“Girls’ Day Out.” Best. Therapy. Ever. Part 2.

Yesterday I was talking about a fun afternoon I had with my friend “S” on a spur-of-the-moment Girls’ Day Out.  We met at the mall during the middle of the day, had a couple beers, did the classic mani-pedi thing, had lunch and then finished the afternoon with a little retail therapy.  It was one of the best impromptu get-togethers I’ve had in a long while – and it was much-needed.

So what’s better than one Girls’ Day Out?  Well, naturally, that’d be a second Girls’ Day Out.  Thus, I segue into:

Girls’ Day Out, #2.

My other friend, uh…"S"… Uh oh, I now see the flaw in my First Initial Anonymity Plan.  Different first name, but it begins with the same letter.

Uh oh. I guess "Q" has completely lost her anonymity.
Clearly, I'm not good at this subterfuge stuff!

Okay, I’m nothing if not flexible.  Let’s call her “Q.”

So, “Q” and I decided to get together last week and head to the Ohio State Fair.  It’s something we’ve done from time to time through the many decades we’ve been friends. And I do mean decades – “Q” and I have been fast friends since our first day of college at Ohio State when we were 18 years old. And that friendship has only grown stronger as the years go by.

We used to take her two daughters to the fair when they were kids. Now they are adults with children of their own - so Grandma and I had to show them that we are not feeble old ladies and could make it from one end of the fair to the other.

Except, um...we didn't quite succeed. The first thing we did when we got there was to grab a map – and then head to the sky glide to ferry us to the far end of the fair.

Sue…oops, I mean, “Q” wanted to visit the Bunnies and they were at the other end of the complex.  And, sure, the bunnies were cute and all, but I was more captivated with the sky glide. I’d never been on it looking down at the fairgoers and booths selling all manner of crazy foods.  I mean, the idea of that whole donut burger thing still makes me a little queasy just thinking about it.  

But I had never seen the fair from that perspective and I was enthralled.

Anyway, we wandered around various buildings and exhibits for a while.  And we bought a couple small souvenirs. 

And then the Ingesting of the Fair Food commenced. 

It took me a long time to realize that you can’t get Fair Food just any old time – and I had never really taken advantage of Fair Food before.  But “Q” initiated me.  She is the Queen of the Fair and has even gone there on her own from time to time. So she had already staked out the best booths to visit.  

And this time I knew the drill. First we stopped at the tent where they made all sorts of sandwiches and we ate something sensible and rather filling.

Then we stopped for cold drinks. I have had the Lemon Shake-ups before and absolutely love them, but they are a bit too sweet for me.  I don’t know – is an entire cup of sugar per glass too much?! 

This year, I discovered that they had a sugar-free version so I ordered one.  And let me just say: “Yum-my!”  Plus, it actually quenched my thirst; something the sugar-filled versions don’t do.

Next, “Q” had to stop at the Fair Fries booth, so we shared some fries as well as the Lemon Shake-up.

We walked around some more letting that sandwich-Lemon Shake-up-French Fries combo mix in our stomachs.  (Not so “yum-my” – but at least we didn’t add anything like deep-fried Twinkies to the mix.)

At “Q’s” insistence, we visited the Bee Tent. Normally, bees are something I avoid at all costs as I’m not crazy about bee stings, but “Q” wanted to see if they had any honey for sale. This was probably my least favorite part of Girls' Day Out because there were a lot of bees loose in that tent, but... what'reyagonna do? It's all in the name of friendship, right? 

Yeah, whatever. All I can say is "Q" had better not give me any grief the next time I ask her to help me dig in the dirt. Last time I tried there was a little snake in the garden and I promptly put down my trowel. And that was the end of the dirt-digging for me.  I don't do well with bugs, insects, or anything that slithers. 

But I digress.

Oh, and, by the way, is three pounds of honey too much for a family of two?  Yeah, I thought so.

We walked away from the bee tent without a single sting (whew!) and without a single behemoth jar of honey and headed toward the exit.  But before we left the building, er, fair, we had one last stop to make.  And that was the Funnel Cake booth.  After all, we had to have something sweet, didn’t we? And you can’t get a funnel cake just anywhere, can you?

Do me a favor and just nod your head “yes.” Otherwise, I’ll keep talkin’ to try to convince you.

At any rate, we shared part of a funnel cake and then had the rest wrapped up for leftovers. 

And we exited the fair tired, hot, full and happy. And it was the end of another fun “Girls’ Day Out.”

If I haven't convinced you about the benefits of getting together with your friends for some much-needed "Girls' Day Out," activities, I'm guessin' that at the very least I've made you hungry.  

“Girls’ Day Out.” Best. Therapy. Ever. Part 1.

In recent weeks I’ve had a couple “Girls’ Night Out” get-togethers with good friends.  Except that, technically, they were “Girls’ Day Outs” since we’re not as young as we used to be – and nobody wants to see a couple mid-50-somethings prowling the streets after dark.

It’d be way past our bedtime by the time the nightlife got started anyway, so it was a good thing we stuck to mid-afternoon for our fun. Indeed, no one wants to see a mid-50-something nodding off over her glass of wine in the middle of a conversation.

And in defense of my other friend, she’s nowhere near 50, but she has three little kids and it’d be a lot tougher to arrange an evening out unless it included her husband and children. And even then, it’d be an early evening due to the kids’ bedtime. So, same issue.

Nonetheless, we made the most of our afternoons. 

By the way, I aimed for brevity – but failed miserably – so I will split this blog into two parts.

(You’re welcome.)

Girls’ Day Out, #1.

In the first get-together, my younger friend and I – let’s call her “S” – did the classic mani-pedi thing.  (I’m calling her “S” because I don’t know if she wants her name disseminated all over the Blogosphere. And it’s definitely a name you’d remember.)

Anyway, “S” and I met at a restaurant in the mall. We planned to have lunch and then hit the salon for a pedicure.  Only she’d had a stressful morning involving the dentist, which requires no further explanation, and she wanted to have a beer before we started.

It was the most fun noontime beer I ever had!

We talked and drank beer and thoroughly enjoyed our girl time, laughing over silly things.  What made it even funnier is that “S” was valiantly trying not to drool as she’d had enough Novocaine to numb a horse and she couldn’t feel her face. 

So once I finished giggling and pointing at her…

Nah, I kid.  Fortunately, I’m not the kind of person to make fun of a drooling friend, so she soon got over her concerns.  Or maybe it was just the beer.

I dunno.  Either way, we talked about everything from our past to our future as well as her children’s futures. We covered a lot of decades and tried to solve all the world’s problems.  Not a bad effort, either, I’d venture to say as we totally believed we fixed some stuff. 

Or maybe it was just the beer.

Eventually, we headed to the salon and had our tootsies buffed and polished and then threw caution to the wind and decided to have our fingernails done, too.  We picked out cheery, summery colors that perked up our spirits and brightened our day even further.

Or maybe it was just the beer.

 

Later, when I looked at my fingernails in the sun, I thought the color rather resembled the color of those Day-Glo Orange Safety barrels, but I embraced the bold and kept the color for almost two weeks.

We then went back to the same restaurant and had lunch, this time sans beer.  We talked some more and admired our snazzy nails before hitting a couple stores at the mall and doing a little retail therapy to round out our afternoon.

It’s not like we really needed the retail therapy because our talking pretty much took care of any issues that crowded our thoughts – but, c’mon – we were at the mall. How could we not do a little shopping?

It was one of the best times I’ve had with “S.” Don’t get me wrong; it’s not that I don’t enjoy the times we get together with our husbands and her children. But there is something to be said for one-on-one time where you can really talk without interruption. Because, let’s face it, chicks can talk.  And, boy, did we ever! Hey, don’t knock it – it’s how we bond.

I drove home in a great mood and happy that “S” called me on the spur of the moment to get together.  And we vowed to schedule another Girls’ Day Out soon.  

I’m looking forward to it.  Hmmm…wonder when her next dentist appointment is scheduled?