Kids last week of school before holidays. Friday night we're going to dinner at this cute, dim restaurant with twinkling holiday lights that we all love. Next week I only work half days Mon and Tues then off the rest of the week. Christmas shopping is done. Life is good for this usually stressed-out, last-minute mama!

My H would turn everything around so that it would be my fault and I'd be punished by him witholding affection, things, money, even refusing to eat at my fave restaurant when we'd been planning it for weeks. He insulted my BFF with a disgusting sexual remark and when she & her H no longer wanted to see us, it became my fault. When he got drunk and yelled and humiliated me in public and I got upset, it became my fault for calling him on it. I'm the poster of the awful adult stepkids post & when I objected to their bad behavior in our home he told me to leave MY OWN HOUSE that I half paid for if I didn't like it. OMG there is no end to the assholes in this world. Why the hell are these guys allowed to marry and reproduce?

You are not spoiled by your husband because he loves you so much. You are spoiled because you make your husband spoil you to make up for the things your dad never did for you. There's a difference. This girl is just so happy to always talk about how spoiled she is by her husband, buying her this and that and being so thoughtful. Yes he genuinely loves her, but they are also in debt up to their ears and thinks she's owed all this "stuff" because her dad never shared his hard earned money with his family/kids but yet doesn't think twice about giving to his mom (the grandma) and dad has more than stellar credit and even a 2nd home all on a short-order restaurant cook salary (not bad I say, kudos!), not head Chef somewhere in luxurious New York. Granted, the dad is kind of a dick for that by holding out on his family since they have gone without, but that doesn't mean she gets to make her husband pay for it. Yes, husband should stick up for himself but I don't think he realizes it. I just feel bad for them because they are hurting themselves when I know they truly love one another.

Once, we were picking up takeout from our favorite Chinese food place. They were taking an order on the phone and I think they didn't understand the address the guy on the phone was giving them. The manager gave the phone to my DH and said "You talk to him. Find out where we go to take food". My DH was a bit taken aback, but he talked to the guy and then showed the restaurant delivery guy how to get there on the map he had. They patted him on the back and told him he saved the day!

The Chinese food restaurant I use for my lunch here work, they are so rude, but in a funny way. They do not understand English at all and when they answer, it's always "yeah" or "hurry up you order". The Delivery guy calls me back two seconds after I call and asks for delivery address after I spent 5 minutes spelling everything for the gal that answered the phone initially. I had to spell it for him too, I also gave him my name like 100 times, and then asks my name and I go to spell it and he yells at me, "I know to spell it!, I too busy!" and then hangs up on me. LOL he made me laugh actually because he was getting so irritated with me for no reason. Food is so good though, and cheap and despite communication barrier, order is always on point and on time and when delivery guy shows up, he is always so nice and happy. Such a weird relationship they have with us here, it happens to all of us in our building.

NYC'ers..is it true that people go to Times Square on New Years Eve and wear adult diapers because there's nowhere to go to the bathroom? I've heard this quite a bit, wasn't sure if it was really true! (side note: I visited NYC and I'll be damned if I could find a public bathroom that wasn't in a restaurant that you had to patronize)

I think most of the stereotypes about my stare ARE true, but there's more to where I live than the stereotypes. People DO eat hotdish and I've never heard anyone say you betcha except in jest, but everyone says ya, instead of yeah, a lot. You don't notice it until someone points it out. A lot of people hunt and fish and have boats and snowmobile. Not just the whitey scandinavians that we're famous for either. My ex bf was Mexican and he was a rabid fisherman and hunter. That's another thing that people don't realize, we have a ton of non-whites. We have the second largest Hmong population outside of CA, the largest Somali population outside of Somalia, etc. That means we have tons of ethnic restaurants in the cities. Of course in northern MN it's a lot less diverse, but they're getting there. We have so many lakes that you can't go more than a mile without hitting a couple. It is really cold and it does snow a ton.

Just made reservations for myself at a not-so-local vegan restaurant for Thanksgiving! I'm excited, even if I'll be eating alone. I think I might go to the movies after!

There are a lot of stereotypes about my city- that it is violent, gritty, and hopeless. I wish people could see what I see- a vibrant city full of arts, culture, and friendly people. We have amazing restaurants, shops, and galleries. We have beautiful parks and farmer's markets. Today I drove by the lake and saw a big group of people there who regularly practice tight rope walking. Yes, it's a terrible city! Stay away, lol!

I saw a show yesterday that talked about a restaurant that serves fried eggs on top of french fries. The eggs were soft cooked, so when you sliced 'em up the goodness ran all over the fries and oh my..I want some right now