UTTER DELIGHT!

I have just had one of the most amazing weekends, not to mention birthdays! What a blessing true friends are.

Thursday I headed up to Seattle while talking to a good friend on the way up, and landed at my best friend's new house (rental of course) in time to turn around, head to IKEA just in time to hit the worst possible traffic imaginable. We took IKEA by storm, me doing a little birthday shopping, Sharon buying dining chairs, coffee tables and the like. We rocked the AS IS section and with a little help of acrylic vines painted by yours truly, her entire furniture collection is now a green and blue collection of country delight with yellow, green and blue vines and swirlys. We went home and put furniture together and slept like babys :o)

Friday we went to Matthew's Beach. We sat in the sun, we swam, we got yelled at by life guards. It was good. That night, the girls grabbed me and we went out to dinner at Duke's on Alki. It was fabulous. I had the combo with a Chipoltle (sp?) chowder, caesar salad, and garlic tortellini. Thank you sir, may I have another? Then they said we should go to Golden Gardens. I was in. Little did I know, Autumn had arranges for tons of my Seattle friends to meet us there! One of my friends even drove down from Anacortes just for that night and drove back after. What a great guy.

Saturday I woke up late and got ready for Angelo's wedding. Updo with ringlets, fun or "phenomenal" (as Chris said) teal dress with dragons. Unlimited was the life of the party. We danced and danced. When Sandstorm came on, the bride's father jumped in the middle and busted out some pretty excellent moves! Well done Dad!

That night, I went and hung out with Chris and Zach. Jai Thai for dinner and watched the movie "Awakening." Very good. Went back to Amber's place and saw Galen and friends. Crashed and was ready for yet another fabulous day.

Sunday, woke up and got ready for the BBQ. Went down to Golden Gardens to meet family. We ate, we napped in the sun, Tom pushed Galen into the water, well, not really a push, more of a wrecking ball hitting a helpless, newly framed wall :) Then they came after me. We ran and ran and ran. I finally won. Little did I know they were only going to hug me. But I figured hey, what the heck, I've never swam at Golden Gardens, so I ditched the skirt and jumped in. After I thawed, We all went back and learned about drink psychology and proceeded to get sunburned. What fun. Went back to Amber's, showered, and went to go see Victor Burgos speak in Auburn.

8pm saw me jumping in the car and heading back to P-Town for my last week in the states. A few hours later I was alseep in bed: a full bed - no sleeping bag - no pajamas either. Thank heavens. Sleeping in pants has never been my forte.