chief's birthday continued

despite a fantastic spa day on my best friend's birthday, the celebratory fun was not over! we started with brunch at one of my favorite spots (beyond bread). after a great carbo-load, we headed to the east side of tucson for a trail ride through one of the washes. our horse guide, mitch, was friendly and nice, and even though sarah's horse was soooo slow, we had a great time! we saw a huge road runner, and it turned out that trail guide mitch had a cousin who lives right near my best friend. mitch was so excited that he called his cousin to confirm that he goes fishing near elkhorn slough.

after our fun (and slightly dusty) ride, we made our regular stop at bookmans :) after a few hours of shopping, we had worked up an appetite, so we headed downtown for dinner at the hub. i had been to the hub once before and their fresh salted caramel ice cream was life changing, so i knew i had to take my best friend. i saved some room for dessert and LOVED both the salted caramel and white chocolate hazelnut ice creams. we relished both dinner and dessert!

i had brought some of my salad home in a to-go container, and although i don't remember all of the details, as we were driving home, the box fell off of the dash and exploded all over my car. literally. salad everywhere. in my friend's hair, on the seats, under the seats, in the handle of the emergency break... you name it! it was hilarious! we made a surprise stop at the self-serve car wash to vacuum, clean off, and dry my interior, and we were almost back to normal (we both still smelled a bit like blue cheese).

we came home and celebrated with a bottle of wine i had purchased on our tour of australian wine country and a marathon of skippy the bush kangaroo. skippy is the australian version of lassie, complete with finding a lost kid, identifying poachers, and warning the children away from dangerous outback animals. it was a great way to enjoy our australian wine and birthday celebration!

happy birthday chief

just a few weeks after falling down the stairs, my best friend (chief gilligan) came out for a desert vacation to celebrate her birthday. i planned a fantastic spa day for her big 3-2 and it was fabulous! we drove into the nearby foothills through a gorgeous desert drive to the fancy shmancy ritz carlton.

we got a quick tour of the incredible spa facilities, and settled in just before our services. my friend had a great spa facial, and i had a wonderful (although very chatty) massage. the therapist was so nice and really excellent, but she did not stop talking. i tried to be polite and answer her questions, but did not ask any questions and did not leave much room for additional questions with my answers, because i like a quiet and peaceful massage experience. alas, this time it wasn't meant to be.

my friend and i regrouped after our services and secured a spot on one of the king-sized beds that encircle the pool. yes, in addition to terrycloth-covered lounge chairs, there are several king-sized lounging beds (with throw pillows!) around the pool. we relaxed, read, even enjoyed lunch and celebratory cupcakes in the sun. it was fantastic!

we lounged for a while, and then headed back inside for our manis/pedis. it was great to be pampered together, chat, and entertain the manicurists with our craziness. after the services, we headed back outside to relax by the pool and enjoy every last minute of our spa day. we finally headed out at closing time, and i'm pretty sure we were the last ones to leave!

after a wonderful spa day, we headed to claim jumper for a birthday dinner. we had a delicious (and gigantic) meal, and celebrated with a little birthday dessert. i hope the chief had a great day, and i was so happy to celebrate with her!

but our celebration weekend was not over...

part four: the end of the falling saga

even though i felt so much better, it was time to get a little worse. time for a little surgery to correct the break in my nose. i was super nervous to "go under" and got a bit stressed as we drove in to the surgery center, signed in, and waited... they called me back to prepare and i did okay, until they had me change into my surgery outfit. not sure why i thought i could stay in my own clothes, but it was just not thinking about it really feeling like surgery. ugh!

the doctor stopped by while i was getting hooked up to the IV and he said he was a little surprised that i actually made it. he had obviously not forgotten my little outburst in his office. after he checked in with me and tried to calm my nerves a bit, he headed off to prepare. after he left, the nurse said, "oh that doctor is really great. he always does a really great job. and i heard that he once broke his nose playing basketball and corrected it himself right there on the court." although i wasn't sure i wanted him to use that same strategy on me, it did make me feel like he was kind of a badass. anyways, although i was SO nervous to be put under anesthesia, all went as expected. i remember the anesthesiologist telling me i would feel good and then a few minutes later they would knock me out. but i don't remember feeling good. i just remember them wheeling me away and hearing country music playing in whatever room they were taking me to. and then i woke up.

the surgery went well, was super quick, and fixed my nose perfectly. i know i shouldn't have been so stressed about it! i hardly had any additional swelling, and i had zero additional bruising. my last few days of recovery were good - although i should have milked it a bit more ;) the only downside was that i had to wear my very fashionable nose guard... even after returning to work. don't worry, i made that thing look good. :)