Girls Night Out!

There's nothing like a Girls Night Out to shake off the doldrums! This summer had gotten off to a slow start for me. In the year since we moved back to my hometown after spending years abroad, I hadn't managed to make very many new friends. Being a SAHM with 3 kids ages 4 and under doesn't give me cause to leave the house much. Then toward the end of June, I ran into my former childhood best friend at the library. It had been years since we had seen each other and life had taken us both in new directions, but that connection was still there. A few days later the idea to start up a Girls Night Out popped into my head while I was taking a shower (I do all my best thinking in the shower) and I got so excited about it! I made some calls and all the girls I talked to jumped at the idea at once. So last month, on July 11th, we all met to go see the new movie "The Lake House" and then went out for coffee at Tim Horton's afterward. I thought a movie would be a good ice-breaker for the first time, since some of us didn't even know each other, and the others hadn't seen each other in years. If we had trouble starting up a conversation, we could talk about the movie! Anyway, it was a smashing success, and I went home feeling mighty proud of myself for aranging the whole thing. :)

Last night we had our second monthly GNO, and we met for dinner at Olive Garden. I figured that was a relatively quiet place where we could really talk and get to know each other better, and we could stay and linger over coffee and dessert if we wanted, so there was no need to feel rushed. All 6 of the original girls came, with the exception of Jess, who had to have a tooth extracted earlier that day (ouch!) and as much as she wanted to come, thought that the sight of all that yummy food (dentist said no solids for two days) would be too torturous to bear.

On the menu last night was a too-die-for seafood alfredo, hot-and-spicy zuppa tuscana, as well as a slice of white chocolate raspberry cheesecake that I would have been insane not to order. All of it was delish, though I took about 3/4 of the alfredo home and 2/3 of the cheesecake. Not to worry, the cheesecake made a lovely breakfast and I'm looking forward to a steaming plate of pasta, shrimp and scallops for lunch in place of my usual peanut butter sandwich.

I came home last night all geared up to write. Nothing like a night of laughing, joking and swapping stories to get your creative juices flowing. Unfortunately the light over our dining-room table was burnt-out and my husband was already fast asleep in our bedroom where we keep our desk. It was late anyway, so I decided to head to bed and try to get a decent ammount of sleep before dawn signaled the start of a new day. Gotta love kids who are early-risers!

All I can say is thank God for nap-time!