Need More Stools: Fiesta! III Prologue

We skipped the busy holiday and it was a good thing. Our hosts felt they needed more stools for their table so we could all fit at one table. We would have been fine if we had to share stools, especially if it was not with our spouse. Hahaha. It is not that kind of group and that would be another blog entirely.

Back to the stools. Our hosts ordered extra stools in November. They were delivered early in December. Wrong size, wrong color.

Life is Short- Fiesta! II

November rarely provides us with a 60 degree day! Mother Nature must have wanted to join Fiesta! Our hosts live outside of town and have a pond next to their house. It is a great location. And, since we are such considerate guests, we invited ourselves back in the warmer months for a clambake and camping.

It was a good thing we started in the afternoon. There was so much for us to do. We unloaded the food and ate a few chicken wings for appetizers while the kids and dads played basketball and took rides on the quad. The mom's planned the future clambake and decided that the peanut butter cups brought for dessert should be served before the meal. We have brilliant women in Fiesta! We also began the discussion about out vacation. (There will be more on that when the story develops.) Unfortunately, we may not have an official Fiesta! vacation because one of the families cannot attend.

Our meal for Fiesta! II:

Adobo Chicken Wings
Spinach Salad
Pasta with Vodka Sauce and selection of shrimp, chicken, mushrooms
French Bread
Peanut Butter Cups, Chocolate Cake

Kid Food: Taco and veggies with ranch dip

We drew our popsicle sticks for the next Fiesta! and decided that we should schedule the next official Fiesta! after the holidays. Once again, we are brillant women. We will get together in the meantime, but not for the dinner set up. (Which means it is mostly for drinking- in case you didn't make that connection.)

Stay-at-Home Moms

Both of our group's stay-at-home moms did not care that I put only that as their description. Now, I did not mean to offend, as these two women are busy have many contributions to society. Both have part time businesses, one a caterer and the other is a sales representative. Our caterer is going to be featured in our newspaper this week and she will have a recipe printed (I'm jealous). Our sales representative mostly does fund-raising work through her business for non-profit agencies. Busy women who are not sitting at home eating bonbons. (There is the occasional Five Guys Burger.)

Isn't it terrible how society does not value the work of the mom? Isn't it terrible that the economy doesn't support more mom's who would like to stay at home? A friend and I keep a journal of what we would do during the day if we didn't work. You gotta have goals.

Agendas

We are getting sophisticated now. At our next meeting, we will have an agenda with some reports. Sexy stay-at-home mom will be reporting on possible vacation locations where the whole group can go, with children, of course. And I was told to report on a tongue trick a friend learned when she was in Mexico. OK, so maybe we are not too sophisticated. No stress, just fun!

participant update

Now that our participants have read the blog one of our stay at home mom's wanted her description a little clearer. She is a SEXY stay-at-home mom who likes to wear aprons.

October 2, 2009 The First Meeting

The date was accepted and we were all excited. And then, I realized I was hosting a party on the same day I was to be out of town at a conference. No stress- remember? I chose my main course based on the fact that I was able to freeze it, then just heat. I would be home just about the time the party started and my husband should be home earlier. He can heat things. Well, his schedule got off and her was not home at his scheduled time. I was still on the road as the members were coming. The babysitter laughed.

I did mention this is a no stress group. I was not stressed (and I have witnesses). Luckily the group proved to be a great mix of people. As I gave heating directions from the cell phone, the dinner was getting on the way.

After the salad and before the main course, I thought it would be an ideal time to pick our date for the next meeting and the assignments. I did not want everyone to be drunk or me to be too drunk to remember we had to get that done. Both options were possibilities.

Then it happened. The groups really gelled. The landscaper suggested a name change believing that "dinner club" was too feminine and sounded like only women met. His suggestion: Fiesta! It was accepted by all. He also offered to host the main course for the next meeting. Everyone drew a popsicle stick and the date was suggested.

The director of product development also brought up an interesting point: we should not talk about Fiesta! outside of our group, knowing that we had some acquaintances who would be upset that they were not included. Our agreed response when a social engagement is offered on Fiesta! time is "I promised my spouse that we would spend time together as a family." With this, we hope we are safe.

Our first menu turned out to be:

Buffalo Chicken Dip and Bacon Dip
Arugula Salad
Gumbo Ya Ya served over Rice
Peanut Butter Pie

Kid food: chicken tenders and broccoli casserole

The Set Up

Each couple is responsible for one part of the meal and a beverage for their part. The components are:
appetizer
soup or salad
main course (host the event)
side dish (no beverage required, work with main course)
dessert
kid food

Since I am the person who started the group, I offered to prepare the main course. I also developed the system for assigning jobs in a fair way. Popsicle sticks. Yes, popsicle sticks, six of them, with the assignments written on each. As I saw each person, they picked one. (Yes, I carried them around for a few days.) I sent out an e-amil with possible dates and with the responses of the members, our first dinner club was ready to go.

Because I wanted to make sure everyone was relaxed, I would put "no stress, just fun" in the type. It became our motto.

Rules?

I was searching on the Internet for dinner clubs; mostly because I want people to read this instead of other sources. I found lots of "how tos" and they all had "rules" to follow. "Find like minded people" was one of the rules. Well, duh. Who wants to eat dinner with people you have nothing in common with?

Another rule was establishing a price point for the meals. We never did that. I think it is because we are like minded- the main course person will spend more on host night and less on dessert and it eventually comes out even. We don't have any "show offs" who need to drink $100 (or more) bottles of wine. But, I won't refuse if someone wants to bring one. I'll also drink the $10 bottle.

The basic rule- be with friends and have fun!

The Participants

1 parole agent, 1 professor, 1 chef, 2 stay-at-home moms, 1 director of product development, 1 business owner, 1 manager, 1 non-traditional college student, 1 landscaper, 1 unemployment supervisor, 1 customer service technical director, 15 kids!

It all started because I heard of couples getting together, eating dinner, tasting different wines, and having a good time. I wanted to do that. The problem was finding the right crowd. Not stuffy. Must include children. No one that was high maintenance. Then it happened! It was as if the crowd evolved naturally. The ages of the kids all matched. The parents all got along. At least one partner in each couple enjoyed cooking. All adults enjoyed drinking. I made the contacts. In this blog, no names will be used. It is to protect the innoncent, guilty, and the uninvited.