Best Way to Spend the Weekend EVER

To get the vibe for my weekend, you should play this as background music while reading the post:

Or Go here if you can't see the embedded video.

Friday: I went to work like a normal human being.  Work was exciting and a lot was going on.  It must've been cold because that's how I dressed.

Somewhere in the middle of my day, Amanda called me and said, "come over later".  So I did.  Friday night was preparations for her birthday party the next day.  I cut up a pineapple for some infused punch (more on that in a moment).  We also made orange zest and a lime/orange ice cube, also for the punch.

Then Amanda decided it would be a good idea for me to help her bake a cake.  It didn't take long to learn that I shouldn't bake.  Ever.  I'm a good cook, but baking is a whole separate skill set.  The only thing I was good at was separating the eggs.  Me trying to use an electric mixer to whip butter was hilarious.  After that I just did the dishes.

Awesome ingredients about to be a cake!

Awesome ingredients about to be a big ice cube for the punch bowl

I had some safety issues while zesting the oranges

Amanda had a bottle of Port for something she was making.  Then she was all, "we should try this".  We had a taste each and then Amanda thought we should have even more.  I suggested she see how much Port she needed for the recipe and set that aside.  "We're not going to drink the whole bottle!"  But she did take my advice.  The only container that seals and holds liquid she has: pee cups left over from catheter kits.  (Thank god I know about the 'sterile field'.)

Showing me several of the bottles of alcohol she'd purchased for Awesome Punch

Putting some of the Port away for safe keeping.  (It's a graduated cylinder and it's clean...)

Two bottles of wine and some really good conversation later...

Funny how they look straight from this angle.  (They're straight from all angles.  Trust me.)

Saturday: Obviously I stayed at Amanda's house on Friday night, which was unplanned.  The wine was really unplanned. 

Snug as a bug in a rug - and happy in the Owl blanket

She sent me home some time after breakfast before someone who can actually bake (thanks Alyssa!) was coming over to be more helpful than I ever could have been.  I spent much of the day on my own couch.

Around 5pm I headed to the gym for what must have been my first workout in over a week.  (Oh oh the joys I live through once a month.)  It wasn't a super intense workout but I was on the elliptical for an hour and I felt much more like a human being afterwards than I had at any time during this week.

I came home, got dolled up, and went back out to drink more with Amanda to celebrate Amanda's birthday.  We started at Pizza Luce and then headed back to Amanda's for Punch. And hilarity.

Let there be punch!

Let there be punch and birthday cake!

Empty glasses didn't stay empty long at this party!

Amanda got herself flowers for her birthday - I hear the very same flowers are going to Amanda's mom today with some Christmas presents.  Excellent re-gifting I say.

The punch bowl getting empty - the fruit is still nicely frozen though

Almost time for bed - off my couch!

It was a really good time with lots and lots of alcohol.  That punch bowl was magic and kept re-filling itself.

Sunday: The greatest part of the whole weekend was waking up this morning without a hangover or a throbbing headache.  WIN!.  Actually, I went to bed around two (again, on Amanda's torture-rack-couch) so I was totally confused why she was up at 8:30am taking a shower.  What in the world?  And then she says to me, "I have to be in St. Cloud at 11am."  Followed by, "I need to stop at Target because my gifts aren't wrapped and I don't have wrapping paper".  Oh good, more hilarity to start my day.

We both got up, scrapped off our cars and headed to Target.  I got a couple non-Christmas items and helped her pick out a couple gifts and then gift bags for everything. We went to Starbucks in the store to drink coffee WIN again and wrap presents.  Then I came home and planted my butt back on the couch where it belongs. 

Again, waking up snuggled in the owl blanket, happy as can be!

I had a moment to snap this picture between letting my car warm up and scrapping the frost off of her windshield