I haven't updated the blog in some time, but in this instance it's sort of the opposite of writers' block:  instead of being unable to think of anything about which to write, there have been so many interesting and fun things going on that when I sit to try and write about them, I feel overwhelmed and don't know where to start.  Even if I did know where to start, there's so much stuff the post would be too long and I'd never finish, and it's just too much and then I don't write anything.

The big thing occupying my time lately is that Alan had a milestone birthday this year and Tammy and I planned to throw a big bash. It was held at the clubhouse at her subdivision.  Instead of hiring a caterer, I cooked almost everything.  I bought his cake, red velvet with cream cheese frosting (his favorite kind) from the same bakery at which we bought our wedding cakes.  From our favorite pub, we bought chicken wings in three flavors:  standard medium, Thai chili and garlic/parmesan.  Tammy made Brookies (her invention, partly a pun and partly named for her daughter Brooke): a chocolate chip cookie baked inside a brownie, and her famous macaroni and cheese, Alan's favorite food ever. She makes it from scratch, starting with a bechamel sauce, adding cheeses gradually, pouring the resulting sauce over pasta with layers of shredded cheese - heart attack on a plate but it is SO. GOOD.

I made the following: raw veggie platter with ranch dip, fresh cut fruit platter, meatballs in spicy marinara sauce with shaved parmesan for sprinkling, ham and cream cheese roll-ups, chicken and bacon pasta salad, club sandwich roll-ups, meatballs in barbecue sauce, sausage/cheese dip, Key Lime pie (oh, actually I bought that from Publix), Little Smokies in (a different) barbecue sauce, imported cheese platter with assorted crackers, flank steak with soy/ginger/garlic/lime sauce.  For beverages I had water, Coke, Diet Coke and Sprite; beer: pilsner, lager and stout; wine: Riesling and Cabernet.

It was a good turnout; we had just over fifty people.  Alan's and my immediate family were all there, college friends of his from around the state and as far as Alabama came, colleagues, close friends from many and varied sources - it was a great crowd.

I was expecting closer to sixty but there were complications, as always.  One couple had a pipe burst thanks to the cold weather and were stuck at home waiting on a plumber.  One friend told me she might have to work, an unexpected project having come up, but she'd try to make it.  Another friend of mine works for FedEx and even though she's not a driver, FedEx was way behind thanks to the major ice storm so all FedEx employees had to work that Saturday, and she wasn't getting off work until 2 hours after the party started, at a location about an hour away.  So those things, I completely understood.  Still, some people RSVP'd yes and just didn't show, and haven't said anything to me since like, "Oh, sorry but [this] happened." That kind of hurt my feelings, but not in a life-destroying way.

I totally overbought on the food and booze, but that was no surprise to anyone.  I overdo it when Nancy is coming to hang for Girls' Day, or when we're getting together with one other family.  So we all knew I was gonna overdo it, I overdid it and the no-shows really had no impact on how bad I overdid it, because I would have anyway.

Next up:  my way total meltdown freak-out the morning of his party!