364 and 365/365 - Happy New Year!

Brian and I stayed up to welcome in the New Year. He was very excited (an understatement, really) and set up at least two count down clocks until he realized the TV show all displayed them.

Once the clock counted down, he jumped all over the place and danced on the floor.


At 1am, I drove out to church to pick up Erica from her New Year's Eve celebration. I was really tired, but she was completely awake. I suspect we will experience some groggy mornings as the kids adjust their body clocks back to "school schedule".

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Later on, during the "normal waking hours of the day" - we took down the Christmas Tree and decorations. I finally "wiped" our old PC - we've been using the new PC for over a month now and no longer need the other computer.



I also cleaned out the unused toys in the basement - toys that haven't been played with in years. A bit of a trip down memory lane, remembering when the kids wanted to play with their toy dinosaurs and horses. But it was good to get the broken toys out and the other toys organized to sell at a garage sale. Cleaning and purging - all appropriate in the new year.

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And so I've finished up another year of taking daily pictures.

In 2011, I plan to change things a little. I probably won't take a picture every day and post every day - after two years of posting to two blogs, I feel I need a little break. I might just post weekly instead, at least for the month of January.

For those just starting a Project 365, good for you! I found the project to be very rewarding.

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363/365 - New Year's Eve Lunch

Note - I'm not sure how today is the last day of the year, but I'm only on day 363 of my Project 365. Maybe I miscounted somewhere along the way, or maybe I started late. Who knows. I guess it doesn't really matter - tomorrow is a New Year and today is New Year's Eve!

Which we celebrated with a nice lunch at KoFusion, a nice sushi restaurant in the Downtown area.


We didn't know that they offered a wonderful buffet at lunch, which included three types of sushi. All the items on the buffet were wonderful - Chicken Curry, Pork and Veggies, Sweet / Spicy chicken, Spicy Tuna Roll, Big Sushi Roll and California Roll, just to name a few.

Brian loves sushi, too:


After lunch, we walked to Pekara bakery, where I ordered a cannoli for desert.


I was kicking myself for not bringing my purse, which holds my camera (you know, when the hubby drives, there's not much reason for me to lug the purse around). I was lucky I had my iPhone, which I used to take the pictures.

There are a lot of unique stores in our small Downtown area. I should go back again with my big camera. I guess it will have to wait until "next year", though!

I hope you have a safe New Year's Eve and a fabulous 2011!

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362/365 - Christmas is 70% Off

'Tis the season for great deals on Christmas decorations.

Brian wanted a taller tree for his bedroom. The little 12" tree we bought several years ago was too small for all the ornaments he put on it and it tipped over constantly.

Today, Brian, Scott and Grandma Fay visited the Target and scored a nice 4 foot, pre-lit tree, 70% off (they paid $17 for it - another bargain). They set it up in his room this afternoon.

Even though Christmas is over, it's nice to have something new and festive in the house.

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361/365 - More Uggs Knock Offs

Ever since Erica purchased her Uggs Slipper from Zappos, I have been coveting a pair. I've worn a hole in my current slipper and the cozy lining is all gone. I was hoping for a new pair at Christmas, but that didn't happen (I'm not complaining - Scott bought me something just as nice - I'll have to take a picture of that tomorrow).

I was mentally prepared to spend between $70 and $100 for a pair of slippers like Erica's. I went to the Zappos website and tried to select a size 7 slipper.

And received this message - "The Shoe / Size Combination you have selected is not Available" - at least 6 times!

OK, I understand. Christmas was a few days ago and I'm sure folks are heavy into the after Christmas shopping thing. I set up the "e-mail me when this selection becomes available" bit. Then I hit the local Outlet Mall's Famous Footwear store after work.

And came home with these:

And I only paid $35 for them!

Let's look at Erica's Uggs to compare:


I think I can live without the Uggs label on the top. And I will attest that my BearPaw slippers are just as comfortable.

And for $65 less than the Uggs, I think my wallet feels better!

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Day 360/365 - Mornings

While I wish I had this week off from work, I would have missed the gorgeous, sparkly landscape this morning.

I love the look of these red twig dogwood branches in winter. Covered in frost, they are even more beautiful.


I watched the sun rise as I approached the interstate ramp.


And that sun really made the pine trees at work sparkle:

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359/365 - Just a Small Sampling...

...of the Christmas / Holiday cards we received from friends near and far.

We are so blessed to have friends next door and friends as far away as China. I love the prominence of photo cards and really love it when we get to see picture of the entire family, not just the kids. I wish I could capture all of the cards in one 4x6 capture, but I think this one gets most of them.

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358/365 - Relaxing Day

The last day of my 4-day weekend, and we are just relaxing at home.
Scott caught the Colts game via the internet.
Fay watched the Giants lose to the Packers.
I started reading a book on Lightroom 3.
Erica took a 5 hour nap.
Brian played games at George's house.
The cats napped on the couches.

A perfect lazy Sunday.

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Day 357 - Christmas

A wonderful day, starting with the view of the backyard:


The bonus of having older kids - they don't wake up before the crack of dawn. This was the first year the adults got up before the kids. Around 8:30am, Brian woke up and we sent him into Erica's room to wake her up [otherwise, he wouldn't be opening up gifts until the afternoon].



And later on in the afternoon, the kids played with some of the new toys:


After dinner and another round of Clue, this time with all five of us [I won this time!].


A Great Christmas!

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356/365 - Christmas Traditions

One of our favorite holiday traditions - making and decorating the gingerbread house.



The finished product:


Christmas Eve and the snow has started to fall:


The best thing about snow on Christmas Eve - we don't have to go anywhere and we can simply watch the snow fall peacefully.

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355/365 - Clue Game

We had a full day of last minute Christmas preparations, cleaning and laundry. For me, the day started with a much needed run outside - the sun was shining and the road was clear of snow and ice. I have a feeling I won't see these conditions after today (lots of snow in the weather forecast).

I headed out to run errands, but stopped off at Starbucks first.


After my errands, the kids and I spent the rest of the day cleaning and preparing for Grandma Fay's arrival, just in time for dinner.

After dinner, we broke out this year's new CLUE game. Seriously, we have at least 8 versions of the game and there seems to be a newer version each year.





Erica won tonight's game.

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354/365 - New Addiction - Angry Birds

Oh why did I purchase this App? I had heard bits and pieces about this game and hey, it is the number one App on iTunes. And it's only 99 cents. But it's addictive, too.



The object of the game is simple - launch the birds out of the slingshot and kill the pigs. Sounds easy, right? Heck, the pigs are even stationary! The key is to get the right trajectory, which can tricky.

The game reminds me of my C+ programming class back in college, where we built a golf game using trajectories (factoring in force applied to the ball and wind speed / direction). Of course, our game graphics didn't really exist (well, I think they consisted of keyboard dashes, dots and slashes - really high tech - NOT!).

The game is a hoot and the best 99 cents you can buy. Now, if only I could get past Level 1-21.

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353/365 - Was Lost, Now Found

The long story short - Brian's lost iTouch has been found. I had resigned myself to its demise, afterall it went missing almost two months ago.



The whole story deserves a separate blog post - and I'll have time to pull it together over the next couple days, so stay tuned.

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352/365 - Sweet Treat Surprise

We are blessed to have such great neighbors who are friends. Tonight, Kellie and cute little Maddie delivered some goodies - Puppy Chow and Peppermint Bark. Totally yummy.



No pictures of the Puppy Chow, and I didn't get much of it - the kids devoured it!

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351/365 - Sleepy Sunday

Can you tell winter break has started for our kids? That's Brian sleeping in the kitchen on the makeshift couch. He's joined by the two cats.



I think the cats will be completely spoiled by the time the kids have to go back.

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350/365 - Magic Time

Tonight's event - the annual work holiday party, complete with Magician.

He even visited the tables before dinner and ran through some cool tricks:


Changing two silver coins into five:


Then working with doves during the official show:


And picking on the HR Manager:


A fun and entertaining night.

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349/365 - The Snow Fort

Snow mound, courtesy of our neighbor, Bob, who plows all the driveways in the cul-de-sac and mounds it up by our driveway. He knows the kids will create a fort.

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348/365 - Snow Covered

We received another 3" of snow last night. School wasn't canceled, but that's really for the best - all the end of semester activities, not to mention final tests.

Brian took advantage of the new snow to play. He refuses to wear his normal winter jacket, instead wearing a sweatshirt. He decided to roll around in the snow tonight.

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347/365 - Choir Rehearsal

Even though I'm not feeling great, I will be attending choir rehearsal tonight, from 6-8pm. The singing does improve my mood. Must bring out the endorphins. Heaven knows, I could use some endorphins to break this cold.

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346/365 - Heading South

I think the geese have the right idea - heading south. I saw several flocks flying overhead today. With the lack of wind and bright sun, it must be a good day to travel!

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345/365 - Cake Prep

I'm making rum cake tonight to bring to a function tomorrow night.



I've come down with a terrible head cold and can hardly breathe. Will be taking things a little easier (as much as I can!) over then next couple of days.

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