Do or Don't - Vacationing with Friends?

So I've been horrible at blogging recently...maybe because I've been going to the gym more often than a Victoria Secret model before the week of the runway show... well maybe not that much but five times a week. And I can't help but brag a bit because even I am impressed with myself. And while I haven't lost that much weight (hello muscle weighs more than fat - just keep repeating)... I have lost inches and a dress size in a month! Even more cheers from me. My goal all along was to be a solid 2-4 instead of a solid 4-6 and last week I bought my first skirt in a 2 in I don't know how many years. I did a victory dance in the dressing room but then harassed the sales lady because I wanted to make sure it fit and I wasn't just cramming the skirt over a muffin top. And this all leads me to... vacation. Because why get in shape if I can't show it off in skimpy bathing suits. Joking of course (in case my husband is reading this). But I have always had a not so secret passion for bathing suits (perhaps one of the few women out there that doesn't dread bathing suit shopping. I live for it. I crave bathing suits as soon as Groundhog Day safely passes)... and so I'm now craving a vacation like no other. (And maybe a few cute new suits to come along for the ride).

Some place like this maybe....

That's a pic of Aruba from our honeymoon. Ok it looks a little rainy and grey but I couldn't find my Bermuda photos on the new computer so this will have to do.

And all this leads me to - we want to vacation with friends this year. Part of me loves the idea. We went with this particular group of friends a few years ago and had a blast but part of me also dreads the idea of going anywhere with friends.

Why? You ask.

I think friends' vacations can go two ways - really great (we had a blast, we love each other now, we're besties for life, look at our cool snapshots) or really bad (I freaking hate that girl, she takes five hours to get ready for the beach, we had to plan out every micro-second of the trip). I've decided you have to be careful about who you vacation with and maybe the best idea is to test the waters with a weekend get-away. (I'd love to go to the Bahamas with you for a week but not in the budget... how about Nags Head for two days).

A mini-getaway is perfect. You get the person out of their element and you see if the two of you can gel for more than the time it takes to get a few cocktails. I know of a few friends off hand that I love to death but know personality-wise we'd kill each other before the week is up. Mini weekend maybe - week hells no.

The perfect friends to travel with (for me anyway) must meet the following criteria:

• Fun to be around - hello no one wants to hang out with Negative Nelly all week. I don't want to hear about every problem in your life as you throw back your tenth margarita before 9 am. I'm on vacation we can dissect your life when we get home. (Sounds bad yes - but let's just relax and have fun).
• Which brings me to point 2 on my list. I want someone in between hardcore party animal and in bed by nine. I don't need to be carrying you back from the hotel bar (I'm not in college anymore) but I do want to have a good time. If I have to worry about your ass drowning in the kiddie pool because you've downed too many tropical drinks you're off my vacay list. And on the opposite end - if you can't miss CSI and Survivor for one week and have to still meet your 9 pm bedtime then maybe you should take your vacay at home in front of your TV. Let's party like rockstars  err aging rockstars that don't want to end up on TMZ and still want to function in the morning.
• I don't want to be micro-managed. It's a vacation. I need someone who isn't going to hit the ground running with an itinerary the size of my suitcase (and since you've never seen my suitcase let's just say I sit on it to close it and weigh it to make sure it's under 50lbs). That being said after a day at the beach I'm ready to sight see within reason so I can't deal with someone who's perfectly fine to just work on their tan all week. Picky? Maybe. But I'm Goldilocks - I want someone whose just right.
• You can't get mad if I want to do my own thing. If we're going with another couple... I don't know maybe I want to have some alone time with the hubs and don't need two third wheels tagging along. I'm not going to get mad when you want to have a romantic dinner and you can't get mad I didn't invite you to tour the ruins with us. We'll catch up over breakfast the next day and have something to talk about.
• Our ideas have to semi-match. If you want the Four Seasons and gourmet dinners and I'm trying to stay at a Days Inn and hit up iHop this isn't going to work out. I want to make sure what I want to spend and what you want to spend is the same. Don't just say oh... you know inexpensive. Inexpensive to me might be $1,000 for the week and inexpensive to you might be $5,000. I want a clear budget in mind before we start planning. And lets agree on where we want to go - if I want tropical and you want Alaska... then I don't know maybe we should go on separate trips and chat when we get back?

I think that's my list. What would be on yours?

And all that being said... help me come up with some amazing vacation ideas that come in at a reasonable price. I'm loving the vacation articles that boast affordable vacays and it ends up being $5,000 a person for the week. Affordable... really?? For Jennifer Aniston maybe.