Top 10 reasons we EAT AT HOME

As we sat on the 5 freeway in bumper to bumper traffic last Saturday night, I told Dave, "This is reason #4 that I don't like going out to dinner anymore!"
Of course he said, "What are numbers 1, 2 and 3? (Hey, we were driving to a restaurant on Melrose in Los Angeles...we had LOTS of time to talk this one out!)
Here are TEN reasons we now eat at home 99% of the time. 
#1. I truly don't like having to get dressed up any more. I LOVE our weekends when we can sleep til 7, stay in bed til 8, be online til 10 and MAYBE go out and play tennis for a bit. I LOVE when we can stay home and watch a movie while we eat dinner in our jammies and SO enjoy when people come over to our house for dinner and we can be in our comfy clothes! (READ: I don't have any clothes that fit anymore.)
#2. I don't want to drive on the freeway, battle traffic, nearly get in 10 accidents, and play "beat the clock" the whole way to a restaurant!
#3. I don't want to spend $200 for dinner. Anymore, it's been $200 for dinner for four people. (And the two others are usually our kids and/or their significant others, so we want to treat.) A bottle of wine is $40. Seriously? We buy SIX bottles of wine at Ralphs for less than $40. I read several articles on "How to save money" throughout the year...the number one way is ALWAYS, 'Stop eating out.'
#4. Parking. Seriously. It's valet almost everywhere we go now. $7. $8. $10 with tip. (Don't even get me started on the gas to just GET there.)
#5. CRAPPY service. Having been a waitress (and a really good one!) for 15 years, I can't stand that we have to (kindly) ask for water, remind them to bring our cokes and beg for salt and pepper. I truly get angry that they take the bread away half way through the meal. Why?
#6. A snooty, WAY too pretentious sommelier! I would like this $40 bottle of Chianti. Please don't tell me it will have too much "cherry" flavor to enjoy with my meal. (Yep, the $40 bottle was the least expensive.)
#7. The MUSIC in restaurants these days is WAY too loud. I know, I know, we're in our 50s now...but is it too much to be able to have a conversation with the person seated across the table from you? The last few times we've gone out we TRULY could not hear each other over the music.
#8. I live with a wonderful chef. He cooks amazing meals (at a fraction of the cost, I might add) and they are always delicious and made with our tastes in mind. And he LOVES it. It's fun to watch him plan out a meal, shop for the ingredients and then see and TASTE how everything comes together! (And he's very cute too.)
#9. I love our home! I love our dishes and our table and the way we make our 900 square feet seem more roomy and OH so inviting! I LOVE having you to OUR house! I love making you feel special!
#10. At our home, we don't have to worry that we've stayed too long--that they need our table. They aren't going to come by every five minutes to see if everything is ok and they aren't going to hover and start taking everything away so that we leave!! I think I hate THAT most of all.
Nope, you can stay all night.
And you can come in your yoga pants or your JAMMIES if you want!
We can open two or three or FOUR bottles of wine. Hell, we buy six bottles a week whether we need them or not.
The food is going to be wonderful.
The service--superb! 
The company OH SO enjoyable.
There will only be the sound of laughter drowning out the conversation...
And, truly, sometimes, we eat on the same meal for three or four nights after...talk about saving money.And, most likely, if you're a guest in our home, we'll be sending you home with a doggy bag.

I'd be happy never eating out again.
Yeah, I know...that's silly.
But there's no place like home.