Do remember reading the Highlights magazine as a kid?

No?

Yes?

I had a doctors appointment this morning and while I was sitting in the waiting room, I noticed a Highlights magazine on a table next to the toys. I could have picked up the Us Weekly to keep me entertained, but my curiosity arose when I remembered reading about the famous duo, Goofus and Gallant. I thought to myself, “Hmmmmm, I wonder if they still write about these two little fellows?”

As I flipped through pages in great anticipation, I finally found Goofus and Gallant. Only they weren’t drawn the same. From what I could remember, back in 1989, both of the boys were drawn in black and white. I was immediately deflated. What happened? Why would they change Goofus and Gallant? And then the light bulb went off in my head….YOU’RE OLD LAUREN! Noooooooooooo!

I quickly read through both of the illustrations, which took a whole 2.2 nano seconds, and my spirits began to lift. I couldn’t help but laugh thinking about how influential these illustrations were as a kid. Highlight knew what they were doing fo’ sure.

The top left picture has Goofus throwing a fit saying, “Why do I have to make my bed?” I love the disgusted parent in the background loathing the fact that he has to ask his child to make his bed. Seriously, what kid likes to make his bed? I’m pretty sure when a child wakes up in the morning the first thing on his mind is either Lucky Charms or cartoons, not making a bed. Or maybe that was just me?

The picture next to the right of Goofus is Gallant. In my opinion, Gallant is a goody two-shoes. He might as well have a halo around his head and God giving him a high-five for being totally awesome. I remember always wanting to be like Gallant, but thinking Goofus was way more realistic (that’s some heavy thinking for a 7 year-old). Anyways, the text that goes along with this picture – Gallant tries to keep his room looking neat. Whatevs Gallant. You know he got tons of wedgies in school.

Okay, moving on. 
Today was a busy, busy, and a splash of more of busy. Between paperwork, answering calls, and forecasting budgets for the next few months, I’m surprised I am keeping my head above water. I keep telling myself that after April 15th things will slow down, but tax day seems light years away! Is work busy for you right now? 
Even though work is crazy, it does make my afternoon runs more attractive. I remember when I first started running and couldn’t figure out why on Earth people would do this for fun. Ha! Now I am one of those people that will go bananas if I haven’t jogged in two days. Funny how things change. 
After my run, I headed home to take a quick shower because the Denver village was getting together to celebrate Katie’s 30th birthday with dinner at Osteria Marco.
I haven’t been there since we took Kitty back in October. Not only is this place conveniently located (three blocks down from our apartment), it has delicious appetizers, one heck of a wine menu, and a delicious spread of Italian food. 
A few us went to happy hour before dinner, and I ended up having two glasses of champagne…yikes! Once we sat down for dinner, I chugged four glasses of water and then sipped on a glass of red wine for the rest of meal. Can you say light weight?!
Since it was a large group there was a pre-set menu and everything was served family style. 
I love the personalized touch Kevin added to the menu…Katie’s 30th Birthday! 
We started with some antipasti:
– grilled ciabatta bread with pesto, house-marinated olives, and toasted macrona almonds

Next, we shared two kinds of salad:
– House -> salame, gorgonzola, and pinenuts
– Spinach -> pink lady apples, smoked goat cheese, candied walnuts, and warm bacon vinaigrette
I ended up eating a larger portion of the house salad and nibbling on the spinach. Note self: must make bacon vinaigrette!
For our entrees, we had a choice between several kinds of pizza:
– Shrimp and House Sausage -> fresno chilies, red onions, arugula
– Carne -> sausage, meatball, pepperoni, house ricotta
– Basil Pesto -> roasted red peppers, red onions
My favorite was the shrimp and house sausage. It was spicy, but damn good! 
The grand finale of dinner was the chocolate torte for dessert. Usually torte’s can be heavy and to decadent, but this was spot on. I loved the fresh whipped cream and drizzle of carmel on top. Heaven I tell ya. 
We sang Happy Birthday to Katie and toasted to a wonderful evening.

Happy Birthday Katie!