Even Erin had to admit that it counted as my city venture for January.

So I didn't get anything "accomplished" in terms of organizing yesterday...unless you count convincing Michael to go through his clothes. Which I do! He wasn't compelled to pose for blog-worthy pictures, but suffice it to say that he had room in some of his pants for an extra leg or two. =) He found a whole bag worth of stuff to donate, and a bunch of stuff to trash. He didn't finish until midnight, so he didn't get to really organize his clothes (the stuff he knows fits and wears regularly is currently strewn about the infamous "back room"). But--it's a good start!

I also got to meet Erin for dinner at Ronnarong, a Thai tapas restaurant in Somerville, MA. I'm counting it as my "fun thing in the city" adventure for January. Erin was adamant that it didn't count (even though I noted that I had to drive through Cambridge to get there!). While I admit that it isn't "downtown" it did get me off my couch and into my car and a new venue. Unfortunately, since I don't go into the city much anymore, I didn't remember to bring change to feed the meter. I scrounged around and found a few quarters in my car, and Erin had an extra. I came up about 12 minutes short and decided to risk it.

We had a great time catching up...we haven't seen each other since my wedding! That's kind of crazy, but kind of not, since we both have insane schedules. And even though we both had hectic and tiring days yesterday, and it was rainy and gloomy...it did reaffirm my theory that taking time to connect with people GIVES you energy rather than draining it. That's sometimes hard to remember, but I'm going to try. We talked for three hours and had some delicious soup and Thai rolls. The entrees were just so-so, I thought...the pad Thai was a bit salty for my taste. The atmosphere was really cute though...very small, with a bar seating 8 and maybe 5 tables, but a cozy, pillow-laden bench to sink into.

I had gotten a "groupon" for the restaurant (this is something you can sign up for online or on facebook, by city. A groupon is a group coupon that has significant savings if enough people sign up to buy it. In this case, I paid $15 for a $35 certificate to this restaurant.) so our meal only cost $6.00, which was awesome. (In case you're wondering, they sold 1,788 of these!)

Unfortunately, I had a $30 parking ticket waiting for me when we were done.

After that, even Erin had to admit that it counted as my city venture for January.