Back in the Groove

It was a glorious day yesterday. The sun was shining, the snow was melting, and I was burning some calories at the gym. I did an hour on the stair stepper and 30 minutes on the stationary spin bike and my legs felt the burn of doing something different. My arms are also a little upset with me after my mini "Nicole Boot Camp" on Thursday, when I did about 25 minutes of sit-ups, free weights, push-ups, jumping jacks, squats, etc.

I did indulge a bit at dinner though. Cliff and I split a bottle of Cabernet, watched more "Nip/Tuck," and then headed to Boo Ray's for dinner. It was our first time out of the house together in a week, so we definitely appreciated it. We ordered a dozen oysters on the half shell, and the whole experience makes me want to become a restaurant consultant. They didn't give us any appetizer plates, and when we asked for them, they brought us one. There were only 8 crackers (not even 12), so we had to ask for more crackers. And I also had to ask for Tobasco sauce (although that is a more reasonable request). Cliff ordered the "stuffed" filet charred rare, and it came out medium well (and they also need to change the description from "stuffed" to "topped"). They were very nice about re-firing it, and the waitress even mentioned taking it off the check. The second filet came out perfect though, so Cliff said free dessert (instead of free dessert AND free filet) would be fine. What totally perplexed me though was that the manager didn't even ask Cliff to cut into the steak when he brought him the re-fire. Seriously?! It's like waiting tables 101. Now I would absolutely LOVE to tell the owner or manager all of my "helpful hint," but I don't want to come across as a complete witch at an establishment that we frequent probably weekly (at least for $1.50 happy hour drafts, if not dinner).

Perhaps my cutest doggy snow picture: