It was a Critical Discussion Wedding Weekend…celebrating the wedding of Alexandra and Sam… we love them, but this blog is about us…Critical Discussion, and a follow-up to my blog: Critical Discussion  .  This would be the first time our group (all but Tina) would be together, since Ed’s funeral (Beth’s husband), back in September.  But we do love Alex and Sam and thank them for giving Us the opportunity to get together for a fun-filled weekend, full of laughs, love, tears, a wee bit of alcohol (;) ), and, of course, some shenanigans!  Oh, and an absolutely Fantastic wedding!

Stephanie and I flew out of O’Hare together where Steph learned, firsthand,  my travel mantra:  TOB 101…Making friends and influencing people.  We made friends with the ticket agent, TSA agents, waitress (where sadly we could Not have Bloody Mary’s, since they didn’t have gluten-free vodka for Steph…but they have Amaretto, which she said is gluten free…but a Bloody Mary made with Amaretto?  I think not ), and any other victim who dared to glance or get in our way.  I made a quick stop into the airport gift shop, since I forgot my Critical Gifts (and we always exchange critical gifts) and figured, what’s the gift that shows the Least amount of thought?  Either a collectible spoon, or a shot glass.  I thought the shot glass would possibly come in handy, so 5 of these later, each packed into its’ own protective airport sack (to further my point that it was a last-minute gift), off we flew to Charlotte, NC. Beth drove up from Atlanta and was waiting for us upon arrival.  Love that girl and the fact she is Always on Time!  Admirable quality in any person.  The buzz and chatter in the car was Non-Stop for the 2 hours it took us to get to Greensboro.  Timing is everything, as we saw Alex ( Beautiful Bride), Becca (Bridesmaid extraordinaire),  and Kathy (Fabulous Mother of the Bride, MOB) in the lobby heading to the rehearsal…which meant, Stephanie, Beth and I had 4 hours before our 7PM massages and spa treatments to continue to catch up…and Drink Veuve Cliquot.  It does Not get better than that!

2 bottles of Veuve later (kept chilled in Beth’s Veuve cooler, which she so smartly brought up from Atlanta), and many toasts to Tina who could not make the trip, we went to Kathy and Geoff’s ( Father of the Bride, FOB) room.  Kathy left us her room key to be able to raid her supply of add’l Veuve , chardonnay and pinot noir.  Silly girl.  While we were replenishing our supply, we decided TP-ing their room (yes, we actually did that) was the appropriate and mature thing to do.  We also hid hair brushes, cigars, and vodka.  Seriously, we are so funny.  And based on Kathy’s 130AM text, she also thinks we are that funny! Furthers the point why we are Critical Friends!

We polished off another bottle of Veuve, while doing poetry readings…ok, while reading Australian humorist, David Thorne, out loud, because reading his humor is funniest when you read it to others… Check out this link to the email of David trying to pay an overdue account with a picture of a spider which he valued as the amount owed ( http://www.27bslash6.com/overdue.html).  I could not get through a story without crying with laughter, so had to give up reading, and allow Steph and Beth the honors.  We decided we should cab it to our spa treatments…Not only are we funny, but we are smart.  Don’t drink and drive.  While arriving at Oz, the Grandover Resort, we knew we were at home and would make a long night of it.  So we decided to do some pre-gaming (drinking before our spa treatments), where we met Ismail (yes, call him that) and Jess, bartender and waitress to the stars…They Loved us!  Making friends and influencing people..living our Mantra for the weekend.

Welcome to Oz…or otherwise named, The Grandover Resort and Spa…and Spa it, we did!

3 bottles of Veuve, 2 additional cocktails, then an 80-minute massage…one would think these gals would be ready to hit the hay.  Not so much!  We know how to Rally!

Here is where Beth met some FSU Seminole “football players”…or so they claimed.

Stephanie with Ismail (call him that, because No One has Ever asked him that).

Beth meeting our new friend, whom we didn’t learn his name for hours later, because he indicated he wasn’t an FSU player or coach, but a “Booster”, so we just called him The Booster… Beth would roll back and forth from the Booster to me, as I sat quietly aside, catching up on my correspondence. We also hob-knobbed with coaches, trainers, players, but not QB Jameis Winston, Much to Stephanie’s dismay…however based on this breaking news, http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2013-11-13/sports/os-fsu-jameis-winston-investigation-assault-20131113_1_sexual-assault-assault-case-fsu-qb-jameis-winston, it was probably a good thing.

I do believe at this junction the evening, I decided to throw my hair into a pony tail.  Hindsight being 20/20…

And here’s where the evening took an abrupt turn!  I texted this pic to Meredith and she replied, “Mom!!! Noooooooooooooooooo. You better chug water before you go to bed”.  Sound advice from my 22-year old daughter.  Thankfully, I did Not partake, or maybe I had 1.  There were 10 shots consumed.  I have nothing more to add. 🙂

Making Friends and Influencing Famous People

 

William Floyd – our new crush.  He’s 2nd from the right.  And he smelled, unbelievable.  Truly.  I wish I asked him what cologne he was wearing.  And this was 130AM, btw…I took my hair out of the pony tail for the photo-op!  He has my number, because he wants to stay at Kevin’s hotel when he travels to San Fran…so will ask him when he calls. I will not be waiting by the phone.

Here Comes the Bride

Saturday was Wedding Day…it was a beautiful day for a wedding… as well as glamour shots for Beth and I, all around Greensboro… it was like Flat Stanley…but with Beth and I!

Beth looking off into the distance while posing in a barn… Such fun! 🙂

The ceremony and reception were at Audamont Farm (Richard Petty’s farm)…the ceremony was Beautiful, outdoors, next to a lake…and it was chilly, so they provided pashmina’s for the guests.  How smart was that?

Alex and Sam…such a sweet, happy couple!!  Congratulations!

The Reception was indoor in the “barn”, most beautiful barn ever…

Top 10 Quotes from the weekend …which truly makes us think we are the funniest gals Ever!  Please don’t burst our bubble!

10.  She ain’t got no legs…but she’s a good sport about it. This is when we decided to write down our witty sayings.

9.  I lost my honey, but not my funny.  Beth is still hilarious!

8. Somebody tell this guy to exhale Beth to the guys who walk around all “puffed” up.

7. Dancing with the Widows…Widows gone wild!  Beth’s next gig.

6. Alcohol is Not a diet.  Who knew?  I consider myself, just now, Informed.

5. The bar snacks are a little spicy.  Not sure why we thought this was worthy of writing down, but it’s still included.  Plus, they really were quite spicy.

4. Bus Driver…can you take us back to the Grandover Resort.  Even though we were Not staying there!  We made numerous requests, all ignored.

3.  This is a 4-diamond resort…you really need to have iPhone 5 chargers available in the bar…some of us are trying to tweet.  Seriously, what fine resort doesn’t have available phone charges?  I may need to write them a letter.

2.  Bud Light…America in a bottle.  For the 23-year old’s, not for us!

1.  I’m single and ready to mingle!  Yes you are Beth!!

Things we learned over the weekend

1.  The statute of limitations for being nice to your friend after she loses her husband is 9 1/2 weeks.

2. We learned to Shag.  This is something they do on the beach, in North Carolina, and possibly other areas on the east coast.  I believe you need a beach close by.  There can be woman on woman shagging.  Man on man shagging.  A woman can even shag with a man.  And it takes basically 3 minutes to get the hang of shagging and then you  own the place!  To Shag is to Dance!

3.  Five shots of Patrone, does not make for a pleasant morning after.  No names are used to protect the innocent.

4.  Dancing for 4 hours at a wedding reception, does, indeed, make for a pleasant morning after…even if one had 7-8 glasses of Chardonnay…thanks to the FOB.  Plus the rule is 1 glass of water for every cocktail.  And Aleve before bed!

5.  It is totally acceptable to refer to a 23 year-old, young man, as your boyfriend.  This does not make you a Cougar.  Or a skank.  Other things make you a skank.  That is a different blog.

6.   It takes about 3 days to bounce back after a critical wedding weekend, forgetting you are no longer 25 years old.

7.  Whenever you pass a Jared Jewelry store, you must say, in a whispered voice…”He went to Jared”.

8.  If a prize were to be given for those who know how to Rally, it would go to Beth for Friday night…and Stephanie for Saturday morning.  Impressive by both.

9.  No matter how tired you may be, never give up an opportunity to recap with the MOB, even if it’s 130AM.  Sometimes recapping is as fun as the event itself…except in this case, in which the event(s) totally rocked!

10.  Critical friends mean just that…Critical friends.  Who are friends for Life, through thick and thin, through weddings and funerals (sadly), fun weekends and shots of Patrone and bottles of Veuve with No Judgment!

Photo Montage

3 gals ready for a night out.

Beth and her new friend, Jack.

Who doesn’t love a Photobooth!!

They could Not be any cuter… I could, so I cropped myself out. 🙂

In the golf cart whisking us down to the ceremony by the lake.  And I got to ride with the Mother of the Bride, who is absolutely gorgeous!

Song of the Week

Low…by Flo Rida!  Don’t ask, but we love dancing to this song!!

Critical Discussion…love these girls…and missed Tina over the weekend!

What about a Tiara?  Truly you can wear one anywhere.    http://dressedtoat.wordpress.com/2010/09/16/what-about-a-tiara/

Big Weekend!  Looking forward to gathering with friends for wine-tasting (Lora, Peggy, Leslie and Sharon), then off to celebrate D’s birthday.  So excited to be celebrating Gracie’s Bat Mitzvah where I get to see not only Gracie, but one of my favorites, Joy, and hopefully Amelia.  Happy Birthday Week Susan…will post a picture of our fun lunch next week, since I’ve gone a tad overboard on pics this week.

Go Bears!  Go Bronco’s!!

xoxo,

T.