A Little R&R

In the past couple of weeks, I have been so stressed at any given moment that I could barely tell you my last name without stopping to think. My personal life is one stress: after I moved and set up temp housing at the folks, I've still been searching for a new place to live (aka plan for another move in my near future). Yet, professionally I've had another stress: not only is my job scope changing, but I was given a project to work on for the CEO and it was due on September 16th-- the exact day that I had already asked for a half day off to head up to Redding for a birthday weekend with Cathy. The timing was great-- I could work my head off then drive to Redding and sleep. 2 weeks ago, I hoped that I could hold on long enough for this plan to work.

Thank God, it worked great. I went from a 6:30 am breakfast presentation for work, then home around noon, packed and drove to Redding. I would have tried to get a nap in but Cathy and I were going to a concert that night at the Cascade Theater with her friend Kathy. We went to see the glorified Glee Club called Straight No Chaser.

It was one of the most entertaining concerts that I have ever been to. They were so talented and you forgot that there wasn't even a band there to back up the music. This was one of my favorite pieces they did and they added a new Lady Gaga number that was amazing (even though I don't like Gaga, I like making fun of her). The youtube video was taken the day after my concert at their Oregon stop so it's fresh. Anyway the sound was incredible, and we got great seats (below taken from my iPhone). Happy Birthday, Cathy!

The rest of the weekend was not quite as restful as intended. You see, I had a mission over the weekend, and, with Cathy's help, I could maybe accomplish the task of making something edible. It's wasn't exactly this:

But there was a lot of joy in eating. The first night, Cathy taught me how to make Bruschetta and that's all we ate for dinner. I've been craving it every night since. Sophie liked it too-- she was at Cathy's feet the entire time trying to get some more. Finally, she settled down to snuggle.

Berry Pie: I counted. I poured. I floured. I baked.

Well, Cathy did have to repair the crust I made from scratch.

We also ventured to make Orange Rolls. These took the longest to make-- they had to rise 3 times throughout the day.

Tasks Completed! Move over, Rachael Ray.

Sunday afternoon, we made my favorite, Parmesan Chicken. There it is, being simmered in white wine. Cathy said to cook it until the wine is gone. Why sacrifice all the good stuff?

Abby and Marty came over to help us eat everything. Sophie enjoyed seeing her Redding friends again. So did I, Sophie.

I'm back-- 5 lbs heavier-- but I've been working so hard that I consider it fuel for the next leg of the journey. And, well, the next leg doesn't have Angelo in it. He's still a friend but I'm learning to trust my discernment skills in the relationship department. I know what I need to know already. It's just one less stress on me at the moment, and it's fine. Back to work, back to house hunting, and backing to laughing. I'm really happy right now.