Weekend Update

This weekend was pretty quiet.

On Friday we went to the Friends and Family opening of BurgerMonger in Tampa. I liked it, but more than that I enjoyed hanging out with my friends. I feel like I have been staying home a lot more lately. While I think that is a good thing, I do miss adult conversation with folks from the outside world.

On Saturday, James slept until 11am. I played Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando. James later insisted I stop and play the games in order, so I started playing Ratchet & Clank. I had to put it down at one point because I got to a point that I couldn't pass because I kept drowning and I felt compelled to throw the controller. James wants a new TV, but I'm pretty confident that he'd be pretty angry if I destroyed this one in a violent rage.

I spent the rest of Saturday reading Shifting Plains and Little Stalker. I can't believe it was a two book weekend, but I suppose it is fitting since I was forced to get rid of so many. As it is with every book purge, I sobbed uncontrollably. I forced myself to think of Jainism. This helped me to think about the weight of my soul. In Jainism, one belief is that the things that we are attached to weigh down our soul. I am not my things and I can replace them whenever I want. I'll admit that I did shed a tear when I let go of The Devil Wears Tartan. I know it's a stupid romance novel, but I've read it at least three times. I also couldn't find my copy of Guardian's Key, which is one of my favorite books. This didn't help with the crying.

Bella knew I was upset and alternated between rubbing me sympathetically and looking angry, as pictured below.

I always am reminded of Oscar the Grouch when she makes this face.


Sunday, I played more Ratchet & Clank, but I stopped before I forgot to eat breakfast again. I then went to WalMart and bought tomato plants for our balcony. I spent about an hour in the Garden Center. It was hot, but I was fine when I was outside. When I came inside to get some groceries it was as if my body could not regulate it's temperature. I couldn't cool down and I admit, I was freaking out a little. I had a battery put into my watch and the store employee expressed concern about this unending hot flash. I assumed that it would end soon, but it didn't. I found myself in the middle of Walmart completely freaking out. I wanted to cry for a second or call James to come get me, but then I just got angry at the whole situation and decided that i am absolutely not putting up with this. I am not going to completely fall apart for no apparent reason in the midst of a grocery store and that I have made it just fine for the past nearly 30 years without calling people for help. I am not going to become a fainting WalMart lady. I am going to get my entire damned list of groceries, check out, and drive myself home. I am not becoming a showcase on People of Walmart.

I went home, made a banana cream pie and a pot pie, and watched America: The Story of Us.

Restaurant Notes

Recently, I moved to Riverview. It's near Brandon and not far outside of Tampa. I've been to a bunch of restaurants since I moved, but none of them were full post worthy. I would imagine you have tried some of them yourself.

• Crispers - It has a feeling like Panera or Atlanta Bread Company, but they bring the food to your table. It's not a bakery, but they do have cookies, shooter desserts, and a gelato station. I've been a bunch of times now and we like it. We took the kids and they really liked it also. We usually get the "Pick Two" special which allows you to get a salad and half a sandwich for $5.99. That's generally the perfect amount of food for me. The kids get a wooden nickle, so when they finish their lunch they get two mini cookies. The employees are not tipped, but if you leave one it will be donated to the United Way. TIP: The Tomato Bisque is very good. Smooth tomato taste that is followed by a warming spice blend.

• Mellow Mushroom -  The Mellow Mushroom is decorated exactly like it's name. There are huge mushrooms EVERYWHERE. I'm not going to lie. I liked it the design. I felt like I was Alice. The food was fairly priced.I know it is a pizza place, but I had the Tomato Bisque. To be honest, it was marinara in a bowl. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't what I would consider Tomato Bisque. The real story here is about the beer. They feature a wide variety to choose from including selections from Rogue Brewery, including Dead Guy Ale. (They get extra points for that.) I think next time we go I'll try the pizza. 

• ABC Pizza - I know everyone in Tampa Bay has tried it, except for me, but today I changed that. Sadia needed to eat and she planned to drink a glass of milk and a pain pill for lunch. I was not having any of that talk. (She's not anorexic, she has an impacted wisdom tooth.) I asked her what she wanted and she decided she wanted ABC Pizza's $2.99 Spaghetti lunch special. Another employee wanted the special and I decided on the $5.95 calzone and salad lunch special. When I went to pick up the food I was surprised at the amount of food they give you for $2.99. They give you what appears to be about 2 cups of spaghetti and sauce, two meatballs, and two pieces of garlic toast. Sadia and the other employee who I have not asked permission to list here said that the spaghetti was good, but they felt the sauce could use a slight amount of tweaking.

          My calzone was pretty good too. I didn't add anything to it, so it was just a cheese calzone, but I thought it was pretty good anyway. The crust seemed too hard at first, but when I actually ate it I had no complaints. It was good. The salad was very confusing. It starts out with about 1 cup of shredded lettuce. That is followed but one half slice of beef steak tomato, one half slice of cucumber, a sprinkle of Feta, and an olive. I ordered blue cheese dressing, but I got what appears to be their Greek dressing. I usually cringe at shredded lettuce because it tends to be bruised and browning, but this was fresh and crisp as if they had made it while I drove over. The best thing about the salad was the dressing. It was amazing. I didn't miss my blue cheese at all. I liked the freshness of the salad, but I would have made it with more tomato and cucumber. 
  
The restaurant we want to try next is Joel's Steakhouse in Valrico. Have any of you tried it? It looks interesting.

Update: What the heck's been going on?!

Recently, work has been incredibly busy. My boss moved away from the office and all of my work time is actually 100% necessary for completing the work that I do. In the past, I had some time to jot things down. I feel like a neglectful pen pal.

As you all know, I got married a few months ago. I then moved into my husband's house. That has been an adjustment. I think that I underestimated the sheer volume of things that I would lose and things that would have to change. I still feel kind of overwhelmed by it, but it's getting better. My cats seem to have adjusted pretty well. Instead of sleeping with me, they sleep by the door. I've only about killed myself tripping on them a million times. You'd think I would remember them being there by now, but it's not really the first thing on my mind when I walk out of the door in the morning.

Now, we're having a baby. I mean, not this exact moment, but at the end of the year. This is a definite change. Max and Annie are completely thrilled. James and I are very happy about it, but I am nervous. I am not really concerned with my parenting skills or about labor and delivery. It just seems that the moment I have a baby that everything goes completely wrong. I am less worried about it this time, because I am a lot older. I know what to do in case of things hitting the fan. I know what I am capable of. I worry less about what to do if that happens and more about how to keep it from happening.