In The Pink

There's only one word that can sum it up and that would be...SUCCESS!!!! Yes, the Pink Party was a HUGE success :o) I was so worried that it would not live up to my expectations. But I would have to say that the party not only met those expectations but it also surpassed them!

After the invitations went out -

there ended up being fourteen guests plus myself. By the time everyone arrived, the house was all decorated and the events were ready to go. DH surprised me by bringing home three bouquets of pink flowers; lilies, tulips and my all time favourite alstroemerias -

The 'sweet buffet' was ready to go and I'm sure mouths were watering when they all spied it -

Mom helped a great deal and made both pink ribbon cakes. One was chocolate with dark frosting and the other was cherry chip with a lighter frosting -

My ribbon cookie cutter arrived at the last minute and Faith Ann saved the day and got all the cookies done -

I also used her recipe for the strawberry lemonade that she fashioned from our Ruby Tuesday's drink that we had on our Bangor, Maine trip last year :o)

As if we didn't have enough already, A arrived with another plate full of cookies -

Would you believe it if I said there were only three ingredients? I bet you can't guess what they are ;o)

I'm sorry I can't push this food through the monitor so you'll have to trust me when I say it was goooooood! LOL!

For the afternoon, I had three games planned. One was a Breast Cancer Trivia game that the Canadian Cancer Society provided in the pink party kit. There were some questions that even I didn't know the answer to! I designed a Pink Party Word Scramble for the second game but the third one was my favourite -

This game is loosely based on the Dove Game (you can find it on their site) but I customized it for the party :o) Each person had to take a card, read the question and then answer it. Sounds easy doesn't it? Not for some. LOL! Poor Faith Ann got the hardest one of all but I have to say that I'm proud of her lewd construction worker imitation ;o) The winners from each game walked away with a prize.

Apparently I did not have the control over the party like I thought I did because at one point I was ambushed with gifts! This was definitely 'not' expected! My first surprise was from Faith Ann and Katie. They handed over this lovely basket filled with tissue paper roses and some yummy looking cross stitch fabric. Upon opening one of the dozen roses, this is what I found inside -

ROFL! I think they are secretly trying to sabotage me ;o) Watch out Karen because I've got enough eggs to last awhile now!

The second surprise was from Shannon. She had secretly mailed her gifts to Faith Ann's house. In the first package I unwrapped this is what I found -

I absolutely LOVE it! Shannon does lovely finishing work. When she combined that with a bunny, she managed to make the perfect gift :o) My dear friend didn't stop there though...

Yes, that's right, I know Shannon's getting a good laugh out of this picture right now ;o) Well...I got back at her though...through Flat Shannon -

GOTCHA!

My third surprise came from my own mother. I knew Mom had been working on this quilt but I never thought she would have it done by the party and I NEVER expected that she would give it over to me -

I can't even begin to tell you how gorgeous this is! The colors are so beautiful together and Mom even stitched a ribbon in each of the snowballs -

Here is a picture of all my goodies -

I have some very dear and thoughtful friends :o) But...they didn't go away empty handed though! I put together a goodie bag for each guest, although one item was one day late arriving :o( To anyone that was at the party and reading my Blog, you can see what you were missing and it will be on its way to you soon -

A few weeks ago I asked my MIL to find an autograph mat for me and she didn't disappoint :o) While I had everyone in one spot, I got them to leave a little message for me. When I get it framed, I'll be inserting our group picture -

This is the lovely group shot that I got -

Sorry ladies but there were no arguments about it being published ;o)

I've had nothing but great feedback from the party. It was designed to be fun, full of laughter but at the same time it was used as a learning tool. Would I do it again? Definitely! Would I recommend that other breast cancer survivors try it? Yes, but only if you're prepared.

The reason I say this is because, to me, it's a process. I know I have not been around to post but I've needed the time to think. This was a big step for me and one that didn't come about lightly. It's like closing a chapter of my life and starting a brand new one. I'm still not sure just how I feel about it yet but I'm slowly coming back around. I'm WAY behind on Blogs and emails so please be patient and forgive me if I don't leave comments this week. I'm definitely reading though :o)

I want to thank all my friends and family for their participation, thoughtfulness and support. You guys are THE BEST!