T Stands for Dinner and a Meeting

I belong to a Wellness Group. On the fifth Tuesday of the month, the group meets at the Villari's Natick Martial Arts Studio. This is the dojo where Himself (a 4th degree black belt) teaches and takes classes. Since I had the meeting, I thought he'd like to come along. We could go out to dinner before the meeting, and he could work out while the meeting was going on.

There are lots of chain restaurants in the Natick/Framingham area to choose from, but I had a gift card to The Outback. I love the Outback especially the Coconut Shrimp. Perusing the menu online, I saw the restaurant was offering a Surf and Turf Special. Steak with Coconut Shrimp. My mouth watered.

Something didn't look quite right when we pulled into the parking lot. There were no cars. Not one. And then we saw the notice on the door. This location had closed. So no Coconut Shrimp for The Little Princess.

Steps from Outback is Legal Seafood, but Himself didn't feel like eating at Legal. We were also near Pizzeria Uno's and Bertucci's, an Italian restaurant. I didn't feel like Uno's, and Himself and The Wizards (other professors from the college) usually go to Bertucci's a couple of times a semester. We decided to head across the highway to the Natick Mall and

The Cheesecake Factory. It was chilly so no diners on the patio.

The menu is extensive. It takes nearly 20 minutes to decide what to eat. I debated skipping dinner and just ordering a slab of too die for cheesecake.

I liked the mermaid skylights.

We ordered stuffed mushrooms for an appetizer. They were good, but Ma made them better. A Coke for Himself and an Arnold Palmer (half lemonade, half iced tea) for me.

We each had a house salad. Mine with balsamic vinegarette and Himself had Ranch dressing, I think. We also had bread, but I was too busy eating and didn't take a picture.

I had hoped The Cheesecake Factory had Coconut Shrimp on the menu, but nope. Himself ordered a surf and turf special, Steak Diane with Salmon, mashed potatoes, and asparagus.

I ordered Crispy Pineapple Chicken and Shrimp with veggies and rice in a sweet and spicy sauce. Yup, those are Himself's asparagus spears as he doesn't like asparagus. He doesn't know what he's missing. I also got a taste of his salmon, and he had a taste of my shrimp.

Portions were bigly, yuge so we got a doggie bag, and I asked for a to go cup so I could take the rest of my beverage to the meeting.

This is Bob. Bob is the same rank I was 14 years ago when I went on sabbatical. Green Belt with stripe (four ranks away from 1st degree black belt. There are 10 levels of black belt.)

The Wellness meeting is held in the waiting area between the large and small studios. Some members of the group recently participated in The American Cancer Society Relay for Life, offering Reiki treatments to cancer patients/survivors (free) and a nominal fee for others. All money collected was donated to the American Cancer Society. I think this was the 5th year the group has participated. I had to miss as I was teaching a workshop at the Worcester Public Libary. We also discussed people coming to Reiki to reduce stress (that's how I began the journey).  Because Master Beef, Reiki Master/Master of Masters has a martial arts background, he also brings and shares with us Chi Gong (breathing and moving) and Wu Chi ( the art of stillness) exercises. Discussion also invovled other energy work, and philosophical discussions.

While we were having our meeting, Himself was working out in the small studio, or as I like to call it the CJ Kennedy Gallery. I was commissioned to paint the five Shaolin animals. Dragon, Tiger (I named him Fluffy), and Leopard (affectionately named Burly) hang in the studio. Snake and Crane will be painted later this year.

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.