Fourth of July

How better to celebrate a holiday than a fabulous bike ride with friends?

Fur Ball

Every year the Stafford Animal Shelter throws a fantastic “ball” to raise money. There’s a silent auction and a live one with great items that are donated. Last year, the food was fantastic, the lines were short and the wine flowed freely. This year, they sold more tickets and expected that folks would move around as they ate so that people would circulate through the seats. I don’t know who thought that this would be a good idea or even feasible but it made it a little less enjoyable. Also, the food just didn’t have as much pop. I splurged on a martini and it was okay but not fantastic. Hopefully Vicki will be on the volunteer board again next year so we’ll get to hear what the plan is but I’ve got to say, if I’m spending $75, I would hope for something a little better than what we were given. I want good food that I can eat in one to two bites. They did a fantastic job in 2010 and I hope it gets back to that.
Other than that, over twenty people from Gardiner came, which was a huge percentage of the town and a great percentage of the number of people that actually showed up. A great chance to reconnect with some folks that I don’t normally get to see and probably won’t get to see with the business of summer coming up.

Fancy eyeliner from Birchbox. Pretty but it itched after awhile

Me and Pat

Laurel and Leigh Anne

Heidi and Leigh Anne

Leigh Anne and me

New Year's Resolutions

I don't like resolutions. Mostly 'cause I can't keep them. So I'm not going to make any for the new year.
Okay, that's a lie. I'm going to shoot for the same things I've put on the list for the past few years "which are as follows and I quote"

• Try to be a nicer person (not working so far, but it's always worth a shot)
• Try to get out more (already working on this one-have organized a bar crawl on Friday. For all four bars in Gardiner. BTW, this does not include community projects. This means going out with friends, not hanging out and watching TV but actually going out.)
• Attempt to eat better and exercise more. (I actually like exercising, it's going to be the eating better that will be hard.
• Get better at saying "No" (Actually, doing really well on this one. May actually be going overboard)
  

Good luck to me and to everyone else that has goals for 2010. Let's go out and make it a good year people!

Thanksgiving-Part Two

But, yes, I was able to get quite a bit of goodness in me. All day long. It was wonderful. After Trudy's delectable appetizers, it was time to head home for some more Christmas movies. Thought I could play some Wii at Carrie's but ended up getting sucked into Holiday Inn. Have decided that the movie is long, racist, and much more charming in black and white.
Then, was the inevitable crunch time as I realized that I should have put the potatoes on "15 minutes ago" and hadn't even THOUGHT about the ham in awhile. But it all came together. Even with me distracting poor Allie from her hard work on getting some excellent gravy. Dinner was awesome. There was great conversation, some dancing to Mariah Carey and lots of people chipping in to help wash dishes. Just thinking about the day gives me a happy, sappy inside glow. Christmas, you're gonna have to work hard to stay my favorite holiday.
I forgot to include this picture in my last post. This is the planning that six of us sat down to figure out how we were going to feed 23 people in our tiny little houses. We were women with a wipey board and a plan. In my world view, we gave people options. The youngest person there was 24. if they were unhappy with the options given, they were darn well old enough to do something about it themselves. Why should the hostesses have to worry about more than what we had planned? This is what I have learned from years of eating with my mother and her friends. And you know what? They're right.
A view of my tablemates. You can't really see Jen or Josh, but they're there. Jen is behind the wine and Josh's hand is grasping his mug.
Trying to get a good brother/sister shot to send home to Mom and Grandma. This is about the best one. Thanks Mariah!