I hear the key to life is Moderation...

Scott Stephens, this one’s for you.

*(Pictured: Me, John, Victoria, Josh, Kim at the Redskins game - taken by Melissa Hall)

I’d be lying to you (and myself) if I said that doing “nothing” for 5 days/nights didn’t give me a LITTLE bit of pent up energy. And what does one do with all of that pent up energy, when one returns from the country to the grand city? I am thinking that the City Mouse did something similar when he came back from switching places with Country Mouse: Make up for lost time out as soon as possible.

The following is an account of the whirlwind action that took place during the evenings of December 28th through the wee-hours of welcoming in 2007. Warning: Some material may not be suitable for children.

Thursday the 28th 7:47 pm left house
Met my dear friend Philippe at the neighborhood destination, Sette Bello for drinks/dinner. Sette Bello (Beautiful Seven) in Clarendon is the 3rd of Franco Nuschese’s (Café Milano, Sette Osteria) sumptuous Italian establishments. Enjoyed great catching up time, my favorite oven baked pizza with the arugala and shaved parm on top, and a great wine. Headed downtown to meet friends at Blue Duck Tavern. Nazy from Niche Media was in town with some of our buddies, Pirooz (Grooming Lounge) and Arash (Deep Dish Productions). Had a blast, laughing, drinking bubbly, catching up, celebrating being back in town – probably had the staff there wanting to kick us out, but they were really professional and gracious, even at midnight. The Park Hyatt DC is so gorgeous, and the service is always spot on. Called it a night …started to turn into a pumpkin.

Friday the 29th 7:05 pm left house
Ouch, should have left before I turned into a pumpkin last night. Headed to OYA for Paige’s holiday say good-bye to 2006 party in the private room for about 40 of her closest friends. Sushi, wine, delicious cuisine galore. Great conversation. Topics included: What the hell are you doing for NYE? Are you going to Gilbert Arenas’ 25th birthday party next weekend? (please note, he has rented out all of Love, invited about 5000 of HIS closest friends and fans, attendees must have the mailed Black Arenas Express card invitation, which is numbered, by the way, with their ID’s, and I hear it is open bar.) What did you do for Christmas? Typical conversation. Oh, and What are we doing after this party? Paige, Philippe, Victoria and I jumped in a cab (heaven forbid we only go to one place in a night) and made our way to Fly Lounge. There, we drank bubbly, danced and enjoyed the crowd, until a few SDG’s (read: Stupid Drunk Girls) with attitudes decided elbow me numerous times and laugh about it. Sigh. How to ruin a great night. I have a Zero Tolerance for SDG’s and SDI’s (read: Idiots that are of the Male Species). Gave myself the hook, just in time. Another late evening. Yikes!

Saturday the 30th 5:45 pm left house
Ugh. This was getting tough. Redskins game. Victoria had booked 5 tickets from a friend on the Owner’s Suite Level (my favorite) for the Giants game. Took John T (Cloud Dining), Josh (Nage) and his wife Kim. Had a blast, the suite was crowded with friends and I was really getting a headache. Little engine that could was going through my mind. Went to 5th Quarter for a split second. Keri’s last Redskins game – she is going to RedPeg Marketing. Wish her the best of luck! She is awesome!

Left game, stopped back in the city to dance at Fly. Now I really had a headache. Gave myself the hook again. One more night to go …

Sunday the 31st, New Year’s Eve 7:46 pm left house
Dear Lord, I can make it though. I know I can. It was the Home Stretch. Saw the light at the end of the tunnel. Saw the Finish Line. Just a few more hours. Were those bags under my eyes? Or was the lighting bad? And how could I gain 10 lbs in 3 nights? Never mind, stop staring in the mirror and get going. Headed to Nage for dinner with friends. It was a nice crowd, as usual, the food there was wonderful. Love that place. Champagne anyone? Left there and in the rain, went to IndeBleu. Was there by 11ish, stayed to ring in the New Year – NO KISS. Sigh. Went to Fly to end the night. Oh, did kiss someone there, but he was with our party all night. Then left and did a “drive by” with a group to a house party. Oh, it was time to call it. Unfortunately, missed the party at Napoleon, but only b/c logistically, it became impossible to fit in.

WOW, made it through the 4 Night Party Tunnel alive. Have to say the best times were dinner at Sette Bello (probably because I was so fresh) and the last night at Fly (probably because I got a kiss!).