ICHTHOBERFEST '07

Last night we hosted our annual Ichthoberfest party (pronounced "ick tho ber fest"). It was, by all accounts, a roaring success. We had some new folks who didn't attend last year, as well as most of those who DID attend last year. We had much food, of course, as well as fish-shaped sugar cookies to decorate, foam fish cut-outs to decorate, a fishy pinata, a fish "pond," and karaoke. David prepared his super delicious grilled salmon, which there is never enough of (it's SOOO good!) and we've been craving ever since the party ended. Since the weather was cold and windy, we opted to set up in the garage instead. We actually made it look quite festive, and it was a good forced reason to vacuum and sweep down the garage, so now you don't stab yourself in the feet with corn cob litter from the rabbit's cage should you happen to venture out there barefoot. (Which I frequently do.) It was a whirlwind three hours, as most everyone was gone by 8:00 and we started at 5. And that was okay, because we packed a LOT of fun into those three hours, and since most of the attendees were parents of children, people wanted to get home for bedtimes and other important things. And David and I were pooped after a day of cleaning, decorating, and other preparations. Our smaller parties with significantly fewer people (held monthly) usually last until 11 or so.

On Friday I was grateful for the shop vacuum, which allowed me to suck up dirt, pebbles, and even a couple of plastic bags accidentally while I was cleaning the garage.

Saturday I was grateful for good friends and good food. Oh, and for the invention of karaoke. You should have seen & heard me belt out "I will survive." Bet you didn't know I had an inner diva!

Today I am grateful for relevant lessons at church. In Relief Society we talked about "The Women of the Church," and the excerpts from President Kimball's talks were fabulous. He really mastered the whole "we appreciate & value women's contributions" without putting women up on some silly pedestal or going into the fluffy crap about how women are naturally so much more spiritual & better than men.