Bridal Shower Party Games

Good Monday morning!

The Showcase Pic for the week is of Austin and Melia at his family birthday party Sunday. I just thought it was a really good picture of the two of them, and although I have a ton of pics to share this week, this was one of my favorites.

The Gallery Pics are of the Mardi Gras dinner I had Saturday evening for some friends. (I have discovered I am a very good Chicken Gumbo "maker.") The recipe I posted last week was easy AND super delicious. Mikie and Austin loved it, and they already want more. Patience boys, patience!

Since this was once again a big picture weekend, I'm going to share the rest of Austin's birthday pics tomorrow.

Special Guest Hints - Next Monday, I will reveal A Simple Life's Special Guest for the month of March. I will give you a hint or two each day this week, and we'll see if our expert panel of "guessers" will once again come up with the correct answer. Joan, Cam and Robin are really good at this game, but I'm determined to stump them before it is over with.

1. She is the mother of three and wife of one.

2. She is not a native Alabamian. Before she landed here, she lived in two other very different states from Alabama (Code for NOT IN THE SOUTH). But she fits in perfectly with all of us Southerners!

TOPIC OF LAST WEEK - The Mikie and Belinda Story - Part Five

Mikie's dating commitments were finished. He was sitting beside me on a packed pew at Shades Mountain Baptist Church. He smelled really, really good. But I digress. He wanted to talk to me for just a few minutes after the service. Hmmm. What could he possibly want to talk about?

All of our friends scattered, and he walked me to my car. "Would you be interested in going out to eat and to a movie this Friday night?" he asked almost immediately.

"Are you sure you can afford it? You've spent a huge amount of money these past three weeks. I don't want to put a strain on your savings account!" I hate playing games, but I was still more than a little miffed.

"Friday's payday. And even if it wasn't, I am more than able to afford dinner and a movie with my best friend."

Okay. Now he wasn't just smelling good... he was talking good, too. I accepted.

Friday night finally came, and I wore my new blue and white striped jumpsuit with huge shoulder pads and new Connie flats. (Trust me. It was the 80s. I looked great.) Mike showed up a few minutes early and we went on our first date... dinner at Milo's and a movie. I didn't mind the fast food dinner. Milo's has always been one of Mikie's favorites, and as long as we were seeing a movie (one of my favorites), I knew he had covered all the bases.

As you can imagine, having been the best of friends for over three years, conversation never lagged, hand holding was very natural, and I can honestly say it was the first "first date" I had ever been on where I wasn't so nervous beforehand I was sick to my stomach. Easy breezy. That's how I would describe our first date.

After it was over and he was walking me to the door of the apartment, he asked me a couple of questions. "How many kids do you want?"

"Three. Two boys and a girl."

"Yeah. Me, too."

"Do I get to kiss you good night?" (Just for clarification... Mikie asked me!)

"Nope. Not on the first date."

"Well, technically... ," he started to whine.

"Nope. There's nothing technical about it. Third date, buddy."

Then I had a question for him.

"Did you kiss the girls you dated the last three weeks?"

"No. And I told them I wouldn't be calling them back for another date. I said it nicer, though."

All right. As they say in all the astronaut movies, "We were clear for take-off." And take-off we did. To finish this long, long story, I'll give you the rest of our courtship tale in the form of a timeline.

March, 1987 - First date.

March, 1987 - Third date (Mikie says, "I love you," and I agree.)

April, 1987 - I meet Mikie's family for Easter lunch. (Mikie has already met my family in the three years we had been friends.)

May, 1987 - We meet with Dr. Charles Carter for counseling. We know we want to get married, but we also know how "fast" this will seem for our families. He gives us very good advice. We sort of take it.

August, 1987 - After Mike has talked to my Dad and asked for my hand in marriage, we become engaged. (The engagement story will be told on Thursday of this week.)

January, 1988 - Mikie and I become husband and wife. I married my best friend. And he smelled really, really good!

Weekend Review

We had a crazy weekend, but fun. Friday night Mike and Josh went to the Bass Masters at the Civic Center. They had a ball. They met Bill Dance and some other famous fishermen. Josh even got a country singer to sign his hat. I know it wasn't Josh Turner, Dolly Parton or Randy Travis... but it was another equally famous guy.

Roxie and I went to Subway with friends, and later she went to the movies with another friend, so she was very happy.

Austin, Melia and Melia's little brother, Peyton, saw Percy Jackson and the Olympians (and LOVED it).

We were scattered, but everyone had a good time.

Austin left before sunrise Saturday for a Flag Football Tournament in Montevallo. It was for the BCM and schools from all over Alabama were represented. Jacksonville finished second late Saturday night. It would have been nice to bring home the trophy, but Austin had a great time... except for the last game. You know. The one they lost.

We had our Mardi Gras dinner Saturday night with some family friends. It was a lot of fun, and as I said earlier in the post, I discovered I make a mean Chicken Gumbo. I also discovered when I cook ahead, I forget to put the potato salad on the table. I knew something was missing, but I wasn't sure what it was. We found it Sunday morning. Very disappointing.

Sunday was Austin's 19th birthday celebration a couple of days early. We had 18 in attendance, and he enjoyed himself immensely. I don't care if you're 19 years-old or 99 years-old... receiving wrapped gifts and cards containing money is a good thing!

Austin had to leave last night because he had to be in a line around 6:30 this morning to obtain new housing. A call a few minutes ago verified he did indeed get the housing situation he wanted. Same roommate (very good), two bedroom apartment, sharing one bathroom and a living area... SWEET! Yet another answered prayer!

Although I haven't gotten to see The Boy very much the last two weekends, he's been having a great time (going on the Mission Trip and spending time with his new BCM friends), so I'm pretty content. Of course, I hope I see him a little more this coming weekend. We'll just have to see. He's a busy guy!

Bridal Shower Party Games - Since this is the LOVE month, I thought I'd share a few Party Games to use at showers. I'll probably post one a day for three or four days.

Life Thread

You will need a spool of thread.

To play, pass around a spool of thread, and tell each guest to break off a piece. (Don't tell them what it's for or how much to take.)

As soon as everyone has taken a piece of thread, go around the room and have each person talk about themselves as they wrap their piece of string around their finger.

They are not allowed to stop talking until the string is completely wrapped around their finger. Be careful that no one inadvertently cuts off her circulation! In the interest of saving your circulation, you can play the same game with toilet paper. For each square you take, you have to tell the group one fact about yourself.

Whoever takes the longest string/piece of toilet paper and can give the most facts about themselves is the winner.

I liked this game. I thought it would be fun to play at other parties with a group of people you are just getting to know.

I found this on www.411partygames.com. I'll have another one for you tomorrow.

Have a great Monday. February is almost over, but don't wish it away. There is still so much fun to be had this month! Tomorrow's recipe is divine! (I haven't used an "enchanting" term in quite a while, so I thought I'd throw one in there.) I'll have two more Special Guest Hints. You may now begin guessing. Tomorrow, I will also be posting Austin's "birth" day story again. (I posted it last year on his birthday. It's the exact same story... just told 19 years later.)

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda