Tonight, we 'ate' at Chi-Chi's restaurant in Forest Park. I say 'ate' because we almost didn't eat there. Despite the fact that the restaurant was not terribly busy — it was a pretty good crowd, but there were plenty of empty tables — we were barely served.

We waited about 30 minutes to receive a drink, then we placed our order for an appetizer and two entrees. 30 more minuites later, our entrees came out (no appetiver).

It was a bit of a mess, but we stuck with it. After talking to the manager, he gave us a discount on our meals (and removed the appetizer that we never got anyway).

Wendy made dinner tonight. She made a nice Jambalaya using a packet from Zatarain's. She gussied it up by adding shrimp and spicy sausage. YUMMY!

We also discussed a new scheme for our dining. Starting "real soon", we're going to begin dining much more frequently at home. This will allow me to cook more often, and save us some money. Wendy added up the cost of our dining out last month, and it was shockingly expensive. Actually, I guess I shouldn't be too shocked. We eat out a lot. And we eat well.

The current plan is for Wendy & I to sit down early in the week (Monday or Tuesday) and plan out the menus for the next several days. On her weekly trip to the grocery, Wendy will pick up the ingredients for me to prepare, and we'll save money by eating at home. Perhaps we'll even begin eating in the dining room instead of crouched behind our family room table as we watch TV. Hey, a guy can dream, can't he?

I was, of course, immediately on board with the idea because a> it allows me to cook more frequently, b> it allows us to plan meals together, and c> the promise of a Dual Fuel stove that Wendy dangled under my nose as reward for eating out much less often for a few months… Ahh!