Restaurant Review: The Smoke Pit

For my review comeback, I’m doing another restaurant that our friends introduced us to and we enjoyed. This particular restaurant review is for their branch in Salisbury. They closed the location we ate at and moved to 509 Faith Rd. Salisbury, NC 28146. I’m hoping it’s still the same and will give you a feedback when we head there again on our monthly run to Charlotte.

The Smoke Pit restaurant is voted the Best BBQ restaurant by Trip Advisor in 2021. When we visited the place twice, we had roughly 5-10 mins wait. The place is packed and they do both take-out and dine in. Parking is street parking so it’s a hit and miss if there is a space in front of the restaurant. Store Hours: Mondays (Closed), Tuesday-Saturday (11am-9pm), Sunday (11am-8pm).

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Quote of the Day

Jealousy is the trophy that mediocrity gives to excellence.

July 2021 Personal Challenge Update

Summer is in full swing!  We only had one travel this month and that was to celebrate my stepson’s and husband’s birthday.  My apologies for the delay in blog post.  Learning the ropes in my new job does that.  Moreover, I’m trying to get my routine straight.  Anyway, here’s how the month go.

Health:

• Averaging 10,000 steps a day: For July, my aim was to average 3,500 steps a day.  I’m happy to say that my average in July is 4,977 steps.  I really tried hitting the 3,500 steps per day and didn’t miss any.  For August, my goal is to average 4,000 steps a day.
• Eating more fruits and vegetables: Fruits is still a miss. My stir fry ground turkey with tomatoes, mushroom and spinach is a weekly staple.  The grilled chicken berry salad from Kickback Jack’s is also making an appearance at least every other week.
• Drinking water: I really want to track it but it’s difficult using different glasses or water bottles.  However, water is still my go-to drink.  Green tea in the morning and chamomile or peppermint tea before bed.

Blog/Instagram:

• Instagram: I think I only missed a day posting on @bear.prototype … As for my main account, @chefclaudine … it’s dying.  I think I’ve only updated it once in July.  My other account, @thecoffeedisciple .. I rarely update it as I’m not the coffee drinker but my hubby.
• Blogging: I had a hard time posting this month with catching up with class.  I was able to post some towards the end of the month but not consistent.  I don’t think August will be good to me as well since I will start on my new job and trying to settle in a new routine. 
• Blog traffic: In June, my blog traffic count was 63.  In July, it went up slightly to 84.  I’m hoping it will consistently be on an uptrend.  That means, I need to write more.

Finance:

• Cashback Apps: My ReceiptHog coins went up from 5,071 coins to 5,248 coins. My Fetch Rewards points went up from 17,395 to 18,071 points. I wasn’t able to take photos of my receipts consistently.
• Balikbayan Box:  Box #5 was shipped to the agent towards the latter part of July.  Hubby was busy and wasn’t able to schedule a time.  Box #6 is almost full and we’re hoping to ship it on the second Saturday of August together with my mother-in-law’s box.  I guess this would be my last box for the year.  I’m quite sad as I won’t be able to reach my 8 box goal.  COVID really did a number as the shipment is taking longer to reach the receiver.
• Stock Market: I earned $2.45 from dividends and interest this month. I bought DADA stocks and $20 worth of DOGE coins (cryptocurrency). That $20 won’t be added and will just sleep there. My husband just ok’d that amount. Whether it goes up or down, I won’t lose sleep if I lose $20. My portfolio increased 3.79% in July.

Education:

• Payroll Specialist Class: I got my $750 in the mail.  Class will end on Aug 12.  I was cramming as I want to finish everything before I start working.  Well, I finished the lessons in our Payroll Accounting book and took all the tests.  The only thing I need to do is complete my assignments
• Eat Smart, Move More Class: We had two classes this month and had our final class last July 30. I will be expecting my $30 back in the mail as I met the attendance and health tracking in class. I surely learned a lot and will tell you more about it in future posts. This is one class I enjoyed that the state offers to their residents.

That’s it! Hopefully, I can write more post as I settle in a routine at work.

Heading Back To Work!!!

This is the longest that I’ve been out of work. My last workplace was in Dublin, CA working for Ross Dress for Less at their corporate office way back in Oct 2019. That was before I got married and moved to High Point, North Carolina. After the wedding, we did some traveling before COVID happened. Then, with everything shut down, it was hard to find work. Moreover, in the 4th quarter of 2020, I had brain surgery and radiation treatment.

After I was given a clear ok to work earlier this year by the radiation oncologist and my husband, I started looking for remote work in my field of lease administration or lease accounting. I had some interviews but no job offers. When I was fully vaccinated, my husband agreed that I can find work in our area which is in-office.

The Philippines’ First Olympic Gold!

I’ve been following the Philippines’ Olympic journey ever since I took part in 2008. I wasn’t an athlete but I was there working behind the scenes at the Bird’s Nest making sure that the building is running smoothly. The flagbearer at that time was Mr. Manny Pacquiao. The president at that time invited the whole Filipino community of Beijing to a luncheon in support of our athletes. There I met a petite young weightlifter by the name of Hidilyn Diaz. That was her first Olympic games at a young age of 17.