Wordless Wednesday: Pearl Jam!

Live from Madison Square Garden



Two VERY drunk guys a couple of rows in front of us. Heh.



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Wordless Wednesday: My mehndi, obtained at an Indian restaurant on Saturday

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8 things I learned at date night

Last year, we had a really fun night out with a couple of friends. It was so fun, that I was horribly hungover the next day, and still felt pretty substandard when Monday rolled around. Ouch.

While I think it's great to go out and tie one on every now and then, I've already done that this year at my sister-in-law's wedding (and for that one I got to fly home while feeling like death - fun! NOT!) and the memory of that is still waaaaay too fresh. So last night when we went out with the same friends, we decided to keep things a little more low key and just go to the The Melting Pot for dinner.

Still, there are always lessons to be learned, and here they are:

1. A bucket of cheese and a huge pile of bread make damn fine eatin'.
2. When going to a restaurant with a big pot of boiling water in the middle of the table, be sure to scope out which way the steam is blowing as you approach your table and sit on the OPPOSITE side, whilst you will get a facial with your meal.
3. When drinking a bright red pomegranate cosmos, set the glass down before giggling, especially if you are wearing a white top.
4. If your waitress is 20, named Gabrielle and wearing 87 pounds of bright blue glittery eye shadow, you will get excellent service, but be continuously reminded of Janice from Friends every time she opens her mouth. Consider yourself warned.
5. Cooking your own food at a restaurant is much more fun than cooking your own food at home. Which totally makes no sense. YOU are paying THEM to cook your own food. And doing so happily. (I blame the cosmos).
6. If you think the big vat 'o cheese was good, wait until the big vat 'o chocolate comes out for dessert. It's like sex in a pot.
7. A big vat of melted chocolate can only be made better by adding cheesecake, brownies, strawberries and marshmallows for dipping. Holy orgasmic food, Batman!
8. Eating so much will give you insomnia to the point where you might as well have been out until 4 a.m. anyway. So next year? Bring it on!

10 things I learned at date night

1. Italian tapas make a damn fine meal. Especially when accompanied by 10-year-old Italian wine.
2. You will feel like a rock star getting VIP treatment at the Gotham Comedy Club until you realize that entails being seated at the exact geometric center of the stage (where every comedian of the night will find some reason to poke you) and being given complimentary champagne on top of the two other drinks you must consume during the 90-minute show.
3. When you get junk mail from a bank or credit card with a postage-paid return envelope, you should send it back empty, or better yet with a note reading, “fuck you, I’m not buying anything ever.”* Hee. I am so doing that.
*As told by Lenny Marcus.
4.This guy? Hysterical!
5. Only in New York can you find a place like this where you can walk up to a counter, order a chocolate shake, then go to the back lounge and get a shot of vanilla vodka poured into it. Mmmmm.
6. I can still hold my own dancing on the bar at Hogs & Heifers.
7. Late night shots? Still not a good idea.
8. Puking is the body’s defense mechanism. If you are feeling the urge after a night of drinking, purge, baby, purge. Not doing so will cause you enormous regret later.
9. Waking up still drunk is still as unpleasant as the last time I remember, but waking up still drunk when your mother in law is staying with you and wants to discuss Thanksgiving details? Sheer. Hell.
10. There are times in life when having a hangover is totally worth the night that got you there. This counts as one of those times!

Date night! Date night!

Tonight is date night and New York City here we come! I cannot remember the last time I was in New York for an adult outing. I think it was in early 2005. Seriously.

Sure, we've taken the kids there for day trips and I've been there for work. I've met friends there for lunch. But a night out in New York? It's been a very, very long time.

Not to mention the last time we went out for dinner in "The City," I was about 7 months pregnant and suffering from virtually every related ailment: indigestion, sciatica, exhaustion. I hobbled around on my one good leg (the other one numb from Miss Loaf hanging out on all the relevant nerve endings since the end of the first trimester) trying to be a good sport. Glass of wine? Fuggetaboutit. I was so tired, I think we were home by 11 p.m. Fun date I was not.

I have high hopes for tonight's evening, even though Mark is sick, I have a cold sore the size of a second head on my upper lip and it's supposed to pour buckets sometime this evening. These are not things I am concerning myself with. We're going to NYC. We'll be with good friends, eating good food and drinking wine. Lots and lots of wine. :-)