I don't mind the rat race but I could do with a little more cheese.

On Friday I left work very late because 1) I had no plans for the evening other than vegging before the tube and 2) there was plenty of work to keep me occupied for long stretches of time. Bossman happened to hope onto the company IM and asked what the heck I was still doing in the office. He appreciated my dedication and asked me to thank my husband for sacrificing family time with me. Eh. Hubbyfink thought I was at the gym and I was in the zone and doing my favorite type of work: design documents. I did eventually go home and zone out before the boob tube.

On Saturday I sprang out of bed at the crack of 9:30, donned my exercise togs, stuffed a couple of small parcels in a fanny pack and took my usual extended weekend walk through the neighborhood and up to the post office. It was such a gorgeous day. The temperature was in the upper 30s/low 40s but I was quite comfy with my earmuff headphones and a light jacket. Lots of people were out raking leaves or holding yardsales or walking dogs. I love those little slices of suburban Americana. When I returned home, I discovered to my surprise and delight that Hubbyfink had emptied and reloaded the dishwasher, started laundry, and vacuumed the house. He said he felt guilty about playing a video game while I was working out. I thanked him profusely and told him that I will never, ever be angry with him for doing housework. After cleaning up, we spent the rest of the afternoon grocery shopping, dropping off recyclables, dropping off Goodwill donations, and hunting for the perfect replacement for the living room torchiere-with-reading-lamp whose base finally gave up all structural integrity. Hilarity ensued.

On Sunday I sprang out of bed at the crack of 8:30, surprising the heck out of Hubbyfink who is used to a wife who slumbers until 10 or so on the weekends. There were things to do and put away before my friends arrived at 1pm for a Slumber Party. Somehow, everything came together with lots of time to spare. Even food and drink prep went smoothly. The party itself was lightly attended, but my guests were enthusiastic and the consultant was as charming and hilarious as ever and we all had a grand time. The Sparkling Holiday Punch (cranberry, orange, lemon juices, a little sugar, and two bottles of champagne) was a hyoooge hit. The honeycrisp apple slices and warm caramel were gobbled up as was the cream cheese topped with cranberry-pomegranate chutney. Most of the guests stayed long after the consultant left and we gabbed as dusk turned into full-on dark. Ah, girl time: just what I needed. :)

I had the house set back to rights and most of the serving platters cleaned by the time Hubbyfink got home. He'd had fun killing jack-o-lanterns with swords at flonzy's house. Ah, boy time: just what Hubbyfink needed.

Whoo hoo! Happy New Year's eve, friends and neighbors! I'll see some of y'all tonight and some other of y'all tomorrow.