A little side note..and somewhat personal: 365 GREAT DAYS

So my friend Courtney is getting married in May. I am pretty excited about that...although...it is always hard when friends get married...seeing as I have been relinquished to a life of singlehood...for now anyway :) It's been quite a while since I've had such a good friend take the plunge and I am reminded that things change...but with that change...comes other good times to look forward too...I mean...some of my happiest memories are hearing Melissa, and Josie, and Sara, and Jessi and Cali tell me they are pregnant...wow...I am really behind...I need to get on the kids thing...I guess a husband would be a good first step...any takers?! (please just post your phone numbers in the comments section)!

Anyway...I just wanted to take a few lines and well...pretty much embarrass my friend who has come to be known to me as Freckles...much to her dismay...although she likes it better than her original nickname of "kiddo"...I can't imagine why she hated that one!

Court is one of those people that comes along once every few...oh I don't know...thousand years...she really is 1 in 6.7 billion and some odd and still counting. (when she was born she was 1 in 4.9 billion and something...information courtesy of http://www.ibiblio.org/lunarbin/worldpop) I will be grateful everyday that that of the 6.7 billion some odd folks on earth we managed to bump into one another. I remember the day very clearly...in fact in was on a Monday...just like today...one year ago...(April 2nd to be exact). And I will spare all of you from the boring details...but suffice to say...it was friendship at first sight.

My point in even mentioning this...is A)well...she is DEFINITELY WORTH MENTIONING and B) I really, truly hope that people find each other in this world. Life is tough...and without others to enjoy it with...it would be ten times worse...probably more than ten times.

I have mentioned my friends on my blog before...and so most of you know how important they are to me. They have done so much to shape my life. So to all of you, thank you...but most especially today...to Courtney Nichole Ruttenbur...I just want to say thanks. You truly are my best.

These past few months...Back to December...Tara's birthday!

Tara's birthday was actually pretty great. It was my inagural party at my new apartment...oh yeah...I moved into an apartment in the avenues in December...I don't know if I've already mentioned that...anyway...it was a good time at the party...little cake...little white elephant...some pizza...

and most of all...as evident by the picture...good people!

Tara and I have now been friends almost four years! CRAZY. I remember when I met Tara...I had decided I was not going to like her because at the time...I had a crush on a certain gentleman who indicated interest in Tara...so she was my archnemesis...(Alice...you know all about that)...but...it was quickly made clear that Tara was definiely worth getting over my petty girlishness...and thank goodness I did...because she turned out to be none other than the BEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD!

A post script: I also was with Tara on her birthday last year...but the only picture I have is a lone picture of Tara waiting to be seated at Spaghetti Factory...but hey...who doesn't love their picture posted all over the internet!!!

These past few months...January.

January was not so much my favorite month this year. It started out promising...and actually on a very exciting note...my best friend got engaged on New Year's Eve! I mean really...talk about starting out the new year with a BANG! They are getting married May 23rd...which when they got engaged was about five months away but now...it's just right around the corner...anyway...this is my blog so I should probably talk about myself...right? ;)

I spent New Year's eve with my friends and family. Dinner was Dad's treat at the Steak Pit in Park City. It was SO A-MAZING...as it always is...but this year...I don't know...I think it was better than most. Then I rang in the new year with some friends and a little kareoke...which is hilarious giving me performance in The Friendly Beasts.

I decided to take the rest of the week off from work, as things had been pretty busy the last few months...that was also a delight...but in hindsight (which is ALWAYS 20/20) not the best move...since I then continued to spend the majority of January fighting...and I seriously mean fighting...BRONCHITIS! It was just evil.

Courtney's birthday was in January...that was pretty exciting. We went to Red Iguana for dinner and of course had a great time...because HELLO...we ALWAYS have a great time.

The oh so adorable birthday girl!

The lovely, well mannered guests...

The truly well mannered guests :)

January really was not my favorite month this year...but Court's birthday did provide for a great month! So thanks Freckles...for being born!

These past few months...December.

I have not been stuck in a ditch somewhere...I just have...been busy. So for those of you who have missed me...I'm back...and hopefully back on a regular basis. :) So I suppose I should give an updated of the last few months...

Well there was Christmas...which is always a joy. Santa provided me with supplies for my kitchen...and what Santa didn't bring was provided by the lovely woman that hit me on Christmas Eve. She ended up going through her insurance instead of paying out of pocket. I took they $800.00 and got new brakes and an alignment...and then bought a few more things for my kitchen. It turned out to be a Christmas present in disguise. Isn't it just a delight to be able to see the silver lining?

So anyway...Christmas was actually pretty cool this time around. When we lived in Chi town it was just us...the Russell's...we had all these great Christmas traditions that we loved...eating steak fondue, Christmas crackers at dinner (not the edible kind of crackers...the British kind), singing Christmas carols around the piano (which is hilarious...since Kelli is the one with the most singing talent...and then a HUGE gap in ability exists between the next talented singer), and most of all...just enjoying the company of one another. So this year, my mother, being the wonderful lady that she is...sent out invitations to myself, Mattie & Scott, Kelli, & Kerri inviting us to a traditional Russell Family Christmas Eve (sans extended family...not that we don't love you...but...well nothing beats a Russell Family Christmas eve)!

So for your viewing pleasure:

What is a holiday meal without a veggie tray?

Kelli wearing her Christmas cracker crown.

And of course there MUST be Christmas J-E-L-L-O!!!

How could you not love him?! (just a side note...playing with the napkin rings like this is a typical Sunday dinner occurrence...it is not just reserved for holidays).

This is the shirt that my mom gave Scottie. It had a picture of all the kids from last Christmas on it and for some reason it was also about three sizes to large for Scott...which is obvious from the picture in which Mattie, Kerri...AND Kelli fit into it! :)

And of course we CANNOT forget the Christmas carols around the piano. Our favorite song is The Friendle Beast and this year we all took a part...and Scott adn I added the animal sounds...the sound on the video is not great...but hopefully you get some idea. This is the performance we did the following night at our regular Christmas Eve festivities with my mom's side of the family. I love my family very much!

VIDEO COMING SOON! TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES. IT IS WORTH THE WAIT!!!

Christmas day is much more mellow...we go to breakfast, and THEN open presents...since we are all now old enough and have gained the patience to wait to open presents rather than getting up at the crack of dawn. Then its mostly just napping or a movie or relaxing. I love Christmas with the Russell's.

Oh...but I think the best news of Christmas came a few weeks later when Scott and Mattie told me that they are going to have a baby!!! I am going to be an aunt...and that baby is going to be so spoiled...just like I was...it is great to be the first!