Writing this on my phone as I get a pedicure done. I fly out at 8 am tomorrow for my work conference in Clearwater Beach, Florida!
I’m looking forward to it. I’m honestly looking forward to both the conference part (I think it will be interesting!), having a King sized, gulf front room all to myself, AND traveling with my work bestie.
We’re the only ones attending from our team (we are presenting, jointly, on Thursday about a project we worked on together). I think the down time and evenings will be fun and relaxing! Plus, beach…. I come home late Friday night.
Yesterday my mom and I drove to Delevan, about an hour away, for Ethan’s 1 pm soccer game. Unfortunately, about 10-15 min into the game, a kid on the other team fouled him pretty badly (he basically kneed him really hard right in the front of his thigh). Ethan went down and then hobbled out of the game. He was unable to return, sadly, and spent the rest of the game foam rolling and stretching and looking sad. The only plus to it was that the penalty shot (taken by another teammate as Ethan could not) resulted in a goal.
He is still in rather rough shape today. Basically I think it’s just a bad bruise/muscle contusion. But he has been playing SO WELL lately and he is distraught over the idea of missing playing time. Especially as a senior! 😩 He’s doing ibuprofen and ice and rest and hoping it feels better soon. His next game is Thursday…
Last night the four of us all went out for dinner for our nephew’s 21st birthday. It was fun! There was a big group- his parents are divorced and his mom (Ivan’s brother’s ex-wife) organized it. The cool thing is that they all get along really well now, so his ex plus her new husband and his family were there, plus Ivan’s brother and his girlfriend and her son… nice to see everyone coming together cordially from both sides, AND with the new partners. I know that is NOT always the case in divorce situations.
After dinner we dropped the boys at home and then the group had planned a bit of “bar hopping” in downtown Madison. Now, Ivan and I agreed we probably would not personally want to “go out drinking” with our sons, or at least we wouldn’t want to really encourage that scene. (Nor am I sure my boys would want to “go out” with us on their 21st birthday?!) But, his mom organized it and invited us and it was meant to be in moderation and he seemed thrilled with it all. 🙂
We started at a place his mom and her sister had picked- a club on State St called Roxxy, then moved to another bar after.
I have a few…. thoughts.
- First, we’re old. lol! We had to wait in a little line to get in and then the bouncer dutifully checked our IDs even though we both knew there’s no way in hell he thought we were underage. 😅
- We had to pay a cover charge to get in ($10 each) which made me a little grumpy. Because, I’m old and apparently grumpy over paying to get in somewhere that is basically just a bar and there are lots of free bars.
- The music was very loud. Hehe. And also, it was terrible. It was “Nikki Minaj vs Cardi B” night. Nothing against either of those ladies, but… their music (rap) is not my style. My brother-in-law’s girlfriend and I kept joking, “Should we go up and say, “excuse me, could you turn the music down?? It’s too loud. 😅😅”
- Observation: today’s “club style” is apparently ALL over the place. I looked around a little, thinking I’d see “what young people wear to clubs these days”. Basically, it appears that it’s anything and everything. I saw girls in booty shorts, skirts, “fancy” leggings/yoga pants style outfits (like velour with matching cropped zip ups?), ALL styles of jeans, and everything in between.
- What is with all the vaping?! Dear Lord, this is concerning. The girl who scanned our IDs in was vaping while she took them from us. I saw people vaping alllll over the place indoors. Girls, guys, everyone. Yikes. It is terrible for you, and also, it looks REALLY stupid, IMO. (Sucking on a little plastic thingy? And then blowing weird vapor out?)
We had fun, though!! Eventually we had enough of the um, “music”, and moved on. 😆 (But not until the DJ did a big shout out to my nephew and everyone cheered, which he got a kick out of.)
We then went to Red Rock Saloon (it was after midnight by this point, you guys!) which was actually much better. Only $5 cover this time 🙄 but the music was immensely better. We were still the oldest people there but the music was mostly all from like 80s-90s! (But amped up “club” versions.) Perhaps it was throwback night?! Hahaha. But there were tons of good songs and all the young people seemed to be singing along and knew it, so, that was cool.
I had one vodka cranberry at the first club (it was small…) and then later one Michelob Ultra beer. Then I switched to club soda with a splash of cranberry and my today’s self is thanking me. I woke up feeling great (despite a very late bedtime.. after 2 am…. Though I slept in until after 8 so it wasn’t too terrible).
Also, at the second bar, a girl across from us at the bar leaned over and said, “You’re so pretty!” Now it’s possible she was drunk 🤣 (she didn’t seem sloshed…) but it was still a nice ego boost. Ivan agreed with her out loud, which was also sweet. Haha.
On the way home, Ivan and I stopped off at a late night taco truck for a 2 am carne asada taco! Which was literally delicious and a perfectly fitting way to end a night “out”.
It had been a looooooong time since I had “been out” like that. Lol. Not something I feel the need to repeat any time soon, BUT it was actually really fun and I don’t regret it. 🙂
Ok, pedicure’s about done- time to head home and finish packing! (Fortunately did most of it on Friday). Want to hit the gym yet today too.
More from the road this week!!
Daily Gratitude:
I am grateful for a fun night out last night, even if we were the oldest people there. 😉
Well done on staying out that late! I don’t think Phil and I have ‘gone out’ in the sense of going to bars until late at night since before we were married! I honestly did not enjoy going to bars before I got married so I am not sad that that chapter of my life is over! That’s why I had a ‘girls gone mild’ Bachelorette party where we played games and had good drinks and food. 😂 The only times I have stayed out past midnight are when I travel to our global sales meeting. It’s often on the west coast and part of the reason I am there is to connect with people. But it is rough for me to stay up that late! And I am rarely as disciplined about only having 2 cocktails. But I do say absolutely not to shots. All that said, that is so great that you went out for your nephews 21st and that it was a family affair. It is so rare but so nice when divorces are civilized and the parents can come together. One of my siblings is divorced and it is so so so so messy….. I am still in touch with my SIL but I can’t really tell my family that I talk to her anymore because there is so much drama and it seems to get worse every year. It’s really too bad as they have kids aged 15 and 19.
Vaping. Gross. I did not know that could be done indoor. Ew.
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Oh god- that first club sounds like a nightmare. I HATE places with super loud music. The second place sounds fun though (yes, maybe it was “oldies” night, lol). I definitely would not want to go out drinking with my kids like that, and I doubt either of them would want that! Paul wasn’t with us on his 21st- he was at school, and yes I’m pretty sure they went out to a bar. Glad I wasn’t there.
Ooh you’re on your way to Clearwater!!!! I hope you have good weather. Florida in September can be dicey- you’ll probably get a mix of sun and rain. But it will be warm and tropical, so you’ll like that. Have fun!
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Nooooo, you’re so close to me! I am maybe 20ish minutes from Clearwater Beach. I wish we could meet up! I hope my little county treats you well while you’re here and the weather is gorgeous!
Vaping, ugh. ALL of my younger cousins vape and I just don’t get it at all.
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Awww I didn’t realize you were so close to here! I mean, now that I think about it, I guess I did- I just had forgotten! If I didn’t have this darn CONFERENCE all day, I would also have loved to meet up!!
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I work with college students, and both of my student workers went out with their parents when they turned 21! One on a party bus ……. wouldn’t be me! The idea of paying a cover charge is actually horrifying to me now. I was just at a concert in downtown Minneapolis on Saturday and we even tried to find a bar to hang out at after, decided it was far preferable to just be in our own house and I’m so glad 🙂
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Haha! Yeah no way am I going on a party bus with my kids. 😆😆 And yes the cover charge(s!) were infuriating… lol.
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Ah dang, I am sorry Ethan got fouled so badly and doesn’t know if he’s going to miss more games… I hope not. Fingers crossed for a speedy return to the next game.
Sounds like you had a good time at your nephew’s birthday party… but I had no idea that vaping is so big among young people now (can you tell, I haven’t been to a bar in a while). That IS concerning.
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You *are* pretty! Woohoo on the compliment!
That sounds like a super fun night, but I wholly agree with you on everything – cover charges, music (I’m officially in my “back in my day the music was good” era), and vaping – ewww! It’s amazing how it was originally created as a way to reduce smoking rates, only to find that it was even more addictive and so another money grab.
I remember when Australia brought in the rule with no smoking indoors, which thankfully now includes vaping. Suddenly going to clubs at night was SO much better. You didn’t go home reeking of smoke, and having to either shower and wash your hair immediately or wake up to your sheets stinking just as bad.
Anyways, as a now 42 year old, I’m not sure I could last until after 2am, so a huge kudos to you!
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Aww, thanks! And yes, I was thinking about that this weekend- back when I was younger and might actually go to those bars a bit more often, the smoke was AWFUL! I am not sure what the actual law is about vaping indoors here but many people were certainly doing it… yuck.
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You make going out look fun even though I would be waaay to tired to manage it! I think you get mega cool mom points for being out at the clubs.. I can’t imagine lining up or paying a cover charge to a bouncer these days. But maybe it will come back when the kids are a bit older? I remember seeing some “really old” people on a night out when I was in my 20s and I now wonder if they were my age now…
I can’t believe people can vape indoors? I am fairly sure that’s illegal here. Yuck.
Hope Ethan recovers quickly!
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