A Year of Blogging: February 11, 2011

February 11 was 'Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk' day. Don't worry about the small stuff. Crap happens, you just have to learn to deal with it. Easier said than done, but I am trying. We planned to have Erich's folks over tonight for dinner. Erich's birthday is in a couple of days, so this was also the annual 'have his parents over to celebrate his birthday' dinner. I had grand plans for dinner: a beef stew (one of his favorites), biscuits, and two desserts: key lime cupcakes for Erich and something else for anyone (myself) who doesn't like key lime. It was going to be a very nice dinner. The reality was far from my plans. Last night I re-read the key lime cupcake recipe, and decided it was more work than I could handle. So I found a recipe for a key lime poke cake- you poke holes in the cake and fill it with a key lime filling. It sounded easier than the cupcakes which had a filling, glaze, and frosting. I planned to go out to the the store first thing this morning, and start baking. Then my father called at 7:30 this morning, my Grandmother was much worse. Erich called his parents and told them the dinner party may be off. I waited until about 3pm before I finally decided we would still have the dinner party. By then, it was too late to make a dessert. I started working on the stew, and sent Erich to the store. I told him to get a small plain cheesecake. One of my coworkers told me she had some of the raspberry jam I made over plain cheesecake and it was delicious. So that was the emergency dessert plan! Erich forgot to call his parents until 4pm to tell them the party was on. His dad had just eaten a little, and his mom had gone out. I sat here at 5:30, with food ready, and I wasn't sure I had any company coming. But I didn't fret. If they didn't come, we still had to eat. Just as I started to wonder if they were coming, the dogs spotted them walking in front of the house. When I served the stew, it was much thicker than normal, and looked a little more orange. I think the carrots and potatoes started to break down, thickening the broth. It wasn't the prettiest, but it tasted great, and everyone left full. And the cheater dessert went well too, and was just enough. So while it wasn't the fabulous dinner party I envisioned, it turned out fine. And at least the house looked great- I used my negative energy today to clean! Right now, the last thing I'm crying over is spilled milk!