You are only a few hours away from a three day holiday weekend, ladies! Can I get a “what what”?! Memorial Day Weekend is the official kick-off to summer, which means only one thing: it’s time to get a bikini wax the inevitable family BBQ.

Truth: You love hot dogs off the grill.
Truth: Your family is ridiculous and you’d much rather spend the time with people who don’t make inappropriate jokes about hot dogs. Or at least people who make funny inappropriate jokes about hot dogs. And are under the age of 65.
Solution: CollegeCandy’s Memorial Day Family BBQ Drinking Game

Because Great Uncle Bert’s war stories (a war which he was not in) are easier to listen to when you’ve got Bud Light coursing through your veins. The best part? You can play alone and, being that you leave the BBQ with a killer buzz, you always end up the winner.

What you will need:
A case of domestic beer (we’re celebrating America, aren’t we?)
Various other alcoholic beverages
Your drinking hat

Let’s Play:
- Chug your first beer if you are the only single person there (over the age of 16)/chug your first beer if you have a boyfriend/girlfriend, but they are playing this game at their own family BBQ

- Take a shot every time someone asks you if you are dating someone.

- Take another if they don’t at least feign surprise when you say you are not.

- Take a double shot every time someone asks what you’re studying and/or what you plan to do now that you’ve graduated.

- Mix and drink a screwdriver every time your mother nags about your lack of job or job prospects (“What are you going to do with a Communications degree!?”). You’re screwed in this market, anyway.

- Take a Kamikaze shot every time grandpa mentions his time in WW2.

- Pour one for our fallen heroes if anyone even mentions the real purpose of Memorial Day.

- Bring out the beer bong if someone starts talking about ‘Ole Dubya (George W. Bush), John McCain or the “glory days before Obama.”

- Take a drink every time someone says something that could be taken sexually and someone immature (i.e. you) giggles/responds with “that’s what she said.”

- Have a shot of whiskey every time your father/uncle/grandfather/brother almost burns off their eyebrows or arm hair with the grill.

- Take a sip every time your father/uncle/grandfather/brother talks about how he is the master of the grill and no one can grill up meat like him.

- Assign three drinks to anyone who says they are on a diet and only want salad.

- Put down your drink and start crying if someone comments on how much you are eating/how you should be on a diet.

- Polish off whatever is open and not finished if grandma/some other woman in your family leaves a big, wet lipstick print on your cheek when she says goodbye.

By the end of the night, your family should be bearable and your legs should feel like Jell-0. A Memorial Day BBQ victory!

[Photo courtesy of jfizz 79 on Flickr. Thanks!]

After all, you’ve been looking forward to an occasion to show off your sparkly new holiday dress. And the shoes, tights, belt and accessories you picked up to go with it. But remember that New Year’s Eve is notorious, no matter where you are, for record breaking injury, crime and carelessness. Take some time a few days in advance to prepare and ensure you have a blast.

After all, who wants to start off 2010 in detox, jail or the hospital?

1) Make a plan. NYE is not the night to bar-hop. With ridiculous cover charges, overpriced drinks and drunk drivers on the roads, it’s best to pick a place, get all of your buds to head there and rock the night away.

This also decreases the chance of getting split up. With the disorienting effects of alcohol you want to keep your crew intact to minimize the odds of anyone stumbling into a sticky situation solo.

2) Transportation is HUGE: no drinking and driving. If you all must drink you all must stay put. Period. Do some research: many cities offer free buses and cab rides on NYE. There are also services that will pick you up and drive your car home for you. Find those companies now and store their numbers in your phone just in case you need them. Or, load some pillows and blankets into your trunk and crash with a local friend.

3) To avoid ringing in the New Year with the toilet bowl, remember to eat something. Some munchies will help to line your stomach and decrease the risk of vomiting come morning. Also, stick to the drinks you know. Don’t go slamming jell-o shots or champagne if you’re not used to the effects. And remember: a) carbonation in your mixed drinks speeds absorption and b) sugary mixers like soda or juice can make it difficult to gauge how strong your drink is.

4) Bring condoms. Even if you’re not the “one night stand” type of girl, it’s better to be safe than a momma in 2010. And if you don’t need them, someone else will, and they’ll be ever so grateful they found you fixing your hair in the bathroom at 12:15.

Most importantly, look out for one another. This is the time to celebrate, so enjoy the quality time with your crew. Happy New Year!

After all, this isn’t just any Tuesday – it’s a holiday! You gotta make things special on a holiday. And the way to make this particular holiday special is by pulling out all the stops when it comes to your cocktails of choice. You could just grab some margartia mix and blend it up for you and the girls, or you could do something totally different and totally tasty that will knock everyone’s socks off. And probably pants.

We scoured the internet to find some pretty cheap and unique Cinco-De-Mayo-worthy margaritas. From chocolate to Jell-O shots, these are cocktails no one will forget. Even on a day devoted to forgetting everything. Click on the image to get the recipe, then do it up. (We highly recommend the Skinny Girl Margarita. It’s low cal and incredibly tasty. We already had one this morning. And, yes, it’s only 10 am.)

Enjoy!

]]> http://collegecandy.com/2009/05/05/fun-margaritas-for-cinco-de-mayo/feed/ 4 ccandystaff jose_cuervo1 margarita-jello avocado-margarita skinny-girl raspberry-margarita chocolate-margarita beer-margarita http://collegecandy.com/2007/11/07/weekly-recipes-the-pms-edition/ http://collegecandy.com/2007/11/07/weekly-recipes-the-pms-edition/#comments Wed, 07 Nov 2007 22:49:55 +0000 Jill - University of Wisconsin http://collegecandy.com/body/6062 How fantabulous is that special time of the month when Auntie Flo comes to town? You know, the time where we cry over nothing, breakout like we are in 9th grade, look like we just got breast implants, and want to remove our uterus ourselves with the sharpest untensil we can find because it hurts so badly.

Oh, and we proceed to eat every fatty, salty, chocolaty, everything that is in our path no matter how hard we were working …

How fantabulous is that special time of the month when Auntie Flo comes to town? You know, the time where we cry over nothing, breakout like we are in 9th grade, look like we just got breast implants, and want to remove our uterus ourselves with the sharpest untensil we can find because it hurts so badly.

Oh, and we proceed to eat every fatty, salty, chocolaty, everything that is in our path no matter how hard we were working out the week before.

So, when searching for this week’s recipes- I thought, “IDEA! Why not give our faithful CC readers some easy recipes that will satisfy your PMS cravings and not pack on the pounds?“

So sit back with some Midol, a heating pad, a good ‘ol sappy movie and a big, huge fork and indulge — sans guilt!

Oven Baked French Fries

(with ketchup, and a little salt they will taste like the real deal- try sweet potatoes if your feeling crazy!)

What you need:

6 lg. russet or other baking potatoes, scrubbed

Vegetable spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Cut potatoes into 1/2 inch strips or leave thicker if you prefer more of a potato wedge. Lightly spray baking pan with vegetable spray. Lay potatoes in a single layer on baking sheet.

Spray strips with vegetable spray before placing pan in oven. Bake 15-20 minutes, turn them and continue baking until crisp and browned, approximately 15-20 minutes more.

Chocolate Mousse-Cream Cones

(from my favorite guilt-free food site: Hungry-girl.com

Ingredients:

2 Keebler Ice Cream Cups

1 JELL-O Sugar Free Pudding Snack, Vanilla (or any flavor!)

2 tbsp. HERSHEY’S Syrup, Sugar Free; refrigerated

1/2 cup Cool Whip Free

(1 cone: 83 calories, 0.5g fat, 150mg sodium, 19g carbs, 0.25 fiber, 2g sugars, 0.5g protein)

Directions:

Begin by pouring 1 tbsp. of chocolate syrup into each cone. Swirl around until inside of cone is well coated; place in freezer immediately. In a small dish, combine Cool Whip and pudding; stir until blended. Place dish in freezer for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove cones and mousse mixture. Spoon mousse evenly into and on top of cones.

Optional: Top each cone with a drizzle of the sugar-free syrup! Serves 2.

Weight Watcher S’mores

What you need:

1 Chocolate Graham Cracker

1 lg. Marshmallow

Split the Graham cracker in half.

put one half of the cracker in the microwave and cook until the marshmallow is puffy. Top with remaining half of cracker.

*Add a little Organic Peanut Butter to make this super yummy!

WW Points: 1.5 pt.

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I don’t regret that “B” I got in English my sophomore year because I opted to go to a date party instead of the library. I don’t regret hooking up with a good friend, even if it turned out horribly ugly in the end. I don’t even regret catching a terrible cold that lasted 3 weeks after wrestling in Jell-O in the middle of October…in Michigan.

But if there is one thing I do regret from my years of undergrad it is that I never went abroad.

When my friends first started discussing going abroad for Junior year I was wary. Living in another country sounded interesting, but I was worried about being half way around the world for such a long time. I would miss my family. I would miss my friends. I would definitely miss late night pizza in Ann Arbor.

My friends moved forward, signed up to study in Australia and I opted out in favor of more time in good ole’ Michigan.

And I didn’t regret my decision…then. I had a great time! While it seemed like everyone I knew was going to be abroad, I ended up having tons of friends stick around Michigan with me. We all got a ton closer, I got more active in things around campus, I had an awesome spring break and it was a really fun semester (turning 21 helped, obviously). So what if my friends were off in Australia learning how to surf, camping in the rainforest or travelling through East Asia on their way home? Ann Arbor was just as great.

Then I graduated, got a job and realized that I only get 2 weeks of vacation time a year. Not nearly enough time for me to settle into another country, experience other cultures or see the world.

And the regret sunk in.

My mother makes fun of me whenever I bring this up. “Oh, poor baby,” she tells me. “You have such a hard life!” But she just doesn’t get it. I missed out on a truly once in a lifetime experience. I will never again be able to pick up and just go. I will never again have the time (and total lack of responsibility) to do serious travelling. So, instead of whining like I usually do, I decided to keep others like me from making the same mistake.

Go abroad! Travel! See the world!

If you have the opportunity to go abroad do it. Don’t let the little things keep you from such an incredible experience. Never again will you have an unlimited amount of time to escape from life and do something so rich and fulfilling. Going abroad is so much more than just meeting new people and seeing new things; it can really change you. Don’t miss out on that chance because of a boyfriend, a fear of the unknown, or any other dumb reason you keep coming up with. There is no good reason not to go abroad. None.

Unless, of course, you like the idea of spending your post college years sitting on your couch, watching the Travel Channel and crying about never having seen those things first hand.

My mom always told me anything that doesn’t go bad after three weeks is made out of stuff you shouldn’t put in your body anyway.

For the most part, I listened to her. But every once in a while…slipping a few coins in a tiny slot and watching that King-Sized Snickers plummet towards your waiting hands is truly the only thing that can get you through a day.

And then of course, the diet industry went and ruined everything.

Kraft Foods, the makers of that oh-so-natural bright orange cheese, have begun to test out vending machines that are stocked with only South Beach Diet approved options. Yes. South Beach Diet.

As in…lame alternatives for bread, sugar, and whole grains.

According to reports, some of the options included in the new machines are, “planters nuts, Breakstone’s low-fat cottage cheese, Crystal Light drinks, Jell-O sugar-free gelatin snacks, Nabisco Wheat Thins and the new South Beach Diet lunch wraps.”

Low fat cottage cheese? Wheat Thins? Why not just eat some paper and chase it down with stale rainwater?

And what’s with a “lunch wrap” sitting inside a box for weeks on end? How is that healthy? Or even remotely natural?

I guess the ingredients, which include words like “aspartame” (the sugar substitute that is proven to cause cancer), “alpha amylase” (??), and “sodium metabisulfite” (?!?), say it all:

If you’re gonna stuff your body with chemicals, at least make sure those chemicals are tasty.

Now give me back my Twinkies!