Restless

I am restless...and slightly bored. I have great urges to be out and about and exploring. To breathe in fresh air and be surrounded by energetic vibes. It's frustrating when your pool of people to experience these things with are slim and those people are married with kids, hermits, unemployed or flaky. Like I said before, this making friends business isn't for the weak in spirit. It's not easy and is slightly exhausting.

I definitely haven't felt like being cooped up at home stitching so uh, I don't have anything of substance to show. I did frog what I had started on Christmas Rules though. I know, I know...I said I wasn't going to but I'm a little OCD when it comes to things like that. The red didn't bleed and it was smooth sailing...for once. We won't even talk about how I got chocolate on the fabric. I mean seriously, something is up with this project. I should throw it in the corner and call it a day.

So instead of stitching, I've been reading. I've been trying to get through The House at Riverton by Kate Morton.
The first 100 pages were a struggle for me and as slow as I read, that took me a while. But once I got through the first 20% of the book, I really got into it and attached to the main characters. I read the last 100 pages in one night...so curious to find out what happened and what the ending would be like. I think I got into The Forgotten Garden almost immediately and I was a little frustrated that the outcome wasn't the same with The House at Riverton. But in the end, it was a wonderful read. I have Kate Morton's last book in hand as my next read. It's called The Distant Hours. I read the prologue and already got all confused. I will have to read it again.

I did volunteer this week at the food bank and I think the art sorting event was much more fun. I think that people were just so focused at their tasks at hand that there was less into socializing and more into counting. Do you know how many small oranges equals 3 pounds? The answer is 10-12. I do have a note, you probably shouldn't volunteer at the food bank so soon after treating yourself to a manicure. Lots of polish chips! Oh well, it's all for a good cause.

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I did have a nice time at my dinner event last weekend. We tried this southern cuisine restaurant in a sketchy area of the city...Tenderloin. If you're a tourist, this is the neighborhood you don't really want to get lost in. It can be eyeopening and annoying. Me...I walk fast, mind my own business and say a lot of "not today" to the people asking for money. We all met at Farmer Brown and had a really nice meal. I had cornmeal encrusted catfish with yams, green beans and pickled onions. It was a huge portion and just divine. My only complaint was that the yams were too sweet but that also meant, my sweet craving was fulfilled and I didn't need to order dessert! The served complimentary jalapeno cornbread which were delicious but small. The group was very friendly and diverse but I think I was the youngest. I'm not sure how well suited the group will be for me since I'm most interested in meeting people more my age who are interested in going out.

We all went our separate ways after dinner and it was still so early so I went to visit with a friend of mine who I hadn't seen in a few months. This friend is also an old-ex from over a decade ago. I know it may seem strange but talking to him is opening up my eyes to the Valerie I was. At least the aspects I would like to get back so it's a nice kind of reminiscing. I was shocked to see him though. He had hit a very rough patch due to the economy and just recently found a job. It's a job way below his previous classification and pay range but he is very happy and positive to just have a job. I don't ask how bad things got but I think the fact that he lost 70 pounds (I'm guesstimating) is a big indicator. If I had passed him on the street, I would not have recognized him at all. Serious! I am still in shock that he transformed from a teddy bear kind of guy to a skinny (a little too) kind of guy. I have intense urges to bake and fatten him up a little. As it was, I left him with two huge homemade blueberry muffins I had made just because I happened to bake...not because I knew he needed a little plumping. It kind of puts things in perspective a little. To be a little happy and thankful that you have a job that allows you to pay the rent and the car payment and the bills and FOOD...even if your job makes you a tad unhappy and seems tedious. Some people out there are struggling and are too proud to let you know that they need help and are unable to find jobs and are at the point of being happy for ANY job.

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The other day, I gouged myself in the eyebrow because I got a little tweezer happy. I do that sometimes...I have this thing for keeping the perfect arch and I get a little carried away. This made me remember an email I got from some guy on that annoying dating site. He said he "liked my eyebrows" and that I looked like I could be "Christopher Mintz-Plasse's sister". I had to Google...I didn't know who that was. Apparently, I'd be his older sister because this guy is a kid! I was 13 when this kid was born.
I'm not sure how I feel about being told I look like Christopher Mintz-Plasse's lookalike in girl form. I guess I can see it a little bit but what a weird thing to say to initiate conversation.

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Thanks for all the nice comments and thoughts on my last couple of posts. My dad had his surgery and seems fine and is driving already. I have the feeling he's going to forget his eyedrops and/or get them confused. My sister told me the drill and I'm confused myself!

Hope you all have a great weekend! TGIF!

Until next time...