Last year, we started, what I hopes turns into a tradition, with Shannon's Mom's Family (Shannon's uncle and his family). This year, we are hosting the group. I've spent a large chunk of the day prepping for the gathering before going out to eat.

I went out and bought some food, wine, and etc.

And then proceeded to to prepare it. I took a lot of things that I would normally get all cut up, and did it myself. Broccoli, cauliflower, celery, honeydew melon. After I chopped it all up. I was left with a sink full of the unusable parts.

I then proceeded to make some Gruyère cheese puffs. It ended up being around 6 or so before I actually made dinner. Making the puffs for later is really hard...cause I tend to eat them. I think I had at least one from each batch.

I like where I am when I am preparing food. Music or podcasts playing and I'm right there in the moment. Not thinking about our finances, or work or any of the stressors in my life.

Tomorrow I have a bit of cleanup and setup to do before I'm done, but it shouldn't take to long. I can warm up the puffs in the oven when people are around. And I'll setup the various plates and what not. Vegetable, fruit, cheeses and bread..all good appetizers...

I had originally planned to make reservations at Christopher's, but due to a recent fire, they are currently out of commission. The other choices we had were not the route I wanted to go, or too expensive. We'll take our chances going to the Drake Diner...

I guess we'll see how it goes. Shannon's uncle works for the DOT Railroad, and when I was working up in Ames, we put a bid to redo their website... I never actually did it, since...well...the company I worked for, closed.