"May I please be excused?"

Dear Miss Manners: When one wishes to get up from the table to go to the restroom, I think it rude to just get up and depart. So I announce, "Excuse me, I'm going to the restroom." My friends seem to vanish from the table with no explanation, and I suppose they think no explanation is necessary. What to do or say or not say? Gentle Reader: Does it have to be everything or nothing? Leaving without a word is rude, but explaining where you are going is unpleasantly vivid for those who are eating. Miss Manners hopes you can content yourself with a mere "Excuse me," trusting that your destination is not much of a mystery. This letter to Miss Manners made me think of something. When I was a child my parents really tried to instill in me good manners. It worked for awhile and I'm not sure when I fell off the Good Manners Wagon (maybe after a drunken night of debauchery in New Orleans?) but every now and then I do slip back into good manners mode. You see...
We could never leave the dinner table without saying, "May I please be excused?" And we couldn't leave the dinner table until Joe or Helen (my parents) said, "Yes."
When I have been at dinner with friends, business associates, etc. I do find myself saying, "Excuse me for a moment." or "I need to excuse myself from the table." I don't ask for permission but I do let it be known that I am leaving and will be back or if I'm not coming back I also let that be known.
I have been at dinner tables when someone gets up and leaves without saying a word and to me it is a bit odd. It leaves me wondering what is going on. Were they offended by something that was said? Are they leaving and not coming back? Are they stalking somebody?
So I'm just wondering, is it common to verbally excuse yourself from the table? Just askin'.
And speaking of that, why do women go in pairs to the bathroom?

Changing the subject completely...
I'm sure I will see many of you at Quadra tonight. This is a birthday party that four guys put on for themselves. It is always fun because people come of out of the woodwork. Last year I ran into someone that I had not seen in forever and this is one of the first people that I met when I moved to Houston 16 years ago.
It is also fun because it isn't a fundraiser AND we don't have to bring presents! The party is at Status which is across the street from The Cha Cha Palace (the scene of Kaye Sedilla's Last Salsa.) I've never been to Status (just like I've never been to me) so exploring something new is always a delight.
Stay cool today. It's gonna hit the über high 90s here in The Bayou City!

Ramblings Of A Caffeinated Mind 9.1

Party Etiquette
The party season is over (Christmas, New Year, Super Bowl, Mardi Gras). Recently, I have had several discussions with friends about party guests who bring a bus load of guests with them.

I always thought that if the invitation was addressed to me, it was for me only. If the invitation was addressed to me and guest, then that meant I could bring one guest. If the word guests is on the invitation, that sort of opens it up. (In these instances, I am referring to parties not fundraisers. For a fundraiser, I would want as many people as possible to show up AND contribute.)

I can understand the frustration of people who have put on a party and have ended up with extra guests. For one thing, you never want to run out of food and booze. Also, it is nice to know who is walking around your house.

There have been instances where I have thrown a party, invited someone and then received a phone call/e-mail asking if they can bring a guest. I am totally fine with that. At least they asked AND it gave me ample opportunity to plan for additional adult beverages.

There have also been some instances where friends brought extra guests (without telling me) but they also walked in with a full bottle of vodka. That was cool with me too and I was totally fine. Plus their guests were H-O-T, introduced themselves to me, and were polite. Even if they weren't hot, that would have been fine too as long as they displayed good public decorum and manners.

I guess one of the reasons I never bring an entourage with me (without asking or without them being invited) is because when a large group of my people show up it could be considered a gang. Yes, I know my people travel in large numbers to the grocery store, to the mall, to the hospital, etc. It's part of our culture but why perpetuate the stereotype by bringing mass amounts of people with me to a party.

So with all of this said, I found this in Miss Manners column this morning:
Dear Miss Manners:
My husband and I hosted a Super Bowl party and were absolutely appalled by the number of guests who brought several of their own friends, without acknowledging these people in their RSVP. What should have been a party of 24 turned into 35, and it was difficult to accommodate everyone in our small townhouse.

Some of the "extra guests" did not even introduce themselves to me or my husband and proceeded to place their feet (and shoes) on our furniture. I wanted to be a gracious host, but I admit I was steamed by this lack of respect for my home.

I would like to communicate to my friends who were invited and brought these people that I don't appreciate the casual nature of their behavior, but how do I do this and not offend the friend?

Gentle Reader:
By not inviting them to your next party. If they seem offended, you can say that this is just for your friends, and you know that they have other friends to entertain.

What puzzles Miss Manners is that you are characterizing them as "casual," in contrast to their friends, of whom you say they failed to respect your house. Casual is a word that many people mistakenly believe to mean (when applied to themselves) "charmingly unpretentious." It is at least as disrespectful to march other people into your party and even fail to introduce them (that was their job, not their friends') as to put feet on the furniture.

Project Runway
FINALLY! Ricky is gone!!!

Last night the challenge was to design an outfit for one of the divas from the WWE. Ricky designed a swimsuit and was auf'd. At least now we don't have to watch him cry every week. Hey Ricky...go get some cajones. If he had really thought about it, he could have relied on his lingerie design experience and come up with something HOT!...but he didn't.

Chris won the challenge with his green leopard outfit. I REALLY liked the black sequin lining that he used in the hoodie and he carried that through with the shorts and gloves.Christian could have won with his faux leather and lace outfit. Rami and Sweet P were almost derailed. In my mind the jury is still out on Jillian's outift. I think I would have liked it more if she had not used the thigh high white thingamugjigs.

Running, Spinning, Weights
You may have noticed that I have not been posting my fitness activities. Rather than bore you on a daily basis, I have decided to do a weekly recap. Details to follow.