"... And Bubble Gum Pie! Yum!!"

*sigh* so here we are again. The middle of the week. Ready to be done.

For dinner tonight I'm making Jambalaya. I cheated a little though. I bought a box of Jambalaya rice (Zatarain's of course), but I also got some sweet sausage, Cajun shrimp (from the deli), and a can of fire-roasted, diced tomatoes to make it a little less blah and a little more home-madey. OH! And salted potatoes as a side dish.

I'm a big fan of doing prep before I actually "cook" because it makes everything run a lot smoother and makes clean-up (Wes' job!) much easier... so my sausage is cooked and cut, the shrimp are peeled, and the potatoes are boiled, buttered, and salted. Just the rice needs to be boiled!

Work tonight. A lecture from a DelVal alumni and then lunch at Lillys with Lynette (research for my review!) tomorrow. Without a nap.

Maybe pictures of snowy campus tomorrow... maybe. I've been thinking of changing my PhotoBlog layout as well... it seems like other blogs have much more space for pictures. I upload the largest version it'll allow me too and it's not like they're small files... so I don't know why mine are coming out kinda small. ARG!

My friend, a fellow foodie from school, is weirding me out. Last Thursday, when I was out to dinner with Lynette, he texts me and asks if he can ask my advice on something that he hasn't told anyone about. Why this kid thinks my opinion is valid, I'll never know. Don't get me wrong, I'm very flattered that he's concerned with what I think, but when I say "kid," I don't mean "kid." This guy is 30 years old with a fiancee and daughter! Anywho, he describes this situation that I've seen and experienced a thousand times: There's this other girl and she makes me feel so special and I can tell her anything and I've known her for so long and I feel like (the fiancee) is ignoring me and I think she might be planning on leaving me... what do I do?! It's that "what do I do?" at the end that I dread.

It's easy for someone on the outside of the situation to rationalize a desirable outcome and give logical advice. But, as anyone who's been in a relationship knows, only the people within the relationship can fully understand it in all it's messy glory... and to which there is anything but logic involved. When my friend was texting (the worst way for a convo like this to be held), I know he was making this girl sound amazing and dimming his fiancee. I actually have yet to meet her, but from what I've heard of her, from my friend and from other people, she's not a terrible person by any means. My friends problem is he is extremely insecure with himself and his fiancee, who has a full-time job and is a mother to a lovely daughter, has not had the time to dote and compliment and be fully attentive to. Then this other girl comes along who he hasn't spoken to in however long, and is sweet, and adoring, and smiley and all those things that fuel my friends self-esteem.

So what do I suggest? Well, the obvious: "Don't talk to her. Don't respond to her emails/texts/calls. I'm not saying be a dick, but focus on your fiancee and your daughter. "The grass is always greener" and it's not like you're living a terrible life."

Did he listen? Not really. Apparently she came to visit him at his job (he claims that he can't avoid her because she knows where he works, lives, blah blah blah) on Monday and he wasn't willing to say, "I can't chat, I'm at work, I'm busy." So. Whatever.

Look, if the guy were obviously miserable, I'd say "Leave." But I honestly don't think he is. He just needs that attention to feel good about himself. I just hope he's smart enough not to do anything stupid.