Will the party ever end?

yes, I'm sure it will........


But, for now....there's remnants of Friday's 18th birthday/Graduation Celebration to deal with as well as gearing up for today's more intimate family dinner at Hyde Park. The dishwasher has been running non stop for the past 24 hours, I'm still boxing up mountains of cookies and packaging up all those leftovers. The dining room table is piled high with who knows what and I still have ice chests filled to the brim. As much as I'd love to say that I am one of those people who manages to regroup and get back to the business at hand after a rather major event--it isn't so. No, no, not at all. Imagine if I would have had the party at our house instead of at this lovely facility overlooking a pristine pool and just think if I wouldn't have had this wonderfully imaginative and super delicious caterer! It wouldn't have been pretty....
Yes, I can say one thing--if I would have done all of the cooking (as is my usual m.o.) and had it here at the house (which is what I usually do), I would be blogging from a hospital bed!! Trust me! Putting on a big party is no easy thing. Even for us seasoned party girls. But, I have tell you--I couldn't have done any of this 100 pounds ago. And, most likely I wouldn't have.....

Yet, I'm not alone in being totally wiped out from Friday's gala....
Yesterday, everyone here nursed their aching and tired bodies while I did some very minor errands, tried to make some sense of the madness that took over the house and worked on figuring out how in the hell I am going to get on with more pressing matters---packing us up for our annual 2 weeks at the beach (we leave on Friday!). Soon....I just gave up, grabbed a pile of pillows, laid down on the couch and joined the rest of my family for some TV bonding time. We were all passed out before 9 pm......

So, I'll get around to posting pictures and sharing more stories from the road as soon as I get to the bottom of my piles of to-do lists.
For now....it's back to the kitchen for me!