Partnership - Day 276

I love to entertain, but unfortunately lack of time and money prevent much partying from happening at my house. The next best thing is helping others put together a party. Today my friend Vicky and I did just that.

A couple of weeks ago I received an e-mail from Julie, a friend of a friend. She was looking for help putting together a surprise 40th birthday party for her husband Tom and asked if Vicky and I would be interested. Of course! Getting paid for doing what I love with one of my favorite people was a no brainer.

Working with Vicky is a partnership made in heaven. I like to cook and make things look pretty. Vicky likes to clean and keep things organized. I am stressed and frantic. Vicky is as cool as a cucumber. I like to interact with the guests. Vicky prefers the shadows. I am the perfect "ying" to Vicky's "yang". We work...boy, do we work!

I picked up Vicky around 4:00 to begin our latest catering adventure. We headed to 4Rivers to pick up the food Julie ordered to be ready by 4:30. Here's where the stress kicked in. The order wasn't ready. The guests were arriving at 6:15 and the order wasn't ready. I panicked. Vicky calmed my nerves. "We can only do the best we can do." "Everything will be fine!" she kept repeating. Finally around 5:00 the food came out and we were on our way.

We arrived at the beautiful home of Julie's in-laws, Jo Ann and Lawson to stress attack part 2. Julie bought the Sterno and racks as I suggested, but we had no pans for water to prevent the food from burning. Yikes! We had an hour to familiarize ourselves with a strange environment, put out cold appetizers, heat the warm appetizers for butler service and find a way to keep the barbecue warm. I was stressed...very stressed. I barked out orders to Vicky. She calmly took it and did whatever I asked. Julie's sister-in-law ran to Costco for pans.

Cheese cut and tray out - check. Chips and salsa out - check. Hot appetizers in the oven - check. Everything coming together - check. Stress evaporating - check. Appreciation of my partner - check. The pans arrived with the first of the guests. The barbecue was saved. Beer and wine started to flow. Appetizers were passed. Laughter filled the home. Julie pulled off a wonderful surprise birthday celebration for Tom. And we helped. Happy dance! Finally around 10:15 with the last slice of birthday cake cut and the last dish washed, we headed on our way...very hungry and tired. We headed straight for Cheesecake Factory for an appetizer dinner to celebrate success and a new partnership. This is the start of something good. This is the start of HeartSong Catering and Small Event Planning.

Many hugs,

Kathy