Alton

It's no secret that I'm madly in love with Alton Brown, star of Good Eats and Iron Chef America. I love Good Eats, and have a season pass on my TiVo. And when I'm feeling down, all I need to do is play one of the many episodes I have saved and he cheers me up instantly. Whether I'm sad b/c of a bad grade, poopy weather, or gross cookies. So imagine my sheer DELIGHT when my friend has an extra copy of his book and GIVES IT TO ME!!! I promised her dinner and took her some pickles, but deep in my heart I know I shall never repay her. I'm only on page 25, but I've laughed out loud too many times to count, and made Derrick pause whatever he's watching so I can read him the witty little quip that made me bust up laughing. Here's my favorite quote thus far, regarding cast iron skillets and their seasoning process, of which I have particular interesting, having just bought one in Texas.

"Some folks sneer at the maintenance required, but considering that ours is the very culture that nurtured Sea Monkeys, Chia Pets, and Pet Rocks, taking care of an iron skillet shouldn't be a problem."



Love him. One day I shall meet him.

Yesterday I finally watched Music and Lyrics, with Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. It was soooo adorable. I loved it. It was really funny. It's about an 80's band has-been, which makes it even more awesome. I immediately downloaded the songs that he sings in it, and they make me happy. You should watch it. And when you do, invite me over so I can watch it with you.



Derrick and I went on a date tonite. We went to Culver's. Awesome. Cookies and Cream custard is what sealed the deal. We couldn't decide where we wanted to go, so we had to resort to The Game. The Game was developed while at BYU with the help of Jason and Scott. See, we ate out almost every day, at least once, but usually twice a day. When you eat out that much, you start to run out of places to eat that you don't get sick of. (At one point we went through the Yellow Pages and there were seriously only like 10 places under the "Restaurants" section that one of the four of us had not eaten at.) So The Game. Simple rules. In the event that a consensus cannot be met as to the location of where to eat, each person makes a numbered list, from 5 down to 1. Your top choice goes next to the 5 (earning higest points), your next choice next to 4, and so on down to 1. Entries are confidential. Once everyone has filled out their lists, they are combined and points added up. The restaurant with the highest number of points wins, hands down. No further discussion is allowed. Here's how it played out tonite:

My list:
5-Culver's
4-Arby's
3-Wendy's
2-Noodles
1-McDonald's

Derrick's list:
5-McDonald's
4-Wendy's
3-Culver's
2-Arby's
1-Quizno's

Culver's was the clear winner with 8 points. Wendy's was next with 7 points. It was decided beforehand that we would only choose from fast food places. In other instances, we'll choose other styles of dining. Sometimes it's a free for all. As you can see, we were fairly close in choosing the same places. Guess that's why we're married...we like the same crappy food.

Anyway, it's a highly effective method of choosing meal locations, and I highly recommend it. If you have success stories, I'd love to hear them!