Yesterday I was working in my office along about mid-day when Hubs asks the age old question… “What’s for lunch?”

Now, this is usually accompanied with or followed by fridge rummaging, pantry staring and head scratching. This time was different – I barely got to mention some of the usual suspects – like tuna, an egg, soup, etc., before Hubs suddenly says … “Let’s go to Cracker Barrel for lunch!”

I should say right away that Cracker Barrel is not on Hubs’ list of favorite restaurants for the simple reason that they do not serve alcohol and beer is Hubs’ favorite food. But I was getting hungry and I love Cracker Barrel (good food, cheap and close,) so I said “SURE” and …off we go.  We do go to Cracker Barrel occasionally, usually for breakfast or with guests or company or meeting people, whatever.  We went there a couple of weeks ago and as usual, Hubs laughed at me trying to do the silly peg puzzle game that is always on the table. Once I accidently completed the peg puzzle game down to only one peg, which indicates only that I was once accidentally pretty smart!

So, while I was surprised by Hubs’ suggestion of Cracker Barrel, I didn’t for a second think anything was up. The quickness of the suggestion of any place was the only thing I thought odd.  The discussion of what we are going to eat (for breakfast, lunch or dinner) is usually a long and lively discussion. We have some version of this discussion several times a week and this is a ritual much loved and enjoyed by the both of us. The simple decision to eat in or go out usually takes a good twenty minutes just by itself.

As previously mentioned, this ritual / discussion will likely include some or all of the following: deliberations, exaggerated facial expressions, head scratching and tummy rubbing and at least a half dozen suggestions made, considered, discussed, shelved, or outright discarded.

Once we decide to go out, the discussion of to which restaurant we will go can take another twenty minutes or so and include another long deliberative process.  However, if one of us is in the mood for something particular (usually me) – then the conversation is abbreviated and goes something like this: I will say to Hubs “How do you feel about X for dinner tonight?”  Hubs will reply “Is there cheese in it?” to which I will always say “no”, and then Hubs will either say yes or no. If he says no, and I really want X for dinner, I will say something like “I hear they make a really good margarita” or “Drinks are two for one tonight” and then Hubs is usually ready to go in a jiffy.

But back to yesterday and lunch. We get to Cracker Barrel, me blissfully ignorant, and we sit down, place our order – I have the chicken lunch special and Hubs has the eggs. Hubs immediately pulls out the peg game and solves it perfectly in like 5 seconds flat ..only one peg left. Suddenly, it dawns on me. This was all part of Hubs’ big plan. He has gone online, studied and perfected his peg game and only taken me out to lunch ONLY to show off!

Still, I got a good lunch outta the deal. One I didn’t have to cook!

Here is a link to the Cracker Barrel peg game:  http://www.crackerbarrel.com/games-kids.cfm?doc_id=42