Food Critic for a Day

My ultimate dream job (other than mommy) would be to be a food critic. Just imagine, someone paying me to eat yummy food for free and then write about it?! I mean, does it get better than that? No, it does not. Anyway, since no accredited paper, magazine, or establishment is about to pay me to go out to eat, I thought I'd attempt my own little food critic version for free (actually, technically I had to pay) and have a little go round at this for when I land my dream job! (I'm currently accepting donations, however, for this review)
On mine and Justin's 7th anniversary, we went back to our yearly tradition of Old Hickory Steakhouse at the Gaylord Hotel. We do this because, it's just so good, and why mess with a good thing?
Old Hickory is not just your typical fine dining steakhouse style restaurant. It has a wine bar on top, artisanal cheese collections, and large private rooms. As you enter the restaurant on the top floor, you're greeted with the evening sun's rays bursting through large windows casting a golden tone on the spiral staircase leading you downward to the restaurant. At the bottom, you see traditional decor with dark woods, heavy fabrics, dim light, and best of all, the white tablecloths.

Your hostess seems to magically know your name before you even speak it, and she walks you over to your table. I prefer the tables by the windows in the back. There's much more light and it's quieter away from the hustle and bustle of the waitstaff and kitchen on the opposite end. When you make your reservation (recommended), you can request where you'd like to sit, I highly suggest this. (Once, I had the unfortunate experience of sitting near the cheese tray in a booth near the middle of the restaurant, and while I am a cheese lover myself, the stinch of mold and formage permeated my boundaries leaving an unpleasant experience).
The menu at Old Hickory offers popular choices such as crab cakes, lobster bisque, and featuring farmers markets salads as starters. They also have a wonderful salmon, chicken and other seafood dishes in addition to, of course, a great selection of beef.
Above you will see my starter for the night (Justin's too), the Maryland Blue Crab Cakes with roasted pepper sauce. I accidentally poked my fork at it when I realized I hadn't taken a picture yet, so excuse the slight mess on the side. These crab cakes are so delicious, they are light and fluffy, melting in your mouth like butter. I could eat these all day.
And here you will find a patron of the steakhouse who was slightly embarassed by my taking pictures of my food, as if we were amateurs. Actually, I firmly believe if I am paying this much for food, I can do whatever I like! They should be so lucky!
For our entree, Justin and I split a 16 oz. ribeye, and the sorrell potatoes au gratin to share. Most everything on the menu is a la carte, and made for 2. I like my steak medium, just seasoned as it is with no fuss. This is the best steak I've had, it is so juicy and tender, and fills you up to the brim. The au gratin potatoes are creamy and cheesy, an excellent complement to the rich beef. This is our favorite meal and we look forward to it every year.

One of the other reasons we love this place so much, is we always receive a complimentary (yay, free!) dessert. We usually get the vanilla bean creme brulee, which is silky sweet and to die for. Unfortunately, since it is free (complimentary), you don't always get to choose your dessert and some servers will bring out a specialty instead of asking for your choice. This year the pastry chef is doing seasonal creme brulee's, and this was a peanut butter one. Justin loved it, however, it was not my favorite. It was too rich for me, and if I'm going to eat peanut butter, I prefer it with chocolate. The texture was velvety smooth with a raspberry reduction underneath which helped cut through the sweetness. They do a good job, and I think it's sweet they always write on the plate and melt a candle on your plate to blow out. They used to even melt the wax on the plate in the shape of a heart with the candle on top, but I guess the guys that did that aren't there anymore :(

If you choose to come dine here, bring a back up credit card just in case the first gets maxed out. (This has actually been a fear of mine) I mean, I spent on one small glass of wine what I normally buy at the store for 3 bottles. Yes, I said bottles! (of course I'm cheap though) It is expensive, but this is a case where it is well worth it. If I ever start to feel guilty about spending extravagantly in this case, I remind myself no matter what your station in life, it is always good to pretend to be rich for a night. Actually, I tell Justin not to even show me the bill, because I refuse to know the amount, and I don't even let myself add it all up in my head either! Ignorance is bliss :)
All in all, Old Hickory Steakhouse always fulfills my expectations or exceeds them, and I can't ask for more.


Afterward I was looking forward to watching the sunset and having drinks at the Glass Cactus on the lake, but they're closed Sundays. So, instead, we found a spot on the lake ourselves and watched the ducks swim in front of us as we watched the sunset. It was a great anniversary.

Lesson learned

I'm the type of person that can stress over the little things. Especially when it comes to bills, phone calls, insurance, etc. Well, over the past several months I have been trying to "adjust" this bill from Lily's old doctor's office, for $68.
The insurance company wouldn't pay it (this is from a year and a half ago), because it was considered a "pre-existing condition" which is a crock. Anyway, I knew that her old doctor was to blame because the first time we dealt with this specific issue, she forgot to write me the prescription in the first place! I swear she forgot or something, because I remember leaving that office over issues like that, and her general indifference towards me and my child.
Anyway, I'm not the type of person to just let things go very easily. Especially when it comes to money. My blood boiled over the fact that it would not be fair for me to pay for something that was a mistake on the doctor's part, really. Well, after several months of speaking to numerous people in the insurance company and the doctor's office, they would not relent or dismiss the bill, which is what I really wanted. I think I just got desperate because I pretty much was pleading with the office staff my case, but all seemed lost. Of course, once I threw in "who else can I write to or speak to about this", I dunno, but she said she'd talk to the doctor again and call me back.
By this point my heart was pounding and I was so angry! It may seem dumb, or like an insignificant amount to fuss over, but that really is a lot of money to me, and I felt so strongly that I should not have to pay for it. It was the principle of the matter! I knew I was right, and at this point it was my word against the doctor's.
It didn't look good for me so I envisioned every possible way I could make this office and doctor pay for their injustice! I guess I feel like if I'm going down, it will be kicking and screaming and I wanted to make someone PAY! (pardon the pun)
I sat down contemplating what I would say and how I could ruin the reputation of this doctor and what sob stories I could come up with to at least make the lady on the phone feel guilty. I wanted her to stay up late at night envisioning my poor child with no food to eat because she wouldn't discount the bill for me. (Which wouldn't be necessarily true..)
As I sat there fuming, my convictions started to pick at my head. I could feel my heart softening as I thought about how God would want me to respond in this situation. I remembered my "verse", about how he will take care of us no matter what, and thought about how I should trust him. How making someone pay for their mistake was not what God wants, he wants us to forgive others, even when they've wronged us. That we truly show love and Christ when we let things go, and it's not up to us to punish someone or be angry. It's truly a sin when we are angry and distrustful of our situations, since we are supposed to trust him to take care of us.
Well, at this point at least I started to feel better. I knew I shouldn't be angry and I had to let this go one way or another, and God would provide everything so I shouldn't worry about the money either.
Then, no joke, the phone rings. I'm talkin' like a minute after my revelation! With my heart pounding I said "hello" with a shaky voice. The lady informs me that she spoke with the doctor and she said to not worry about the bill, it's been taken care of! What?! After all that stress and arguing (and I mean, there was a lot of that on the phone), it's just gone. I didn't owe anything! Of course, I pretty much started balling on the spot and I said thank you so much and we hung up the phone. It was hard to control my emotions, they were a roller coaster at this point. I mean, from blood pressure sky rocketing and being so angry, to now sobbing on the couch, I was so thankful! It was so funny (ironic funny, not really haha funny) how just after it seemed that I finally learned my lesson from God, (which I am in a constant state of still learning), that I see how he truly provides all our needs and works for the good for those who love Him.

What moms go through for their kids

So we're spending the 4th at my parents house, and I am sleeping in my brother's bed (who wasn't home). She's been a little sick so after hardly any sleep and a fussy toddler, I bring her into his full size bed with me (which is tiny compared to our king). Pillow barrier in place, now let's get some rest.

Sleep is elusive, especially with the tossing and turning of a little one, but I close my eyes hoping for some. It must've been longer than I thought because the next thing I hear...thud! I hear Lily cry out and in the dark I realize I am now alone in my bed. I reach down between the odd crack between the bed and wall that doesn't make any sense and feel the pillow I put down as protection. So much for that barrier. I grab a leg (I'm still blind at this point from the pitch black) and eventually feel for the body and pull it up. Hoping the pillow broke her fall somehow (even though I heard a thud), I realize her feet were protected but nothing else. Great. I pull her up and she falls right back to sleep, if she ever even woke up at all except for the small cry I heard.

I bring her up on the bed feeling terrible, but she is fast asleep. I lay down next to her, wide awake. Did that really just happen? I hold my hand over her chest, check her breathing, her heart rate. How bad did she hit her head? Did she hit her head? I scan her face and head, checking for knots, bumps or bruises. I turn on the hall light for back up, I see nothing. No blood. No bump, red mark, nothing. Is that good? Isn't it bad when they hit themselves and you see nothing? What if there's internal bleeding? The traumatic stories of those kids who bumped their heads and never woke up start to creep in.

Panic. Fear. Her heart rate is really fast at this point, but aren't all children's heart rates super fast when they're young? Yes, but, what if it's too fast? What if somethings happening and I have no idea? I keep my hand on her chest, feel the breathing and pulse. I'll just stay awake all night and make sure she's okay. Surely I would notice if something went wrong. What goes first, the heart rate or the breathing? That's dumb, of course the breathing, right? Maybe I should call someone and just make sure. It's 5:35 am. Who can I call? Justin should be waking up soon, I should call him. What's he going to do? What's he going to say? I don't wanna tell him I just let his daughter go head first off the bed...
My friend who's kid bumped his head a few times? His tumble was way worse. He was okay. Should I just get some reassurance from her? No...she's probably sleeping.. Maybe I should go get my mom, she'll know what to do. No, I'll let her sleep until morning, then she can take over. But, maybe I should just have her watch her, she could do a better job, I mean, I'm the one who let her fall out of the bed.
What is it they say, a fall is only bad if its from higher than their height? This bed is way taller, it's too tall. Why is this bed so high up? Ugh...I knew I should've pushed the bed farther to the wall earlier!

Doubt. Insecurity.
How do people do this? How do they keep their kids alive? How can I possibly be responsible for someone's life...how could I ever have another kid? I can't even keep this one safe, how do people with multiple children do it? How do the Duggars do it? Well, by that point I'm sure the collective group is considered one entity instead of individuals and all the siblings raise the other ones so maybe they don't count.

Ok, maybe if I just woke her for a bit, and made sure she wakes up and is ok, then I can stop worrying. If she knows how to drink water, brain functionality must be normal then. But if I wake her, what if she takes forever to go back to sleep? It's already been a long night, what if it just makes her mad? What if I can't get her up? What if she's stuck in a perpetual dream like state, a coma? Okay, wake her up. I sit up in the bed making her sit up with me. She's like putty. I grab her water/juice cup and give it to her to drink.

I see eyes. Thank God. I give her her drink and she starts downing the water. She's probably thirsty. Okay, this is good. Now I know she's functional. She coughs a bit from her cold or whatever has overtaken her the last few hours and I decide I'd have a better hold on her in the living room chair for some odd reason. She curls up on me and falls right back to sleep. Well at least I didn't have to deal with getting her back down, that was easy. She must be tired.
Well, this is pointless. Why am I in the living room?

I walk back and head toward Lily's room. We'll sit in here for a bit. The pale blue light peaks through the cracks in the blinds. I look over, 5:51 am. It's only been less than 20 minutes!? Feels more like a lifetime has gone by. I keep rocking, she's breathing heavy and steady, snuggled up on my chest. I think she'll be fine. I should just go lay her down in her crib and go to bed.
I hear actual roosters crowing. That's a first. They must be pretty far away, but I can hear them. It's probably that horse farm behind my parents house. The birds start chirping. It's almost morning. I think I'll just stay here and hold her just a little longer...

Pictures of Lily

That grin says all you need to know about Lily :)

Here's a couple of the pics that Robin Combs took during Mark's senior photo session. This was the little monkey playing up and down the stairs and making us chase her around so she wouldn't go in the street. What a cutie...