Homecoming Party

Good Monday morning!

The Showcase Pic for the week is of Austin after the JSU/Ole Miss game this weekend. In case you’ve been in a cave all weekend… we won in double overtime. Great, great game. Happy, happy Austin! (And I just learned from a Facebook buddy, Austin was on ESPN... and I missed it! But it is still very exciting!)

The Gallery Pics are from our day in Oxford, Mississippi. Beautiful campus… nice fans… wonderful day. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

RANDOMNESS #1 - The Marching Southerners have been invited to perform New Year’s Day (2012) in London, England in honor of the Queen’s 60th Anniversary on the throne. How cool is that? I cannot even imagine. Austin is so excited… and, of course, the first thing I thought was, “Who is going to take quality pics during the performance for ME?” I’m not kidding. That was my very first thought. I am pathetic. (But pathetic or not, I still have not figured out a good, sound answer. This will haunt me until I come up with a fool-proof solution… which I eventually will!)

RANDOMNESS #2 - In only 20 more posts, I will reach the number 500 POSTS on A Simple Life. That is a huge number… HUGE! As is my custom, I will be hosting another Mystery Bag Party. I will have more contest details as the time draws nigh, but it is going to be a good one. I’ve already chosen the mystery destinations, and they’re good. They’re really, really good! And unlike the poor Summer Mystery Bag Party Girls (The Party Girls), it will not be a sweltering 110 degrees outside which makes it difficult for the Big Gold Van to adequately cool it’s passengers. (I’m really sorry about that, Chicks.)

RANDOMNESS #3 - Mikie has begun a nasty habit of starting his sentences, “Since you’re almost 50,” or “Since you’re practically 50,” etc., etc. I'm thinking if Mikie doesn’t immediately STOP beginning sentences with these phrases, he probably won’t live to see me turn 50. Just saying.

Weekend Review

So far, our long weekend has been excellent. Roxie and I had a successful shopping excursion Friday evening.

We left early Saturday morning headed to Oxford, Mississippi for the 2:30 kickoff (JSU vs. Ole Miss). We went to watch the band, but we ended up seeing one of the best football game upsets EVER in the history of the SEC conference! (I don’t know if that’s really true, but I’m a Mom and that’s how I saw it!)

We went to church yesterday, and Bev, Katie and Zac met Roxie and me at the pool for our last official day of pool swimming. It was very relaxed and there was a cool breeze blowing under the pavilion. Ahhh! How I've missed cool breezes.

Today, we are off to the river to visit with Mikie’s family and TUBE, Baby! That’s right! We're tubing in the morning, eating, and tubing some more! AND to make the day even more wonderful, I will get to see my great-nephew... MATTHEW! I cannot wait.

AND finally, to make you, The Reader, happy, tomorrow I will be posting TUBING photos in the Gallery. I ask you, does life get in better? Does it? I think not!

Let’s get right to our party. I know I promised Autumnal ideas all week, and even though there have been rumors the temp is going up into the mid-90s, I will keep my word… and pretend it is almost fall even though the weather might not cooperate toward the end of the week.

Homecoming Party

Homecoming has always been a little tricky in these parts. If you play football or perform in the band (or you are a cheerleader), as soon as the game is over, you need to go home and shower and get ready. Since we don't have a dance at our school, most of the kids try to go to a nice restaurant after the game. Again, this is a little hard because many of the restaurants in our area close by 10:00 or 11:00. Then you have the dilemma of kids riding across town very, very late at night (which can be hard for the Parental Units, too).

May I suggest a simple, late-night Homecoming party? May I? I tried this last year, and it worked very well. With just a little prep (and a nap taken earlier in the day), we had several teenagers come and go, eat and visit, watch movies and play midnight football in the front yard, etc., etc. It was fun and relaxed. Here are some ideas for your own Homecoming Party.

1. Make sure the invitation list includes kids with or without dates.

2. Keep the menu simple, but filling. This year, I'm having a Barbecue Potato Bar. The baked potatoes will be ready in the oven when the guests start arriving. The following toppings will be offered... butter, sour cream, bacon bits, barbecue, extra barbecue sauce, etc. Buns will also be offered for the kids who "don't do baked potatoes."

3. Of course, I'll be serving chips, dip and trail mix to munch on.

4. For dessert, I'm going to have an Ice Cream Sundae Bar. Vanilla ice cream will be served, and once again, all the toppings will be arranged for the kids' enjoyment. (NOTE - An assortment of Krispy Kreme doughnuts makes a great dessert table, too. VERY NICE!)

5. Music playing in the background is a must. If you can get your hands on a CD of the band music (and sometimes a band member will have one), that would be perfect!

6. Have a selection of football movies for the kids to choose from (Remember the Titans, We Are Marshall, Blind Side, etc.).

7. Have a few board games available if the kids are in the mood (ESPN Scene It, Pictionary, Scattergories, etc.)

8. Provide a Nerf football and Frisbee for a little late night tossing in the yard.

9. Decorate the dining room and den with school colors. Streamers, football tablecloths, plates, napkins, cups, etc.

10. Put a couple of point and shoot digital cameras on the table and tell the kids to have fun taking pics. (There will always be one or two who will!)

11. With the party set up and ready to go, your main job will be to walk in and out, replenish food and drinks... and, of course, count kids!

It was pretty fun last year, and with some tweaking, I'm hoping to bump it up to A LOT OF FUN this year.

Have a marvelous Monday. Tuesday’s recipe is so good and so easy! Oh, and I made the French Dip sandwiches I posted a week or so ago. They were divine, and they received FIVE stars from the Faulkner Five.

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

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda