Bad Liver And A Broken Heart

I'm conflicted today. For a simple Friday there's a lot going on.

First and foremost, today is my wife and my (mine? mine's? ours? us'ums? our'un?) anniversary. She is without a doubt the best thing that has ever happened to me. She is a saint, a courtesan, a mother, and a blessing to all who know her.

But...

Here it is our anniversary - and on a Friday, no less, leading up to a romantic weekend full of lots of ... well, you know. And what does she do?

Run off to Dallas with her sister for a class reunion, leaving me home alone with a bad liver and a broken heart -- plus two teenagers to babysit. (Yeah, they're old enough to leave home alone, but I remember what I did when my parents left me home alone. No friggin' way that's gonna happen on my watch.)

But I'll give my wife credit. Before she left town she set me up with a date.

Like I said before, I'm not much of a golfer. But a neighbor lady is, and she and her husband were entered in a local couples golf tournament. Then yesterday his back went out, which meant she needed a fill-in. My wife volunteered me. So get your mind out of the gutter. It's purely innocent (wink, wink...).

In other news, October is National Vegetarian Month.

Hah!

On the other hand, today is Texas Chicken Fried Steak Day.

The tastiest holiday of the year is upon us – Texas Chicken Fried Steak Day. The official Texas holiday celebrates the soul food of the Lone Star state with restaurants across the state participating by offering chicken fried steak specials, entertainment and a whole lot of chicken fried every year on October 26.

A really good chicken fried steak (CFS) is a gift from God above. The notion that an entire day should be devoted to such a heavenly offering is such a good idea that it has spread beyond Texas throughout the country.

TravelCenters of America, operator of Petro Stopping Centers, has announced it will offer its chicken fried steak at all participating Petro Iron Skillet restaurants across the country for just $5 on Friday in honor of Texas Chicken Fried Steak Day.

If you're a do-it-yourself type of person, here's a pretty good CFS recipe. Even if you're a novice this is an easy step-by-step guide, with pictures. Notice how the finished product is all lovely shades of brown/tan/beige.

That whole shades-of-one-color plate thing drives my wife crazy -- she likes green stuff -- which brings this post back to where it began.

If she runs off and leaves me alone on our anniversary weekend, I'm messing around with the neighbor ladies, limiting my diet to earth tones (ever notice how a Shiner belongs to the same color family as a CFS?), and missing her terribly while she's gone.

There - that'll show her...