Girls Night Out

I love girls night out. I look forward to it all week. Yes, I visit with these ladies all the time because they are my neighbors, but we amazingly never run out of things to say. And girls night out is all about getting to visit without having to run after toddlers, mediate any fights, control the chaos of screaming, and in general - having to deal with the kids. It's like we all breathe a sigh of relief when we sit down and the real fun can begin.

I have heard once that in a marriage, you of course need your spouse - they are number one, but women also need their friends too to help them survive the ups and downs of life, probably because they can relate on so many different levels because they know exactly what you are going through. For instance, you can say, "I'm having a hard time feeling important right now because all my kids do is whine, fight, and throw tantrums. Am I really making a difference in these kids lives?" And they can turn to you and say, "I know exactly how you are feeling because I felt that way just last week."

When John and I first got married, the bishop of our newlywed ward turned to John and said one of the most important things he could do in our marriage was to encourage me to attend Relief Society and make some friends, because a woman with friends makes for a happy wife. I love that John is so supportive of my girls nights out and enrichment nights. I think he can see the benefits when I come home happy and giddy. Of course, I feel this way after our date nights as well...only a couple more years, and we'll have a permanent babysitter in the house!! Oh, I will truly celebrate that day. Gone will be the days of planning our dates well in advance and calling around the neighborhood to see who is available to come tend our house full of monkeys. However, if word gets out that Kimberly babysits, we may still very well need to plan our dates in advance so we can snatch her before someone else does on the nights we want to go out!

Anyway, back to where I was going at the beginning of this post. Girls night out is tonight...Hallelulah!! I am going to leave John home with the girls and his demolition upstairs in the bedroom while I get to enjoy Chocolate Fondue night. I found this easy recipe for making chocolate fondue in a crockpot:

24 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/4 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 t vanilla extract

Place ingredients into a crockpot. Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes. Stir well. Cook 1 more hour on low. Use skewers or small tongs to dip into the the chocolate.

I'll post pictures of the fondue after it's done. Hopefully it turns out well!