Commitment

or a reason to be committed?  Yes, once again I have gone over the edge with regards to the birthday cake.  As some of you may know, today is Caitlin’s birthday party for her friends. I figured since it is the last year possible, why not do it at Ævintýraland?  In theory, it is pricey, but it is a nice, safe indoor play area which will be great on a  (shocking!)  rainy day like today.  I went back and forth on the whole cake issue and even thought about buying one locally.  However, they have never heard of butter cream frosting and they layer the cakes with (gasp) fruit or cream in between.  Given the birthday girl’s penchant for plain foods, this would not go over well.

Oh, I did mention I would also pay $60 or so for said simple local birthday cake.  Yes, a small cake that feeds 8 people runs about $30, so do the math for 20 kids plus parents!  So, the cake did come out okay and I have to say of all the Wilton cakes I have made, this was by far the easiest.  I ended up skipping the flowers despite assuring Kelsey yesterday that there would be vines with flowers.  I just could not get the consistency right, and the flower shape just didn’t happen.  Given the small likelihood any of the other kids have even seen what the cake is supposed to look like, I am not going to stress.

So, enjoy the pic, let’s hope it is tasty, too and check back later for more party pics!  If you check the Flickr badge, there is another new picture of the hand-made/stamped invitations….and, yes, Cait did all of the coloring!

Matt Dissed My Advice, but

Marisa chowed down on the pylsur Pete grilled up for her.

We had a night out tonight (Yea!), courtesy of our friend Ron, who hosted the party and our babysitter, Hera, who watched our progeny.  Ron apparently has quite a bit of contact with newcomers to Reykjavik, and being the thoughtful person that he is, invited some of those visitors to his party tonight.

Not long after we arrived, Matt Dillon and his entourage (agents?) arrived.  Yep, Matt of 20+ movies showed up and chatted with the 10 or so partygoers already there.  Dressed casually in a long sleeve t-shirt and jeans, one would not have known he was famous if not for the not-unrecognizable face. He was in town for the Reykjavik Film Festival and where else to hang out on a Saturday night but an Embassy party?

After a while, Matt and his friends decided after a while to head off for dinner, probably to Vid Tjornid.  I seconded the recommendation for Grillhusid, but he decided "I don’t really want fish and chips".  However, I do recommend a visit there for all, as Grillhusid does not serve your your average fish and chips. 

Not long after Matt left, we were introduced to Harris Goldberg, producer and director of several movies, including the 20-something guy favorite "Deuce Bigalow". Okay, we think that is his name.  We always seem to have party-deafness during the introductions.  Pete and I both remember being introduced to someone named Harris, so, well, let’s go with that for now.  The funny thing is that I met him first and then when I introduced Pete, he swore he already knew him.  What is this with celebrities ‘knowing us’?

Harris was also in town for the Reykjavik Film Festival, just like Matt and Marisa.  He was very interested in what brought us to Iceland and chatted with us for quite a while.   The entire Foreign Service concept intrigued him and he had many questions for us about the FS and living in Iceland.  We gave him all of the tourist advice we could dish out; what to do, what to avoid.  Given he has a driver and an Escalade at his service, I think it is safe to say he will enjoy his stay here. 

So, Marisa and her boyfriend (musician?) popped in a little while later.  Pete was manning the grill and Ron brought her out on the balcony to get a beer.  He then introduced Pete and she shook his hand and said, "Hi, Marisa", as though he might not have guessed her identity.  She was quite keen on trying an Icelandic hot dog and dug in when they were grilled to go.  Oh, and did I mention I need the name of her diet?  I realize she is several inches shorter than me and has quite a tiny frame to begin with, but really had no idea just how teeny she is!

After the delivery of the pylsur (hot dogs) it was time for us to jet off.  We arrived home to find the kids in bed and asleep!  And, of course, I absconded with the laptop to once again tell my tale of my life meeting the big fish in this very small pond…

P.S.  Cait knows Matt Dillon as the "bad guy" from Herbie Fully Loaded.  She was very excited til she saw the picture of me and then said, "I don’t think that looks like him at all!"…kids!