AVITAWEEN !!!

This past weekend I spent a little over 48 hours in the Orlando / Altamonte Springs area of Florida. I was there to meet blogger friends old and new for Adam's annual Halloween party, Avitaween !!

I had met many of them before including Britt, Hilly, Dave2, Becky, Heather, Karl, Shannon, Brad and Turnbaby, Jill, and a few more.

I made new friends too !! People whose blogs I have read for ages and who I finally got to meet !! I was all SQUEEEE about that !! Dawg, Poppy (who I will hide my corned beef hash from because she is all awesome and stuff!! ), Maria, Faiqa and her amazing husband, Rachel, Ren, Robin,Sheila,Linda (and Fraughter), LeSombre, Nicole, Wendy, Marty and his lovely wife Rita, Shash, Karen, Sassy, Angie, Angel, Finn and other people whose blogs I can't recall right now but will be reading soon!

My only regret of the weekend is not getting to spend enough time with these people...they are all made of awesome sauce and when you out them all together it is totally awesome dressing® !

Next year I'm staying a week, if they don't boot me out of Florida ! Everyone was terrific and I was a bit looser than I was at ConFab, probably because I "knew" most of the attendees already. And I'm sure I'm forgetting someone, and I know there were several people I didn't get to meet because things were just so busy. I had a great time, and instead of boring you with all of the minute details I'll just tell you (and show you ) the most interesting parts of the trip !

Southwest graciously allowed me to roam around the country using a leftover credit that Greg and I had( oh he went too ! of course! - see him in his costume below!) It was a good flight and as we climbed into the air all I could think was that I was getting a little bit closer to heaven. That made me tear up a bit but then it made me smile.

After I met up with Sheila, Linda & Fraughter and Ren and his wife at the ORL airport where we promptly introduced Linda & F to the goodness that is Chick-Fil-A. We then spent an hour at freaking Budget where they tried to give me a two-seater car, whereas I promptly went all Planes, Trains and Automobiles on them and took myself right next door to Enterprise. They got us there.

The rest of the weekend was spent hanging out at the Hilton who makes an amazing Long Island Iced Tea ( or 10 or 12!), hitting Universal City Walk where both Sheila and Fraughter got knocked up in the back of Nicole's van in order to provide better parking for KimKind , general debauchery around Florida and of course, THE PARTY.

It was AMAZING ! The decorations were spot-on, with signature themed Invaded drinks, and Adam even had vacation photos of us with aliens invading them - it was perfect!

(And yes I did KARAOKE!! I was talked into it by Becky and the lovely Mrs. Avitable, and I had a blast - especially since there is no video or photographic evidence of it - I hope!!)

Unlike some people...*ahem*





So, enjoy the pics, there are more at Flickr and I'll leave you with my bullet list of things said/done and overheard at
AvitaWeen ......

* "Yall it's stuck to my buttcheek."
* "I don't think it's supposed to be that big after you pump it."
* "Just put it in my box."
* "Shake it and see if more will come out."
* "You're getting it in my eye!!"
* "Is it supposed to be that green?"
* "Higher or you won't be able to get it in!!"
* "I had to get two before they ran out and I go into withdrawals."
* "I'm not eating anything that looks like dog puke."
* "It's all floppy and might fall off if I go too fast."