I made it! I survived last night’s shower and bachelorette party. My body may feel hung over today, despite the zero consumption of alcohol, but it sure feels good to check last night off the calendar. It even went better than I anticipated! I laughed hard and “partied” like old times.

The group of eight stayed in a Georgia Game Day condo in Athens (UGA town) for the night. Driving up to town alone left me feeling the old tingling of nostalgia; then staying in a place decorated to the nines in red and black made me downright giddy.

I will always think fondly of my alma mater, even if some of my roughest years took place during that time.

We got the place all set up for the shower and then let the fun begin. We took a few shots – them from a glass and me from the camera. 😉

She opened her lingerie gifts. And I had to laugh at her dad sending a special gift for the shower.

She’ll get more use out of that than any of the other things! 😉

We pinned the “junk on the hunk”. The variety of “junk” options to pin could not have been more hilarious.

We told old stories and quickly passed the time until going downtown to the bars. Oh, downtown!

I have an abundance of memories down there. It seemed I had taken a quick spin in the car from Back to the Future. Everything felt and looked exactly the same. Our first stop on the scavenger hunt (oh yes, there was a scavenger hunt for her to complete) even included a drink we partook in many times back in the day. A “Kill Bill”. Don’t worry - I banged a shot of water into a glass of cranberry  juice.

I also had a flashback to party years with a body shot. You read that right. One of the items on her scavenger hunt was to take a body shot. I jokingly volunteered my pregnant belly as the vessel and then, once the idea got in our heads, we knew it had to be done. Simply for the hilarity of it.

I’m not going to share the picture, but I didn’t want to ignore that part of the night either. Why? Because it reminded me not to take life too seriously, as well as spoke to how far I’ve come. I had done body shots before, but always in the sense of trying to get attention in a sexual way, stemmed from a lack of confidence. Last night, I wanted to have fun with my friend on her special night and not have a care in the world what other people thought. All that mattered lay within our little group and creating a memory for us to laugh over in the future.  

Some people may judge that decision on my part as inappropriate and I don’t mind. I was still the same woman with the same beliefs and values – including the value of living in the moment with a friend that means much to me. So I stayed out with her like old times. I didn’t go to bed until after 3 am. Then, I napped, guzzled water, and smiled over the night I just had today. Worth every moment…including a sticky navel for 1/2 the night. 😉

• Best part of your weekend?
• Where did you (or do you) go to school?

Please note: The Thermos Hydration Bottle giveaway is open to US residents only!! I forgot to note it in the original post by mistake and want to clarify. I also updated the giveaway post for future entries. If you already entered and are NOT a US resident, accept my sincerest apologies. Please forgive this error. Thank you.

Saturday. How I love you. I love knowing that I don’t have as many to-dos to get done on Saturdays and therefore can sleep in a bit. I love knowing that fun things await me, whether relaxing or exciting. I love spending time together as a family and all curling up in bed together for a lingering 30 minutes in the morning. What a glorious day!

Today started off just like that, too. We lazed about until 8 am (yes, that’s late for me!) and then Peter decided to make us pancakes for breakfast.

He attempted to do lemon ones, but the lemon flavor didn’t come out and somehow made them more dense and a little dry. I still ate them with a drizzle of syrup though. I bet they would have been better dipped in some strawberry Oikos. Oh well. My man made an effort to treat me to breakfast, so I’m going to eat it!

I used the bulk of the day to prep for the lingerie shower/bachelorette party I’m helping host tonight. It turns out only around 10 people will be there so I had to limit the spread I planned on making. Knowing my friend’s preferences, that I had to travel with the food, and that drinking will be involved, I picked appropriate finger food.

Veggie Bars (recipe from my friend Angie but you can find something similar here)

Spinach & Sundried Tomato Pinwheels (recipe from RecipeGirl – thanks!)

Oreo Truffles to go with the pink & black polka dot theme

Chocolate-covered strawberries (because, well, it IS a lingerie shower after all – thanks Melissa!)

So many of you shared such great ideas that I definitely plan on holding onto for future parties and events. If my friend had me host the recipe shower (like we originally planned) I would have used all of them. Artichoke bites, fruit salsas, fruit/cookie pizzas, BLT dips, mango salsa, avocado-feta dip, and more. Check out the comments if you’re interested in any of those.

Well, have a great night all! Wish me luck! We’re partying it up in a Game Day Condo in my college town first and going out to the bars later. This could get interesting. Me, a 5 months pregnant chick, hitting up bars filled with a bunch of college students (likely using fake IDs) the first week after classes began on the #1 party school in the nation’s campus. Oh me, oh my!

•  What do you love about Saturdays?
• What’s the craziest thing you’ve had to do for a friend? I think tonight might top the list for me. I guess I owe her though for that time in Switzerland where she had to get all up in my crotch to help get out a tic.