NEW YEAR / NEW STUFF ~ ~ ~

 This is one thing that's new!!  Sketcher's Shape-Ups!!!!  You all know what that means ~ new year ~ yet another attempt to 'shape up'!!  I LOVE these shoes ~ they made me feel a little off balance at first ~ not that I'm not a little off most of the time!  But, now that I'm used to them, my feet feel great!  Nice cushy, bouncy sole ~ love them!  And they also came with lime green laces!!  It's my new favorite color!

The next new things are these great chairs for my hooking studio!!  They were on sale at Target right before Christmas so I got four of them ~ don't you love the colors?!  I know the ladies will love them because they're adjustable so they'll be just the right height for everybody!  I used a variety of antique chairs along with a couple of other task chairs ~ these are a great improvement and match the colors of the wallpaper border down there!

In the kitchen, I left this table decoration up for a while,  minus the sweet little angel couple (Luke got those for me a couple of Christmases ago). It's a nice wintry decoration and the house always looks so naked when you put away all the holiday stuff.  There's more snow falling today ~ can't get away from it!  Blogger and I are having a little issue today and I can't get this picture in line with the text ~ sorry!

This is the only Christmas picture I'll show ~ the tree was beautiful ~ we love a long-needle tree!  It seems the season goes so fast ~ Sonny took the tree down before we left for New Years at the lake so it was up only a couple of weeks.   We spent 4 days up there ~ lots of fun!  Our friends, Janet and Tom, came up and went to dinner with us and our lake friends and then on to the Walleye Drop!  It was about 40 degrees that night ~ the warmest it's ever been ~ it was great to be out with a thousand or so of our nearest and dearest, jammed together at the end of Madison Street watching the great fiberglass walleye drop from a crane!!  We do know how to have fun!!

I just had to show this picture ~ I debated ~ but I couldn't resist!  Sonny's son, in the middle behind Tad, gave all the guys Beer Belts for Christmas!!  It was a scream ~ at least to us!  More fun than a tool belt, for sure!!  Even Tad got in on the fun! I love it when he joins in!  The fellow, in the glasses, on the right, is family friend, Stan ~ he has spent so many Christmases with us that Tad thinks he's a relative!!

So ~ holidays are over ~ decorations put away (almost) ~ now, it's time to get tax things in order and begin 2011.  We're looking forward to a year of health and happiness ~ I'm looking forward to shedding some pounds (aren't we all?) ~ and looking forward to a February trip to Florida to be with our friends, Diane and Greg!!  What could be better!

Have a good first week of the year!
Alice

P.S.  If you have a chance, read the blogs "Skip to my Ewe" and Deane Fitzpatrick's posts for today ~ both have really good things to say that hit home with me!