Wow, what a weekend!

Saturday and Sunday were a huge blur, so I will try to recap:

Saturday we got up early because Rachel had gymnastics, a birthday party AND a tee-ball game (her team is the Giants, and she looks very cute in her Giants t-shirt and baseball cap, which she wears backwards) and I had to meet a friend of mine, a law professor from Willamette, for brunch in the District. Warren, the professor, stayed with us on Wednesday night and I saw her for part of Thursday. She was here to give a lecture on clinical legal education at American University's law school, and it was great to be able to spend time with her.

Anyway, Warren picked me up after 9 and took me to the most fabulous place EVER -- Ted's Bulletin, near the Eastern Market, where they have HOMEMADE POP-TARTS. We met some alums of Willamette law school, and we had a terrific breakfast. The staff were great and very attentive, and I got into a fascinating conversation with one alum about a notorious Oregon politician who I once covered and she worked for, and she gave me at least two story ideas that I am eager to pitch to The Washington Post as soon as I get a couple of other stories off my plate. This is what I love about D.C. -- this place is brimming with interesting people who have interesting stories. Heaven for a writer!

I dropped Warren off at the airport, raced to the tee-ball field to catch the last few innings, then headed to two libraries to drop off some overdue books. I got home just in time to change clothes and greet the babysitter, Gil, who was going to watch Rachel while Drew and I headed to a silent auction for McKinley Elementary -- it included dinner, free drinks and dessert -- and I submitted two donations: a pig roast with my book co-author, Dan Huntley, and four homemade quick breads. Both items got lots of bids, and this morning I found out that the pig roast resulted in a $1,000 donation for McKinley -- the largest donation of the entire auction!! Yippee!!

Today I cooked some chicken and pasta and baked a cake for our friends Jeff and Crystal, who just had a sweet little baby named Julia. (Jeff and I used to work together at The Oregonian; he is now a media lawyer here in D.C.). Rachel and dropped off the food, admired the baby and I promised to bring more food over in a couple of weeks. Then I took Rachel to a "Frozen"-themed birthday party at her friend Zoe's house -- Zoe is one of three girls, and their house is gorgeous -- and then I ducked out to have a long phone conversation with a former colleague at Willamette who is moving to New Mexico. Then I took Rachel shopping for a Passover dress -- a three-hour endeavor that was actually fun because she was delightful, and we got two pretty dresses and some accessories -- then came home, prepared chicken for grilling, and then I lay down because I was so tired. We all had a late dinner and now I am ready to head to bed and start the week in another eight hours or so.

Providing, of course, I get enough sleep. I have been having sleep trouble lately, either waking up really early in the morning or having such vivid dreams that I wake up exhausted. Drew says it's because I have a restless mind. Or maybe a busy life??