My Trip to Detroit

Three weeks ago, I headed to Detroit for a work conference. Of all places, I was hoping the conference would be in a cooler location.

It was my first time in Michigan.

The conference was at Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center.

It was 20+ miles from the airport to where we stayed in downtown Detroit. The drive was similar to a drive in any huge city, like Kansas City.

Outside the hotel was the Detroit RiverFront. It was beautiful. Right across the water was actually Canada. We enjoyed walking out there.

Once arriving and settling into our rooms, my coworker and I were starving. We finally settled on Jon Muer Seafood which was in the same building as the Renaissance Center. We sat outside to enjoy the view of the RiverFront. This upscale place had great food and I'd definitely go there again.

We visited Granite City and had a decent happy hour. They were also located in the Renaissance Center.

Our conference also had an outing to Comerica Stadium to the Detroit vs. KC baseball game.

And the Royal's, my team won!!!

Our last afternoon in Detroit, we checked out Belle Isle. It was so cool and from what we heard, the size of Central Park.

We also happened upon Edsel & Eleanor Ford House. The grounds were beautiful.

No trip to Detroit is complete without driving on 8 mile.

In all, I felt pretty safe in Detroit. I'd definitely go again and next time would bring my passport, so I can go to Canada. :)

My Adventures with Casper and Archie

I'm a dog person who took on cat and house sitting. I watched two feisty felines named, Casper and Archie.

Day 1

I forgot to put Archie's collar on when she went outside. So, I had to chase her around the yard, calling her name, and trying to put it on her. I'm sure it was a sight to behold.

That same night, I couldn't get her to come in. So, I'm walking around outside with my phone's flash light calling her name. About 12:30 am I spotted her, but she wouldn't come, like I was told she would. So, I went to get her by her collar and she hissed at me. At that point, I just left her outside, with access to the screened-in porch. The other cat, Casper was miserable without Archie. Then at 3:30am he started meowing outside my bedroom door. He was chunky so, food made him happier.

Day 2

Casper again woke me up at the crack of dawn with his incessant meowing. I tried to ignore him and get more sleep.

The cats were allowed to have their collars off in the house, but put back on before they went outside. Well, it looked like they kept losing their collars outside until I realized that with their fluffy fur they already had collars on and were now sporting two collars. Face to palm.

Both cats are gone at bed time, so there I am with my flashlight in the dark calling their names.

Day 3

More of Casper's early rising/meowing, but this time I got ear plugs and they helped. ;)

I forgot that I left the garage door with an attached kitty door open, so another long night of calling Archie and walking around in my PJs with my phone's flash light. Finally around 11pm, I saw glowing eyes. I hoped it was Archie, but had flashbacks to that Visine commercial where the lady accidentally calls in a raccoon thinking it's her cat. Thankfully, it was Archie.



Day 4

Did I mention the morning meowing?

It'd been in the upper 90s and 100s temperature-wise. I came home to poop in the hot screened-in porch...YUCK!

Day 5

M.E.O.W.I.N.G thank God for ear plugs.

In the end, I learned to co-exist with cats and I'm still a dog person. :)

Recipe #36: Gordon Ramsey's Scrambled Eggs

Transparently, I've never made scrambled eggs correctly, even though that's my favorite way to eat eggs. I found that out while watching Gordon Ramsey make scrambled eggs on MasterChef.

Here's what he did:
1) Put three tabs of butter into a saucepan. Yes, a saucepan.
2) Crack eggs into saucepan
3) Alternate stirring the eggs on and off heat from 30 seconds for three minutes
4) After the three minutes, salt and pepper the eggs
5) Plate the eggs and add a teaspoon of creme fraiche

I followed his instructions minus the creme fraiche which I didn't have. Wow, were they terrific! Fluffy and light!

Recipe #35: Honey Garlic Pork Chops

I found this great recipe for Honey Garlic Pork Chops. It's so flavorful and definitely a keeper; enjoy!

Ingredients:

4 Center loin pork chops, well trimmed
1 CUP Flour
2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Black pepper
1½ tbsp Ground ginger
1 Tbsp Ground nutmeg
1 Tbsp Paprika
½ tsp Cayenne pepper
2 Eggs
4 Tbsp water
For the Honey Garlic Sauce:

2 Tbsp Olive oil
3 – 4 Cloves minced garlic
1 CUP Honey
¼ CUP Soy sauce
1 tsp Ground black pepper

Directions:

Sift together the flour, salt, black pepper, ground ginger, nutmeg, paprika and cayenne pepper.
Make an egg wash by whisking together the eggs and water.
Season the pork chops with salt and pepper, then dip the meat in the flour and spice mixture.
Dip the chop into the eggwash and then a final time into the flour and spice mix, pressing the mix into the meat to get good contact.
Heat a skillet on the stove with about a half inch of canola oil covering the bottom. You will want to carefully regulate the temperature here so that the chops does not brown too quickly.
Fry them gently for about 4 or 5 minutes per side until golden brown and crispy.

Honey Garlic Sauce:

In a medium saucepan add the 2 tbsp olive oil and minced garlic. Cook over medium heat to soften the garlic but do not let it brown.
Add the honey, soy sauce and black pepper.
Simmer together for 5-10 minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.
Take off heat and dip the meat in.

Enjoy!

Little Grill, Manhattan, KS

My mom and I visited Little Grill on Friday. I hadn't been there in roughly 10 years. They've grown since then and the building updates looked nice while keeping the beach-y feel. Click here for my full review.

The rum punch was yummy and not too strong or sugar-y. Mom ordered fish 'n chips. The homemade jerk potato chips were great. Her dish came with plantains and I loved the lightly sweet flavor. I ordered the gumbo. It wasn't like gumbo down south, but rather had a clear broth base. The meat was all so tender. It had fish, stew meat, chicken, rice, carrots, potatoes. and beans. It came with festival, a kind of cornbread stick. Each bite of gumbo was a surprise. I loved it.

If you're in Manhattan, Kansas check it out, but arrive early as the place gets packed on the weekends.

Shoes: Clarks Danelly Adira

I needed a new pair of work shoes for summer. They had to be closed toe. My feet often swell, so I was looking for something comfortable.

Once online, I found these:

I decided on the sand leather color, since it's a neutral and doesn't contrast too much with the straw that separates the shoe from the sole.

I love these Clark Danelly Adira shoes. They're comfortable, cute, and not hot. They go well with all my clothes and are comfortable enough that when I get home I'm not dying to take them off.

Broken Things by Matthew West

I love this song and the story behind it.

I love how powerful and full of hope this song is. The lyrics cut right to your heart.

Fighting for Contentment: What I'm Thankful for

I'm struggling to be content. I've struggled with this my whole life; always wanting to be in the next phase of my life. This discontentment has ratcheted up since I graduated last month. To combat this, I'm praying to God for contentment and thinking through my blessings.

I'm thankful for:
My Parents
My Grandma
Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins
My travel experiences
My car
My close friends
My apartment-it's my quiet, little hideaway
My education
My church
The Bible-a light for my path
Jesus-He listens and guides me. He alone can give me peace.
Dreams
Hope
Concerts
Laughter

My Three Weeks on Tinder

I was told that it's not just for hook-ups, so I tried it.

I was really clear about what I'm looking for; a Christian guy.

I didn't have a lot of prospects to swipe right on. Most had blank profiles, but had photos, so I figured they probably weren't looking for actual dating relationships.

I was shocked by the number of couples looking for a third partner and guys in open marriages looking for "fun."

I ended up with roughly 8 actual matches. I asked several to tell me about themselves, but never heard back. I talked for days with one who seemed promising, but he ghosted me; classy. Another wrote, but was looking for something very casual, which I'm not into. So, I decided to pull the plug since it wasn't meeting my needs and was thus worthless.

I think, Tinder could be good for people who don't have preferences on faith or are looking for something casual. Adios, Tinder.

Movie #4: The Accountant

This was a totally different role for me to see Ben Affleck in. He plays an autistic accountant names, Christian. Actually, he's an accountant that works with shady businesses as a consultant. Growing up his family life was toxic at best. His dad wanted Christian and his brother to learn all styles of fighting and so they did, getting the crap kicked out of them in the process.

Christian doesn't form relationships. He's just good at what he does and he can kill people.

He's called in to figure out the discrepancies in the accounts of a company that essentially makes prosthetics. There he meets Anna Kendrick's character, Dana who found the discrepancy. She tries to help, but he just wants to work alone. There is corruption in the company with top leadership. Soon one of the top leaders suddenly dies, but he was actually killed. From there, Ben's character is fired and the owner doesn't care about the missing money. People come looking for Anna's character and Ben saves her in the nick of time.

It turns out that Christian's brother is the one trying to kill and Anna's character. Meanwhile, the FBI is closing in on trying to figure out who Christian is. He's ready to disappear and start new somewhere else, but she doesn't want to give up her life. In the end, he sends her one of the priceless paintings he's collected over the years and he goes to start a new life. In the end, there are several unexpected twists and turns. The agent looking for Christian was saved by him years before. Over the years, Christian has helped him catch some criminals, even though he's technically a criminal himself. That agent is getting ready to retire and prepares another agent to work with Christian.

While not heart-warming or touching, this is a solid movie, though not one I'd want to see more than once.