Happy Days are Here Again

In this economy & busy summer season, we are all watching our pennies, but we still want to have some fun.  I've put together a list of deals at local restaurants that can help you find some fun on a budget.  Please feel free to add your comments, & also tell me your favorite places.  I love to find a good deal!  Most restaurants also have summer specials & wine dinners or other events going on.  Ask your server or manager for details.  You will be surprised what you may learn.  As for the deals at Whole Foods, check out the community calendar to the right of the door as you leave.  You can find out what classes are available at the store & when they will be doing cooking demos.  I can't wait to hear from y'all on your favorite deals in town!  Bon Appetite!

MONDAY:

The Little Village has 50 cent martinis available at 5:00.

TUESDAY: 
Tsunami has $3 house wine, 25% off all rolls under $9, & the best view in the city. 
Drusilla Seafood has all-you-can-eat boiled shrimp for $12.95

WEDNESDAY:
Rock-n-Sake 'wines' you down with 50% off all bottles of wine from 5pm til close.
The Bulldog has 'pint night' where you can take your glass with you.
Roberto's River Road Restaurant has 40% off all bottles of wine.
The Little Village on Airline has all-you-can-eat lobster for $45.
Whole Foods puts their specials on today.  You can 'double dip' on Wednesdays, as the previous week markdowns don't expire until midnight.  Make sure you grab the coupon book as you go in!
Bonefish Grill has $5 bang-bang shrimp, glasses of wine, & specialty cocktails.

THURSDAY:
Sullivan's offers select martinis for $5, & the folks over there have just revamped the bar menu.  There are $5 appetizers, as well.
Hymel's in Convent has all-you-can-eat boiled shrimp for $13.95 & fried fish for $9.95.
Make it pizza night with Whole Foods deal of $9.99 large pizza to go.  You can have them warm it for you or cook it at home. 

FRIDAY:

Sullivan's has half price bottles of wine from 11-2.

DAILY:

Fleming's Prime Steakhouse has a deal called 5 for 6 til 7.  It simply means there are five cocktails, five wine choices, & five appetizers available for $6 until 7:00.  This special is only available in the bar area.  The steakhouse burger is, in my opinion, the best deal in town.  It is served with fries or onion rings for $6.  You won't find a better burger anywhere else. 

Beausoliel has $5 wine, specialty cocktails, & appetizers available from 3-6pm each day.  They also offer Abita Amber for $2.  Indulge yourself in the truffled fried oysters for a treat after a long day at the office. 

During the day, take advantage of the 'power lunch' at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.  Your choice of a filet or fish served with a salad & side for just $22.  That's tough to beat!

Where are you from?

People crave connection.  Even in this instantaneous, digital age, people are constantly connecting.  We have Facebook friends, Twitter followers, Instagram to capture every moment, text messages to avoid conversation, & the list goes on.  Your phone can do virtually everything for you.  There is, however, the connection that draws a common ground between people:  our home.  Here in the South, the minute you meet someone, it seems the first question is always 'where are you from'?  That should be the simplest question to answer, but for me, it is not.  You see, I don't have roots.  I don't have a 'childhood home' to return to.  I was born in Ruston, Louisiana, but I never lived there.  Let me give you a quick tour of where I grew up:  Sterlington (elementary school), Grayson (junior high),  Ferriday (high school), & even a brief stint in Bastrop, but I was too young to remember my time there. If you aren't familiar with any of these towns, pull out that old school invention called a map & look them up.  I'll give you a clue:  it's all north of I-10.  I moved to Baton Rouge in the summer of 1999 to attend LSU & have never left.  I've been here so long that I call it home.  My parents have moved twice since I left,  & they currently reside in Rayville.  Again, 13 years have passed since I've lived in north Louisiana, but I can sometimes feel 'north Louisiana' come out in me: I will make some sweet tea & sit on my patio & listen to the wind.  I will cook some peas from my mother's garden & serve it with hot water bread.  Sometimes, I will even attend a country church where the Baptist Hymnal is still in the back of the pew, & the choir still wears robes. As a child, I didn't quite understood the phrase, 'home is where the heart is', but now, I grasp it completely.  At the end of the day, a house is nothing but a structure in which to dwell.  It could be bought, sold, or destroyed tomorrow.  It is the life that we build with our family & friends that connects us & makes a place our home.  The next time you ask where someone is from, I challenge you to dig deeper.  There is always a story worth sharing. 

Father Knows Best

Fathers are being celebrated all across America today. Grills are being fired up & filled with steaks to honor dad.  Golf courses are scattered with fathers who are breaking in the new clubs their kids just bought them.  My father, however, just wanted to go eat at What-a-burger.  I love that man!!  Unfortunately, I didn't get to spend this actual day with my dad, but I did have the chance to visit with & treat him to dinner this past week.  Roger Johnson is the best man I know.  He did, after all, raise me.  That alone should earn him a medal of honor.  He is patient, gentle, kind, & fully devoted to the Lord.  Not a day goes by when my father doesn't read his Bible & pray.  I am 13 days away from turning 31, & in all my years, I have NEVER heard my father speak ill, gossip, or say a cross word about anyone.  Ever.  That's incredible.  I need to be more like him in that way, for sure.  Some of the earliest memories I have is of my sweet dad taking me to the Quick Stop in Sterlington where we lived when I was in elementary school.  He always bought me an icee & a 25-cent bag of Cheetos Paws.  He never missed a t-ball game & always bought me Big League Chew because it was my favorite gum.  We watched the Chicago Cubs play on television & sang with Harry Carey during the middle of every 7th inning.  Dad was never too busy to jump on the trampoline with me & my sister. The day we took the training wheels off my pink bike, he held on until he knew I could stay in control.  My dad sat through every elementary school, junior high, high school, & college band concert just to see his daughter play the flute.  He made sure we always went on vacation, & I have fond memories of Magic Springs, Dollywood, & Disney.  Dad would always say to me, 'Meredeth Ann, give it your best, & finish strong in all you do.'  I hope that I have made him proud.  I certainly am blessed & honored to be his daughter.  Thank you, sweet dad, for all you have done & sacrificed for our family.  You're the best one, & I love you to the moon & back.