We have enjoyed some exceptionally good times with friends lately, sharing wine, sharing meals, and sharing lots and lots of laughter.  Shane and I hosted our first (of what will be many) “mulled wine/game night” last weekend.  We brewed a big pot of mulled wine, people brought over some games, and we let the craziness ensue.  J and L brought over their Nintendo Wii and we all howled with laughter as we watched several of the guys take a stab at Wii hula-hooping.  I was impressed, to say the least, by the speed with with several of our male friends can move their hips.  Belly-dancers in the making.  A little more fun with the Wii; a couple of rounds of Catch Phrase; and one long, but ridiculous game of Cranium, and we were all laughed out.  I appreciate the fact that I can see our group of friends becoming less and less inhibited with each other.  It’s nice to be unabashedly goofy.

Friday night we headed over to J and N’s for a fondue party.  I’ve found that nothing brings people together like melted Gruyere cheese and gooey dark chocolate.  We feasted on fruit, bread, meat, and wine; shared stories; stumbled through a disjointed-but-joyous rendition of “The Twelve Days of Christmas”, complete with drums; played another rather intense round of Catch Phrase; and I was tired.  Ready to head home, hit the sack, and remain in bed for at least ten hours.  But as Shane and I were walking out the door, I found myself agreeing to participate in a group 5k-run to take place the next morning.  Seems that some of the ever-so-macho men in the group thought that it would be fun to get up early and run 3.1 miles in 35-degree weather.  And I suppose some of the ladies (myself included) were thinking we could use the exercise, after the gluttenous amounts of cheese and chocolate we’d just consumed.  Despite the cold, it actually turned out to be a pretty nice jog, and the breakfast we all enjoyed together after our run was fantastic.  And so the first annual Columbia City 5k was born.

Like I said, good times.  Looking forward to more to come.

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