I dont know about yall but I have really enjoyed getting those social networking coupons. Gosh, its hard to imagine those words "social networking" registering a meanin in my brain. There have been some truly amazin deals to be had and I have been supportin the entire Groupon craze wholeheartedly.  Why, we have eaten at restaurants we never would have considered before. And its a good thing too as many of them closed down shortly thereafter. I think thats why many of the restaurants even sign up in the first place. Its their last ditch effort to spur business before packin it in. I can honestly say only one of them was suspect.

We went to a restaurant last week in my old neighborhood. It used to be a family favorite in Lakewood. The boys and I would go fairly often when we lived in the Mercedes house. It has a real neighborhood feel and since its Italian, there is something for everyone! I really do miss a lot of things about the "M" streets, mainly the huge variety of ethnic restaurants all within walking (or bobbin and weavin) distance. 

And the cupcakes! Mercy goodness have we tasted cupcakes! Why, I think just about every week another bakery has a Groupon and as I said, I try my darndest to support them. I had to cut back when my pants started getting shorter. All good things in moderation, you know. Yep, thanks to Groupon, we have stretched our taste buds and unfortunately our waistlines right along with our gastronomical sense of adventure. Not that mine particularly needed stretching but Gary's taste buds definitely need nudging beyond anything fried and without gravy! 

Last week we even took a cooking class at Central Market. I thought it would be fun and good for him to know what all goes into cooking something besides a grilled cheese or a bowl of oatmeal.  It was a souffle class and to my surprise he seemed to get into it. We started with a cheese souffle then had a crab souffle, a spinach souffle, and finished with a chocolate souffle. Neither of us want another souffle for a while but it was fun and we will take another class again.

For his birthday I gave him a flying lesson! First, he gets lesson time and then he actually goes up with the instructor to fly the plane. This sounded right up his alley. We had been to an air show a couple of years ago at the Grayson Airport and boy was I surprised by his ability to talk "planes" with some of the old fellas there. I know he mentioned how he always wanted to fly and he got all starry eyed lookin at those planes, so naturally when this Groupon came up it was just the ticket for a great birthday surprise! I, however do not like small planes. Heck, I barely tolerate the big ones. Anyway, when he opened his birthday card and saw the opportunity just waitin for him, his face registered something less than excitement and more along the lines of "I cant believe you want me to do this". He sorta halfway accused me of trying to hasten his demise, as it were. Needless to say, he has yet to use his birthday Groupon. Its either too windy, too rainy, too dry, too hot..... you name it. Its a shame too because even though it was a bargain, it wasn't cheap!

I got him the Nascar experience a couple of years ago, too. Mercy, it was hot out there at Texas Motor Speedway. For the life of me I will never understand why people flock to that place in droves. They said the temp on the track was 120* and it had to have been that or more. It was only slightly cooler for us observers under the big tent next to the giant fans. First there was lesson time and then the guys suited up and hopped or wiggled thru the window of their assigned car. While they are perched in that open window some little guy comes by and snaps their picture! Gary got the M&M's car, which I thought was most fittin.

The observers sat in the bleachers under the tent watchin and cheering them on to victory. While we are watching, we cant help but notice this one car going so much faster than the others. I mean this car was flying right on by everyone else on the track. No one knew that it was a real race car driver in that car with a paid passenger wanting to go 150mph or however fast they go. Can you imagine paying good money for somethin like that? It was so loud and hot just watchin I knew it had to be much worse inside those cars. Gary said he didn't know how fast he actually went because there are no speedometers in the cars, or rear view mirrors, for that matter. And certainly no air-conditioning. After his 10 laps were up, he yanked off the helmet and peeled off his teflon jumpsuit and said he was glad he did it but it was the scariest thing he had ever done.  

We still have zip lining and kayaking left to do in the next month before they expire. Oh and the Sip and Doodle BYOB painting class, too! Thanks to Groupon we are never lackin for an adventure!