My last three days have just been ideal. In "Walk the Walk," I told you about how I asked for, and was given a new job as a reunion coordinator. In "Love Is In The Air," I told you that I met Mari for coffee and chat; and got a sassy pedicure. In "Neon Bingo," I told you that I played BINGO with my girls, and then went out to dinner with Michelle; but until today, I haven't had the opportunity to tell you how delightful that dinner was.
Although Michelle and I try to get together a lot, we don't often get to spend time alone together and we wanted to go out to celebrate her recent divorce. YES, CELEBRATE!
We decided to go to The Cheesecake Factory; and suffice it to say, we did not adhere to ANY diets. Everything about this dinner was spectacular. The company, the food, even our amusing 27 1/2 year old waiter; who we joked around with throughout our meal. Now because I know that many of you who read "TBR" are foodies; I'm going to tell you exactly what we ate; just don't count the calories for me. We shared a couple of small plates (appetizers,) we had crab cake bites (which I HIGHLY recommend;) and fried artichoke hearts with a garlic aioli dipping sauce. I LOVED the sauce and thought the artichokes were just OK; so it's not something that I would order again. Michelle and I typically share meals, so that we can try two different things; so this time we decided on the Shrimp Scampi (another HIGHLY recommend) and the Hibachi Steak, (a Hanger steak with a Terriyaki type glaze) which I've had previously and also recommend. The Hibachi steak was accompanied by two fried Asparagus spears; and that in and of itself, was an added bonus. I'm sure that you think that we couldn't have eaten any more; but it was The Cheesecake Factory, and it is extraordinarily difficult to pass up dessert there. We perused the menu and I was going to let Michelle name our poison; but since we were celebrating; we ordered two different kinds of cheesecake; took two bites then took the rest home. Michelle chose The Ultimate Red Velvet Cake Cheesecake, which had "Moist layers of Red Velvet Cake, and Original Cheesecake, covered with special Cheesecake Factory cream cheese frosting." I ordered the White Chocolate Caramel Macadamia Nut Cheesecake, which had White Chocolate Chunk Cheesecake, Swirled with Macadamia Nuts and Caramel, on a Blond Brownie Crust. There's only one thing that I can say about that cheesecake; OMG! I absolutely have a new favorite cheesecake; as if , I NEED to have a NEW, FAVORITE, CHEESECAKE. Truth be told; it's still in my fridge. So I AM showing some restraint. We had Cappuccino with our cheesecake; and some of the best conversations that we've had in a while. This was truly, a celebratory evening.
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| Lyndzi at age 3 1/2 |
Just when I thought my weekend couldn't get any better; I had the opportunity to go scrapbooking at my friend Lisa B's last night. I haven't scrapbooked in what feels like forever, so I was so glad to be able to go. Because I'm me, the world's SLOWEST scrapbooker; I didn't get much done at all; BUT, I absolutely adore the one layout that I completed and I had a great time seeing my friends.
What a WONDERFUL Weekend!!
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING
As much as I love to volunteer; due to time constraints, I don't participate in the PTSO at my kids school; other than assisting at the annual carnival, or attending their activities. Well this year, we have somewhat of a new board; and I have to tell you that they've proven to be extremely creative and they've provided our students with a very diverse activity schedule that's I've been incredibly, impressed with.
A couple of months ago they offered Wii bowling on a Friday night; and even though we have a Wii and we have the bowling game; my kids still wanted to attend, because of the way that the PTSO had organized it. They told the kids to get a team of four, or they'd be placed on a team when they arrived. They charged $2 admission, and they had 4 Wii's set up, and they ran a bowling competition. They sold reasonably priced drinks and snacks; and the kids had a great time. From a fundraising standpoint, I thought this was a great idea, because there was virtually no cost for them to put on this activity.
Last night, they offered "Neon BINGO" in our library. For one dollar you got a BINGO card and an individual candy of your choice, to use as markers. You could choose from M&M's, Starburst or A variety of Skittles. They had thin vases, that contained a neon glow stick and 4 balloons on sticks, on each table; in addition to some other home meade decorations. Again, from a fundraising standpoint, their expense was minimal, as most of the items could be purchased at the .99 store. They had six different types of BINGO games and they awarded prizes of your choice to the first three winners per game. They sold drinks and snacks for .50 to $1.00 and they sold neon crappola too.
At first I thought that only my girls would play; but into the second game I realized that there was no reason for me not to play; so I bought myself a card with M&M markers. I opened my candy, and caught up on my card, and then I remarked to the girls that Starburst probably wouldn't have been a good choice for a marker as they might stick to the card. Kelsie then kindly said "Mommy, you're supposed to keep them in the wrapper." OMG, HOW EMBARRASSING; my seven year old apparently has MORE common sense than I do. I just had to laugh.
As if that little faux pas wasn't enough, I went on to further humiliate myself, when during the round they called "B&O Railroad," I yelled out "BINGO," after getting a BINGO on the "O" line. Kelsie then leaned over and informed me that this was "B AND O BINGO," and I needed to get BINGO on BOTH The "B" AND the "O" lines in order to have BINGO in this round. What could I say but "my bad; sorry." And then we resumed our game. In my defense, I must admit that I was not paying complete attention because I was writing out a congratulations card for Michelle M, who I was going to have dinner with right after BINGO.
Luis and Nicky joined us just as we were about to conclude the "B&O" round; and I left to go out with Michelle. As I was leaving I made sure to tell the PTSO President what a good idea I thought Neon BINGO was. I may not have won while I was there; but it was a winning evening for sure.
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING
