It is 10:30pm and I am in bed. There are still a few guests in the living room and back yard, but I am done for the day.
Jenny and I both finally went to bed around 3am and we all slept until about 10am this morning. Right away the four of us (Scott, Me, Travis & Jenny) got to work. Scott mowed the back yard, edged it, swept all of the patio, picked up dog poo and mopped inside.
Travis bustled about putting all the random stuff that had yet to be put away in our bedroom.
I started putting things away and then began to set up the table in the back yard and fill the wading pools.
Jenny got started on the gnocchi and then we decided we needed another trip to the store because she ran out of flour.
We hopped in the Honda and drove to GFS for flour, tealights, pans and additional white grape juice.
Once we returned Jenny finished the gnocchi and then took a break to help me draw on the sidewalk and carport floor with liquid chalk before she got started on the crostini. We decided we needed another break and took the Honda downtown to fill two coolers full of ice thanks to the restaurant Jenny works at.
Scott took about a 45 minute nap after taking care of all the yardwork, and once he was up I took a nap until about five minutes before the official start of the party.
As guests arrived we plated the food and set it on the table under the awning on the back patio. Apparently all the neighborhood flies decided to attend regardless of the fact they were not issued invitations, so after about ten minutes we moved the table into the house.
Overall the party was a raging success. There were three dogs, several kids, and the wedding video on a loop being projected on the dining room wall. A wedding picture slideshow ran on the big screen TV at the same time in the living room. There was much eating, drinking, and guests being astounded that Jenny and I made all the food and from scratch!
Everything turned out wonderfully, there's an entire pan of ribs, a quarter of one cheesecake and half of the other, a gallon ziploc bag of uncooked gnocchi, lots of couscous salad, a bit of the bean dip and a bit of the feta dip, some chips and all of the corn left. We forgot about the corn completely.
Scott leaves on a four day business trip tomorrow and I am working the next ten days straight.
Goodnight!
Showing posts with label party prep. Show all posts
Showing posts with label party prep. Show all posts
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Day Seven, Hurrykane Seezon 2008
I worked an eight hour shift, came home, and proceeded to hang pictures, clean the hamster and skunk cages, make and bake two pans of fruit cobbler, take a trip to Walgreens for butter, and do a load of laundry.
Jenny came over this morning and cooked for three hours, then went to work and worked an eight and a half hour shift and then came back to the house to cook. She took the ribs (14 lbs of ribs) out of their three day marinade and dried them individually before giving them a dry rub.
Meanwhile I assembled the spinach & feta triangles which will be baked tomorrow. We'll also find time to draw on the streets with sidewalk chalk, make gnocchi from scratch, finish cleaning or picking things up and throwing them into the master bedroom AND finding time to make ourselves look pretty.
I'm exhausted. Jenny is too.
Jenny came over this morning and cooked for three hours, then went to work and worked an eight and a half hour shift and then came back to the house to cook. She took the ribs (14 lbs of ribs) out of their three day marinade and dried them individually before giving them a dry rub.
Meanwhile I assembled the spinach & feta triangles which will be baked tomorrow. We'll also find time to draw on the streets with sidewalk chalk, make gnocchi from scratch, finish cleaning or picking things up and throwing them into the master bedroom AND finding time to make ourselves look pretty.
I'm exhausted. Jenny is too.
Day Six, HS 2008
Yesterday was a very long day.
I worked from noon to 8pm and when I got home Jenny had already completed the Beer and Cheese dip. We were hungry and needed a little girl time, so the two of us went to Chico's for dinner and then brought takeout home to the boys.
Once we returned we got started on our list of things that needed to be completed last night:
- Beginning the Arnold Palmer
- Tomato sauce for the Ricotta/Chickpea Gnocchi
- Decorating a Cheesecake
- White Bean & Artichoke Dip
- Key Lime Couscous Salad
- Beer & Cheese Dip
When Jenny started chopping ingredients for the tomato sauce (onion, garlic and jalapeno), the entire house filled with eye-watering fumes. We decided to keep ourselves able to stay in the kitchen by wearing a pair of scooter goggles and sunglasses.My main task was sous chef, keep the dishes clean and to decorate the cheesecake.
I began by making hearts of chocolate and carmel by drizzling the sauces inside a heart-shaped cookie cutter and freezing teh cheesecake for a few minutes, then ground up some bite-size Butterfingers and made more hearts with crumbs, then spread more crumbs around the edges. It didn't turn out as pretty as I would have liked, but I didn't want to sacrifice taste for beauty by using Magik Shell instead of regular chocolate syrup.
I also started the vat of Arnold Palmer by dumping an entire box of Lipton "Black Pearl" tea into the empty bucket and pouring two boiling kettles over it. I put the lid on and let it steep overnight.
Each time we complete an item on the menu, we have to play tetris with the contents of the fridge to get everything inside.
Friday, June 06, 2008
Day Five, Hurricane Season 2008 - a day late...
And several hundred dollars shorter.
Thursdays are generally my day off. There are a few exceptions, like the week after I go on vacation or when my boss needs to rearrange the schedule for some reason.
Yesterday I was off, and Jenny and I managed to get a LOT done. We purchased all the food items and ingredients necessary, and also obtained two large and one small wading pool, an umbrella for our back yard picnic table, a folding six foot table, some serving platters and plates, two buckets for serving our signature cocktail and the Arnold Palmer, and various and sundry other items. (Isn't "various and sundry" redundant?)
Anywho...
We started at K-Mart, went to Albertsons, then to the Sugar Apple, then to Fausto's, then to Publix, and then decided to borrow my bosses' truck to get the wading pools from K-Mart to the house (Wading pools do not fit well into the back of a Honda EX).
My boss is a generous guy, and agreed to let me borrow is F?50 (BIG DIESEL TRUCK) for the mission. As I was leaving his office he said "Reese, do you know HOW to drive a big truck like that?"
I assured him that I have experience driving BIG DIESEL TRUCKS and off we went.
We purchased the pools and nestled them safely in the back of the truck, well inside the canopy. I reached up to shut the canopy and as the canopy door frame hit the tailgate, the glass exploded all over me.
Calling your boss to tell him that you busted the glass out of the back of his truck is not fun. I do not recommend it for kicks OR giggles.
When we returned the truck to the store both my bosses came out and took a look, and then the he-boss left for an appointment and the she-boss said "What did you hit?!"
I didn't hit anything. I didn't even slam it. It just shattered.
Oh yes, all over me. I had shards of glass in my hair, and all over my arms and legs, and down my dress. Little tiny cuts bleeding. And little bits of glass itching my skin. AWESOME. Or Not So Much.
When we returned to the house I went into the back yard and hosed off the arms and legs and then cringed and tried to ignore the other pieces I could feel for the rest of the day.
Thursdays are generally my day off. There are a few exceptions, like the week after I go on vacation or when my boss needs to rearrange the schedule for some reason.
Yesterday I was off, and Jenny and I managed to get a LOT done. We purchased all the food items and ingredients necessary, and also obtained two large and one small wading pool, an umbrella for our back yard picnic table, a folding six foot table, some serving platters and plates, two buckets for serving our signature cocktail and the Arnold Palmer, and various and sundry other items. (Isn't "various and sundry" redundant?)
Anywho...
We started at K-Mart, went to Albertsons, then to the Sugar Apple, then to Fausto's, then to Publix, and then decided to borrow my bosses' truck to get the wading pools from K-Mart to the house (Wading pools do not fit well into the back of a Honda EX).
My boss is a generous guy, and agreed to let me borrow is F?50 (BIG DIESEL TRUCK) for the mission. As I was leaving his office he said "Reese, do you know HOW to drive a big truck like that?"
I assured him that I have experience driving BIG DIESEL TRUCKS and off we went.
We purchased the pools and nestled them safely in the back of the truck, well inside the canopy. I reached up to shut the canopy and as the canopy door frame hit the tailgate, the glass exploded all over me.
Calling your boss to tell him that you busted the glass out of the back of his truck is not fun. I do not recommend it for kicks OR giggles.
When we returned the truck to the store both my bosses came out and took a look, and then the he-boss left for an appointment and the she-boss said "What did you hit?!"
I didn't hit anything. I didn't even slam it. It just shattered.
Oh yes, all over me. I had shards of glass in my hair, and all over my arms and legs, and down my dress. Little tiny cuts bleeding. And little bits of glass itching my skin. AWESOME. Or Not So Much.
When we returned to the house I went into the back yard and hosed off the arms and legs and then cringed and tried to ignore the other pieces I could feel for the rest of the day.
Day Four Addendum
After posting my blog, Jenny and I created a battle plan and schedule to get done all the shopping and cooking necessary for Sunday's party. As per usual, Jenny brought over her laundry, since we are happy to enable her laundering for free at our house instead of wasting money at a laundromat. Also, laundromats do not have friends' kitchens attached to them.
Since Jenny's boyfriend Travis arrived at our house two weeks ago, she has spent more nights here than at her house, and her cat Charlie is NOT impressed. He peed all over her bed.
Jenny loaded the washer with some of her cat-pee-items and stuffed a pillow in on top. Travis soon yelped "Water! Water Everywhere!" and we discovered that the living room was flooding.
We quickly pulled the couch and coffee table into the middle of the room and unplugged laptops and phone chargers. The dog bed and the bulk of Jenny's dirty laundry were used to mop up the water, and we learned that the pillow had been placed directly under the water faucet and had spurted the water out onto the floor.
All this was at about 1am. We were still planning to make the cheesecakes and didn't make it to bed until about 3am.
Since Jenny's boyfriend Travis arrived at our house two weeks ago, she has spent more nights here than at her house, and her cat Charlie is NOT impressed. He peed all over her bed.
Jenny loaded the washer with some of her cat-pee-items and stuffed a pillow in on top. Travis soon yelped "Water! Water Everywhere!" and we discovered that the living room was flooding.
We quickly pulled the couch and coffee table into the middle of the room and unplugged laptops and phone chargers. The dog bed and the bulk of Jenny's dirty laundry were used to mop up the water, and we learned that the pillow had been placed directly under the water faucet and had spurted the water out onto the floor.
All this was at about 1am. We were still planning to make the cheesecakes and didn't make it to bed until about 3am.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Day Three, Hurricane Season 2008
I was asked if I intend to blog the entire Hurricane Season day by day.
Intend? Sure. Will it happen? Maybe.
Today (ok, it's after midnight so technically yesterday)...
I received my new laptop and cried at work. Not necessarily related occurrences, but looking back probably not totally unrelated, either.
I had an emotional day. Work has been stressful lately and today was no exception. I felt as if I was in trouble for something but had not been notified of what, and even when the information that I have been working a lot of overtime (for free - since I am on salary) by choice was provided to my boss, I didn't even receive a "Thank You" or an acknowledgment of any kind. The addition of my looking online and seeing that apparently DHL delivered my new laptop to a "residence front door" somewhere on Gulfview Drive (as opposed to my work address) YESTERDAY, culminated in my not being able to handle it when my boss told me that they decided not to change our logo after all.
About six months ago the three of us (my two bosses, who are husband and wife, and myself) decided that we were going to change the logo because the current one is outdated, too busy, and not cohesive. I worked on some options for awhile but couldn't devote the necessary time to it amongst all my other duties, and requested that we hire out to a real graphic artist.
Fortunately I know one (ok, several) and my boss agreed to pay him to work on a new logo for us. To date he has given us six or seven new ideas and I really liked them. When I found out today that his work has been in vain (although he WILL be getting paid, I made sure of that), I just couldn't take it.
To throw a little added pressure onto my day, Scott told me that the rumor in his office is that his company will likely not be getting a renewal on their contract that ends in September. This means that we may be moving earlier than we expected to.
In the meantime, party plans are rolling along - my desk also arrived today and I set it up and started getting the front room put away before getting out my new laptop and immediately downloading firefox and setting up my blogosphere bookmarks.
Day Four is already upon me and I must now check my Woot and be off to bed.
Intend? Sure. Will it happen? Maybe.
Today (ok, it's after midnight so technically yesterday)...
I received my new laptop and cried at work. Not necessarily related occurrences, but looking back probably not totally unrelated, either.
I had an emotional day. Work has been stressful lately and today was no exception. I felt as if I was in trouble for something but had not been notified of what, and even when the information that I have been working a lot of overtime (for free - since I am on salary) by choice was provided to my boss, I didn't even receive a "Thank You" or an acknowledgment of any kind. The addition of my looking online and seeing that apparently DHL delivered my new laptop to a "residence front door" somewhere on Gulfview Drive (as opposed to my work address) YESTERDAY, culminated in my not being able to handle it when my boss told me that they decided not to change our logo after all.
About six months ago the three of us (my two bosses, who are husband and wife, and myself) decided that we were going to change the logo because the current one is outdated, too busy, and not cohesive. I worked on some options for awhile but couldn't devote the necessary time to it amongst all my other duties, and requested that we hire out to a real graphic artist.
Fortunately I know one (ok, several) and my boss agreed to pay him to work on a new logo for us. To date he has given us six or seven new ideas and I really liked them. When I found out today that his work has been in vain (although he WILL be getting paid, I made sure of that), I just couldn't take it.
To throw a little added pressure onto my day, Scott told me that the rumor in his office is that his company will likely not be getting a renewal on their contract that ends in September. This means that we may be moving earlier than we expected to.
In the meantime, party plans are rolling along - my desk also arrived today and I set it up and started getting the front room put away before getting out my new laptop and immediately downloading firefox and setting up my blogosphere bookmarks.
Day Four is already upon me and I must now check my Woot and be off to bed.
Monday, June 02, 2008
Day Two, Hurricane Season 2008
The Menu for Sunday:
I worked an extra hour today, trying to tie up some loose ends in my big labeling and pricing project. Most of which has still gone unnoticed.
I heard today that there are burglers going around Key West breaking into peoples houses while they are at home, sleeping. A woman came into the pet store today and said they got away with her big flatscreen TV and her purse and she and her dogs slept through the entire thing.
I do not envy someone that attempts to break into our house, as they will likely trip over an animal and/or incur the wrath of my husband AND our houseguest, both former Marines.
- Marinated Feta Dip
- White Bean and Artichoke Dip
- Beer and Cheese Dip
- Spinach Feta Triangles
- Fig and Goat Cheese Crostini
- Israeli Couscous Salad on Belgian Endive
- Cuban Corn
- Kansas City Ribs
- Grapevine
- Arnold Palmer
- Two Cheesecakes with various toppings
- Miscellaneous Fruit Cobbler
I worked an extra hour today, trying to tie up some loose ends in my big labeling and pricing project. Most of which has still gone unnoticed.
I heard today that there are burglers going around Key West breaking into peoples houses while they are at home, sleeping. A woman came into the pet store today and said they got away with her big flatscreen TV and her purse and she and her dogs slept through the entire thing.
I do not envy someone that attempts to break into our house, as they will likely trip over an animal and/or incur the wrath of my husband AND our houseguest, both former Marines.
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Day One, Hurricane Season 2008
We kicked off Hurricane Season 2008 with a very hot, sunny day.I worked about 11 hours today. I usually have Sundays off, but holidays always throw off our schedule. Oddly enough, as the Manager I get to come in on the day we are closed and feed all the animals. But it still "counts" as a day off. So before yesterday, I had been at work every day for 8 days straight. Is it any wonder that I went straight to bed when I got home today and slept hard for about two hours?
Next Sunday is our East Coast Reception, a party in our back yard. The wedding DVD is supposed to arrive any time now (it was mailed over a week ago) and we are hoping to show it on the side of the house thanks to the projector that Travis brought with him from Seattle.
Jenny is catering the party, and has planned a menu to equal that of our actual wedding reception in Portland. Fig and Goat Cheese Crostini, a cheese dip made from feta and cream cheese with a lot of garlic, Bleu Cheese Potato Puffs, and a host of other things that I can't remember right now.
This week is definitely going to be a whirlwind of activity at our house. My new desk is supposed to arrive, along with the new laptop. Hopefully I'll be able to get the front room/office organized so when people walk through our front door on Sunday, they won't have to stumble over the six boxes that have still to be unpacked.
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