Days 7 & 8

We had company for supper yesterday. It was great fun - we get along really well with this couple, and their three children are very close in age to our three, and the six of them have a blast together. My only complaint is that I spent WAY too much time worrying about food! This was the first time we had their family over, and I wasn't sure what they enjoy, particularly the children. So for dinner I made pulled pork (on buns for them), homemade BBQ sauce, tossed salad (one of the dressings was homemade), two big gluten-free pepperoni pizzas (with homemade pizza sauce), and double batches of two different kinds of cookies. I'd also prepped everything for a fajita frittata, but I ran out of steam. Good thing, too! We have plenty of leftovers of everything as it is!

After supper, the other mother and I met several other friends at the theatre to see Les Mis for our monthly Girls' Night. I'm generally not a fan of musicals, but this wasn't the kind I dislike. I just hate it when people are sitting around, having a normal conversation and suddenly burst into song, complete with showy choreography. I, for one, enjoyed Hugh Jackman's performance, though some of my companions found him "disappointing". My biggest accomplishment though, was getting through a long movie without craving popcorn or Diet Coke ONCE!

(The big downer was the sleep issue. The movie ended late, and the roads were bad on the way home, so it was about 12:15 before I staggered to my bed. Francis was still awake, so we ended up chatting for an hour. I'd just started to doze when Baby Belle started calling for me. I "slept" on her floor from 1:30am until she woke me up at 5:55am.)

Breakfast - Eggs scrambled with sauteed onion, served over cherry tomatoes and crumbled bacon. And two big cups of half-decaf!
Lunch - Tuna salad with sliced cucumber and more cherry tomatoes. (We buy them at Costco and go through them FAST!)
Supper - Pulled pork with homemade BBQ sauce topped with pickled banana peppers, red onion and avocado, with a side of tossed salad with a balsamic vinaigrette.
Snacks - Realized too late that I actually cheated a bit - I had a banana AND a slice of the banana bread. Whoops!

Today was "Christmas, Part Three" - our day to celebrate with my husband's side of the family. The day involved a lot of gift-wrapping and baking in preparation, and by the end of it I was very glad I wasn't the one in charge of hosting or cooking! To be honest, I wasn't really in the mood for "Christmas". I started spotting a few days before Christmas this year, and we did our Christmas celebration with my parents as I was miscarrying. The holidays had a really sad shadow hanging over them this year, and I would really rather just put it all behind me.

Breakfast - Eggs scrambled with sauteed red onion and bell peppers with two slices of bacon.
Lunch - Leftover pulled pork and salad.
Supper - One chicken thigh, three small slices of lamb, some sausage stuffing, roasted broccoli and cauliflower and sauteed baby bok choy.
Snacks - Two slices of banana bread, and too much coffee.