I Plead the Fifth

So recently I became what a lot of people would consider the confidant in a messy relationship feud. The big problem is that I am stuck in the middle. Both parties confide in me and both are wrong. It reminds me of a tug-of-war where both sides were oddly evenly balanced and you had to wait for the rope to tear before anyone got to stop pulling... So does that make me the rope?

I don't want to be the rope. In fact I have decided to be the kid who has a really bad bone disease, and his mother doesn't let him play the game, or even get anywhere near it. Yep, I am going to be the girl in the plastic bubble... nah nah nah nah I can't hear you. :-D

So now I have to do something to avoid getting caught, and like I do best, I make a list:

1- Spend time on the internet "researching" and reading news. I am looking up odd and interesting things to eat up my time, and failblog and xkcd only go so far to help. Any suggestions? I also need help with ideas on what news sources are clear and concise so as to tell me the news without me having to read. (I would rather read a good book then get caught up in news that it just going to depress me)

2- Read my books. I have three, or four, possibly five laying around. I am starting with Twilight, but there is only so much I can read of that at one time without thinking that I am wasting time. So 2 chapters at a time, I am taking it easy.

3- Finding my "letter recipients" for lent. Yeah so far I have only thought of one or two people, and none of the people are apology letter. I would have liked to send one of those out this week, but decided that the two that I REALLY want to send should not be sent till later. So I have one letter for this week that is just going to keep me in touch with someone, and now I need more.

4- Doing my gamer thing, (I will say for the record I am not a REAL gamer) and making achievements happen. There are a few that I am looking into and I think they might take a while, but I am going to get them done.

5- Putting my organizational skills to work, and making the basement seem more like a bedroom. I have things all over the place and really need to make things seem a little more livable.

6- Pull a fast one over at least 50 people in one shot. I don't know how or why, but I am going to do it because it is spontaneous and possibly fun, dangerous, or at the least, very scary!!

They are small things and nothing like major achievements in life, but they work for now to keep me busy when I can't leave the house all the time.

Fat Tuesday

So in the spirit of the day, I am fattening up... sort of. Taking in all of those simple pleasures that I know I will soon have to give up. for instance there is this really ridiculous game I play online, and I am getting in a couple hours today because I am no longer paying to play it, and therefore losing my subscription rights to the game. There are also some things I am giving up for Forty days... like I won't eat meat tomorrow or any Friday within those forty days, and I will not allow myself to self-criticize, or complain all the time. It's just those bad habits that I feel honestly make me look bad. I also and devoting each week to one person. This means I will be sacrificing time that I may have seen as better spent before to write a letter to someone that I feel needs it. I also will send it out during that week and not expect a response. I am thinking up my person for this week, and I have realized how hard it is to think of people that I feel need to hear from me for one reason or another. I think this week will be the hardest, and it is going to be an apology letter. There are so many people I could apologize to, but only a couple that I really want to. I won't take the easy way out, so I am going to get cracking!!

Anyone else out there starting something special or giving something up that deserves mention?

Water Works Restaurant in Philadelphia, PA

Me and Nicholas went here for Valentine's Day, and had the sweethearts dinner.

Overall Rating &stars; &stars; &stars; &stars; (out of 5 stars)

Atmosphere: Very calm, quiet and inviting. Staff was attentive and friendly. At the entry, a woman was present to take our coats. hostesses were very friendly, and seated us quickly per our reservations. Our waiter greeted us immediately and offered us champagne. Although we passed on the champagne, he was eager to inform us on what was available. there was a floor to ceiling waterfall centerpiece to the room, and there were tea lights on each table. If a tea light went out, the staff returned with a new one. Fresh linens were placed on every table before the next set of couples. Waiters placed our napkins on our laps for us (which was odd, but really nice)
which were a deep red for the holiday meal.

Food: Simply amazing. There were four courses, which each course having a choice except the dessert. Nick and I both chose Lobster Bisque with Creme Fraiche and Chive Oil for the first course, and it was simply divine. It was creamy and delicious, and we were eager to move to the second course. Nick chose Diver Scallops Skewered with Pacetta with Granny Smith Apple Maple Syrup Gastrique and Baby Mache, they were cooked to perfection, and very nice. I chose Oysters on a Half Shell with Vanilla Blood Orange Sabayon. This was very tasty as well, and I enjoyed the presentation over seat salt. The third course was our main entree. Nick chose, Risotta with trifle emulsion. This was a a rather heavy course to take on for both of us, but it was very good. The risotta was very flavorful, and almost addicting. He was more than happy to enjoy the entire dish, but he did offer me a bite, which I have to say was nothing short of amazing. I chose the Kurobuta Pork Chop with Candied Sweet Fingerling Potato, Organic Baby
Vegetables, and Pomegranate Reduction. I have to say that this was simply amazing. The portions were rather larger (4 pieces of pork chop) but I was able to finish half in order to leave room for dessert. The pork was very tender, and the sauce was very complimentary to the meat. The vegetables that were paired with it, were also a very nice choice, and I was very satisfied in my choice. Our final course was dessert, and was what they called Chocolate Sensation. this definitely lived up to its name as it was nothing short of sensational. there were chocolate dipped strawberries that were decorated as a tuxedo (on Nick's plate), and a dress (on my plate) There were also red colored white chocolate heart cut-outs on each of our plates, the alternate piece of chocolate that the heart was cut out of was on the other person's plate, which to me made the presentation of the meal impeccable. The dessert itself was a creamy dream. It melted on my tongue, and I could not get enough of it. It tasted somewhat like a chocolate cheesecake, but it was not as heavy on the stomach.
All in all I was very pleased with my meal.

Price:
We paid roughly $200 for both of our meals, which included the tip we left for our waiter (roughly 25% due to the holiday) I feel that the whole experience was worth our money, and had we brought our cameras, we would have some worthwhile memories to cherish.

Unlucky in Love

So it is Friday the 13th and tomorrow is Valentine's Day, and I know not everyone in the world is feeling the vibe that I am. Some people just feel plain unlucky. Maybe they broke up with their sweetie a few months ago, or maybe a few weeks, heck maybe they broke up years ago, or even today! I just want all of my friends, family and even enemies to know that I will be celebrating for them. I hope that everyone who has ever graced my life (and even those who have yet to enter my life) meet the person that they most deserve. Whether that person makes you feel lucky, or unlucky on a day like today and even tomorrow, I hope that you feel love from someone. I feel everyone deserves at least that in their life.

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

Wallpaper

We got this book called "I am the Wallpaper" for my fiance's sister. I think it is making things worse for her. She doesn't seem to understand that being in a new school is hard enough without being so obsessed with Jesus and God. Not that I don't have religious beliefs of some sort, but I don't force my beliefs on others in attempts to make common ground between myself and others. I think that that is what she is doing though and I can't help but feel sorry for her as well as feel that she brings it on herself.

I blame the baptist girl that she was hanging out with before the move. Moreso I blame the mother of that girl for constantly writing her e-mails and telling her that everything will be fine if she just turns to God and lets him take care of her life for her. I don't believe that. I believe that we never get more than we can handle and that this is a test for her. I think she is failing at this test and I feel sorry for her. I am pissed at the mother. I feel helpless.

I really want to know what to do to help her, so we gave her a book about coping with not being the center of attention, and dealing with tragedy. I thought it would help her, but now it has turned her into the scapegoat of her own life. She feels that she is the wallpaper, unnoticed, but still important to people who don't understand her. I just wish I knew how to deal with a pre-teen.

Family Values

We visited Nick's family this weekend, and it was a lot of fun. It was kind of nice to have a visit where it wasn't all "what can we do for you" as opposed to just being there and having fun with his family without having to work our butts off and be exhausted the entire time. We spent most of Saturday on the road, and then didn't really feel like going anywhere, so we hung out playing games. After that we decided that we were going to eat and get to bed because we were truly exhausted. Sunday was a fun day as well. We went with his mom to the outlets in Maryland and had a ball. We bought a few books, and I finally got the Twilight book so I can see what all the hype is about. We got a few books for Nick's brother and sister in hopes the gaming will decrease and the reading will commence. After that we went to get Nick some new shoes. I found a couple pairs that I really liked for him, and we ended up getting two. One will be for work and the other for everyday use. After that we got some pretzels and headed home. We spent some more time with the kids and then headed back to New Jersey. It was good to be out and see his family, but it was time to be back to the daily grind. We hit Walmart on the way home and grabbed him some socks and under shirts. It was like we were starting over again. For some reason the lack of stress was fun, and it normally doesn't happen for us!

Now that we are back to daily life, few things have happened. Except one really big thing. The eldest of the twins has learned to climb from his crib, and into his sister's... This might be an interesting week in New Jersey!

Had a Bad Day Again

So obviously yesterday was a bad day, but today was a little better. I woke up not wanting to die, but feeling like my body was willing to give up at any moment. But somehow as soon as i got upstairs, things changed BIG TIME! The youngest girl in the family is really sick and vomited everywhere, she is crying her eyeballs out, and all she wants is her blankie. As soon as she sees me though it all changes, and that changes me. She wants love. Just me to hold her, and make her feel like that rumbling in her tummy was just the need for love talking.

So I sit with her, the crying stops and she just stares at me for about an hour. Happy that anyone gave her the time of day, and loved her. And in those awesome moments, I realized that she is the one person in the house who was in that moment loving me unconditionally. It didn't matter if I changed her diaper, and she had a rash that hurt while I was doing it the other day. What mattered to her was that I gave her the comfort that she needed for those few moments, and was willing to give up my morning coffee for it.

Honestly, she probably knows nothing about what coffee is for me, but she knows that moments like those are precious, and now, so do I.

Now it is on to think about things that I need to do for my hubby to be. He needs something special for all that he does for me, and I want to give it to him.

Where are you?

Also, to my one faithful reader... Where are you Dr.? I can't find your blog!!!

I am sick today, that's my excuse. What's yours?

So I realized this morning that I am rather cranky when I am sick. So I tend to treat people really bad, get possessive over everything, and am downright a pain in the ass. However, I normally am not like that all the time. So when someone else is not sick but they are still acting like a royal turd, I tend to think "what the hell is your problem." I normally don't actually ask it out loud, but I couldn't help myself today as I was downright miserable and not really in the mood to be forced to work all day long. One of the guys I live with was being a royal pain, and when I told him that I was feeling a little crappy today, he shrugged it off and said "we all are, you get used to it." I shrugged that off as it most likely was just a careless brush off since he has been really sick. However the comment that followed my coughing up blood, pissed me off to no end. I had posted an update on my status on a network site and received a call from my fiance asking if I wanted him to come home. Of course I would love for him to come home, except there is nothing that he can do for me as I am simply sick. When the guy I live with asked who was on the phone, I told him and he asked why. I told him it was because he was concerned about my coughing up blood, and he responded with "You should do that online thing you do and buy yourself a humidifier, and while you are at it, we have a humidifier downstairs and you should find us a filter."

All I could think of was "What the hell is your problem!?!" and that is what came out.

He looked dumbfounded, and didn't say anything. Then he looked right at me and shrugged saying "I was trying to help" and walked away.
Some people really do have a stick up their butts about something, and I think it needs to be dislodged! Either that or it needs to go up further and rupture their digestive system. Either way, this guy has issues, and I am still sick. Facing the day minute by minute, and doing nothing restful to get over this thing, because unlike everyone else in the house, my job can't stop just because of a little sickness.