A little Monday funny and Tales from the Weekend...

It's a gray and dreary day here today - perfect Monday weather, you know? And I thought we could all use a little laugh. : )

The Painters are scheduled to arrive in a bit to begin working on the foyer thereby ensuring that my *jealous* neighbors have good reason to continue to hate me. I say they're nucking futs and should just get over themselves. Being snotty to me is soooooo not a good way to get invited to dinner or to play... Oh, and the fence goes up this week too. So HA!

Anyhoo, lots going on. Even more to do... But my weekend was FANTASTIC!

I got to spend the weekend cooking and laughing with the sweet and sassy Christina!! Who came up to play even though the "friendly skies" weren't being so friendly. The timing couldn't have been any better for a good girlfriend retreat, especially given the week she had had just before our scheduled visit. And we applied the KISS rule in every way. Keep it simple. Relax. Eat well. Laugh much. Dang near whip your shirt off if someone spills beer on the new carpet. (That was a close call.) And did I mention laugh?? We laughed....

The great thing about Christina coming to visit (besides the obvious "Yay!" part) is the level of getterdone motivation she brought to this household. The builder guy was motivated. The installers. *I* was motivated. WxMan was motivated. This house saw some action! And while there is more to come - I am just really enjoying my space so much more. Especially my kitchen. Christina does wonders to a kitchen....

She had gifted me with a pressure cooker as a housewarming present, and then (knowing I felt intimidated by the thing, having never used one) showed me how to use it. Fantastic! I am going to have so much fun this fall and winter playing with recipes - and the roast beef that came out of it?? To DIE for... And she took the time to teach me to cook true to life honest to God Louisiana Gumbo (hence the picture below). It was good good medicine for both of us.

On Saturday I was delighted to play hostess to the lovely and talented Phoenix of Villains Vanquished and her adorable daughter. Especially since Christina prepared a most wonderful Shrimp Penne Alfredo for lunch. Mmmmmmmm.... (Like I said - we ate WELL this weekend.) We all spent the afternoon chatting like old friends who had been hanging out for years. Imagine that. It was wonderful! I was sorry that Phoenix had to leave after only a few hours, but she was expecting guests at *her* house (go Badgers!) that evening. It was lovely to meet her.

Then on a whim I had invited our former neighbors (much nicer than the aforementioned *jealous* ones around here) and a few others over to share in the fabulous pot of Gumbo, crawfish cornbread, and to check out all the fun we have going in the basement even though the "official" house warming party will be at the end of the month. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up, and Lord knows we had plenty of food. It was a perfect evening.

Yesterday dawned bright and sunny and the family and I (somewhat unwillingly since I didn't want the weekend to end) loaded up and headed to Chi-Town to see Christina off. Though I know her family was anxious to have her home, I felt as though our time had gone WAY TOO FAST. I cannot wait until we can spend time together again - hopefully with our families as well. Cannot. Wait.

So, many many thanks for making the trip, Christina - you are well loved and missed today...