M: It’s all about 4 things…

Man, I guess it’s the New Year huh? I feel totally out of things right now since I haven’t posted in a little while. Well, since the theme of this here post is “4 things”, let me just give you a low down on 4 things I knew darn well would happen over the holidays and did:

1. I got miserably sick right after Christmas (which is of course why I haven’t been able to post for you wonderful people lately)

2. My hubs got me incredible Christmas gifts and of course the incredible-ness of said gift-giving was not reciprocated in my opinion, I mean a new laptop for a pair of Sanuks? (which, of course he always says he doesn’t care at all and I know he doesn’t, but still…)

3. I missed my brother terribly – which always happens at Christmastime – we have always been so close - he lives in Nebraska and it’s usually way too expensive for him to fly home for the holidays

4. I spilled coffee on my white scarf while in D.C. about 5 times because it was so dang cold I was literally running in and out of shops and buildings so as to stay outdoors as little as possible

BUT, it’s the New Year right? So, here’s how I will look at the above 4 things…First, I have my health which means I will get sick, and that’s ok, because 9 times out of 10 I will be able to just truck through it and feel better after a while. Second, I have a wonderful husband who loves to give me things for Christmas because he says he loves to see my face light up.

Third, I have a brother…and he is an amazing brother and I got to grow up with him. And finally, well…I love coffee, so sacrificing some spot remover several times so I could drink some Caribou Reindeer Blend is alright I guess =)

So as to not completely leave you with no pictures of food in this post, here is the meal that I made up for Bryan and my New Year’s Day dinner (hoppin john, collard greens with bacon and onion, homemade cornbread muffins, and grilled pork chops – grilling courtesy of Mr. Bryan)

Last but not least, we ended our dinner with a citrus tart I came across in this month’s Southern Living,oh yes, this is so post-worthy and will be coming up on Thursday don’t you worry =)

Alrighty, here it is…my 4 things…

Four TV shows I watch:

1. (Seriously, I could make this list go to like 10, but I’ll condense it to my favorites) The Office (and all of the Thursday night comedies really…30 Rock, Community, Outsourced, Parks and Rec)…for obvious reasons…it is freaking hilarious and I think John Krasinski is downright riotous

2. Modern Family…I’m sorry, I think this show is the funniest and most clever show that’s been out in the last few years, comedy/sitcom wise of course…it is genius =)

3. True Blood…yep, I hopped on the vampire bandwagon…have you SEEN Eric Skarsgard or Ryan Kwanten???

4. Conan…I have always been a CoCo supporter =)

Four things I’m passionate about:

1. My Family & Friends, I think this one’s a given – my family has always been #1 in my life, and I’m lucky enough to be extremely close to my siblings (2 sisters and 1 brother), not a lot of people are as close to their siblings as we are – I think it’s because we all went through a lot together growing up. I also married into an incredible family where cousins are considered brothers and sisters and aunts and
uncles are more than just aunts and uncles – so now I have double the love =) I am also lucky to have a few exceptionally close friends that are like family to me.

2. Yoga (and yogic philosophy) and meditation (which I’ve promised myself I’ll make more time for in 2011!)

3. My babies (aka my pups Marley and Ziggy…and any animal in general – the time I’ve been able to put into the dog rescue I volunteer for has been amazing and given me such a great feeling)

4. Baking and cooking and wine (in that order) =)

And an honorary number 5…reading and music…GOOD music…I LOVE reading…I always have a book in hand at home. Right now I’m reading House Rules by Jodi Picoult and I cannot put the thing down!

An honorary number 6…is this illegal? It might be…Oh well…my alma mater of course! VT Woop Woop!

Four phrases/ words I use a lot:

1. “Dude” (I know…I can’t believe this word comes out of my mouth as much as it does either)

2. “Awesome” (Yep, I know what I’m starting to sound like)

3. “Are you serious?” (Why would people say it if they weren’t serious? I don’t know…don’t judge me for that one)

4. “Sounds good”

Four things I’ve learned in the past:

1. If you don’t take care of/love yourself first, you can’t give 100% to the people YOU love (I’m still working on this one!)

2. Like Erica said, your true friends will always be your friends no matter how far away you live – try moving 2-3 states away; you’ll find this one out quick!

3. Life is measured by your experiences, so have more of them! Travel, go places, go out with friends, etc. (This is something the hubs and I are working on this year)

4. (this one is not nearly as profound) You MUST have more than one set of measuring spoons and measuring cups in your kitchen, for real. holy crap…You’d think I’d wise up to this one earlier, but nope. I got my new measuring spoons for Christmas, but I’m still hand washing my cups so I can re-use them – so friggin annoying!

Four places I’d like to go:

1. Italy, Italy, Italy, and Italy (maybe around the Amalfi Coast? I don’t know, I’d still have to visit Rome and Tuscany ah the choices!)…all I want to do is go there to eat and drink wine – this is the #1 place I want to visit before I die – and after Eat Pray Love (my favorite movie/book) came out, I can just taste the authentic pizzas and pastas! Ugh!

2. New York (during the holidays preferably) – I have never been and always wanted to go

3. Hawaii (during the Kokua Festival if possible…I know, I’m getting picky here…beggars can’t be choosers – I will take ANY TIME!)

4. Ireland (beer and beautiful surroundings? Count me in…plus the accents are cool as crap)

Four things I did yesterday:

1. Watched VT lose in the Orange Bowl…ugh

2. Went to work (booooo)

3. Got a MUCH needed massage

4. Played beer pong with my hubs – yep – that’s right. We don’t need a party of people to get our beer pong on!

Four things I love about winter:

1. So, I’m going to have to copy Erica’s response on this one…I really dislike winter, besides Christmastime, I’m not a big fan. I moved to South Carolina for a reason – so the time I had to endure winter weather each year was really relegated to maybe 2 months =) I’d say I like wearing sweaters, but I’d MUCH rather be wearing flip flops, so that doesn’t even count.

Here are my four tags:

1. Kelly

2. Teresa

3. Erin

4. Lauren