2007: This is How We Do!

Wowee - I still haven't recovered from our New Year's festivities, which included a New Year's Eve party and the New Year's Day "Fiestamas." No, this is not because I drank too much (although there were a few people who can't say the same - you know who you are!). It helped that on Christmas I had the day after off. No such luck with New Year's Day - straight back to work! The hutch in the kitchen is still loaded with gear from the parties. I should put it away...or maybe since it's so convenient I should just have another party ; )

Charles, Suzanne and Caitlin came down from TN. I really enjoyed their visit, and it was nice to have Charles around for a change. He and Brian's dad hit it off and sat on the couch talking about motorcycles and drinking Bud for most of New Year's Eve. Oh, well - except for when Brian's dad (who is also Brian, but not Brian Sr.!) found out I had three-week-old margaritas in the fridge and was glad to help use them up!

Suzanne brought some good fireworks from TN - the kind we can't get here in GA. There were a couple of cool ones, like a huge $15 thing that sent arcs of exploding color into the air...once we finally got it lit (it got damp, so that was quite a challenge). Unfortunately, the neighbors once again showed us up with their display. They probably went to Alabama to buy it and spent $250. Grrrr...wait 'til next time! Charles says he knows how to pick out the good ones. We're just gonna have to pool our money so we can get the big guns.

I made Cosmopolitans on New Year's Eve, which went over well with everyone except those who had more than they should have. Or used them to wash down dark chocolate brownies. Or both. Ah, well, I guess that was almost everyone. Oops. I also made a couple of different kinds of fondue, including the traditional Swiss fondue. Mostly I made it because I had never made the thing that started the whole fondue craze. Once was enough - it was kinda stinky. The Mexican bean-chile fondue recipe is yummy, but next time I decide to serve more than one kind of fondue I'll go for the popular Not-Yo-Cheeze and make the additional one with Velveeta and salsa!

New Year's Day grub was muy delicioso, thanks to Brian's fantastic fajitas. When I found out Lisa & the gang couldn't come, and that Suzanne & Co. were pulling out in the morning, I scaled back, cutting out the Chicken Tortilla Soup. As it turns out that was not a good thing. There were still something like 10 people and we plowed through those fajitas like Sherman through Atlanta. I made a pitcher of margaritas and we drained that, too. I made Sopapillas for the first time, and they were easy and delicious. Everyone loved them except for the fact that I hovered in the kitchen while I was supposed to be helping my Cranium team. There were complaints about that but I didn't notice anyone protesting by not eating them.

Thanks to everyone that came (Brian, Amanda, Steve, Janet, Brian's dad Brian - ha - Christina, Michelle, Brandon, Caitlin, Suzanne, Charles, Angela, Chris, Ashley, Greg - am I forgetting anyone?) and hung out over the holidays. Y'all made it really fun and many of you helped with the load as well (Manda - food/drink, Janet, Angela, Christina - dishes, Brandon - sopapillas, Brandon & Michelle - bottle rocket cleanup, Chris & Ashley - game masters, Greg - last-minute chips, Steve, Charles, Brandon, Chris, Ashley - pyrotechnics, Brian - pretty much everything from home repair to dishes to cooking and serving). Sara and Grayson miss your company and the constant attention, and are looking forward to the next shindig. That will most likely be a Kenmore party. The date? As soon as I can replace my broken dishwasher!