Tis the Season?

I know I've brought it up a few times already, but I think I'm finally going to start exercising before I get to the point of wanting hydroxycut.

Next week is my last week on my latest work project, so my list of what I want to do with that minimum 20 hours a week is growing rapidly.

Besides exercising, I want to clean up and paint my office, re-paint Maggie's room, clean the house thoroughly, start trying some new recipes, and work my chocolate biz better again. Let's hope my motivation keeps pace with my good intentions!

Ummm...Why?

I have to preface this whole post by saying it is generated by curiosity, and I intend nothing other than positive communication from it!

Why do some people have their comments moderated (so they don't appear until approved) and still require those dreaded captcha boxes (where you have to try and decipher and enter letters before it will even accept the comment)? It seems redundant to me. If you're going to moderate it anyway, who cares if it's legitimate before that?

Now that I've said that, I hope mine is set up to only moderate (if not, let me know!). Every comment that is left for me, I receive a notice in my email and go in to choose to accept or reject the comment. Yes, I get plenty of spam. But I'd rather not put the few people who leave legitimate comments through additional hassles trying to pass the captcha tests when I'm going to preview the comment anyway.

Just wondering....

Yummm!!

I know a lot of people think of grilling out (and feeling guilty because it's certainly not the best fat burner) on a holiday weekend, but we just stopped for a late lunch at one of my favorite restaurants on the way home. Yeah - we came home early from our day at the beach house because there's a lot to do at home! Hubby's out working on the boat again already...Hope he can get what he wants from it this year!

I'm inside enjoying the air conditioning and my food coma! I had a fabulous piece of great lakes whitefish, with fresh green beans and awesome spicy bread. I could eat there every day if it wasn't an hour away....

And having lunch that late means I'm having no thoughts whatsoever about dinner!

What's treating your palate this holiday weekend?

Friday Food Fun

I just found Friday Food Fun through My Life as Mama Jodi. She's always got fun, easy memes so I can say something about myself and my life without thinking too hard ;)

1. What are your favorite pizza toppings? Either bacon or black olives with mushrooms (but not both the bacon and olives or it's too salty...)
2. Do you prefer thin crust or thick crust? I like regular best, but if thin or thick are my only choices I'd choose thin.
3. Do you prefer Deluxe pizza or a pizza with just 1 - 3 ingredients (which ones)? See question #1 :)
4. Do you eat any unusual toppings on your pizzas? Nope. I'm pretty plain jane when it comes to food!
5. Do you prefer tomato sauce or another sauce (which kind)? Usually regular tomato sauce. Although once in a while I like a BBQ chicken pizza. But not very often.
6. What is your favorite dessert pizza? Pampered Chef's recipe for fruit pizza.
7. Do you prefer pizza from a restaurant, from the freezer or deli section, or homemade? We usually get Hungry Howies (with butter cheese crust), but I miss the stuff my mom used to make at home.
8. Describe the perfect pizza for you. Impossible. Even bad pizza is still, well, pizza. What sounds perfect changes from day to day.

Ready for the Weekend?

Boy, am I ever ready!!

I still have a bit more work to do around here, so I think the plan is to spend one more night at home before packing up just a couple outfits, my lounge chair, a few good books to read, some sun block and wrinkle cream, oh yeah, and all of Miss Maggie's stuff!
I'm looking forward to garage sale-ing with my sister-in-law tomorrow, then doing a whole lot of just chilling, and hopefully get some color relaxing on my lounge chair by the bay :)

What are your fun weekend plans?

Too Amusing Not to Share

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Fat Trends?

Have you noticed how the media is always telling us a different health 'tip'? Of course they typically go along with the latest hot diet, right? I suppose they're all probably good for you in some way, but not everyone has the same issues, so the same tricks aren't going to help us all.

I'm sure it can also be attributed to all of the advances in medicine. They can test for so much more than they used to! But then in the same breath I find myself wondering if that makes things better or worse. Lately I've heard of a few people with vitamin D deficiencies. I'm not doubting the validity of the problems this can cause, but I don't think the deficiencies are new, I just think they're one of the new hot buttons doctors are checking for.

Remember when everyone was in search of cholesterol treatments? I don't hear as much about it anymore. Is everyone cured, or has the moment passed for that to be the popular health struggle?

Weren't the original personality types based on body fluids? I'm just spouting a bit here (get it? that was a pun!) - but I remember theories well before my time saying the reason you acted the way you did was because you had too much blood, or phlegm or whatever. Things keep evolving, but no one has the perfect chemical makeup, eh?

Random Tuesday Thoughts

Whoa! Hubby just walked in from work hours early (to work from home for a few hours). Scared the bejeebers out of me - I thought it was Maggie waltzing out the back door instead of taking her nap. Surprise!

I'm bummed that 24 is over :( And yes, I shed a few tears last night watching the finale. Besides children's programming, that was the only show I watched. What will catch my interest next? The last show before (actually just between seasons) was Rock of Love (all versions...). And before that what I watched regularly was Dark Angel. I don't get into too many shows.

The paperwork, phone calls and follow-up of my chocolate business have suffered while I'm working my other job. I'm looking forward to being able to focus on chocolate again in a couple weeks.

I'm debating spending a bit of my hard earned money to go to the tanning booth and get a good base tan. I don't tan easily, and my legs right now are scary white with tons of bruises. It's hotter than 80 degrees, but I don't want to wear shorts. I want people to look because I look good, not because they're waiting for an opening to say, "OMIGOSH! What happened to your leg??" And yes, it's happened.

What's it Worth?

Today at a toddler music class, the other mothers and I were comparing our toe-nails. Okay, no hardcore 'comparison,' but I think the other ladies were mildly (very mildly) impressed that my toenails were painted. I explained to them that while I paid for it myself, the time to get a pedicure was part of my Mothers' Day :) Maggie and I also went to a fairie tea that afternoon. Luckily our gallivanting around gave hubby time to make me another wonderful Mothers' Day video that we all love.

Next month is Fathers' Day, of course. I'm searching for the guide to Father's wish list (although Maggie definitely calls him Daddy). I don't have hubby's mad skillz to make something as impressive as his videos.

What are you getting for your dad, or for your kids' dad, for fathers' day next month?

Random...well, Thursday

I love having a productive morning. Today Maggie and I put the peat on the new trees (and a bit on the old ones as well), watered them and watered the front grass. While we were finishing up, the neighbor came over and offered to trim the dead off the trees for me - thanks, Mr. John!

I was just reminded to call and make arrangements for all my medical bills because we received a collection call here for someone else. I amused myself by making up almost-correct information for the collector. And I used to be a collector, so I should know how much his job sucks anyway. Sorry, dude.

Tomorrow Maggie and I will head to the Secretary of State office to renew the tabs on mine and hubby's cars. In Michigan, you have to do this by your birthday each year. Since hubby's and my birthday are a day apart next month, we get the double whammy each year.

I was going to plant the little flower that Maggie got at fairie tea for mothers' day, but all the soil near the house is covered with plastic and rocks. I think our next plan of attack may be to get a flower box or planter to keep outside. I would try it inside, but every time I've brought the little cup inside, ants have followed...

My work hours are on track for the week! I need to get another five hours in total today, then anything tomorrow will be extra (which I do need as well). Tomorrow night I'll be able to go do my chocolate show guilt-free, and then Saturday I can enjoy the whole day of the women's retreat! And there's only approximately two weeks left on the project. I certainly appreciate the income, but it will be nice to have a bit of free time back.

So much for the hospital's call back system. I was offered the option to stay on the line for seven minutes, or press some buttons and they'd call me back in the same amount of time. This was ten minutes ago. Guess their system doesn't work. I wish I was surprised. Edited to add: They did call back! It just took twice as long as they said...

One eskimO

While I love staying in communication with the rest of the world via my blog, another favorite part of blogging is freebies!

I recently received a copy of One eskimO's self-titled debut album (in stores now) to review. I asked for hubby's opinion too, so here's a little of what each of us thought of the eleven tracks.

Hubby's first comment was that he was not fond of the synthetic drum beat in Hometime (the first track). Luckily it wasn't as big a deal to him for the rest of the cd. Having worked with a little bit of music and stuff with a friend who writes songs, he said he was surprised that as strong as they seemed with everything else, the synthetic drum just cheapened that song somewhat.

Personally, I enjoyed the cd. I had heard Kandi on the radio the week before (not surprising, since it was the Starbucks 'Pick of the Week' back in September, and spent 20 weeks on the New Artist chart). Besides Kandi, a few of my other favorites were Chosen One and Amazing (which I'd heard a week earlier on a digital mothers' day card).

If you haven't heard anything yet, check out this video from One eskimO's appearance on the Ellen show on March 17:



I'm been able to review the album now. I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot more from One eskimO since their song Kandi has been licensed by the TV show BONES, and their Hometime song is featured in the 2008 Toyota Prius commercial!

Hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

Do You Use Swagbucks?

Swagbucks has just introduced a new daily poll feature - you can earn Swag Bucks every day simply by voting! It's a great way to share your opinons and be rewarded for doing it. All the polls are Swaggernaut (yeah, the fancy word for folks who use Swagbucks) submitted and those Swaggernauts whose polls are featured on the site earn themselves 100 Swagbucks - which are what you trade for rewards! (Poll suggestions can be submitted to: pollideas@swagbucks.com) This is a fun, easy way to rack up free rewards from Swagbucks.com, the number one destination for fun, online polls.

What the Hell Wednesday

So my Cherry Coke? Isn't even available in the little dolphin-killer plastic rings with 20 oz bottles! How is this right? I have to buy them individually at the 7-Eleven, apparently...

I got a notice from work on Monday morning that I'm going too slow. They acknowledged that while I may be distracted or multi-tasking, it may be because I'm thinking too hard about it and spending too much time on each individual document. Fine. I now avoid any distraction and focus, focus, focus. Today? I got a message that I'm going too fast and they're worried I may not be paying enough attention to each document. How does one 'average' their focus??

I have a chocolate show tonight. I do them about once a week, so it's not a big deal for me to get my stuff together during Maggie's nap. But this one's a bit further from home. I realized that I better get moving this morning as I have to leave the house half way through Maggie's nap!

My Weakness...

If 7-Eleven had a reward card, I could earn a free cruise.

Seriously. It's because I NEED my Cherry Coke. I've been trying to pick up a case of it when we go grocery shopping, because a daily can means I'm drinking a little less, and I can just grab it from the fridge instead of needing to stop on my way somewhere each morning. It's also easier to share with company, since a whole case looks like it goes a lot further.

But I've found at least one time that I need it in a bottle (so I can close it back up again), and honestly? It's usually just more convenient to be able to close it up again. My biggest necessity for a bottle is when Maggie and I take our walk up to Walgreen's or to get ice cream at Dairy Queen. The bumps in the sidewalk make my can of Cherry Coke splash everywhere! This is a serious problem!

It's really a bad situation. I know the strengths of the bottle or the can, and I refuse to go without the Cherry Coke. I think I'll try having a bit of both for a while, and see how it goes.

Wish me luck.

10 Random Things for Friday

1. Rain?? We were going to take a long walk with friends today....back to the drawing board, I suppose!
2. I've got two leads in the last two days who say they're interested in having a chocolate show. Hopefully they'll book for May - yay for a busy calendar!
3. My poor mom is sick for Mothers' Day weekend :( I'm sad for her - we were all going to get together tomorrow, but of course she doesn't want to share her unknown ailment...
4. And I'm moderately disappointed in my own work performance. I thought I was in my groove yesterday...I did get a little more than four hours in, with perfect daily score, but I didn't finish any more papers on average than usual. So much for my 'groove.'
5. Next time I get truffles, I've got to get Maggie a bag of M&Ms. She kept popping a whole truffle in her mouth, then saying, "Mmmm...good." Then going for another one. Whoa, kid! Stop and enjoy them!
6. I think it's just about time to take the chipping polish off my nails and start again for the weekend. They don't end up looking too terrible if I polish them with at least clear (and usually fix the nicks) every day.
7. Hey - I just remembered - I think today is Kristie's birthday!! I hope she has a great day, and a fun Mothers' Day weekend!
8. It's only 9:30 , and I've already taken three phone calls! Busy day so far - hopefully it'll keep ringing, but with people who want to book shows and be chocolatiers! Just a suggestion ;)
9. Story time at the library has ended again. We've got to keep getting together with our friends Denise and Celia, though! Scheduled events make getting together so much easier. ;)
10. I'm feeling brave - Maybe today's a good day to paint my nails and Maggie's....

Gimmee a Pill!

I have an ongoing debate with myself about my own nutrition and health care. I don't like taking antibiotics (although I have no problem with 'good' prescription pain killers - go figure), but I will take vitamins all day long. With all the annoying spring pollen and such, and my current inability to take the sinus meds I like best, I'm loading up on the garlic, vitamin C and vitamin D. Hope it works!
What really amazes me are all the ready packaged vitamins - I've seen em for your hair, for your nails, vitamins for acne, something to increase your focus...what was I saying? Yeah, you get my drift. I'm not sure if my combination is what would be bottled up for sinus and allergy stuff, but I'm sure hoping it works!

Photo Tag

Tammy over at Crazy Mom with 4 Boys tagged me for this:

Now the rules:
1) Go to your photo files, select the 8Th photo folder.
2) Select the 8Th photo in that folder.
3) Post that photo along with the story behind it.
4) Then challenge 8 blogging friends to do the same!

The joys of a shared computer! ;) This is one of hubby's pictures from Nurburgring in Germany. He's still got a little sticker on the back of his car from there, although his car has never been there. Rental cars, unfortunately, cannot drive on the track.

I challenge the following bloggers to put up their eighth photo and the story behind it:

1. Amanda at ABC...West
2. Sonja at Can You Keep a Secret?
3. Carolyn at carolyn's lost sanity
4. Nita at Feels Like Happiness
5. Lenox Knits
6. Southern Tiger at Memoirs of a Neurotic
7. Jodi at My Life as Mama Jodi
8. Amy at Ranting Radish
   

Random Tuesday Thoughts

I'm resisting the urge to send my friend flowers for his birthday tomorrow. The only reason to send them would be to annoy him, mostly. He doesn't want his birthday celebrated, and doesn't want anyone to know about it. Which seriously tempts me to send flowers to the office he works at with about a thousand other people :D

Hubby and I were reminded that our birthdays are coming up. The State of Michigan was kind enough to send us our 'Michigan License Plate Renewal Notices' (translation: license fee bills). Ummm....thanks? Do other states do cruel things like this for your birthday?

If you've been following my other blog, I'm finally trying to bring it up to date. Never fear, I've been taking my photos each day, but I've been having computer issues that got me out of the habit of updating the blog each day. Sorry!

Maggie cried at the end of our playdate tonight...again. Poor girl is so bummed whenever playdates end! She'll be so excited to go to Chuck E Cheese's for the first time tomorrow though. I'm not telling her where we're going until we're on our way there - I don't want her to blab it at story time and make the other kids jealous, or be too excited to enjoy story time beforehand!

Cleaning...

We found a rather interesting surprise last week. Did you know potatoes hidden in a cupboard eventually start to liquify? And stink - really, really bad.
That's what tipped us off - the stench. Just about gag-worthy, and I don't say that of many things. Luckily hubby came to the rescue for me.
He took everything out of the cupboard (that we obviously don't use much). We found several bags of candy (Yay!), some infrequently used serving dishes (no biggie) and a canister of natural protein powder (huh?).
After putting the candy in a more accessible place (duh!) and pitching the things we didn't use (that were probably a couple years old anyway, maybe like the potatoes?), a bowl of vanilla set in the cupboard for a few days helped eliminate the rest of the stink.
And now? I'm keeping the new bag of potatoes on the counter so I don't forget about them.

Weekend in Review

Friday night: I had a great time at MaryEllen's Partylite show. Hubby originally asked if he could drive me there and pick me up, but I reminded him it was MaryEllen's. Whenever I hang out there (especially with Nancy, Katrina and Lee Anne), it's guaranteed to be a long, super-fun evening. When I got home around 11:30, he was already asleep.

Saturday: We got off to a relatively slow start. Hubby had to go pick up a boat part and offered to go by himself, but I figured we could roll it in with the other stuff I was hoping to get done. We went to the parts place (where they talked him out of getting the part), then were driving around looking for a post office or somewhere to have lunch when we saw Airforce One! Wow!!
After lunch at Red Robin, we ended up going to the post office right by our house to mail the stuff I wanted to see go out that day. We then hit Target (get it?) for a few birthday gifts we'll need this week and diapers for Maggie.
Once we stopped at home for the two of them to nap and me to get some work in, we headed back out to exchange some lightbulbs and pick up pizza for dinner. Our family evening was wrapped up by watching The Curse of the Were Rabbit with Wallace and Grommit. It was a better movie than I expected :)

Sunday: I only thought Saturday was a slow start! Hahahaha.... We finally made it out of the house a little after noon on Sunday. After stopping at the pharmacy to pick up a prescription refill for me, and then at 7-Eleven for snacks, we headed to my last scheduled class of Cakes for the Queen of Heaven. Luckily the ladies from the class and I arranged to meet next month for an awesome portable altar craft - I can't wait!
Sunday night was just work, work, work. We had leftovers for dinner and I tried to get in as many hours as I could, until I realized my quality was taking a nose-dive! Hubby was able to get some time in working on the boat too after we put Maggie to bed :)

A pretty low-key weekend overall - but no complaints!

Almost Ready...

I've been thinking about exercise a lot lately. I'm hoping that's the first step to living healthier....I don't need fast weight loss tips, but I do need to tone up what I've already got.

My current excuse is all my jobs. I have my scoring job which is at least 20 - though they'd prefer 30 - hours a week. I'm still working and growing my chocolate business. And I'm trying to keep my blog regularly updated for well, both of you reading this ;)

I still have my old kettleball and DVDs, and think I'd get a lot out of the work out. I think I have a couple other DVDs too - I Want That Body from Tammy someone-or-other and a belly dance one. They're all sounding like fun in some sick, twisted way.

I just need to stop thinking about them and free up a little time to do them, if I want to see any positive results, right?

Sunday Stealing

This week's Sunday Stealing was taken from a blogger named Haruechan at the blog Haruechan's Journal. She states that she took it from diek09. But, it was probably stolen there as well. So, of course, that will be as far as we go. Tracing back our theft's thieves might take some time...

01) Are you currently in a serious relationship? Married for four years...I think it's serious.

02) What was your dream growing up? I don't remember any one dream being long-term. I wanted to be a nanny for a little bit, and a professional whistler (okay, I may still have that one), maybe a teacher for a few minutes, or a writer, or an accountant....

03) What talent do you wish you had? Hey, I'm kinda talented on my own, I'll have you know....but I wish I could cook (or maybe I wish I had the motivation to cook).

04) If I bought you a drink what would it be? A Southern Comfort and Coke, tall please. Or a lemon drop shot. Hahahaha...

05) Favorite vegetable? Artichoke.

06) What was the last book you read? The last book I finished reading was Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

07) What zodiac sign are you? Gemini.

08) Any Tattoos and/or Piercings? Explain where. Four holes in my left ear. Three holes in my right ear. A sun tattoo on my left hip/front area. A moon tattoo on my right hip/front area. A daisy tattoo colored like the American flag on the outside of my right ankle.

09) Worst Habit? Short attention span/procrastinating.

10) If you saw me walking down the street would you offer me a ride? If I recognized you, sure!

11) What is your favorite sport? To watch, hockey or maybe drag-racing.

12) Do you have a Pessimistic or Optimistic attitude? Optimistic!

13) What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me? We're back to #10 - I would probably just stand there, or hopefully have my book with me so I could read to pass the time. I'd feel weird talking to you if I didn't recognize you.

14) Worst thing to ever happen to you? Death and the destruction of childhood innocence.

15) Tell me one weird fact about you. I'm quite disturbed by the honey bear. It ain't natural.

16) Do you have any pets? One cat, Audrey.

17) What if I showed up at your house unexpectedly? I usually don't bother to answer the door if it's not someone I know, or a delivery of some sort.

18) What was your first impression of me? You seem to think I know you...

19) Do you think clowns are cute or scary? Most of em are cute.

20) If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be? For now, I'm ready for long hair again (just so I can put it up in a bun and have it out of my way, but still...).

21) Would you be my crime partner or my conscience? Probably crime partner. Much more fun ;)

22) What color eyes do you have? Blue.

23) Ever been arrested? No.

24) Bottle or can soda? Bottle. Or can. Or Coke in a glass with grenadine.

25) If you won $10,000 today, what would you do with it? Set some aside so I could pay monthly bills without having to make as much moneh. Buy a Canon SLR. Get some summer clothes.

26) What's your favorite place to hang out at? Home :)

27) Do you believe in ghosts? Yes.

28) Favorite thing to do in your spare time? Hmmm...read? I'd like to scrapbook, but I never seem to have enough spare time to set up, do it, and clean up.

29) Do you swear a lot? Depends on my mood. Usually I try not to because I'm usually with my daughter. Last night I was swearing a lot, because I could on our girls' night out.

30) Biggest pet peeve? It's a Michigan one. I'm filled with rage when I see someone with the license renewal sticker in the middle of their car license plate instead of in the corner where it belongs. I'm upset just writing about it.

31) In one word, how would you describe yourself? Real.

32) Do you believe/appreciate romance? Sometimes.

33) Favorite and least favorite food? I'm not really all that into food. I do like a good steak, or vegetables with lots of butter. I'm not a fan of spicy food.

34) Do you believe in God? I believe in lots of gods, and in the divinity in every living thing.

35) Will you join us this week for Wednesday Wickedness? I'll have to check into it...

An Endless Quest...

A couple months ago I committed to an eye cream....for a while. Now that it's running low again, my goals may have changed just a little bit. Since I've had my heart repair done, my dark circles are very faded compared to what they were, but I still have a persistent dry patch under one eye. Weird coincidence of the week? One of my awesome friends from last night also has a dry patch under one eye - the same eye? Yeah, I told you it was weird.

Look What We Just Saw!!

Hubby mentioned this morning that he thought President Obama was in town today to deliver U of M's commencement address. Shows how out of touch I am that I had no idea until he said something. We promptly crossed the museum in Ann Arbor off of our list of possible activity options for the day but didn't really think about it again.
We headed out to try and get some engine parts for the boat, then were driving around looking for either a post office or somewhere for lunch when traffic got really backed up.
A mile or so past the back up we found what the issue was. As we were stopped at the corner of Eureka and Middlebelt, I got this picture....way in the distance you can see Air Force One! Hubby knew to look for it when we saw several huge helicopters flying in formation, and I noticed there was absolutely no other air traffic, even though we were right by the airport.
Kind of exciting. We drove through the airport and around a little bit to see if we'd get a better view, or happen to watch them take off, but this shot (and a couple more just like it) were the best ones we got of our days unexpected brush with fame :)

Party Season!

I keep being reminded of the start of 'party season' - you know, when there are suddenly lots of weddings, graduation parties, and folks having giant BBQs or joint birthday parties now that it's nice and everyone can stay outside. Just like at the women's expo about a half hour away today, these events are a great place to get some good (and some not-so-good) swag! Personalized rocks, little picture frames, sparkley candle holders, and (one of my favorites) custom koozies. The koozies are always a great choice, as we fill up the boat with them. Somehow they get handed out with beers all afternoon, and then frequently don't find their way home. So we try to build up stock all year round, just to end up with the same five or six by the end of each summer. So bring on the parties - it's time to get lots of swag for summer!

Saturday 9

Today's Saturday 9 is Changes.

1. Tell us about one thing that you'd change about yourself if you could. I wish I could stay more focused. And had a flat stomach again.

2. Mattel decides to make a Barbie-like (or Ken-like) doll of you -- what would be the most important accessory or accessories they would absolutely have to package you with in order to portray your lifestyle? Maggie, of course.

3. Hey, do you like surprises? If yes, what kinds? I like good surprises :) I'm not so fond of bad surprises.

4. What was the last snail mail that you received that was significant? I got a package of books from USPS last week.

5. If you could pick out a brand new nickname for yourself, what would you choose and why? i have a hard enough time remembering the name I've got sometimes - I don't want to try and remember another one!

6. John Edward's mistress was on Oprah this past Thursday. She stated that no third person can break up a marriage, so it had to be broken before the two started doing the nasty. Do you buy that? Yes.

7. Do you think it is okay to keep secrets from your s/o? Nope. Very bad idea.

8. Have you ever played Truth or Dare? If yes, what's the weirdest dare that you did? I don't remember ever playing Truth or Dare!

9. What, in hindsight, the stupidest thing that you have ever done? Nothing that I'll admit here! My mom's reading! Hahahaha

Great Night :)

So as much as I should have been working tonight, I went to a candle party at a friend's house. Our usual group of ladies was there, and we had a great time as usual. Sometimes I forget how much fun I have just hanging out with them. We can talk about anything: our humiliating pasts, acne treatments that work, family stuff, exciting plans for the future, or the fun we've had at events in the past. Regardless of the topic, it's great being there. While a candle party usually only takes an hour or so, I knew it would be a longer night than the scheduled even called for. Sure enough, hubby was in bed by the time I made it home. But for friends, it's worth it to take a long evening away once in a while :)