Get Away (no, not you... me!)

This week is decidedly better than last. Not that everything has been resolved; but some of it has, and I'm just trying to deal better with the rest. Plus, the weekend away did me loads of good.

I knew that we were going away, but the details were a surprise to me. Handsome Hubby planned the whole thing. Turns out, we stayed at a wonderful Bed & Breakfast in the City. It was great. Plus, the B&B has a restaurant attached to it that is out of this world. The type of place that you go to for special occasions (at least, that's what it is for us) where the chef doesn't know what he's cooking until that morning, when he goes to the market and gets what's fresh and inspiring. Love it! I had my suspicions that we were going there, as that's where we celebrated Valentine's Day last year. Looks like we're making a new tradition out of it. Sweet!

But there was a surprise that I had no idea about... HH surprised me with tickets to the symphony for that night! Neither of us had been, so it was really cool to do something new. We were definitely in the lower age-bracket of patrons, but we had fun! (The cocktails didn't hurt either!) Really though, we both enjoyed it a lot. There's something really special about hearing a full orchestra, live. I couldn't count the number of times I got chills!

It was just so nice to have a weekend away. Away from the phone, email, laundry, cleaning... basically away from responsibilities of any size, shape, or form. And going to a place that was a short drive from home was great. Out of the house enough to be away from it all, but no wasted time or energy traveling. And really, it couldn't have been at a better time.

An 'off' week

Ever have an 'off' day? Ever have an 'off' week? That's what my week has been like. Was it the worst week of my life, certainly not. But, it's been a bit crappy. The only way I can describe it is that I've just felt very 'tender'. It seems like every area of my life has been throwing curve balls at me over the last 5 days. Work, Friends, Marriage, you name it.

I've been really affected by some life and death issues currently happening to some friends of mine. So, I'm mourning for them, and some other friend stuff is going on, but more along the 'communication' lines. Then some work stuff happened where I'm really being tested (more than the usual anyway). Really, every arena of my life. I don't feel like, or want to, go into details (for many reasons). I just feel exhausted and felt like posting here as an outlet.

Last night, I got home late and was totally beat. But I couldn't fall asleep for the life of me. I was so exhausted, I couldn't believe I just *couldn't* fall asleep. My mind kept running. Running over everything that's going on. Running over all the stress and pressure I'm feeling, over and over and over.

What am I supposed to learn from this? What is this week supposed to be teaching me? I hope I figure it out, because in my philosophy of life, if I don't, it'll just come right back to me. Except stronger.

I hope this weekend away will give me some much needed rest, and a chance to reflect back on some stuff. [insert big sigh here]

Dinner for two?

The table is set, but where are the guests?

Ahhhh... how romantic....

Happy Valentine's Day!

Yum, yum, in my tum, tum.

Historically, Handsome Hubby and I had the following arrangement: He would cook and do most of the post-dining clean up (ie: dishes), and I would clean the house. It worked out for both of us, because cooking had really become a hobby for him, and he couldn't stand the thought of cleaning a toilet. I would still pitch in with the dishes and would cook maybe 5-10% of the time, and he would pitch in with the vacuuming here and there. But you know how it is, that was our rule of thumb.

Well, recently we re-negotiated! HH got tired of cooking all the time and since I'm now done with school and boards, the timing is right. So, what's the new arrangement? I'm going to be cooking dinner at least twice a week. It's true what 'they' say about marriage, it's a constant negotiation. Really though, I think it was time and that this is fair. Now, I'm no You Who, but I try...

Last night I made Thai Chicken and Sesame Noodles from a Kraft cookbook I have (I happened to find it online-just for you!). I can never find the dressing packet, so I usually just pick up a bottle of salad dressing that's similar. Usually I end up using the whole bottle (1/3C to marinate the chicken and the rest for the sauce). I also typically just cook the chicken on our George and use whatever pasta happens to be in our pantry. It's super easy to make and super yummy (my kind of dish)! We made some dumplings as a side dish (from frozen), and viola:

Lost Marathon

Lately, it seems like the tv show Lost has been coming up a lot in conversations. I've heard about it ever since it came out, but recently I've gotten more interested. I've never seen an episode, but when I saw my Homeboyz they were telling me how they bought the episodes, watched them for hours straight and are now hooked. Then, last weekend a couple of my Homegirls were telling me that it's totally my kind of show and that I'd really like it. And finally, this past week over lunch, a co-worker of mine was saying how she and her fiance had rented some of the 1st season episodes to watch and that they are now hooked.

Now, do I really need a NEW show to be hooked on (besides Grey's Anatomy, Real World/Road Rules Challenge, House, Oprah, etc etc etc)? No, of course not! But, knowing that the white fluffy stuff was going to make us house ridden this weekend, I convinced Handsome Hubby that we should give it a try. So, now I'm going to burn off my retinas with a marathon of Lost... I'll let you know if I make it out alive...

Sick, AGAIN

Yup, that's right, I'm sick again. I can't believe it. It's to the point now that I'm embarrassed because I've called into work so much. But what can I do? I am doing everything I can to try to stay healthy. I take a multi-vitamin, drink fluids, eat right, etc etc etc... If I'm coughing up a lung, have a fever, am constantly congested, and getting no relief despite the drugs I'm taking, what am I supposed to do??? Argh.