Carrots

All day long as I went through my Sunday routine - picking up the house, folding laundry, planning next week's meals - I kept holding the “carrot” of how delightful going to be early would be in my state of total exhaustion.  (Oh, you didn't know you were reading the lamest blog on the block?  Welcome.  I like sewing, having long conversations with my dog and going to bed early.)  We had SUCH a fun weekend... and of course, are now paying for it now with the kind of tired that makes Monday require a venti.

Matt even had to get up and go to work this morning, poor soul.  When he called on his way home, I lectured him "don't you fall asleep on the couch after work or you won't be able to get to bed at a regular time tonight!" 

Fast forward to 6 pm.  Me, face down on the bed, out.  Oops.

Matt woke me up at 8:30, and now here it is 10 and I am WEEEE!  Wide awake.  At least I can catch up on our weekend without having to attempt to recall the events two weeks later.

Friday night we hosted Matt's sister and her boyfriend, who drove up from Huntersville to stay with us.  It was our first time meeting the boyfriend, and I don't think we scared him off.  I started preparing for dinner around 3pm, and right before our guest showed up, I stopped to assess the damage: I'm pretty certain I dirtied each and every dish in my kitchen.  Amazingly enough, I had just enough time to wash up the dishes, wash up myself and pour a glass of wine before the doorbell rang! 

My menu: artichoke dip for an appetizer.  Asparagus with proscuitto, panzanella, green salad with roasted almonds and homemade balsamic dressing and slow-cooked ribs.  Dessert was lemon tarts.  Those are pretty much all my go-to recipes… so no one can ever come to my house to eat more than once.

Oh look… food pictures instead of people.  Per usual. 

Found these lights at Target and am in l-u-v.  Hubby strung them up around our patio umbrella. 

After dinner, we got into some games - first Wits and Wagers, then Catchphrase, then Guitar Hero.  Around the time when exhaustion and the wine were forcing me to shut one eye to better see the notes on Guitar Hero, we called it quits.

Saturday morning, Matt whipped up breakfast - his specialty in the kitchen.  Sausage, biscuits and dirty eggs.  That man can make a mean brunch.

No sooner had Micah and Derek gotten on the road, did we start getting ready for weekend event #2.  I went for a quick run to try and wake up for the next round of fun, and Matt took a quick nap.  Then we loaded up a cooler and headed over to our friend's Kate and Charlie (the newlyweds, two post back!) who we were joining for the Zac Brown Band concert in Charlotte.

Kate + I @ Zac Brown Band

We got down a few hours early for tailgating.  The smell of hot dogs and the sight of people playing cornhole and the joy of waiting in line at the porta-johns make fall and regular tailgating feel like it’s right around the corner!  The lawn was PACKED!  The band played a number of their new songs first (from an album that isn't out) which made a few people kind of twitchy (me) but finally they got into all their jams and it was like a big lawn party of dancing happy beach-loving people. 

They ended on a mash-up of Free and Into the Mystic, which I adored.  Free is my favorite song by them, and Into the Mystic has always been a song I loved.  (Little known fact: it is one of the most common songs chosen by doctors to operate to.  You’re welcome for enlightening you with that piece of knowledge.)

(Go ahead, take a listen.  It’s lovely.)

It was late when we got back - although I'm not sure how late because I fell asleep in the car.  Sorry, Matt!  We both crashed hard, and it was not a happy moment when Matt's alarm clock went off at 6 am on Sunday!  (I will admit it was 2 hours later that I finally graced the world with my presence.) 

We in this household are firm believers in the “work hard, play hard” mantra.  We especially like the latter part.  As I write this (at 10 pm on a Sunday night), I can hear my hubby on the phone with his best friend from college planning a visit for a weekend in the fall.  As I try to figure out which weekend he’s talking about, I realize with a start that we’ve either planned or talked about something for just about every weekend he’s not working between now and…. December.  These are really our “carrots”- the reward of time spent with good friends, making memories, laughing hard, eating good – that gets you through the “have to do’s” of life.  Even if it makes procuring a large Diet Coke and taking a mid-day nap on Sunday become a “have to do”… it’s worth it.