Pink Cake!

On Tuesday my mother will arrive. In approximately 90 hours, her plane will land & 2 weeks of fun & frivolity will ensue! We're going to visit the state farmer's market and see "The Color Purple" at the DPAC and maybe go to an arts festival. Next weekend my dad and Ray will show up and we'll all drive out to the Outer Banks where we'll spend a whole week hanging out with Uncle Buster, Aunt Fay, my cousin David, his wife Cassie, and their daughter, Sammy. Ten people in a beach house, visiting historic sites or splashing in the ocean by day, playing Rock Band and poker by night. It should be fabulous!

But before then, I have to get the house ready. That has been my whole goal this week. I'm trying not to be too much of a perfectionist this time around, but it's hard to turn that off. A part of me wants to make sure that everything is JUST RIGHT. Every surface must be scrubbed! Or freshly painted! Every need must be anticipated! Right?
Wrong.
I need to relax. It's just my family, right? They won't care if I still haven't painted the upstairs hallway. They won't care if the shower curtain is still a couple inches too long. They'll be happy just to be here. Right. I'll keep reminding myself of that.

By the by, it has been 2 weeks since the Big Ol' Audition and I have not heard from anyone yet. Le siiiiiiiiiiigh.


Random side notes (a la george)
Other things I did to celebrate my birthweek
1. Saw the "This American Life" live broadcast with Tim, Jennifer, and Kyle
2. Drove down to the new Ikea (only 2 hours away!) & bought a ton of stuff for the house
3. Got a giant 8 quart stainless steel mixing bowl that, luckily for me, also works well as an impromptu rain bonnet
4. Had the gang over (the usual 7 people) for a dinner party, for which we made the following
- swedish meatballs (yes, Ikea was the inspiration)
- boiled new potatoes
- sauteed french green beans
- yeast potato rolls (soooooooo amazingly good)
- 2 layer strawberry cake with buttercream frosting (because pink cakes are the best)