Darcy

While I was in Kuna last, my aunt mentioned The Lizzie Bennett Diaries. How had I never heard of these before?! I don't know...but I spent the weekend rectifying the situation. (If I haven't convinced you to look at them yet, do so now. Start with episode one, here.)

Only moments ago I was talking to a friend about how I would be terrible at speed dating. Our ward held such an activity on Monday, and I couldn't go because I was at work late. (If you doubt that I was going to go, I'll have you know that I dressed for the occasion, even if I hadn't completely decided...) Anyway, I told her that I am terrible at things like speed dating because I am absolutely wretched at small talk.

I come off as a... b^+<''.

Anyway, as I was thinking about that, I realized: I am Darcy. As in, Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice. He comes off as arrogant and proud, even though his friends are deeply devoted to him. He's awkward in large social settings, and says thinks bluntly that come off as horrible... As I said.

I was pretty please with my introspection; not moments later, I stumble upon this:

I didn't even look at the bottom to see who was who, or where the flow chart was leading, and what do you know? I ended up at Darcy, twice. There was one question where I could have gone either way, and I still ended up being Darcy.

Validated.

Trust Issues

I've seen this around the internet several times. For me, it's not true. There's nothing more disappointing then thinking I'm getting an oatmeal raisin cookie that ends up beings a chocolate oatmeal cookie. Oatmeal + raisins is good. If you want a chocolate chip cookie, don't add the oatmeal.

I can't be the only one alone in this.

Then again, it wouldn't surprise me.

If forced to choose, oatmeal raisin cookies would be my favorite. Oatmeal chocolate chip... lame. Very, very lame.

That Time Pandora Thought I Was Almost Middle-Aged

Not yet, Pandora.

I've all but quit blogging.

I've all but quit blogging.

I can't really explain why. It seems like I do nothing, and yet I'm hardly home, and I have not responsibilities but I'm always busy.

I've all but quit sleeping too.

I have friends that suffer from real insomnia, and that's not what this is. I can't really explain it, but it's definitely gotten worse over the past few months. I avoid going to bed. Whether it's by reading or watching hours of Hulu.com, staying well past my welcome at friends' houses, or cleaning the bathroom; I just dread going to bed before I'm stumbling sleep-drunk into my bed.

If I'm so exhausted that I already am having trouble keeping my eyes open, then I don't have to think, I don't have to make excuses or reassurances to myself. The song lyric, "I can't take this bed getting any colder," keeps running through my mind on repeat. And so I keep myself at the brink of exhaustion, because I'm avoiding a bed that I have to warm up all by myself. No one is waiting for me to come home. No one is waiting for me to come to bed. And I hate it.

The trouble with being tired all the time is...well, there are lots of problems. But the main one is, that my immune system breaks down if I am not getting adequate sleep. So when I started fighting against a head cold last week, I should have made an effort to get rest. Instead, I pushed myself to stay awake until 2-3 a.m., and in return, managed to make myself even more sick.

For the record, a peppermint bath is not a great idea.

Peppermint is a cooling sensation. Baths are supposed to be piping hot. The mixture of the two is the most strange, uncomfortable feeling. I probably could have boiled my skin right off my body without knowing it, because my skin felt as though it were freezing instead. I quickly gave that up, and spent the remainder of the day in my lonely bed.

I turned 27 this year, and while my lack of blog post may show my lack of enthusiasm for the whole idea of it, it should not be interpreted to mean that I am lacking in friends that made an effort to make me feel special on my birthday. So, I know I'm loved, and it's always good to be reminded.

The last month or so has been fairly difficult on my family. Times like these, I wish I lived closer. I'm not sure what I think my presence would accomplish. I just want to be a support and a strength to my parents and to my siblings. Not being there has felt selfish, because I don't have to live with some of the turmoil that has gone on. I don't have to think about everything that is staring them all in the face. I feel very guilty because I can turn my concern and worries on and off and they can't.

My Bookshelf

I have a new a bookshelf!

I've been looking for a while but haven't wanted to pay tons of money for particle board or, frankly, something ugly.

So my friend Katy found this on KSL, barn wood and an old door. And I love it! It makes our front room look like a home.

I added a few other touches to our living room yesterday when I was cleaning like a crazy person. I had a very productive day. My room is clean. My bathroom is clean. My living room and kitchen are clean. I went to a party. I went grocery shopping for the first time in two months. And I made a delicious pumpkin dessert.

My Name

Your First Name of: Shelli Below is a brief analysis of the first name only.
For an analysis of your full name and destiny, see our full free Name and Birth Date Report service for further details. 

•  The name of Shelli creates a very versatile and creative nature. 
•  You are quick-minded and have the freedom of expression to mix easily with people. Because your feelings and desires are so changeable, you are never satisfied with conditions as they are.
• You have many ideas, plans, and ambitions, but too often they are for an easy way out of a difficulty or an easy way of making money. 
• You seek change in order to have the opportunity for travel, new experiences, and new friends and associates.
• You find it difficult to systematize your efforts and to fulfill your obligations and plans as you are not inclined to apply yourself consistently to a job to reach your goals. 
• Although you appear positive, you inwardly lack self-confidence and will-power. 
• Although the name Shelli creates an active mind and a restless urge to explore new ideas, we emphasize that it causes procrastination, lack of confidence, and the inability to realize your goals and ambitions. 

This name, when combined with the last name, can frustrate happiness, contentment, and success, as well as cause health weaknesses in the solar plexus, and fluid systems.

http://www.kabalarians.com/cfm/DisplayNameAnalysis.cfm

Deep Thoughts Between Friends

Aubrey: life is hard Shelli

  1st world problems are tough

  don't let anyone tell you differnt

4:51 PM me: Don't worry

  I won't

  life is hard

4:54 PM Aubrey: sigh

  i want something amazing to happen

  and its gonna take some work

  but I'm gonna make it happen

  i can't sit at a desk all my life

4:57 PM me: You can do it

   

Life isn't like a novel

  no matter how much I want it to be

  otherwise, it would be about this point in my life where my Mr. Right walks in a whisks me to my new life in Europe

  with loads of money

  or something

5:01 PM saying something witty

  Like, he stands up and someone says, "Gosh, do they make them any bigger?"
and he replies, "I'm big enough."

5:05 PM Aubrey: hahahahaha

  you are precious

5:07 PM me: (that line actually happened to my boss the other day)

  PROOF!

  sometimes life IS like a novel

 Aubrey: its a novel alright, but the author likes to throw in a lot of lulls

5:08 PM me: Also, are the lulls our fault? I mean...

 Aubrey: yes they are but i don't know to get rid of them all

 me: what if is one of those pick your own endings type

 and we are picking the wrong ones!

 Aubrey: hahaha

  that's it!

  that's the problem

  we're skipping to the wrong page each time

 me: Totally the problem

5:10 PM Aubrey: i keep going into the cave when I should have kept swimming, where the mermaid island was just around the corner

5:11 PM me: blast

  I don't even start swimming

  you mean you have to get off the beach to find adventure?!

 Aubrey: ha

  you'll be on a beach soon enough

 me: I was just hoping that the cabana boys provided the adventure for you!

5:12 PM Aubrey: oh cabana boys

  there are never enough of them

 me: haha

  and they are very often gay

  or tiny

  I don't really want a cabana boy

5:13 PM Aubrey: ha

  yeah

  i don't really want one either

  maybe we bought the wrong book

  i want one where we run into mountain men

 me: Oh, yes please!

  with beards

  and plaid

5:14 PM and burly arms

 Aubrey: where is the book with men with beards?!

 me: swoooooon

 Aubrey: ha

PS: Aubs, we do not have NEARLY ENOUGH pictures of us together.

Never Happens

It is very likely that I've blogged this quote before, but it just seems so apt to my life. Truer words may never have been written about my life than this.

“...I have noticed that when things happen in one's imaginings, they never happen in one's life, so I am curbing myself.” 
― Dodie Smith, I Capture the Castle

Only, I wish I could curb myself. I wish that I didn't jump into 1,001 different scenarios that are likely never going to happen, because it is just so darn frustrating when they don't. Why? Because, even though I might not be an excellent writer, I still am a writer, and the scenarios in my head are amazing.

So whether it is a job, a potential love interest, a missionary experience, a worked up lecture, a lesson, or anything, really, I just wish that for once, things would go as planned in my head.

Facebook Messages

I happened to open my Facebook messages today and found a whole bunch of random "emails" that I've never seen before. All from random people that don't have pictures, for instance:

Alan B*nder

• hey there
  hey there Shelli. you look fantastic.
  email me. my emai is sweety@freemailboxonline.com for my personal images.
  make sure to send it there and not through FB. -June 23, 2011

Or this one, sent on Friday:

Faris Al*in

• how r u?
  
  Im Faris from UAE
  
  Studying in Cali State university Long Beach
  
  I like going to gym, beach,
  soccer, volleyball......
  
  I love traveling been to: UK,
  greece, Australia, singapore,
  thailand, malaysia, thinking to
  go to Spain and Italy soon.....
  
  
  Lets chat

I wonder how many responses they actually get? Is it because I complain about being single too much?

This Friday Night

Sometimes I think it is really cool that I can say that I have friends all over the country -- all over the world, even. That is, it's cool until Friday night and I have nothing to do because all my friends are scattered throughout the world.

I'm just wondering what time is an acceptable bed time on a Friday night? 9:00 p.m.? 10:00 p.m.? I've already brushed my teeth and taken out my contacts...

Unconditional Love

I've been thinking about unconditional love today. It's kind of a deep topic (in my head) and not one that I wanted to blog about. But...here I am.

There are only two people that I think are capable of true, unconditional love. Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ. They're the only people because they are perfect and have shown over and over again how each of us is loved. Through evidence of the Atonement; and other daily evidences in my life, I know that regardless of the mistakes I make and things I do and say, they love me.

I used to think that the love that parents have for their children are unconditional. I still think so, on some levels. But there are certainly some messed up people in the world that proves that while this may be a general rule, there are definitely some exceptions. I think my parents love me unconditionally, but I have never actually  pushed boundaries and done things that would cause a parent to question whether they love me. Then again, there are some evidences from other dynamics in the family that show that they do, indeed, love their children unconditionally, even though some of the most trying of times.

But what I've really been thinking about, is my ability to love unconditionally. I thought I could. That I did. But then, things happen and I have been wondering, what happens when I think that I love someone unconditionally, only to find they break an unknown condition? I never thought I would be the one to say, Now that you've done this or you can't (or won't) do this, I can't love you.

I guess it's not really that I don't love that person anymore. But, respect and the ability to confide in that person suddenly disappears. It's hard to like someone that you don't respect, even if you know that you love them deep down. Disappointment is something that can really drive a wedge in a relationship. And I don't know how to get over it. I think that's why know that Father in Heaven loves me unconditionally. I don't believe that He gets disappointed. It's such a human emotion, and it leads to unkind feelings, anger and resentment. God is above that. He feels compassion and love.

I don't know if I can rise above human emotions to be more like God. I don't know how to forget hurt and disappointment completely to allow for these conditions that I have set up -- unknowingly or not -- and what to do when they've been broken. But I do know that people deserve unconditional love. So it's something I have to work on.

To Sum Up

I've been meaning to blog...

...about Christmas and Christ and the blessings I have
...about how awesome being home (with a 50 degree Christmas) with my family is
...about watching Mackenzie play basketball
...about Kelsie
...about the one-handed make-out bandit
...about my uncle setting me a deadline to be married
...my New Year's resolutions
...a summary of my year
...pictures
...about my run in with my third grade teacher, which I can sum up by telling you that she said, "It's my favorite," meaning ME, "Heywood student!"
...about my first experience at a bar in Troy

But I've been too busy enjoying/experiencing all those things, that I think that it will just have to wait. Plus, people around here are using IE, and it's painful.

The Movies

Last night a friend and I went to a late showing. He went off to the restrooms and left me to find us a seat. The theater wasn't crowded (which means, we did not see Breaking Dawn), and so I chose the best seats in the house -- the first row, right behind the guard railing, center.

There were several reasons for this decision. First, if the people behind us weren't there, I probably would have sat a few chairs down from the other people. The theater was seriously close to empty. But, the people were behind us, and they had their feet comfortably propped on the seats I would have sat in. They didn't look like the kind of people that would be pleased about moving their feet -- if they actually did. I like being in the center of the theater, dead center, and so I didn't really want to go further back when there were plenty of seats in the perfect location. The only problem was Jersey Porn, the unfriendly girl who was sitting just one seat off-center. She had jet black hair, and way too much make-up. Her lips looked collagen filled and her cheekbones too high. I entered the row and I asked if she was saving any seats and she said "No". I got the impression that she was annoyed that I was even talking to her, but I sat down anyway.

Now, guys have that unwritten rule that when they go to the theater together and there are extra seats, they sit one seat apart because they don't want to sit directly next to one another. That's fine, but, I didn't think girls have that rule, too. Apparently only people haters have that rule. I could feel Jersey staring daggers at me as I sat down and pulled out my phone, but I didn't acknowledge her.

"Are you expecting a lot of people?" She asked me after a moment, in her Jersey sounding voice.
"No," I said, "Just one more."

She didn't say anything, but I could feel the tangible hatred for the girl that just unnecessarily sat too close.

"I didn't want to ruin their foot rests," I felt the need to explain, pointing to the two behind us.

I didn't so much see her roll her eyes, as much as I felt it. At that point, I resolved to stay where I was. After all, it's a free country! And, besides, I hate when people come in late and have to climb over everyone to get to chairs. Not that there were going to be a lot of late people, but just in case!

I spent the rest of the film trying not to invade her personal space. I didn't share the arm rest with her, and I sat as close to Dustin as possible, without actually sitting in his lap. I probably could have moved, but at that point, I was just annoyed with how unfriendly the Porn star was, that I didn't want to let her win.

Power Flicker

Once upon a time, like, weeks and weeks ago, I tried to print out William's amazing pie recipe for the pumpkin pies I was making. For some reason, my printer wouldn't print. It wouldn't turn on. I unplugged it, plugged it back in.... did everything I could think to do and then gave up to worry about later.

Fast forward to five seconds ago and my lights flickered, my laptop chirped with annoyance as it lost and then regained power and....

My printer magically turned on and printed "William's Crust for 9" Double Crust Pie".

Ok?

At least I know my printer is working now.

Edinburgh Night Life

The other night we decided to catch a film at the cinema. (Captain America, don't waste your money). Becca was on her mini-honeymoon and had left us to our own devices, which meant we didn't know which taxi service to get, so we ended up with some Chinese man that didn't speak any sort of English -- especially American English. We piled into his small sedan and headed to the theatre, only, and he dropped us off at the grocery store across the street. We loaded up on candy and pop and I wondered if it would be more or less difficult to sneak it all in.

It was easier. Actually, it turns out that you can hit up the bar outside the theatre and you can carry your beer bottles in. Cool. The guy selling the popcorn informed us that they "don't do butter" which turned out to be smart -- the actual auditoriums were spotless and carpeted. No sticky feet!

The movie was terrible.

Afterwards, we headed out and tried to find a taxi, but they had all switched off their lights and we were out of luck. The guys were getting incredibly nervous because right next to the theatre, there were a few night clubs -- gay night clubs. And they were overflowing with sailors and flamboyant men.

The people in Edinburgh are sort of terrible drunks. Josh and Jason were commended because they knew when to quit drinking, whereas their Scottish counterparts, continue to drink until they are staggering down the middle of the road in 6-inch heels and leopard print leggings. I wonder how many girls go into the hospital with broken ankles. Seriously.

We headed on down the road, and were probably only a mile or so away from Rebecca's apartment, but it seemed quite a long walk especially because Roberta -- the poor dear -- was hobbling with pain in her ankles, knees, back and neck. We were walking pretty slowly, which made Roberta feel like a target for all the crazy people on the road. She clinged to her son's arm and I was supposed to take Josh's. Only, Josh didn't actually offer his arm to me, so I let him walk ahead as if he were my bodyguard, instead of my escort. No big deal.

When we finally hit Dean Bridge and started down the hill into Dean Village, Roberta was using the hand rail and we came across a slug. Because of the wet climate, snails and slugs are pretty prominent around here, but usually underfoot, and not on the hand railing. Anyway, Roberta decided to flick the thing, and it went flying, somehow, forward. Onto my wrist.

I'm not normally a panicky person, although, maybe I really am because it seems like every other day, I'm writing up some experience where I'm doing the heebie-jeebie dance... this was no exception. The boys, who were dying from being so held back by our slow pace, turned around and watched me shriek while Roberta bent at the waist and nearly peed her pants.  

Maimed and Falling Apart

A few days ago, I burnt my mouth. Yes, my whole mouth. Well... the roof of my mouth, especially favoring the left side. It's been tender and sore ever since, so eating other hot foods has not been pleasant and every time I brush my teeth and floss, the roof of my mouth bleeds.

It's kind of gross.

To add to the gross factor, I have no less than 15 bug bites on my legs, one in the crook of my elbow and a few on my foot. They itch, but I have been trying to ignore it. My two-year old hydrocortisone plus (from WalMart) cream, which has been stored in my car and so it is fairly melty, has not been doing a great job. I continue to apply it to the bumps.

I've also been applying it to the random rash that appeared on my left hand, third finger (yes, that finger). It's bright red with a long New Hampshire-shaped blister on it. It itches like a mother, hurts when hot water touches it and is a general nuisance when trying to do anything that requires that finger to touch my middle finger. I assume it is poison ivy. I am counting my blessings in the fact that it hasn't spread. Having poison ivy between your fingers (and toes) is probably one of the worst place -- other than the obvious places -- to get that itchy rash.

To add to all of that, last night when slicing up a red pepper, I sliced my finger as well. With a little pressure, some cold water, Neosporin and a band-aid, there isn't very much wrong with it. But it did hurt last night. The flap of skin is still attached, and it really isn't that deep.

The funny thing? I had just been joking with myself about having fingers wrapped in the enchiladas. I guess I knew that I wasn't cutting the vegetables in the best way possible, but I couldn't be bothered with switching it up -- until I almost lost a finger.

So putting everything together was complicated that I couldn't get my left hand fingers involved too much because I wanted to keep the poison ivy finger out of the mix. And the bleeding finger on my right hand had to be kept elevated and separate too. I was doing everything with seven fingers. Because without the ring finger in the action, the pink is pretty much worthless, too. It was pretty ridiculous.

Today, the cut is looking pretty good, and my other finger isn't itching as bad. The roof of my mouth seems to be healing as well...

Lucky me.

In better news, I got my plane ticket for Scotland! There had been talk about going to Ireland too, but we stuck with Scotland. I'm pretty excited.

Blog Stalking

Blog stalking is something that most people who write blogs are perfectly fine with. As a blogger, I love the anonymous, and not so anonymous comments. I check and see if someone exotic has looked at my blog recently. And I revel in the moments when an acquaintance mentions something about something I've written.

And, as a blogger, I censor the things that I want to share with the world versus the things that I would rather keep private. Sometimes I share too much... but for the most part, I've created an online persona that I can deal with, and released information enough that I am not embarrassed or ashamed or anything about revealing. Every once in a while I think, "Why did I share that?" But then, it doesn't always seem to matter because the number of strangers that read my blog is rather small.

As I blogger, I understand that other bloggers have done much the same as I have. They've created their online characters and given glimpses into their personal lives, revealing with what they can live with and leaving us in the dark on many other important topics.

And that's where the true stalking comes in to play. After all, it isn't really stalking if you're just reading something that someone's posted on their public blog. It is stalking if you've noticed something about that person, but have no evidence to back it up and so you go searching for other clues.

e.g.

You read an old acquaintance's blog because it is funny and entertaining and it is fun to see where he (or she) is headed to next. You happen to know -- because you saw photo evidence on their blog or Facebook or wherever -- that they got married some years ago. And yet, you've noticed that their blog, and not even their Facebook, has shown any evidence that the marriage took place since the wedding pictures have been posted. There are always the blogs that go on and on about how great the DH is (I have always assumed that stands for "dear husband", can someone verify that for me?) or status updates about what you and the husband have been doing? Or that the wife is angry or.... whatever.

There's usually not nothing.

So does that mean there was a divorce?

Since it is really none of my business, it seems completely out of place to even ask. It seems sneaky and underhanded and gossipy -- in a very bad way -- to ask a mutual friend. And you know that if they had wanted to make it public, they probably would have written about it.

But that's just an example. There are other bloggers that may promise a follow-up on a rather personal story, but then never follow through. It's easy to forget about the things you are going to write about, so it's a possibility of having just slipped the writer's mind. On the other hand, they might have thought better of their intention to disclose their personal life, and decided not to post. In those cases, it seem like the reader can acceptably ask about the author's intentions, but then again, it also sounds a little stalkerish.

I guess what I'm getting at, is there is a line between blog author and reader. And most people, while dying to get to the nitty-gritty information, are not going to cross the line into prying. At least, I'm not. But it's still killing me that I don't know the answers!

The Wind Outside

I've spent a lot of my day looking at images and videos from the tornadoes that hit too close to my home in Ohio, and other areas near family members, and way too close to the homes that were destroyed by those monsters, so it seems silly to mention something so insignificant...

...But, there is a storm rolling in (I'm told there will be snow) and the wind is blowing hard. I don't have any music going and the only sounds besides the clacking of keys on my keyboard and the hum of my computer's fan, is the rush of the wind and whatever is getting blown around. It seems to be made of plastic. There is also a metal hinge out there, and I'm > this close < to going outside to make sure that our basketball hoop hasn't toppled over.

At least I know that it didn't hit a car - that would have made a much larger noise.

I love going to sleep when there is a storm rolling in, it's soothing somehow. Or, it is living in Utah where the chances of tornadoes are slim. Regardless, I know that they will probably visit my dreams tonight.

My heart and prayers goes out to those affected by the tornadoes and massive flooding. From what I understand, most people had only 10 minutes or so to find shelter/cover before the tornadoes were directly on top of them. I've been in tornado watches (or warnings? I can never remember...) but they were never really that scary.

How very quickly our lives can change.

I'm going to bed, leaving the mess - caused by the wind blowing so hard through the windows - from my blinds toppling over my cute pottery dish and piggy bank. The pig survived. The dish did not. I haven't inspected too closely the damage to know if the shards can be glued together.

Chicken Chicken

I didn't do anything, really, that I was planning to do today.

I was going to wake up early and get to work on time. I put set my alarm clock close to my head and turned the volume up really loud, and checked and double checked the volume, station and location to make sure that nothing would foil my plans.

Turns out, the closer the alarm is to you, the closer the snooze button is.

I did go to lunch with the FTC. We tried a new restaurant in Orem. I was going to order the honey shrimp salad and like it. Instead, I got the seafood tacos and was super disappointed. Milagros is not a restaurant I would recommend. They claim to be Mexican, but there is nothing really Mexican about the food. It is baja at best, and just gross at worst. The salsa is "meh" and they are really, really expensive for a lunch.

I was going to clean my room (Yes, I did put it off from yesterday when I also said I was going to clean... I got half my room cleaned yesterday and gave up because I had an FHE meeting).

I was going to get my oil changed in my car.

I was going to take plans/specs to FedEx to be mailed.

I did take the stamp that I ruined last week to be replaced. And I did, eventually, finish the proposal I have been sort of working on all week long.

But I was also going to pack for my trip to Idaho this weekend. Stop by the library and get a book on tape.

But I didn't do any of that. I did experience what Wes calls "Chicken Chicken". Or, what I just call, being slap-happy or drunken tiredness. You know the feeling when you are so tired/exhausted that everything is funny, you can't process file folders on the computer or think rationally... Or, for example, you are dumbfounded by your coworker when he hands you the jump drive to save a file on it and you stare at the keychain, confused as to how and where the USB port actually is.

For the record, the USB connect is not on the keychain at all, it is the jump drive attached to the keychain and dangling by your hand.

I wonder if the cover we designed will look as good in the morning as we thought it did at 11:30 p.m. tonight? I hope so. I hope that I gave grumpy-guy the right directions on how to put the proposals together. I don't think I was too Chicken Chicken to have messed it up - but, I was really thrown off by how negative and mean the guy was being to me when I dropped it off!

Yes, it is almost midnight! Yes, I want these to be done before I wake up in the morning! And NO! I don't care if you have a hundred other projects going on. Why does he have to be so negative about it? I know that he can get it done in time. Why doesn't he think he can? I really, really hope that they don't mess it up.

Why don't people understand that they cater to my whims?

Anyway, it is late now and I am feeling a little wired. Something about the cold night air woke me up. I wish they had a 24-hour oil changing place...

Someone remind me that I have stamps at Staples to pick up in the morning... as well as the proposals at Kinkos, hopefully.

Chez Peep

Entering Chez Peep

" Écouter Welcome to Chez Peep, the finest restaurant for the most fashionable Peeps this season."

I am Rene Petit, and will be your waiter this evening.

We are delighted to offer several specials this evening. Master Phillipe has already decided. Unfortunately, his wife Marguerite is quite indecisive.

Indecisive she may be, but she is certainly one of the most fashionable ladies here this evening. You would do well to introduce yourself to her before you leave.

Marguerite's brother-in-law, Monsieur Laroche has also joined us this evening. He is very well-liked, and I think that you will agree, has the finest taste out of everyone here - whether it be food or style, he is someone to be emulated. 

His wife, on the other hand, wouldn't know style if it clipped her wings. That purple pom-pom on her head is so last season! If only she had followed Mademoiselle Aimee, and worn the pom-poms around her waist, she would be more in style. Honestly, I don't know how Mr. Laroche puts up with the vulgarity. I might add, Phillipe is looking rather dashing. (I hear that Madam Laroche has been trying to get her beak in to Phillipe for some time, but he is absolutely enamored with his own wife, that he has not noticed. It is really, rather sweet. But as I've already mentioned - once his mind is made up, it is made up!

Of course, Monsieur Laroche is well-aware of his wife's attempt at betrayal. Do not fear, he has her well under control. After all, he is the one that knows her favorite dish at Chez Peep!

Mademoiselle Cherie is a favorite, obviously, as she is the daughter of the owner. Her favorite dish is what you see before you. It is a pasta... well, needless to say, something worth trying. But!...

...You shouldn't stand here all day. Please let me escort you to your table.

Au revoir! Please come again!