Two Date Nights

HH and I had TWO date nights this week.  One was a more impromptu date on Tuesday night, and another on Friday night.  You know what that means...two new restaurants....WOOT WOOT!!!!

HH woke up to this note on Tuesday:

Mozzarella Restaurant and Bar...I've been dying to try this place out since my BIL was in the hospital. 

My handsome date!  At Mozz, I started with the Tuscan Bean soup.  Excellent flavor combinations.  The bruschetta came next.  This bruschetta was the best I'd ever had!  I could have just used a spoon and eaten it without the bread.  I could see myself coming back regularly for just those two items!  My main meal was Lobster Mac and Cheese.  It was great, but I did expect a better presentation of the main course.  I topped it off with a cannoli.

Cool lighting from the Louisville Glassworks Factory....

Friday would be considered a "mini" date.  We went out to dinner immediately following school while I still have energy and some train of conscious thought.  It is a system that has worked well for us in the past.

Destination: Eiderdown

Cornbread....it just sounded good.  :)

I loved braised pork, so I went for Homer's Daydream.  This dish had pork, sauerkraut, apples, and potatoes in it.  I knew I was taking a gamble with the sauerkraut, but I went ahead anyway.  It was amazing!  I loved the broth the pork was in.  I loved it so much that I asked HH to try it.  He made the most awful face you could imagine.  I couldn't believe he didn't like it.  I joked with him that Taco Bell had seriously impaired his palate.  He told me to never get a whim to make a dish at our house combining those ingredients.  Deal.

My ability to be a foodie and eat both of these meals were to HH's credit.  He "pre ate" so that I could order whatever I wanted at these restaurants.

Great Motivator for the Kids and Adults!!!

Testing Days!

This is a speech that HH and I like.  We are in the fourth day of our mandated state testing.  We have five more testing days.  Did I mention that my kids are ten and eleven years old?  NINE DAYS OF TESTING.

I'm pretty good at motivating the kids.  I did cry Tuesday night.  I had a boy who answered fourteen multiple choice questions in seventeen minutes...from two reading passages (five pages of reading).  He is a sweet boy, and wasn't doing it with any ill intent to me.  My job performance is based on "this test."  (It is not yet, but with about ten states where this is law, it is coming down the life quickly.)  There is no investment in the student doing well on this test.  HH let me cry, and I feel better now.

This is the video that I am showing my kids today....

What I'm Taking to Easter Dinner on Sunday

Pumpkin Fluff Dip

Peanut Butter Pie

Just for Kicks, I'm making Lick Your Lips Cake for work on Wednesday!  We have standardized testing this week, and I need something fun to look forward to!

Friendships

I'm struggling with one of my friendships now.  She has been going through quite a bit medically (nothing life threatening or anything) over the last several months, and my heart goes out to her.  I'm one of the only people she has to talk with.  The past month has gotten pretty intense with the amount that she needs me.  We are talking daily for about a half-hour each day, and it is only about her medical stuff and how she feels.  It is wearing me down.  This past week, I've looked at the phone with dread a few times rather than excitement when her number comes up.

Then there is the social aspect, as HH is friends with her husband.  I want to spend time with them, but our schedule is really packed.  Sometimes in a given week, our only "free" night I feel like we have this obligation to hang out with them, because we haven't seen them in two weeks or something like that.  HH and I love our times out, and we like doing fun stuff.  I'm always searching for our next cool thing, but with how insane work is right now, etc... sometimes I just want a night at home in the recliner.  I also want to protect some of my time with HH ONLY.  It is good to do group things, but it is also important to build time together as a couple alone.

I've only had one other person where the friendship became all take and no give.  Sadly, I had to phase this person out of my life.  It became too emotionally draining.  I guess I just worry that this friendship might be heading down the same path.

My Easter Basket

HH put together my Easter basket tonight.  Oh the goodies that await me!!!

Commissioning Ceremony

Last night, HH and I went to the U.S. Marines Commissioning Ceremony for my student teacher's husband.  I volunteered us to work the ceremony, so that she could relax more and enjoy herself.  It was really a neat thing to see.

I love this girl!!! :)

Backing Out...

I sadly had to BACK OUT on getting my dad his AWESOME Father's Day gift.  Here is the crooked way they hook you....

You cannot buy tickets to a single Yankees game at the Cincinnati Reds.  You must buy tickets to FOUR games.  With that, you get one Yankees ticket, and three tickets to much less desirable games.  I was going to have to purchase 8 tickets, and pay around $800.  There would be no way to come close to getting the money back through Ebay.

Now I am back to the drawing board....Hmmmm....

Sorry ChiTown Girl!

No offense to ChiTown Girl, and her beloved White Soxs, but I got my dad THE perfect Father's Day gift!!!  Father-Daughter tickets on June 20th to see them play in Cincinnati.  I could completely do without baseball, but this gift means the world to my dad.  I really like being at the point in life where I am able to give back to my parents after all they have given to me.  My dad was worried about the cost of the tickets, blah, blah....and I said they were free for dads.  :)  I told him he was going to have to start getting used to the fact that he has reached the point in life where we should be spoiling HIM and giving back to them.

These May Be the Death of Me...and a Funny Cartoon

I've never been a Jellybean person...but these I LOVE!