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Mal and I had a great weekend, be it super fast.

We spent Friday night in Chapel Hill. We arrived in town at around 1:oo AM and didn't have to check out of our Holiday Inn Express room until noon. Sidenote: awesome hotel. I'd never stayed in one, but the amenities were great. In the bathroom, they had this little card by the sink that boasted of their shower head. Admittedly, it was the best shower head ever! It had a large ring from which the water flowed. Because of the ring's width, it was able to direct the water over a larger surface area. It was like taking a bath while standing. I definitely want one in my future "permanent" residence.

OK, so... after we checked out of the best hotel room ever, I drove Mal to her conference and then got our car's oil changed while I waited. When that was complete, I still had a couple hours to wait, so I parked in the lot behind her building, under a tree, and caught up on some reading before I took a nap. :)

When she was done (around 3), we left for Myrtle Beach. The trip was a little longer than expected, but we weren't pressed for time. We arrived in town at 7:30. After some quick hellos to grandma, the three of us departed and joined Mal and my godmother (Joan) for dinner at a tasty Mexican restaurant in town. I had a really tasty entree of shrimp stuffed with cheese and jalapeno peppers. Then, they were wrapped in bacon and grilled. On the side, they served a cheese dipping sauce, steamed broccoli, and rice. Mmm. The picture of my dish is actually on the page I have linked. It was delicious. Plus, they had tasty chips and salsa (which is how I judge all Mexican restaurants).

After dinner, the four of us rented some movies and watched them before calling it a night. Mal and I slept in a little on Sunday and then hung out with grandma a bit. We departed for the beach a little after noon and stayed for a couple hours. Having learned my lesson from a few burns in my life, I generously applied some sunscreen. As I sit at my desk today, I can't even tell I saw sun this weekend except for a few places that I managed to miss. Mallory, however, can be seen (illustrated) in your Webster's dictionary under "lobster". It's scary. Poor sister. She's basically hating it right now.

When we returned from the beach, grandma fed us her (requested!) noodles and we cleaned up for the road. We left soon after dinner (5ish) and arrived in DC a few minutes after midnight. Phew. It was fast, but so much fun!

Today, Mal and I had lunch together. We basically rehashed our weekend and talked about how we're both broke. Ha ha! Mal was telling me about how she's maxed out her credit card and is waiting anxiously until payday on Friday. In an attempt to comfort, I shared that I got paid today and most of it is already gone to bills.

Why was I in such a hurry to grow up??

I write this not for sympathy, but to share some exciting news...

When lunch was over (after we'd wallowed in our "broke" self pity), Mal sent me an email about twenty minutes later. In it, forwarded from her boss, were details and an announcement letting her know that she was going to receive a bonus this month! Can anyone guess at what the amount could be??

Here it comes...

wait for it...

the perfect amount to pay off her (much stressed over) credit card!

Isn't God awesome!? We laughed about how fast He answered that prayer. Amazing! It was just enough money... not too much or too little. Just perfect.

Speaking of prayer, keep Mal in mind because she's at the doctor's office right now. When we were in Chapel Hill, she got bit by something on her leg. After going to the clinic in her office at work, they told her to go to the Urgent Care clinic in Alexandria. They think a brown recluse bit her. Yikes! The bite really does look bad and is slowly getting worse. So, keep her in your prayers... who knows, this one might get answered just as quickly! :)

Mal and I may go see Little Miss Sunshine tonight with Drew. Drew got some "early released" tickets to the movie that's not out yet. I don't know how he gets all the tickets, but I don't complain! Drew said it did well at the Cannes film festival. So, we'll see.

I may wind up taking care of my spider-bitten sister. Who knows what the evening will bring on this hot and sticky DC evening?