Birthdays and Crazy Fridays

As with every Friday at work this one has been blessed with a little bit o crazy....

I think this morning was a sign. When the Wendy's cat wouldn't stop meowing it was a hint for me to stay in bed. Traffic was slightly heavier than normal and i didn't get to enjoy my typial breakfast of homemade organic bananna nut waffle and organic orange juice. I have had many different breakfast incarnations over the years but right now this is my cheapest and overall most satisfying breakfast. For a while i would eat a microwaved egg with a slice of american cheese spun around in the radioactive box for a minute in a half for a quick scramble or one of those tasty sodium laden breakfast sandwiches also know as Jimmy Dean D'lights made with egg whites. At some point when i didn't treasure those last ten minutes of sleep i was even making them myself (as in cook the egg fresh, etc). When i started buying groceries in the buy one get ones i switched to waffles in my first efforts to save some dough and then moved on to the organic kind when i made that switch. I saw a nice organic whole wheat waffle/pancake mix that made some delicious blueberry pankcakes. Somehow the leftover mix and Mata inspired me to buy a cheap waffle maker and i haven't looked back since. If i was super awesome i'd make them daily...but instead i make a few batches every couple weeks and freeze them and they are mighty delicious. I have tried other combinations, but for now i'm sticking to my banana delights....especially because the work folks are kinda jealous ;)

Yesterday was kinda crazy and i wasn't really planning on drinking after work in my efforts to play it cheap, but i was going to Tarpon Bend afterall for a friend's birthday i gave in. The last time i went there on a Friday, with the same group, i blew my load for the whole weekend and spent way too much money for happy hour in general. I will applaude them for thier impeccable service, but i just don't like the atmosphere. Everytime something will manage to turn me off for the rest of the time i'm there. The last time i went i split a dozen fresh raw oysters with a friend. I am not one to order seafood out. She shares the same sentiment. Why go out, when i can have it at home and know where it comes from....the perks of having a close personal relationship with a fisherman. The oysters were delicious...but they were not worth the hole in my wallet. Last night i tried the conch chowder. They have a different soup of the day for everyday of the week and being that over all other seafood/broth/cream concoctions i prefer carribean conch chowder i decided to give it a shot. The low price tag was also encouraging. It came with some fried plantain strips and had a yellow color with plantain chunks and the typical tomato and pepper chunks along with a few floating pieces of my delicious friend conch. The flavor was slightly sweet and totally wonderful and the strips were a perfet compliment. I avoided the lime, as i didn't want to spoil the natural flavor. I wish i had the receipe because i would totally make it for myself. Coupled with a typical mesalin salad with a vinagrette that came with one of my companion's chicken breasts. The portion size is enough to feed three people. I am not a fried chicken but this one had rosemary in the breading which was worth writing about and was tasty. In addition to the soup i also munched on some szechuan calamari that was fried and dressed up with a slightly sweet slightly spice to offset the cheapness of the calamari, and a generic spinach dip. The mojitos were cheap, but they had too much ice. Everyone at the table in the end had the same general consensus. We all favor Yardhouse foodwise and pricewise...but drinkwise the group is split. I guess I'll take beer anyday over a crappy mojito...but that's just me.

There were no leftovers from last, so i just stuck to some of Wendy's leftover chicken burrito and tried to enjoy my lunch. That's not possible in my office with my boss on a Friday...i ended up having to jump on the window because no one else could help this needy customer. Going out to eat would blow the budget so i guess i'll just have to either make or buy something really tasty and cheap before i see hot tub time machine tonight.

This weekend is also Jimbo's birthday on Virginia Key so sunday i will be enjoying the cheapest of all beer...FREE. I just have to tip and keep my up. My ever prepared compatriots will be bringing extra beer just in case the free kind runs out. I'm excited as this is a tradition three years strong.