Weekend Update and Music Monday!

 This weekend flew by. We had dinner with my mother on Friday night. We went to Sweet Tomatoes. It's one of those situations where the kids like getting to pick whatever they want to eat and I like that the choices are pretty healthy.

Saturday, we saw Toy Story 3. I cried a lot. I'm not going to give anything away, but I think if you liked the other two you'll like this one. We had ice cream after the movie and then we went to our friend John's house for dinner. John made homemade wings and french fries and our friend Norb brought some amazing pizza. It was from The Pizza Oven and if you are in the Tampa area and you like Pizza I recommend you try it. (Also, try the flan. I don't even like flan most of the time and this was amazing. It wasn't too gelatinous, if that makes any sense. I can't deal with slime and this is a nice custard. Follow them on Twitter here.)

At one point during the evening, John's dog dropped his bone down the stairs and chased it down. It sounded like a body to me, and I wasn't the only one to think so. Before I could get to the stairs and find out if everyone was alright, my daughter yelled "Mom!? Are you okay?!" She knows me pretty well. I am the Queen of Clumsiness.

Sunday, we just chilled out at the house. Max and I made chocolate chip cookies. Annika played TMNT: Turtles in Time. I made a pretty sweet lunch that everyone actually liked for once. I made a pork loin, black beans and rice, and then we had a salad too. The black beans were really good. I didn't even mess up the rice this time! It was like a pre-4th of July miracle. Especially when Annika cleaned her plate with minimal fuss AND said the beans were really good. I was thrilled.

Sunday night, James and I took it easy and had dinner at Steak N' Shake. Is it wrong that I think Hardee's has better onion rings? (I never used to eat there, but my husband says where he is from they have them all over the place and in some cases they are more popular than McDonald's and Burger King. I only have had a few things there, but I like their Frisco sandwiches. My love of Sourdough bread strikes again, I suppose.) We came home, he played around on the computer, and I played Urbz: Sims in the City.

Now, Monday is here. I cried when I woke up because I didn't want to get up and go, but then I told myself to stop being a baby. I'm having a baby, not becoming one. I don't necessarily feel any better, but then I don't feel any worse.

This work day was brought to you in part by the following:





Michael Buble - Cry Me a River.
(Very large opening, musically. I love it.)




No Doubt - Spiderwebs




OutKast - Morris Brown
(Yes, I do have a very weird taste in music. Very simply put, I like it. Well, unless I don't.)

Doctor's Office Observations

• When I ask upon arrival if you need a urine sample and you say you don't and that I can feel free to use the restroom, it really is mean of you to change your mind ten minutes later. Especially when your response to my confusion is "You're pregnant, you've got it in you."
• There was a woman exiting the waiting room. I noticed she had the word "Girl" tattooed on her wrist. Was she concerned that she might forget? Wouldn't it be easier to look at your permanently affixed sex organ?
• Asking me if I signed in as I'm leaving the office really makes no sense. How would you have known I was there if I didn't sign in?
• You should probably have your electrical equipment charged prior to my arrival. It's slightly bizarre to have to wait because the light in the device that looks inside my ear isn't charged.
• My doctor's office has food EVERYWHERE. He has granola bars and fruit that I like, but I always feel too guilty to take them. Is that weird? He also has candy in every room of his office. Apparently, he understands that dangers of a hungry pregnant lady, but has underestimated my need for his permission to take it. They need to have a sign that says "Take ONE."

WAKEY! WAKEY! Music for Monday.

I heard the following on my way to work this morning. It made my day.

Watch out for that bus!

Urban Dictionary defines throwing someone under the bus as "to sacrifice some other person, usually one who is undeserving or at least vulnerable, to make personal gain."(Granted, Urban Dictionary isn't usually a reference I'd use.)

If you make a habit of doing this, it is going to drive me crazy. Beyond that, it makes me lose respect for you. It doesn't even have to be me rolling around under there. I can't deal with seeing it done to other people. The bottom line is that we should take responsibility for ourselves. If it's not your fault, stop wasting time with tattling. Simply fix the problem and move on.

Mid-Week Update

It's been a while, so I'll start from last week. Pregnancy has taken my ability to stay up past ten and, until yesterday, I didn't have a personal computer to use at home. Now that I have this laptop setup, I should be on a more normal schedule.

Last week was my son's ninth birthday. It was hard to believe that he was already halfway to legal adulthood. Beyond that, it's hard to believe that 9 years ago I had my first child and later this year I'll be giving birth to my third child.

                                           Annika at Max's birthday party.

I already feel so connected to this little unborn boy. I'm not able to think of him as a fetus or anything other than a baby. He moves around constantly. It feels like having a giant fish bowl in your body. We still have not decided on a name, but I'd be a big fat liar if I said I hadn't fallen completely in love with the name Jack, though Jackson is also acceptable.

I've been watching huge amounts of The Big Bang Theory. It's arguably my favorite show of all time, after Star Trek. I find myself laughing hysterically and almost to the point of tears. I feel like I know these guys. They remind me so much of my friends. If you've missed it, I recommend you catch up. Now. I'd also be lying if I didn't tell you that I'm terribly attracted to Sheldon, played by Jim Parsons. You know I can't pass up a smug know it all.

An interesting thing that I learned this week. My husband vacuums the futon. Seriously. He uses a regular full size vacuum cleaner and no attachments. I suppose this is not terribly abnormal. It seems quite practical really, but I've always been the type of person to simply wash the cover.

This morning, I have a doctor's appointment and then a long day at work.

Tomorrow, my son and his brother will be doing a fashion show at Countryside Mall. (He claims to be a fashion model now.) The show is at seven, so if you want to see children modeling mall clothes come see me!

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.