Worn down

My spirits have not completely bounced back to my usual self for the past few weeks. I received a crushing blow to my ego and its kind of making everything feel a lot harder. I know I shouldn't take this particular rejection personally but I do. I keep foraging forward and normally it would help take the sting out of this thorn in my side but this time it isn't. Ugh am I a Debbie Downer or what? I feel like a complainer and I hate complainers!

Anyways for my 1 night of fun, I went waaaaaay downtown Manhattan for the 85th San Gennaro (Italian Festival) with Blondie and Raccoon Mama.

So here's me and Mama Raccoon waiting in line to get into Ferrara's Bakery & Cafe.
Note the bags under my eyes, just lovely, thank you stress!

We ate at the famous Lombardi's pizzeria which I had eaten there once before about 6 years back with the Pateman. I immediately recognized the place and gushed to the girls how good their pizza is! And it was, sure its pricey and for a person like me who isn't a pizza fanatic, this place is GOOD! But still nothing beats Ledo's Pizza back in MD. Sorry NYers, Ledos is still CHAMP of all.

Since it was raining on and off, the crowd wasn't so packed which we appreciated with Raccoon Mama being almost 32 weeks preggars! For desserts we went to the also famous Ferrara's Bakery and Cafe. Raccoon Mama highly recommended their Hot Chocolate as being the best in the world. And she was right! Sinfully delicious. Reminded me a little of the hot stove top chocolate pudding Baba used to make. When the pudding would cool off enough and you pushed back the skin that formed on top, tasting that still warm chocolate pudding was similar to their Hot Chocolate only theirs is creamier with more milk. Their desserts are pretty good too, nothing that makes me want to run back but still for their hot chocolate, hell yeah!

Yesterday and today I've been buried with studies for my 2 exams this week and grading student homework. I haven't been able to find the time to do my lesson plans or study for the quiz tmw night. So tmw afternoon once I've completed my morning exam, I will take care of a few things and study for the quiz. Then tmw night do my lesson plans. Tues squeeze in time between teaching 3 classes to study for my 2nd exam for Wednesday morning. Man I will be ready for a visit to my hometown next weekend. I need the R&R, even tho I will have to study while I am there. Being around Baba and Mom uplifts me as well as the rest of the family whom I probably won't have time to see while I am there :(

Lastly, here's a of Tom that Raccoon Mama took yesterday late morning. She has a program that can change the style of the photo so while Tom looks reddish in this, he's actually Gray with white along the anterior surface. My Bastard Kitty is the best roommate EVER!