Memorial Day Awesome-ness

You know what doesn't really work? Keeping popsicles frozen by sticking them 1/4 of the way down into an ice bath while the air outside is about 80 degrees. I know this because this because I had the unfortunate experience of attempting to do this at our bbq yesterday.

As usual, I invited almost every person I know in a 30 mile radius fully expecting that only 10 or so people would show up. Boy was I wrong. We had about 45 people over to my back yard yesterday for the best party I've ever thrown.

The ear doctor and I spend all morning hauling all of my furniture out into the back yard. We set it up with my coffee tables so that it exactly mirrored my normal front room. Then we got to cooking.

We made the following:

• 8 lbs of milansea beef for delicious tacos. This meat we had to go to the Mexican meat market to get the right stuff. You can't just get this at Safeway.
• 2 lbs of filleted, pounded, lime-chicken.
• 3 different homemade blended salsas. These got to be pretty spicy by the time I had a chance to try any.
• a huge bowl of Pico de Gallo (I whipped this up sans recipe thank you very much)
• 20 million pounds of the ear doctor's secret guacamole. Don't even ask for the recipe because it is a trade secret and I'm not telling.
• These awesome beans that had chorizo and bacon in them.
• 5 gallons of fresh squeezed lime juice....alright it wasn't fresh squeezed but I did grate lime zest into the pitcher, so that counts, right?

When everyone showed up we cranked up the Latin tunes and everyone gorged themselves on the delicious food. The entire 3 hours of the party the ear doctor spent manning the grill (so hot to watch him do) and I scurried back and forth from the food table to the kitchen making sure the tortillas were warm and the bowls were fully stocked.

There were people coming and going everywhere in our house and yard and my roommate was such a good sport about it all. I love love LOVED that the ear doctor's friends from school came. I think they are some of the coolest people I know.

Aside from no one coming to my parties, my biggest fear in throwing something like this is that my different circles of friends won't be able to interact. This party totally set those fears aside. My friends all mingled really well and I felt like everyone walked away having had a great time.

Just as the event was winding down, a little rain cloud burst so everyone hurriedly helped move all my furniture back into the house. During this scramble I decided toss the left over ice from the big blue bucket and found a sticky, melted mess. This is when I learned that the freezer really is a better place to keep popsicles if you're going to actually be able to eat them.

After every last dish had been cleaned and the furniture returned to its proper place in my house the ear doctor and I just sat on the couch exhausted. Totally spent, we just looked at each other with glassy, satisfied eyes. It was then that I realized that I like throwing parties....once a year.