I love it when Tuesday is not a school night

Watch out, world - teachers all over the country are letting their hair down for a few days.

Last night I went out with the goils. Adam works with all these ladies, so I got invited to their GNO. We had dinner and wine (so. much. wine.) at Spin. It's a pizza place similar to Il Vicino, for the Wichitans on here. It's kind of funny, though, because it's in a strip mall in Leawood (119th and Metcalf, behind Cheesecake Factory) but they've totally done the fixtures like it's in some reborn industrial cavern, with exposed cinder block walls and exposed duct work on the ceiling. Ooh, pretty darn edgy for Overland Park-Leawoodites. I guess you can be urban without going to "the city."

It was really nice to have a social group of women to hang out with. Seems like Adam and I are still trying to get our social lives moving up here.

Mitzi, Betsy and Amy. There was a whole LOT of photo-taking involved in the evening.

Looking at photos that were already taken.

Betsy's comment card on the wines she tasted. You'll notice, her first wine says "Free Wine." The restaurant manager had a little thing for Miss Betsy. She was the first to arrive, so while she was waiting on us, he bought her a drink. Then, throughout the evening, he proceeded to "help" the server work our table. Miraculously, ManagerMan always worked the table from Betsy's end. He was mighty touchy feely about the whole deal, as well. I used a simple 1-10 rating system for my card, Betsy was definitely more creative. By the end of the evening, we were trying to figure out how to spell "woot! woot!" (you have to say it out loud to yourself).

Yum, wine through a (I mean, four) straws.

A few of the wines we tried. My favorite was a Riesling by Polka Dot. It came in a tall, thin, bright blue bottle.

Everyone except me works at the elementary school with Adam. Their school stories are pretty damn funny. I don't know how they do it everyday.

We shut Spin down. They had the whole place closed and cleaned around us, but ManMan let us stay two extra hours because he was doing inventory. So, I guess you could say we did benefit from his little crush on Betsy.

I had a great time. It's a little nerve-wracking going out with people you don't know for the first time, but by the end of the night, I was feeling pretty comfy with everyone. They're all super nice and friendly, and I'm sure the copious amounts of wine tasted helped, too.

I'm not 30 yet, but...

How do I know I'm getting old?

Let me count the ways.

This week, at school, one of the assignments I had my kids do for a journal was "March comes in like a lion, and out like a lamb, or vice versa. Well, this March came in like a..." and they were supposed to take it from there and be creative. None, not one of them, had ever heard the phrase "March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb." Great, I'm spouting "old wives' tales."

Last night, Stacey and I just drank some wine, and watched TV and talked, and it was great. So much cheaper than the going-out-all-the-time we used to do, and you don't smell smoky when you go home, and your ears aren't ringing, AND, I knit a whole freakin' scarf in the time we were hanging out. BONUS!

Adam was at the mines, selling the wares of QT to bachelor party-goers and hoochie mamas with no teeth. (True stories, both, mind you.) He should be writing his own blog - The View From Behind the Counter at Your Local QuikTrip. And Stacey's husband is out of town for a bit, so we just chilled, hanging out with the kids, and breaking out the wine after they went to bed.

However, one way I know I am still my young, unsophisticated self is that I'm still choosing the evening's wine selection because it has a cool or funny label - not because it's the best out there. Last night, I bought two bottles - Three Blind Moose Pinot Grigio, and Bohemian Highway Chardonnay. The Bohemian label is cool, and since we're a little Bohemian ourselves, maybe I'll use it as a piece on our mantle (which our artist friend Ella informed me is a shrine to our lives).

Ironically, this post is about being almost 30, and it's my 30th post to the blog. Weird.

Saw in the paper today that the cast of Grey's is pissed because Addison Montgomery might be the focus of a new spinoff of the show. Have we jumped the shark? The jury's still out on last week's show and the effect it will have on the series as a whole. It was a damn rerun this week, so I have to wait to see if we're getting back to the GOOD writing.

Here's a few recently knitted items...See something you like? I'm sure a deal could be made...

Scarves a plenty. Easy to knit, and the yarn you choose makes all the difference. The two on the left, and the turquoise one in the middle are what you see, but the black and white is actually one scarf - one end is white, the other black. It makes for a cool accessory when worn around the neck. Even though the weather seems to be headed for warmer climes, these scarves would still make great accessories - they're light, not too warm.

Earth-Hugger. It's a can cozy that doubles as a coaster, and keeps your hands dry when the can starts to sweat. Bonus - it's knit with wool, not made of whatever synthetic material most Koozies are made of.

Another phone cozy. Made this one for Amy. The background is actually a UFO - Adam's sweater that I'm still working on.


By the way, I go to court in Eastborough on Wednesday to protest my icy-day ticket. Wish me luck and good karma.
I need to go do some real work now, but hope you enjoy the day!

Just another Friday night in Doodah

Stop the presses. Hold the phone. Call aunt Martha.

Jill actually went out Friday night. It was a nice girls' night out actually. Well, it ended up that way. It started as dinner with friends and family, which was also great.

Jeff, Kat, Terry, Kurt, Kasey, Lauryn and I had dinner at Da Cajun Shak. Um, yeah, it's "Da" Cajun "Shak." Just so you know, if you go there, be sure to ask what they're not serving anymore before you order off the menu. Last night it was hush puppies, cornbread stuffing, and two other things. Nothing like ordering and hearing the server say "We're out." "Oh, we're out of that, too." "Oh, we're out." Um, mark it off the menu, maybe? Heck, that's what they make black Sharpies for!

The food that they weren't out of was pretty damn good. I had the red beans and rice, and a side of fried okra (thank god they weren't out of that!). Oh, and I actually ate a tiny piece of Gator tail. Yeah, it was really gator tail, not breaded fried chicken that they just call Gator Bites cause it's cute. The taste I had was good, but I don't know if I could eat a whole order.

After dinner, I headed over to Da Von Maur at Da Towne East, and lo and stinkin' behold, the Keens I have been wishin' and hopin' and prayin' for FINALLY were in the clearance room. Ah, beloved clearance room. I'm not a shoe-hoarder, but I freakin' love that place. Sure, they were still 60 bones, but they only had one pair in my size (7.5 if you're keeping score), and they were marked down from 90. I HEART THEM.

Seriously. I have been waiting like two years for the damn things to go on sale.

Amy and I met a couple more friends out at Oeno. Well, we tried. Of course, because it's the only uber trendy wine bar in Wichita, it was packed like sardines on a Friday night. If you squint, you might just think you're in Chicago or NYC - it's dark, EVERYONE is wearing black, and the foundation and eye makeup are thick. Those of you that know me know that I'm more of a beer girl anyway than a wine snob, so we made for Old Chicago pretty damn quick.

It was nice to be there again - but weird, because it's all the same kids still working there from when Adam worked there. I guess I always thought of that as a transitional type job, but they're probably making more money than me, the poor sucker who decided to be a journalism teacher!

Alrighty tighty. I guess I should go do some real work. I did post something about procrastination earlier this week. Wait, that's right. No work tonight. Headed over to Stacey's to chill tonight. We're running five miles in the a.m. Yep, five, on the stinking treadmill. When will the sun warm the earth?

Speaking of that - my new favorite commercial line: "I have to illuminate the entire eastern seaboard in 15 minutes. I think you all have time for breakfast."