Our excellent friend Rich Murray has created a "Man Room" in his garage.  Basically it still looks like a garage from the outside, but on the inside, a whole different story.  Carpet, desk, fireplace, GIANT bean bag, cozy couch and even a popcorn maker.  Oh, did I mention the surround sound and 4' x 8' screen for the movie/TV projector?  The "Man Room" doubles as Rich's office and was completed this summer. 

Lucky for us, our other good friend Kelly had the fabulous idea of putting this room to good use by having an all out "Sex and the City" Girls Night Out.  Sign said "No Boys Allowed".  We all dressed up to the nines and had martinis and dessserts galore.  The popcorn machine had a fresh batch of popcorn, and we all just sat around in our fancy clothes and watched the movie.

I have to admit I've only seen the TV show a few times, and I'm not a die hard fan like many people are, but I did consciously hold out on watching the film since I knew this night was coming.  I had a great time and I can honestly say that I enjoyed the movie.  I thought it was very well done, and it was refreshing to see all the characters acting more as real adult people, rather than immature girls looking for the next hunk to sleep with.  Thanks ladies, for a sweet Ladies Night.  Just shows that Bellingham Women are not only very good looking, they're also a hell of a lot of fun.  Perhaps I've been inspired for another Women & Wine.

So it was a great plan, and well planned out; a day at the spa: just for the girls.  Jill had planned this about a month in advance.  She was going to be off to the British Virgin Islands for a week long sailing trip.  Since she happened to be flying out of Seattle, she made a Girls Spa Night that corresponded with her departure.  I left work early just to make the trip about an hour south in time for my 5pm massage and body wrap.  When I was just about to jump into my carpool, we got the awful news that Jill, the organizer, wasn't going to be joining us afterall - as her plane ticket was for the DAY BEFORE!  Yikes!  She didn't realize the mistake until it was too late, and she was off at the airport dealing with a major emotional train wreck, I'm sure.  The good news is that among all the flight personnel telling her and Phil that there was no way they'd get on a flight right away without practically taking out a second loan, our wonderful and dear friend Rich saved the day.  With his mountains and mountain ranges of frequent flyer miles, he scored 2 tickets and had them flying out on Friday night afterall. 

So that was the beginning.  Unfortunately we didn't get to spend the evening with Jill.  But, we did get to experience the wonderful Olympus Spa in Lynnwood; a spa made only and just for women.  There were 7 of us there, fully naked with about 20 other women, and fully enjoying ourselves.  We spent about an hour going from pool to pool in the "pool" room.  Water ranged from 50 degrees to 104 degrees.   Then we enjoyed the "hot rooms" which ranged from 60 degrees to 150 degrees with various wall ornaments such as salt rocks, jade, bamboo and charcoal.  Next, I was called for the massage, which I wanted to just be head, hands and feet, but in the end, I couldn't deny that my calves and hips needed a little mending as well.  Following an hour of massage, I laid back down for the body wrap that "takes off inches" apparently.  It was a smothering of hot green goop followed by 1 -2- 3 layers of saran wrap, 1 layer of a silver space blanket, and 2 more layers of thick blankets.  

Now mind you, the body wrap was ok for me.  I had a bit of trouble towards the end of my 40 minutes, thinking that I was sweaty and all cocooned up like a moth...but Ashley, this poor girl spent an HOUR longer than I did in the hot rooms BEFORE the wrap.  She described the event as feeling like a truly baked potato by the end.  Not only did she bring her body temp way high before the experience, but she also requested that the lady not come back into the room at all until her 40 minutes was up!  Needless to say, if you're going to get a body wrap, don't spend an hour and a half bringing your body to the 150 degree temperatures, even if you love being hot!

Speaking of hot, by the end of the sweaty body wrap, I was ready to eat, so we all met in the cafe for dinner.  I ordered the "Galbi", which is Miguel's favorite dish at Boundary Bay, just to see what authentic Galbi was like.  This was a mistake.  The Galbi at Boundary Bay is free and bright and lean.  The Galbi here was fatty and on a teeny tiny sizzling plate that was surrendering beneath a mountain of greasy meat and bell peppers.  As I ate, the meat was too hot and I was sweating in my hospital gown with the top constantly coming open.  I was crammed into a corner with a coke machine bearing down behind me, and all I could think about was finishing this God forsaken hot, greasy meal so I could get up and jump in the cold pool again.  So, yah, the meal wasn't a highlight for me.

I did leave the cafe though, and I went to take my 5th shower of the evening.  I visited the pools and found my new favorite thing to do; force myself into the cold water , dunk my head and stand in the waterfall for a few seconds, then get out and douse myself with hot Mugwort water.  This was what made the trip for me.  I went into several of the hot and cold rooms, but they all seemed about the same to me, regardless of what was glued on the walls.  I ended by going back to the waterfall and hot Mugwort water, and for that, I was thankful.  

Apparently, according to Katrina and Colleen, the "body scrub" is the thing to do at the spa, so when we go again in the winter, I'll get one of those instead of the massage and body wrap.  But until then, I'll just remember the Mugwort.