Alright, 2012. Impress me.

This weekend was the perfect example of how sometimes we need to just let go and ride the wave.  I had big plans for how I would spend my last few days of freedom from the office: I was going to practice yoga for at least an hour every day, take the dog for long walks, and do all kinds of cooking.

And then I got sick.  As a result, I have not so much as looked at a yoga mat since last Thursday (except for a few sun salutations and handstands at home), and have subsisted mainly off of Yogi Cold Season tea and Pho Ga from Quang.  In addition, Minneapolis got a solid dousing of freezing rain on New Years Eve, and it turns out Sidney hates walking on ice so I haven't been able to get him much further than down the block and back.

So, my weekend did not turn out quite as planned, but maybe this was my body's way of going "Hey... why are you planning on running yourself into the ground on your vacation.  Settle down and take a damn day off.  Instead of doing fifty hours of yoga, why don't you sit on the couch reading books and making collages for three straight days, doesn't that sound fun??"  Well...actually it was fun.  So, lesson learned.

Anywho, back up to New Years Eve.  December 31 begain with a trip to the farmer's market for some fresh eggs, and lunch with Ben, and my friends Ellen and Amanda at the aforementioned Quang.  The rest of the day was mainly spent drinking tea, making playlists and cutting up random pieces of wrapping paper.

Billionth cup of tea

Collaging!

Vitamin C....

Shiva!

The fruits of my artistic(ish) labor

I was trying to keep my options open in terms of going out vs. staying in, but it quickly became apparent that I was in no condition for shenanigans.  Midway through the day my sister texted me asking what we were up to.  I responded that I was sick, so it was looking like me Ben and Sidney on the couch with Champagne and some movies.  Turns out she was not in the mood to hit the bars and wanted in on our cozy/illness-ridden evening.  We managed to rope Ellen in as well - El is one of my oldest friends (since Kindergarten).  She is currently getting her PhD at Stanford, so I only see her maybe 2 or 3 times a year and was happy to capitalize on the opportunity for more Ellen time :)

Sprinkles make everything more awesome

Ellen got there first, and we started the evening eating cookies and reading the Economist's predictions for 2012.  Did I mention that we are the pinnacle of cool?  Julianna arrived shortly thereafter with caramel cupcakes and the makings for homemade buffalo dip!

Breaking out the bubbly

Buffalo dip FTW

Hellooooo!

Julianna, me and El

The gentlemen (falling asleep already??)

Commence ridiculous dog photos...

Poor Sid...?

Julianna teaches Sidney how to dance

We talked, laughed, had some snacks and watched Hot Fuzz - which finished just in time for us to watch the ball drop!  I was pooped though, and pretty much as soon as we had yelled "Happy New Year!" I was ready to go to bed.  We ended up having a great time, even though we didn't go out...and really, spending quality time with a few close friends is more my style most days.  If I hadn't gotten sick, who knows what New Years Eve would have been like...but I think the way it ended up was just perfect :)