Envy

Envy is a very dangerous thing.
It destroys friendship.
It makes people take each other for granted.
It causes immaturity to sparkle at the top.
It causes stomach aches.
It results in tears.

When one person tries to rise above, but the other defaults -- then when is it the right time to give up?

Well, my dear friend who's stuck in a hard place right now. I wish you all the luck in a happy choice and disposing of the dark energy around you.

Where has the month gone by?

Sorry, I didn't realize I had been absent for almost 20 days. I guess that's what the holiday season can do to you. The last two days have been spent with family, being merry and bright, full of holly jolly. We started the festivities on Monday evening at my sister's. It was filled with a usual small dosage of family drama. She put on a good menu, but was stuck in the kitchen for most of it. K overdosed on cheese - I think he had 4 or 5 goat cheese balls - the little man loves cheese, but I think he'll pay for it when he cannot expel the cheese in a timely fashion. We stayed until 10ish - which was two hours past his bedtime. He did well for the most part, with just a small breakdown at the end. I wish my parents would just understand that they need to give him 15 minutes to adjust to his surroundings and then he'll be just fine. But sometimes in their anxious joy to see him, they forget - causing a small tantrum to break out and mommy needing to come to the rescue.

The second day was a very long day at the hubby's family. We started late morning with presents and caramel rolls (you can't go wrong with caramel rolls). K enjoyed opening his gifts, following his cousins around and playing in the snow. Then we had a great break until dinner - folks were supposed to arrive at 3, and I think everyone was able to get there by 4 - due to the fabulous snowfall. We opened gifts - receiving mucho duplicatos - and then ate dinner at 6. It was a long day, but full of good cheer and family.

Wishing you and yours a happy holiday season and joyous new year!

Burning Sensation

The frigid temperatures have been a shock to my old system. The cold is so bitter that when you inhale it feels as though all the tiny hairs in your nostril have been lit on fire and are burning away the inside of your nose.

The day of the first snow during the week was laughable. I went out to catch my bus after work and their were mobs (I mean MOBS) of people waiting on the corner. Most people ended up spending at least an hour waiting to get on a bus. It was ridiculous. By the time I finally got home, my feet were so frozen they felt like they were in flames.

I love snow - I prefer winter apparel - but I could do without the burning.

A Change in Direction

I'm going to take the blog into a slightly different direction - while you'll still find the occassional meanders about life's lessons, insight into experiences, I also want to use this as a platform to give proper recognition to those enjoyable experiences in my life.

Let's start by giving notice to a couple of restaurants that I've had the pleasure of spending a little money on as of lately.

The first one is in a little city called Chicago - Frontera Grill. I satisfied my pallete there at the end of September - because the menu is ever-evolving I can't give you the specific name of my dish - but it was a fish dish with the most splendid mole sauce. Divine, divine, divine. It was perfection - just the right amount of spice. The service was excellent - I highly recommend it for anyone interested in Mexican cuisine that's a step or two above the rest.

The next restaurant I'd like to highlight is a local favorite I like to go to lunch to every once in a while. Vincent's a Restaurant. Now, this is not a restaurant to go to lunch to if you have a 1 o'clock meeting - this is where you go to lunch when you have an extra half hour and you can savor the delicacies brought forth. From the yummiest butternut squash soup to a delectable goat cheese and beet salad - Vincent's treats me right every time.

The last recognition I'd like to give is for a delightful dessert that I had the pleasure of enjoying a couple weekend's okay. That would be the warm, gooey pear bread pudding at the Palomino. Just thinking about it makes me all cozy inside.

Okay -- I'm hungry!

Day of Giving and Thanks

Things I am thankful for...

• my stable, but sometimes dramatic, marriage
• my 36 going on 15 year old husband
• our fabulous, precious, most delightful son
• a warm shelter to call my home
• a job that provides challenges and excitement
• friends who help keep me grounded
• friends who provide me fodder for laughter
• a family that likes me (most of the time)
• memories of pleasantries I am able to re-live from time to time
• being able to count to ten when holiday shoppers get on my best nerve
• knowing that tomorrow will always be a new day