It is so nice to take time out to catch up with friends. Applebee‘s has a fun motto right now –Life is Better Shared!

This week, I took three friends out for a girls’ night. After a long work day, I was thrilled to sit down and relax with three sweet friends from church.

The four of us sing in our praise band together. We are all in a similar season of life — we all work outside the home and are just a little tired.

We keep up through blogs and Facebook and Twitter, but it was so good to sit down face to face and just talk. Usually when we see each other face to face we are practicing and singing. We don’t have the chance to just really visit with each other and listen to each other. It was great just to be able to talk and talk.

And though Applebee’s values face time with your friends, they also know the importance of staying connected day-to-day. Find and connect with them on Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube and Tumblr.

There were plenty of menu choices for each of us. We all shared the Spinach Artichoke Dip and I had the Fiesta Chicken – Yum! We may have chosen something from the menu below as well.  

Between the four of us we celebrated passing the CGRN exam, new job titles and opportunities and an upcoming bridal show event.

We don’t always make time to celebrate each other, but I am so glad that we did.

On my drive home, I felt energized and refreshed. I called Brian to thank him and tell him how nice it was to spend some time with friends. These ladies know how to lift me up. They make me feel beautiful and smart. Encouragement that we all need.

Next time, I will not let as much time pass between girls’ nights! We are trying to make a habit of doing something…anything…at least once per month.

Do you have friends that lift you up? Make some time for them – face to face!

Guess what?! Applebees wants to help make this a possibility for you! They want to give you a $150 gift card. Isn’t that amazing? Amazing!

All you have to do to be entered for a chance to win is answer this question in the comments:

“When’s the last time you had a girl’s night out?”

Rules:

 No duplicate comments.

 You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

 a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 7/16/12 – 8/3/12.

Be sure to visit the Applebee’s brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!