Happy

Happy New Year, everyone....decided even though I have no profound thoughts to share, I should post anyway. It's a brand new year and that alone is worth acknowledging!

We had a terrific time at the annual party - and my appetizers were a huge hit. I will make them again next year - they were all gone and people raved about them all evening. Good food, good fun. I enjoyed a 'Car Bomb' - Guinness beer with a shot of whiskey in it - and then you drop a shot glass in filled with chocolate liqueur. Then you drink it as fast as you can....the chocolate mixes in with the beer and whiskey and it's smooth! The last sip or two is the best 'cuz you get most of the chocolate in those last two swallows. It was good. And I waited for a slight buzz (remember: we could walk home if we had to and/or sleep on the couch all night if we wanted to) but there was absolutely no buzz. I was kind of disappointed in that - I gave myself permission to get a little buzzed and told J. I was planning to - and yet, nothing. Zip. Not the slightest hint of a buzz. Guess I did a good job of eating and drinking in moderation. Setting a good example for my boys....I hope. They were pretty surprised when I joined the 7 people gathered in the kitchen for the first round of Car Bombs. Not often you see your mom chugging a beer/whiskey beverage.

We were home and in bed by 3AM. B. was spending the night but decided to come home so he could get up early to go to the gym. We were all up and out the door by 11 and at the mall in Pleasanton by noon - had a nice lunch at the Cheesecake Factory and then shopped for a bit. Poor H. could find no clothing items he was interested in purchasing - but B. hit a jackpot - clearance shirts and a jacket. We were home by 5. I went to L'Occitane for some clearance and got a nice iPod station for my desk at work at the Apple Store. Made me want a Touch iPod or a Touch phone so bad, I could hardly stand it - but I resisted. The docking station was expensive enough - but I'll love being able to listen to my tunes at my desk all day.

The psyching up for returning to work day after tomorrow is commencing. It's been a great break and I've really enjoyed the time away....we've been staying up late and sleeping in and that first morning of arising at (or before) 5 will be a shocker for sure.

I am cuddled up in my new Lands End coat with a dog on my lap. I put this coat on this morning (ordered it after Christmas at a sale price - I do my best shopping after Christmas) and felt warm for the first time in months. It's a dark green, heavy warm 'faux shearling' car coat (I have no idea what shearling actually means but that's what it says on the website). It is heavy and warm...when I showed J., he said 'wow, that's a warm coat'. I thought 'it is probably too heavy for our lovely California winters'...but I wore it to the bank and to run some errands and it's plenty warm but not too warm. I haven't treated myself to a new coat in YEARS so I'm due. And I'm glad I got one that I love...it comes in handy when it's freezing in here and I'm too thrifty to turn on the heat.

At the party, our friends (who also have a little dog that's a piddle monster) had a baby gate up - we've been using a 'gate' that doesn't actually mount on the wall or anything - and we have to climb over it every time we move between the kitchen and family room. We're getting way too old for that - my hips are so sore lately - so we went to Target yesterday and bought a baby gate and put it up. Works like a charm and we just unlatch it and slide it over. It's at the top of the stairs instead of the bottom - the gate that would have fit across the bottom would have needed to be at least 7 feet and those gates are special order and very expensive - and it will work fine...just hoping she doesn't start piddling on the two stairs she now has access to that are carpeted. My next project for the house is to pull out the carpeting in the study and replace it with laminate flooring. Soon, I hope.

I am treating myself to a nap today - I have rarely napped this vacation - seriously. The only day I tried to nap was New Year's and the gardener and his crew arrived at that time and kept me awake with mowers, blowers, trimmers and edgers. I gave up and just got up - though it was great to be finally warm all snuggled under a zillion blankets.

Later, peeps. Happy 2009!