Wishing You a Happy New Year

Happy New Year!

Do you have any plans for the evening, exciting or otherwise? Here, NYE will be spent in the company of friends during our annual gathering. We'll open Christmas presents, gorge ourselves with a rather extensive buffet, play games, and talk into the wee hours of the evening. New Year's Day we'll get up just in time to watch the Tournament of Roses Parade commercial free on HGTV. The theme this year is "Oh, the places you'll go," and it's always fun and interesting seeing how creative entrants are. This year's parade includes 41 floats, 24 bands, and 21 equestrian units. Among the entries will be the Badger cheerleaders with Bucky Badger and the UW Marching Band.

We'll graze on leftovers throughout the afternoon, talk some more, and maybe put in a movie or play games before watching our Wisconsin Badgers take on the Stanford Cardinals in Wisconsin's third consecutive trip to the Rose Bowl. This is the 99th Rose Bowl game, with more than 64,500 tickets sold. Here's hoping for a successful showing this year--go Bucky!

I leave you with a few songs to ring in the new year, and wish you a safe and happy celebration!

Third time's a charm?

Pretty awesome weekend, sportswise, here in Wisconsin. Not only did the Packers eke out a win against the Minnesota Vikings, but the Wisconsin Badgers are Big Ten Champions and headed to the Rose Bowl for a third consecutive year.

There are many who did not believe the Badgers belonged in the Big Ten Championship game this year. They had a difficult season (primarily due to injuries) and finished third in their division. But, as the top two teams are currently on a bowl game suspension, it was Wisconsin versus Nebraska in Saturday night's game in Indianapolis.

I thought it was going to be a close game, as their meeting earlier in the season was, but the Badgers surprised everyone by jumping to a 14-0 lead in the first two minutes of the game. Granted, Nebraska came back to score 10 points, but after that the Badgers were off and running for Pasadena, finishing with a staggering 70-31 win.

Here's hoping they can play with that kind of determination when they face off against the Stanford Cardinals on January 1, 2013. Kickoff is at 4:10pm (CST). While Stanford is currently favored to win by 6, Wisconsin has bested them in four of their previous five meetings (fifth ended in a tie), including their last meeting in 2000. Besides, after losing two close matches the last two years, I believe our Badgers are due.

Afterall, third time's the charm, right...?

Teaser Tuesday 153: Holiday Hideout

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


Currently reading Holiday Hideout, a 3-in-1 collection of holiday novellas by Vicki Lewis Thompson, Jill Shalvis and Julie Kenner. So far I have finished the first story by VLT, which I liked, and am about to start the second by Shalvis. Here is a short teaser from each one.

She didn't need a man to keep her feet warm at night. Wearing wool socks to bed was a far simpler solution.

("The Thanksgiving Fix" by VLT)

~*~*~*~

"I’m—" So help her, she tried to stop staring but her eyes wouldn't behave.

"Either strip down and join me or get out of my bathroom," he told her.

("The Christmas Set-up" by JS

~*~*~*~

She didn't have a chance to be chilled from the cold water because Josh scooped her up, pressed her close to his warm naked chest and carried her to the bedroom. He deposited her in the middle of absolute decadence: a soft velour bedspread that caressed her already aroused and sensitive skin.

("The New Year's Deal" by JK)

ABOUT THE BOOK

"The Thanksgiving Fix" by Vicki Lewis Thompson
Finding Mr. Right is the furthest thing from Beth Davis's mind when the Reno professor takes Thanksgiving break at a colleague's Lake Tahoe cabin. Until Coinneach McFarland arrives to fix a suspicious leak. It looks like somebody's playing matchmaker for two people sworn to stay single. But as things heat up, Beth is astonished to find she has discovered her soul mate just as she'd given up looking.

"The Christmas Set-Up" by Jill Shalvis
Competing architects Zoe and Jason have two weeks to come up with the design to win a coveted new project. But when a snowstorm strands them together at a secluded cabin, Zoe sees her chance to show Jason how she really feels. With romance blooming under the mistletoe, can she get the gorgeous Scrooge into the true Christmas spirit?

"The New Year's Deal" by Julie Kenner
Five years ago, Cleo Daire and Josh Goodson said goodbye and went their separate ways. But first they made a promise to reunite. Now the ex-lovers are spending New Year's Eve in a romantic cabin, where passion takes them by surprise and long-wished-for dreams can sometimes come true.

Paperback, 320 pages
Published November 1st 2011 by Harlequin

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Wishing you a safe, fun and happy new year!
Go Packers, Go Badgers!

SC152 -- Happy New Year

For this week's SCS sketch challenge. As soon as I saw this champagne paper in the DCWV Ultimate Scrapbook Kit in a Stack, I knew it was perfect for a few New Year's cards. The co-ordinating shades of blue paper (plain and patterned) are from the same paper stack.

I sponged the edges of the white scalloped circle so that it would fit in better with the different shades of blue.

Pale blue brads and white rickrack were added for embellishment, and the sentiment, stamped in craft white on blue, is popped up for dimension.

This card is also posted to my SCS gallery.


Stamps: "Happy New Year" from All Year Cheer III (Stampin' Up)
Paper: Ultimate Scrapbook Kit in a Stack (DCWV)
Ink: Craft White, Night of Navy (SU)
Accessories: Ric Rac; brads (JoAnn's); dimensional; plain and scalloped circle punches (Marvy Uchida)
Techniques: Sponging (white scalloped circle)

Happy New Year

The year is going, let him go; ring out the false, ring in the true.
~Alfred, Lord Tennyson


I hope everyone has a very happy new year, and celebrates safely, whether going out or staying in. Here's to a healthy 2006!


Heather