Learning To Say No

This goes with the accommodation thing I think. I need to learn to say no to things.

My problem is that I say yes - when I want to say no, then I become passive aggressive about the situation. That's a real treat let me tell you.

This stems from a situation that arose yesterday. I invited two friends for dinner last night. It was set up days in advance, and I had the menu set and everything. Yesterday afternoon, as I'm leaving for a function that's going to keep me out until almost dinner time, I get a text from one of my friends asking to bring a guest.

Okay. There's plenty of food. That shouldn't be a huge problem, but to me it is. It's not that I don't want to meet a new person. It's that my house is barely "friends" clean, let alone "new people" clean, and I have NO TIME to clean it, because I'm on my way to cocktail party.

Plus, in addition to the messiness that consumes my apartment, I'm suddenly concerned that my meal of lasagna and garlic bread is not enough. Cooking for my friends here is like cooking for my family at home: I can get away with not serving side dishes, letting them serve themselves, and not setting the table. (We usually eat in front of the TV.)

Also, I'm not overly confident in my cooking skills. I know I can make a killer lasagna... but everything else is... touch and go. So I wasn't worried about my main course, but I made tiramisu for dessert, and I've only made it once before, so I was worried that it wouldn't turn out right.

I'm not really sure why it worries me to serve my cooking to some chick one of my friends picked up, that I'll never see again... but it does.

So looking back, I should have just said no. I know that it would have led to yet another cancellation - and probably tarnished my image as a cool girl, but it probably would have been worth it for the reduced stress level.

Apparently it's the next thing on my list to work on. Wish me luck.