Tuesday, October 28, 2008
A success!
The baby shower went great! Dinner was ready on time...people had fun...Jen got lots of great presents...and Hannah had a terrific time entertaining everyone. Everyone fit in the house, and we had plenty of food. And it's only 10:30 and I have all the dishes done, and everything cleaned up. I am rather proud I pulled it off. :)
Monday, October 27, 2008
La di da di, we likes to party
I can't remember what song that's from, but it seems to me it's from sometime in the 80s. *chuckle*
Anyway, tomorrow is a big day at our house because I am hosting a baby shower for my friend Jen, who is due to have a baby girl in January. I really love my friend Jen, and when she told me she was pregnant one of the first things I said was, "I want to host a baby shower for you at my house." See, we work together, and I thought it would be nice to have all the women we work with over for dinner - which is a bit nicer than standing around our office just eating cake.
So, 25 people are coming over tomorrow. I think our house can handle it, but it's a bit bigger crowd than I originally anticipated when I had this brilliant idea. ;)
Also, I am cooking. I wanted to cook from the beginning, because I like cooking - especially for parties. I think good food is one of the great uniting forces in the world. But I've also never cooked for 25 people before, so hopefully we don't run out. We're having a pasta bar (two kinds of pasta, two kinds of sauce, veggies, chicken and shrimp) and then people are bringing bunches of desserts and appetizers (I made one of each, but I'm not crazy enough to try to do all the desserts and appetizers by myself, too). Tonight I made more pasta sauce than I have ever made in my life. Our refrigerator is literally full of pasta sauce...to the point where, when I was looking for something in the fridge this evening, Brock said, "It's behind the sauce," and we both cracked up. I also made apple pie, garlic onion dip, cooked 2.75 lbs. of chicken and chopped a LOT of vegetables.
I'm very excited to have this party, though - I think it will be really fun, and as long as everyone fits in the house and we don't run out of food, I'll be happy. :)
And now, as it is midnight and I have to get up and go to work early in the morning to get ready for 5 1/2 straight hours of meetings...I am going to bed.
Note, if you are coming to the shower: I didn't get around to sweeping the porch. So that's just too bad. Try not to notice the leaves and cobwebs. Also, I think I got the chicken a bit dry, but if you put a lot of sauce on it, I'm sure it will be fine. :)
Anyway, tomorrow is a big day at our house because I am hosting a baby shower for my friend Jen, who is due to have a baby girl in January. I really love my friend Jen, and when she told me she was pregnant one of the first things I said was, "I want to host a baby shower for you at my house." See, we work together, and I thought it would be nice to have all the women we work with over for dinner - which is a bit nicer than standing around our office just eating cake.
So, 25 people are coming over tomorrow. I think our house can handle it, but it's a bit bigger crowd than I originally anticipated when I had this brilliant idea. ;)
Also, I am cooking. I wanted to cook from the beginning, because I like cooking - especially for parties. I think good food is one of the great uniting forces in the world. But I've also never cooked for 25 people before, so hopefully we don't run out. We're having a pasta bar (two kinds of pasta, two kinds of sauce, veggies, chicken and shrimp) and then people are bringing bunches of desserts and appetizers (I made one of each, but I'm not crazy enough to try to do all the desserts and appetizers by myself, too). Tonight I made more pasta sauce than I have ever made in my life. Our refrigerator is literally full of pasta sauce...to the point where, when I was looking for something in the fridge this evening, Brock said, "It's behind the sauce," and we both cracked up. I also made apple pie, garlic onion dip, cooked 2.75 lbs. of chicken and chopped a LOT of vegetables.
I'm very excited to have this party, though - I think it will be really fun, and as long as everyone fits in the house and we don't run out of food, I'll be happy. :)
And now, as it is midnight and I have to get up and go to work early in the morning to get ready for 5 1/2 straight hours of meetings...I am going to bed.
Note, if you are coming to the shower: I didn't get around to sweeping the porch. So that's just too bad. Try not to notice the leaves and cobwebs. Also, I think I got the chicken a bit dry, but if you put a lot of sauce on it, I'm sure it will be fine. :)
Thursday, October 16, 2008
7 things about me
Thanks to Vic for tagging me! Here are 7 things about me you probably don't know:
1) One of the reasons I'm glad Vic tagged me is that I like talking about myself. I know that's supposed to be a bad thing, but it's true. I like talking to other people about themselves, too...but I am a sucker for those emails where you fill out four jobs you've had or what you eat for breakfast or whatever, and then send it on to all your friends. I know no one cares what I eat for breakfast, but there's something fun about writing down things like that. (For the record, this morning I had oatmeal mixed with granola, brown sugar, cinnamon and dried cranberries - a concoction of my own creation that I call "oatnola.")
2) I do not keep liquor in my house. This is because I like it very much, especially vodka, and I am concerned about the possibilities if I had easy access to it all the time. Because I am a comfort eater, I think it stands to reason I would be a comfort drinker, so it's just better not to tempt myself.
3) The top 4 days in my life have been the day I got engaged, my wedding, the birth of my daughter, and when the Indianapolis Colts won the Super Bowl. The 5th best day in my life will be when Barack Obama wins the presidency. I'm excited for that.
4) I harbor a secret desire to be a stand-up comedian. I won't ever, ever do it, and in fact have never tried, but it's the fantasy job I go to in my mind when my real job really gets on my nerves. Of course, since this is not grounded in reality, in my daydreams I am already wildly successful as a comedian and also never have to travel. :)
5) I think I might only want one kid. I am just so incredibly happy with the amazing one I have, and I really, right now, feel absolutely no desire to expand our family further. (Sorry, parents.) Also, I strongly doubt my ability to handle any more kids - it would require seriously compromising the attention I can give to my husband and my career, and I'm really not thrilled about that prospect. The poor cats are already getting the shaft. This is not to say that I wouldn't adapt if modern medicine should happen to fail me.
6) I have devolved in my organizational skills. I used to be hyper-organized. Now I can't really face filing. Brock does all of it at home, and at work I only do it when the piles of paper on my desk get to the point where I can't remember what's in them. I also haven't balanced our checkbook in approximately 4 years, or maybe more, because banking online is awesome. But Brock handles that too. I never keep receipts. My email inboxes (both personal and work) are muddled disasters of old messages that I will never use, but they're so out of control that it would take too much time to clean them up. I hate this about myself. But I also have to let some stuff go.
7) I am really proud that we moved out of Indiana and are making a life for ourselves here. I will always love the place I grew up, but I really love my home now, too. And when I think about the fact that we moved here when we were 22 and didn't know anybody at all, I am amazed at what we've done since then. I can't believe it never occurred to me to be nervous about moving away from everyone we knew. Now I would be absolutely terrified to move, but I can't really think of anywhere I'd rather live, either.
That's it from me. Now, I tag Robin and Brock to talk about themselves on their blogs, too! This is fun!
1) One of the reasons I'm glad Vic tagged me is that I like talking about myself. I know that's supposed to be a bad thing, but it's true. I like talking to other people about themselves, too...but I am a sucker for those emails where you fill out four jobs you've had or what you eat for breakfast or whatever, and then send it on to all your friends. I know no one cares what I eat for breakfast, but there's something fun about writing down things like that. (For the record, this morning I had oatmeal mixed with granola, brown sugar, cinnamon and dried cranberries - a concoction of my own creation that I call "oatnola.")
2) I do not keep liquor in my house. This is because I like it very much, especially vodka, and I am concerned about the possibilities if I had easy access to it all the time. Because I am a comfort eater, I think it stands to reason I would be a comfort drinker, so it's just better not to tempt myself.
3) The top 4 days in my life have been the day I got engaged, my wedding, the birth of my daughter, and when the Indianapolis Colts won the Super Bowl. The 5th best day in my life will be when Barack Obama wins the presidency. I'm excited for that.
4) I harbor a secret desire to be a stand-up comedian. I won't ever, ever do it, and in fact have never tried, but it's the fantasy job I go to in my mind when my real job really gets on my nerves. Of course, since this is not grounded in reality, in my daydreams I am already wildly successful as a comedian and also never have to travel. :)
5) I think I might only want one kid. I am just so incredibly happy with the amazing one I have, and I really, right now, feel absolutely no desire to expand our family further. (Sorry, parents.) Also, I strongly doubt my ability to handle any more kids - it would require seriously compromising the attention I can give to my husband and my career, and I'm really not thrilled about that prospect. The poor cats are already getting the shaft. This is not to say that I wouldn't adapt if modern medicine should happen to fail me.
6) I have devolved in my organizational skills. I used to be hyper-organized. Now I can't really face filing. Brock does all of it at home, and at work I only do it when the piles of paper on my desk get to the point where I can't remember what's in them. I also haven't balanced our checkbook in approximately 4 years, or maybe more, because banking online is awesome. But Brock handles that too. I never keep receipts. My email inboxes (both personal and work) are muddled disasters of old messages that I will never use, but they're so out of control that it would take too much time to clean them up. I hate this about myself. But I also have to let some stuff go.
7) I am really proud that we moved out of Indiana and are making a life for ourselves here. I will always love the place I grew up, but I really love my home now, too. And when I think about the fact that we moved here when we were 22 and didn't know anybody at all, I am amazed at what we've done since then. I can't believe it never occurred to me to be nervous about moving away from everyone we knew. Now I would be absolutely terrified to move, but I can't really think of anywhere I'd rather live, either.
That's it from me. Now, I tag Robin and Brock to talk about themselves on their blogs, too! This is fun!
Sunday, October 5, 2008
OhmyGodyouguysNKOTBwasAWESOME!
I wrote the title of the post that way in hopes you would read it really fast and squealy, kind of like a preteen girl would say it. Because that's totally how I was feeling on Saturday night at the New Kids on the Block concert.
)
This is a blurry camera phone picture of the main stage. They're singing and dancing there, but you can't see them because stage lighting is not nice to camera phones:
)
And this is a blurry camera phone picture of when they were on their "second stage," which was a little turntable thing in the middle of the crowd. If I had been next to them, I think I would have peed my pants. Or perhaps I would have tried to grope Joey McIntyre:
)
In short: I screamed my fool head off and had a fantastic time. My friend Lisa came up from Indiana for the show and spent two hours laughing at me screaming my fool head off, especially when I yelled, "I love you, Joey!" at the top of my lungs. But I meant it. And I'm sure he heard me. Besides, we went with three other girls, and at least one of them was screaming her fool head off, too. So it wasn't just me.
They sounded good. They looked great. Our seats were perfect. And I had a completely crappy week at work, so I needed something ridiculous and fun, and finding out I remembered every lyric to songs I hadn't even heard in almost 20 years was just what the doctor ordered. :)
Seriously...who can't get into some Hangin' Tough? Who doesn't want to scream like a maniac when their favorite group from childhood is on stage and actually sounding good, and dancing just like they did in 1990 (hello, penguin dance from The Right Stuff!)? Who doesn't think Joey McIntyre is SMOKIN' HOT?
I had the BEST time. I was a little hoarse after the concert and I didn't care. I laughed. I swooned. I danced. I waved my hands in the air like I just didn't care. I sang every word to every song at the top of my lungs. And I wasn't even drunk (unlike this girl in front of us, who came back after last call going, "You guys, THERE IS NO MORE ALCOHOL. THERE IS NO MORE ALCOHOL"...something that certainly did not happen the last time I saw NKOTB...)!
Here are some photo highlights.
Here is my ticket (that lovely background is one of our placemats...I could have cropped it out but just didn't feel like it):
Here are some photo highlights.
Here is my ticket (that lovely background is one of our placemats...I could have cropped it out but just didn't feel like it):
This is a blurry camera phone picture of the main stage. They're singing and dancing there, but you can't see them because stage lighting is not nice to camera phones:
And this is a blurry camera phone picture of when they were on their "second stage," which was a little turntable thing in the middle of the crowd. If I had been next to them, I think I would have peed my pants. Or perhaps I would have tried to grope Joey McIntyre:
NKOTB forever, baby. I wish I could have gone back again the next night to see them. LOVE THEM.
Don't rain on my nostalgia parade, either. I won't have it. Any malicious comments will not be approved. But I can totally take good-natured teasing. I probably deserve it. :)
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