Masquerade! Paper faces on parade....

So before Steve was laid off we had decided to throw the New Year's Eve shindig at our new house. A bunch of us wanted to get dressed up, but not have to pay any crazy amount to just go out for the party. Plus we've already done the Crystal Gardens thing, and it was a bunch of fun, but we didn't feel like doing that again. So we decided that if we were going to have the party at our house and still wanted to get dressed up, that we would have to theme it. So the Masquerade Party was born. My friend April and I went back and forth about invites, until it was perfect, and they were sent out about 3 weeks ago. I've been so excited for the party!




Steve and I went shopping to decorate, buying some Mardi Gras masks and also HAPPY NEW YEAR paraphernalia. We've got plastic champagne flutes for 80, and noise makers and the whole thing. We're also "demasking" at midnight! So everyone is required to dress up and wear a mask! I got mine a couple months ago at the Spirit Halloween store during the after Halloween sale, and yesterday I found the perfect dress to go with it! And lo and behold Steve bought a suit (badly needed, and on sale!) and we'll actually match! I can't wait for tomorrow to see what everyone will look like. Steve said we should put together some form of game, but I haven't been able to think of what we can get a bunch of people to do and concentrate on. I mean we have darts, Foosball, beer pong (pool if we remove the beer pong top). But I have this roll of raffle tickets I wanted to use, and I can't for the life of me think of anything imaginative enough to use them. Any suggestions?

To all of you and yours Happy New Year from the Miller's!

While the merry bells keep ringing.....

I have to apologize for seeming to ignore my blog for a few weeks. Finals came and I was scrambling to finish everything. Good news is I Aced the semester and even made the President's list. Which, if I'm not mistaken, means I get to go to a fancy dinner and get a gold pin or something. Next semester will come too fast I fear, since I'm loving the break too much.

In other news I've been frugally shopping for all my relatives for Christmas, and of course with these "hard economic times" it's been nice of everyone to understand that with Steve being laid off we can't afford things as usual. I did get my bonus from work though which really helped catch things up and pay for a few gifts that I wanted to purchase. I told Steve the only thing I really want for Christmas is to go see Wicked at the Opera House, and a scarf. A super soft, and really long scarf. So I can fold it in half and loop it through like I like to do. Not sure if he found one, but my birthday isn't too far away, it could happen.

My mom and I went to White Christmas this past Sunday. I got free tickets from Blue Cross and it was pretty awesome. We were in a suite, and it included a free dinner buffet and dessert was served at intermission. I thought my mom would like to go since she and I used to watch all those old timey movie musicals together, and I was right. We did have a good time. She also hadn't been Downtown in over 13 years! So we walked over to my office and then we drove around the city a little, and I got to hear stories about what it used to look like. It was a great day.

Candie was also up in Michigan visiting and had her baby shower. The Tadlock Twins are growing nicely, and when she got back home (Florida) they found our they're having twin girls! She beleives it's karma since she's a twin herself.

Here's a few pics: