John's NotExactly40th

Whew! What a busy few days! I'm glad I took Friday off from work to prep for John's party and very glad I was able to nap for about 30 minutes before the party (thanks to William's advice to do so!). There was quite a bit of running around Friday morning to pick up the cake, do some last-minute grocery shopping, pick up pork and chicken skewers, and cook a few dishes.

John came home and prepped the crock pots with cocktail meatballs and some queso dip. Thankfully, he went out and picked up the pizza while I finished off this dish:


Grilled Eggplant Salad -- a recipe from Giada's Everyday Italian. It was fairly simple and tasty. I probably shouldn't serve something new and untested at a party, but luckily, it turned out okay.

Anyway... a few pics from the festivities. Here's John orchestrating the singing:

John got quite a few funny cards. We joked about giving away the pool table to the person who gave him the funniest one.

His gift helper forgot to hand him two cards we found the following day. Many thanks to BHL and family and to Kevin & Rosa for their cards (and scratch-off lottery tickets). John's keeping me in suspense as to whether we're millionnaires or not (he hasn't scratched them yet).

John had a captivated audience as he was relaying his experience in Thailand to Ann:

And here's little Baby Lorenzo. Soooo cute! Look at those tiny little Air Jordan socks!


This morning, I looked at the Evite and realized some of John's friends I added after I got more e-mail addresses never went through. I don't know what happened! I hope they don't hear about the party and wonder why they weren't invited! And there I was... wondering why they never replied! I had a couple problems with the Evite, so I should have checked the list better. Very sad.

John and Mike are down in Breton Bay today for the annual "work day" to spiff up the pier and pool house and such. It looks really beautiful outside, but I think I'm going to finish cleaning up from the party and maybe attempt to plant some flowers and herbs in a small container garden. Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!