so we moved on to the tables, where i was both excited but intimidated. i know there are strict rules at casinos about where to put your chips and how to hold your cards and can you talk to the dealer and how about the people next to you and ohmygod what do i do with my drink? put it right on the felt?! luckily we found an empty texas hold 'em table (my favorite game!) with a dealer who was happy to explain the betting scheme and who was patient with us as we made mistakes early on.
it was so. much. fun. like, good-thing-i-don't-live-within-thirty-minutes-of-a-casino fun. at one time, i had doubled my money. at another time - the time i left the table - i was only five dollars up. so i decided to take that last five dollar chip and bet it all on my favorite number at the roulette wheel on the way out. for some reason, that move really impressed the locals. i guess they typically spread more thinly, a dollar here, a dollar there, and usually on the fifty/fifty bets (black or red, odds or evens). i didn't win there, but i consider breaking even a victory for my first visit! the other liz was up quite a bit - eighty or ninety dollars i think? all that and she'd never even played texas hold 'em! now she's hooked. plays online and e'erything. YOU'RE WELCOME LIZ.
we didn't know it yet, but apparently it's illegal to take pictures in casinos...__________
i also made two new dishes, both of which turned out deliciously (#59). i'm just going to link to them both here because i'm feeling lazy.
apple-pecan veggie burgers, link courtesy of the formerly vegetarian jake (i doubled the recipe and ate these for a long time): http://www.michiganapples.com/apple-pecan-burger.html
and a pasta bake (i used italian sausage instead of ground beef, and only half the gravy called for because it freaked me out that gravy was even in there): http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Baked-Pasta/Detail.aspx
both of these were big hits with the lucky guests who got to eat them.
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