Friday, December 09, 2005

that 50s housewife thing rearing its ugly head again

what is it with me? i somehow think i can pull off so many things that are just insane! i ALWAYS think i have more time than i really have, and once in a while it just catches up to me. tonight i will be serving a 4-course dinner to seven people, one of whom i have never met. last night i made chocolate pudding and roasted butternut squash soup and some maple butter, did a load and a half of laundry, straightened the house up some, and failed to wrap a single christmas present. tonight i will roast two chickens, make some fabulous black and mahogony rice with fresh thyme, and sautee some fresh asparagus with crimini mushrooms in a fine olive oil with just some simple salt and pepper. i have a cheese course to serve with our homemade cranberry wine. i am crazy. i have been working my butt off all day so i can get out of here before 4pm, and lo and behold! i am going to make it! now i just have to stop for fresh breah, run home and get the laundry out of the dryer, move the bins of hristmas stuff to the basement, turn on all the christmas lights, dust the bookshelves, and get cookin'! and you know--i will pull this off. i always manage. but sometimes i look at the schedule i have given myself and i am just amazed that my blood pressure doesn't shoot through the roof and kill me this very instant. why do i feel like i have to be a 50s housewife when i have a day job? am i the only one with this problem??? i have till 7:30 to get ready, people--wish me luck!

3 comments:

Flaurella said...

I always take on more than should be humanly possible. Some folks just work best under pressure. I am betting you get everything done and that the dinner is divine.

Great menu! Please share the recipe for black and mahogony rice on the blog.

Have a grand party!

Meredith said...

I'm sure everything will be perfect. It always is. :)

And don't worry, we all do this. How I have not landed myself in the hospital with an ulcer and/or a stroke over the last several months I do not know.

Anonymous said...

Although not catering to the same caliber of guests, last night (Friday) I played hostess to no less than one dozen 9 and 10 year olds. Yes, I elaborately planned and executed a spa sleepover for Bailey's 10th birthday. While finishing up the last of the Master's assignments I secured a friend's 2-bedroom rental cottage for the event, shopped for the supplies, made the "goodie bag" gifts (which I thought were fabulous: upon arrival, each girl was given a sage green wash rag filled with a nail file, lip balm, a smoothie straw, a headband, and a candy lipstick...all of which wrapped in rafia), decorated the place with tea candles placed in clear drinking glasses, and prepared the stations. The bedroom with the twin beds became the massage station complete with tools and lotions. The bathroom housed facials and hair conditioning. The kitchen table was home to the manicures while the counter served as the make-your-own smoothie station. Thanks to the Dollar Tree's regard for high-quality products, relaxation CD's featuring sounds of the rainforest - complete with wild animals and rushing water guaranteed to make one feel the need to constantly urinate - added to the spa-like ambiance. The girls arrived around 6 pm and left between 10 and 11 am this morning (Sat.) leaving me to collect the wet, soiled towels as well as scrub the smoothie from the counters, floor, cabinets, and other more non-traditional spots. Three hours of clean-up by the time I moved furniture back to the original position and collected remnants of candy lipstick from several inappropriate places. I must admit, though, that I prepared none of the meals (unless you count plattering donuts, muffins, cheese, and fruit). I believe this is an equal trade due to the fact that the last of the rambunctious rowdies finally went to sleep shortly before 2 am and all of them awoke at 6am. Four hours of sleep could easily get me through in my younger life, but not now. My point? Probably not a 50's housewife thing to have a bunch of little girls rub lotion on each other all night....the 50s mom would have had them tucked between starched white sheets no later than 9pm BUT.....another situation of taking on too much under pressure. Well, I'm going back to rest my weary body....the reflection from my sparkly purple nail polish highlighted by a single confetti-like silver heart affixed in a haphazard fashion is disturbing my bloodshot eyes. Hoping your grown-up party was the epitome of excellence (which I know it was)! Kristin