First of all, a tad bit of housekeeping…
I appreciate those who have emailed and twittered me to tell me that from time to time, they cannot leave comments on the blog. I suspected it had to do with my spam software, because when I disabled it, commenters were suddenly rejoicing. Trouble was, so were the spammers.
So today I installed a new system. I know that it will be a pain, momentarily, to comment and fill out the ‘captcha’ letters, but once you do it, you’re not supposed to have to do it again in the future. Let’s give it a whirl and see how it goes…
Man oh man am I ever glad it’s Friday. I have had such a long week planning and preparing for a big event that I hosted last night at the Museum. About 250 guests, it went off without a hitch. Well, that’s not exactly true… there was a slight ‘hitch’. A hitch in my giddy-up, actually.
My feet.
My feet were (and still are) hurting terribly. Let’s look back over yesterday’s events and highlight them, shall we? Nothing like wallowing in misery…
3:30am: I finally decide to get out of bed because I cannot sleep due to nerves, stressing over the event that is 14 hours from now;
3:34: I make coffee;
6:45am: I drive to Huntsville and drop off the Kid at school and continue to work; I am dressed in jeans and a t-shirt with my running shoes.
7:15am: I sift through a list about the length of my left leg of things that still need to be finished in preparation for the evening event. I begin the list…
7:30-11:30 I climbed up and down ladders, screwed and unscrewed lightbulbs dangling 20 feet in the air and I made a dozen or so trips back and forth between the two buildings and clocked almost 5 miles on my pedometer. Feeling surprisingly calm and collected.
11:30am To Target to buy a pair of Assets (these are cheaper Spanx and are the same exact thing). Here are two tips that I will offer: Buy Assets at Target instead of spending MORE money on Spanx at Macys as they are the SAME THING. Other tip? Buy a size bigger than the grid on the back of the package indicates. You will be MUCH more comfortable this way… trust me, I know things.
At Target, I also bought some Vanilla Chai Tea. Oh how I love that.
12:00pm Return and guzzle tea while cutting out a piece of foam board to reinforce the broken foot of the life-sized Sam Houston cut out (yes, he was 6′6) that I have already walked to the other building and accidentally rammed into a bamboo tree (by which Sam had a minor ‘accident’).
12:30pm Apply foam board ‘fixer’ to Sam’s left foot and stand him up. Hook up audio equipment. Get movie I made earlier in the week working in the Auditorium and looping successfully! (What? You didn’t know I could make movies? Me either!)
1:30pm Work with staff to set up several tables and chairs for evening’s guests, check sound system, and sing an impromptu “Hokey Pokey” on the microphone to ensure that the sound carries throughout the building. A crowd forms. I feel my adrenaline begin to flow and I decide, “What the heck?” and I belt out my best Elvis impersonation while singing “Blue Christmas”.
1:40pm I get asked to stop singing.
2:0opm I scarf down a 6″ sub from Subway which I paid for with a credit card shoved into my back jean’s pocket (this becomes important later).
2:30pm I take my dress clothes and makeup bag and perform The Transformation in the women’s restroom and emerge a totally new person in a black dress, the aaforementioned Assets, and heels. I stash my stuff in my Assistant’s office and head out to help the Food Team prep and plate trays of food.
3:30 I begin to sweat, wondering how or why I decided to tackle hosting AND catering this event by myself only with the help of our staff. I go on a hunt for deoderant.
4:00 Official set up begins and meanwhile, the other half of our event begins at the other building of the Musem. Phone lines burn up as we put out fires between venues. All is under control!
5:00 The jazz trio arrives and begins to play. Food is plated and ready. Wine is poured. Servers begin serving. So far so good.
5:00-7:30 I run around like a mad woman in heels, meeting and greeting several professors, the University president, and other distinguished guests and our event while making sure that food is well received, wine is flowing, and everything is running smoothly (well, except a little problem in the parking lot).
8:00 I am done! Smashing success, over 250 people, and still TONS of food and wine left to cater our next upcoming holiday party. Exhausted but satisfied, I head home to see my family, where I know that they will be waiting for dinner, and for Mom to help with homework and a practice spelling test.
WRONG.
I arrive home at 8:30pm and they are all sound asleep.
Hmph. A surprising, yet welcoming twist.
I curse loudly as I pry off my heels and peel off my clothes and breathe a sigh of pure joy when I throw on my jammies and jump into bed, totally exhausted after a 19 hour day.
Today?
Up with a start at 4:30am to remember that little credit card in the pocket of my jeans. The jeans I took off in the bathroom and threw over a hanger? I cringe.
As I suspected, the card is no longer in the back pocket of my jeans. I begin to panic slightly, sure that someone has now charged a night’s shopping spree on my stolen credit card.
I throw the Kid in the car for school early and we head out. I arrive at work super early, scouring every square inch of the building, looking for a card that I doubt will be there after almost 12 hours and almost 300 people later.
Just as I considered giving up and reporting the card stolen, I checked my Assistant’s office where I had stashed my clothes. There, lying the corner of the floor, directly beneath the chair that my jeans were thrown over, was my card.
Life is good!
TGIF
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