Lessons Learned
Apr. 27th, 2010 12:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
batskeetsSo, yes, I'm 30 today. The day is half-over, and I do not feel like an old person yet. This is good.
This also meant that some serious celebrating need to happen, so Saturday was pretty damned crazy. I was up until 3am on Friday night working on my space helmet, and then I spent over four HOURS on Saturday cleaning the house. D: As the afternoon wore on and I kept scrubbing, I started to worry about having enough time to pull everything together, and by the time I finished, it was 5pm. I'd actually forgotten to eat lunch because I was so busy cleaning.
Anyhoo, I rolled on over to Lippman Co. to use my Groupon and pick up decorations, thinking that, yes, I could still pull this thing off. But, when I got there ten minutes later, I found that Lippman Co. was closed for the day. CUE PANIC.
I ran around Wal-Mart and JoAnn looking for party things, didn't find anything in the thematic vein that I was hoping for, and by the time I got back with those, it was 6:15 and I was running through the house trying to do about 10 set-up things simultaneously. Fortunately, my friends came trickling in one by one with offers of assistance, and it all came together in those last few terrifying minutes.
And from there, it was AWESOME. Lesson learned: asking for help? Sometimes, it actually works. ;)
The rest will be in list-type format:
In conclusion, I think I've realized that I'd generally rather GO to a big party than throw one. It's not even the prep or the cleanup, it's just that I find it so much harder to connect with people when I'm hosting, and I inevitably end the evening feeling like I didn't see enough of anyone who attended. I was so wound up and distracted by making sure everyone had a good time that I couldn't really stay in one spot for long, nor have a proper conversation. For the first hour or two, I had trouble even thinking of where to start one.
But, all said, it was pretty freakin' epic. I had a lot of reason to smile. And I still do. :)
This also meant that some serious celebrating need to happen, so Saturday was pretty damned crazy. I was up until 3am on Friday night working on my space helmet, and then I spent over four HOURS on Saturday cleaning the house. D: As the afternoon wore on and I kept scrubbing, I started to worry about having enough time to pull everything together, and by the time I finished, it was 5pm. I'd actually forgotten to eat lunch because I was so busy cleaning.
Anyhoo, I rolled on over to Lippman Co. to use my Groupon and pick up decorations, thinking that, yes, I could still pull this thing off. But, when I got there ten minutes later, I found that Lippman Co. was closed for the day. CUE PANIC.
I ran around Wal-Mart and JoAnn looking for party things, didn't find anything in the thematic vein that I was hoping for, and by the time I got back with those, it was 6:15 and I was running through the house trying to do about 10 set-up things simultaneously. Fortunately, my friends came trickling in one by one with offers of assistance, and it all came together in those last few terrifying minutes.
And from there, it was AWESOME. Lesson learned: asking for help? Sometimes, it actually works. ;)
The rest will be in list-type format:
- The costume turned out brilliantly. There are a few details I'd like to add before wearing it again, but given the time crunch, it rocked. My only complaint was that I couldn't wear the helmet for long due to A) being too warm, and B) not being able to hear so well. My cranium is large, and the helmet was a tight fit.
- Hoshit,
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katlyn and circeramone brought the Pretty. Definite glamorous dress envy! - Whenever I mix social circles, there's always a moment of apprehension on my part about everyone getting along. But when it works? SO GREAT. I recall a point in the party where someone commented on monkeyhole's t-shirt, and then there was a flurry of geeking out about W00t Shirts from people in like three different social circles. Seeing the people I love getting on well with each other fills me with happiness.
- So many hugs! And at the same time, not enough of them! It was so fantastic to see everyone; I wanted there to be ten of me so I could give you all more of my attention.
- I most definitely need the recipe for the beverage that xplo_eristotle made, because that stuff was tasty.
- Speaking of needing the recipe: Bacon. Wrapped. DATES. I burned my mouth a little on the first one, but holy crap. SO WORTH IT. Aaaghghskldahfklhgfl. (<-- that is the sound of me stuffing piping-hot deliciousness in my mouth)
- Months of not drinking + metric tons of weight loss = zero alcohol tolerance. (poor Andy!)
- Staying up until 5am may not have been the wisest choice on my part. How did that even happen? But a lot of it involved kicking it on the couch with marykae, so I consider that a good trade for sleep. ;)
- SO MANY THANK YOUS. daemonwise for wrangling a metric crapton of party snacks. katlyn for helping with party snacks AND an 11th-hour WinCo run. herince_emyn for making the adorable and delicious cupcakes *and* a CD to add to my playlist. matrixleap, marykae, bychoice, bodhranist for coming early to help with decorating. circeramone for responding to my Twitter panic attack and getting many bags of ice. Travis for hauling his Rock Band gear over for the party. Ben for getting the music going when I couldn't focus on my laptop for long enough to figure it out myself. bellybalt for taking awesome photos that brought all the happy feelings back in again when I looked through them. I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting somebody, but I'm so grateful for all of it. I can't even express how much.
In conclusion, I think I've realized that I'd generally rather GO to a big party than throw one. It's not even the prep or the cleanup, it's just that I find it so much harder to connect with people when I'm hosting, and I inevitably end the evening feeling like I didn't see enough of anyone who attended. I was so wound up and distracted by making sure everyone had a good time that I couldn't really stay in one spot for long, nor have a proper conversation. For the first hour or two, I had trouble even thinking of where to start one.
But, all said, it was pretty freakin' epic. I had a lot of reason to smile. And I still do. :)
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no subject
Date: 2010-04-27 08:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-27 09:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-27 09:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-28 02:10 am (UTC)Seriously, though, your party sounds great and I hope the good vibes last. When you get the recipe for the bacon-wrapped dates, please post. I have two friends who would love it. ^_^
no subject
Date: 2010-04-29 05:03 pm (UTC)1) Dates (pitted or not, works either way)
2) Goat Cheese (if you can only find one with herbs or something, they work just fine). You don't need too much, a little goes a long way.
3) Bacon
Take the pits out of the dates if they have them; if they don't, just put a small slice in each one.
Stuff a piece of goat cheese into each one, just enough to fill it up.
Wrap each date with 1/2 piece of bacon.
Pre-heat an oven to about 450-ish; arrange the dates on a cookie sheet in a single layer and bake for about 15 minutes, a little longer if your tray is really full.
Super easy, super tasty.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-30 03:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-28 02:41 am (UTC)The recipe, complete with imperfections and metric/imperial confusement:
4 l sparkling water
4 c pineapple juice
1/2 lb fresh ginger, peeled
2 T allspice berries
rind and juice from 1 lemon and 2 limes
1/2 c honey
1/2 c brown sugar
Grate, shred, blend, mince, or otherwise destroy the ginger as well as you can, and add everything but the water, honey, and sugar to a pot. Bring to a simmer or low boil and stir occasionally for about an hour.
Filter the mixture. Best way to do this is to use a mesh strainer for the first pass, and then cheesecloth for the second one.
Add the sweeteners and return to a simmer or low boil, cooking the mixture down until it's runny-yet-gloopy, like hot pancake syrup. At this point you can filter it again, using a coffee filter, or if you don't care that much, just let it cool.
Mix the syrup with the sparkling water.
Suggested improvements which I will try next time: increase ginger content by 50% (mmm, burny), reduce pineapple juice to 1 c (adding extra water as necessary for the initial boil), coarsely crush or grind the allspice berries so they give up more flavor, and don't drag the water all over town so it goes half-flat before I get to drink it! ;)
no subject
Date: 2010-04-28 05:27 am (UTC)HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
Much love and happiness!