Girls' Afternoon Out

Mary and Sarah show off their new nails. Danielle opted for a pedicure.

She's in the back on the left, texting while waiting for her toenails to dry.

22 June 2015

Today Sarah, Danielle, and I enjoyed a short girls' day out. It only lasted about an hour and a half, but we had a great time pampering ourselves just a bit.

A new nail spa opened inside Walmart a few weeks ago. It's been wildly popular, and we'd each toyed with the idea of stopping in for a mani or pedi. When Danielle mentioned on Sunday that Jacob had given her a gift card to enjoy the pampering of her choice there, we quickly realized that both Danielle and Sarah were off today (and I'm off every day for the next five weeks), so it was the perfect day to do something together.

I sneaked this picture in the middle of having my nails applied.

It was tricky. The LONG nails hadn't been trimmed back yet,

so I could barely get my finger on the camera's button!

We met at Walmart at 4:00 and each went for the procedure of our choice. Danielle said fake nails didn't work for her because they always broke off while she was working at her register, but she'd always wanted to try a pedicure. Sarah just wanted to enjoy a manicure. I'd never had professionally-applied fingernails in my life--a frivolous expense I could never justify--but today I decided to give it a try, just for fun. When I chose the French manicure for $30, Sarah weakened and decided to do the same.

Now she's having fun!

At first, watching Danielle across the room, it looked to me like she was having a miserable time. When I asked about it later, she told me the manicurist discovered she had an ingrown nail that she'd been unaware of and had never experienced before, and it was painful while they were cutting it out. Not fun! After that, though, she was able to relax and enjoy herself.

The finished product: Danielle's toes in her favorite color, pink!

It was a fun experience. Mark and Dylan love my new nails, and I admit they make me feel pretty fancy. However, they are making it a challenge to type this blog. I keep hitting the wrong letters! As a lifelong nail-biter, I'm used to having no nails at all.

Danielle, Mary, and Sarah at Cobe Nails Grand Opening!

When we were done, I had my first opportunity to see Dylan working as a cashier, and I snapped this picture while he was too busy to notice and object. I didn't know that cashiers are rated for their scanning speed until I overheard my kids talking about it one day. Dylan said he got his speed up to 980 tonight, which apparently is a goal even many experienced cashiers find hard to attain. Good job, Dylan!

22 June 2015: Dylan on the job.

Finally, I got a coupon in the mail for $10 off the cost of dinner at El Rancho, one of our family's favorite Mexican restaurants. Since I was actually wearing makeup and had my brand new nails to show off, Mark and I decided to go out to dinner. After we chowed down on Mark's chimichanga with rice and beans and my taco salad minus the tortilla shell, we had an impromptu selfie session with my phone that cracked us both up.

We were both stuffed. I'd like to say we laughed off the calories, but somehow I doubt that...