WARNING: This post contains material unsuitable for people who are opposed to polyester double-knits and tales of drink.  For those who choose to stay, let this be the celebratory first post of a new Carolicious category: “This one time after a coupla drinks…” (similar to my friend Uli’s category, “last night I got so drunk…”).

To properly begin my story I need to go back about ten years.  Once upon a time four young, small-town girls arrived on the Oregon State campus, wide-eyed and naive, and feeling very overwhelmed in the midst of 15,000 other students.  These four girls needed a place to belong, a place to meet other girls like them, a place to have some FUN.  Well, we found it and found each other at a sorority called Kappa Delta.  Think what you want about sororities and all their stereotypes, but the sorority I was a part of gave me three of my dearest, most fabulous friends, so for that I will always be grateful.

We’ve now been friends for the better part of ten years (and Melissa and I, even longer).  We’ve all moved to different cities, changed careers, gotten married, and had children.  But despite all that, one thing remains the same:

WE KNOW HOW TO EFFIN’ PARTY!!!

We decided collectively that as busy, loving moms who work hard to give their kids the very best, that we deserved to treat ourselves to a Mom’s Vacation Weekend, sans kids (the first of what we plan to make an annual occurrence known as “Moms Gone Wild”).  So last weekend we converged upon the Spirit Mountain Casino in Grand Ronde for a little shopping, a little gambling, and, okay I’ll admit, some cocktails.

We started mixing some cocktails almost as soon as we got to our room, and even offered one to the bellhop, who happily accepted.  It didn’t occur to us that he probably wasn’t even 21, but hey, now that dude has a story, right?  We figured that we would have a few drinks and then go take the casino by storm, but instead we spent the better part of three hours reminiscing, laughing, and drawing ill-advised tattoos on one another with Bic pens.  What can I say?  After a mojito, a raspberry stinger, a cosmo, and a glass of champagne, it seemed like a really good idea.

Then it came time for us to “get dressed” for dinner.  We had decided ahead of time that true to casino style, we should bring along our trashiest, most casino-y ensembles.  And then I did everyone’s hair and makeup, just like old times.  To cap off the look, my friend Crystal produced a white bridal veil from her suitcase and explained, “Well, I thought four late twenties-ish women dressed to the hilt and partying for no reason might look wierd, but I figured if it looked like we were having a BACHELORETTE party…”  And somehow, it was decided that I would be the bachelorette, probably because after I’ve had a few drinks I tend to tell wildly implausible lies to people I don’t know but somehow convince them to believe me.  That’s exactly what happened when about 20 different people asked me if I was getting married soon, and I explained that I was soon having a Mardi Gras-themed wedding, that my colors were teal and purple, and that everyone in the wedding party would be wearing feathery masks.

After dinner we decided to take in a show.  Now, if we had all been available a week later we could have seen EN VOGUE (read: awesome).  But we weren’t all available on that date, so instead we decided to see… are you ready for this?… LYLE LOVETT.  Now, none of us could name a single LL song if you asked us, but we all figured that since he was once married to Julia Roberts he must be somewhat cool.

And the concert probably would have been cool, if we were 75.  We toughed it out for an hour and all seven verses of “Home Is Where My Horse Is” before we decided to bail and hit the casino’s “happening” night club, Raindrops.  Now, Raindrops was actually a really cool bar.  They had a great DJ who played anything we wanted, complete with music videos that showed on a huge screen.

Oh… did I mention that he played everything we wanted because we were the ONLY ONES at Raindrops?  Anyway, the cool quotient of Raindrops plummeted when we decided to head back to the room.  But not before posing with a couple of statues.

And then, that’s where our Mom-ness kicked in.  Back in the day we would have been closing down a bar at 2 am and gossiping about who was doing what with whom, but instead we tucked ourselves in at 11 pm, amid discussion of car seat brands and types of infant formula.

We’re not those four young girls anymore, so wide-eyed and green, but at heart, we’re still the same.  There’s Bree, who always sees the glass half-full, a happy, warm, ray of sunshine.  And Melissa, the ever-understanding listener who mixes cocktails just as good as the advice she gives.  And Crystal, the wisecracking jokester who can make ANYTHING fun.  And then I suppose there’s me, the slightly nutty drama queen, the Carolicious.  Together we make up a sisterhood of friends that remains just as strong as it was ten years ago.

Oh.  And one more thing…

WE STILL KNOW HOW TO EFFIN’ PARTY!!!

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.