the first step is to admit it...

okay, its time to face up to the truth and admit it. everyone, I have an addiction to spider solitaire. particularly this one hand that i cannot solve, even though i have been playing the same one over and over again since friday. But i finally turned the bloody thing off, so maybe i can put an end to it now! :)

but i haven't been entirely addicted this weekend...

Lauren's birthday was yesterday, so we all went out for a two-part birthday celebration. On Friday at 3 we went to Tynemouth for a beach day - except it was too cold for much beaching besides walking along the sand in our bare feet. The beach is so pretty there... everytime i go, i love it even more. this time the tide was in (first time i'd seen it in) so there wasn't much space on the actual beach - but the waves were huge, and full of surfers!

ellen was the only one brave enough to get her feet wet!

here's elizabeth, as we climed over the rocks to avoid getting wet

we walked on the beach from Tynemouth to Cullercoats, had half-pints in the very smokey, puppy-friendly Queen's Head pub, and then walked back to Tynemouth, on the road above the beach this time. Did you know that there's a pond there with little swan boats?
I tried to take a photo of the swan boats with a real swan in front, but the swan would have nothing to do with it - he hid his head just before i took the photo!

swans are so stubborn!

we stopped for another half a pint at the other end of the beach, and then wandered into town for dinner. We really wanted to go to the Priory pub for their yummy smelling carvery dinner, but alas, the whole place was booked! so we went for yummy indian food instead.

Saturday night was the big birthday celebration - dinner at Coco Mo's and then bar hopping on the quayside. Elizabeth brought a cake for Lauren, and the restaurant provided the candles....

Lauren blew the candles out once...

see them smoking? they're out right?

twice...
three times!

yeah, so apparently, the restaurant uses trick candles! let that be a warning for you! :)

Here are some group photos from the night:

in the booth at dinner

Elizabeth at Fever, bar #1

Prae joined us at the Head of Steam, bar #3

more photos from the Head of Steam (that's Annie, in the dark pink top)

For some of us, the night ended with a stop at Revolution, but the die-hards took the birthday girl to Carling Academy after that... I'll have to get the rest of the story from them sometime today! :)