All pigged out.

Ahh, NC. I'm back in Dallas recovering from a fantastic weekend, working furiously toward a big work deadline, and preparing to jet off to Boston for a conference on Thursday. Whew! A few little tidbits before I dive back into work:

• My sister, brother-in-law, and I decided that instead of taking Friday night off to rest up for the Saturday bonanza, we'd prepare dinner for 9 instead (oh, if only I'd realized how precious my energy would become the next day!). My sister-in-law drove down from DC for the weekend, and it was fun creating a menu that could accommodate her meat-less and dairy-less ways. Huge thanks to my brother-in-law for letting an intruder invade his kitchen, and big thanks to everyone for the huge laughs. We fixed up a spread of Garlic basil chicken, Apple and chestnut stuffing, Roasted butternut squash, Roasted brussel sprouts, Olive oil glazed potatoes, Butternut squash and pumpkin bisque, and Pumpkin gooey cake squares for dessert. My huge victory was making brussel sprouts my way for my skeptical sister and mom, who just as I predicted, both loved them!
  
  
• I have the cutest niece and nephew EVER! They are total delights.
  
  
• Who says you can't throw a successful pig pickin' for 90 people when it rains and the pig catches on fire?!
  
  
• We invite pretty much the same crowd every year, and this year there were kids running around everywhere and babies on every other lap. In case there was any doubt that some of us are procreating...
  
  
• Trevor and I prepared five crock pots worth of my mom's famous mac 'n cheese for the pig pickin'. Because we ran out of space downstairs, three crock pots were hooked up in the master bathroom. Mmmm.... bathroom mac 'n cheese!
  
  
• Official pig pickin' spread: the pig (of course), my uncle's "wash pot chicken stew" (made in my great-grandmother's actual huge wash pot), collards, stewed potatoes, mac 'n cheese, baked beans, cole slaw, and an entire dining room table full of desserts that everyone brought. Ridiculous goodness!
  
  
• By the time I finally sat down on Saturday night, I thought my legs and feet were going to explode with pain - we'd been running around like crazy people since 8 that morning. Also, I was too tired to be coherent and be my usual engaged self when talking to my crew of high school friends. At least three-week-old Jackson didn't mind my fatigue...
  
  
• By the time all the dishes were done and the place pulled back together in the wee hours of Sunday morning, I think my parents, Trevor, and I felt like absolute machines. Beaten-down machines, but still... quite the accomplishment.
  
  
• How fun to take two Connecticut natives (both wearing plaid!) to the NC Fair. We spun and flipped on rides, we ate, we gawked, we searched in vain for the chocolate-covered bacon... So. Much. Fun. (even with missing the pig races!)
  

As always, there's never, ever enough time to truly catch up with everyone. But that's why we're trying to move closer to home. Trying!

Alright, no more daydreaming... back to work!