new year's eve weekend

Oh, the fun we've had.  We have had several small gatherings in the past few weeks, and have (of course) taken some pictures.  There was the new year's eve party where we were actually awake past midnight (yey, us), the game nights where friends proved to us that we are not as good at games as we think, and the pot of chili we made for Mike, Denise and Ally that we subsequently left on the stove 'to cool' for what should've been half an hour, and ended up being all night.  What a pleasant wake-up surprise THAT was.  I actually called mom to ask if I could boil the germs out of it, and she was appalled at the suggestion.  Clearly, she's never eaten an unrefrigerated day old chicken sammich.  Sheesh!

Here's the proof.  Enjoy.



Aside from the obvious fun we've been having, we have started a health kick.  Yes, we are following the centuries old (?) tradition of making new year's resolutions, and we have vowed to pound get ourselves into shape.  For Karen, this simply means adding exercise to her already healthy-esque eating habits.  For me, that means no longer enjoying a few bags of Cheez-Its from the vending machine at work for breakfast, and no longer cooking very filling (and very comfort-foody) meals every day.  To aid in our venture, I ordered Jillian's 30-day Shred workout video.  I must admit I have never been a fan of workout videos, but this one is actually doable.  As much as Jillian seems like someone I would never want near me in a gym when I watch her on TV, she is very motivating and almost kind in this video.  I did it for the first time last night and actually woke up this morning and did it again.  Jillian promises twenty pounds in thirty days.  We'll see...  Updates to come.

And, I think I mentioned a new camera for Christmas...  It's a little plastic guy who loves to take strange pics. Here's his latest work: