3am

That's the time that my head hit the pillow last night and our 3 day, America Rocks party 2005 came to an end. I hope that everyone had a great time (other than the unwelcome backyard advances. Don's "soooo handsome"! How 'bout those scratch marks?lol). The thing about a 3 day party is that you never know what to expect. You don't know if or when people are coming, which makes it a surprise a minute. I think that Don and I did a much better job than usual just relaxing and going with the flow. I don't know if it was the party or us that was more mellow this year! There were no marital spats over purchasing electronic devices, no corner of foreigners dissing America on it's special day, no one downing too many shots and puking everywhere, no backed up toilet and absolutely no shortage of booze, soda or food. Gee, how boring! It was amazing; there were church people, family, (insert your own adjective here) step-mother, work people, funny people, gay people, straight people, old people, young people all living in harmony. John Lennon would have been proud! Truly, the only bummer was the pool heater. Don started heating the pool Saturday morning and by the afternoon we realized that it had stopped working. I got to plead with a pool repair guy to come over and save my party. It must have worked, because he arrived in fifteen minutes. Unfortunately after two days of trying, he couldn't fix it for the party, but hopefully it will be by week's end. This guy has been such a trooper! I can't wait to get the bill! Of course, that didn't stop us from swimming over a very hot weekend. We even brought Dobby in for the first time on Monday. (All is well, Debbie. I just wanted you to know.)

Here are some other memories and observations:

We are a potluck society. People have a really hard time coming over empty handed, which means that I won't have to buy any food for the whole week!

People really like frozen drinks, and 2-3 gallons of margaritas go faster than you think! "Are they frozen yet?" Bet you were tired of hearing that one, Don!

I will never again label someone as shy, because I was proven very, very wrong! A couple drinks open up a whole new world of information!

Guests who came the farthest: the Millers from Indiana. Ok, so they didn't really come for the party, but it was great that they took time out of their vacation to stop by.

We are now on at least the semi-cool list. I guess FB really does like us!

I lied. The guest who traveled the farthest was Fr. Lawrence. England beats Indiana. Ok, so he didn't really come out for the party either, but it was nice to be part of the whirl-wind tour. Andy, as consolation, be sure to tell your mom to ask to see the pictures of his trip.

We cannot get away from church music no matter how hard we try. Let's play some Beatles, lets play some Fleetwood Mac... "Hey, will you guys sing some church songs?" So, If Today became a really great jam song. Sigh.

Church musicians do not like to be on the spot outside of Mass. They had a dismal performance in the Second City versus CTK musicians First Annual Hymn Off. "Yahweh, I know you are near... pause... pause... You got served!"

Gay men and Lesbians do in fact get along when put in a room together. So sorry that I doubted you all. (Disclaimer: This is a joke, and the people involved know. Next year we'll double book the party as a Pride convention so you all can make friends and plug radio shows and musicals you are involved in. Again, I am not stereotyping. These are all things that happened, and I love each and every one of you. Really, why do we have more gay friends then some of you? We'll ponder this one later... Oh, it's because Don is "sooooo handsome", and I used to be a theater whore. See my March blogs for that reference.)

Next year, we need to either buy Nana a plane ticket or someone needs to drive out there and kidnap her to make sure that she finally attends the party she began!

Dave, Mike and Will all need to get on a plane next year too.

Moral Dilemma: Is it morally acceptable for 8 year olds to paint shot glasses? They are just really small juice glasses.

Shout Outs:

Don, we survived! I'm really glad that we were able to continue our "little" tradition. Neither of us knows how to do anything small or cheap (I do try, though!). Here's to many, many more. Plus, how else would we get any house projects done without the motivation?! The kool deck looks great. I love you!

Lisa, you are awesome! Thank you for all of your help getting ready. I'm glad that we could get you out of the house, and it was nice spending time with you alone. When do you want to go see the Psychic?

Laura, Doreen and Debbie, thank you for all of your help during the party. You are the best cleaning and cooking crew! You have a knack for knowing what needs to be done and just doing it. You don't know how much I appreciate your thoughtfulness.

Dad, thanks for transporting grills, booze, picture framing (they look so good!) and going into the margarita machine rental business with us.

Don's dad, thanks for saving the a/c and jamming with the guys even though they were hard to keep up with at times.

Katie, thanks for showing us that you could have fun watching people over 21 drink. You've been redeemed, so Don can't give you crap anymore. At least, not about that!

Christine, thanks for being old faithful. Don't worry, all good things come in time- usually when you least expect it.

Gary, you are an artistic genius!

Congrats Ashley and Louie!

Thanks to everyone who came and helped in any way (there's my PC way of covering my butt in case I forgot someone! I learned it from the best!). Now, we have a few months to chill before starting up with next year's plans. Those of you who didn't come: you suck! Only because we missed you. Well, my pillow is calling a little bit earlier tonight, so it is time for the Goddess to head back to Mount Olympus for some sweet dreams. Good night.