Goodbye 2009!

Wow - where did the year go? Many websites are doing Best Of's which has inspired me do a Best Memories of 2009 for our family...

We were very blessed to have lots of opportunities to travel and spend time with family and friends this year. Many of my favorite memories came from the trips we took over the last 12 months. Here are some of the highlights...

February- a chilly visit to Chicago to visit friends and family. Despite the cold weather, we had a great time in the Windy City.

March - St. Patty's Day in Dallas with the College Crew. This weekend is always hilariously random. One highlight of the trip was when we went to house party that was apparently at capacity. We were told we could come in, IF we'd stand in the corner. Turns out that was fine by us - marg machine was in the corner too =)

April - a long weekend in Atlanta with all of the Chenault clan to celebrate Lee's cousin, Amy, and Matt's wedding. It was beautifully done and such a great way to catch up with family.

June - annual Port A trip with the college girls. This trip is always amazing - I've got my countdown on for 2010.

June - a very quick trip to Colorado to celebrate my grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary. It is amazing how they have loved and supported each other for so long. They are an inspiration to all.

June - celebrating Lindsay and Reid's engagement with the Chenault's and their family friends in Cabo San Lucas. Wedding magazines, banangrams, sunny weather and chi-chis - what else could be better!

July - Lake Tahoe with the Barry's. Lake Tahoe is absolutely gorgeous and the weather is perfect. My dad arranged the trip around a celebrity golf tourney, which made for a nice mix of celebs (for me) and sports (for Lee). We saw lots of famous athletes and spent our last night there gambling with Joe Buck, a sports announcer for Fox. The other exciting part of the trip is we learned our friends, the Lukefahr's welcomed their first baby to the world that weekend.

August - celebrating my brother's 21st birthday in Las Vegas. Unfortunately Lee had to sit this one out because of work, but the Barry's had a great time. We played blackjack at some of the shadier casinos with cheaper tables since Chris and I are newbies. Chris had a great time, and I became addicted to the eBay slots game. =)

September - long Labor Day weekend in

Dallas. We had a great time watching the first UT football game and having a rowdy game night! -->

November - Visit to my bff in NYC. This was another quick trip, but we saw lots of the City. Lee and I fell in love with Brooklyn and all its hipsterness. We had a great time catching up with Katie. She is not only the perfect hostess but kept us laughing 24/7.

I had no idea...

Here are a collection of things I learned later in life. Usually I found out in some sort of embarrassing fashion...

1. the title of the movie I referenced in my previous post. The ACTUAL title is Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood. MY Version: Don't be Menace to Society While drinking Gin and Juice in the Hood. You can see the similarities.



2. the real name for croutons. My mom called them "crunchies" growing up.



3. that Hanukkah does not fall on the same days every year. This was especially embarrassing when I recently wished my friend, Erica, a happy one 3 weeks late.



4. not to presume to know a baby's sex based on looks alone. Instead of saying "he" or "she" - I now say "what a sweet thing..."



5. that phone/Internet connections are LAN lines not LAND lines (which I think makes more sense)



6. the definition of a Running Back - this upset Lee a great deal.



7. that rice krispy treats should be not warmed up in the microwave when they still have a wrapper on.



8. that I like things with birds on them so much, but recent evidence around our apartment proves I do. -->>
   

Game Night

I'd like to dedicate one of my first posts to one of my all time favorite things... GAME NIGHT! And since my dear college friends are coming down for a visit soon, this seems especially timely. We try to always inlcude at least one night of Game Night in our reunion weekends. This can be challenging because of the competitive nature often found among spouses or significant others, but we always have a good time.

My top five favorite games right now are:

Bananagrams - this is relatively new; just like the Scramble app for your iphone but with banana-like commands including "split" and "peel" that tell you to draw more letters.

Catchphrase - an all time favorite of mine - just beware of the person who flings the game at your head as the buzzer starts to run out.

Charades - a true classic. We ususally play Girls vs. Boys. My favorite rounds of charades were the more challenging ones where we gave the boys movies like 'Munich' and 'Don't be a Menace to Society while Drinking Gin and Juice in the Hood.' To get even, I pulled Obama's 'The Audacity of Hope' from the boy's choices. Yeah that was hard...

Cranium - vintage fun...Always a great game, except for when Ashleys already studied all the cards

Poker - a recent favorite. We had a Barry family poker tournament, and it was a blast. My Grandma won the pot, and I eventually learned the difference between 'Call' and 'Check'

The picture is of the last Houston reunion (July 2008). Game Night included Asian, Scene It and Charades.

A few of my favorite things...

I've never been a huge Oprah watcher, but I'm going to copy her idea and make a list of my favorite things...but I won't be giving them away to thousands of people, so never mind that.

Anyway, here are some things I would hate to live without.

Rohto-V - aka best eye drops ever! I spend the majority of my life staring at a laptop. These save me from looking like I've either (a) been crying or (2) enjoying the high life.

Blankets - nothing is better than coming home and snuggling up on the couch with a soft blanket and ... my third favorite thing - Sauvignon Blanc. My father-in-law works for Oak Ridge winery, and they make a great one called Gnarled Vine.

Hydrangeas - I love how clean and simple these are, and they come in so many different colors.

Books - I've always been an avid reader, and by avid I mean my parents had to hide my books from me when I was little b/c I'd try and read instead of playing with my guests. I'm reading Devil in the White City now - which is pretty good, and I always appreciate suggestions!

Los Gatos

As many of my friends and family members know, Lee and I love our cat. Alot. He's like a child to us. We spoil him rotten with food, toys, allowing him to sleep in our bed and basically doing whatever else he wants including bad things like knocking over glasses of water and climbing the Christmas tree. We couldn't agree on a name for him, so his name remains 'Kitty'. This is actually a tradition in the Barry/Chenault households, so we don't feel too bad about that.

Some of Kitty's favorite things to do are: