I'm back!

As you probably noticed, I took a long break from my blog so I could relax and enjoy the holiday season. I'm now back into the swing of things this week since school started back up, and while it's nice to be busy again, I've been hitting the alarm one too many times and rushing myself to work because of it. It is definitely a challenge to wake up before dawn again when this whole break I was sleeping in until the sun came up (...or later).

Run-down of the holidays:

Vacation: Dyke and I went to Key Largo for a week and stayed with his cousin. While it was a bit overcast, I couldn't complain because I was still able to wear a t-shirt and shorts. It is funny to hear all the Floridians complain about the "cold" weather there. One guy, at a seaside bar, yelled that he was going to die of pneumonia. Pssh, please. Come visit Indiana! Anyhoo, it was great fun, very relaxing, and I definitely want to go back. We even stayed in Key West one night, and that place is hilarious. I would love to spend New Year's there sometime, because at midnight, a drag queen sits in a giant red high heel that drops during the countdown. Love it!! Here are a few pictures from our vacation:

Dyke and me at an art shop in Key Largo:

An inn lit up for a Key West holiday:

Dyke at the southernmost point in the continental U.S.A.:

A tarpon grabbing a fish during a feeding. I love that I got this shot:

Christmas: Instead of creating a giant meal this year with turkey, etc. we decided to make it easy and have several kinds of chili for the family meal. It was so much more relaxing this year because my sisters (Erin and Caitlin, in particular) weren't stressing out about getting all the food ready in time, and my mom wasn't running around complaining about all the people in the kitchen. It's funny, because my parents specifically built this house with a design that allows for an open kitchen/sitting room, but everyone hangs out in the kitchen anyways. I've noticed this at parties too... even if a kitchen is ridiculously small, it becomes the hang out space. There's something comforting about it I guess.

We then had my dad's family Christmas in early January, and since all the cousins are around college age or older now (with a couple of exceptions), the conversations tend to be more adult and inappropriate. We played a board game called "Loaded Questions" (which I recommend whole-heartedly, look for the 'Adult' Loaded Questions as well) and I think the answers definitely got dirtier and dirtier as the game went along. Some of the things mentioned: boob jobs and face lifts, condoms and redbull, and the quotes of the night from my uncle (while my other uncle was standing behind him in a suggestive manner): "If I get humped, I want to feel it." Oh dear.

New Year's Eve: Back when I was going to IU, one of my friends threw a 1920's themed party, and I always wanted to go to another one after that. As you probably figured out from my Halloween costume, I absolutely love dressing up. When I was little, my sisters and I would have bags upon bags of costumes in the basement left over from old Halloweens, and we'd go to different worlds, be different people, etc. just by putting on an outfit. I guess that's why I love it so much still today. I don't think anyone is ever too old to dress in costume.

Soooo... I threw a Roaring Twenties New Year's party! We all got dressed up in our glad rags and drank some hooch. Here are a few things I did to set the mood:

• Covered the glass around the front door with black, except for a little eye hole so we could see who was trying to sneak into the speakeasy.
• Hung up pictures of old 1920's ads and anti-prohibition announcements. There was one of a mother holding her son that read, "Help keep him pure. Vote against the sale of liquors!"
• Streamed Charlie Chaplin films on both televisions.
• Hung decorative pearls on the chandelier and lights, and decorated in black, white, and silver.
• Provided the ingredients for Mint Juleps and Gin Fizzes, two popular drinks during Prohibition.
• At midnight, played a countdown which transitioned into an old version of Auld Lang Syne, and then into the Charleston.
• Printed off a dictionary of 1920's slang and hung it up on one of the large walls so we could all learn a few things.
• Dressed up in costume and asked everyone elso too as well (of course!)
• Put all pictures from the party in sepia tone so they look old and classic.

As far as I'm concerned, the party was a great success. Everyone seemed to have a good time, and I was so surprised that most people dressed up and really got into the theme. Below are some of the highlights of the party. Enjoy!

My flapper costume:

Dyke and me looking classy:

Holly and Justin, my friends from high school, gettin' serious:

Using coffee mugs so the cops don't realize it's hooch!:

Clearly, something quite hilaaarious was just said:

A view of the evening:

Well, that's a wrap folks. I hope to be back on here more often now that life is back to normal. Hope you missed me.

Peace,

Kelly