Week One in Review: If it is outside my apartment, I am in!

To make a long story short, the week of June 25 was one tough week. I discovered that my ex-boyfriend, who I had dearly loved, had been seeing his current girlfriend for around 2 months before he and I broke up. Lovely. Then, I learned that one of my good friends (we'll call him Techie) has 3 tumors, one of which may be inoperable (and that's the one that has cancer). My best friend, The Planner, was admitted to the hospital on Monday. They still don't know what's wrong with her (though they're narrowing it down, and she's home now).

I felt like a nutcase.

My week soon became a tally of small milestones:

Monday: went to work (major accomplishment). Re-discovered nyquil as sleeping draught. Learned that The Planner was in the hospital.

Tuesday: First day without a major breakdown. Straightened my hair. Had enough energy to clean my apartment (a little) and do my laundry (lots of that). Made plans to fill up the rest of my week. Used money from my Emergency Fund to sign up for swing dancing classes.

Wednesday: Felt hungry again, momentarily, and was able to force down most of my oatmeal and drink all of my coffee. Went to the gym. Straightened my hair. Considered makeup. Actually ate a couple of tangerines. Went to counselor appointment. Was able to read two whole newspaper articles. Got everything on my to-do list done before 2:00PM (although maybe that's not a good thing). Talked to Planner, who was released from the hospital.

Continuing with the series of small milestones, I re-discovered my laugh Wednesday night at the Young Dems volunteer night for the local city council candidate. :)

Here's a picture of me volunteering. :)

Thursday, went to Bonefish Grill in Fairfax with Marathoner, who treated me because she felt like I needed a Girls' Night Out (did I look that pathetic?). In any case, Marathoner has been raving about Bonefish Grill since she moved here almost two years ago, so I was excited to try it. The pomegranate martini was fantastic (Marathoner liked her chocolate martini as well). Bonefish Grill has a system where you choose the fish and how it's cooked, and then you pick a sauce for it from a number of different options (I cannot remember all of them, but there is a menu located on their website). Marathoner ordered the Salmon with Lemon Butter sauce with a side of garlic mashed potatoes. That sounded so good I ordered the same thing. It was delicious, all of it. Even though I can't remember what vegetables we got (corn maybe?) I remember those were delicious, too. It was so fantastic I was thrilled to take the other half home for the next days lunch. Too bad I left it on the Metro.


Friday, my friend Bond took me to Mark and Orlando's, where I had the crabcake and he had the New York strip steak. He loved his steak - said that it was very difficult to get a New York strip that tender (he seemed quite surprised by it). My crabcake...ehh...I've had better. Too much filler, not enough crab. Somewhat disappointing. Also disappointing were the little mushrooms underneath the crabcake, which were too salty, and the vegetables were not memorable. The tomato - mozzarella thing thing that we started our meal with, however, was fantastic, as was the Flourless Chocolate Cake with Homemade Coconut Ice-Cream. I was going to skip dessert at the restaurant and suggest going somewhere else for dessert (not a reflection on the restaurant, just something I tend to do), but Bond had his little heart set on that Flourless Chocolate Cake, and I'm glad he talked me into it.

Saturday, Marathoner and I got to visit The Planner, who, by this time, had been out of the hospital for a few days and was stir-crazy. The Planner is not someone who lets grass grow under her feet, to put it mildly. The fact that she is now physically incapable of moving around at the rate of speed to which she is accustomed is very frustrating for her. Still, it was great to see her on Saturday, and spend some time with my girls. We went for a little walk down to a little park at the end of her street, and then back to her apartment. They still don't know what's wrong, and she's still very frightened, but she's giving it the best outlook she can right now, and I really admire her for that. She's also the friend who is getting married in two weeks, so we commented on how fortuitous it was that The Planner is such a planner - all of the preparations for her wedding are done--all she has to do is get to the venue and walk down the aisle. Thank goodness! The way The Planner sees it, her dad will walk her down the aisle, the new Mr. Planner will walk her back, and Marathoner and I (we're bridesmaids, after all) will hold her up at the reception. :)

If you go:

Gotta Swing (various Metro DC locations)

Young Democrats of America (various locations nationwide)

Bonefish Grill

13005 Lee Jackson Memorial Hwy.

Fairfax, VA

Metro (all over DC)

Mark and Orlando's

2020 P St. NW

Washington, DC 20036