Salutations to Single Shennanigans: Part 2 - Lingerie Shower

So I left off with a somewhat dreary day with plans falling a part and the bad weather giving guests and friends trouble getting into town. Now most of the day has gone by and its time for my Lingerie Shower!! Nina made a fun invite:

Of course my size and bra size are wrong but oh well! Anyone notice who's hosting? Yeah, "The Church Ladies"... including the priest's wife and the headmistress of my elementary school!! Who's going to need therapy? Oh wait - thats me! Oy.

So we arrive, and the next thing I know, I'm wearing a flashing "bride to be" necklace and a veil... with a twist. :)

Oh yeah, those are devil horns. It was funny... I'm just REALLY glad it wasn't phallic.
So there was a great spread of food, lots of talking, and some great mango mojitos.

Most of these women have known me since I was 3 years old. And the one in the blue green jacket is my mom.

So then the present opening started and the embarrassment began...

Did I mention THE CHURCH LADIES threw this shindig??
Actually, it was a lot of fun and it wasn't all lingerie.

The above pancake griddle pan was given with banana pancake mix and a pancake flipper. I was told I would understand it more on Saturday. ... huh? Its pancakes! YUM! What's to understand?

Brilliant idea for anyone going to a lingerie shower who doesn't want to give lingerie - hangers!!

Just below is me cuddled up in my SOFT new robe! I love it!

So, just below was from my mother with her suggestion of my wedding it on the wedding night! :)

THANKS MOM! :-D
Loving the feet!!

Well, that was her funny gift. Her real one was the beautiful white one below.

Above is the top part of a red hula lingerie outfit. It was fun.
Below is the "proper attire" for preparing my hubby a snack. (Note: the proper attire only includes the bowtie and apron skirt!)

Apparently, I was ready to beat someone with the rolling pin.

Unbeknownst to me, MaryEllen had written down what I said as I opened all the gift and was now reading them back as "things Michelle will say on her wedding night." It was hilarious!!

So with the shower ended, now it was time to get ready for going out. In true Panama City style, the girls had made me a airbrush t-shirt. They decided that a tshirt was too plain, so we had to jazz it up with some bows at the shoulders.

Add in an additional POOFY veil and some leis, we were ready to hit the town!

Stay tuned for part 3!!

Hint - it involved Margaritaville and a fishing lure. Only in the south.

Showered with Love: Part 4 - Opening the Gifts

Now we are settling into the living room next to the big 'ol pile of presents.
You know how when some people talk, you WILL give them your undivided attention for fear of the consequences? The woman on the left is one of them. She's another Coastie Pilot mom and dude, when she went to talk to the Marine pilot (in the hat, behind the candle) it was "You. You are a Marine pilot, right? Come talk to me." I have never seen him toss out so many ma'ams or sit up so straight!! =) Ahh the fun of mixing new and old friends!

See me on the right? That's how I spent alot of the present opening time... clapping like a two year old. Most of these people have known me since I was 3, but still, I wish I hadn't given them visual reminders!

Josh was the only brave "kid" to stray into the unknown "adult" territory during the gift openening.... brave soul!

At this point, it ahd become a bit awkward and I think everyone was wishing they had had 1 more beer or margarita before gift opening. So, to break the tension, I decieded it was a good idea to put the mixing bowl on my head. Don't ask me why this occurred to me as a good idea! But nonetheless, everyone laughed alot and things were a little more comfortable.

Adam is not the best at recieving gifts. Even when he loves it, people wonder becuase he's not jumping for joy. So we decided this was the best route; he unwrapped the gifts while I read the cards. Attention off him and his initial reaction until I can do something silly... like put a bowl on my head. (Then he just turns red.) I highly recommend this! (The card reading vs unwrapping... not just anyone can pull off the mixing bowl on the head thing!)

From Eldest Bro and Sister-in-law who live in NYC and never cook. Their take out menu organizer is their cookbook! =) Well since LA will actually have more than 1 place that delivers food, this is going to rock. Thanks!

Oh, no, wait. I take back the thanks and replace it with... I'm going to kill you!!! Inside the takeout menu organizer is something to "heat up the kitchen". I turned as red as my dress!

Believe it or not, yes we registered for a doormat from a local art gallery. Paul Brent is a local artist who's gone global, and is a friend of the family... who's lurking in some of these photos too. We actually have two wall paintings to match this, so we are loving it.

Oy vey... more clapping...

While MOH Erka took notes on who gave what, Kat and Steph were the bow nazi's ...errr architechs. =)

All the girls lookin cute! Pat (Marine pilot above) and Steph (2nd from right) drove over from Pcola that day, and returned after the party. We were sad they weren't staying at the condo, but so glad they came!!

Remember my dilemma about hostess gifts? Well, the spice kits were a huge hit. They knew they were from us and not just my parents, it fit the theme, and I think they all genuinely appriciated them.

Lessons learned:

• The Wii is just d*mn fun for a low-key party.
• Always print directions for people and reiterate to CALL YOU if they get lost.
  
• The person who is bad at showing excitement for gifts, should be the unwrapper.
• Before you begin opening presents, make sure your margarita or wine glass is full!
• Even though you've spent a long-arse time crafting your registries... be prepared to get things you don't want or need, and smile anyway!
  
• Whoever is making the crazy-ass bow-quet thing - Just give them the damn bows asap!!
• If your Dad is notorious for taking bad pictures, hand the camera to someone else!
• When in awkward situation - put nearest bowl shaped object on head. :-) (I wonder if someday someone will list that as "best piece of wedding advice you've received".... maybe not! As my family and friends hope, I am one-of-a-kind.)

What did you learn from your shower/party?

Showered with Love: Part 3 - The Party!

Part 1
Part 2

After a day of laying on the beach and recovery from the night before.. it was time for the party! If you remember from the invite, they wanted it to be a fun party and not a stuffy shower. So they skirted the word shower and made it on a Saturday night, but still included a list of our registries. We were a bit nervous, but excited. These were a lot of people I've known for most of my life and while they are incredibly fun and kind, I always feel like a little kid around them so I wasn't sure how this would go....

We started out by the door to greet everyone as they came in. At first it was really awkward waiting to pounce on guests. But as a few came in and started talking, it was better.

The boys are talking about flying, while only Momma Duck and Kat's mom seem to realize there is a camera aimed at them.

The men were smart and scooted outside since the weather was PERFECT! ... and right behind them is the bar.... ;-)

Victory is ours! We finally made it out to the bar too!

I'd kill for my living to look like this one day.. and this is their backyard!! And for anyone who is wondering, Yes, I thought about asking them for their backyard for the wedding. This is only 2 houses down from where I grew up.

Drinks in hand, everyone seemed to be having a damn good time.

Classic Jane shot. I think I had just told her that I MIGHT be mentioned in Modern Bride.

Everyone seemed to have a good time. Lord only knows what story our priest is telling! (Yup, this is your intro to Fr Steve who will be presiding over the ceremony.)

BAD PICTURE DAD! But the point of the picture is that there were cakes....3 VERY yummy cakes!!!!

All photos courtesy, (or to the blame of) my Dad.

Next, we all move it inside to open presents... Adam and I end up with mixing bowls on our heads... Stay tuned!

Showered with Love: Part 2- Finishing Friday Night

So back to the Friday night party.... And Erka's fabulous hair! (I don't exactly remember why this style was modeled right then, but it was very entertaining and I was very glad I had my camera out!)
We brought our new Wii and decided that Saturday night, after the party, we would all go out to some bars and really party it up. But for Friday, we wanted to stay in and just hangout and be the lazy bums we all really are. So, first, we made Mii's for everyone! Kat, modeling herself above.

A bug eyed Josh and his new Mii.

Erka with her Mii.. while Adam digitally picks her nose...

Let the games begin!

Boxing was probably the most entertaining since Adam has actually played this and knows what to do, and the rest of us are going at it Mortal Kombat style - swing constantly and push every button as often as possible!

Yes, we are a bit of geeks to have purposely done this for our Friday night.. but d*mnit, we had a great time!

So about the time the clock was near midnight, we were mostly turning into pumpkins. I say mostly because Kat was falling asleep and Adam and I were finding it difficult to keep our eyes open. Erka and Josh, however were still wired... and tipsy. So while the rest of us headed off to bed, they headed out to the pool. And a few hours later I got a text message from Erka letting me know they were going to sing karaoke at a local dive bar. A few hours later I woke up to a beer bottle crashing to a million pieces on the kitchen floor as they were loading up supplies to continue the party at a friend's house. Notice we are adding hours on hours here and I started around midnight? Oh yeah. They came back to the condo around 9am and passed out while those of us rested got going for the day and went shopping and to play at the beach.

We came back in to find them waking up and piecing together their night... apparently Erka lost a fight with a fence....



And I think some details are forever lost to the night. The funny thing was, a few years ago, I would have been with them. Erka and I could party beyond the break of dawn like none other. Call me old, but I was having a damn good time playing the Wii with a Mojito in hand and calling it a night around 1 or 2 am. It did make me think about what I might want out of a bachlorette party. I guess I'd really want it to be something in between. I don't feel the need to pretend like I'm 21 still living in Orlando, but I wouldn't mind dancing and drinking for a while, whilst spending time with my best girl friends.

Did anyone else have a party that gave a reality check on how they have changed over the years or gave insight to the things you did or did not want to come to pass at your bachlorette party?

I know, I know - it's FINALLY time to tell yall about the actual shower!! :)