Why My Life is Like Mastercard

$12 - Daily Parking Rate at Charleston International Airport
$17 - Supper at The Cheesecake Factory
$20 - Money donated to Abby for being my chauffeure
$30 - Dogsitting Fee
$138 - Round Trip Ticket to Atlanta on AirTran

Showing up in Atlanta to surprise my best friend and her mom on their shopping trip

P*R*I*C*E*L*E*S*S

* And thanks to MasterCard for allowing me the priviledge of putting the plane ticket on their card. :-)

4 - Al Di La

Sorry, I've been a blog slacker. I actually wrote my #4 post and then it wouldn't post and then I decided that shouldn't be my #4 (it actually didn't need to be in the top 5) so here I am with #4. Whew. Now that I have that out of the way let's talk some Al Di La.

Al Di La was the second dinner I went to with my team here in Charleston. It was Halloween and they invited me to go out to eat. Unfortunately Al Di La is VERY local so there is no website. :-( However, you will not be disapointed in the surprise that awaits you. The menu changes regularly, but the food is amazing. I had a chicken dish with proscuitto and mashed potatoes. I'm pretty sure there was some other type of steamed veggie, but it was over 3 months ago. You seriously don't expect me to remember back that far do you? So, if you are in the Charleston area, want some Italian food, then I highly suggest Al Di La. (Click for a review of this restaurant.)

5 - Mercato

This week I am going to count down my 5 favorite dining experiences since I moved to the Low-Country. So, enjoy a "taste of the Low Country" with me.

I was treated to Mercato for #29. You can read about that here. This is an Italian restaurant in the downtown Charleston area. It is across the street from the Charleston City Market and Daughters of the Confederacy museum. But enough about location...this post is about food. And good food it was. For an appetizer we ordered an olive and pickle plate. Those who know me best know I can't stand olives, but I've never met a pickle that I didn't want to consume. And consume those little babies I did. They were very different tasting, but again it is a pickle. I. Do. Not. Discriminate.

On to the main course. I, being a web guru (and lover of knowing all things ahead of time) had already purused the menu prior to going to this establishment. Well, actually I had to pick a place so I perused a couple of different menus before decided on this one. But that's another story for another time. Long story short, I chose the beef marsala grilled flat iron steak with sauteed wild mushrooms, haricot vert, and mashed potatoes. Mmmm, Mmmm, good. The steak was cook perfectly, the potatoes were divine, and I learned that haricot vert is a fancy smancy way of saying green bean. All in all a very good meal. Mercato...you are #5 on my list.

Wordless Wednesday

Reconstructing Natalie

Sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas I visited the $5 Christian book store in glorious West Town Mall. During my time there I picked up the book "Reconstructing Natalie" by Laura Jenson Walker. It was one of the Women of Faith books. As a self-proclaimed queen of chick-lit novels, I have read several books by this group and this one looked good. I knew it was about a girl who had breast cancer, but I didn't realize how it would hit home with me. No, I don't have cancer nor do any of my friends at this time. But I realized two things reading this book: 1) if I ever have cancer I hope I face it with the bravery of Natalie and 2) I hope if I ever have a friend in a position such as this that I will support that friend as Natalie's friends supported her. So, if you are a girl who digs a good book I highly recommend this one to you. I hope you will laugh and cry with Natalie as she braves the highs and lows in this book.

29 Great Things About Today

1) Arynda called me early. I mean really early. Before I left my house early.

2) My dad called after I left the house and first checked to see if he work me up. I had been up since 5:45. Seriously, once you're retired you forget other people work for a living.

3) Mom reminded me that 1:13 PM is more important than 7:00 AM

4) Mary Neill called and sang.

5) Sue called and left a voicemail.

6) I got lunch for free...well, compliments of the fact we went to a restaurant where they will not split your tab and the guys I work with are points hogs

7) I got flowers. From Arynda. I don't deserve her friendship. But I am thankful for it.

8) People wrote on my wall.

9) I got no bills in the mail!

10) Tea at the Gallery called...my iPot is in.

11) I am healthy!

12) I have a job which challenges me in more ways than I can count.

13) I get to eat dinner here tonight.

14) Betsy sent me a Hoops and YoYo card.

15) Betsy sent me a DJ your own song card.

16) Shanle sent me a text. She didn't call me at 12:30 AM. I wouldn't have been mad at her if she had. I love her that much!

17) My Papaw read the calendar and it registered with him what today was.

18) He then sang to me on the phone.

19) My granny talked to me. She told me to call her whenever I need to.

20) This may be the last time my grandparents call me. I will cherish this memory.

21) Doodlebug picked me out a card. My sister didn't mail it because she doesn't have my address.

22) I sent myself a Facebook message from someone else's account. :-)

23) Steve Jobs did not announce a new iPod Nano. This saves me money.

24) Connie C called. Her big day is tomorrow. We're going to compare dinner notes. Italian vs. Italian.

25) My best guy friend sent me a text. After he was prompted. I'm not complaining. Guys are guys and they are forgetful. He tries. Besides, I'm not his #1 girl...I'm #2. And I'm ok with that.

26) The West family did not forget me either.

27) Traffic was not bad today...the jam was before I get on the interstate. YEAH!

28) I've reached the age where you start holding...but I'm going to keep going.

29) Jesus loves me. I love Him! It doesn't get any better than that.

Time Travel Tuesday

I will start this post off by saying I am not a Valentine's person. In fact I think it is a stupid holiday and I say that having been in relationships on February 14. I have just celebrated Christmas and my birthday. It would be better served for me if it were in July. However, a few years ago I was dating someone and they were planning on being out of town for Valentine's Day. Seeing as how I don't enjoy the holiday I didn't say anything. When he figured it out he cancelled his plans (left the following day) so we could do something. How sweet. Blah Blah Blah. So, that night I went to his house and he surprised me by saying he had reservations to our favorite Mediterranean restaurant. We arrived at the restaurant and were seated. I normally would order some type of mediterranean pasta dish or salad, but that night I felt like a nice brick oven pizza. This place had the BEST brike oven pizzas. So, our little waitress comes over and I said "I would like a pizza." She snapped back "we don't have those." So my date, being oh so sweet, replied "oh, you're not serving them tonight because it is Valentine's Day." She snapped back "no, we're never serving them again." So we quickly picked something off the "special" Valentine's menu and she went to place our order. We commented on how sad it was that they had discontinued their pizzas. We continued our meal (which was very nice by the way because this was our FAVORITE Mediterranean place) and left happy. The next week we were at his basketball game and I was talking to a good friend of mine. She asked me what we did and I told her. She said, "But that place is closed." And I said, "No, I promise we ate there." She replied, "Well, then it closed the next day because my roommate was a waitress (now unemployeed) there." Apparently they stayed open through Valentine's Day and then closed. So, while I am still not a fan of the holiday I am glad that I was dating someone then who was so I got to have one final meal at that restaurant. Plus it's a great story to tell.

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Workout Day #2: No workout. Just work. Lots and lots of work. I'll be back tomorrow.