Family

I'm exhausted.

My cousins Susan and Dinah just left with their families, and I'm pooped! We had a very quick visit, only an hour and a half, but I was cooking furiously the whole time and trying to entertain and make sure everyone had fun. I loved it.

We live about four hours away from our closest family members, and sometimes it can get pretty lonely. Every holiday except the biggies (Thanksgiving and Christmas) we are here and they are having get-togethers up home. We could travel up there, but the drive is hard with the (snarling pile of) dogs and expensive with gas prices the way they are. So, we spend most holidays watching movies and going places only to realize that they are closed or insane because it's a holiday.

Susan and Dinah surprised me yesterday by calling and saying they would be driving past on their way to a family reunion in Nashville, and could they stop by and we could have lunch? Frankly, I was thrilled. (And I made the insane decision to cook for 10 people, who can't have chicken - Dinah - or beef or dairy - Tony.) That made things a little more challenging, so we had spaghetti with meatballs, garlic bread, salad and chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

None of my family outside of my mom and Jack have seen my house, either, so I had to give the big tour before we could eat, which is always a balancing act - how can I seem proud of what I have without seeming snotty? I hope I pulled it off. I guess my family knows how I've struggled in the past, so they don't think I've just landed in the lap of semi-luxury here. Or maybe they do, but at least I make a mean pasta sauce. It'll smack the grin right off your face.

So now, I'm headed upstairs for a nap, much needed after last night, when I couldn't sleep because I was planning menus and stressing over laundry piles in every corner of the house and when I finally did get to sleep, being rudely awakened at 5:30 by the freaking carbon monoxide detector blaring. (We had a guy come and re-finish a spot on the steps yesterday and apparently, the carbon monoxide detector also detects varnish.)

Plus, I'm super excited for my fasting glucose test in the morning, which I'm sure will be helped by the giant plate of pasta I had, followed by two chocolate chip cookies. It's beans and lettuce for dinner!