Baller

The Marine Corps Ball! My fake hair! I wouldn't forget to tell about that, would I? Well fear not, my dears...keep reading.
We had the brilliant (no sarcasm...no...really...no sarcasm. It really was brilliant. ) idea to bring my parents with us to Myrtle Beach for the ball; we rented a 2 bedroom condo-y suite and they were thrilled to tag along, babysit, and enjoy the ocean.
Now...I have experienced the full range of hotel experiences. So I know bad and I know good when I see them. (No...really.) In the states, I tend to have higher expectations in most places. We're not in a third world country where you just have to deal with it. Our hotel was a lovely suite with plenty of room and a nice view. The down sides: all drains except the kitchen were in severe need of some heavy duty drain-o. It took a good 15 mins to drain my not-close-to-full bath water. We requested a pack and play for P prior to arriving. It wasn't there when we got there. Ok, it was late but no big deal. Easy fix. They shortly brought it. First red flag was the dirty rag (yes...rag) crammed inside it...with a used pacifier. Second res flag wad the thing was severely broken. P would have given it a good shake and the whole thing would have gone and collapsed. Safe! We requested another. By then it was far past P's bedtime and she was fading. We got her in jammies and had everything ready. Still no replacement. John called about it. Twice. Finally it came. And this one, though better, was also broken. The leg was cracked and unless rigged correctly, it collapsed on itself. Again...safe. I was able to rig it and made due because by now I was desperate to get her asleep. So...that is my cautionary tale. We've gotten pack and plays from hotels before and it was a great experience. But I will definitely be cautious and wary next time.
Back to my hair. I'd practiced a few nights before using the fake hair ans curling the rest and it turned out okay. My mom helped and along with a quality straightener (learned the hard way that quality really does make a difference with straighteners...and yes, I learned to curl my hair using one as opposed to a curling iron...fancy me!!) and spraying each row of curls to hold, I wrangled my hair into submission. My stylist friend Ann had gotten my hair color as close as it was going to get to the fake hair and it was a honestly flawless match. Go Ann.
The dress. I first saw it at an event for military spouses called Operation Ballgown. Basically, people and shops donate dresses,  there's a huge fashion show, and then you're given a time slot to pick a dress. Great way yo recycle dresses for others who might need one. Not a great way to FIND a dress. At least this was the case for me. I literally tried on 20 dresses...and the day was just not favorable. However, I saw this dress and fell in love. It was a size too small but I could tell holding it up that it would work with my body type. After searching, giving up, and searching again, I found it on ebay and snatched it up. It fit like a glove and, other than needing a hem, was perfect.
I felt like a complete belle at the ball and we had a great time. I was introduced to one of John's coworkers who blurted out, "Wow!...stunning..." Ahh drunken honesty. :) Needless to say I was flattered. And I must give a shout out to my heels. Either my chiropractor has worked miracles on my feet or/and my heels were awesome because I had very little pain the entire evening. This is like...mythical in my life with my feet. Huge deal.
My parents enjoyed their time with P and then with a movie after she went to bed. They also loves spying into the ball when they dropped us off.
Sadly, we never found a date for John's friend (the search was quite the ordeal)...maybe next year.