Drink up, little lady. It's gonna be a long and awkward night.

Thanksgiving is a-comin’, ladies! Time for some turkey, stuffing (my absolute favorite treat on earth) and reuniting with all your old home friends. Oh, and hopefully a major shopping spree with mom. Is there any other reason to come home?

For those of you lucky ladies who are finally 21 (or those of you with a really good fake), Thanksgiving also means taking part in the biggest bar night of the year! I remember my first Wednesday-Before-Thanksgiving bar experience…at least until I blacked out due to the extreme levels of awkwardness and puked in my parents’ house.

Try explaining that one to dad when he finds you passed out next to the toilet the following morning.

Anyways, being that it is the biggest bar night of the year, there are so many things to know! And, being that I have been doing it for a little while now, I feel I am the perfect person to enlighten you on what to expect and how to deal.

What to Expect: Running into people you never liked and still don’t like.

How to Deal: I tend to hightail it to the bar, but if you don’t want to end up looking up at your dad from the tile floor the next morning, perhaps playing nice is a good idea. You know; pretend to care what they have to say, tell them how good they look and politely bow out when you (pretend to) see a friend across the room.

What to Expect: Saying the same things over (and over and over) again.

How to Deal: I recommend printing a t-shirt that includes the following information: what school you go to, what (if any) sorority you are in, and an acknowledgment to the fact that you gained/lost weight. When you realize that these are the topics discussed all freaking night long you will thank me.

What to Expect: Awkwardly running into people you haven’t called back since you have been so busy doin’ your thang at school.

How to Deal: Is avoidance an option? If so, I recommend the duck and cover. If this is not an option (because ducking under the nearest table would cause quite a scene/you opted to wear a dress) turning the blame on the other person is always best. Approach them with intention and ask them why they don’t return your calls, explain that you have been tirelessly trying to reach them and it is so crazy that you can’t seem to connect. Make them feel guilty. Works like a charm.

What to Expect: The realization that a DD is necessary.

How to Deal: Make sure you don’t have a car available to you. Blame your parents, your siblings, or a dead battery; anything so you don’t have to be the sober one in the sea of awkward interactions. Trust me when I say that it is nearly impossible to get through this night without booze.

What to Expect: The realization that there is literally no late night food…especially in the form of delivery.

How to Deal: Those suburbs just don’t cater to the hungry-after-2am crowd. Pray for some Totino’s Pizza Rolls in mom’s freezer. Or some delicious leftovers. Do not – under any circumstances – dig into the pumpkin pie reserved for the following day. It is not worth that look of disappointment on mom’s face when she has nothing to serve for dessert.

Now you know and – as G.I. Joe once said – knowing is half the battle. The other half, of course, is finding the perfect outfit.

My bartending style tends to run less towards the carefully measured, tried-and-true recipes and more towards the “What’s in my fridge right now?” trial-and-error method. I rarely use actual measures, because what is “good” depends on how many people are drinking, how liquored up they want to be, and how well they hold all that liquor.

That being said, I have a few favorite drinks that do really well in cold weather.

Peppermint Hot Chocolate:

This ain’t your grandma’s hot cocoa. (Or maybe it is…) I like to add a few drops (or shots) of Peppermint Schnapps to hot chocolate for an immediate warm-up. Make the cocoa with milk if you like it creamier.

Cinnamon Vanilla Cream:

One day my love of Starbucks and alcohol collided, and this drink was born. I just poured some Cinnamon Schnapps into my Vanilla Crème, and – voilà – an innocuous looking brew. Yes, I did keep it all in the Starbucks container. You can make your own Vanilla crème by warming up milk, adding a drop or two of vanilla extract, sugar to taste, and topping it off with whipped cream.

Hot (Spiked) Apple Cider:

First, you need to find some alcoholic apple cider. It’s probably somewhere between the beer and wine sections. Two bottles is a good amount to start with. On the stove, get it simmering with two cinnamon sticks, a tablespoon of cloves, a little bit of sugar and some nutmeg. What really makes it piping hot though, is the addition of either rum or apple brandy. Be generous, ladies – the apple cider has lost most of its alcoholic content in the heating process.

Hot Spiced Wine:

Hot spiced wine is like Sangria, only warm. With cinnamon and cloves. You start by boiling about a ½ cup of sugar in a ½ cup of water (for a 2 bottle recipe). Once the sugar is dissolved into the water, add the wine and spices. When you feel that the mixture has sufficiently blended, turn off the heat and add orange and lemon slices and either rum or brandy to taste. Vodka works too, and you can get creative with the fruit you choose to put in. It is best if you make it an hour or so before you serve it.

For a more sophisticated cocktail try the Blushing Reindeer, or any one of these being made at the hippest New York bars. Personally, if I’m the one making the drinks, I shouldn’t have to work to get drunk. I leave the creative mixology to the bartenders.

Any of your own favorite recipes that you want to share?

[Always drink responsibly. Photo courtesy of countryliving.com]

Week after week (after week after week…), CollegeCandy and our pal John bring you some of the weirdest, funniest, and saddest things he hears on his college campus. And we know he’s not the only one who hears this stuff. Join the Overheard revolution! Listen in on some weirdos’ conversations and share them in the comments or send ‘em over to us to put in next week’s post.

(Two guys at a giant party.)

Guy 1: What? The cops are coming now?

Guy 2: Yo, don’t touch my ass, bro.

Guy 1: I’ll touch your ass. I’ll touch your ass as much as I want.

(Girl, guy, looking at beer in the package store.)

Girl: What’s Winter Lager?

Guy: Oh, it’s Dan’s. He’s in a relationship with it.

(Noises from the loudest party in the world.)

Everyone: THREE … TWO … ONE ..  Open your mouth! Open your mouth!

Guy: *loud grunting*

Everyone: Do it again! Do it again!

(Grad students, talking after a lecture.)

Woman 1: My students don’t respect me.

Woman 2: Like, what kind of disrespect?

Woman 1: I heard one of them saying I had a “Texas booty.”

(Swiss exchange student and American, talking after class.)

American: Probably think we’re all pretty stupid, huh.

Swiss student: No, no. We love you, despite your inaccurate timepieces.

(Girl, raising her hand in class.)

Prof: Yes?

Girl: Okay … one question. What is a harem?

(Girls, looking at turkeys in a grocery store.)

Girl 1: There’s no way out of this, huh?

Girl 2: Maybe if my dad would help me. But he’s just a stupid dog. Bark, bark.

(Guy at a package store.)

Guy: Fifty dollars? Is it worth it?

Clerk: It’s made by an alcoholic. Alcoholics know their stuff.

Guy: Yeah, guess so.

Clerk: Trust me, I would know.

(Girls, walking back from a party.)

Girl 1: Happy Thanksoween!

Girl 2: Yeah, have a happy WeenieGiving!

(Woman, checking out at a convenience store.)

Woman: I’m tired of worrying about swine flu! There was polio when I was a kid, and nobody made a fuss about it!

(Two guys, looking at produce.)

Guy 1: Oh, man. Have you ever just had  a pepper?

Guy 2: Yes.

Guy 1: Like, all cooked up? Cut out the seeds, fry it in a pan?

Guy 2: Yes, that’s how you cook it usually.

Guy 1: It’s so good. Just have a pepper, man.

I like to think that alcohol in and of itself is good for all mankind.  It makes people happier, friendlier, and much more likely to dance like a fool if given the opportunity.  Unfortunately, your favorite spirits are probably not the most eco-friendly drinks on the block (or bar).  Instead of forgoing your Saturday nights, just swap your faves for these green alternatives and feel free to party on!

Veev:  An excellent substitute for vodka, Veev is actually manufactured from acai berries which are packed with antioxidants and anthocyanins.  What makes this drink even better, however, is the company’s commitment to the environment.  Veev donates $1 towards the Brazilian rainforest for every bottle sold, preserving their sustainable acai supply.  Veev is also the first carbon-neutral liquor company, powering all of their distillers through renewable energy.  Pass up the Smirnoff  and throw one of these back with friends (but don’t forget to toast to the Brazilian rainforest first!).

OneHope Sauvignon Blanc: I bought this baby on a whim at BevMo (5 cent sale, anyone?) and felt an instant karma boost.  With every bottle sold, OneHope donates 50% of the profits to the American Forest, a charity aimed at protecting, restoring, and enhancing our native trees and forests.  If you’re not a sauvignon blanc fan, there are several other wines to choose from, each with their own cause.  Drink chardonnay for breast cancer, merlot for AIDS, or zinfandel for our troops overseas.  Whichever you choose, you can bet you’ll feel a little buzz of goodness with every glass.

New Belgium beer:  This brewery from Fort Collins, Colorado has a long list of environmental actions and achievements.  I am not going to go through the whole list here because, well, I’m lazy.  Here are the most notable ones of the bunch:
* Decreased energy usage in their brewing and in the facility itself due to efficient lighting, sustainable building materials, and efficient brew kettles.
* Wind power and waste water are used to produce renewable energy for the factory.
* Encouragement of bike transportation by hosting an annual bike festival and giving every employee a free bike after 1 year of employment.
* Member of 1% For the Planet, meaning that they give 1% of their revenue to environmental non-profits.

ModMix organic mixers:  The name says it all – ModMix creates a line of fully organic mixers for your favorite cocktails.  This means no chemicals, no synthetic pesticides, and no harmful substances.  You can use ModMix for pretty much any drink you could imagine.  Their products include mixes for citrus margaritas, French martinis, lavender lemon drops, mojitos, pomegranate cosmos, and wasabi bloody marys.  Just be sure to mix these babies with a sustainable alcohol such as Papagayo organic rums, 4Copas tequila, or TruVodka.

Only douchebags drink Ed Hardy Vodka

Here’s an analogy for you, try to channel those SAT study sheets. (Ew I know, worst memory ever.)

Intellectual is to Bookstore as College Student is to __________.

Yes, the answer is liquor store. On my weekly (OK, daily) visits I peruse the shelves searching for a hidden gem. A creamy liquor stuck in the back, a girly vodka that will be the life of Friday’s pre-gaming party session. I constantly find myself lost in the aisles emerging an hour later with nothing to show for it but a bottle of Smirnoff, because, let’s be real, a girl can dream but I’m on a college budget here.

But just like memoirs by celebs who have done absolutely nothing worth writing about (Paris Hilton anyone?) crowding Borders’ shelves, I find myself annoyed by the obnoxiously overpriced bottles of celebrity alcohols that have made their way into my serves-the-under-21-crowd corner store. As if infiltrating every other aspect of my life wasn’t enough.

Can’t a girl relax in a liquor store without having to fight her way through tacky advertising gimmicks and heart stopping price tags?

Apparently not. I think a couple of them are so obnoxious and unnecessary that they are worth a mention. And a cease and desist. And the winners are…

Dan Aykryod: Crystal Head Vodka

Oh goody, vodka in a crystal skeleton head!? I will definitely pay $50 for that. Not! I think I can get the same affect by stopping by the Halloween store pick up a couple plastic skeletons and dumping my $10 Svedka in it, thankyouverymuch.

Danny Devito: Limoncello

A tiny, bald man with a burger gut selling limoncello liquor. I don’t even really know what to say about this. I guess the acting career’s gone sour?

Ed Hardy: Vodka

The bottles are as tacky as the clothing line and I don’t need anything else triggering my gag reflex while I’m knocking em’ back. Send the rest of the inventory to Jon Gosselin and get them out of my liquor store.

Marilyn Manson: Mansinthe

He came out with his own brand of Absinthe? This explains a lot, actually.

Donald Trump: Trump Vodka

This actually isn’t that surprising. And I’m sure The Donald thinks this is the absolute best vodka in the world. Much like the best line of suits, the best hotels, the best celebrity reality show…

Lil Jon: Little Jonathan Winery

Urban rap star by day, wine connoisseur by night? Lil Jon may be sipping on Patron but Little Jonathan classes it up with a bottle of red. Let’s all gather around for a night of wafting, sipping and intellectual conversation.

Savana Sampson: Sogno Due Wine

Well fancy that, selling sex isn’t enough, she’s now selling alcohol. It’s actually pretty cheap (which makes sense considering so is she), but you just can’t beat a $4 bottle of Arbor Mist. Sorry, Savana!

Dr. Dre: Aftermath Congac

I suppose he has no choice since his music is so last century. But we’re not going to lie, his sparkling vodka that is in the works sounds pretty much like the most amazing thing ever.

"Whew! Thank God I took those 5 shots last night."

In the words of Betsy from ABC Family’s Greek, “I don’t go to the gym five days a week for my health!” Could it be the drinking, Betsy?

According to a recently published study in the September/October issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion, those who are more likely to drink are also more likely to drag themselves to the gym (hungover or otherwise). Lead author Michael French, Ph. D says that “Alcohol users not only exercised more than abstainers, but the differential actually increased with more drinking.”

I knew drinking was good for my health! Take that, mom!

And it only gets better. The study showed that the more that women drank, the more time they spent exercising each week, on average. Light drinkers apparently exercised for 5.7 more minutes per week, moderate drinkers 10.1 minutes, and heavy drinkers (college students?) 19.9 minutes more per week. Yup, the study showed that women who drink were 10.1% more likely to engage in vigorous exercise (both in and out of the bedroom. Heyoooo).

But the study’s author was quick to say loud and clear that the heath risks associated with heavy drinking outweigh the benefits of more exercise. Boo(ze)!

As college women it makes a little more sense that we would have the time and motivation to exercise hard and party hard. But the study still begs the WTF about why the relationship between heavy drinking and regular exercise exists for women. Are we compensating for extra calories? Doing it out of guilt? Or are girls who choose to socialize in situations with alcohol more likely to enjoy exercise or the gym due to the social aspect of it? Do girls who like to stay in shape respond more to social pressures telling them to have a tight body and to drink heavily? Does this mean that non-drinkers are that much less likely to exercise? And who is healthier in the long-run, the active drunks or the sober slugs?

Either way, I’m not giving up my Friday runs: that 3-miler in the morning, or the one of the vodka variety later that night.

Journal reference:

1. French MT, Popovici I, Maclean JC. Do alcohol consumers exercise more? Findings from a national survey. American Journal of Health Promotion, 24(1), 2009

[It's pretty obvious that the average CollegeCandy reader has some very strong opinions. Opinions that she likes to share with everyone on the site. We love a strong woman, so we thought we'd give her a real forum to discuss her thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. Every Friday I'll be featuring a hot topic (like losing our summers!) and leaving it up to you, the readers, to duke it out. So, read it and get your debate on in the comments section below!]

Let’s be honest – no one (at least no one who wants hot, dirty sex) waits until they’re 21 to try an alcoholic beverage. Alcohol is so ubiquitous at high school and college parties that the red plastic cup is practically the official symbol of underage consumption. And yet, even in the face of this almost universal fact, the legal drinking age in America continues to be 21 (as if we didn’t have enough problems getting our hooch!).

Now that the Amethyst Initiative - a group of over 135 US college and university presidents who want the drinking age lowered - is making the rounds, the debate has gotten even hotter – and since we’re the ones it really effects, it seems like it’s time we weighed in!

Believe it or not, there is an argument for keeping the drinking age where it is, and it’s even annoyingly legit. One of the biggest points is safety – The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that setting the drinking age at 21 has saved more than 25,000 lives since 1975 (about 900 underage drivers a year). Admittedly an impressive statistic, and since no one I know of is pro-car accident, it’s hard to argue against that point. I’ll also give them the fact that in the ’70s, when some states lowered drinking ages, car accidents went up dramatically.

Proponents of the current law also say that students of campuses or states that more forcefully restrict alcohol are less prone to binge drinking, one of the serious problems with underage consumption. And studies have shown that the younger you start drinking, the more likely you are to develop long term health problems like brain damage and substance abuse issues (which explains why I can never remember where I put my keys).

The truth is, most of the arguments against lowering the drinking age are based on the principal that younger people make poorer choices – and I’m not saying we don’t make bad decisions (like my hair, circa 2005 ) – most drinkers do their heaviest, most irresponsible drinking when they’re underage.

However, this is where we come to the big crux of the problem for many: in the US, we’re considered adults at 18 – we can buy tobacco products, own guns, get married, make all our own legal decisions and even choose to die for our country if it comes down to it. We are guaranteed these rights by our country, and yet this same government tells us we aren’t good enough at making decisions to handle alcohol. It’s a back assward stance, any way you slice it. But beyond my general annoyance at being told my decisions are crappy, there are also good reasons for lowering the drinking age beyond the legal mixed-messages.

Remember how those in favor of the current 21 law were saying that binge drinking is lower because of the law? Well according to studies, “among college-age males, binge drinking is unchanged from its levels of 1979; that among non-college women it has increased by 20 percent; and that among college women it has increased by 40 percent.” And while the number of accidents went up in the ’70s when the drinking age was lowered, this was also a time before airbags and mandatory seat-belts and the after school specials that drilled “don’t drink and drive” into our brains – all things that just weren’t there almost forty years ago. And many say that real problem today is not road safety anyway: it’s binge drinking - something that can only be solved by education.

Do you think that lowering the drinking age would help? Or would it just make things worse? Are we just to debaucherously into our booze? Or should it be a question of something other than age, like alcohol education?

Mmmm beer cake.

I love drinking alcohol, but weekend after weekend of beer pong and vodka shots can get old. So I got to thinking…how can I spice up my weekly binge drinking sesh?

I hit the web in search of some “unique,” “fun” alcohol ideas, and out of these keywords came the most glorious idea I have ever heard.

Cake-tails.

It seemed so simple. Why had I never thought of this before? Why drink my calories when I can kill two birds with one stone? Gobble down baked goods from the snack table while still getting my drink on?

Within minutes I had an entire list of cocktail inspired recipes and alcohol based desserts that I knew my friends would be all over. (No seriously, if they tackled my kitchen table I wouldn’t be surprised).

So here are some of my favorites. Try them out for your next girls’ night or bring it to the house party on Saturday. (If you’re feeling particularly adventurous, make 20 mini bunt cakes for a delicious Beer Pong game.) You will most definitely be everyone’s favorite guest. Let’s be real, who is going to say no to alcohol-and-dessert-in-one? That’s right, absolutely no one.

Plus, our favorite girly cocktails can continue to live on despite the fact that the cutest thing we can drink in a beer-soaked-frat-house is a jello shot – and even that’s a luxury.

Oh and forget the milk. If you still haven’t reached your desired blood alcohol level, nothing goes better with these desserts than an ice cold glass of vodka.

Do you know what today is? No, it’s not just the CollegeCandy.com editor’s half birthday – it’s the International Day of Peace! A day where people around the globe come together to reflect on the world peace we (and all those Miss America contestants) yearn for.

In honor of this beautiful day, I started thinking about my own personal wars I’ve been fighting. I’ve held onto a lot of grudges in the past year and I think today is the perfect day to wave the white flag and let them all go. Because there is nothing more freeing than peace.

I’m ready to call a cease-fire and here are a few of my former enemies I’ll be burying the hatchet with today:

The R.A. that stole my fifth of gin. I know I probably shouldn’t have been walking around with it in public. But it was so tiny and bite-sized and it packed such a big punch that I couldn’t bare to part with it. That is until you snatched it from me. I might have gotten a $50 fine, but at least I escaped alcohol poisoning that night. Peace and thank you.

The Professor that gave me a C- on a paper because I made the margins smaller than he specified. I’m sorry that in my eagerness to impress you with my in-depth analysis spilled over the page limit.  Not wanting to do away with any of my brilliance, I thought I could fool you by making the margins .25 inches.  You caught on to my charade, and I paid for my sins. Peace Prof. You taught me the importance of playing by the rules.

The girl who spilled her coffee all over my brand new bag in class. Sure, I had to hang-dry my three notebook’s worth of notes around my apartment. And, yeah, the $25 to dry clean my brand new messenger bag was sort of a drag. The fact that you didn’t apologize and actually blamed me for “putting my things so close to your Americano” was also kinda rude, but giving you the stink-eye every time I come to class is starting to give me a headache. You keep your coffee on your desk and I’ll keep my bag on my chair and we’ll be good to go.

The bouncer that confiscated my fake I.D. Yes, my doppelganger was about 17 years older than I actually was, but it was a valiant effort on my part and you were having none of it.  You cut it up right in front of my eyes (which are blue, not brown, another tip-off) but I forgive you.  It’s your job to destroy the bar-scene dreams of youngins like myself. I have made my peace.

The young man that nailed my left-behind undergarments to the wall of the fraternity lodge. Perhaps I should have taken more care when I fled from your room that morning, but you could have done the gentlemanly thing and returned my possessions to me. Public humiliation aside, at least I got a few more Facebook friend requests that week. Peace be with you, frat-star.

Who are you making peace with today?

Mmmm. Irish Coffee should fix this right up!

It’s no secret that much of the college social life revolves around drinking. We drink to celebrate, mourn, express loyalty to our football teams, to ease boredom, hell,  some people drink to make homework a little more interesting (no, no one else does that?).  Well, all that super fun drinking  sometimes results in not-so-fun consequences: mysterious bruises, ruined shoes, hours’ worth of un-tagging on Facebook, that dude lying next to you, and the raging, horrific hangover trying to escape your brain by splitting it open.

What’s a girl to do? Your mind jumps to Gatorade (don’t have any), Egg McMuffins (dammit, it’s past 10:30!) and water (your Brita pitcher is full of hunch punch) before remembering that bottle of Bloody Mary mix in the back of the fridge. Should you suck it up, stir in some vodka and take a hair of the dog that bit you?

Nope.

The phrase itself refers to an old school Rabies cure (literally, they would place a hair of the dog that bit you in the wound), but has evolved into the idea that if you drink a small amount of whatever got you into this hung-over state, you’ll feel better. It didn’t work for rabies, and it won’t work for your hangover.

A hangover results because of the dehydrating effect alcohol has on your body. Remember what we learned about breaking the seal? Alcohol suppresses your brain’s ability to create anti-diuretic hormones, so you lose essential water, electrolytes, salts and glucose via bathroom breaks. The morning after, your body is frantically trying to replenish all that lost hydration, resulting in fatigue, headache, nausea, etc. These symptoms get worse as your body tries to rid all alcohol from its system, leading some to believe that all this hangover nonsense could be cured by simply drinking more.

Unfortunately, more alcohol will only postpone your hangover. It might temporarily relieve some of the symptoms of a hangover (and keep you in those beer goggles until the boy actually leaves), but when it wears off your body will still have to recover, only now it your liver has extra toxins to break down and remove. So in the end, your headache and nausea will probably be worsened by more alcohol, definitely not relieved.

The best cure for a hangover (besides, you know, not drinking in the first place) is to drink plenty of water to fight dehydration, some Gatorade or Powerade to replace electrolytes, lots of rest, and at least 4 hours worth of mind numbing TV, preferably Real Housewives or True Hollywood Stories, but whatever’s on VH1 will do in a pinch.