It’s all about Donna

Volunteering is good. It’s good for the soul. It’s good for whoever you are helping.

I volunteered recently. Granted it wasn’t for a charity, but it was for community. The carriage driving community.

Events of any kind need volunteers. If there are no volunteers, then events can’t and won’t happen. Doesn’t matter what the event is, they need help and lots of it. Some organizations have deep pockets and can pay their help; but more times than not, there is no budget for all the help necessary to make an event successful.

I have always felt strongly that you must give back to whatever community you participate in. You can’t be a participant all of the time. You can’t just take and take and take. You have to give back or you may not have a place to play later. It’s the only way to keep your community vital. My chosen community, for now, is the horse and carriage driving community. I could not participate this year, so I volunteered. I had a BLAST!

I worked alongside my parents, one of their friends, and two people I had not met before. We had a great time. We monitored an obstacle that drivers had to negotiate. I call it monitoring because contrary to the common term that you are a judge, you’re not really judging. You have sheet to guide you and what you are supposed to look for. For example, if the driver puts his whip down, he gets penalty points against his overall score. If the driver goes the wrong route through the obstacle, they can accrue more penalty points. So you’re really more like a monitor than a judge. When I recruit people and tell them they’ll be a judge, they get worried. So I tell them they will be monitoring the obstacle and then it isn’t such a big deal. This year there were 29 participants, including five pairs drivers. It was a lot of fun to watch and cheer the drivers on as they made their way through the maze of gates.

I also got involved with Sabre Airline Solutions® Give Time Together community project. It’s a wonderful projet where employees work together on community projects volunteering their time and resources for the good of the charity of their choosing. It’s pretty darn cool, really. And the event takes place all around the world. Talk about community!

What have you done lately to help your community?

I’m marking this entry as day job as well as food. Why? Because if it wasn’t for my day job, I never would have suspected that a trip to The Cheesecake Factory could be so good. The Boss in the corner cubicle decided to treat his team to dinner in saying good-bye to one team member, welcoming yet another new team member, and a general attaboy recognition of the entire team. I am glad I was invited. Being the only contractor on the team sometimes makes work life a little tough. Since I’ve contracted for years, it’s really no big deal. It’s just that every now and then it’s kinda nice to feel like part of the team and get recognized. I was glad I didn’t flake out as the Boss acknowledged me… that felt good.

Now as to why this is a food post… OMG! The food at this place was truly great. I so badly wanted to try the Filet Mignon, but it would have been bad etiquette to do so (after all, it was the most expensive item on the menu… but in retrospect seeing what others ordered PLUS desert, I think I would have been safe to get it as the dollar amount was just about the same after everything was said and done).

I had to try the Keoke Coffee. I was not disappointed. As one of my all-time favorite winter bar drinks, it hits the spot on those really cold, raw, North Texas days. This was no exception. Their version is made with Courvoisier, Kahlua, Dark Creme de Cacao, Coffee and Whipped Cream, was most excellent.

For my meal, I tried the Chicken Marsala. HOLY COW! What a plateful of food! There was enough for 3 people! Needless to say I got a togo box when I was done eating all that I could. I even went hungry. It was hard to narrow down my choices, and when the waitress got to me, I just blurted out Chicken Marsala. I was not disappointed with my choice. Looking at all the dinner plates, it’s my guess you’ll never leave this place hungry. I wanted to try one of the signature cheesecakes, but there just wasn’t any room left in my stomach.

This is a place that will definitely be added to my list of places to visit on special occasions. I’ve avoided the chain restaurant scene for years, but this one has made me rethink my philosophy about them. I would give the place 4 out of 5 stars (I was a bit disappointed in the service, thus the minus 1 star… but then there were 25 of us, so all in all our waitress can’t be faulted too heavily).

So this one is about the food, and not really about me. Well… it could sort of be about me… the Boss acknowledged me, so I guess that would make it about me

I work at a really cool corporation these days. I’m a contractor, and hope one day they’ll offer me a permanent position. They’re in a hiring freeze where headcount has to remain flat. It’s not that they can’t hire any new people, they just can’t alter the status quo. Personally I don’t care either way as long as I get to keep working there. Makes no difference to me who signs my paycheck. Of course, if they signed my paycheck, I would have benefits and that would be nice.

Now having said all this, it’s about food, too. And in this case, work and food because this recipe came from my work I haven’t tried it yet, but it sounds yummy on a cold day. Here goes…

Tater Tot Casserole (from Terri G.)

1 lb [lean] ground beef

1 can of cream of chicken or mushroom soup (I think I would have to go with the mushroom soup, personally)

4-6 slices of cheddar or Velveeta cheese (you’ll need enough slices to cover the dish)

1 bag of Tater Tots

Pat down meat into an oven-proof dish. Layer cheese on top of beef. Pour soup over the cheese. Cover solid with tater tots. Bake for one hour at 350F.

Sounds pretty tasty to me (and since it’s all about me… well, you get my point)

HOLY CRAP! Can’t these people drive? Darn newbies…

I’m driving along, on my way to work, just minding my own business. There’s a stretch of highway that allows you to move at a pretty swift pace, of course it can’t be that swift…after all we’re talking day job traffic here. Anyway, I’m cooking along, rolling with the flow. It’s a two-lane highway. One lane heading east, one lane heading west. That’s it. It’s dangerous. That’s a given. People die on TX Hwy 114. It’s a known fact. Back to me… I’m driving along, rolling with the flow. There’s barely 3 cart lengths between me and the string of cars leading the way. THERE IS NO ONE BEHIND ME. This MO-ron decides he’s gonna pull out, making a left turn from my right side… IN FRONT OF ME! HELLO??? HOLY CRAP!

Man do I *love* my BMW! It may be old, but it gets it when you need it. I zigged left instead of right. I know. I broke the golden driving rule, but hey… I *love* my little car and really didn’t want to destroy it today. Had I gone right, I would either hit the tail-end of the MO-ron pickup truck or run over his trailer. Neither would have produced the desired results. So I floored it and zigged left. Whew! In the clear.

Proving once again, it’s all about me!