Social Networking

I enjoy connecting through electronic "social networking" avenues as much as the next person. But nothing beats spending time with family and friends in person.

Hubby and I had a great overnight trip to Green Bay last night. Had fun getting together with our friends Scott and Sandy, enjoyed dinner, the play and some night life in the big city. It was sort of refreshing to just socialize -- not whining about work or kids or anything stressful. Just sharing a few beverages, laughing a lot and looking for famous football players.

For my Packer-fan readers: Just so you know we were hanging out with Larry McCarren. Well, he was in the same establishment anyway. I proudly paraded in front of him with my Vikings purse. (I'm not kidding.)

We spent the night at our friends' and hit the road early this morning, quite grateful the weather man was wrong and we did not have to deal with freezing rain. It just rained and rained all day.

We picked up Carter from Grandma and Grandpa's and came home. That's when my "date weekend" changed from Jim and me to Carter and me. We went to the movie The Tooth Fairy, which I realize is going from one end of the drama spectrum to the other in a day's time. However, we both enjoyed the movie. I'd recommend it to anyone. And if your kid is Carter's age (10-12), they might actually understand the overall message about dreams and faith, too. Fun time.

Tonight, since we were all under the same roof again, it was family time. Carter kicked our butts in Sequence and now hubby and I are licking our wounds, I mean licking ice cream. (My coping mechanisms are apparently contagious!) Carter's in bed so we still might head out to the hot tub, too. However, bed sounds good.

This social "networking" takes a lot out of a person!

Good Night

It's date night tonight for Mr. and Mrs. Austin. And, even though there is another couple involved here, this could be as close as is gets to a real date. In other words, it doesn't involve golf, basketball, a bonfire, stock cars, a movie rental or an Olympic sled hill. Although, we do enjoy all that.

After work, we're heading with our friends to Green Bay for dinner and an evening at the theater. Oooh-la-la!

I guess I sort of lied when I said sports were not involved. We are seeing a one-man play called Runt of the Litter about a former football player who was playing for the Houston Oilers the same time his "big" brother played for another team.

The Web site, www.runtofthelitter.com, had this to say: Bo Eason, former NFL star player turned star of his own one-man show, "Runt of the Litter," inspires audiences to make their dreams a reality. His unforgettable story is living proof that with enough determination, nothing can prevail over the human spirit.

Sounds like it should be a good show. We'll spend the night at our friends' near Green Bay then head home tomorrow. Carter will spend the night at Grandpa and Grandma Austin's tonight and, unlike us, his night likely will involve basketball and perhaps a movie.

Looks like we'll ALL have a good night.