Christmas/New Years Pics... & It's COOOLLLLDDD!!

Everyone is alseep ... the house is quiet....and I have a few moments to finally upload a few of our Christmas and New Year pics. And because I am half asleep still you get the New Year pictures first!

BUT-------> let me first start by telling you it is SOOOOOO cold outside. I jumped up out of bed to put the trash out. I bundled up with long socks, my fleece pajamas (of course), long sleeve shirt, big heavy brown coat and a nice case of bed head covered up by a red beanie. I took the trash out and was only out for two, maybe three minutes. I walked back in and my face was actually burning it was soooo cold! So I turned on my laptop, looked at the temperature...and my friends, here in San Antonio we are at 16 degrees! In my sixteen years I have NEVER seen it get that cold here. I wanted to blog it because I want to remember it. It might not happen for many, many more years to come.
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New Year 2010

We decided to take this New Year's Eve off and stay at home. When we spend New Years with the Russians they believe you need to stay out and celebrate until the first sun of the year comes out....which means we usually stroll in around 6:30 - 7 a.m. Not happening! Especially when I woke up at 5:30 the previous morning to go to work! And my body usually wakes me up two or three hours later anyway so it really just makes for a messed up and wasted day. Since it was a three day weekend I did not want that to happen!
So Emil made some wonderful ground meat shish-kebobs and beet salad. I made mushroom salad and bought a wonderful bottle of champagne. We had a fruit cake...delicious! And we played the Wii all night!

My last picture of 2009 with Lena...

We danced to the music medley they played shortly after the midnight.... for us when the elevator reached the top floor of the Tower of Americas. Even Luigi celebrated with us!
Then the girls decided to kill some zombies in the mall.....

Lena and Emil's last photo together in 2009...

There was for once a really nice picture of me and Emil, but of course my camera errored it out so it wouldn't even download and I had to delete it! Sometimes I really miss my old roll of film cameras! (And of course I posted my resolution at the very bottom of this post!)

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Christmas Dinner 2009 at Lisa's house....

This year Lisa did a small dinner at her house for Christmas. It was so nice with just close friends and Lisa and I are so close, she feels like family. (Sometimes she even slips up and calls me "sis.")

We did the white elephant. There were some funny gifts, wonderful gifts, empty-bag gifts... but don't worry, I ran to the car and got the gift! Emil and Lena were running the show!

The kids played all night!

I brought my karaoke machine... almost EVERYONE sang. Lisa and I sang the most, Elvira, Friends in Low Places, I Will Survive, Margaritaville, Achy Breaky Heart....you name it!

My Papa Bear loves singing his Frank Sinatra!

The ladies gossiped and the men drank....

And everyone ate and ate and ate!

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We had a really nice time celebrating with our friends but I really like just being at home. I usuallly can't wait to get home to my pj's, my Charlie and my bed! I forgot to add above that my New Year resolution is to be a better friend. I don't call back when I say I'm going to. I usually just don't answer the phone, thinking I will call back when I get more time. Then days go by and I feel bad and end up not calling back for many, many weeks sometimes. I need to change that. A real friend should be able to pick up the phone anytime.... even when it's not convient. I want to be THAT friend. I started with Gala... she is so wonderful and sadly, the one I usually push to the back the most. I also pick up more when Lisa calls. And I do call back. I am really trying, no matter how tired I am or how much is going on... to give that person calling me even five minutes if that's all I have. I want to be a better friend and I hope 2010 gets me there!