Catching Up

I know that I promised a look at the weekly chore list of a 50's housewife but it's been a busy few days.  If you have been on my Facebook page in the past week you know that the Hubbs and I hosted a party for quite a few people this past weekend.  It was wonderful and I would do it again in a heartbeat!  But...  And there is always a but.  We're still recovering from it in more ways than one.

The most obvious problem with hosting that many people is that it throws my entire cleaning routine out of whack.  We had a few guests stay longer than anticipated and while it was wonderful getting to visit, it backed me up even more.  I've got a ton of bed linens and extra towels to wash up.  I need to go to the grocery store but didn't get to do that on my usual day (Monday) because we still had guests.  I haven't done any of my weekly chore list because I've been busy just cleaning everything else up.  I just feel like I'm still trying to play catch up around the house.

Now the problem behind the curtain...  (I am aware that this could have been avoided with some proper planning but we'll get to that in a sec.)  We certainly put ourselves in a financial crunch.  There were so many little things that popped up over the last few days before the party that I hadn't anticipated.  The need for extra toilet paper and paper towels, paper plates and plastic cups, extra folding chairs.  There were the food costs...  We fed a little over twenty people dinner and breakfast plus snacks and drinks.  Also, the cake.  The deliciously wonderful ice cream cake, my hubbs' favorite.  We also purchased prizes to give away for contests and game winners.  Oh yes, as an afterthought there will also be the added charges to our utilities.

I would say that we will be trying to make up for these extra expenses for the next two months.  I know that with a little planning ahead I could have bought most of these things and set aside some money for the food.  For those of you that are not on my Facebook page, I've only just set up a budget about two weeks ago.  I'm still extremely excited to actually start our budget but at the same time I know I'm going to have to make a few tweaks for the next month or so.  I plan to cut back in every way that I can.

I'm not letting this discourage me or take away from the amazing weekend we had, I'm learning my lesson!  It was just wonderful.  I had the best time being a hostess and my husband loved that everyone was coming together in our home.  It was so comfortable and it gave me a very fulfilling feeling.  We visited with people we hadn't seen in nearly 10 years.  As they all started to leave, one by one they all said how much they hoped we would make this a yearly event.  A few even went so far as to say they would help with the financial part if we would like to continue. 

All in all I feel like it was definitely worth it and we will do it again.  Next time, we will plan for it financially and it will be much less stressful. 

One last thing, I'm finding out how wonderful it is to have a blog and a FB page!  As a stay at home mom, I don't get a lot of outside conversation or chances to connect with other people.  With FB and blogging, I am meeting so many other wonderful, like minded people.  Thank you to all the wonderful people I have met so far and for all of the comments I've received here and on Facebook.  I'm still trying to figure out how to "Reply" to specific comments...  When I click the Reply button on some one's comment, nothing happens.  Anyone have any suggestions?