Happy New Year!
It's a new day and a new year. I am determined to be better at blogging (whether or not anyone else reads what I write). 2016 is going to be the year of gratitude... The title of my blog, "Making the Most of Everyday" is all about appreciating all that each day has to offer, and that's just what I want to do. I can't promise I'll remember to post every single day, but I really want to try to be mindful and grateful for those moments that are especially joyful and/or meaningful.
Day 1.
I am so grateful for the annual "Minute to Win It" New Year's Eve party that we host. This was the second of many NYE shindigs that will be held at our house. Last year, there were five couples total, which seemed like a great number. This year, we had four returning couples, including us (one of the couples, our dear friends, Jon and Mo, were unable to come to the party again due to being booked to photograph a wedding), and we added four more couples to the attendance list.
It was such a fun fun night!
The party officially started at 8:00, but most people didn't arrive until 9 or later. We started the party with lots of food and conversation. Close to 10, we cleared off the dining room table and got ready for the competition! We played a total of eight games:
Stack it Up - The challenge was to stack 25 pennies on top of each other, using one hand. It was one of the easier tasks, partly due to being unsure of the exact rules. Haha Oh well!
Cottonball Nose - The challenge was to put a dab of Vaseline on your nose, pick up cottonballs with your nose and drop them into a cup - No hands allowed! I almost peed myself watching my friend Bri try to get her cottonball off her nose! She was only able to get two cottonballs in the cup in a minute! We weren't sure how to score, so we decided that whichever couple got the most total cottonballs in the cup would get 8 points, the next most would get 7, and so forth.
Donut Chew - For this game, we had only half of each couple (I think all the husbands opted to do it) participate since we didn't have enough donuts for everyone. We tied 8 donuts from strings, being held by the wives, which the participants had to eat, using only their mouths, without letting any of the donut fall to the floor. I think the most difficult part was chewing up the donuts, which seemed really dry.
Nutstacker - This one was another too easy game, because I totally got the rules wrong. The object was to use a skewer to stack five 5/8" hex nuts on top of each other, but we used one hand instead of our mouths. It definitely would have been a lot trickier had we done it the correct way.
Cookie Face - The premise was easy enough, but executing was an entirely different story. You start with an Oreo on your forehead, and you have to move it to your mouth, using only your face muscles. I got so close several times, but never succeeded! I think I provided lots of laughs though.
Suck it Up - This game was a repeat from last year. Use a straw to suck up M&Ms and transfer them from one plate to another. We did the scoring the same way as the Cottonball Nose one.
Movin' on Up - I did not successfully complete this challenge either! It's a little harder to explain, but basically, you have a certain number of one color cups, and one color of another on the bottom, in a stack. You have to move the different colored cup to the top of the stack by moving the cups one at a time from the top of the stack to the bottom, alternating hands. If I hadn't dropped multiple cups, I'm sure I could've completed it.
Elephant March - Last, but not least, we had to knock down as many full water bottles by swinging a tennis ball in a panyhose leg which was worn on our heads. We all looked completely ridiculous, but Laura wins for being the most creative with her interpretive dance moves. If an elephant could dance, it would look a little bit like her. lol!
For the second year in a row, Marie and Joe were the big winners! By the way, sorry I don't have any pictures! I was too busy trying not to pee my pants from laughing so hard and having a blast to take photos!
Side note: We actually had to pause the games to ring in the new year. (Almost) everyone filled their little plastic wine glasses with sparkling grape juice, and stood outside on the front porch to listen to the urban sounds of celebration. haha Then we rushed back inside, because it was so cold out there!
I love our friends. We have so much fun together!
Oh, and one other thought: I love hosting, and I love being hospitable, but preparing for a big party is a lot of work! I woke up at 5:30 yesterday morning, and worked my butt off all day long until the party. And then it was close to 2 when everyone left, and after 3:30 when I got the place relatively cleaned up and I was ready for bed. So today was a completely lazy day for the whole family!
Anyway, even though January 1st is almost over, Happy New Year!!
Day 1.
I am so grateful for the annual "Minute to Win It" New Year's Eve party that we host. This was the second of many NYE shindigs that will be held at our house. Last year, there were five couples total, which seemed like a great number. This year, we had four returning couples, including us (one of the couples, our dear friends, Jon and Mo, were unable to come to the party again due to being booked to photograph a wedding), and we added four more couples to the attendance list.
It was such a fun fun night!
The party officially started at 8:00, but most people didn't arrive until 9 or later. We started the party with lots of food and conversation. Close to 10, we cleared off the dining room table and got ready for the competition! We played a total of eight games:
Stack it Up - The challenge was to stack 25 pennies on top of each other, using one hand. It was one of the easier tasks, partly due to being unsure of the exact rules. Haha Oh well!
Cottonball Nose - The challenge was to put a dab of Vaseline on your nose, pick up cottonballs with your nose and drop them into a cup - No hands allowed! I almost peed myself watching my friend Bri try to get her cottonball off her nose! She was only able to get two cottonballs in the cup in a minute! We weren't sure how to score, so we decided that whichever couple got the most total cottonballs in the cup would get 8 points, the next most would get 7, and so forth.
Donut Chew - For this game, we had only half of each couple (I think all the husbands opted to do it) participate since we didn't have enough donuts for everyone. We tied 8 donuts from strings, being held by the wives, which the participants had to eat, using only their mouths, without letting any of the donut fall to the floor. I think the most difficult part was chewing up the donuts, which seemed really dry.
Nutstacker - This one was another too easy game, because I totally got the rules wrong. The object was to use a skewer to stack five 5/8" hex nuts on top of each other, but we used one hand instead of our mouths. It definitely would have been a lot trickier had we done it the correct way.
Cookie Face - The premise was easy enough, but executing was an entirely different story. You start with an Oreo on your forehead, and you have to move it to your mouth, using only your face muscles. I got so close several times, but never succeeded! I think I provided lots of laughs though.
Suck it Up - This game was a repeat from last year. Use a straw to suck up M&Ms and transfer them from one plate to another. We did the scoring the same way as the Cottonball Nose one.
Movin' on Up - I did not successfully complete this challenge either! It's a little harder to explain, but basically, you have a certain number of one color cups, and one color of another on the bottom, in a stack. You have to move the different colored cup to the top of the stack by moving the cups one at a time from the top of the stack to the bottom, alternating hands. If I hadn't dropped multiple cups, I'm sure I could've completed it.
Elephant March - Last, but not least, we had to knock down as many full water bottles by swinging a tennis ball in a panyhose leg which was worn on our heads. We all looked completely ridiculous, but Laura wins for being the most creative with her interpretive dance moves. If an elephant could dance, it would look a little bit like her. lol!
For the second year in a row, Marie and Joe were the big winners! By the way, sorry I don't have any pictures! I was too busy trying not to pee my pants from laughing so hard and having a blast to take photos!
Side note: We actually had to pause the games to ring in the new year. (Almost) everyone filled their little plastic wine glasses with sparkling grape juice, and stood outside on the front porch to listen to the urban sounds of celebration. haha Then we rushed back inside, because it was so cold out there!
I love our friends. We have so much fun together!
Oh, and one other thought: I love hosting, and I love being hospitable, but preparing for a big party is a lot of work! I woke up at 5:30 yesterday morning, and worked my butt off all day long until the party. And then it was close to 2 when everyone left, and after 3:30 when I got the place relatively cleaned up and I was ready for bed. So today was a completely lazy day for the whole family!
Anyway, even though January 1st is almost over, Happy New Year!!
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