Hey! I did it...

Sometimes there are good days.  This was a good day.

Occasionally you set yourself goals.  Some are short term, like getting all the laundry done today.  Others are more long term, like learning a new task.  And some are more grandiose--meeting that one person who has really brought some joy to your life over almost 20 years. 

For the past few years I've enjoyed watching Gordon Ramsey's Hell's Kitchen.  I suppose I truly enjoy this reality show because we are talking about real talent, not just who can out-last or whatever.  And it seems that one of the perennial dishes on Ramsey's menu tends to be Beef or Lamb Wellington.

Due to a certain amount of curiosity--having heard of this dish on and off throughout life--I looked up the recipe and determined this is one of those things I should endeavor to make.  Afterall, you cannot possibly screw up beef tenderloin, can you?

I did it!  It came out of the oven even looking like recipe pictures, and it was pronounced a good thing by my husband :D  Personally, not being a fan of mustard, I think I'd tweak it in the future, if I ever decide to take two days to cook a main dish again.  I might cook it on a broiling pan, too, as the drippings made the bottom pastry soggy.  Or was that because the pastry wasn't entirely sealed? hrmmm I wonder.  I might add that the Wellingtons were created in an RV.

Now, Good Thing Number 2. 

While the whole day at the track was pretty damn good (my husband earned Cold Passes through supporting the Best Buy Racing program at work) one moment stands out for me above all.

We were wandering through the Sprint Cup garage while the cars went through inspection before qualifying.  We spotted John Darby, Mike Helton, some major NASCAR reporters, Regan Smith, AJ Allmendinger, Carl Edwards, T.J. Bell, and a few other faces.  I was picking up driver cards from each team hauler.  I looked behind me and noticed we were standing in front of the No. 24 Dupont hauler and reached for a Jeff Gordon card.  Cool! That made it like 25 cards I could add to the ever growing collection of NASCAR memorabilia.  Then we noticed a guy walking backwards shooting photos...of who?

Hey! It was Jeff Gordon!  I am no autograph hound, but when fate offers you opportunity, don't pass it up.  I called out, "Hi Jeff!"  He answered, "Hi."  Kept signing a couple other things, but made sure to turn back and reach for his driver card I was holding and sign it before entering his hauler.

My driver.  The one I have cheered for since his first Cup appearance waaay back in 1992. 

You know, there were piles of tires, engines revving, team members running from one place to another, underfunded teams and the highest paid athletes in all of sports.  We had rain, a race and qualifying made all the more entertaining by the fans who have had enough of moisture in New Hampshire this year.

But nothing can dim my enjoyment of that moment of serendipity for me. 

So, a dinner that we would have paid much $$ for at a fancy restaurant and an autograph that means quite a lot to me all in one day.  Not too bad for day which was supposed to be nothing but rain, rain, rain.