"Livin La Vida Loca"

I told you my weekend started out great, well it continued. First of all, I wanted to put a link to my blogger friend Holly on here. You can read all about her and her beautiful daughter Carleigh here and all about her journey with her rainbow baby and about her family here. She is definitely a strong, beautiful woman, and I am blessed to have gotten the chance to meet her.

Saturday was another day spent with another strong, beautiful woman. Actually, it was spent with a few beautiful women. JJ and I started out the day early with some much needed shopping. I had a few Macy's gift cards burning a hole in my pocket and made the most of it by finding a few great articles of clothing to stock my wardrobe with. I also needed to pick up a pair of shoes for the two weddings I am in. Thank you to both of the brides for choosing the same color shoes for me to wear. I am not going to lie, I am blessed to be a part of both of their occasions, but it is starting to get pretty darn expensive and my wallet is starting to take a hit. Don't feel bad girls, I have loved every minute of it and would not have it any other way!!

Saturday was Anne's bachelorette party. All of the other brides maids and Anne joined JJ and I at Macy's and we proceeded to pick the bride out the sexiest bachelorette outfit and shoes. We took advantage of JJ's fashion sense and eye for style and picked out the cutest little dress and high heels before we made it tacky with penis necklaces and a veil. After shopping, but before getting gussied up for the big night, we all had a scrumptious dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. I did a great job at sticking to my diet and just ordered a salad and a vodka martini. Okay, so maybe alcohol is not necessarily on my diet, but at least I found a drink that had no carbs in it. None of the girls were very helpful, because they insisted I try all of the decadent deserts they indulged in, to cheat just a little bit, but I stayed strong.... for now.

We made our way to the hotel, which thanks to one of the other bridesmaids, was comped. I have never been able to say that I have gotten a room comped before that night. I have had great deals for being in the military, but to get a $200 room for nothing is a new concept and one I could get used to. We rushed to get ready, because in all the fun we were having at the dinner, we lost track of time. We had a show to get to at 730 and were cutting it really close. We did a quick game of guess who the panties belong to which consisted of Anne pulling panties out of a bag and had to guess by the style who bought them for her. No, they were not previously used, they were all new with the tags and her size. Although I was pretty tempted to buy her a pair of granny maternity panties, I got her a nice pair for her honeymoon. We also decked her out in all of her gear which included a pair of nerd glasses with a penis as the nose. I have no idea who came up with some of this stuff, but we were cracking up. Lucky for Anne, we did not require her to wear this out in public.

JJ, Anne and I decided to wear some pretty high heels and it was the first time I had worn any in about 11 months. About two blocks from the hotel, I quickly realized that it was probably a huge mistake. So JJ and I turned around and got three pairs of flats out of the trunk of the car to carry in our bags for later that night.

The show was okay. I thought it was entertaining, but it was a compilation show of all the best skits and songs of the year and I was a little dissapointed that I was only familiar with about 3 of the songs. The skits were pretty funny and we purchased a special little serenade for Anne. It was a rendition of Ricky Martain's "Livin La Vida Loca" but it was all about living the married life. It was hilarious and Anne ate it up! She was dancing with the actor and we all got a little rowdy.

After the show, and quite a few beers may I add, we headed down the way to one of the bars. It was at this point that I decided I was not going to repeat the same mistake I had made last Saturday and decided to start drinking water. All of the other girls were still drinking their beer and we were all dancing machines, but I THOUGHT the water would make me feel better.

I have to tell this particular story even though I am truly embarrassed to do so. We were having a little problem with one of the bridesmaids. Let's just say she forgot her ID. So we needed to be stealthy in getting her into the bar. I had this great idea to distract the doorman. My shoes zip up the side and are not the easiest to get on or off, so I sat down on the floor next to the bouncer's chair, stuck my feet up on his lap, and asked for his assistance with removing my shoes so I could put on my flip flops. I KNEW those flip flops would come in handy. I think at least five people slipped by the bouncer in the 3 minutes it took him to help me, but the bridesmaid was not one of them. At one point JJ got down on the floor next to me and was mocking me. I can just imagine how this whole scene would look to a sober bystander. It turns out they finagled their way in through the other door so my act of drunken heroism was futile.

We finally made our way back to the hotel room around one AM. Yeah, I know that is still early for some, but most of us are married and some already have kids, so one was late for us. Ahhh, I remember the days when I could stay up to close down a bar and then desperately look for the after party. Not any more. I was ready to go back around midnight, and I was on the phone with Foster begging him to pick me up. Since he was already tucked in for the night, and knew that I was within walking distance of my safe place to sleep, he refused to pick me up. I don't blame him one bit. When we got back to the hotel is when my entire diet went out the window. We ordered Donato's pizza, and I inhaled at least six pieces. I am glad I did because I am sure that is one of the reasons I was at least able to function Sunday morning. Although I drank a TON of water after 11pm, I still woke up with the biggest headache, but after getting home and sleeping for another two ours, I was ready to start moving furniture with the hubby. I am so excited about the new rooms and will definitely post pictures this next week because it is WAY over due for you all to see my home, but that is for a future post.

There are a few reasons that Saturday was so special to me. As I mentioned in previous posts, Anne deserves this celebration more than anyone I know. Her life has been full of trials and tribulations, and continues to be even as I write this. She deserves happiness with this future husband of hers and deserves the support of her friends. The first marriage she had was in a court house, and no one attended because no one supported it. I feel so guilty for this, because as her friend I should have supported her no matter what, but time proved to her that my initial feelings toward her husband held some merit. Unfortunately it took her WAY too long and WAY too much pain before getting out of it.

Second, JJ and Anne have never been close. They are both very very close friends of mine but have been a part of different aspects of my life. They are two polar opposites and because of that, and a drunk admittance to a little bit of jealousy, it caused them to never open up to each other. Well, on Saturday they both got to know each other, had fun, and I think actually may enjoy future activities together. This makes me sooooooooo happy, I don't think either one of them know how happy it makes me feel. They are both such amazing people, and I am thrilled they see that in each other now. God has blessed me with some beautiful friends, and they have been two of my biggest supports through the last few months, and I am happy that they can now see why I am good friends with both of them.

So, this next Saturday, I will stand proud next to Anne and smile from ear to ear, and probably cry, as her and her fiance become man and wife. Oh, and don't worry, my shoes will stay on because I am not drinking a sip next week!