Why you should never, ever, ever cook for Luca and hubs.

This past weekend, Sparky, Kikalee and hubs, and Tim and I all went over to Luca's and hubs home for dinner and conversation. Luca and hubs are most likely going to receive their daughter's referral at the end of November, so there is a true excitement in the air over there. They have a gorgeous home, with all the wall artwork done by Luca's hubs. Who knew? Talent lurks EVERYWHERE. Except in me.

Then there was the meal. First off: Dumplings. Made by hand. With a dipping sauce that is still being raved about by Tim, he who pretty much raves only about the following things: his muscles, his Buca boy (that's our SCHNAUZER, people, not a pet name for something else), professional wrestling, and plasma HD TVs. Then homemade soup, with tiny, perfectly cubed pieces of pumpkin. And those were the appetizers. Then they come out with something like five dishes! Spare ribs, noodles with chicken, beef with vegetables, sauteed green beans, jasmine rice, and I know I gotta be forgetting something. Amazing. The evening concluded with a great game of Danish origin. Each person brings a gift worth $5. There's lot of gift winning and stealing that goes on, and in the end, some win, some lose. Kikalee and hubs started out strong, but walked away with nothing. Tim and I walked away with the following goodies: a travel adaptor kit (much needed), a China calendar, and a book called "Mind Games". Nice!

On the way home we discussed how our plan for hosting a "Fast Foods of the US" dinner for the PIW (Parents In Waiting) gang just had to go.