My girlfriends and a few other things...

Back in December, the last of my BFF's turned 40. We decided this meant we needed a getaway. We really would have liked to have gone on a 10-day cruise to Mexico, but one night at the Embassy Suites in Bellevue over MLK weekend in January had to suffice.

We started after work on a Friday and stopped for dinner at a new favorite place near the outlet mall. While we were there, our wise and all-knowing math teacher among us informed us that high school students told her that if you put salt on your arm and then ice, you can burn yourself. Silly teenagers! Why do they know these things? Why do they try these things? 

So yes, then we my oldest friend had to try it. I'm sad to say, we encouraged the behavior. I couldn't believe I was around such rebels. They are such bad influences on me.

Would you look at that? It does leave a burn!

Our conversations in the car went something like this... "When I was in high school I did this..." Followed by laughter. And then the next friend said, "When I was in high school I did this..." and so on. With more laughter. Until it was my turn. And I said, "None of you would have been friends with me in high school!" LOTS more laughter.

After those confessions, thankfully, we all still like each other. Well, at least, I still like all of them.

At the hotel, we made the birthday girl wear the birthday hat. Too bad we forgot about it until then, or we could have made her wear it at the restaurant. That's what happens when we are all over 40, I guess. 

And then it happened. My weekend of rebellion began...

My oldest friend, yes, the one who put salt & ice on her arm, brought those. I have not consumed alcohol in at least 3 years. I don't like it and it makes me sleepy. I figured, "Hey - this doesn't really taste like alcohol and being sleepy in a hotel (since I can hardly ever sleep in a hotel) doesn't sound so bad. I was wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

I am apparently allergic to something in Mike's Strawberry Margaritas. Probably the red dye. My tongue swelled up. I couldn't breathe, and when I did sleep, I snored. Heavens. I DO NOT snore. I even texted my friend Tami, with whom I have spent dozens of nights in hotels or cabins due to our leading WA State GEMS together for 5 years, and she confirmed, she has never heard me snore. Ed hasn't either, but he apparently can't be trusted. :P

So, lesson learned. Don't ever trust your friends. They will make you a rebel.

On Saturday, after lingering over our free breakfast and coffee for hours, we went to Ikea. I had become such a rebel by this time that I went the wrong way down a one-way alley in a parking lot just to get a parking space. If I had gotten a ticket, I would have made my friends pay for it. They made me do it.

After Ikea came The Cheesecake Factory and Nordstrom Rack before we reluctantly began our drive home. It was a weekend literally FULL of laughter, friendship, coffee, and food. I wonder when we can go again?

A few other details from January...

My amaryllis (gift from a student) actually bloomed and was beautiful! I've never had such a nice one before!

Sarah got new cute, collegiate glasses. She loves them. She looks too old. Thankfully we bought them while she was still 17, because they were lots cheaper than if she had been 18!

And for those of you wondering, she is still working on the college decision. She is waiting for financial aid packages and scholarships to come through. It will be March at the earliest.