Hot Chocolate and Steak Fries

Last night Cameron's middle school had their annual fund raising auction. A friend of mine, Charlene, asked if I wanted to be her date for the event.  Her husband had opted to stay home and Jeff was already volunteering as a bartender at the event. 

I bought a dress in Denver that I have been saving to wear to the theater. Since the theater is on hold until finances smooth out I pulled it out of the closet to wear to the auction.  I'd asked my friend what people would be wearing and she said it would run the gambit.  Sure enough there were people in jeans and others dressed for the Academy Awards.

It was the usual school auction fare with  bidding on spa packages, vacation condos, and housekeeping services. One thing that they did that I liked was that the teachers had a raffle where students could win an afternoon activity with them.   I gave Cam $10 and I think she bought ten raffle tickets to go on a cupcake tour with her English teacher, but she unfortunately did not win. But it's a great way to involve the kids in the event. The teachers at Cam's school are an amazing group of young adults full of creative ideas and dedicated to making school a positive experience for the diverse student body, including volunteering their personal time to fund raise by involving the students.

I'm really tired of getting a glass of wine at a restaurant and getting a Utah portion.  The auction was no different.  But somewhere in the mix of the evening the meager portions began to add up.  One of the student's fathers is an owner at Heartland Brewery and they donated all of the food and wine (I should have had more ribs, but they aren't exactly a social food), so I did eat, but I think the ratio of food to drink was a little out of balance. 

Jeff is on call at Accenture this month so he ended up heading home early to fix an obscure "batch" problem. Charlene and I were foot loose and fancy free after the auction ended, so we did the only sane thing and headed to a diner. What is so fastinating about going to a diner late night (after midnight) is how busy these places are.  At one point there was not an empty seat in the house.  Of course, people looking for a place to sit and chat don't exactly keep tables turning over.

We went to Cafe 83.  Last time we were there we stayed for two hours chatting over a cup of morning coffee until they not to subtly asked us to leave by taking away all cups, silverware, and water glasses from the table. This time I ordered hot chocolate and Charlene took the lead as the adult and ordered a cup of tea.  After about an hour in I added french fries to the order.  Is there anything more delicious after a night drinking and socializing than hot chocolate and steak fries in a neighborhood diner?  I think not.

I think I strolled in the door around 1:30 am. which reflected on electronic equipment as 2:30 a.m due to daylight savings time starting that night.. Super fun time on my first girls night out since coming to the city.  Long over due, but well worth the wait.