Girls Night Out. . .and the Morning After

"Wow" is an understatement for the whirlwind trip I took to Houston Thursday and Friday. If I didn't have pictures, I'd wonder if I dreamed the whole thing!

Xandra and I had a wonderful lunch together. I'm sure you will be relieved to know we settled all the current political, social, and spiritual issues swirling through our society. All while enjoying The Olive Garden's soup and salad. And it did not go unnoticed by me that Xandra steered clear of the breadsticks while I could not resist their soft, buttery goodness. Maybe that's why Xandra is looking really good in her diet & exerciese quest and I'm looking pleasingly particularly plump in the pictures.

After I took her back to work, I had 3 wonderful hours to do a little shopping, read awhile at Barnes & Noble, and enjoy the wonderful spring winter day in Houston (sunny & 76 degrees!) before I went to the airport to pick up none other than Lisa, The Preacher's Wife! What a blast to have the opportunity to just hang out together. We had a fantastic Mexican food dinner at Gringo's, and I was able to educate Lisa that in Texas we eat queso, not cheese dip!

When we got to the church we met up with Missy, who was volunteering at the event. (Be sure to read her post about the event, which she writes in her trademark style and details how I finagled staying at her house as well as her wardrobe malfunction!)

Girls Night Out itself was great. Lysa TerKeurst and Renee Swope were incredible, as always. Kate Gosselin's testimony was touching and God-honoring. Ayiesha Woods, whose CD I got to give away last fall, and Jason Catron, provided fantastic music. We were sitting near Melanie and Amanda and enjoyed chatting with them and Missy during the intermission.

And for the record, Amanda, who like every other 8+ month pregnant woman, thinks she's huge, is darling and tiny. In fact, I decided when I saw some of the pictures that maybe I shouldn't have bought that cute purple shirt at Kohl's. I guess the style is called baby doll for a reason! (Not that breadsticks, queso, or flautas have contributed at all. . . !)

Afterwards, we waited for the book-signing line to dissipate and then had some fun talking with Lysa and Renee, Lysa's assistant (Holly - who is so sweet!), and some other new bloggy friends. Renee and Lysa are just as precious up close and personal as they seem in blogland and on stage. Lots of hugs and laughter. Of course Missy's wardrobe malfunction contriibuted to the fun. . . .! (And she's just as much fun inside out as right side in!)

And there were other bloggy friends to meet and chat with: Paula from Wrinkled Shirts, Sandy from God Speaks Today, Shelly from My Life on the Wild Side, Lindsey from A New Life (she's only been blogging a few months, so go encourage her!), Vern from Inspired Looks. What great gals they all are! I don't have near enough to do (hah!) and look forward to hanging out at their blogs.

Our visions of slumber party fun vanished as we staggered back to Missy's barely able to keep our eyes open. I knew I was too old for this when I began to wonder if I was going to be taking my bedtime pills at the same time as my getting-up pills!

I took Lisa back to the airport dark and early for her 7:00 AM flight. Then I headed for the hotel where Lysa had invited the bloggy bunch to join her for breakfast. Which (yawn!) wasn't for 2 hours.

I have never ever rented a hotel room by the hour in my life, but I was sorely tempted after less than 3 hours of sleep! I settled for reading on a couch in the lobby. I might have dozed off once. Or twice.

But it was so worth the exhaustion. Breakfast was a wonderful blessing. (And I got to hug Renee as she left for the airport to head home before the breakfsat. And I saw Lysa's beautiful teen-age daughter, who also was traveling home with Renee.) Lysa is down-to-earth and as real as can be. It's so easy to feel intimidated by Women Who Are In Ministry And Speak To Audiences and feel insignificant compared to them. But there was no sense of superiority or condescension from Lysa. She is delightful and encouraging and just plain fun!

Here are my pictures:

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I managed to make it back to my MIL's and conked out for a bit so I could safely make the 3 hour drive home and avoid Melanie's fate.

Oh, and that little caffeine fast I was on? That soooo went by the wayside while I was down there! A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!