happy thanksgiving!

Group Therapy wishes you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving! We are so grateful for each other and our ability to share some of our everyday-too-funny-humor with you. In a few minutes, the Macy's Day Parade will begin. This year, one of our local High School bands will be performing for the 8th time. Look for the Homewood Patriot Marching Band from Homewood, Alabama.

Have a wonderful day!

To be continued  .  .  .

chapter 2 . . .

Memories  .  .  .

Here we are, no more Cabo adventure, just us being 50  .  .  . at the moment I'm watching the movie Julie & Julia, based on a true story about a young women searching for her purpose, deciding on a whim to BLOG about cooking her way through Julia Child's cookbook, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking. ” I was inspired the first time I saw the movie, but today, it drew me back to the computer to dive back in to Chapter 2. The BLOG must continue.  

Aren't we all looking for a purpose, something bigger than what we are individually. That is certainly the essence of this movie. And I suppose the essence of this BLOG. We are all so stressed, living life with mortgages and teenagers and a bad economy. So we thought a little humor would be just what the doctor ordered if the doctor was ordering something. You know, how often might you say, "too funny" and laugh hysterically? We think too funny should be a daily occurrence. Don't you? So, we are officially transitioning from our wonderful Group Therapy Cabo adventure to our everyday "life" adventures. But we need you! Send us your stories to add to this archive. If you are at least 12 months from turning 50, or you are 50 or over, please send us your stories. We would love to add them to our BLOG! We will also be opening up our membership in the coming weeks so stay posted on how you can join our exclusive club. If you have a story to share, please forward to ngagethehumor@gmail.com. 


To be continued  .  .  .  

international travel and customs . . .

Mexican flag

Have you ever traveled to another country? It's remarkable how entering the gates of another country can present challenges that are unexpected. 


On our way into Mexico, we obviously had to follow the rest of the herd through "customs." No one seemed to mind, as most everyone on our plane looked to be vacationing, not returning home. You may remember the beginning of our little story where I mentioned traveling through customs into Mexico with very little comment. It was easy! So, why would returning to our own home country be so difficult? Bureaucracy at it's finest!


The tension, and subsequent anxiety, began at the San Jose Del Cabo airport. We were on-time and relaxed, even looking forward to getting back home, but not prepared to repack suitcases because they weighed more than the acceptable limit. We each had one large suitcase and fully stuffed carry-on bags, then we had the snack suitcase, that should have been empty but wasn't. Each bag was manually searched, attendants riffling through all contents! They chuckled at the contents of the snack suitcase as it passed inspection. Next we went to the check in line with the scales. Samantha's bag made it through, was tagged and sent on to the conveyor belt that we hoped went to the right plane. Charlotte's bag was next and exceeded the weight limit. In the U.S. when this occurs, you are charged $50 or given the opportunity to rearrange and shift the excess weight to another bag. Not so in Mexico  .  .  .  I can't remember the exact charge, but it was somewhere in the neighborhood of $400 dollars (not pesos) to travel with the bag as it was packed at that moment. So what does Group Therapy do? We empty the snack suitcase, donating its delicious contents to the young riflers who had chuckled at its contents moments before. As we struggled to reallocate Charlotte's belongings, we were once again reminded of our friendship and unique bond. We were one unit determined to fix this little glitch. Thankfully, my bag passed the weight inspection, so all we had left was security.

Wilbur "look-a-like" (from Charlotte's Web)

This sweet little piglet reminds me of our commitment  .  .  . in Charlotte's Web, Wilbur would do anything for his beloved friend Charlotte. For us, whether it was making it through destination malfunctions, too many adult beverages, constipation, sunburn or overweight bags at the check-in, in a foreign country, we were united in a way most would envy. 


The challenges continued once we entered the U.S. in Houston. Our carry-ons were loaded to the gills and we had to walk the circumference of the airport to get to the "customs" area, only to be told that the special tequila that we bought at the airport in Del Cabo could no longer be carried on the next leg of our flight  .  .  .   these bottles needed to be packed in our suitcases. WHAT???  How were we going accomplish that? So once again, and at a fevered tempo, we repacked, reorganized, and RAN to make it through customs, security and to our final gate. We were late, and exhausted and NOT having nearly as much fun as we had been for days  .  .  .  what a bummer reality was! Figure in stress and hot flashes and a little left over hang from the last bit of fun we had in our tropical paradise. Could we actually be spending the night in Houston again? 


This flight was the final flight to our hometown today, and as fate would have it, thankfully, we approached the gate, sweating, out of breath and anxious, to be told that our last leg had been delayed by almost an hour  .  .  .  what a break! It was early evening so we decided to eat a little something, have one last beer together, and relax before this adventure really did come to an end. Shortly thereafter, we boarded our last flight, not seated together, to head home.

Remember this picture?

As I end this chapter, I realize how sad I am  .  .  .  not because the trip ended, but because our time together ended. The three of us, Charlotte, Samantha and Carrie, had spent every waking and sleeping hour together, making this wonderful story come to life. I think I speak for my two lifelong friends when I say we had withdrawals for days afterward! I guess the only realistic thing to do is start planning the next trip  .  .  .  and we will let someone else arrange the travel!


From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for reading our BLOG and reliving this adventure with us. The BLOG will continue with other stories that are too funny so stay tuned. Make us a favorite or a bookmark and please give us feedback. 


From Anne and my lifelong friends Charlotte and Samantha, and of course me, Carrie, we wish you a great weekend! Never forget the power of friendship or Group Therapy  .  .  .  

Group Therapy,  Cabo San Lucas,  2011

Anne and the hot tub . . .

She said NO to the cigar!

It had taken several days, but we finally convinced Anne to take a dip in our hot tub on the veranda. (Well, actually, she sat on the edge and enjoyed the entertainment we provided)

Our last night was upon us. The first couple of days had progressed slowly, which we took for granted. Now we literally had hours left, and we were bulletproof, thanks in part to teenagers from California. At age 50, bulletproof  is just as bad as at age 25 or 30, maybe worse. We made it back to room 2053 safely and started the arduous process of packing  .  .  .  inebriated! Honestly, and I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit, the details surrounding our arrival that night and waking the following morning are more than a little fuzzy. Perhaps the known highlights will suffice:

• Packed everything without any breakage; left nothing behind!
• Finished our last bottle of wine from the stash we had collected all week (waste not want not)
• Danced under the moonlight on our Veranda to our favorite tunes.
• Soaked in the hot tub one last time, while finishing the cigar we started day 2, with Anne looking on  .  .  .
• Snacked on leftover chips and dip because we were starving!
• Answered the door to security, after the phone rang, directing us to go to the door, due to complaints from our neighbors about excessive noise. Yikes!
• Finally saying GOODNIGHT to Pueblo Bonita, Sunset Beach Resort, and probably literally falling into bed!

There were other pictures taken that night; pictures that provided clues to the above mentioned highlights, however, none were suitable for this post. Please don't use your imagination, we would like to put this night behind us  .  .  .  

Low Profile

Amazingly, we awoke feeling okay. NOT great, but okay. We were moving in slow motion again but had plenty of time to "wake up." Our flight (the corrected route, flying out of Cabo opposed to San Jose California) left in the late afternoon, so we were able to take our time getting organized and out of our room. After checking out, settling up and storing our bags, we ventured into a lovely restaurant that we had not yet visited. It was called the Bistro and they had breakfast practically waiting on us. Of course we ordered HOTD, one last time, and it truly seemed to take the edge off. (Okay, that sounds bad as I read it out loud  .  .  .  good thing we are headed back to reality or the Betty Ford Center may have sent representatives to host an intervention; three for the price of one?

We asked el waitor to capture this last meal in Mexico with Charlotte's camera. He certainly did:

"OOPS, is that his hand or Patrick from Sponge Bob Square-pants?"

Bless his heart, he did take another picture, but this one speaks volumes. We look pretty good under the circumstances! Don't ya think?

After breakfast, we toured parts of the resort we hadn't noticed before, like this beautiful little chapel. We solemnly entered, feeling the reverence of the atmosphere before us. We each prayed privately and left respectfully! 

On the way out, this was the view:

Another Postcard

We then stumbled into a fabulous little jewelry store, and each of us bought a trinket to remember the trip (as if we could EVER forget!) Remarkably, this adventure that we had dreamt about and savored throughout its planning, was coming to a close. Samantha, Charlotte and Carrie (I) were all feeling very melancholy (with a little hangover woven in too) to be letting go of the fellowship, the laughter and the unadulterated fun that had been the last several days. In spite of the hiccup with our arrival, this journey had far exceeded all expectations. How often can you say that about a vacation?

As we waited for the airport shuttle, we were already reliving stories and laughing at the antics of the week. Plans for a full length feature film were discussed and we knew just who should play our parts. The shuttle arrived, we boarded, and headed to the airport known as San Jose del Cabo, Cabo San Lucas Mexico.

To be continued  .  .  .  not over yet!

mexican BBQ and tequila?

Is must be obvious that I am dreading the end of this story; almost like I dreaded the end of the trip! Like finishing a good book, I'm going to miss the characters. 


The old saying, "all good things must come to an end" .  .  .  I say WHY? Good things are good, right? Anyway, here we are at the Thursday night BBQ at Pueblo Bonita, Sunset Beach Resort (that's a mouthful) and we're late. We took our time getting ready and didn't know when we bought the tickets from Roberto that there was a beginning and an end to this mexican fiesta! We sauntered in, as our characters surely would, like we owned the joint, only to be reduced to tourists who didn't have a clue what to do or where to go. We figured it out, but for a few fleeting moments we almost bailed. One of the wonderful resort staff took us under his protective wing and guided us to the bar then to the buffet of "picked-over" morsels and finally, to a table. Everyone else was well into the free margaritas and food and for the first time since our arrival we didn't feel like the star attraction. We had to catch up pretty quickly   .  .  .  and you guessed it, we did! 

Sultry Charlotte

Sassy Samantha

Moi 

See what I mean? Fantastic!

This wasn't your typical BBQ, this was a huge party by the resort's main pool, with music, dancing, games, contests, balloons and BBQ ribs, unlike any we had tried before. There were families with kids galore, all participating at full speed. We decided to jump in with both feet; this was our last night and we we going out with a bang! 

Photo pop with one of the entertainers 

Once the group decided to do that dance where one person starts the procession and the next person moves behind them, holding on to their waist, and then another follows suit, until you have a human train, singing and kicking  .  .  .  could that be he name, the train  .  .  .  anyway, at that point we were done with the festivities and not interested in becoming the caboose. Fun while it lasted but we were feeling our age and just ready to be peaceful! On to the bar we visited the third night after spending our day in town. Fitting, we thought, to visit for one last 2 for 1 Happy Hour! 

Thursday night BBQ, Pueblo Bonita, Sunset Beach

We had absolutely NO desire to overindulge this last night! As a matter of fact, we were still a bit shaky from the sunburn, and overindulgence the night before. Nope, our unified plan was to have one glass of wine, take the second back to the room, pack, soak in our hot tub one last time and retire. too funny indeed! (That really was our plan)

Samantha ~ Charlotte ~ Carrie

Next, picture us perched at the bar, sipping our first glass of wine (not Happy Hour yet) beginning to relax, and slowly becoming obsessed with two unusual bottles positioned directly in front of us. Remember the waiter from our last visit to this bar? He was rushing around like he had been that night and realized we were back. Funny how we didn't think he appreciated us because we sent back the wine, but surprisingly, once he found out it was our last night, he doted on us, even though we were sitting at the bar and not one of his tables. His name was Michael and he seemed fascinated with us, especially Samantha!

Fabio was also roaming around, seemingly in charge. We started asking our new friends about these bottles and were told they held a special Mexican tequila called Azul. One bottle was white and looked like it was ceramic. The other was clear glass, both hand painted and we decided we had to have them. Michael, assured us he could probably locate three empty bottles but it might take a while; in other words we (or at least Sassy Samantha) would have to hang around, altering our early to retire plan, long enough for them to find three bottles.

Azul tequila

Enter Greta and Julia from California  .  .  .

Greta and Julia

Not ready for Group Therapy for 32 years, but they are welcome once age eligible! 

We learned quite a bit from these nice young ladies. First, they had been sitting next to me for a while and I hadn't noticed that they were intently interested in us. We would soon find out that they were on their senior trip after just graduating from a high school in Palo Alto, California. Apparently, we were talking about how old we felt and how sad we were that our adventure was coming to an end and Greta, who was sitting closest to me said, "excuse me, are you all really 50? You sure don't act like you are 5o or look like you are 50!" (I'm pretty sure that's a compliment?) We learned that Julia's mom had accompanied them on their trip, but had stayed in the room most of the time. She was our age, at least, and they both wished she had been able to enjoy their trip as much as we looked like we were enjoying ours. We found out that Cabo San Lucas was a favorite and typical destination for many high school graduating seniors from California, to celebrate their freedom, while helping to usher them onto what comes next  .  .  .  the legal age to drink alcohol in Mexico is 18, and these two well educated, poised, beautiful young ladies were having the time of their young lives. Amazing that they were interested in us!


Sadly, the time began to fly by. We were genuinely enjoying these two young people when another group of teenagers descended upon us. This group consisted primarily of 18 year old boys. Greta and Julia had met these guys earlier in the week and were happy to see the gang join our little party at the bar. Before we knew it, Fabio was pouring tequila for all of us  .  .  . shots, I should say  .  .  .  the kind we haven't done since college  .  .  .  the kind where you lick your hand, between your thumb and your pointer finger, pour salt on it, "shoot" or drink the entire shot all at once, then quickly lick the salt off your hand and suck on a wedge of lime. (This was perhaps our lowest moment  .  .  .  shooting tequila, in Mexico, with 18 year olds. We are and were, not proud!)


 Anyway, these kids thought we were the "coolest" MOMs ever! The young man who bought the round of shots, kissed each of us on the cheek, and then they left, almost as quickly as they entered our little scene. Greta and Julia stayed perched with us until the end.

The Good Stuff!

Remember our plan to have two glasses of wine and call it a night? Well, we were certainly past that limit by now. Once one is where we were at this point, one is back to being bulletproof and everything sounds good and reasonable. (Exactly who were the teenagers?) 


If you look closely at the picture above, you may notice those are champagne glasses we are using to toast. Don't worry, we didn't order champagne. No, we were drinking the expensive Azul tequila from the white ceramic bottle that we just had to have. Fabio managed to find one empty clear bottle, but only one. Samantha revealed that she really didn't care whether she got one or not. But Charlotte and I were still determined, so, we decided to buy what was left in the white bottle (of course, the more expensive of the two types) and share with our friends. Apparently, one doesn't "shoot" Azul, one "sips" Azul. Fabio chose champagne glasses to honor the moment and the tequila, and this picture captures that toast forever! 


Charlotte and Carrie ended up with the two beautiful, hand painted, Mexican bottles they just had to have!  We didn't think about the trip home and how we would pack them until the next day  .  .  .  yep, too funny!


Enough for now  .  .  .  still more to come  .  .  .  inebriated packing, more wine in the room, final hot tub (even Anne partakes) and security comes knocking on room 2053's door  .  .  .  too funny!


To be continued  .  .  .

Just a fun picture as we were leaving
for the night . . .