Happy New Year, y'all.

I found this generic graphic somewhere online. I'm a tech genius.
Well, it's 2013. I can scarcely believe it, and yet, I have a funny feeling that in roughly 365 days I'll be saying that I can't believe it's 2014. Funny how these years roll around like clockwork (like rotation-around-the-sun-work?) and yet they still sneak up on us.

Patrick and I had a rockin', if relatively quiet, New Year's Eve. 

We kicked the day off by meeting friends for breakfast. We caught up on everyone's Christmas and then, because we're old, began talking about the Fiscal Cliff. I happily devoured my crepes while Patrick did man's work on his ham, eggs, and grits. All was well until our friend, the husband, accidentally ate the side of bacon that his wife--his pregnant wife--had gotten with her breakfast. She reached over to the plate that was supposed to contain bacon only to find it contained some empty wrappers from his hot tea. She threatened murder but thankfully another side of bacon was ordered and order was restored.

We followed that up with a lunch that was a pretty great success. My parents, sister, niece, and aunt and uncle came to town and I decided to make for them a recipe I'd never cooked before. 

By the way, that's always a fantastic idea, to cook something for company that you have no idea how it will turn out. Even better, make sure it's loaded with seafood. That never gets dicey.

 Luckily for me, it all turned out well. An Italian Seafood Stew with clams, mussels, shrimp, and scallops, served with some crusty Italian bread to soak up the juices. As I was peeling and deveining the shrimp, I made a mental note to take a picture of the final results. If it turned out well, it should be shared with the world via a photo brag on facebook and here! And then I immediately threw away the mental scrap of paper I'd mentally written my mental note on. I never took that picture, and didn't think of it again until the pot with the stew in it was scraped clean. You'll just have to believe me: it was pretty, and it was tasty. I've heard no reports to date of anyone becoming ill, which solidifies my success. The only thing better than the meal was getting to spend a little time with my aunt and uncle, who I don't see nearly often enough, as well as my immediate family.

 That evening, we went to the house of the same friends with whom we'd had breakfast. You may think that we'd covered nearly all the bases with varieties of shellfish, but not quite! They served us a delicious lobster bisque that we washed down with a beer, conversation, and good TV watching (Wheel and Jeopardy--like I said, we're old). About 10:00, Patrick and I headed back for home. A bottle of California Champagne was sitting in the fridge, ready for us to celebrate midnight!

 The ball dropped, I made out with my husband (making out is very important to a relationship, don't you think?), we toasted to a great 2012 and wished each other a wonderful 2013, and then took our happy, sleepy, and bubbly selves to bed.

 It was a wonderful way for me to wrap up 2012. I hope your NYE was just as enjoyable, or better, and that 2013 brings you many wonderful things--not least of which will be fun, boring blog posts by yours truly. 

 Happy New Year, everyone!

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