done in a day

it was a great day NOT to be in the office, with a rare rainstorm drenching southern california. and since the teen was scheduled for a doctor's appointment smack dab in the middle of the morning, i got to play hooky and relive my SAHM glory days. heh.

i spent a lovely morning with the bean, playing and laughing, and when MIL arrived to relieve me, i sped off to pick up the teen from school, squeeze in a quick trip to the library, and head down to the doctor's office. depending on how you look at it, we either lucked out or got totally fucked as we arrived right on time and found that the appointment wasn't at 10:30 but at 12:30. oy.

not wanting to go all the way back home for a mere 45-ish minutes before having to head back to kaiser, we decided to kill time at barnes & noble. and after perusing a stack of magazines together, the two of us wandered the aisles for a bit and giggled at this display of libros en español.

we got through the appointment and with the time mix-up, i was bummed to realize that i had just enough time to walk the teen upstairs, give the bean a hug and kiss, grab a bag i'd packed that morning, and scurry back out to the car for the next stop. i had a 3:00 appointment to meet a new client looking for wedding invitations in pasadena, and i arrived at our designated meeting spot right on time.

i peeked around at the few occupied tables and observed several folks hanging out and sipping warm drinks alone, plus one table with three people sitting at it, enjoying a sandwich. i sat down with an iced mocha and these:

then took a seat at a table in the corner with my snacks and snapped a few pictures of the café.

i sat there for a while, sipping my drink and checking e-mails, and happened to overhear the conversation at the table of three. after i realized that they were discussing the wedding industry's penchant for overcharging unsuspecting folks for every aspect of their big day, i waved sheepishly and introduced myself. heh. awwwwwkward.

luckily, we got over that super comfy moment quickly as we got down to business, and i displayed my wares and samples of paper, ribbon, and other assorted paraphernalia. we chatted for about an hour, narrowing it down to the design and layouts they wanted, and then they left.

i had another 45 minutes before i was due at my next stop - a volunteer gig at the local mothers' club. these quickie volunteer missions are called "done in a day," or DIADs. it was their back-to-school night and i, along with about a dozen or so fellow junior league members, had volunteered to do the cooking and serving for the barbecue.

that's right. we were barbecuing. in the rain. whee!

after a couple of circles, trying to find the place, i finally parked on the street and ran through the pouring rain into the building.

it was really nice in there - modern, clean, efficient.

i joined my fellow leaguers in a meeting room and got debriefed on the agenda for the evening.

the league president had brought an armful of cheerful red tees, adorned with the club logo. dressed in a light sweater, i knew i'd end up sweating my ass off, and i happily accepted one and put it on immediately.

i decided to join the group designated to prep, set up, and serve, and we wasted no time in jumping right in and getting started. i grabbed a knife and cutting board and helped slice a bunch of tomatoes - this was my kind of "work."

after we'd done all we could do, i figured it would be both helpful and beneficial to go outside and join the grilling team. as i'd predicted, i was a sweaty ass monkey and the cool air was a nice change from the stuffiness of the building.

our fearless leader volunteered to test out the doneness of the meat. after all, we didn't want to send anything out that would result in a family ralphing session. not exactly the kind of bonding time we were trying to help promote.

the families lined up and stampeded the buffet line. they were all happy and grateful for the yummy dinner, and adults and kids alike were quite appreciative of the eats.

they wandered into the different classrooms and all over the building to set up picnics and enjoy their meals.

and after everyone had had their fill, we got a chance to partake in some of the grub that we'd been drooling over for the last couple of hours.

i really enjoyed my first DIAD, working with and meeting a handful of seasoned members. there was only one other provisional member there besides me, and we both had a great time. it was a quick and rewarding three hours, and i can't wait to hang out more with these ladies.

oh, by the way - i was both excited and embarrassed to learn that one of the members present reads my li'l ol' blog. ha! i asked her how she'd found me and all she said was "there was a rumor going around that one of the newbies is a blogger, and we wanted to see what you'd said about us!" heh.

bussssssted! [waving to league lurkers]