Jim and I met up with Ruby and Beth for Sunday Monday brunch at Mimi’s. The place was pretty empty. Jim and I both love their Cinnamon Brioche French Toast and were disappointed they were sold out of it. We enjoyed our alternate selections. In the booth next to us just over a half wall, a child cried and cried. We were getting upset with the mother and father’s disregard for anyone else’s comfort. The best they did was stare at their daughter… emotionless. Apparently my occasional “dirty look” didn’t help. After what felt like eternity, Beth asked the server if we could move. He moved us to a section that was closed off and quite quiet. I really wanted to confront the couple. I really did. How rude of them. Waiting out your kid in a restaurant isn’t appropriate. Save that shit for home. I’m sorry if I offend any reader with children but either don’t go out or take your kid outside for some disciplinary action. If we weren’t able to move, our experience would have been ruined.
Jim wanted to go bowling but we couldn’t get enough players. Next time.
After a partly horrible dining experience, we all headed to the Northlake Mall. Beth wanted to buy a summer dress. Ruby decided she’d like to shop as well so off we went. I hate shopping. I cheerfully went but hate it. I don’t like clothes shopping. I hate standing in one place for very long. I don’t mind walking the mall but not “shopping”. Be it my posture, my shoes, my big ole belly, my spine, or whatever, standing in one spot or walking too slowly causes my lower back to throb. Even as I type this on Tuesday, my back is killing me. I’ll live… uncomfortably.
With a successful (we didn’t buy anything) shopping trip out of the way, we came home. I felt completely drained and exhausted. Jim said he was taking a nap and as rare as it is, I did too. When we awoke, I felt terrible. Jim started dinner and I felt exhausted, a slight headache and oddly had no appetite. I went to lay down a little while in hopes of a recovery. I still didn’t feel much better but forced myself out of bed. All in all, I think I dehydrated a little. I thought about my symptoms and reflected back on the day. Before leaving the house I had 2 cups coffee, and a few sips of water. At breakfast I only drank a couple of mimosas and a few sips of Jim’s diet soda while we shopped. I drank gobs of water realizing I was “thirsty”. I did eventually feel better. I’ll go ahead and say it… what an idiot.
Recently, a blog-a-sphere friend, Liz (of Eternal Lizdom), posted photos she had taken of her brothers graduation on Facebook. You can see her entire album (only 35 photos), even if you don’t have a Facebook account by clicking here. Please let me know if you have any problems.
Below are a few of my favorites. They’re of her brothers, brother’s girlfriend and in the last photo, her husband. I simply love the clarity of all the photos. They’re fun photos. Most of the time I want to take a picture of someone they throw their hands up to block their faces. These are fun people.
I told Liz I absolutely love her photography and asked what kind of camera and if she took photography classes:
No classes. I use a Nikon D40. It's a DSLR. I have 2 lenses- one for close ups (I use it the most) and one for general pics. I like to be farther away and zoom in because I like to capture moments with minimal to no direction from me. I don't generally go for the "stand still, look at the camera, smile" pics- but they have their place. I like fun and I like to get people to do things that capture a moment of freedom or expressing who they really are when the mask drops. I like to see things from a different angle or perspective and I think that helps with my photography.
Yeah, it’s probably weird to showcase someone else’s family photos but I couldn’t resist.
I hate kids and especially in restaurants. They always bother me and Ross tells me to ignore them. How do you ignore a screaming kid? And, I also hate shopping. Are we related?
ReplyDeleteLOL, Jodie, if we're not related, it's OK, we'll just pretend. We'll hang out and NOT shop and NOT listen to screaming kids together.
ReplyDeleteI hate shopping, too!!
ReplyDeletemy pictures make me smile. :)
On the screaming kid topic. I will never use the ignore technique with other people around and my kid absolutely screaming/crying/ not stopping. I will take them to the car and ignore them there. I will take them to the bathroom for a "come to Mommy" chat. And I don't have much tolerance for parents who just let the kid scream or cry. I get that some kids have issues, you're parenting your way, etc. But when your choices negatively impact someone else- that's a problem.
I am understanding when a kid is screaming or crying and the parent/adult is actively engaged and handling the situation. Those parents are typically the ones who will remove the kid when steps 1, 2, and 3 don't work.
I can't find the old post now, but wanted to let you know you've helped us out. I had never heard of BoA's museum program, but Miss Chef and I are now planning on going to the Bechtler this Sunday. She's been wanting to go for months, and this freebie is just what we needed to get off our duffs and go. So, thanks for the tip!
ReplyDeleteAwesome. Free museums are even better!
ReplyDeleteLarry and I have a special gift. The "find the restaurant with the most screaming children and get seated next to the worst ones" gift. After our Puerto Rico trip we realized that our gift spills over to airliners as well. Either way, there's no escape.
ReplyDeleteYou think I'm kidding?
It's like a 6th sense we have. Happens EVERY SINGLE TIME. We sit down and within seconds of the the first shriek we don't even have to say a word... we just give each other that knowing glance, like, yep... right on time. And what's up with dragging your kids along to a restaurant at 10pm when they should be in bed? That one ALWAYS gets me.
Our worst experience was Mother's Day. We went late to Carrabba's to avoid the chaos and took a booth in the bar area to avoid a wait. Adjacent to us was a husband, wife, and two incredibly bratty children. The older daughter (6-ish) was screeching and being belligerent and hitting her mother in the face, while her younger brother (4-ish) was running roughshod all over the place. It was like a scene from the Omen. The parents were literally afraid to confront those children and make them behave. More than one waiter almost went ass-over-teakettle because of the boy zooming around under the radar (and crawling under tables and chairs). Our dinner was completely ruined by them.
Gone are the days when parents discreetly remove the offending children and either return with quiet contrite ones, or don't return at all.
I'm with Jodie and Lisa. We've paid our dues. Let us eat in peace!
@Boozy: I used to have a gift of never getting my meal served if I was with 5 or more people. It would happen nearly every time. It would just about give me a complex.
ReplyDeleteI tried making my order more complex in hopes of being remembered. That would backfire. The server would come out and say it was going to be a while because the kitchen added the item I wanted deleted so they had to do it over.
Several times it took all I could not to cry. Seriously. It was like a curse and I didn't understand why it happened to me.
The outcome? My bad luck just ended on its own eventually. Here's having hope for you.