrubbing out the coffee maker on the RV, I was able to make as much as I wanted, for free. 

Gizmo

Our first class, a driving class, got off a rocky start.  My usually solid pony decided he wanted to canter down the entire rail when we entered the arena.  Since we were the last ones in, and the gate was quickly closed, we didn't place very well.  Nope, not well at all.  Dead last was where we ended up, and we stayed there most of the week.  While I admit that I failed my little guy in the first class by not getting him to put on the brakes, I'm not so sure that the rest of our weak performances was due to me - or even the horse.  Yikes.

Gizmo

First riding class was an absolute disaster.  Almost didn't make it into the show ring on time.  I still don't know what the deal was, because Nyk was the only horse from the barn showing that night.  There was nothing else to do but get him ready.  Needless to say, we were racing to the arena just before the class, which meant no warm up.  I have been having a very difficult time getting him off of his bridle, and without a trainer to warm him up, things didn't go so well.  Sigh.  Ok, so there were still a couple of classes left to try to make a comeback, but I will admit that I was beyond fuming after that class.  The paper plate didn't even smoke as much as I was at that point in time.

Nyk – the only picture with his ears up

The rest of the show went a bit more smoothly, though we never did show well.  Nyk's tack was changed, in hopes of making him lighter on the bit.  He wasn't a happy horse during the show, and instead of his usual happy ears, they spent most of the time pinned backwards to his head.  I still don't know what his problem was, but it needs to be figured out before the next show. 

Nyk

Just a word of caution - if a paper plate has "May be Flammable" stamped on the bottom, you can bet your shorts that it will most definitely catch on fire.  In about 10 seconds flat.  So, please use the caution that I didn’t.  Or make sure that you have access to a water source near at hand.  Like I did. 

Checked into the Staybridge Suites with little effort, though the only employee at the check in desk had to keep answering the phone.  Kind of annoying but I’ve had to deal with worse.

I’m very impressed with the room.  There are 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a full kitchen, and 3 flat panel TVs.  Oh, and one DVD player.  Too bad I won’t be in the room much this show.  Since I ride in every session, I’ll be at the fairgrounds most of the weekend.

Here are some pictures –

The most important appliance in any kitchen.

Smores, anyone?

A dishwasher, even!

Cups, plates, utensils.  All the comforts of home

Flat panel and DVD player. Too bad I didn’t bring any anime with me!

Bathroom #1

Loads of fluffy towels

Creative desk lamp

One room has 2 queen beds

,

Sitting room is a little crowded with sofa and chair

Sunday was a super busy day.  First, I headed off to the barn to visit my ponies.  I rode Nyk in a full bridle and then took a very brief spin on Blondie.  Neither horse was worked for very long, but they worked well, so that was all good. 

Then I stopped at home and changed out of my riding clothes.  The awards banquet was at Baker’s and I had to be there around 2.  I hate these social functions, because I’m not a very social person.  I forced myself to go, anyway.  I packed up the camera and off I went.

Getting all ready to head into the festivities

This is the only reason I went.  So I could feast on bland catered food.

The mac and cheese was awesome!  The mashed potatoes were good, too, but the gravy was very salty.  The chicken was, well, kind of tasteless, but most chicken is.  The beans weren’t hot sellers, and I kinda realized why after I ate a few.

This is Audie – she had too much sugar and was a little out of control.  We are used to her and her weird behavior, though, so hardly anyone stared at her as she wiggled around on the bench.

Yay!  The high point winners were given a bag with a horse embroidered on it.  I got one!  And I also was given a red, gold, and white reserve ribbon.  Yay, Nyk!  He really did all of the work, but I don’t think he would want either the bag or the ribbon.

Another happy bag winner!

So happy to have won a reserve championship ribbon!  Oh, yay, she got herself a bag, too, so almost everyone from the barn will be sporting the spiffy bits of luggage around this summer.

Overall, this was a fun afternoon.  What wasn’t so fun was driving home in the rain – which turned into snow halfway there.  Ugh!!  It was like a blizzard when I got home!  So much for spring.  Now I have a sore throat from the weather change.

Last night was one of our “girls’ night out.”  Kim and Jen agreed to accompany me to a horse show, so I showed my appreciation by feeding them.  A couple of times.  We even headed to the swanky Best Western of Hartland (review to follow) so we could hang out until all hours of the night.  That turned out to be around 10, because Jen crashed like a house of cards in a hurricane. 

We were eager to try Amigos, which seemed like a fairly new establishment.  I don’t usually travel to that side of town, and happened to notice it when I was exiting the freeway.  We headed over there, starving,  and I should have know that it would be a disappointing meal after we entered.  The first smell to greet your senses is not that of wonderfully prepared food, but the reek of cigarette smoke.  We asked for the non-smoking section, which was right next to the bar, and all I could smell was smoke.  We should have left, and hindsight is priceless.

Getting prepped for our big night out.

The salsa and chips weren’t so bad, thought the salsa was bland and more like tomato paste than salsa.

Here is the bland salsa.  There was also a green salsa, but it tasted mostly of vinegar.

Jen ordered fajitas.  Here is the plate of fixings for it.  The rice was similar to what you would get at a coney island.  Tasteless.  The beans were so salty that none of us could eat them.

Jen was very disappointed with the presentation.  She ordered the combo, which came with shrimp, chicken, and beef.  The shrimp was great, but the other meat was served in big chunks, not smaller slices that fit in tortillas.  The veggies were the same. The green peppers were quartered.  She complained that there was too much cheese, too.

Kim's chicken nachos. The chicken was shredded, but she didn’t like the way it was spiced. She didn’t have much to say about her meal, except that it gave her a stomach ache.  Jen’s gave her indigestion.

Here is my dinner – chile rellenos stuffed with chicken.  Or that’s what I thought I was ordering.  I asked if there were onions, and was told no.  See that gross glop on top?  That is a mash of onions and some other indescribable ingredient.  Don’t know what it was, and scraped most of it off my food.  It was gross.

The other disappointment was the chile rellenos.  They were supposed to be chicken chile rellenos, not cheese chile rellenos with shredded chicken dumped on top.  The chicken seasoning had a very strange, slightly unpleasant flavor.  I ended up scraping that off, and just eating the chilies – which weren’t cooked all the way.  This meal was just a disaster.

The service was pleasant, but very, very slow. The place was very busy, with most customers heading to the bar first, and then being shown to a table, lugging their booze with them.  Since the only thing I could smell was the cigarette smoke, the food was doubly unappealing.  I will say that you get a lot of food, but this is a clear case of quantity over quality.  Cost for three meals - $33 bucks.  If it wasn’t for the chips, we would have had to stop at Taco Bell for something to fill us up.

Chances of eating here again – only if I’m dragged kicking and screaming.

Saturday, we headed over to Red Lobster to sample the Lobster Fest.  Even though I am a huge fan of seafood, I have only eaten here twice before.  My idea of a wonderful seafood meal is Mitchell’s or McCormick and Schmick's.  The nearest sushi bar will also do in a pinch.  Red Lobster is kind of like Olive Garden to me.  It’s all right, but I’m not going to out of my way to eat there.  Unless it’s all you can eat shrimp or the lobster fest, that is.

Here I am, all cozy and ready for my meal.  I can lounge on the salt and pepper shakers because I don’t usually have to make use of them.  The sugar is another matter entirely.

We started off with a bang, going all out and ordering lobster nachos. 

I thought these were a little lame.  Not enough toppings, and you could hardly taste the lobster.  They needed more nacho-y goodness, like some lettuce or beans.  Lobster makes a disappointing topping for salty chips.  Maybe the Lobster Pizza would have been better?

These little bits of greasiness are the cheese biscuits.  They are very salty but I liked them a lot.  They were great for soaking up the butter in the shrimp scampi. 

A close-up of some of the fat grams I consumed.

 

The meal came with a salad or cole slaw.  Both are rather boring choices.  I would much rather have had a cup of soup, but that was 3 bucks extra.

Sad, unimaginative salad.  The lettuce was so pale and tasteless!

Dean’s Ultimate Feast.  It came with lots of crab legs and fried shrimp, in addition to two lobster tails.  He even let me have a crab leg!  It was so yummy!

Here is my dinner, the Seaport Lobster and Shrimp.  It came with two lobster tails, shrimp scampi, and a skewer of shrimp.  And a few pathetic flowerets of broccoli.  I think there was some rice tucked into a nook and cranny, as well.

 

I liked my meal, but I was a little disappointed with the side dishes.  The rice was flavorless.  The scampi didn’t have enough garlic, either, but I still managed to eat it all.

This was an expensive meal – it was $75, including tip.  No dessert.  This was a splurge, since we have been eating cheaply on Saturday the last few weeks.  We’ll be doing it again next weekend to make up for this one.  The service was very good, and the restaurant was packed by the time we left.  Given the state of the economy, that was a little surprising, but maybe everyone else wanted some relatively inexpensive lobster.  Not the best meal, by far, but it was pleasant none the less.

Woke up today expecting a bunch of snow.  The storm from hell has been forecast and we were living in dread at the thought of more snow.  Especially when the last bunch of the crap had almost all melted.  But this morning -no snow!  Yay!  The time of the storm had been moved to 10am from 7am.  I was hoping to get our errands out of the way before it started, but we didn’t make it.  It started snowing just before we left for Target so I could purchase a new crockpot.  The lid for the old one broke, and I use it all the time, so I wanted another one. 

Then we tried to go to Circuit City so I could buy another cable for my modem, but it’s already closed.  I’ll have to wait until Monday now and get one from work.  The price is better at work, anyway.  I just wanted another one this weekend because both of the ones that I have are having issues. 

Then it was on to lunch.  We wanted to try the new Mexican place in Novi, but alas, after fighting snow and stupid drivers to get there, it was closed.  They don’t open until noon, even though the door was open at 11:40.  The snow was coming down fast and fierce at that point, Dean decided he wanted breakfast instead of lunch, and I just wanted to be much closer to home, so it was off to the Honey Tree in Walled Lake. 

The Honey Tree is a variation on a coney island.  I like it because they have lemon rice soup and a fairly tasty Greek combo platter.  It’s also cheap.  Dean isn’t so fond of it, but it’s hard to mess up breakfast unless you are the Ram’s Horn, so he didn’t care if we went there.  There were only a few brave souls there, and by the time we left, it was pretty empty.

From Restaurants

Nice Valentine’s Day table decorations.  Hey, wait, that was last weekend!

From Restaurants

Bread!  Always a winner when I’m at the table

From Restaurants

My soup.  I like the Egg Lemon Rice here because there is no chicken. And it has a zingy lemony flavor

From Restaurants

I asked for a cup.  I got a bowl.  I didn’t complain

From Restaurants

Dean’s breakfast.  Who cares that it was lunchtime.  Look at all of that greasy goodness.  Also included was a side of 3 pancakes.

From Restaurants

Greek combo platter. 

From Restaurants

Yes, those are dreaded canned green beans.  The carrots were fresh, the spinach pie was not so good, but the fattening pastitsio and the mousaka were quite good.  I love the eggy gooey stuff!

The service was very good today, and the wait staff was pleasant.  I think it’s because of snow shell shock.  Or maybe they realize that it’s going to be a long, boring day with all of that snow raging outside, and they better get some tips now, while there are customers willing to venture out into the crappy weather.  The meal was $24, including a generous tip.  My coffee mug was never half-full, let alone empty.  That earns a good tip from me every time!

From Restaurants

Our backyard during the Great Storm of ‘09

From Restaurants

Yuck! Just STOP snowing!

Today, we braved the cold, wind, and snow and traveled down the street to Sawasdee for lunch.  Actually, to be brutally honest, if we hadn’t needed to pick up a bag of dog food, we probably would have stayed home and just ordered out.  I wouldn’t even have cared where, as long as I didn’t have to go out.  It was dreadful outside! 

First, we took Buu to have his stitches removed.  He was a little (ok, big) trooper.  I was concerned about the incision on his chest, because it felt hot and swollen to me.  Dean thought I was making a mountain out of a molehill.  The vet remarked that it is a hematoma, and that we could treat it with either an ice pack or a heating pad.  Or we can do nothing.  It will eventually go away.  I was all for buying a few instant ice packs on the way home, but Dean was all for leaving it alone.  I will just keep an eye on it and see how it goes.

After picking up some dog food and a special can of moist food – Duck, Turkey, and Pasta -  because Buu was so good, we headed to a restaurant that was on the way home.  We decided on Sawasdee.  I thought spicy food would taste really good on such a cold day, and Dean, honestly, didn’t care where we went.  So Sawasdee it was.  This was our first time eating there. 

About two seconds after we were seated, bowls of soup were placed in front of use.  It was a cabbage soup with green onions and a little bit of spice. I liked it.  In fact, I ended up eating most of Dean’s, too.  He wasn’t so thrilled with the cabbage.

Ignore the shadow. I guess my head is bigger than I thought.

Next up, tea!  Look!  I was given a whole pot just for me!  It was very mellow and piping hot.  I think I drank the entire pot.  By myself.

This is a big bowl of rice.  It was just for Dean.  I ordered noodles, so my lunch didn’t come with rice.  There was a lot left over, and we brought it home for the dog.

/p>

Dean’s potato curry.  It had many, many slivers of water chestnuts.  And onions.  I might try this in the future.

Here is my lunch.  Pad Thai Curry.  It had shrimp, tofu, green onion, and bean sprouts.  And not enough ground peanuts.  I ordered it with medium spice – I probably could have gone up that extra notch to hot.

Overall, this was a satisfying, inexpensive meal.  The portions were very generous, and we both had leftovers to take home.  The service was brisk and efficient, and our food was quickly delivered to our table.  Lunch was $20 with tip.  Will certainly eat here again.

Saturday was a fairly busy day.  After stocking up at Target and Meijer, we stopped by the Horse Fest at the Rock Financial Center.  This was very disappointing.  While I was able to pick up some supplements and a pair of boots, all of the other tack I needed was nowhere to be found.  I couldn't even find a bridle that I liked.  There were hardly any vendors there, and there were maybe 20 horses on display.  Previous shows had rows and rows of stalls with many different horse breeds.  We were there for maybe 45 minutes, and I was really dragging my heels as we moved across the floor.

We stopped at Johnny Carino's for lunch.  I'm not usually wild about their food, but I was very happy with it this time around.  My lunch was so delicious!

Can't have Italian without bread!  Carino's is notable for the sautéed garlic that they add to the olive oil.  Yum!

Here is my lunch - Spicy Romano Chicken.  It wasn't spicy, but the sundried tomatoes added a nice texture to the meal. I tried to take a pic of Dean's lunch, but he threatened to stab me with his fork.

Carino's added mini desserts to the menu.  These are just $2, and the serving is just large enough to satisfy your craving for something sweet.  I am guessing that they added them because of the crappy economy.  I didn't want to pay 6 bucks for dessert, but 2 wasn't a big deal.  Here is Dean's - he ordered the chocolate cake.

Here is mine.  I ordered the tiramisu.  It was small enough that I didn't feel guilty eating all of the calories.  After all, I still have to fit into my fashionable clothing.

This was a very satisfying meal.  The waitress was very attentive, and she was watching our beverages like a hawk.  She would bring a refill as soon as one of us was almost finished with ours.  She also boxed up my leftovers, instead of having me do it.  Meal cost - 30 bucks.  Well worth it.

Saturday evening, we met Karla and Roy for dinner at Gauchos.  In celebration of the event, I even pulled out a brand new dress.  Pretty festive, isn’t it?  I think it was perfect for the Brazilian steakhouse.  Never mind the strange looks cast in my direction.  I am sure the other diners were just awestruck by my high sense of fashion.   Without further ado, let’s dive into the meal. 

Take a gander at that menu behind me.  What do you see? Meat Menu, that's what!  That's about all you need to know about Gauchos - you are going to eat about an entire cow during your visit.

Green means go!  Once you flip this token over, be prepared to be assaulted by young men bearing skewers of meat.  They slice it and you take your little tongs and pile it onto your plate. They come in one wave after another.  If you don't flip the token over to No, you will have too much meat in the blink of an eye!

That thing that looks like a corn dog is in actuality a fried banana.  Who would have thought that bananas are tasty fried up with batter?  I would have loved to spread some crunchy peanut butter and chocolate sauce on them, but they were not available.

This is a little bowl of caramel.  When I asked the waiter where the ice cream and caramel were to eat with the fried bananas, he rushed off to get me this.  It tasted so good poured over the bananas!

What a lovely assortment of offerings from the salad bar!  Mushrooms, peppers, fresh Mozzarella, artichoke hearts, hearts of palm,  wild mushroom risotto - it made the head spin!  I didn't want to load on these, as there was all of that meat about to appear.  Oh, decisions, decisions.  The only thing I tried off the salad bar that I didn’t care for was the butternut squash soup.  This is usually a favorite of mine, but I didn’t care for it here.  It just tasted strange.

Look at that pile of partly consumed meat!  It's just one hunk after another!  Pork, chicken, lamb, beef!  It left my head spinning as all of that protein was stuffed into my mouth.

No means no!  Stop bringing all of that infernal meat over to my table!  I am stuffed!  Quit it!!!

Dessert menu!  You'd think that after all of that meat there would be no room for dessert.  Dean and I decided to split something, just to see if we could consume more food.

Here is the dessert Dean and I shared.  It's descriptively called "Puding."  It was a lump of tasty custard with dollops of strawberry coulis and caramel sauce.

This was a wonderful meal.  It was a little pricey, but darn, they force fed you meat all night long!  I couldn’t do this but maybe once a year, and I have to pace myself better the next time we go.  I made a lot of rookie mistakes, such as letting the meat pile up on my plate and get cold before I could eat it.

The wait staff was very responsive, and our waiter was wonderful.  He even gave the little me some attention, by bringing out a small plate and tiny spoon to set beside her.  And he brought that caramel, lickity split.  Thanks!

Roy and Karla were good sports about the doll and the pictures, too.  Thanks, guys!  Get used to it!  Aren’t you glad that we only get together a few times a year??  And thanks a lot for the gift certificates!!  You certainly didn’t need to get them, but I am ever so happy to accept them!  Thank you, and the ponies thank you, too!

Yesterday, we grabbed a light snack at the Sizzl-In in Wixom.  Jen even met up with us so she could mock my photography skills.

Lookie here!  They are kind enough to provide a snazzy seat for me at the Sizzl-In.  Right next to the ketchup, mustard, and menu.  Notice the retro black and white tiles on the wall – Dean was a little reluctant to embrace the 50’s diner theme, but I think the restaurant is cleverly decorated.

Here is Jen’s Farmers Omelet.  She skipped breakfast, and she wasn’t going on a pig fest, so she ate with a little more gusto than we did.

Here is Dean’s half order of French toast.  It came with a small bowl of fruit. I thought the blueberries were a little mushy.  He let me try the toast, and it was very good.

Here is my egg, cheese, and bacon sandwich.  Served on an English muffin.  The bacon was perfect!  Crispy and very flavorful.  It’s the best bacon I’ve had in a long time.  The meal was served in a little red plastic basket, with red & white check paper.  Mine was the only meal served in this retro manner.  Maybe the cook realized my appreciation for the throwback theming.

As per my norm, I was even able to make a couple of new friends.  These girls really know how to party!  Look them do the hula!!

Over all, Sizzl-In is a fairly decent place to grab a quick meal.  They have subs, hamburgers, coneys, and breakfast items.  It’s also pretty cheap.  The food is greasy and hot, and the wait staff is pleasant.