<p>I told DH that I am not in the festive mood for hospitality right now…though will get it together by this evening.
Did do the grocery shopping and have put a leaf in the dinning room table and set the table.
We have lots of holiday cookies so that is dessert–and fits in a “to-go” bag…haha.
They are bringing the libations though I might have to have a small martini before answering the door :rolleyes:
The adult friends can be fun to be with–it’s their kids that are high maintenance…at the same time I find my friend’s menu change requests based on their preferences soooo odd. I am not a waiter on a cruise ship! </p>
<p>Mamom, I think if we were really close to this family and did alot, then planning meals etc and bringing stuff etc would be normal. Like you are describing. Yet this is the second time they have come here this year, and we have had dinner at their place 2x in the last year to 18 mos. We know each other from church and community things over the last 10 years yet have not spent loads of time together…My DH said that perhaps the next time they invite us we should ask for calves liver and onions (which we enjoy) :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Well-- on the subject of New Years Eve…for us it will likely be a game night…and our family for NYE…I think will tackle Risk. Having played a 3 night marathon Monopoly game, also a night of Scrabble, and a different night of Rock Band, a few movie nights…
Our NYE will probably be Risk,
Dinner of egg fettucine with black truffle sauce, a great old red wine (Italian) , Pandora and Grappa.
New Years Day I will do a Chicken Tagine. I did a Lamb Tagine for Chirstmas Day and it was wonderful AND since it cooked slowly in the clay tagine for nearly 2 hrs, it was an easy meal.
I bought a couple of half gallons of Blue Bell homestyle Vanilla ice cream and the kids and DH will liekly make themselves eggnog milkshakes. I hope they eat alot of these cookies etc or I will be throwing them out after school is back in session.</p>
<p>Black truffle fettucine, yum. We were supposed to have truffled mac & cheese Xmas Eve(S explained to me that Xmas isn’t sacreligious & I now know more about the usage that I thought possible) but the chef was being frugal this year & used mushrooms, not the same thing.
I wound buy some for a New Years meal. but they would likely go to waste. I think I am cooking New Years day. NYE might be a movie & some waffles later.</p>
<p>gosh no, I don’t have a kid in your year, just the ones a year ahead and above. I know you have some parents here with older kids also, but just want to say again, to feel free to come to our class of 2014 thread to ask any questions you might have. We named our thread “and beyond” as you did also, because this is a journey which isn’t always straight, hang in there with whatever comes your way.</p>
<p>Hi, fog, what time is dinner on NYE? We’ll be there - black truffles and old Italian wine sounds perfect. You don’t have to change your menu for us - we promise to appreciate it all. And my younger one is a demon Risk player! :)</p>
<p>In real life, we are planning to go to a Christmas Lessons and Carols service and then dinner at a Persian restaurant. We often go to a movie, but there don’t seem to be showings of anything we want to see after 7pm. So we’ll come home early, watch the ball drop on tv, and open some champagne.</p>
<p>New Years Day will be fondue several ways. S wants beef tenderloin and a variety of veggies in hot oil. We’ll also do a cheese one with either pesto or porcini, can’t make up my mind, and chocolate with fresh fruits to dip for dessert. The diet will have to wait for 2 January.</p>
<p>Monday will be our last day of vacation together, as S’s HS starts up again on Tuesday and D leaves that afternoon for an a capella tour before classes resume the following week. I was worried that I would be feeling sad with everyone going off again, but I am actually looking forward to getting more time to myself so I can get going on my ever-growing to-do list. Happy New Year, everyone!</p>
<p>Fog - can I drop by for dessert? As a transplanted Texan, I can’t find Bluebell anywhere and my girls and I really do miss it! Actually, it runs in our family… my mom just told me that she found an open container of Bluebell with a spoon in it in their extra freezer… seems my dad was having a little trouble giving up his nightly ice cream habit while they were on Weightwatchers…lol</p>
<p>coffee’s on! fruit and donuts are on the counter! come on in and help yourself! I get paid the last day of the month so I am heading to the grocery store here soon before it gets too crazy with party shoppers. I will be back in a minute, the door is unlocked so make yourself at home!</p>
<p>Thanks for the coffee bajamm! I’ll pass on the donuts, but fruit sounds lovely. I had way too many sweets this holiday.</p>
<p>I was up early to make sure my D got up by 7AM. She and her BF are goign to Boston to enjoy some of the First Night activities. They are hoping to get to the Museum of Fine Arts by 10AM so that they can get free admission. They plan to come back her and ring in the New Year with us. I may need to take a nap later on so that I can stay awake.</p>
<p>Today, we will finish undecorating the house. The ornaments and lights are already put away. We need to take the tree out today and vacuum up the 5million needles that dropped :(. D2s birthday is on Monday, so we like to have all of Christmas put away before her birthday- plus I have time this weekend to do it.</p>
<p>Fogfog, sounds like a great menu. We won’t come close to that.</p>
<p>We got in to Mexico last night. We rented this elegant house on the beach. Had dinner at a local place – looks like the clientele are locals and American expats – and the cost was incredibly low $14 for 4 people (no beer). We then went to the local supermarket and probably couldn’t assemble the same meal at that price. Not such great selection at the local store. There is a Costco in Cabo San Lucas and an organic farmers’ market in San Jose del Cabo, if we want to drive an hour, but we’re in a pretty isolated town and I’m not interested in driving.</p>
<p>ShawWife and I went for a long walk on the beach (sounds like match.com material) as the sun rose. ShawSon worked out on the deck while we were out. ShawD slept.</p>
<p>NYE for the Shaw family: We’ll go to a local restaurant for dinner (probably a little more upscale), we’re thinking we can make a bonfire on the beach (just want to make sure we don’t get arrested), fill out our time capsule questionnaires, have some champagne at midnight. Maybe we’ll get some tequila and make margaritas.</p>
<p>Boychild and I drove to CT for new family baby’s bris yesterday. He is perfect and not a peep out of him even when he got snipped. </p>
<p>Today he is off with friends to the outlet mall in MA and then an all night party at a friends.
DH and I are going to take dogs for a long walk, pick up a few things at the market, go to the movies, out for a bite and then settle in with champagne to watch the ball drop.</p>
<p>same here emilybee!
Happy New Year to all!
My dh and I are going to a card party at a friends house. If tradition holds I will be awarded the prize for worst score of the night! It is usually a fun evening!</p>
<p>Wishing everyone a blessed evening and many for 2012.
2011 was quite a year for all.</p>
<p>Off to make dinner etc.
Just soaked some dried porchini to add to the pasta.
and I am making a lemon tart–did the pastry about an hr ago. The filling is one done in a blender. If it works, I will post, as it include 1 Meyer lemon—all pulverzied.
I don’t cook like this everyday, so for the few days (weeks) during the holidays I don’t mind…it is fun. </p>
<p>This week after kiddo heads back to the U, I start the diet. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>On a followup to my dinner guests last night…</p>
<p>So I have cheddar and pepper jack for the cheeses of choice for the burgers…their ds wanted american and I repeatedly told him we didn’t have it…this is what there is–take it or leave it off…
Had an assortment of condiments including buffalo sauce, blue cheese dressing, dijon and deli mustards, ketchup, pepperoncini rings, dill pickle slices, Heinz 57, HP steak sauce, and sweet pickle relish for condiments…their ds wanted honey mustard. Nope. sorry don’t have that either…
So… their ds takes 2 burgers on his plate (with slices of both chesses) --consumes the tops of the buns and leaves the rest…
…with some “encouragement” from me and both of his parents he did finally eat the meat from burgers while the rest of us waited–everyone else had long since finished and we were being polite. </p>
<p>My elder kiddo told me today that this kid “is a jerk”…“don’t like him at all…”</p>
<p>Oh, and their dd who wanted a hot dog instead of a burger–ended up not coming with them after all…</p>
<p>^^^ How old is this kid??? Do I recall you saying 12 or 14? Your kiddo was rather polite in just calling him a “jerk”. Pass the frying pan - the LARGE one! He is worse than some 4 and 5 years olds we know. And I don’t think the parents are much better for permitting that kind of behavior and the bad manners.</p>
<p>Happy New Year’s Eve to all. Sounds like a great list of parties and get togethers.</p>
<p>fogfog, that is hilarious. We have a friend who was brought up in a household in which things were quite unpredictable (not always good) and things were typically out of her control. Now, many years later, you can see her seeking to control things even when there is no reason to. So, for years, she would call up if she were coming to dinner, ask about the menu, and come up with reasons it had to be changed. She decided that her child had a food allergy, even when said child eats the things she says he is allergic to. Then it evolved to her having a sympathetic allergy (she doesn’t as far as I can tell). It was really annoying to ShawWife until she did the following. When the friend would call and try to alter the menu, ShawWife would say, “That makes sense. If you need to have something else in the meal, you bring it.” The behavior has diminished and she ends up bringing stuff at times. Our friend is as generous as they come and really generous with our kids, but does exhibit strange behavior in response to her upbringing.</p>
<p>Your unpleasant guest does not sound the same, but perhaps there is something underlying the behavior other than a combination of selfishness and obliviousness to social norms.</p>
<p>Happy New Year everyone! Just wanted to say thanks to you all for sharing this journey with me… here’s to another great year for our kids and for us!</p>
<p>I think this is the year I will sort of start deciding what direction to take with my 8th grade son with learning disabilities. He is not twice exceptional, he is not gifted like his older sister, just the LD’s. C’s with a very occasional B are the best grades we will likely be able to expect from him in high school. We will need to decide how his high school path will start this fall and that will affect college applications and decisions in a few years. Just how I learned how to do this with one kid the other one comes along and needs a different type of support and I need to learn it all over again.</p>
<p>Fogfog, that was really rude of your guest. How did the gathering go?</p>
<p>We just came back yesterday from a short overnight to Nashville. Had a great visit and made even better by the free hotel stay provided by my husband’s many hotel points. It certainly has made me less unhappy when he travels a lot, and it will be much, much, more this year. AS I told him when we passed some vacation home place, you don’t need a vacation home since our home is almost like a vacation home for you. </p>
<p>NYE was spent going to a wonderful Huntsville Symphony Pops Concert featuring cinematic music with the whole family and then going home and watching a Mystery show we had on DVD all together. Cream puffs for all the rest of them (I don’t like them) and then tooting horns at midnight and going to bed.</p>