A few weeks ago, two of my girlfriends here on the Rock found themselves celebrating their birthdays on the same day. Actually, I'm fairly certain that they find this to be the case every year, but this year was special, being a "landmark" birthday for one of them. And for the other, her first birthday on the Rock. What's not to celebrate? We used this as an excuse to sign up for a swank "girl's weekend" at a local five-star hotel, one which I would probably never stay at otherwise because 1) I live here and 2) the rooms range between $450 and $1,200 a night. Ummmm...no. But on a special offer, four of us signed up to go spend a weekend there together, doing girly things like drinking mimosas, wandering around in fluffy robes, ogling the hot "chaperone" we were assigned to, and teetering around in heels after a few too many of the aforementioned girly drinks. It was awesome. Observe:

I left with a hundred photos, freshly painted nails, some golf drills to try out on my own time (right), and some great stories. Some of which we still talk about daily. The room was amazing too. I had thought that they might put us somewhere in the back, away from the tourists who might not actually enjoy us singing about apple-bottom jeans on our balcony at 3:00 a.m. but guess what? We were front and center. This was the view off our balcony:

The room was totally luxurious...I wanted to move in. The best part of the night? When I won the grand prize...a free night's stay at the hotel, including lunch and the spa. Yes. Please. I never win anything...but all that waiting paid off that night. I think I'll save the free night until the fall, after the wedding, when we'll just feel like sleeping and wandering around in fluffy robes. I might squeeze the spa in before that though...I do love the spa. So, that weekend was fairly fabulous.

And THEN...my best friend Izabela and her husband, Kris landed on the Rock for a week of fun, sun and rum. We had a blast with them. Even though we have to work (usually), it always feels like a bit of a vacation when people come to visit. We tend to eat at home less, try new restaurants, and get to see the Island through a new set of eyes. It's refreshing...we always find things we didn't know about before, and it's nice to mix it up and make the effort to go to parts of the Island that we wouldn't normally spend a lot of time. We finally tried an amazing little pizzeria that we've been hearing about for...oh...since we arrived, and had one of the best meals we've had since we moved here.

Also, Izabela was fortunate (?!) enough to attend my second bachelorette party, hosted by my good friend Ashleigh, who's leaving the Rock soon and wanted to do it before she left. It was...messy. I'm not a good drinker in the best of circumstances, but add Jell-O shooters and malibu (UGH) to the mix and bad things happen. I was SICK. Very sick. Most of the night has been pieced together by unflattering photographs and eyewitness accounts and let's just say...I know that every girl has to go through it once (or twice, in my case), but once (twice) is more than enough. Wow. But I survived...and from what I can remember, it was a fun night! Here is the before shot...and the after...and then the final shot of the evening: Kurt and Iza, propping me up on the way to a taxi. Yes, Kurt was in attendance for (part of) the festivities...which just made it that much more interesting, really. For him. I don't remember it.

We spent the rest of the weekend taking it easy, working on tans, golfing and BBQing with other friends. Very, very relaxing. And then they left...which sucked. I hate goodbyes. Though, I'll be seeing them in 3 months, so it wasn't too teary this time around.

All in all...good times around these parts, lately.