New Year's Resolutions

Whether you believe in them or not New Year's Resolutions are all over the place.  I usually don't make them but this year I did and I'm putting it out there for all to see.

1.  Send birthday cards to close friends and family members.

2.  Get below 120 (I'm about 123 right now) and stay there through the end of the summer.

3.  Get a new hobby to do with Tony possibly dance lessons or photography classes.

My good friend Casey mentioned to me that one of her resolutions is to get more "green" so if that is one of yours or you just feel the need to be more environmentally friendly anyways here are a few tips that can be easily incorporated into your daily routine.

1.  Drive Eco-

I'm not telling you to go buy a new car but if a new car purchase is in the cards for this year try to get one with high mpg's.  If the car you really, really want is not "green" make sure you do ALL of the following things to make up for it.

2.  Recycle-

Come on; if you still aren't recycling you're living in the stone age, just plain lazy, or both.  All you have to do is call your garbage company and they will drop off a bin and you set it out with your trash each week.

3.  Bring your own bag-

To the grocery store, Target, wherever.  You can get a bag (mine are from Publix) for about $1 at most places and 2 should do it for your average grocery trip.  If you forget to bring them one day don't worry about it too much.  I reuse grocery bags as trash bags in the bathroom or for cleaning the kitty box; you can also recycle them (see #2).

4.  Buy organic-

Foods are the most popular organic items but you can also easily find organic soaps, shower gels, sheets, and all kinds of stuff and the prices are very comparable to non-organic items.  Here are a few reasons to make the switch:

-They are healthier for your body because they do not contain pesticides or toxins.

-Most organic farms use environmentally friendly systems such as wind energy and recycled packaging.

-Less pesticides used on foods means less toxins in the environment.

5.  Use natural cleaners or make your own-

I previously published a post on natural cleaners so you can refer to that in the archives.  I would also like to point out that John Travolta's son died a few days ago and from what I heard he had a history of seizures caused by a condition called Kawasaki syndrome.  They think that he contracted this disease as a toddler crawling around on carpet that contained harmful chemicals either from the products they use to manufacture it or toxic carpet cleaning materials (or both).  If that isn't enough reason for you to cut out the chemicals in your life I don't know what is.

Being more "green" isn't supposed to stress you out or make you feel guilty.  It is about awareness.  Take what works into your life and know that it does add up and make a difference.

Holiday-filled Weekend

This weekend was definitely filled with the holiday spirit.  For the first time I decided to sponsor a child for Christmas.  I went through a non-profit in Cumming called "The Place" and they do all kinds of charity work from running a thrift store to meals on wheels and obviously putting needy families in touch with resources.  I sponsored a 14 year old girl named Anita and that's really all I know about her but going shopping on Friday night with my mom (who co-sponsored) was so much fun.  We bought gifts like socks, a new purse, and Old Navy gift cards so I hope she likes them and has a Merry Christmas.  Next year I plan to sponsor a whole family.

Saturday night was the 3rd annual progressive dinner that wasn't really progressive.  The point of a progressive dinner is that it typically takes place with neighbors and each household prepares one course of the meal; everyone then walks from house to house to enjoy each course.  Ours has never really been that easy because our participating friend group does not all live in the same neighborhood but at least we all live within a 10 mile radius.  This year we all gathered at Derek and Kelly's house with appetizers and it was actually not easier because it's kind of a bitch to pack up all that food and drink and haul it around; at least I didn't have to clean.  I made a delicious ham and cheese in puff pastry recipe by Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa) which Kennen, who didn't actually prepare anything, referred to as Hot Pockets.  What a dick!  The night consisted of Guitar Hero (which I suck at; I got booed off stage twice but I'm pretty sure the guitar was broken) and the usual lighting farts on fire.  

Sunday the festivities continued with Andrea's first, hopefully annual, cookie exchange.  The premise of a cookie exchange is that friends gather and all bring 3-4 dozen of their favorite cookie recipe.  They then taste and choose a tasty winner and a pretty winner and leave with a variety of cookies.  I made a no-bake chocolate rum ball by Alex G.  I'm not going to attempt spelling her last name and I don't feel like looking it up but she's new on Food Network.  I did something wrong and I don't think they turned out as good as hers but I'm bringing it next year so look out bitches.  Who said you can't win tastiest AND prettiest?

Today was the Spanish final exam at school so now I'm done for the semester.  Movie time!!!  

Georgia/Georgia Tech

Despite the rain and the cold we truly dedicated fans decided to to go to the game.  It was about 50 degrees and consistently rainy the whole day.  I bought some kick ass new goulashes last night at Target and donned my hooded rain coat and I was ready.  We had a short tailgate in the parking deck; plenty of time for a few mimosas.  Erik was smart enough to bring a couple of rags to wipe down the bleachers and to sit on but my butt was still soaked for the rest of the day.  Christy and I made it until half time and then we decided that it was time to go so we went downtown and watched Tech beat GA at Transmetropolitan with a pepperoni pizza.  Overall it was actually a great time and now I can tell my Dad honestly that I didn't sell his tickets.

First Annual Wedding Dress Party

Saturday was the 1st annual wedding dress party hosted by Amanda at her house.  I showed up late but when I arrived all of the girls were in the backyard playing corn hole (aka bean bag toss) and we soon left for the church for pictures.  I didn't realize that there were events planned for the evening but 5 girls in wedding dresses and a token bridesmaid can draw a lot of attention.  While we were standing outside of the church there were a lot of stares and honking horns.  We then went to Atkins Park, a bar in Vinings, for a drink.  When people asked us what we were doing they thought it was hilarious and Amanda is convinced that Atkins Park will sponsor the party next year.

Flag Football

Tony and the Douche-Unit now have a flag football team.  They are called "Balls Deep" and I was a little concerned with the team name thinking that my husband chose that.  I later learned that it is the team name on Dodgeball (I think) so I was relieved to learn that Tony didn't come up with that all on his own.

These guys take re-living their high school stardom pretty seriously.  Practice at least once a week and formal plays that Tony, as the quarterback, actually spends hours typing up.  Even more interesting, each of the plays have strip club names like Pink Pony and Oasis so they can remember which one they are supposed to be running.

Lexi just got a new camera and took these awesome action shots.  Have I mentioned they're 0-2?  Hopefully all the practice will start to pay off.

Happenings

Well, it seems lately that I have been pretty uninspired to blog but the fans are asking for it so I'm just going to give a little update on what's been going on in my life.

In the past month or so I have started a new job.  I've been a Spanish teacher for the past 5 years and last year decided to take some time off to see if there was anything better out there for me.  After a brief stint selling wine and getting fired from life-guarding I decided to go back to teaching.  I really like my new school-it is well organized and the students are sweet.  Our biggest problem right now if students not doing their homework.  I realized that I do like teaching but I just hadn't found the right school yet so it's great to be back.

Football season has just started so I'm reading a lot!  I just finished the best book I've read in a long time called Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin and I am about to start Something Blue by the same author.  It is the kind of book that you find yourself thinking about the characters even when you're not reading it and the story line is totally addictive.  If you're at all intellectual you find yourself slightly embarrassed that you are so into such a superficial read but it is just that good.  

Something else that is just that good and another one of my new guilty pleasures is the new 90210.  It is so awesome in every way; like a mix of the old school 90210 and the OC.  I even get to watch it on TV because it comes on Tuesday nights and there is no football.  Tony loves it too and as a self professed Dawson's Creek and Sex in the City fan I don't think he'll deny it.

I hoped to find inspiration to blog by going to Suwanee Day which is an annual festival in Suwanee to celebrate the day it was founded (I guess).  Andrea and I made plans a week ago to attend and when we showed up this morning there was nothing going on; no tents or people.  After a few minutes of roaming around we realized that Suwanee Day is next Saturday so maybe we'll give it another try.  It was the kind of mistake that I am accustomed to making but Andrea's usually got a pretty good head on her shoulders so I enjoyed it even more; especially as I decided to share the information with just about everyone we know:)

I've also been doing yoga in my new yoga studio, aka the garage.  I actually really like it because it's so convenient a lot less expensive than going to a real yoga studio.  I bought a few dvd's so I can vary my workout and stay challenged and I've seen good results because I'm doing it about 4-5 days a week now instead of 2.

Because I like to include a picture on each of my postings and because summer's almost over I've chosen this picture of the boat on a beautiful summer evening on Lake Hartwell.

Daphne in Beijing

Here is Daphne packing for her trip.

She won a gold medal in triathlon which in kitty olympics consists of 100 meter sprint, high jump, and nap time.