Hi...it's me. The one that's been sitting on the couch for the past 7 hours (I keep editing the hours cause I've been at this for half the day). In my pajamas. Feeling = different. Lazy, head-achy, tired, restless, wasting the day, sick. On the one hand, I feel like cooking and working on my cards, on the other: I know this is the best thing I could be doing. I wish it was 9 AM again so I had more hours of the day. The TV is on and that's a rare thing unless I'm watching a specific favorite show. I've had the Biography channel on and watched an episode about N'SYNC and another on Britney Spears while reading the Sunday paper and editing my photos. And eating. I had a cheese omelet with a half bagel for breakfast. This is the same person who has oatmeal 345 days a year for breakfast. I'm approximating here. I had 5 leftover meatballs for lunch with a slice of the delicious dessert Bon brought to the party. I did drink 2 cups of coffee today and the caffeine is not sitting well with me. Oh, you want to hear about the party? OK, let me just run upstairs and take some Motrin and Sudafed.

The party was a huge success; I'm just saying. I thought the house looked perfect. The stage was set. Bon was here and wrote about it on her blog. The fridge was filled with Amstel Light and the cutest 7 oz bottles of Coronita that I bought thinking they were full-sized. Turns out to be the perfect size--they get finished instead of put aside when they get warm. There was lots of wine, sodas and bottled water. Let's see if I can remember the food. My friend Kathy made an awesome baked Brie and a shrimp mold. Another friend made brushetta, another, wings, and my neighbor her chili con queso with sausage. I made bourbon meatballs, a bread bowl dip with chipped beef, chutney cheese spread, baked artichoke dip, baked spinach balls, and chillied nuts. Kit brought an amazing platter with Shoreline Seafood's famous crab balls. For dessert we had decadant treats made my my friends Bon, Cathi, Bethanne and Laura, along with one I made. So, lots of good food to eat and drinks to drink. The house was filled. I think there might have been about 40 people. Emily was a perfect helper and took care of all the coats, and was in charge of the oven. Her boyfriend kept his eye on the recycling receptacle and the trash. People mingled and mixed. It was nice to show my home to my co-workers and others that were here for the first time, since I'm such a home kind of person and it really reflects a big part of me. The hard part of hosting a large party is that you never get to spend enough time with your guests. I realize being the host means that you're a facilitator. You put all the elements together/set the stage. I think my guests really enjoyed themselves. By about 11:00, my cold was back with a vengeance. It was hard to talk without coughing. I had a headache. I knew how I was feeling, but I put on a good act. I'd say most everyone left by 11:30, and Emily, JD and I went into clean-up mode. Emily washed every single thing. JD dried it all. I brought everything down to the basement. The house was once again spotless. I was sneezing, coughing and very head-achy by then, but happy that I felt great for the most important part of the night. Oh, and it only rained. No snow, no ice, total wrong prediction, thank goodness.

While I carried my camera around, I hardly took any pictures. I really regret that. None of them capture the mood of the evening. Still, here's a peek:
















I can't believe it's 5:00 already. I've had the food channel on for the last few hours. Emily's been at JD's house, and just called to ask if she can go out to dinner with his family. That's fine. They're going to an all-you-can eat place, and if I felt better I'd ask to go along. Cause I never lose my appetite, and I'm really hungry.

If I don't end it here, you all will never hear about last night, so, later!