Huge party Sunday..

Yesterday we had a surprise party for my parents 44th wedding anniversary. For the past 3 weeks, my sister and I had planned this party and it turned out amazing! My sister and her husband convinced my parents (for the past 2 weeks) that they were taking them to a very upscale restaurant in Portland Oregon. Sunday morning, my sisters and I met at the location where we were having the party. My sister told my parents that she had to be at a dog show that morning, and that her husband would take them to pick her up, then they would proceed to the restaurant. Once my BIL got there with my parents, my sister walked out and told them to come in to see a really cute puppy that was in the "dog show." Everybodys a sucker for a cute puppy It couldn't have been more convincing! A woman that lived in the vicinty happened to be walking her dog past the front door at the time, so my parents had absolutely no clue! They walked in and they stood there in shock for a minute... they loved it! We had a beautiful Ice Sculpture (4 feet tall) engraved with their names. It looked like a big fancy vase, with fresh flowers coming out the top. We also ordered a cake from a nationaly known cake artist that we had previous seen on the Food Network during his Wedding Cake competition. OMG, you would not believe how beautiful everything turned out. It was perfect! At the last minute, my sister decided to put me working the kitchen to get all the food out on the serving tables. Picture this, 16 feet of table covered with food I was not going to eat anything but a baked chicken breast and some veggies. Well, so much for that! I didn't eat too much of anything, one plate, but my head is telling me that I blew it So here I am, its Monday morning and wishing I would have just stuck to my game plan I slipped slightly, but I am back on plan again. Maybe I didn't slip as much as my mind is telling me. I was on my feet busting a groove for 2 hours up until the party started just getting everything in order Then helping with clean up afterwards. Thanks for listening to me ramble. Have a wonderful Monday!

The party sounds great! How many guests? I hope you post pictures of the ice sculpture and cake when you have them, I would love to see them. It doesn't sound to me like you "blew" your eating plan for the day. One plate of food is not gorging. Maybe it wasn't realistic to think on such a day that you would eat only chicken breast and veggies. What a great anniversary gift for your parents. I'm glad it turned out so well and they were surprised. Karen

Hi Karen There were a total of about 40 guests that attended. I'm working on reducing the size of the pictures so that I can post them online and share them with everyone that would like to take a look. I kept telling my mom, "see what you get for being such a sucker for a puppy?"

That sounds like a wonderful party!!!! You know, this brings to mind the post that Lynette and I went back and forth on. What is normal eating?? Is it unrealistic to be "normal" and enjoy a function where food is going to be served in large amounts???? I would have felt horribly deprived if I only had baked chicken and vegetables. So you ate a little more than usual. Perhaps you ate more than you are used to in the recent past, but a heck of a lot less than you have in the far past??? True?? You have the right mindset, isn't that the most important thing? Like all other people with healthy relationships with food, you are back to eating healthy and taking care of yourself. And you enjoyed the beautiful party!!!! I am proud of you, if that makes any difference! Donna

What a blast that sounds like. I agree with everyone that has posted. Good for you for helping out! Working a buffet line is not laying on the couch by any means and cleaning up afterward! You are a good daughter. You are back on it today and I'm also proud of you! Don't beat yourself up. Mary