The Friday Five, 1/5/24: 5 things I've been up to this week

It feels weird to write "24" for the year in this title! Welcome to the first week of 2024: it's been a short week but feels long, for some reason. 

AYCE Korean BBQ at KPot, Novi
AYCE Korean BBQ at KPot, Novi

What I've been up to this week:
  1. Dining out and getting takeout. Last Saturday, a friend and I went to KPot in Novi—my second time there—for AYCE (all-you-can-eat) KBBQ (Korean BBQ). I asked her to meet me there at 11:45am, because they open at 12pm, and I'm glad I did, because by 12:15 or 12:30, every table was full. This time was as enjoyable as my last, and it's the only AYCE KBBQ place in the area, other than its second location in Sterling Heights; $29.99 for dinner pricing (Sat/Sun is all-day dinner pricing) and $19.99 for M-Fri lunch, which is reasonable IMO.
    Yesterday, I had a work "field trip" (site visit) to Hamtramck, so I definitely stopped by Polish Village to get takeout after—they have fabulous Polish food. I ended up getting some pierogies, potato pancakes, kielbasa, and of course, my favorite: dill pickle soup. 
  2. Returning to the gym and MyFitnessPal. You might not think it after that last paragraph, haha, but I "rejoined" myfitnesspal.com on Tuesday and also returned to the gym with a friend. My goal is to eventually go two to three times per week, although it's definitely hard because I have a busy schedule; I usually do treadmill, the rowing machine, or I swim—I chose my gym because it has a pool with lap lanes, albeit only two lanes. 
  3. Seeing movies. Last Friday I saw The Iron Claw, at the theater, which was excellent; I would give it 4.5/5 stars. On Saturday or Sunday, we watched The Holdovers on Peacock, which was also very good, and I'd give that one 4/5 stars—I'm glad Peacock has it, because it was one I wanted to see in the theater. We also saw Saltburn, on Prime, which was weird but good—another one I wanted to see in the theaters but didn't have time for—and I watched May December on Netflix, too, which was loosely based on the Mary Kay Letourneau story, and both Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore were great in it.
    Today I am hoping to see Migration after work, and, if I'm awake enough LOL (I'm tired today), maybe throw in a double-header of Aquaman 3D after that and get myself some pretzel nuggets there for dinner in-between; for some reason they gave me a 50% off mobile order coupon, in the AMC app, and I also have my free birthday popcorn and soda coupon to use. 
  4. Seeing Cirque du Soleil Crystal at LCA. Last night, my fiance and I plus two friends and their baby went to see Cirque's ice show, at LCA. I had seen this twice before, but once was Crystal (this version) and once was Axel, I believe (a different show, technically). I have to say I was BLOWN AWAY by this one—I love Cirque du Soleil, and I see them frequently in Vegas, and this was as good as any of the Vegas shows, IMO. It's in town until Sunday—read more at my blog post here. 
  5. All-day New Year's Eve get-together. Two of my fiance's friends invited us over for what was essentially an all-day NYE party, because they were smoking a brisket and started it at 9am, I believe. The brisket was ready for dinner, around 7pm, and was delicious, and we snacked on tasty appetizers the rest of the day; the hostess is great at cooking. We also played some games, such as Bad Company—a new one for me, and a lot of fun—and Cards Against Humanity, and my fiance and I left around 12:30am after the ball had dropped on TV. 
Cirque du Soleil Crystal, at LCA
Cirque du Soleil Crystal, at LCA

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