After having a chatty lunch with two fellow bloggers, Twitter enthusiasts, and Northwest Indiana residents, Natalie and Jennifer, we realized that there are a lot of great bloggers and Twitterers in our area, but we’ve yet to hear of a region tweet-up.

So, I’m proposing one in the near future. Preferably an establishment with a good drink special. Someplace in Merrillville? Don Pablos? Hooters? I’m taking suggestions on time and place. I’ll make sure the restaurant knows we plan on taking over and bring the nametags.

All bloggers and Twitter users are welcome. You’ll have more fun if you’re of legal drinking age. Are you up for it?

Spread the word and RT:

Are you ready for an NWI tweet-up? Suggest dates and times! http://tinyurl.com/dl7azy

If you’re a regular to my blog 1.) thank you and 2.) you know I’m a nervous flier. Not that it will change the outcome on the flight, but as I board I always take a Xanax and make sure I have a distinguished looking pilot, ala Sully. A flight attendant like this one would also totally calm my nerves…

Good thing we’re flying Southwest to Vegas in May.

PS – Make sure to follow Southwest on Twitter. They are awesome.

Oh, my sweet, wonderful, beautiful blog! How I’ve missed you! I’ve barely been able to spout off at all during the past week and I’ve missed blogging terribly, so I’m excited to jump back in with this week’s Four Foods on Friday.

1. Olive oil. What kind do you prefer to use?

I buy Bertolli Extra Light Olive Oil. It’s not light in calories, just a lighter olive oil flavor. It also has a higher spoke point, so it’s great for sautéing.

2. Meatballs. Do you make them from scratch, buy premade cooked or buy premade frozen?

I’ve been making them from scratch with spinach, feta cheese, and an egg to bind.

3. Do you use napkins at home? Paper or cloth?

I don’t like the texture of paper napkins, unless it’s the expensive kind, so we use paper towels. Generic Target brand, of course.

4. Share a recipe for a white sauce.

I don’t have a recipe for white sauce, but I have a recipe to make your favorite white sauce extra fancy!

Champagne Sauce

To every 2 cups of your favorite cream sauce, add approximately 2 tablespoons of reduced chicken stock. Simmer and whisk sauce for approximately 20 minutes. Prior to serving, add 1/2 cup of champagne, stir and serve.

I know this post may be a little heavy-hitting for my blog, but bear with me and weigh-in.

I’ve mentioned a few times that I’m a huge NPR fan. I don’t understand half of what they talkabout, but I find it calming and I might even be learning a little something in the process.

Today, I listened to This I Believe, which is a short segment where people from all over the country share one of their core beliefs. Sometimes they are touching and sometimes they are funny, but today’s segment was about Finding Freedom in Forgiveness and was absolutely shocking.

Jennifer Thompson-Cannino picked Ronald Cotton out of a line-up as the man who raped her in 1984. After 11 years in jail, DNA evidence proved that Ronald was not the rapist and he was released. Jennifer felt tremendous guilt and met with Ronald to ask for his forgiveness. He told her that he forgave her long ago because they were both a victim of the same crime. Because of their ordeal, the two are now good friends.

To me, it’s a tremendous story from both accounts, because I don’t know if I’d have the guts to face up to my mistake and apologize like Jennifer did and I don’t know if I’d have the complete lack of bitterness that Ronald has.

The two have written a book together called Picking Cotton and will be featured on 60 Minutes in a segment about mistakes in eyewitness testimonies this weekend. You can also download This I Believe free on iTunes and watch a video clip on Amazon.

So, would you be able to do what either one of them did? Stand up and confront your mistake or forgive someone who essentially took years of your life away from you?

There doesn’t seem to be enough filth on my blog lately, so here goes. All that hard earned money my parents spent on Catholic school and this is what I put out there for all the world to see.

There certainly seems to be enough penis related blog posts around here, and now thanks to Jimmy Kimmel we can add a clitoris joke to the mix. It’s only fair, right? And it’s all technical terms I’m talking about here people, no street slang for me. I’ve got class.

Poor guy seems really embarrassed and I think it takes a lot to embarrass a guy who admits to f*cking Ben Affleck.