Celebrating is Very fulFILLING!

Another first....yes, it was and a great one too! Russell promised a real treat when I passed the Series 7 and last nite he delivered. He took me to Del Frisco's Double Eagle Restaurant (http://www.delfriscos.com/fortworth/) in Downtown Ft Worth and it was awesome! The experience began with their incredibly terrific fresh bread (their website boasts.....THE BREAD: Rip it. Break it. Just don't cut it with a knife. The bread is baked fresh daily and served piping hot to your table.) and some sort of truly decadent whipped butter. To begin our meal, I ordered a Caesar Salad, the Governor's Fillet (6 oz and cooked perfectly medium rare as requested) with Chateau Potatoes (these were sort of a creamy mashed potato(s) w/lots of garlicky, cheesy taste and slightly browned on top). Afterwards we really treated ourselves by ordering dessert and it was even more decadent than the bread! Russell had a huge slice of chocolate layer cake covered in chocolate ganache w/white chocolate shavings and I had the White Chocolate Cinnamon Creme Brulee w/fresh raspberries. I'm telling you, by the time we were done, we had to be all but rolled out the door. Frankly I was glad that we didn't take them up on the valet parking, because we needed that 3 block walk to the car to walk off some of the dinner we'd just eaten. An amazing dinner for an extraordinarily amazing accomplishment given how many years it's been since I've had to study and pass a test for anything other than the renewal of my driver's license.

Ever Heard of Herd?

Yep, there really is a place called Herd's Hamburgers and it's located in Jacksboro, TX. It's been around and in the same family since 1916 (www.bikerroads.com/possumkingdom/pk.html). Claude Herd does the cooking and Mrs. Herd does the order-taking while lots of younger Herds perform the other tasks. The place is small and what little seating is on the inside consists of some old-style school desks with lots of memoirs on the surrounding walls. There is some extra seating on the outside in the form of picnic tables or you can do like we did and sit on the tailgate of your truck.
The menu is short and sweet and totally to the point - people come for their terrific burgers and pretty much nothing else. There are no fries or other 'sides' on the menu as any 'sides' you might consider consist of a small bag of chips. I had a cheeseburger and Russell had the double double. Take my word for it and go ahead and order the double double. It's worth the few extra calories because the single cheeseburger I'd ordered definitely left me wanting more. It was a bit of a cruise (approx 1 1/2 hr from home), but worth the trip if you want an outta-sight burger!
A little background and history of Herd's Hamburgers: http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=20897&#313847

Time to Celebrate!

OMG....I passed the Series 7 (Genl Securities Registered Rep Exam)! Not with the 80 that I'd prayed for, but true to form, the 80 was all about giving myself a little working room. I made a very well earned and very hard fought 77....and I'll take it with pride. I went in believing that both Dad & God were with me and that I'd be fine - even if for just that 8 hours and I was. I'll even admit that I cried (tears of relief, gratefulness and thankfulness) while walking out on legs that truly felt like jelly! I do absolutely believe, with all my heart, that all the prayers and well wishes from each and everyone of you that sent them (along with Dad & God's help of course) were what carried me through and got me to the finish line. Thank you - each and every one. Now I only have to take the Series 63 (State Law exam) and be shipped off to Memphis for a little bit of corporate training and I'll be all done!!! Yee-Haa and thank you very much. Soon I'll be able to get back to 'real' life (my house is a mess), cake decorating, having some fun without feeling guilty about not studying (definitely includes Keno nites with the gals) and dare I say it....grieving. Yes, I know I've put that off and studying has kept my mind busy, but I need to get there so I can get past some of this anger I've felt since Dad's passing. Thank you, again, for your support, encouragement and friendships and for letting me share. Now, I've gotta go watch Dancing With The Stars! Hugs to all.

Another first - Sugar Paste Figures

In an effort to expand our cake decorating talents, Ashley and I created our first sugar paste (fondant) figures. We decided on teddy bears, however, I think mine looks more like a pig than a bear. We used leftover fondant from other projects and did it totally without instruction or directions. We decided for a first attempt, we did pretty darn good.

Left Lane is for PASSING Only!

I guess it pays to pay attention to hi-way signs. Saturday evening, Ashley & I were returning from E.Texas where we'd gone to visit mom/Grams for her upcoming b'day and after passing a Highway Patrol pulled over on the side of the road and being thankful that for a change, I wasn't speeding - I got pulled over by said Highway Patrolman. Ashley and I had just had a discussion about how even though he didn't pull out after we passed, thankfully, we like to look in the rear view mirrors to see if any other 'law breaking' citizen might be in the process of having that experience. Not 5 minutes later, as I'm talking on my cell phone and no longer paying attention (but still not speeding of course), I see flashing lights in my rearview mirror! Oh crap! was my response. I pull over, completely puzzled as to what I might have done...other than not possibly the lack of attention I was giving the road because I was having a conversation on the phone...maybe this was what I was being pulled over for???

Nope, that wasn't it at all as said Highway Patrolman informed me that I'd been 'driving' in the 'passing' lane and that particular lane, the LEFT hand lane, was to be used for passing only and if I'd been paying attention to the road signs that I was passing, I would have known this! (Law says something like, 'left lane is for passing only and once you've passed a vehicle, you have a certain amount of time to return to the right hand lane or be in violation of said law'.) I had to think this thru because I'm slightly directionally challenged and have a hard time with right and left!!!! I omitted the part that I wouldn't have seen the signs anyway, cuz I was too busy talking on the phone! Officer Jackson then asked me for my insurance certificate and driver's license, which I promptly handed over. Oops...another snafoo on my part...the insurance certificate I'd handed him had been expired since November! Another Oh crap! moment. I quickly told him I was sure I had a current one, which he suggested I locate while he went to run a check on my license. Thankfully, Ashley and I were able to locate it along with several other expired ones in the glove box.

After what seemed like a very long time, he comes back to the truck with his clipboard in hand and kindly informs me that he's only writing me a warning ticket - no penalty no points he repeats several times. 'Kindly' was the key word here - he was very nice and I appreciated him not giving me a real ticket as I definitely don't need anymore of those!!! Moral to this story is...don't talk on the phone while driving (or anything else) because it takes attention from highway signs we should be paying attention to and KNOW THE LAW and replace the insurance certificate in your wallet with the new one when you get it instead of just piling them up in the glovebox!

Series 7

Big couple of weeks - am attending a 'crash' course school to take my Series 7 exam on Monday (St. Patrick's Day) and am truly nervous but looking forward to getting it behind me. I'm totally positive that I'll do well, but am asking for all your well wishes and prayers that I not only pass, but make 80 or above. I know that Dad is looking down on me and saying 'You'll do well' and for that I'm motivated and grateful. For any of you who can fit it into your 'prayers for the day', please include me, because I want it really, really bad x infinity +1. Prayers and positive thoughts are the very things I need and want from you. Please and thank you from the bottom/top and both sides of my heart.