So it’s 10:25 in the morning, New Year’s Eve, and I’m still in my husband’s snuggly robe, unshowered, unexcercised, unmotivated. The mission is to ready the apartment for a mini soirée, which means cleaning and cooking and running errands. We haven’t even unpacked from our trip to LA, yet! Andrew had to work this morning, and as I’ve said, I’m severely unmotivated, hence the sense of impossibility surrounding the mission.

I suppose it’s nothing a little jog around the neighborhood can’t fix. That is, if I can at least up myself out of this chair to put on my make-shift cold-weather running clothes.

This is the first time I’ve had people over and have done so little planning! We’ll definitely have an odd assortment of foods: desserts and snacks, sweets and sides. I’m thinking I’ll order a few dishes from Hema’s and prepare some of those bacon-wrapped stuffed jalepeños that I made when there was still hope for the Bears (I’ll admit that I’m a fair-weather fan by proxy). Then there are the cupcakes from last night, and I intend to slice up that filo pie. I think that I need a few other things, but I’m not sure what. Clearly, serving foods that go well together is no longer an option. I’m racking my brain for more delightful savory snacks. Nigella has a recipe for Irish Blue Crackers I could try (a bit obsessive of me, no?), and stuffed mushrooms are always a nice classic, but with the cleaning I have ahead of me, I’m wondering if I’ll pass out from exhaustion before guests even arrive!

When I get like this, all spinny and out-of-control, I have to make a list of everything I want to get done.  Then, I star the priorities and start with those.  Once those things are checked off, I can move on to the other things, which I’ll probably also prioritize.  The most most important thing when faced with little time and a lot to do is to recognize that it’s not the end of the world if it’s not all accomplished.