Here it is!

What you all have been waiting for... the recap of my Bachlorette Party!!! Let me say again what an AWESOME job Karen and Allyson did, and what an FANTASTIC time I had with everyone. You guys ROCK!

Saturday

The weekend event started Saturday morning when Karen, Allyson and Chelsea came through my front door, yelling and putting a sash and veil on my head. My thought, "Will I have to wear this for EVERYTHING?" Haha.

They gathered my things, pushed me out the door, and we were on our way. Destination unknown. As the whole weekend was. We caravaned with Erin to Manassas, where we made our first stop to pick up Julie. At this point, I figured we were headed South.

Our first stop, aside from the gas station, was the James River Winery. Lottie joined us and together we all went in to sample some delicious wines.

After a round of tasting, we bought some bottles and headed outside for an amazing picnic. All the girls had brought such a great spread of food, including Garlic Knots from Montana Bread Co. in Richmond (thanks Lottie!!) and more food then all of us could eat. At this point, Linda, Mollie and Lindsay joined the crowd.

We ate, drank, made some new friends, and we were on our way to the next stop.

We stopped at a hotel just outside of Richmond, where we would be hanging out until it was dinner time. It was there that the others joined the crowd... Stephanie, Kim, Juli, Chrissy, Joyce, Jen. We hung out in the rooms, which were appropriately tagged with signs for "Molly's Bachlorette Party"... I think that made other visitors in the hotel a little nervous!

After getting ready to go to dinner, all the girls gathered in my room for some party rules, plans, presents, cookies and champagne. It was after the gift opening that I was told of my fate for the evening... I would have a series of competitions that I would need men I would meet that night, to complete. The prize was a fantastic gold medal. In addition to the competition, all the girls had written their own requests that I would have to complete throughout the night as they handed them to me. I told them, "Let me have enough drinks before you hand me any cards!"

Next stop... The Beach House Bar and Grill, specifically The Keys Piano Bar.

Adorned in my veil, sash and now pink boa, we all sat down at the table and anxiously awaited for the pianists to make their appearance. The food was delicious (including cheese fries!) and the fun soon began.

We all started making requests... and after handing them a generous donation, the pianists played our songs, including once specifically for me.

A few hours later, it was time to head to our next destination. We left the bar after an great rendition of "Rocking the Suburbs" and were on our way. Little did I know we'd be taking such a sweet ride... a limo bus! We picked up everyone and headed to Old Tobacco Company in Richmond.

It was there that we danced, drank and got free pink champagne. I handed out my medals, after some stiff competition of course, and worked my way through the other cards. The night was fun, and our large group rolled out around 1:30am.

Sunday

Though I wasn't sure it would happen... my group and I were able to get out of the hotel by 10am. Karen had told us all the night before about getting up early, but you just never know...

So we left the hotel and headed back to Richmond. I was a little nervous when we got out of the car and the girls made sure I had my veil and sash again.

"For breakfast?" I thought.

Well, it turns out, it was for brunch. And it WAS a definite must. Stephanie and Kim had to leave to head back to NY, but Andrea and Jennifer joined us just in time for what was sure to be a one-of-a-kind meal. We got to Godfrey's and waited about 20 minutes, along with about 50 other women.

"Why are all these women here?" I thought.

And then there she was. I mean, there he was. I mean, huh? Yep... we were about to embark on a Drag Queen Brunch. Holla!

I'll just leave you with pictures, because they really do speak a thousand words. The brunch was so much fun, the food was excellent, and I couldn't stop smiling. You won't either!

Thanks again to EVERYONE who made this weekend so memorable. It was truly incredible and I'm so glad to have such amazing friends!!!

In case you missed it...

Here is the wedding announcement from the Washington Post Express. I was so excited to see it in there on Monday morning. I immediately turned to the page on the metro, and stood there smiling. Then I looked around to see if anyone else was reading it, and if they reconginzed me as the bride. Haha. Of course they didn't. There are so many people and faces on that train... but one can hope.

I looked like some shady thief, rummaging through the newspaper bins to grab as many copies as I could hold. this of course happening during a hard rain and I'm trying to hold my umbrella over myself and the papers. But with great success, I managed to grab about 12 copies. That should be enough... though I almost ran back out, in the rain, to the metro stop to get more.

But it's fun being a "celebrity" for a day. Both Bruno and I have had people email us letting us know they saw our BIO in the paper, and promptly sent the image along to our mutual friends.

Of course this, along with my latest shower and upcoming bachlorette party, reiterates how insanely close this wedding is! I won't go on about it, but I'll just say that 3 weeks is a lot close then 4 weeks! So much to do... and I think we have enough time? I dunno...

My shower this weekend was in New York with my extended family. Mom and I flew up because I was not about to spend 16 hours in the car for a short weekend. My cousins Kim and Steph threw me the shower and I had so much fun! They had compiled a list of 15-20 questions and gave them out to the guests. the questions were ones they had asked Bruno, and it was my job to answer them. I've done this before... and when I got one wrong, I had to add another stick of gum to my mouth. This time, I couldn't open a present unless I got an answer right! So mean... moreso because it took me until the 6th questions to get one right about Bruno. You would think after living with him for a year, and dating him almost 3, that I would know him pretty well. Apparently not. Haha. But after that first right answer, I was on a roll, and I think I may have only missed 1 after that. I was most impressed with myself for pulling out his answer to his "celebrity crush." It's Megan Fox, if you're wondering :)

The food was really great, and was all Mediterranean/Greek foods. you can't ever go wrong with that! And of course we had homemade Italian cookies to finish it off.

Sorry for the lack of post writing. I haven't had too much blog-worthy life stories.

Observe.

When I go to Belle's Body attack classes, I tend to watch everyone else in the room, while we are going through all the tracks. I guess it keeps my mind off of the workout I'm getting, but I just observe, subtly of course. There will be people who can't stay on beat, those who are TOO into the class, those who just go along at a good pace, like myself, and a few other types. Here's 2 observations/evaluations from class last night.

The Girl that is TOO into (or too good for) the Class

Oh my God, this girl came in slightly late, just when we were getting started, which isn't a big deal. She proceeded to fix her hair, then took a spot next to me. I didn't think anything of it at first, since the beginning part is kinda slow and everyone is warming up. But soon enough, very soon, this girl IMMEDIATELY got on my nerves. She was basically going over and above what everyone else was doing. It's hard to describe, but it just drove me crazy. Basically, she was as energized as the instructor, Nate, which is great for an instructor. But when you are a participant and the girl next to you is kicking her legs WAY higher then everyone else, jogging faster, and, what's MOST annoying, coming into MY space because her gallops are so big... well, as you can see, it's just an insane annoyance. So not only was she being annoying this way, but she also kept stopping to fix her hair. I mean come on lady, it's gym class. Just get it out of your face and that's it.

I know this rant is silly, but for some reason, I just hated this girl. I wanted to be as far away as I could from her, and I couldn't because there were too many people there. I hope she's not there next week...

Thin Girl with no Stamina or Rhythm

Last night there was also a girl who was really thin, and looked like she was in great shape. You kinda assume that if these people are thin, then they must workout a lot. And maybe she does... but not cardio. We had barely gotten through Track 2 and already this girl was huffing and puffing and hardly keeping up. You have a long way to go sweetie.

I know I sound mean, or something, but it was just so interesting to me to watch this girl (and to keep away from over-achiever on my left), and kinda curse her at the same time. This is obviously a girl who doesn't HAVE to work out to be thin, so that's annoying also.


Haha I'm really not this mean, or judgemental... well, ok, sometimes I am. It probably stems from the competition crazy in me, and that's why I hate these people who do better then me. The over-achiever kicks higher then me, and has more energy. They thin girl, well, she's thinner then me and doesn't have to work at it. Darn that competitor in me. Go away so I can workout in peace.

An Eventful Weekend

Well my weekend was full of great things... and I will highlight the high points.

Saturday

I drove down to Crozet for my 2nd of 3 wedding showers, this one thrown by my sister-in-law K. It was a small gathering with great people and amazing food. I mean really amazing. K had a delicious spread of Risotto, green beans, spinach salad (in this really cool parmesean cheese cups) and prosciutto-wrapped chicken with a yummy mushroom sauce. Dessert was an assortment of cream puffs, eclairs and yellow cake with chocolate frosting and a strawberry cheesecake filling. Oh it was SO good! Aside from eating, we spent the afternoon opening gifts and just chatting away.

After everyone left, I stayed with Mike and K, have some QT with Julia and Ella (Cazin was there, but doing his own thing) I will tell you, Julia has Tita Molly right where she wants her... I will do just about anything with that girl, moreso as an effort to be a "cool aunt" that she has fun with. I am anxious for her to be a little older... like 13, because I seem to relate better with teenagers :) We can talk about Hilary Duff and the Jonas Brothers. Haha.

Sunday

I took the plunge... I did it... I bought a new car! WHAT?!?! Yes, I have retired the Civic and now am the proud owner of a 2007 Nissan Versa. It was a tough decision, well kinda, but it was time. I've been saying for years how I needed a new car, and Sunday, well the offer was too good to pass up. It started on Friday when I took the old Civic in for an oil change, and came back with a report of needing new tires and a new axle... another $1000 to put into my car. Ugh. Bruno said, "That's it! We're getting you a new car!" I whined for a second, then said, "Ok."

I had looked at the Versa before and obviously liked it, so it was easier to decide on what to get. We went to the dealership about an hr before it closed, test drove the car, and were pretty happy with it. However, me, not being one to make quick decisions, wanted to sit on it and try some other cars at other dealers. Well the Nissan dealership would have none of that. The manager came over as we were heading out the door, telling us, "I've got to make a sale. This is what I can do for you..."

Final verdict - free oil changes for 2 yrs, lifetime state inspections, 94k mile bumper to bumper warranty (my car started with 46k miles) and my monthly payment is $161. Um, yeah... could I pass this up??? Not a chance. So we left the lot with a new car and I'm SO excited about it! I wish I drove to work just so I could drive it more. But in due time...

It will take some getting used to, even with my friends who know me with my Civic. But after 10 years of driving it, it was time.

When I get some pictures taken of it, I will post them so you can see the beauty that is now my car. Yay!