Bachelorette party memories alive in our minds

I went to a really fun bachelorette party Saturday. Cocktails were flowing, delicious snacks were being devoured and the bride was opening package after package of gifts she will not be showing her nana.

The bride arrived at the party in a cute little yellow sundress and wedge heels. After being at the party for about two minutes, she was wearing a necklace with a shot-glass pendant, a fake tiara and a fuzzy light-up headband with, um, you-know-whats as antennas. (Yes, you really do know. Think bachelorette party.)

Anyway, she had many more you-know-whats hanging off necklaces and a light-up one inside a plastic pink martini glass.

We had such a good time! I couldn't wait to see my photos the next day. I mean we ended up at Krystal at 3 a.m. It doesn't get better than that. Anyway, after laughing with my sister for half an hour about how awesomely silly the bachelorette looked, I was left wondering just what I was going to do with my 52 photos from the evening.

Creating a Facebook album seemed a bit, well, inappropriate. I'm pretty sure the bride and other party goers do not want their bosses, husbands, boyfriends and church friends to see those photos. Oh well, I guess the memories will have to live on in our minds and not on the Internet. Well, except for the carefully cropped pictures below.

Warm nights are welcome

There's nothing better than sitting outside on the deck on a warm night with a glass a perfectly chilled Pinot Grigio and a couple of dogs romping in the yard.

Southern nights are soothing. The sounds of cicadas, crickets and frogs will lull the most frenzied work-alcoholic into a relaxed weekender.

Here's what our deck looks like on a spring evening.

Margarita Wednesday comes home

Every Mexican restaurant in Columbus has Margarita Wednesday. Slushy, frozen, fruity margaritas are served at discounted prices. Yum.

I only wish I could get the margarita to go. The problem is the food is still pretty pricey and not exactly low in fat. I also seem unable to stop myself from eating the entire basket of chips while waiting for the food to arrive. I'm usually pretty full when my large-portion fajitas arrive, but that doesn't stop me from cleaning my plate.

Hoping to avoid coming home so stuffed we can hardly move, Jeff and I decided to recreate our favorite Mexican meal at home. For the dinner Jeff grilled some sirloin, and I sauteed some veggies. We made guacamole and assembled our own fajitas. For the chips, we used baked tortillas instead of the restaurant-style fried ones. Maybe even eating a whole basket of these isn't that bad for the waistline. The meal was fairly healthy and the portions controlled since I only heated up four flour tortillas.

Our Mexican fiesta wasn't complete until we made frozen mango margaritas. They were delicious. Here's the recipe if you'd like to try them.

2 1/4 cups (1 1/4 pounds) fresh or frozen mango
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
3 cups ice
4 ounces of tequila
2 ounces triple sec

Blend mango, water and sugar until smooth. Add ice, tequila and triple sec and blend.

Enjoy!

VIPs in the Sticks

I've often wondered what it would be like to be a VIP. Last weekend, I found out.

Jeff and I got VIP passes to the Sticks Country Music Festival in Auburn, Alabama on Friday and Saturday. What's the difference between very important people and regularly important people? For one, the way they dress. The VIPs were in trendy clothes. The VIP ladies wore sundresses, sandals, capris and cute tops. The regular women were sporting tank tops, short shorts, torn jeans and even bikinis.

The VIP seating was more spacious and offered good views of stage, of course. But the best part was the free food. A special food tent was set up with a rotation of delicious snacks and appetizers. Corn fritters, shrimp, meatballs, chicken fingers, chicken salad sandwiches, crackers and cheese, salads, fruit trays, veggie trays, cookies, brownies, petite fours, shortcakes, sodas and water. We'd walk into the tent every hour or so and be welcomed by a new batch of yummy food.

Being a VIP made me feel very important indeed. Here are some photos:

Redneck fun

I'm tweeting live from the Sticks Country Music Festival in Auburn, Alabama. Check it out at www.ledger-enquirer.com or www.twitter.com/LESticks. Tonight I heard Gretchen Wilson. A true Redneck Woman. Tomorrow, it's Sara Evans and Trace Adkins. Should be fun. Click here and here to get to those Web sites.

The bridal shower connection

My friend Debbie is getting married. I've known Debbie since we were kids. We grew up in the sweet Indiana suburbs in a neighborhood called Lincolnshire. She and my sister were best friends, at least most of the time. I was the self-described cool older sister. I would play with Anne and Debbie when all my older, cooler friends were busy. And I invited them to my self-organized club meetings when all my cooler, older friends failed to come. I would create new games and set new rules for old games so I would win.

At some point, Debbie left the neighborhood and moved to New Jersey. I'm not sure when because I was busy hanging out with older, cooler friends. For awhile, Debbie and Anne lost track of one another. Not long after Anne moved to Atlanta, she and Debbie reconnected. I believe Myspace is to thank. Guess where Debbie was living? Atlanta.

After multiple glasses of wines, meetings of friends and boyfriends, New Year's Eve parties and birthday parties, Anne and Debbie became friends again. Luckily, they let me hang out with them sometimes. You know when they're younger, cooler friends are busy. Anne will be a bridesmaid in Debbie's wedding, and I'll be the proud older sister and friend crossing my fingers that no one trips in the aisle.

This photo was taken at Debbie's bridal shower which Anne helped organize. She bought beautiful decorations, made wonderful invitations and coordinated activities. She gave me a job, too. I created a bridal-word-jumble game. It reminded me of when we were kids except that I didn't win this game. In fact, I didn't even play because knowing all the answers in advance is actually cheating, not winning.

See, I'm trying to be cooler.

The dreaded office potluck

My sister's company had a brunch today. Everyone was supposed to bring a dish to share. A sign-up sheet was posted on an office door. Anne approached the sign-up sheet with trepidation. Napkins, paper plates and sodas were already taken. She'd have to make something.

Anne debated what to bring for several days. She scoured magazines and cookbooks. She asked friends for their best recipes. She pondered the usual questions: What would everyone in the office like? How many folks were vegetarians? How would the dish stay warm or cold? How far in advance could the dish be prepared?

What is it about the office potluck that causes so much stress? My biggest worry is that no one will eat what I bring. I also have this fear that I'll be walking by someone's desk and see a serving of my dish in the trashcan.

I usually suggest friends take store-bought goodies to their office parties. It may be cheating, but it's an emotional lifesaver. No one seems to get disappointed when the grocery-store sugar cookies are untouched on the buffet. But if no one wants any of grandma's famous snickerdoodles, there's sure to be sadness.

Dreaming of a different time

It was a cold and rainy Sunday. I considered being productive. I could have cleaned the house or organized my closet. I really did think about it, for at least a full minute. Then I decided to watch movies.

In honour of the dreary weather, I chose "The Duchess" and "The Other Boleyn Girl." The rain tapping against the window, the lush landscapes being shown on the TV screen and the English accents blaring from the speakers made me feel like I was living in a different time in England.

Beautiful gowns, parties, dancing, extravagant weddings, titles. It all seemed so romantic and wonderful. Then the wars, arranged marriages, scandals, marital affairs and beheadings begun and things seemed a bit less romantic. In fact, things seemed downright scary.

I was even more scared later when I did some Internet fact-checking after the movies. Maybe living in a time period when you didn't get to choose your spouse and forgetting to hold your tongue could be considered treason wouldn't have been that great.

I'm glad that I wasn't married to some politically desirable suitor when I was 15 and encouraged to produce a male heir quickly thereafter. I'm especially glad that today women can express opinions on "matters of state," pick their partners, celebrate the births of their daughters and make their own decisions.

I still wish I had some of those gowns, though. A girl can always dream. Just hold the reality, please.

Feel sick? Try tequila

Forget about eating chicken soup, drinking tea with honey and gargling salt water.

If you sense the sniffles coming on, pour yourself a shot of tequila.

Have a lime wedge ready. Swig the tequila. Suck the lime.

That's it, you're cured. Go to bed. In the morning you'll feel fabulous.

Tequila: it's medicinal. Promise.