250th post! Dinner at The Melting Pot

Andy and I had no official plans for New Year's Eve so we decided to check out the specials at Melting Pot. We invited our friends Tiffany and Gary to join us. Here we are covered in steam.



Andy swears he's shaving his beard this year. I'm not holding my breath.



a warm, gooey fondue pot full of cheese. The only cheese options for New Year's Eve were the basic cheddar and a potato cheddar. Potatoes in fondue sounded weird to us so we stuck with cheddar.



Gary is totally down. The cheese fondue comes with bread, veggies and green apples for dipping. Personally I like the bread most as I am a carboholic. My favorite cheese at Melting Pot is the fiesta cheese. It's spicy and comes with tortilla chips! We were all bummed that they didn't offer it.



A salad course came after our cheese. I got the house salad. It comes with tomatoes, shredded cheese, croutons, a honey mustard vinegarette and hard-boiled eggs. LOL just for you, Sam. (I used to tease Sam about eating eggs for protein during boot camp and now it has become an inside joke.) I like eggs but HATE hard-boiled. The smell alone gets to me. I wish I liked them because it'd be an easy way to get protein in. Blah. I digress.



I forgot to take a picture of the meat course. You didn't want to see raw meat anyways I'm sure. The meat course came with chicken, duck, pork, beef tenderloin and ravioli. You also get 6 sauces to dip the meat in after cooking in the hot fondue pot.



And mushrooms, broccoli and potatoes too. Personally, I'm over the meat. Next time I'll just order more veggies.



I don't get what is with my hair in this picture. Ignore.



Mmm dessert. My favorite is the pound cake and the graham cracker crusted marshmellows.



Champagne.



We ordered "The Original" chocolate with chunky peanut butter. It's delish.



Our server sucked which I hate to say. One of the things I enjoy about Melting Pot is talking with the servers about how the fondue is made. When we went to Melting Pot in Hawaii a few years ago, we had a great experience and a friendly server and it made such a difference. I never knew service mattered to me so much...weird?

Has bad service ever changed your opinion about a favorite restaurant?


2010 Goals

I wanted to post some of my resolutions now that I've had time to think about them.

1. I want to run a 5k this year. I struggle with running in general and would really like to get myself in shape enough to run 3.2 miles in public. Eventually I'd like to run more but for now this is a good goal for me. My friend Sam is training for a half-marathon so I might force myself upon her and run with her for motivation. I know my sister Sarah (Can I link to your blog Sarah?) wants to run too so maybe I can force myself upon her too. Anyone else in Ventura county who would want to run with me?

2. I want to focus on my career this year. (I'm a poet!) Teaching has always been my dream and I am slowly getting closer and closer to it. I start the teaching credential program January 19th. I plan on making good contacts and getting a 4.0 GPA. I graduated college with a 3.8 gpa so a teaching credential with a 4.0 could happen right? (We won't talk about my grades in high school or jr. college mmmk?)

3. I want to make more time for my friends and family. I always try to do this but sometimes I try way too hard and overplan and screw things up. This isn't intentional...I am just wired differently than most people. Seriously. I want to maintain the friendships I currently have while making new friends.

4. I want to meet more food bloggers in my area. I know Ashley and Sam and a few other bloggers but I want to meet more and maybe have some blog meet-ups! Let know if you live in L.A. or Ventura county.

5. I want to lose 10-20 pounds this year. I normally wouldn't make a resolution for weight loss as I feel like I'm just setting myself up for failure but dude...I need to lose weight. I want to be healthier and happier in 2010. (I lost 10 pounds in 2009!!!)

6. I want to spend less money and pay off all of my credit card debt in 2010. In 2009, I managed to pay off 90% of my credit card debt! Considering how expensive this year was for us with travelling and the wedding, I'm pretty impressed. There's always room for improvement though and now that I'm working part-time and going to school full-time I really need to get back on track.

I am rambling so I'll go now! Kudos to you if you read this entire post!

xoxo

Gossip Girl