Happy Sunday

I am Happy because I woke up the morning..

today is a day that the Lord has made

I am resting before I head out for work

catching up on old HGTV programs

tilapia baked in the oven

cleaned out my purse so it is clean

updated my blogs

breakfast with my family

scrambled eggs

crispy bacon

sitting under a warm blanket

not taking a shower until 2pm

prayer

speaking to my niece

Big River Grill, Hamilton Place Mall Area, Chattanooga, TN

I visited Big River Grill in Chattanooga, TN for lunch this week. When you walk through the door, you are immediately greeted by the hostesses. They even open the door for you when it's not too busy, that is a great touch. I requested a booth and was seated near the fireplace. Since I am cold all the time, that was a perfect place for me. The atmosphere at Big River is a mixture of the trendy and traditional. The menu is quite eclectic. You can order pizzas, pastas, sandwiches, main dish entrees...your options are endless. I love that they offer a lunch menu and in the evening there is a dinner menu. Big River is a microbrewery, so you can try a few of their inhouse beers. If that's not your thing, they offer a wide variety of other familiar beers, liquors and wines for every taste.

During this visit, I ordered the LOW COUNTRY SHRIMP AND GRITS. This dish came is a super large white bowl. The portion was quite substantial. I could've split this dish with another person. The dish consisted of shrimp, bacon, garlic and mushrooms over cheddar parmesan cheese grits. The presentation is quite impressive. All of the ingredients are on top of the grits, so you can see how everything looks before it is mixed up with the grits. The shrimp were plump and seasoned really well. The garlic was overwhelming, it was a bit much for me. The bacon was crisp, just the way that it should be. The mushrooms were sliced into larger pieces. Each of the ingredients worked in harmony with the cheddar parmesan cheese grits. This dish was more than I could eat in one sitting. If cheese grits are your thing, definitely give this dish a try!

My own criticism was that the waitress too longer to check on me than I would've liked. The food arrived in a timely manner, the restaurant is clean, inviting, lively. If you happen to visit Chattanooga, TN Big River has 2 locations: one downtown Chattanooga and the other at Hamilton Place Mall.

Burgers at Red Robin Restaurant Chattanooga, TN

Today I ate at Red Robin at Hamilton Place Mall in Chattanooga, TN. I ordered the Bleu Ribbon Burger (pictured), it was a great combination of taste. The burger is topped with crumpled blue cheese, onion straws, lettuce, tomato, chipotle mayonaise. The flavors are set off between a onion bun. My boyfriend ordered the Banzai Burger and he was quite pleased with that flavor combination. He stated that it had just enough kick but not so much that he needed to drink water.

Our service was a C on a scale of A to F. I ordered my burger well done and received a medium well burger. My boyfriends burger was medium well, just like he ordered it. The waiter was slow to attend to our needs. We had to request more fries and our drinks got really low before he came to refill the glasses. The waiter was friendly and cheerful. The atmosphere is quite festive and colorful. The is memorabilia on each wall which adds to the festive atmosphere. The best part are the bottomless steak fries. At Red Robin, whenever you order a burger you all receive bottomless steak fries. Most of the fries are really long, thick and seasoned with salt.

The Red Robin menu is casual dining. The menu has a wide variety of items: burgers, salads, wraps, pasta, appetizers. Red Robin is not your typical hamburger joint, you can even order mixed drinks with your meal if you so desire. Red Robin's prices are higher than McDonalds and Burger King, but the festive atmosphere, great variety and all you can eat steakfries make it worth the effort.

Great Sleep = A Great Morning

Today I am grateful for the fact that...
last night I slept really well...
I woke up about 4am and realized that I still had 2 more hours of sleep...hallelujah!...
I have a healthy breakfast and lunch...
I have friends and family that I was able to spend time with yesterday.
I am able to fight off the spirit of jealousy.

Affirmations:

I will greet my loved ones with enthusiasm.
I cannot allow someone else's response while I am conducting business to determine my future.
I approve of myself.
I have sky high self esteem.
I treat myself with kindness and respect.

quotes:
Don't allow fear to make you her bitch. - from the show "Girlfriends"

Happy Friday!

I am grateful today because...
I have goals...
I am not a manager at my 2nd job, thank you Jesus, that is somebody elses headache...
I am able to fake it with the people that I don't like...
I was able to exercise today...
that I ate healthy today, for all 3 meals.

Affirmations:

The difference between an 8K (insert your job title) and a 200K (insert your job title) is but one thought.
My routines are the key to full engagement.
I am great at listening.
I am secure with myself.
I am secure around anyone.
I love myself.
I love you (insert your name).

Happy Wednesday!

I am happy because tonight I will play scrabble.
I love words...american words, spanish words, italian words...
This will be the first time that we've met in 2009. Yeah, scrabble!
I am hopeful.
It has stopped raining, it is dry today. No umbrella necessary today!
Today, I stepped out of the box (a little).

Quotes:
"It never occurs to me that there are things that I can not do." Whoopi Goldberg

Affirmations:
I am worthy because I was born.
I love myself unconditionally.
I am a great salesperson. I am a great photographer.
I am a great aunt.
I am a great daughter.
I am working toward the fulfillment of my goals.
I have absolute confidence in myself.
I will be enthusiastic with those I love.

Rainy Chattanooga Day

Why I am so blessed

1. It's a blessing that I made it all day without having a wreck in this rainy. I've driven from the east part of the city, to the north and back to the east and I made it safely.
2. My mama's birthday is today, I am blessed to have her. She is loved by so many people. I hope that I learn how to love people the way that she does. I hope that I learn to listen to people the way that she does. I hope that one day, I can be socially successful like her. Everywhere she goes she makes a friend. She doesn't meet strangers.
3. The ability to run

Rainy Day Happiness

I am happy because...
I got to watch Oprah's show today. It was inspirational and eye opening. Wow, the show really spoke to me today.
God gave us rain today.
I have friends.
I am sitting on the couch, under a blanket and warm. Somewhere in the city, someone is homeless and unable to be dry and warm tonight...on this rainy January night. I am blessed. I am too blessed to sweat the small stuff. This thought makes me want to cry, when I think of the petty things that I cry, worry or fuss about. I am blessed because by the grace of God I am not homeless.
I am going to bed by 11pm tonight.
I exercised tonight.

Sleep Wonderful Sleep

I am grateful for the ability to sleep. It seems that I really appreciate it when the alarm clock goes off and it is about to end.
I am grateful for the way the pillows feel under my head as I sleep.
I am grateful that God woke me up from my sleep and I have a brand new 24 hours.
I am grateful for Morning Star Southwestern rice cakes.
I am grateful for healthy frozen dinners like Healthy Choice and Lean Cuisine.

Quote:
"we do what we have to do, so that we can do what we want to do" - from the movie The Great Debaters

Affirmations:
I have absolute confidence in myself.
I love me some me.
I believe in myself 100%.
Napoleon had absolute confidence in himself, I have absolute confidence in myself.

Why I am so grateful and happy...

I am grateful that I was able to exercise today...
that I ran into my mom at the gym and her face was filled with joy when she saw me...
that my niece texted me today...
that I had lunch with 4 friends today...
that the conversation was great during lunch...
that my friend, Darrell, made it back from Baghdad, Iraq with his health intact...
that the cheese grits, snow peas and house salad tasted really fresh and everything was seasoned so well...
that my feet hurt, it means I was able to exercise today...
that I showing more discipline when I eat, for the past few days, I haven't eaten to the point of being in pain...
that I am able to afford food...
That's why I am so grateful and happy today!

QUOTE:
"In a world of ordinary mortals, you are a wonder woman." ---- Wonder Woman's mother said that to Wonder Woman in the 1st episode of the tv series Wonder Woman.

Affirmations:
I am efficient
I am effective
I am productive
I have a strong mindset with good thoughts and ideas
I focus on my daily goals

New Year Happiness

I am happy today because it is a brand new year...
Another 365 days to make things happen...
I am alive...
God helped me to peacefully and safely bring in the new year...
my family is healthy...
my friends are healthy...
I am healthy...
Some people can't find a job, I have two...
I have family and friends to celebrate Christmas and New Years with...
I have my goals already planned for 2009.