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Fourth Annual Wine Night

Saturday night I had a terrific time with friends, food, and fabulous dresses. Okay, they were bridesmaid dresses, so only some of them were fabulous (mine being one of them, thanks to Liz).  The event started out the weekend before Thanksgiving, then last year moved to December (Christmas themed...we collected canned goods) and this year it was Valentine's weekend, and we all wore our old bridesmaid dresses. Who says you can't wear them again!? ;) I think I can speak for all of the ladies when I say it was a fun, intimate evening of wine, cheese, music, laughter, and of course...more wine!

Click HERE to see pics of the first and second annual wine nights, and pics/video/recap of the third.

**And just for fun...YES, as a matter of fact that IS Justin Bieber singing. My students are obsessed with him (they call him Justin Beaver! ha), and I have to say I have caught a little Bieber Fever myself! Not that I would pay for any of his music, but I like a JB song here or there. Judge me if you want. :)

Grammy predictions...

Y'all know I love to watch award shows, and how much I love music, so imagine how AWESOME the Grammys are to me! I posted my predictions last year too, which can be seen here.

To view the complete list of this years Grammy nominees, click here. 

Record of the year...Empire State of Mind by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys
Album of the year...Fame Monster by Lady Gaga
Song of the year...Need You Now by Lady Antebellum OR Love The Way You Lie by Rihanna and Eminem
Best new artist...Drake deserves this, but I wouldn't be disappointed if Mumford & Sons won, and wouldn't be surprised if Justin Bieber (or Beaver, as my students say) won.
Best Female Vocal Pop...this is SO hard for me because I love every woman and song nominated. I guess if I MUST pick one, it would be Bad Romance by Gaga.
Best Male Pop...Haven't Met You Yet by Michael Buble, OR Just The Way You Are by Bruno Mars. Although my fave of these songs is Whataya Want From Me by Adam Lambert
Best Pop by Duo/Group...Hey Soul Sister by Train or The Only Exception by Paramore
Best Pop Collabo...California Gurls by Katy Perry and Snoop?

Okay, those are the categories I care about the most. Who are you rooting for? Who do you think will win? Which performances are you looking forward to! Leave comments!!!

Bucket List

I am sure there are many more, and I do plan on adding to this as I go, but here are a few things I hope to accomplish before I die...
TRAVEL
watch a bullfight in Spain CHECK
ride a cable car in San Francisco CHECK
eat a beignet in New Orleans
stand in front of Mona Lisa
stand on a glacier CHECK
stand at the top of a volcano (Hawaii maybe?)
snorkel the Great Barrier Reef
eat Italian food in Italy
have a picnic in Central Park
pet a kangaroo in Australia
kick a soccer ball in Brazil
visit the Greek islands
take a mission trip to Africa

FAMILY
celebrate my 50th wedding anniversary
watch my grandchildren become happy and fulfilled adults
save money successfully, die in a good position financially
make my kids proud
keep in touch with cousins and close friends

PERSONAL
learn to sew
appreciate cooking
be a hospital volunteer
save a life
write a book
earn a masters degree
stand up for something I believe in, even if it makes me uncomfortable
keep an open mind & always try to understand others
learn all the yoga words, and their positions


Can you think of some more for me, that maybe I've mentioned to you before? Leave me a comment and tell me one or two (or several) things you hope to do before you die...

Hopeless Romantic

Did you know that Valentine's Day is one of my FAVORITE days of the whole year? I'm sure you could guess that I love it, considering it spreads pink and hearts everywhere! The chocolate and flowers help too! I know some people are like "ugh...it's a made up holiday by Hallmark, and blah blah blah" but I totally love it, and always have. Even when I was in high school and didn't have a boyfriend or any reason to "celebrate" Valentines Day, I still loved it. I love what it symbolizes, I love what it stands for. Yeah, you celebrate someone on their birthday, but that's really more about age and getting older and now that I'm getting older I like birthdays quite as much as I used to. (yes, I have age issues) Anniversaries celebrate the years you've been married, or dating, or whatever. But Valentines? This day just celebrates LOVE. Love for a partner, love for family, love for friends, love for the cutest little black and white dog in the whole wide world...it's all about LOVE! How can anyone NOT like that day? So, bare with me for a week, while I'm sappy and mushy and have that "I just found Mr. Right and want the whole world to know it!" attitude that people young and in love and gushy and gooey feel. It's the best feeling, and this holiday does it for me. I stop to think, treasure, cherish, and appreciate the ones I love! Besides, we need some cheer and hope and something dreamy and wistful after all this ugly-nasty-gross-awful-horrible-yucky-cold weather! ( the way I feel about winter is the opposite of love!)
*I usually add one new song to the top of my playlist when I write a new post, but I kind of got carried away by the fun love songs (they're love songs in my book, at least), so I added several. Have fun listening. Or not. But you totally should! ;) The first song (This Will Be An Everlasting Love) is what was played right after Zac and I tied the knot, while we were walking back up the aisle. So it's kind of special to me. :)

Gorgeous Meg

Over Thanksgiving break, my sister and I had the honor of taking our cousin Megan's senior pics. She is a beautiful girl, with the BEST personality, so luckily that made our job that much easier. It was a chilly day, but we all had a lot of fun at the shoot. Below are some of my favorites... (click on the picture to see it enlarged)

Meg, I'll mail you the full disk of pics when the weather gets better! :) Love you!!!