The crowd has gathered and the festivating has begun. Why yes I’ve had a bloody mary [sub]two[/sub], why do you ask? Anywho, folks are here, munchin’ is happenin’, chicken is fryin’. Speaking of which, I must go turn chicken boobs and laigs. Later y’all!
Happy New Year, Cool Kids and fellow MMP Lurkers!
I had a small party last night that turned out to be lots of fun. We had a few folks show up unexpectedly just before the ball dropped. The unexpected guests were folks that had been invited but who thought they would not make it due to other commitments. The ball drop and champagne popping was fun. Then we all rushed outside to blow things up. We set off fireworks for about half an hour, then we all wandered back into the house to begin a whole new year of drinking, chatting and having a good time. Around 5am most of the guests were crashed out on beds in the guest bedrooms. There were one or two others that stayed up chatting until around 8am when the sunlight peeking in the windows chased them into darkened beds to cover their eyes. I have just gotten up (yes, I slept till noon) and it would appear that I’m the first one to recover. I’ll wait just a little while and then I’ll start the traditional New Years Day meal.
My New Years Resolution: Try to post to the MMP a bit more often.
-Belz
Hi everyone!!! And
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Got home about 45 minutes ago and have unloaded the car. Need to go to the grocery (I’m making chicken soup to try to banish the remainder of The Sick from my system.
Yes, Christmas was part Mary Tyler Moore marathon and part lots of relatives (What? You’re sick? Come over anyway!).
The Attacks Husband predicament sounds icky, LiLi. Maybe if you encourage him to make a list of pros and cons about the situation and help him reality check it he’ll come to his senses. I’ve never seen a drama- and ultimatum-filled long-distance relationship end well, but maybe my experience is limited.
I’ll drop in again later…
GT
Happy New Year!
Seeing Dick Clark like that made me sad. Probably how my folks felt the last time they saw Guy Lombardo. I doubt DC will make it to next NYRE
The party was very nice. There was the usual chips and dip, plus veggies & dip, and spinach dip in a hollowed out pumpernickle loaf. And chicken teriyaki. And baby quiches. And potato skins. and pigs-in-blankets. and little spinach pies. And a casserole of salami, pepperoni, ham, and tomato slices in crescent roll dough. And dark chocolate mousse cake. And multi-berry cheesecake. And fresh fruit. And wine. and I made Toasted Almonds (thanks for the recipe, FCM (or was it SCL?)) And we talked and laughed and played with the puppy until about 2am. I didn’t get home, tho, until almost 3:30 because of all the stops to drop off my passengers.
Families are important, but like so many, mine is/was dysfunctional. I was closest with my sister, tho she was 15 years my senior. She and my brother were about 4 years apart, so they were closer than he was with me. For the longest time, I was the annoying kid sister who wouldn’t leave him alone.
Also, because Dad and SIL never really got along very well, Bro and family did not visit very often. And when they did, it was for short bursts only. Bro wouldn’t take sides in the arguments, but also he had his own family to take care of. Both my folks were still reasonably healthy at the time so there was no real urgency.
Until my sister was on her last legs. I picked Bro up at the airport and we went to visit Sis in the hospital. When we were thru there, I drove us to a diner because I wanted to talk to him without mom and dad around. I basically read him the riot act. I told him to let go of any resentment he had because Mom and Dad needed him to lean on, and I couldn’t bear the weight all by myself. I was 23 and he was 34. That was the first time he saw me as a grown up.
10 years later when Mom passed, Bro and Dad finally patched things up and rebonded. And after Dad passed, Bro and I started getting closer. And I started getting along with SIL. It wasn’t really that we didn’t get along, it’s just that we never found anything to bond over. But we started talking, and it got easier. She was very helpful to me with the cleaning out of Dad’s apartment. We would call each other every couple of weeks or so - mostly we communicated by email. I’d see them and the nephews once a year, the weekend before Thanksgiving.
Then we lost SIL. And since then, Bro and I talk on the phone 2 or 3 times a week. Everytime the family loses someone, those left get a little bit closer.
I also have Cousin who is just a few months older than me. And we are pretty much like sisters, because I can love her and hate her in the same breath. She really drives me crazy sometimes, but I cannot imagine her not being there.
And there’s the chorus. Some of the most giving people you could ever hope to meet. And from them, I’ve learned how to do that for my own friends.
But my favorite family is you guys.
So again I say
Happy New Year MMP!
How your folks felt watching Guy Lombardo for the last time? How about me? :dubious: I still remember his last NYE. It was so sad! Sigh. Why do people get old and die, forcing us to create new traditions? 
Gee, should I feel bad I didn’t put Dick Clark on my celebrity death pool list for this year? I’m sooooo goin’ to hell for that ain’t I?
Dinner is et. Tummies are full. My [del]chosen slaves[/del] adoring friends are cleaning up the kitchen and loading the dishwasher. What? They spent the night and ate my cooking. It’s their bounden duty to clean up. Ulterior motives, moi? Why however could you accuse me of such! 
There isn’t nearly that much drama going on in my family, thank Og, except for my SIL, who isn’t evil so much as she’s just very self-centered and vain.
No, the reason I live on the West coast while they’re all back east is that they’re a bunch of fundies. Although most of them have given up trying to save my soul these days and we get along much better now.
Wifey and I were home alone last night. We puttered around the house discussing various packing strategies for a while, then we watched Garrison Keillor’s New Years Eve show. Garrison still has the worst haircut I’ve ever seen on a live person. I had an uncle once that wore a hairpiece that my Grandmother described as looking like “a basset hound’s rump”. Garrison’s hair looked worse. The show was fun, even with Emmy Lou Harris, who still can’t sing a lick.
About 10 til midnight Wifey and I shucked off all our clothes and scampered out to the hot tub. It wasn’t a pretty sight, but we figger anybody crass enough to peep into our back yard deserves whatever eye damage they get. In my mind, Wifey is still the tall, lithe beauty I married, and she still thinks I have a cute butt, so to Hell with them!
Our plans for today include cleaning the house up some, (we have a house-sitter coming) and packing for real. We’re off to the airport about 5am tomorrow. We’re going to a new condo where we haven’t been before, but there’s supposed to be WiFi there, so I’ll be able to look in on your doings and maybe post a bit.
I hope this year is kind to you all, my friends.
Didn’t drink, didn’t party, didn’t get up until noon.
Haven’t heard from or checked in with any family.
Well, yes I did. Email. They probably won’t read it until tomorrow.
I have the Parade and the Razorback game recorded.
They may or may not get watched.
I’m debating whether I should dig through the pantry for some peas, and start them cooking with that ham chunk.
Is it possible to lose my Southerner permit, if I don’t…?
Well maybe not but we might have to haul ya in for a refresher course.
I’m back from work. The puck drop was fun last night, but not the 2hours of sleep. Most of my family is still alive and kicking, including the parents. We talk every other week.
We had to make a run to Lowe’s, so I stopped into Michael’s, which is right next door. I bought a couple of packs of assorted paintbrushes for glazing. Today’s accomplishments include just about all my glazing (just a few touch-ups to go), preparing a bunch of clay for throwing tomorrow, and washing 2 loads of laundry.
The rain appears to have stopped, and in a few minutes, I’m going to make some chicken salad for FCD. Then we’ll have another night of doing nothing. Life is good…
NYD has been workworkwork for me. I put up shelvs in the workshop with VKind’s help, and started the aduous task of finlly cleaning up out there. We’ve been here 6 months now, and that is the last holdout of moving in clutter.
Per a personal tradition I started in college Mark 1, I’m making lasagna for NYD dinner. Da Boy was REAL excitd by that, 'cuz he hasn’t had my zagna since we moved.
Excellent OP, mamatigs! I have a pretty large family myself and most of us are peculiar in our own ways but we manage to function fairly well. These days we are rallying around quite a bit. I love them all.
NurseDebbie[sup]TM[/sup] and I almost made it til midnight but gave up about twenty til and I never heard a thing after I went to bed.
Today was lazy day. We watched the parade while I finished Brother Odd and started Phantom. After that I started watching a Dirty Jobs marathon. Mike Rowe is too funny and I hope they pay him well for all the crap he goes through.
Defrosted some sauce and meatyballs for dinner tonight. Yum. Back to work tomorrow. 
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO A GREAT BUNCH OF COOL KIDS!
Nana just called, they’re on their way now, and should be here in about an hour.
I had a long post about that, but I lost it. Stupid IE. Oh, well, it was cathartic to write, even if it’s gone now.
I’m dreading their visit. Think good thoughts for me, please. Why did I agree that they could come over? Oh, yes, because I was sure they wouldn’t come.
Our NYD, has so far, been very lazy. However, we crazy folk are about to hit the MAUL. Good grief! Everyone has gift cards to use, so we may as well squeeze the last dollar out of them because of the good sales. Hopefully, everyone will find something to their liking.
I went to bed until three, woke up at 6:00 am, fell back asleep, woke at 8:30 and then fell back asleep until about 10:30. What woke me up was a very strange dream. I thought I should get up at that point.
Happy New Year MMPers and lurkers alike. Welcome to our newbies as well!
Off to dry my hair now. It takes for friggin’ ever because it’s gotten so damn long.
Papa Tigs hit the MAUL this morning – when he went to Sam’s, he discovered it was closed today, so he went to Sears instead and got himself some khakis and a really gorgeous burgundy cotton sweater. He usually doesn’t like to buy himself clothes, so it was a pleasant surprise that he actually did it without me dragging him out and then insisting on him getting what he’s looking at. And strangest of all? He said there were only like two customers in the whole men’s department. I guess he went early enough. You couldn’t pay me to get near the place this afternoon!
Palebunny are going to drive to Lousyana at the end of this week and pick up her stuff. Lucky me, round trip to Lousyana in six days. (She’s too small to drive the SUV, so I have to do all the driving going down; then she’ll come back in her own car.) So I have to go to a store some time this week to find something to play my iPod through the car speakers. I’ve been waiting till after New Year’s to avoid the insanity; hopefully everything will be on sale now, too.
I think my answer is kinda like MBG’s. We try to be close. My closest family is only my Mom and brother and me, and I’ve really only started appreciating my Mom’s point of view since my niece was born (she’s 12, now, so it’s actually been a while).
Mom’s a major smotherer, so it’s difficult to be close to her if you want to be a grown-up. She’s also incredibly self-centered (not sure how she managed to raise my brother and me, actually). So, even though she can be lots of fun to be around, we do better when exposed to each other in small doses. (Prime recent example: I have been taken over by The Sick because we haven’t had a proper vacation in 30 years.) Because, of course, no proper vacation could be taken without her. And, apparrently, this year, no proper vacation can be taken outside Mexico. Mostly, I think she’s just insecure and doesn’t get that holding onto people with iron clutches isn’t going to make them love her more.
I also know that when she looks at us, she sees her babies and I know how hurt we would all be if my niece and nephew decided we weren’t worth spending time with, so I stay as close to Mom as I can stand and try really hard to nod and smile even when I completely disagree with her on trivial items. We talk at least once a week, sometimes twice.
Brother and I are close, even though we’re very different (he’s a lot more straight-laced than I am, even though he tends to vote a more classically liberal line than I do). We talk at least a couple times a week, often more.
Our cousins, aunts and uncles have always been really important to us. We spent a lot of time together when little Bro and I were growing up, and even though we’ve spent less time with the younger cousins, we always have a nice time when we’re together and are really happy that my niece and nephew have become friends with our cousins’ kids. My niece and one of my cousins’ daughters are especially close, even though they haven’t actually spent all that much time together. It’s really cute to watch them meet up again and resume their friendship where they left off.
Which is a long way of saying that I’m really grateful to have lots of supplemental family in my life, including all you Cool Kids.
Hope the visit from Nana and ? goes OK, Jahdra. Hope you’re not letting them get to you.
Welcome to the MMP, **LadyMack. ** I notice we haven’t come up with a nickname for you yet. Is the Mack for the truck or something else? Also, did someone mention that you’re supposed to send love offerings of chocolate to FCM?
Have a wonderful vacation, Bumba! We’ll look forward to the pictures, of course.
Hanging out on the couch and eating soup seems to have made me feel better. I think I’ll keep doing that. Can’t believe I have to go to work tomorrow.
Back after a while.
GT
Hey all-Happy New Year.
Just wanted to say that I had a good day at work, and I got a very nice compliment from a neurologist (and one from a gastroenterologist). It feels good.
AND I woke my husband up at 0400 (I almost never do this) and we really talked-until 0630 when I had to go to work. Not saying the problems all melted away, but we made significant inroads on some of our issues.
It is indeed a happy new year!
Yay, rigs, on both fronts!!!
I’ve been surfing the Dope, catching up on the week (wandered through last week’s MMP, even) and watching French Kiss, kind of.
Now, I’m considering beddy bye.
On to day 2 of the new year!
GT
I have no comments about family at this time.
I am hoping for a better year this year, at least I am starting this one off with a BRAND NEW CAR! YAY! I finally bought myself a new car, a 2007 Toyota Matrix a few days ago.
I intend to go more places this year, work on more creative projects and home improvement stuff, and I hope I can manage to worry less and have fun more.
Best wishes to all for the new year.