Good Friends

Last night marked the birthday of a friend, and a much needed affirmation of womanhood.  We gathered at her Tuscan inspired home for girls' night.  Happy hour at the house has become a monthly ritual for the men and women these friends hold dear.  This month's however, was a "No Boys Allowed" evening to celebrate Kristy's 40th year.  Her husband is in Italy studying in Assissi, so we banned the rest of the boys from the party for some quality woman to woman conversation.  We. Had. So. Much. Fun!  

Everything is different without the men around - not better, just different.  You can talk about different things when you don't have a male audience.   And for some people, the closeness that's there in that room allows us to be just a little bit more ourselves than we are when all of the significant others are dragged into the mix.  Even the food is different.  

At each of the last few happy hour evenings, there has been very tasty food.  Cheese dip, chips, meat platters, brownies, bruschetta, pasta with marinara - always served buffet style on the long table that stands in the dining room next to the bar.  This time we stepped it up.  Now we still had the meat and cheese platter, but instead of sliced cheddar and deli meat, it was hand pulled smoked turkey and ham, sharp and crumbly white cheddar and blackberries - very Italiano.  There were raspberry tartlets, stuffed grape leaves, and olive tray, black bean and spinach dip, tomato and olive tampanade tarts, a chocolate layer cake with raspberry jam in between the layers and a homemade buttercream icing and my dark chocolate cake with chocolate ganache icing and fresh raspberries.  We of course, all brought a bottle of wine (or two!) with us, but Kristy treated us to Kir cocktails made with Creme de Cassis and champagne or white wine until they ran out.  We girls know how to treat ourselves.  

The food and drinks were delicious, but this is not my favorite part of the evening.  My favorite thing is the conversation.  It's a grown-up version of slumber party chatter and truth or dare swagger.  Instead of who has a crush on whom and daring people to run around the house naked, we've moved on to topics that pertain to our lives now.  Originally we were all connected through our jobs in the school district, which led to our friendship, so we will often start there.  School board, budgets, funny student stories, etc.   But then we move on.  To kids, divorces, engagements, gossip.  Add in some revelations about who hates her husband's taste in pants, who has been trying to learn spanish, the books we're all reading and who has decided that wearing underwear is not for them!   We talk about grown up girl things and dare one another to take the leftover cake to the older gentleman who lives next door.  Sometimes there is one large group conversation.  Sometimes there are four going on at once and we're all talking to someone across the room like teenagers.  We laugh a lot.  And even though it's unspoken and we range in age from our twenties to our fifties, we empower one another and relish in each other's womanhood.

I left the party earlier (around 10:00 pm) than most because Matt picked me up and we drove Saint Peters for the weekend and I was sad to have to say goodbye.  I hope they stayed late into the evening to finish the last of the wine and share more woman secrets.  I'm so honored to have such strong women in my life and look very forward to our next all girls happy hour.  

Introspection

"There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance;  that imitation is suicide;  that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion."  -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

We shall see, Ralph.  We shall see.  

Spin Fever

There are plenty of reasons to hate it.  

I have an aversion to almost all spandex, and until about two years ago, refused to ever partake in any sort of group workout unless it was the occasional 5 or 10K race with my dad and/or sister.  There is a different instructor almost every day of the week, and they each have their own catchy (or confusing) way to tell you to add resistance, change positions, stretch.  There is the man with the very serious eyebrows, and the THREADBARE, very . . . clingy . . . cotton knit shorts on the bike in front of you.  There is a woman next to you who seems to be following her own workout instead of the instructions yelled into the microphone over the thumping music designed to rev up your mind as well as your pace.  And of course there's that guy who is always trying to close the door so he can "sweat it out," the man next to you who just WON'T tuck in those elbows and, therefore, keeps bumping you, the woman who is far too serious about her workout and the older gentleman who accidently just flicked sweat at you.  

But then there's the friend who comes to class with you whenever you say you're going to be there, and the girls who always answers the instructor's "How we doin' out there?" with a "Whooo  hooo!" There's also the girl in the front who is talented enough to stay with the instructor through every jump and hill, so you model your workout after her, even though you've never spoken. 

The lights are turned off and you are focused on improving your very self since there's really nothing to look at but the bike in front of you - the only alternative is that pair of  threadbare shorts bobbing up and down.  There's the motivation of knowing that you will spend the next full hour pushing yourself to your physical limit, even though it might be different than the guy in the front row with the LIVESTRONG Tour de France vest on.  

You are now a member of an elite club that meets three to five days a week.  Club meetings are held for 22 people at a time in a 12 x 14 foot room - the only light coming from the hallway.  Meetings are intense - they change you.  And when it's time to exit for a couple of cool down laps around the track, steam creeps up the edges of the mirror in front of the room and your whole weary troop files out.  Puddles of sweat make themselves known down the spinal column of everyone who exits here.   Almost silently, we walk like ducks - the only sound the click of cycling shoes on tile.  Even though we didn't talk about it, we understand.  We all know we just shared 60 pure minutes of fire-filled muscles for total body and mind transformation.

This is why I love spinning.  

Summer "To Do's"

Since I can remember, I have started every summer break with a feeling of endless possibilities. Plans begin to form, mental lists are made, ideas hatch all involving the activities saved for the two months every year when I feel free. This year is no different, however, some of the plans have changed from the days when my sister and I would write down all of the games we would play in the pool and who we would have over for sleepovers every weekend. Summer school starts on Monday and while this puts a damper on some plans (road trips are definitely put on hold), I've designed my summer course to involve very little work outside of class time once it gets rolling. And since my school day ends at 11:00 am, I've got a lot of time to tackle my list.

There is only one problem with these summer planning sessions. Every year, when summer fades, I reflect and find that many of my best laid plans have not come to fruition. I'm determined to make this summer different. I may not tackle every item on the list, but I aim to make a more respectable attempt. With about ten weeks left before teacher meetings to kick off the next school year, I write down my summer list.

1. Finish unpacking the new house
2. Attempt to make bookshelves for the office and bedroom
3. Remove wallpaper border and repaint spare bedroom
4. Paint master bedroom
5. Paint master bathroom
6. Paint second bathroom
7. Find a sofa table or buffet to refurbish and keep in the foyer
8. Decide on and either make or purchase window treatments
9. Go on a float trip
10. Spend a day at the winery
11. Cook a lot
12. Visit the Farmer's Market regularly
13. Sip coffee at Cafe Berlin for hours on end :)
14. Read good books
15. Watch great movies
    
16. Continue tending my garden and hopefully harvest
17. Make a compost can
    
18. Train for this year's Lewis and Clark Half Marathon in St. Charles
19. Paint the Mailbox post
20. Visit the Saint Louis Zoo and Art Museum
21. Organize my photo album
22. Have all of the pictures and music from my old hard drive transferred to the new computer
23. Visit my family in Saint Louis and Matt's in Kentucky
24. Ride my bike to Rocheport

06.10.09

Matt turned 29! He called me his old lady, but until I turn 27 in January, he is officially three years older than me. We celebrated with a few new Columbia experiences and (because we both like food) ended with a birthday feast of fajitas, spanish rice and homemade birthday cake - including corkscrew and number candles!

My Yellow Cake Recipe :-)

3/4 cup butter
3 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 package vanilla pudding
2 cups milk

I've decided that the key to a really moist cake is the pudding. No matter what, don't forget to add a box of pudding to any mix and I guarantee it will be better :-)