"The One Where...7 girls + lake wknd = FUN"

This past weekend, me and my dear friend Jill road-tripped with 5 other girlfriends down to the Lake of the Ozarks for a much-needed girls weekend. Hey, if the hubby can have a boys weekend then I am entitled to mine :) We left on Friday morning and returned Sunday late afternoon tan and exhausted from a super fun weekend!

The condo we rented turned out to be a really nice place with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms (which were greatly appreciated with 7 women trying to get ready), a nice kitchen, living room and an awesome patio that overlooked the pools and lake.

Our first day there consisted of lounging poolside, enjoying ice cold alcoholic beverages and endulging in the many snacks that everyone brought. We met some of the "locals" there and had a great time visiting & hanging out with them. On Saturday, we headed to an awesome outlet mall where we shopped the morning away. I spent way too much money but ended up getting some great deals, several cute outfits for Vegas and a new Fossil watch - my "guilt" didn't seem to last long! We all had lunch at Panera and headed back to the condo for some more pool-time! After a long afternoon pool-side and a few too many drinks, we made our way back so we could all get ready for a night out on the town. Since we didn't want to drink & drive, we called a cab to take us a whole 3 miles to our destination which ended up costing us $25 one-way. I guess that is the price you pay for arriving safely!?! We went to a local favorite called "Backwater Jacks" which ended up being alot of fun. It was located on the lake and was all open to the outside. There was a live band playing 80's & 90's music which was alot of fun. We had their famous "Pain in the Ass" drink which was a combination of a pina colada & a rum runner and was very yummy! We were quite disappointed when the band ended at 11pm and later found out the bar closed at midnight! We were so bummed seeing how we were just getting started for the night :( So, we called for a cab and another $25 later, we ended up safely back at the condo.

We decided to continue our party down at the docks checking out all the huge boats and mingling with the "locals" whom we had gotten to know over the weekend. We didn't get in until well after 2am and were up early Sunday morning to pack, clean up the condo and get breakfast before we left for Kansas City.

We were sad to see our weekend come to an end so soon but I think we were all secretly ready to get back to reality and to our own beds! It was a weekend filled with good friends, good times, tons of laughter and memories for a lifetime and we have 100+ pics to show for it :) We had so much fun that we are already planning for the lake weekend for 2009!

"The One Where...We Plan A Vacation"

It is official...we just booked an "end-of-summer" vacation and are headed to Vegas in September. Our neighbors and a good friend of ours will also be there at the same time so fun is sure to be had by all. We are actually flying in a few days before they all arive so we can go do some sight-seeing. Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, the Grand Canyon and Red Rock Canyon are all on the list. If anyone has any good tips to pass along or definite "must sees" please feel free to comment! We have never been to Vegas so all "tips" are helpful!

"The One Where...It's Been Awhile"

Wow - 2 weeks! That's how long it's been since I have last made a blog entry! Deep down I knew this would be tough to keep up every week! Looks like I have a lot of catching up to do?!?

Let's see, where did I last leave off? Ahh yes, the weekend my relatives were in town! July 4th was pretty much an uneventful holiday. We spent the evening of the 5th with our neighbors in the cul-de-sac grilling out, having a few adult beverages and letting off a few fireworks. I can't express to you all enough what wonderful neighbors we have. We are always getting together to spend endless nights sitting out in the cul-de-sac talking about anything & everything! It will be a very sad day when any one of us move out of the 'hood!

The following work week went by fast. Managed to save a few people at work and continue to stomp out heart disease.

On Thursday, Shane left town for a "boys weekend" and headed to Pryor, OK for a 4 day rockfest called "Rocklahoma 2008"! Rocklahoma is the world's largest Rock Festival featuring bands from the eighties. People come from all fifty states to this event and every continent in the world with Antarctica being the only exception. Bring on the 80's big hair, leather pants and mullets! Here is a picture of the "Rockstar" himself from the weekend:

Since the hubby was out of town, I decided to host the monthly Girls Game Night which is always fun! For those of you that don't know what game night is all about let me fill you in. Over a year ago, I was walking the bulldogs around the neighborhood and met Melissa who was walking her chocolate lab named Dakota. She invited me to a Game Night where several girls from the subdivision get together every 2nd Friday of the month. Whoever is hosting for the evening provides the beverages and game to be played and everyone brings an appetizer to share. It is a great way to meet people in your neighborhood and make some new friends as well. So far the list is up to 15 girls and always growing. I have been participating for a year and 1/2 now and this past Friday was my 3rd time being the "hostess with the mostest" :)

On Saturday morning I took Neo to Petsmart to be groomed. While there, I bought Millie a new Cuz dinosaur, Bubba a new Kong toy and Neo treats. I get home, give everyone their new stuff and go about cleaning the house. About 10 minutes later, I see Bubba with Millies' toy in his mouth with the tail half chewed off and the squeaker no longer squeaks! Another $8 down the drain! Regardless of the incident, Millie still LOVES her new toy - despite the missing tail! I swear they are like children - can't take your eyes off of them for even a minute!

Well, there you go! That should put everyone up to date thus far. I will try my best and post another blog this weekend....don't hold your breath though :) Until then...

"The One With...The City Girl"

So this week my aunt, uncle and cousin from South Dakota are in town for the National Jr. Shorthorn Competition at the American Royale! Who knew there was such a thing? I definitely didn't! My cousin is showing several cows (as I like to call them) in this event and I was politely corrected by my uncle that they are not cows but rather heifers and/or steers. Ooops - silly me!

So I had a 1/2 day at work today and thought I would drive myself down to the Amer. Royale area and watch my cousin and visit with my aunt & uncle for a few hours. Now when I left the house this morning, I obviously didn't think about putting on my "cow-watching" apparel. After what I witnessed this afternoon, I should have definitely re-thought my decision when I got dressed this morning. I put on cute little white shorts, with a matching tank top and my black Rainbow flip-flops thinking this would be good to wear incase it was a hot/muggy day out. So I left work and headed downtown - DEEP downtown - into what I like to call the West Bottoms from Hell! I had to take a detour into unknown territory which made me really nervous. Then I had to drive across a huge bridge that I swear was going to collapse at any minute. Next I took a scenic tour all around the AR area looking for my relatives. I finally parked the vehicle 20 minutes later amongst 100's of big dually trucks and made my way into the cattle barn....mind you, I have cute little flip flops on...OH and carrying my big Coach bag :) My uncle meets me outside and leads me through the cow barn where my aunt is. My eyes got real big as I was not prepared for what lay ahead of me! I had to walk through cow-urine-soaked mulch and dodge the cow poo piles and puddles from washing the cows in my now not-so-cute Rainbow flip-flops! My aunt is seated on the top of the metal bleachers which are somewhat covered in dirt/cow manure/unknown residue and I sit my butt down with yes, my white shorts on. I had nowhere to put my purse and feared if I laid it down on the bleacher it would have fell off and landed in a pile of poo so I just held it in my lap. Once I sat down and got settled in, I looked around and noticed the majority of the people there were in jeans, cowboy boots/hats, big flashy belts (which I liked with all the bling on them), t-shirts, etc. and then there was me in my white shorts, flip-flops and Coach bag! How I looked must have screamed "Johnson County Diva" to them all! (You must live around here to get that joke :)

After my cousin finished showing her steer we walked back through the cattle barn, dodging cattle left and right in the aisles like they were people and walked to their camper so we could visit awhile which was really nice since I hadn't seen them since X-mas! After being there a couple of hours I decided to make my way home...through rush hour traffic...on I-35 at 4:30pm...the evening before the holiday weekend! Can you say CRAZY?!? And to think, we are going back on Saturday? You can bet I will be dressing "down" for the occasion :) One thing is for sure - you can take me out of the city...but you can never take the city OUT of me! And to think I grew up on a farm!?!