So, this past Friday, Mike and I were invited to a Rock Band party. Oh, do not laugh, you haters out there. You cannot imagine how much fun this game is when you get a bunch of people together. After playing it as much as Mike and I have, I have found that I really like the singing. I would have thought that would end up being the last thing I’d want to do. But, I can rock out with some fierce pipes — at least in my head :D The drums are a lot of fun too, but man they can be difficult.

So, the party had an optional dress-up option, that Mike, Ben, and I decided to take. I knew Mike and Ben were gonna be nuts, but I was actually quite surprised at what I managed to do with my hair. It started as an Amy Winehouse meets Sanjaya, and ended up with maybe a little Boy George thrown in. I did some Winehouse eyes, some black lipstick and some pleather pants, with a Prince-like velvety shirty & knee-high boots, natch. Mike & Ben looked like goth metal brothers from hell. It was great. I was a wee bit disappointed at some of the other people’s idea of dressing up. A couple other girls were good, but as far as some of the guys… W E A K. If you’re gonna rock out with your cock out, play the part!

I had a lot of fun. I sang a little, played some drums, and even played the guitar. Drank a number of my pom soda/vodka mixes and ended the evening sitting in the shower while Mike attempted to get my hair out of all the mess I made. The scalp hurt a little in the morning, but sometimes pain must accompany such greatness.

The next morning (aka afternoon) — hungover and wobbly — I was off to Public Access TV station for some schoolin’ in Final Cut Pro.

Yes, it must be Thanksgiving I refer to.

The day after the game night, Mike and I quickly realized we will most definitely use our dining room table at full capacity — which is 8. Unfortunately we only had 4 chairs. We went over to Zinger hardware to see if we could at least grab 2 more. I figured we could definitely use them for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. However, I was worried we couldn’t get ‘em cuz it took 3-months to get the first 4 chairs. But, it never hurts to try. We get there and see 2 of our chairs on the floor, but I wasn’t sure if they sell their floor models. They did. They threw some leather cleaner on ‘em for us, and we hauled ‘em off with our truck. Good to go.

Also after game night, it got decided that Thanksgiving would be at our place and we would have 3-4 other people there besides ourselves. I think that was mostly decided because we would be receiving Rock Band two days before Thanksgiving. For Thanksgiving, we ended up having my bro and his wife and Ben, a friend of ours. The food was awesome. We had ham (we hate turkey), green bean casserole, stewed tomatoes (drool), wild rice stuffing, pea salad, Tofurkey & fixin’s, my blueberry dessert, and a peanut butter pie that Ben made. Oh, and how could I forget the neverending supply of rolls. Rob must have his rolls & honey butter.

Before dinner & after, we rocked out with Rock Band. I think we were up til 2 or something ridiculous with the game. Since the Wednesday before was technically a “friday”, we rocked even later with the game, so by the end of the Thanksgiving rock out, most of us were a little burned out on the game. Not completely, just requiring a slight break. It is truly the greatest social game ever. No house should go without one.

Ok, so it’s been a couple weeks since it actually occurred. But I wanted to write about it.

It was the 2nd pot-luck game night, and the first time Mike and I have had a bunch of people to this house. Hell, maybe even any place we’ve lived. I’ve always been kind of embarrassed of our house. Probably without real reason though. Now, I actually love our house, so I feel free to share it with the world.

We had people at both of our tables - dining & kitchen. There was tons of food. Italian was probably not the best of themes for a pot-luck cuz you just end up all carb’d up and tired after eating. I made my lasagna, but wasn’t totally thrilled with how it turned out. It was good, just not the normal caliber of my lasagna. Some of the other dishes were Chicken Parm, Meatballs, Ziti or Penne (I always get those mixed up), Salad, bread, and some desserts. After eating, Mike and a few others ended up on the Xbox 360 playing Guitar Hero III. The rest of us started with Uno, and then moved to Uno Attack. I think it’s safe to say that we had a great time.

I provided a Pomegranate Italian Soda/Vodka drink, and it was a whole lot more popular than I had thought it would be. I thought it might be a bit of a “girlie” drink, so I only purchased 3 big bottles of the soda. We also ran out of Vodka at one point, but Mike was nice enough to go get more. Once the Pomegranate Soda was out, a couple people moved on to cranberry juice, but it just wasn’t the same. That freakin’ drink has turned into my party beverage of choice. It’s also a very specific soda. It’s the Central Market Italian Soda stuff. Do not fret, you can find it at any HEB if you’re lookin’.

Game night seemed to open me up a little socially. And especially as far as my house goes. I don’t feel like it has to be perfect for anyone to come visit. Still has to be close :D, just not absolutely perfect. See, I’m learning.