First I'll say that I love any excuse to dress up. The only problem is that I always underestimate the amount of time I need to get ready which means that I'm generally always late. And I hate being late. It also didn't help that there was a lot of traffic getting into Honolulu (why there was so much traffic at 6 p.m. on a Saturday night, I'll never know) that it took us an hour to get to the hotel, find a parking spot, and then get to the venue.
I'll also mention that it's still raining. For the third straight day. And the party was held in an outdoor venue. See, people who live in Hawaii have this thing where they think that they live in paradise and that it is never anything but sunny around here. Despite the fact that it does happen to rain here quite a bit [though not quite as much as these past few days], they still insist on holding parties and functions outdoors. Granted, there was a roof over our head, but the walls were open to the elements and there was more than one person who was quite wet by the end of the night, or at least by the time we left. Especially since the dance floor was out in the open.
Despite our late arrival and the rain, it wasn't a terrible evening, although large, semi-social activities like this aren't always my favorite thing. The theme for the night was James Bond, which meant that there were a number of men in tuxedos and women in short, skimpy dresses.
Exhibit A: The 007 ice sculpture from the dessert table. It slowly melted away during the course of the evening. The rain certainly didn't help matters either. Whenever I see an ice sculpture, I always think of The RM. [David always asks if we have ice sculptures in Relief Society. He was quite disappointed that I didn't want to carve one myself when I taught the RS lesson last week.]
Exhibit B: David's dessert plate, mostly filled with fruit because David is a sugar wimp. For the record, I put the chocolate cake on his plate because I didn't have enough room on my own plate. Sad, but true. The pineapple, as seen poised on David's fork, was exceptionally tasty tonight.
Exhibit C: My dessert plate. I don't know why I have this sudden compulsion to document all the food I bake or eat, but I can't help it. It somehow seems important. The tart was the best part of the dessert. Mmmm....I love strawberry tarts. What is it about strawberries that makes them taste so good with chocolate?
Exhibit D: The newlyweds! Did you know that David and I have been married for 6 months now? It feels like so much longer but in the good, I feel like we've always been together and how did I ever live without you? kind of way and not in the bad, I have to spend eternity with this person and I can barely stand you? kind of way. I often forget that to most people 6 months is nothing and that we're still very much newlyweds to them. We've packed a lot into these past six months. I wonder what the next six will bring. And the next sixty years...All in all, the party was enjoyable. They had a number of "door prizes" (what does that mean anyway?) ranging from a DVD of Casino Rayole to a Wii and a flatscreen TV. We left early, before they gave away the bigger prizes, but of course, we didn't win anything and probably wouldn't have won anything had we stuck around. Still, I always hold out just a shred of hope that one day I'll get lucky. I guess it's not meant to be. My favorite part of the evening, however, was seeing several older men in full Scottish regalia complete with pleated kilts, furry sporrans, silk stockings and coats leaving the hotel as we were walking back to our car. [I've recently developed a thing for men in kilts. I think Kara may understand. ;-)] And now, after this exciting night of black dresses, 4 inch heels, James Bond, good food, and men in kilts, I'm spent.
Say tuned later this week for the chilling saga of our ongoing battle against the ants of Hawaii, my first substitute teaching assignment, and my Christmas cookie/baking extravaganza! I know y'all can just barely contain your excitement. I know I can't.
