Weekend Kickoff...

...of course started with Happy Hour. Morgan and Jordan were here too. Actually, Jordan got her at 3 so she could help with cleaning out the closets. 

 Apparently I can't count. Besides the mud room, we have 4 closets in the back hallway---not three. These really didn't need much cleaning out. Just a little straightening and vacuuming of the floor.

The mud room was another story. What a mess. When we don't know what to do with something, it gets thrown in here. The freezer needs defrosting because with all the crap in there, "someone" (me) left the door open a crack---just enough for the freezer to frost up. We'll be emptying it out in the next couple of weeks so I can clean it.

Here's the "After." We do not need 5,000 coolers and thermoses. Butch will probably disagree and all of the stuff that I think we need to get rid of will make it's way back. But for now, it's cleaned out.

I had planned a nice dinner to kick off the New Year---shrimp fettuccine. Turns out, I ruined it by trying to change my own recipe. In an effort to make it healthier, I abandoned the butter and heavy cream for a bottled "light"Alfredo sauce. Although the family appreciated it---only 50 calories per serving---it was terrible. I think the family was just being nice when they said it was really good. Not even close. I hated it. So much that I didn't keep any of it---sent it all home with Jordan. 

All was not lost. I made a new bread recipe that was FABULOUS!! It's not low calorie, but it's worth it. Actually, Jordan made it while I worked on the rest of the meal

Cheese and Garlic Pull Apart Bread
1 crusty loaf of bread (sour dough or Vienna)
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar
1/4 cup melted butter
2 garlic cloves, minced

Preheat oven to 350. Melt butter and add garlic. Cut the bread on the diagonal but not all the way through. Then, turn the loaf and cut it the other way. I made my cuts about an inch apart---so the entire loaf is scored nearly to the bottom. Pour a teaspoon of the butter in each section. Add a pinch of cheese to each section. I alternated the two cheeses. Wrap the loaf in foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the top foil and bake an additional 5 minutes. 

This can be frozen---just wrap in Saran Wrap over the foil. It's a little work, but totally worth it.

After dinner, the girls noticed this and got a good laugh.

 I gave Butch this book for Christmas 1973. He has it out because he's leaving for the beach tomorrow and has a sink repair to make. 

 He was showing the girls how the book gives step-by-step instructions as Stephanie quipped, "yeah because you can't just google it, watch a video and not drag around a huge book!" Plus she wanted to know how it was he still had the book after 40 years.

He was trying to convince the girls that although faucets have changed in 40 years, the inner workings have not. I'll ask him when he gets home if the book was helpful. He's keeps everything. I have to admit---many times the smallest thing comes in handy.

Speaking of Butch---he's back to being healthy. Know how I can tell? 

 He took the lights off the tree and left them on the couch in a big jumbled mess. He has a tendency to not finish a job completely to the end. He'll always leave just a little something. He had to move the lights so we could sit while we played games. I noticed this morning that the lights are now on the dining room floor. We'll see how long the stay there. He and I are completely different about things like this. I have to get it done---it doesn't bother him to let it go for awhile. This might not be a good start to my New Year. Calm down, Barb. It's not the end of the world!!

What about you? Are you a finisher or a procrastinator? They say opposites attract---definitely true for us!