Since my internet was down last week, here’s a recap on what’s been happening. It all began last weekend when hubby headed out of town for ministry and I picked up the phone to order pizza…no, not to party – yet -  but because it was my business tax deadline weekend – ugh – and I had to concentrate.  The kitchen became my complete domain (in actual fact I do rule there most of my life ) but this time every square inch of counter space, table space and chair space was covered in paperwork, pencils, paperclips, adding machine, files…then, seeing that my man was away and I had worked so hard and been such a good girl (my taxes filed on time whoo-hoo!) and seeing that I needed some down-time, I invited 3 of my favorite people in northern California to come over and snack and craft the next night.  I love hanging out with people while we create something fun; I just haven’t done it in awhile.  So we had a snack buffet – gotta have great munchies if you’re gonna have a great time! -  and a stamping buffet and we created some really cheesy and gaudy cards that we may not give to anyone on the planet, but we had a marvelous time just being friends.  They’d done some detective work and found out it was my birthday the next day, so they showed up at the door  with a scrumptious chocolate cake complete with a flaming sparkler and some delightful presents for the birthday girl.  They left about 11, the boys went to bed and I actually watched a movie.  For me to SIT DOWN and watch a movie (without falling asleep) is a pretty big deal.  But hey, it’s my birthday weekend, right?!  It was a stupid movie – drats.   I was really irritated that I kept waiting for it to be good and wasted 90 minutes of my life!  The next day – Sunday – was church and Superbowl fun  – the boys organized a last-minute S.B. gathering at our house (they had taped the game) that lasted ’til midnight and when we woke up on Monday, it was time for the boys and I  to clean the house in time for hubby’s return.A few days later our almost-17-year-old took his driver’s test, passing with flying colors!  That was such an accomplishment and reason to celebrate that I let him drive to Starbucks to treat himself to the drink of his choice: a grande’ iced black and white mocha – pure decadence.  Later that day, big brother Ben from Seattle flew in for a few days of sunshine and fun and a field trip to the beach with the fam…and then it started raining.  Uh…cancel that beach trip.  Triple ARGH.  But never fear, a little rain won’t ‘dampen’ our spirits – we’ll just EAT. The Miras love their food!  We began to list our favorites…homemade spaghetti, meatballs, manicotti, Italian sausages, rustico bread and Caesar salad with homemade dressing…and to top it all off, homemade apple pie with vanilla ice cream.  The next day our dear Cindy (my assistant, adopted family member, close friend, aunt, sister…you get the picture) flew in, we headed straight to the grocery store (seriously), unpacked her bag and we started cookin’! This Italian meal is a two-day operation and here we are on day one, rolling meatballs and stirring sauce.

The next day our friend Joey from Tacoma flew in. He’d heard about our feast Just kidding.  But he was very happy to join in the fun!

We took a break from the kitchen to go to Seth’s basketball game.  He scored a pile of points to help the team maintain their currently undefeated status – hurraaay! Then we returned home and finished our feast preparation.  Lastly, the pie went into the oven….mmm. (The cooks have been jogging daily to defy the effects of such feasting fyi.)

It’s Sunday night, everyone’s tucked in at the Mira Motel and tomorrow begins another week of…who knows what?! Never a dull moment around here…