Well, I am planning on slamming back some five-dollar margaritas, so does that count as being ready? Maybe I’m okay. But in all other respects, I haven’t been baking my way ready. It’s all Passover’s fault. But now that’s over, so this no-strings-attached party can get some love!

People love lemon bars at picnics, but that’s only because they’ve never met lime bars. If given the choice, I’ll go for lime every day. It’s so much more refreshing, and it pairs beautifully with a frozen margarita. Salt on the rim, of course.

This weekend was a miracle of sorts. My kids decided to not fight (!) and play peacefully with Legos for hours on end, giving Kenny and me the chance to nap on the couch with books. It was a revelation to actually get enough rest. That hasn’t happened since sometime in 2008. I might be a nicer person if weekends like this happened more often.

Once upon a time, I was probably generally more fun. In fact, I know I was. I went out at night to clubs and slurped down cocktails, dancing until the wee hours. On a nearly weekly basis, I would throw dinner parties for large groups of friends and stumble into bed around three with a sink full of dirty dishes and more piled on the counter. I would spend weekends unproductively lying around in bed, or reading the entire newspaper while eating Frosted Flakes, or sitting in the sunshine for hours with a book.

Who is that woman? I think I left her far behind. These days, I’m physically incapable of going out at night to fill the gas tank, much less to find a place to go dancing. I throw a twice-yearly dinner party and clean up everything before bed, knowing that I’ll have to deal with kids in the morning. And sleeping late means occasionally getting to stay in bed as long as 6:30 before my spawn locates me hiding under the covers.

This is where people would typically say that they wouldn’t have it any other way, life is perfect now, they never knew what they were missing before they had kids, blah blah blah. Listen, I love my kids. That’s not up for debate. But I seriously miss the cool girl I used to be, and I wish some of her had survived the onslaught of motherhood. She’s in there somewhere, but I have rare opportunity to access her these days.

Conclusion? Somebody meet me in New York for a good steak, a great cocktail and a night out. I’m dying to go. In the meantime, I’ll just have to plan out a Cinco de Mayo.

Like I said, it’s kind of snuck up on me this year, and I have to survive a 4 year-old’s birthday party on Wednesday first. But if I make it through, these bars are coming with me to any celebration. And have I mentioned the margaritas?

I used to drink a lot of margaritas in my fun days, and now I drink a lot fewer. But they’re happening this week, and they’re happening with these lime bars. The bar has a simple shortbread base and an even simpler filling. They get topped off with a lime glaze and some lime zest. Have I said the word “lime” enough here?

So maybe I’m not the crazy girl I used to be, but I’m going to find a way to do it up this Cinco de Mayo. These bars are just the first step!