Ok. A little background. In a show that we're not hermits that prefer the comforts of the bed, pajamas, tivo and takeout, my hubby and I have begun to invite friends and family over for dinner. Nothing major. Usually 2-3 people at a time. This week my husband has decided to invite his father, his stepsis, his stepmom, his aunt, his uncle and his cousin and wife. Last I counted, that does not total 2-3. But I'm up for the challenge. Then it dawns on me just who I'm entertaining....

So my father-in-law called me last night. He called on his handsfree car phone to tell me he's allergic to soy. At least it sounded like soy. Could have been poi or koi. He was a bit muffled and quite low. BTW, if it's soy, does soy sauce count?Anyway, if that's a weird call, you should hear some of the calls from my mother-in-law. But I'm digressing. My husband also said his sister is allowed dairy on special occasions only. Dairy for special occasions? First, what's a special occ...

Quote of the day: "Yeah, the worm is causing havoc but I keep telling myself it's job security." -- IT Help Desk at work Mom called yesterday. She said that the original plans to have my Uncle from Chicago over for dinner in two weeks has to be changed. His flight leaves on Saturday. Is it possible to have it during the week? I told her that unfortunately, I'm covering for a colleague who is out on vaca and I will be swamped that week. Mom: "Well, how about Friday?" citygirl: "M...

My cousin im'd me for advise on her first fulltime adult job. I then recapped my career for her and suddenly realized how I fell into my job all out of circumstance. I had always wanted to be a journalist. How the heck did I become a software system analyst? I don't regret it. I like my job. I'd love it if I was sitting on my butt and getting fed wine and massaged frequently. [Yes, I know that's a Kobe Beef, I just described. And yes, if I were to be reincarnated as an animal, I bel...

So everything that could go wrong, went wrong. But it wasn't anything to cry about. It was more of a cosmic, planets-not-aligned right thing. First, I woke up early and decided to take a nice soothing bath, then a quick shower to start the day right. I got caught up on checking my work email that I overflowed my bathroom. My squeaky clean (just cleaned last night) bath rugs and towels were soaking wet. All I could think of was upsetting my neighbors with water damage and quickly dryed...

So pops called and cancelled. Baby sis is sick. This doesn't phase me. It could explain why I wasn't going crazy coordinating and planning this shindig. (My rants the last few days on the meal, ain't nothing.) I guess I knew he'd cancel. Why? It's been a trend whenever we invite them to dinners, family functions or anything that deals with family. My husband acts like it doesn't phase him. And I guess it doesn't. Well, it did for a while. Then he went off on his pop's one day...

Now all I have to say is, thank God for my cousin-in-law. She came first and let me tell you, seeing her was such a calming effect. Ok, the wine and seeing her were equally soothing. She helped me put out the appetizers and we spent a half hour in the kitchen talking about our husbands and how they have this annoying trait called the M trait. The M trait is a trait found in all men in our hubby's father's side of the family. When the M men set their mind on something, they fixate on it u...

So it happened. Dinner for my hubby's aunt, uncle, father, stepmom, stepsis, cousin and cousin-in-law happened last night. Well, yesterday afternoon. 11:45 1st beer: After I wrote last, I went back to my sabayon. Things in the kitchen didn't get any better. First my sabayon looked darker than I imagined. I should have known the merlot would darken it. Then as I was whipping the cream, the heat in the kitchen caused the cream to curdle. Plan B: Empty out freezer and place pan and...

My hubby told his family to arrive at 3pm. 3pm! The house is a mess. I just finished buying the groceries and my husband has turned all the power off so he can install a new light switch in all places, the kitchen. At the grocery store, my husband, who promised to help me shop for his family's dinner, leaves me for home depot. He conveniently returns just as I make my way to checkout. As I desperately reach over the cart to unload the goods onto the conveyor, my darling hubby stan...

I left my poor pooches in the most humid state imaginable. I feel terrible. I left all the windows wide open, even though a threat of thundershowers was forecast. I even boosted the fan to medium. My pooches have been spoiled. In our previous apartments, electricity was included in our maintenance. We left the apartment at a cool 65 degrees all day. The server was happy. The fish were happy. The dogs were in the lap of luxury. Now I imagine my two dogs sitting in our bathtub to ke...

We put up an air conditioner last night. The behemoth model in the living room will have to wait until my hubby's buddies can assist. We spent the night in the bedroom. We may be spending more summer nights in the bedroom. We haven't had an electric bill in over 5 years. At this new apartment, we almost had a heart attack looking at the electric bill for last month. Everything in our place has a dimmer. I turn everything off and leave the hallway light on the lowest dim setting possi...

So my frog died. I have a frog at work. He keeps me company. His name was Clyde. I received him during a time when I started feeling a bit bored at work. I'm still bored but that's another story. I called in sick yesterday and apparently he didn't take to that too well. I'll clean him out in a while. For now, I'm just staring at his bloated carcass. I wrote to my hubby to tell him the news. I also told him that one of his betta fish keeled over. He responded, "One of my fis...

Apparently the vegetarian/quadruple bypass/kid eats only carbs dinner is back on. It's scheduled for this Saturday. I'm not fretting over it. Very unlike me. I've decided it will be fish or meat. The vegetarian and carb eater can munch on the pasta with broccollini. I'm probably going to make a cake just for simplicity sake. This past weekend my mother came over for Mother's Day dinner. My brother and I couldn't agree on a steakhouse (mom loves steak) and decided that meetin...

Maybe it's because I'm turning 30. Or maybe I'm just tired. But lately, I've been wondering what my career plans are. I never wanted to be a project manager. I wanted to be a journalist. I wanted to write personal interests stories. Now, I work in the healthcare IS industry and have steadily pushed for a senior status for the last two years. Now, I know my performance warrants the position. I know the company knows this but I've been told budget constraints prohibit it. Now, if I...

Because I love my husband and I enjoy aggravating my ulcer, I decided to throw a surprise birthday party for my hubby. If party planning isn't bad enough, I'm doing this hush hush and all by myself. I'm a bit stressed as is and yet I get a call from my pop-in-law to tell me: 1) Did you know that you scheduled it in September? Yes, your son's birthday is in september. 2) Why did you write to rsvp to your email address? Won't hubby read it? No, we have private emails. BTW, pop...