I'm prone to pack more in a day than it can handle. It's a classic cycle of underestimating the amount of time something really takes and then scheduling something right on top of it. I'm trying to get a little better about it, and I think on Saturday I finally mastered this art.
Becca's shower was in Waterloo, and I had scheduled spa appointments for Mom and I at the Woodhouse in Fort Wayne for the morning before the shower. I also had to get a Jillian workout in, especially since I was naughty on Friday and skipped it. By 7:57, I had worked out, packed, loaded the car, and was on the way to Fort Wayne. I was really sweating my Starbucks stop at Exit 59 because I was running a little late, and I really started to kiss my Grande Skinny Hazelnut Latte goodbye when I was stopped by the Geist Mini Marathon lane closures. The road wasn't supposed to close until 8:00!!! Really, Lindsey....I think that 7:57 is close enough that it's a little unfair to get bent out of shape.
Fortunately, I realized around Muncie that my fuel tank was low so I was FORCED to stop at Exit 59 regardless of having time to or not. My low fuel light came on as soon as I hit the exit ramp, I kid you not. I made it to the spa with 18 minutes to spare. Well done.
I had a deep tissue massage and Mom had a facial. I was asked if there were any special considerations before I had my massage. "Yes, I'm going to a bridal shower later and I don't want any crap in my hair." Really, that's all I requested. Do whatever you want, just no lotion and oil in the hair. It's not overly relaxing when you can feel the massage therapist getting crap in your hair. She told me that if I just put my hair down, no one would notice. Yes, thank you...I too know the tricks of hiding greasy hair, and that's really not what I had in mind. But hair issue aside, it was a very relaxing massage.
We had lunch at Casa, the one where we wouldn't see anyone we knew since all of Mom's makeup had been removed in her treatment and my hair was greasy. The Casa salad was excellent as usual...my favorite!
I made it to Ashley's by 1:20 (we had to leave at 1:45...in theory) and a whirlwind of activity began. We wrapped presents, dressed Audrey, dressed ourselves, and loaded the car.
We made it to the shower just a few minutes before the bride was supposed to arrive, so we were a little bit frazzled as we pulled in. It was a surprise shower and the invitation strictly said to not be late. As soon as we parked, Ashley realized that we were in the mud. A few attempts at getting the car out were futile, so we decided to deal with it later...later as in, "Some guys will surely be here to push this car out later." Our shoes sunk in the mud while we tried to unload both Audrey and the presents. We were the last guests there, but fortunately we were just in time.
The shower was wonderful. Becca's sisters did such a great job with everything down to the smallest detail. The food was delightful - fruit kabobs, lettuce wraps, Tex Mex bruschetta, three types of desserts, and yummy punch. They handmade the tablecloths in pinks and greens and handquilted a table runner for her. It was awesome!
So back to this little car problem. Yes, it was definitely stuck, and the three guys who were there at the beginning of the shower had left. Forunately, there were some pretty tough women at that shower, mainly Marquardt women, who were able to push that car out of the mud. Nothing like the accomplishment of five women in heels pushing a car out of a muddy field. Kinda makes you feel alive.
The big stuff of the day was done, but one more event remained. The neighbors' 8 year-old's birthday party. They frequently tell us to "Come on down to the pool" and we've never taken them up on the offer. We didn't end up walking down to their house until 9:30ish, and we also had our dog with us. This seemed like a great idea at the time since they have dogs that come down to play frequently and really Bonnie is the common topic of our conversation with our neighbors. Much to my embarrasment, the last of their party guests were leaving as we walked up, but they had already seen us. We apologized for coming so late and we tried to leave, but "No no, stay and have a drink!" We don't know these people very well and I just felt so bad. Then, Bonnie and their Great Dane got into a little spat (Bonnie turned it into a spat), so they had to lock him up in the house. That was the fastest I've ever drank a Bud Select in my life.
As I recap my marathon of a Saturday, I think I have to credit Lady Luck for making everything work out okay, and not my improvement in scheduling skills at all. After reading back through my post, I'm pretty sure I still suck at this. Maybe a goal for next year?
