I live in Cow Town...Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It's the time of the year I dread most. The time of year that my husband and I have typically arranged to be AWAY on holidays. The ONLY time of year that I am NOT devastated when I miss a GNO (Girls Night Out)!
That time of year is.... The Calgary Stampede. Yup, the "Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth" or so it's known around the world and by local wannabe Cowboys n' Cowgirls. (Which I take some small offense too because being a Cowboy/girl is really tuff, hard work and when "us" city folks "pretend" to be them...well, I WOULD be offended if I was a hardworking Cowboy/girl...I'm just sayin'.)
I like to refer to it as "Halloween in the Summer" and for the record, I have NEVER wanted to dress-up like a Cowgirl BUT what I love about ME today is that...
I am a TEAM PLAYER! I like that I can "suck-it-up" and PLAY ALONG!
I cherish and look forward to my GNO's! I count on them to help me keep my sanity AND to make me a better "Stay at Home" mom. BUT my idea of a GREAT night out with the gals is going to a nice restaurant, enjoying some delicious food and superb wine. On occasion, I even enjoy a night at a "pub" rockin' to some music or being the 'Star of the Show" at a trashy Karaoke Bar...please see my number one FAVORITE song to sing HERE.
Going out during Stampede is NOT something I enjoy, in fact, I avoid it. However, I like that I can be a TEAM PLAYER and not ALWAYS have to have things go my way! LOL And so, the Stampede GNO has been planned for months now but I have made it no secret that I am not particularly looking forward to:
- standing in a line for hours to get into a venue that charges a $20.00 "cover"
- standing, shoulder to shoulder, inside that venue for hours (because there are NEVER enough tables/chairs for the thousands of people there)
- standing shoulder to shoulder with woman who's mom's should have told them that respectable Cowgirls don't wear "THAT", all the while having to witness drunk Cowboy wannabe's trying to get "funky" with them when they should be asking them to "two-step"
- feeling like a TOTAL "cougar" and not a well-dressed one, at that!
- having to stand in a line for hours to get a $8.00 thimble size drink to be able to tolerate the above
I actually contemplated "calling in sick" for the GNO but then that wouldn't have made me a TEAM PLAYER and what on earth would I have posted about this Monday...ha,ha,ha.
Here are some pictures of
Did I look as RIDICULOUS as I felt??
Yup...I Sure Did! :)
There were the "Cowboy" Wannabe's...
And then there were the REAL COWBOYS!!
Ladies...Didn't Your Mama Teach You That Respectable Cowgirls Don't Wear THAT...
...They Wear This! LMAO!
Oh...the LOVELY Crowds of Stampede!
If truth be known....I had a STOMPIN' Good Ole' Time!!!
(Shhhhh.....don't tell anyone that I CAN'T WAIT for next year! I'm serious...it was TONS of F-U-N!!)
HAPPY MONDAY LADIES....YEE HAW!!!!!
Sounds like fun! Although, I completely empathize with the frustration over tiny over-priced drinks (I live in Vegas, after all).
ReplyDeleteHA! HA! I love Vegas but I don't remember ever paying for a drink....LOL!
ReplyDeleteYou totally rocked the cowgirl look! Looks like fun! Maybe I need to visit Calgary...
ReplyDeleteLOL you looked great!
ReplyDeleteI can sympathize. My town also has a festival that the locals all vacate town during. (And in my town the cowboy hat is de rigueur year round, but my town is also full of real cowboys too.)
ReplyDeleteBut you looked great! And that's what's really important.