Meatloaf is worth a try . .

Last night I dined with three friends.

I learned the following from that St. Patrick’s Day dinner party.

• I love meatloaf despite its lunchroom menu stereotype.

• Pistachio pudding has a turquoise ocean color that you’d see in a magazine (didn’t see that coming).

• I’m not as good at making Brazilian lemonade as I was last summer.

• I want to watch American Idol more often (we kept it on mute until the good parts).

• I am a connector, my best friend is a maven, and the other two, well, they’re good people but they’re certainly not salesmen.

• Professor Harold Hill (the Music Man) is my alter ego.

So glad I dined with three friends last night.

Secret Carrier . .

Sometimes I think we are little too obsessed with saving money because a lot of the time we're not really saving.

I recently came up with the "Secret Carrier Philosophy." On Kayak.com, sometimes there is a flight option given to you that says "Secret Carrier." Details on the flight are very sparse and will often say, "Departure: 4-6pm, Arrival: 12-2pm." Not very promising. In the case I was looking at, this particular flight was only $13 cheaper than the others listed. The philosophy is such that there are those who will save a few dollars to be inconvenienced substantially and have many unknowns that cause stress.

We all know someone who has scheduled a flight at 6am rather than 9am just to save 5 dollars, or completely overlooks flight details because of the price and ends up with a super long layover somewhere just to save a buck. Whether you're rich or not, you still have your intelligence. Let's not be the "Secret Carrier" type.

A Sweet Free Valentine's Day Party . .

No sweets. Shrimp, bread sticks, ham, red peppers and tomatoes will occupy the menu.

Come.

The RSVP . .

I've been talking about this for years. The RSVP is so important.

R.S.V.P. stands for the French phrase, "répondez, s'il vous plaît," which means please reply or respond, please. People just don't get it. Which is tragic because it's the antidote to creating a successful event.

It doesn't matter what language it's in, it means to be considerate by letting the host know if you'll be there. There are only two possible responses - no or yes, and a maybe means no.

Most people will give you several days or even weeks to respond, not me, I just say "R.S.V.P. Immediately." It saves us all from a little stress and the possibility of forgetting.

So the next time you get the chance to R.S.V.P. - do it immediately, and remember that maybe means no.

I'm a True Washingtonian . .

It's official. I'm a true Washingtonian. Thank you, Lou.

"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."
- Dr. Seuss

#8 Feed the ducks . .

#8 Feed the ducks at the Reflection Pond.

Okay, so there weren't any ducks but there were mounds of seagulls. Ridiculous. It was brought back every nightmare I had after watching the movie "Birds" at Megan Eisenhart's Halloween party in fourth grade.

I was attacked. Who knew that bread was such a hot commodity?

#9 Apache Helicopter . .

#9 Take a picture of an Apache Helicopter on the White House lawn.