Taylor Farms Organic Baby Spring Mix

I go through phases when it comes to salad.  Sometimes, I eat it a lot. Other times, I'm not interested.  I'll go through periods where I want a Pittsburgh salad and others where I want the salad from Olive Garden.  I've heaped my praises upon the classic blue-cheese wedge salad at Outback Steakhouse.  Until very recently, it was what I deemed to be the pinnacle of salad evolution.  While on vacation at Disney a couple weeks ago, the Outback salad was dethroned.  Now, a salad I had at Port Orleans Riverside on Walt Disney Property is my all time favorite salad.

It may not look like much, but 

it will blow your mind!

When I went grocery shopping on Saturday, I set out to gather the necessary ingredients.  Maybe not the most important component but definitely a building block, I needed the right greens.  My Disney salad was one where you picked what you wanted on it, and they made it for you.  They had a European mix there, so I was looking for something akin to that.  Enter Taylor Farms Organic Baby Spring Mix.*  I wasn't buying it because it was organic; I chose it because it was the only salad mix at Sam's Club that looked like what I had in my Disney salad.

I can neither confirm nor deny the claim

regarding delicious recipes.

Fast forward to today, Wednesday.  We had for lunch yesterday, so I had stead to cut up for the salad.  I prepped cucumbers and carrots too.  I dug out my little bag of craisins and the container of blue cheese crumbles.  I had the dressings, both ranch and strawberry viniagrette, sitting on the counter, next to the mixing bowl I was going to use to toss the salad.**  It was time for the lettuce.

Before I get into the quality of the salad mix, it is important that you realize that Taylor Farms' salad mix is the most gangster.  I'm taking my life into my own hands when I say anything unflattering about it.  It cut me when I hadn't even done wrong by it.  I didn't notice it at first.  It wasn't until I looked down and saw blood all over my hand that I realized what had happened.  In short, be careful with those plastic containers.

Now, let me refresh you as to the time-line.  I've bought salad mixes before, and they are usually good for a week or so.  Sometimes, they only hang on about five days.  For whatever reason, I expected the expensive mix that I bought at Sam's to still be good five days later.  When I pulled out the initial bowl of lettuce, everything was fine.  It was dry and fluffy.****  I made Mark's salad with no problems and sent him off to eat.

When I began pulling my lettuce out, I realized there was a problem.  It was disintegrating on my fingers.  Ew.  As I was already into the salad making process, I refused to give up.  I pulled out some of the leaves that were untouched and used them.  I appear to be fine, so I don't think it's going to kill me.*****  I didn't use any leaves that were in contact with the leaves that had lost their form, so to speak.  Needless to say, I threw out over half a container of spring mix.

I realize this may not be the fault of Taylor Farms.  I don't know how long Sam's Club had that lettuce, so I don't know what the shelf life is supposed to be.  Additionally, it did say on the package that the contents were only guaranteed fresh until the fifth, Monday.  No one wronged me in regards to this product, but I will be a bit more hesitant before buying it in the future.  Sadly, I'll probably opt for the bag salad mixes, as they seem to stay fresh a bit longer.******  If I know I'm having salad that day, maybe I'll give Taylor Farms another go.

*I only eat organic babies.

**Feel free to insert an inappropriate joke here.***

***Yes, I realized I used the word "insert".  Get your mind out of the gutter.

****I know fluffy is a weird adjective to assign to salad, but it works.

*****I'm sure we'll all be eating worse things when the zombie apocalypse comes.

******I use the term "fresh" loosely.

Voting

I am Mr. Kitty, and I approve this message.

This isn't about telling you who to vote for, nor is it my attempt to chastise you if you didn't vote.  I almost didn't vote today.  I believe in having some sort of education regarding the candidates before you make a decision.  I wasn't sure that I knew enough to make an  informed decision.  After some additional research and discussion, I decided that I should vote.

The other, silly reason that I was on the fence about voting was the potential lines and confusion.  Mark had voted earlier in the day, so I at least knew where to go.  I kept hearing about excruciating waits to vote and was worried about that.  When I voted in the last Presidential election, I was there fifteen minutes before the polls even opened but still waited forever.  I was actually a bit late to work that day.  Luckily, I realized how silly a reason that was to not vote.

I ended up going to vote after I got off of work.  I ran home to change because I didn't want to wait in heels.  Once I was armed with my Sam's Club hoodie and Nikes, I drove up the road to the YMCA, where I was supposed to vote.  It was less than two miles from my home, and I didn't even have to cross 17.

There were little red and white signs directing me where to vote.  There was plenty of parking, so I had high hopes about not waiting too long in line.  I was absolutely shocked when I went into the building and saw no line.

I went all the way to the left, down a hallway, where there were some tables set up.  There were some yellow papers sitting there.  There was no one manning the table, but Mark told me to take one.  There was an additional matter to vote on here in South Carolina.  It had to do with the governor and lieutenant governor and whether they should be running on one ticket or not.*  I appreciated that they had some paperwork to educate the voters; they actually made it very simple to understand.

Once you entered the voting room, there was a table set up.  One half was for A - L while the other was for M - Z.  You picked the line that represented your last name.  Well, you would pick a line if there was one.  By the time I was ready to walk up to the table, the person who had been getting set up walked away.  I didn't wait at all.**

The nice lady at the table asked for my driver's license and began flipping through a book to find my name.  Once she found it, I had to sign a paper showing I had been there.***  I think I was 49 or 68 on that notepad.  I don't know if that means anything, but it was a number!

Since there was no wait, a very nice older gentleman escorted me to my polling station.

He also gave me my sticker!  

The station was digital, and since I hadn't used one before, my escort offered to explain it to me.  He breezed past the instructions that pop up and just explained it verbally.  He did an excellent job and left me to my voting after I answered that I understood.

The machine gave the option to vote straight party.  You could also touch the person you wanted to vote for.  There was a heading that explained what the people were running for, followed by their names underneath.  Aside from the presidential election and House of Representatives race, everyone else was running unopposed.****

The system is set up to make sure you have plenty of opportunity to review your choices.  You pick who you want to vote for, which was actually on multiple screens.  After that, you click the "vote" button.  The station then shows you your choices and has you submit once again.  I want to say there is a final check, where they warn you that you can no longer change your choices after you hit this last button.

When I was all done, I just walked away.  The people running the polling place were so friendly.  Part of me just thinks they were happy to have someone show up to vote.  There was a girl out near the front of the YMCA who asked me if there really wasn't a line to vote.  I think the news headlines had people scared.  It's kind of sad that it may have discouraged voters.*****

While it can be intimidating, voting is actually very simple.  If you haven't used that particular type of voting machine, someone will guide you.  The people there are very friendly and just happy to see you voting.  Don't be afraid.  If you didn't vote this time, there is always next time.  It's always good to pick up extra experience points!

*Obviously, there is a lot more that is implied/impacted by that potential change.  I only know what the yellow paper told me.

**That was a silly thing to have ever worried about.

***I have no idea why they had people signing in pencil.  It just didn't seem right.

****Mark decided to spice up the race for sheriff by writing in Mr. Kitty.  I decided to do the same.  Don't judge me.  It was fun to write in "Mr. Bijou Phillips Kitty, Esquire".

*****I realize that if you let potential lines keep you from voting, maybe you shouldn't vote.  Of course, if there is a real reason that you are physically unable to wait in line comfortably, I understand that too.

Planet Wings

I could be wrong, but I don't remember having wings when I was younger.  They are one of those foods that I associate with Mark.  I used to be a big fan of the barbecue wings at Quaker Steak and Lube.  The wings weren't anything special, but I loved that sauce.  We are constantly looking for good wings here in Myrtle Beach.  We usually order from Buffalo Wild Wings because you can get a decent number of wings for an okay price.  Of course, we then have to drive out 501 to pick up our order.  We have been keeping our eyes open for a closer place with good wings; tonight, we discovered Planet Wings.

I'm not sure how I feel about the mascot.

Located near the mall, next to Five Guys Burgers & Fries, Planet Wings has a good location.  Well, it's a good location for us.  Of course, where they're set up isn't that important when they deliver!  I'll let that sink in.  We can order wings from this place and have them delivered right to our door.  Of course, there are other places that will deliver wings to us, but those wings are pretty yucky.  

Before you assume that you can't eat in at Planet Wings, let me assure you that you can.  They actually have a small bar and a very nice seating area.  There are a few tables outside, with many more inside.  You have the choice between regular tables and booths, should you choose to dine in.

There are also a ton of TVs.  One of them was tuned to 

How I Met Your Mother!  Win!!!

I can't speak to the quality of the bar area, as we don't drink much.  I'm not sure what the prices are like for the alcohol.  It appears that they do have some sort of happy hour.  I forgot to take pictures of that sign; sorry.

Please, enjoy this picture of the bar area instead

of information regarding the bar area.

We opted to take our food home.  I was wearing a largely cream colored dress, and eating wings in it seemed like a terrible idea.  Once re-dressed in a Thundercats t-shirt, it was time to enjoy our meal.  As usual, we ordered way too much food.  Often, the first time we try a place, we will order too much.  It's our attempt to try most of the items that appeal to us to see if it is worth returning to the place in question.

Since I really wanted a salad, I ordered one.  It may be an odd dish to order at a wing place, but I never claimed to be normal.  I had the mixed green garden salad with crispy chicken.  I had them add cheese, as cheese makes everything better.  After dumping on some ranch, the salad was good to go.

I'm sorry, but I only had a picture of the

naked salad.  Please avert the eyes 

of children.

While I wouldn't say it was the best salad I ever had, I would say it was pretty good.  It was relatively standard.  It did have black olives on it, but those were easy to pick off.*  Mark assured me that the tomatoes were perfect.  The chicken was good, not too hard.  The cheese, rather than being shredded, appeared to be chopped up slices of American cheese.  Weird?  Yes.  Delicious?  Of course.

Apparently, most people are not familiar with putting fries on salads.**  Mark made a point of showing me that they offered not one, but two different kind of fries.  We opted to get curly fries, which never made it to my salad.  We also ordered some jalapeno cheddar poppers too.

Seasoned curlies making love to the camera.

When you get fries to go and they put them in those styrofoam containers, they often end up soggy.  Through the use of sorcery, these fries did not get soggy.  They were awesome, very tasty.  I didn't try the poppers.  Mark said they were okay but a bit cold.  I imagine if they were piping hot, he would have burnt himself.  They probably would have tasted awesome though.

Mark has this weird obsession with getting Mexican food at restaurants that aren't Mexican.  For example, there are Hardee's down here that also sell burritos.  He must have the burrito.  I don't know why.  When he saw that there was a Mexican portion of the menu at Planet Wings, that's what he wanted.  Yes, we went to a wing place, and he got a taco.  On a side note, we also got free nachos.

You heard me...free nachos.

They have daily specials at Planet Wings.  Tonight, if you spent more than $15, you got free nachos with cheese.***  The nachos reminded me of the skating rink.  They were bag chips covered in cheese from a can.  Well, it could have been from a bag, but either way, it was just okay.  It was more than worth what we paid for it.****  I didn't taste Mark's taco, but he said it was pretty good.  It was a double decker taco.  If you have ever ordered one from Taco Bell, you know that they get soggy very quickly.  He said this one stayed crispy.

I've saved the best for last.  It's time to talk about wings.  Some places will let you split your wings into different flavors; others will not extend you that courtesy.  Planet Wings allows it but only in multiples of ten.  Because we wanted to try a couple of sauces, we ordered twenty wings: ten medium and ten leapin' lizard.

Medium to the left of me, lizard to the right...

I must say that these were some of the best wings I've had recently.  The medium were actually a bit on the mild side, but they were good.  The wings themselves were properly crispy.  Whomever cooked them did a perfect job.  There was no soggy meat present!*****  The absolute best part of the meal, however, were the leapin' lizard wings.  When we asked the girl to describe the sauce, she started out by telling us it was her favorite.  She then went on to say that it was like a pepper jelly mixed with cream cheese.  It was spicy yet sweet.  I didn't even slather them in ranch; I didn't need to.

To recap, they deliver, and the wings were amazing.  While it will be bad for us, I'm sure we'll be ordering from Planet Wings in the future.  I guess they're a largely northern chain, but I'm glad they expanded down here.  They weren't very busy when we were there, so I hope they pick up.  The food is good; give it a go!

*I appreciate when things I don't like on salad are kept in their complete state.  It's simple to pick off a big olive as opposed to one that is chopped up.

**I know that adding fries kind of negates the point of the salad.  Luckily, I wasn't eating it for the health benefits; I was eating it because it is tasty.  Try it sometime.

***Tomorrow is TACO TUESDAY!!!!

****If you weren't paying attention, we didn't pay anything for it.

****  /giggle

Cella's Cherries

I have talked about Yester-Holly before.  She remembers certain things as being awesome, but when I try them again, I find out that Yester-Holly is a liar.  Luckily, Yester-Holly wasn't lying about those.

When I was in high school, a lot of gas stations would sell individual Cella's cherries for a quarter.  We didn't have a ton of money, but mom could spare a quarter.  When her and I would be out and about, if some place had Cella cherries for sale individually, we each got one.  It's a great memory.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with them, Cella's cherries are chocolate covered cherries.  While the majority of chocolate covered cherries have a creme center, Cella's cherries have a liquid center.  I have seen them made with dark chocolate, but they are usually milk chocolate.  The wrapper is red with gold writing, and I only ever see them at Christmas and Valentine's Day.  

Cella's cherries are amazing.  I don't usually eat cherries.  They are not among my favorite fruits.  However, if they're encased in liquid and covered in chocolate, they're a fine treat.  I haven't had them in months, but Christmas is around the corner.  This means they're on sale at Wal-Mart.  If you've never tried one, you should.  If you don't like them, you can send them to me!

I am proud that I only bought one package.  I'm ashamed that I displayed food aggression when Mark ate one.  They're that good.

Wreck-It Ralph

Disney has proven that they can still be great storytellers, that they can still provide a good product.  They've made missteps, but Wreck-It Ralph is another film that reinforces the belief that Disney hasn't lost their touch.  While they face greater competition, their recent track record is impressive.*

I guess the first thing to address would likely be the animation.  Computer generated animation continues to improve, with different studios pushing the boundaries in different ways.  As far as I'm concerned, Pixar does hair better than any other.  While Disney may not have a particularly amazing contribution as far as furthering the technology, they have had some great stories.  Both Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph were engaging stories about people finding themselves.  Wreck-It Ralph follows Ralph's journey; he decides he doesn't like being the bad guy.  The film follows his adventure.

As I was saying, the animation is solid.  There are no boundaries being pushed, but you don't have to improve the medium to put on a good show.  The animation successfully conveys a great number of textures convincingly.  Additionally, it is used to portray video games from their initial appearance to today's impressive graphics.  Being able to pull that off may sound simple, but it's visually impressive.

The animation is exploited in the best way when married to 3D.  I've long said that 3D is a gimmick, but I can still appreciate when it is done well.  I expect Disney to be successful in that regard because they've been utilizing 3D in the parks for years.  When others payed no attention to it, Disney was throwing water on their glasses wearing park guests.

While Wreck-It Ralph doesn't contain a lot of scenes with stuff flying out at you, it is easy to believe that you're looking into a deeper world.  There is a scene where Fix-It Felix is talking to Calhoun.  In the background, there is graffiti on the wall.  We noticed something funny written on a wall earlier, so we were paying more attention to the background than the foreground characters.  I actually leaned forward to look behind Felix.  Yes, I felt stupid.  At the same time, that's how immersive and well done the 3D is in Wreck-It Ralph.

We've established how well done the movie is visually, but without a good story, it simply becomes Sucker Punch.**  Luckily, they've taken a common idea and made it into a compelling story.  The characters are fleshed out enough to make you care.  It's neat to take a look at the video game world from the perspective of the bad guy.  Wreck-It Ralph is well put together, providing room for Ralph to struggle with his lot in life.  Watching him fight who everyone tells him he is, as well as who he has been for thirty years, is rewarding and touching.

Each of the voice actors infuses their character with life and energy.***  The casting is spot on.  I couldn't imagine any of those characters sounding any different, yet I wasn't stuck on who was voicing them.****  It takes good acting, a great story, and solid animation to create a character.  Wreck-It Ralph succeeds.

I suppose I was destined to like this movie, as I get excited when there are pop culture references that I recognize.  Mark was worried they were pandering to us; I don't think they were, as they gave us a quality product.  Pandering tends to be relatively empty of anything positive.  The references to other video games were appropriate and added to the story; they made sense.  It was fun to see video game cliches pointed out and successfully used.*****

Wreck-It Ralph is a great movie.  You don't have to know a ton about video games to enjoy it.  It gets rather dark at times and tugs on some heart strings, but it's a fun ride.  It's kind of like the Roger Rabbit of video game movies.  Mark counts it among one of his favorites.  I really enjoyed it but expected a bit more of an epic feel.  Even so, I enjoyed it and look forward to watching it on Blu-Ray, when I can pause it to look at the backgrounds.

*I know Pixar shouldn't really be considered their competition any longer, but there are still multiple entities creating animated features for the viewing public.

**In case you were wondering, the movie is terrible.  Bonus review for you!

***On a side note, I didn't even recognize Alan Tudyk as King Candy.  My mind has been blown.  It's very unusual for me to miss something like that.  I actually had to go find a video of him doing the voice because I just couldn't make my brain believe.

****I did have a few moments where it was odd to realize that Dr. Steve Brule was behind Ralph.

*****The darkest back-story!

The Birthday Button

It's the little things that Disney does that set it apart from others, that put them a step up on the competition.  In an effort to make everyone feel a bit more included, a bit more celebrated, and a bit more special, Disney created a line of buttons for their guests.  They are created to celebrate what you're celebrating with your trip, and they let others know what that special occasion may be.  Whether you just got engaged, are having your birthday, or are on a family trip, there's a button for that.

You can get these special buttons in the parks or at your Disney hotel.  Because we've gone in the fall, near my father's birthday, he has fallen victim to the button on a couple of trips now.  It makes me happy, as it is the closest I can get to actually celebrating his birthday with him.  I bring all his presents along, so it works.

Sorry.  This was the best picture

I had of the button.  It's

there, just small.

The birthday button has the castle on it, and there is a place for the cast-member to write the person's name. It personalizes it a bit, and some of the cast-members will draw the little Mickey circles too.  Perhaps the nicest part of the buttons is that they're free.  There are people who spend all their money giving their kids that first, and possibly only, trip to Disney World; they don't always have much money left over for souvenirs   These buttons let those kids feel a bit more special while they're there, and they're a free souvenir.  It's a nice gesture on Disney's part.

You will find people that only want the buttons because they think they'll get special perks.  I'm sure there are people out there that have gotten lucky and run into cast-members that gave them a free dessert or something extra, but that's not the norm.  With the birthday button, what you do get is a lot of well wishing.  It's the little things that count.  It's less about the money or perks and more about the happy.  

If you're celebrating something in Disney World, grab a button.  Let the whole world know.  It isn't going to get you a lot of freebies, but that's not what's important.  Just have fun and celebrate!

Better Homes & Gardens Instant Read Meat Thermometer

Years and years ago, we had a meat thermometer.*  Since I wasn't one for cooking fancy meals, it was largely unused.  In one of our moves, I let it go, free to roam with other meat thermometers.  Since then, I have started trying to cook more challenging meals and have come to the conclusion that I need a meat thermometer.  I recently purchased the Better Homes & Gardens Instant Read Meat Thermometer.

You would think that there wouldn't be much to say about a thermometer.  It either takes temperatures properly or it doesn't.  I would think that you should be able to pull it out of the package, sanitize it, and begin using it.  Guess what...that's not the case with this purchase.

My time working at Fazoli's while in college was a dark time.  Many terrible things happened, and I met some odd people.  I even saw a guy try to permanently check out.  Generally, not a whole lot of good things came out of that place.  I did, however, learn how to calibrate a thermometer there.  It's a simple process that involves a cup of ice, some water, and your thermometer.

Being silly, I expected my new thermometer to be calibrated.  I sanitized it and temped some meat.**  I cooked the dish an additional ten minutes or so and couldn't figure out why it wasn't getting to the proper temperature.  After getting frustrated, I realized I should check the thermometer itself.  It turns out that it was a good 35 degrees off.

I could forgive them for that, as it is wise to calibrate your meat thermometer, but what happens if it is someone who doesn't know that?  What if it is someone trying to make a new meal who has little experience.  I double-checked to make sure, but there was no direction on the package to calibrate it, nor did they offer an explanation of how to do it.  Someone who didn't know any better would just assume it was broken.

I'm glad to have a new meat thermometer, and I'm sure it will work just fine in the future.  I am, however, disappointed that the manufacturer didn't clue people in to that particular requirement.  They had other directions on there on how to use a meat thermometer, so I was surprised that was missing.

*Seriously, I giggle every time I type that.

**In all honesty, you giggled too, right?