Got New Years Plans?

Rich_by_the_Bay

Rich_by_the_Bay

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Almost all our friends are out of town or have family in, so DW and I will be alone for the holiday. First time in years we won't ring in the New Year with the kids and grands.

We decided to splurge at the fanciest restaurant in town for a 3+ hour epicurean feast. There are only 6 tables in the place and the price will be exorbitant - definitely the opposite of frugal living. If we survive, I might just need to go back to w#$k on Tuesday ;).

What the heck.
 
The young wife and I plan to do the same thing we have done every year since 1987. On New Year's Eve, we will cook a splendid meal together at home, then play Scrabble until bedtime (which seems to occur earlier and earlier these days). On New Year's Day, we will sleep late, then have our traditional brunch of smoked chicken and butternut squash hash, with poached eggs, cranberry scones (which I make from scratch), walnut honey butter, and a bottle of Veuve Clicqout. In the afternoon, we will go Goodwill shopping.
 
Same as usual. DW will want to stay up and watch the ball drop on TV but will probably fall asleep by 11:00 or so. If she does stay awake she'll be sound asleep ten minutes after midnight.

We're not party animals anyway and after seeing all the carnage the drunks cause in wrecks I'm not anxious to be driving then.
 
Doing the Audubon annual Christmas Bird Count here in my Canyon. I wasn't gonna do the full count this year, wanted to watch the feeders and have adult drinks. But i got paired up with a young(14?) fellow and his Dad and gee the young guy was so excited about kicking the brushes for birds. Yea well there is a soft spot in my heart for young folks that love nature and the outdoors, instead of watching the Xbox boobtube. Ms G wants me home early, so we can get out to New Years party in the mountains.


Did I say it should be in the low 70's and sunny for the next few days at least. Gotta go out and listen for the Great-Horned owls.
 
We usually have a nice dinner at home, drink a little too much wine and slumber off and set an alarm clock for 11:55 pm to watch the ball drop, kiss and fall back to sleep.

However, this year we are traveling to meet some friends at a hotel and attending a New Year's Eve dinner/dance party. Should be fun, but I hope DW and I can stay up for the whole thing.
 
Sat: Neighborhood NYE party, adults only.
Sun: Nice brunch out (Bloody Mary's, Eggs Benedict or Huevos Rancheros) then cheese, crackers, wine etc. at home later for dinner.
Mon: Shopping and dinner in Chicago (a great meal without crowds and $ jacked up NYE menus & prices).

We used to go to Chicago every year for NYE, but the better restaurants have gotten carried away with special menus and exorbitant prices. About double what you'd normally spend at most of them, and the food wasn't necessarily better.
 
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As in the past 20+ years, dinner at a local restaurant with friends and deserts at home while passing time until midnight. Since it's also our wedding anniversary, we pick up the tab once each decade. Hoping to be able to treat our friends to dinner on our 50th in 2015.
 
ahhhh Rich...what a lovely night to remember..... :smitten:

On our silver anniversary (almost 10 years ago), DH surprised me as a chauffeur in a silver Rolls Royce picked us up and took us to an exquisite restaurant in Dallas. I felt like a princess.

ahhhhh...what were we talking about? :blink:

Oh yes, New Year's... No plans for us. We did stock up on yummy adult beverages yesterday...so this means we'll probably have a few drinks here at home and fall asleep before midnight.
 
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We're going to cook out on my new traeger grill and watch Dexter on dvd. DW will have some wine, and I have more than 10 gallons of beer to choose from. I will be asleep long before midnight.
 
Watch movies all night, but I might do it tonight or Sunday instead of the actual New Year's Eve, so I don't fall asleep in church on New Years morning. :) I have Monday off, then back to w@rk Tuesday.
 
This is the first year of Oahu's fireworks ban, so it'll be interesting to see how the stockpiles have survived people's garage storage. Last year the aerial displays were launching before Thanksgiving. Not so much this year.

Looking forward to a quiet (literally) evening at home, perhaps catching up on some budget & spending paperwork that I've been ignoring for a couple months. Our daughter will be partying up the street with neighbors but we'll probably be zonked out by 9 PM.
 
I'm not particularly fond of fireworks. Perhaps because I heard, saw, and felt more than enough during my relatively short duty as a grunt.
 
We will venture out to one of our neighborhood pubs for a few drinks and appetizers then return home to watch the fireworks from our deck.
 
Bought some pulled pork and potato salad this afternoon. Plan to stuff my face while watching football on tv. Will snuggle up to a cold med as the night goes on.:blush:
 
Out to dinner with 2 other couples, probably home before 9:00 p.m. and will watch the ball drop on T.V.

Happy New Year Everyone!
 
Another annual theme dinner party at a friend's house with about ten other couples. Starts at 6:30 and ends by 9:30. Back home by 10:00, and asleep by 11:30 if things go according to past years. What is the celebration all about anyway?
 
The current plan is to sneak out of town around noon, drive to Point Reyes National Seashore, and do a little landscape painting in oils if the weather permits. Stop at a restaurant to eat dinner. Get home maybe 6pm and check out our 3 DVD's from Netflix and drink a little champagne.

Probably will be in bed before 12pm. Then on Jan 1st do my first run of the year and DW might do a walk. DS will be in the city doing his thing.

Happy New Year to all the FIRE crowd!
 
Rich_in_Tampa said:
Almost all our friends are out of town or have family in, so DW and I will be alone for the holiday. First time in years we won't ring in the New Year with the kids and grands.

We decided to splurge at the fanciest restaurant in town for a 3+ hour epicurean feast. There are only 6 tables in the place and the price will be exorbitant - definitely the opposite of frugal living. If we survive, I might just need to go back to w#$k on Tuesday ;).

What the heck.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a delightful evening. Likewise DW and I are having a New Years weekend alone. Last year we did Times Square with some friends. Something we always wanted to do -once. Actually we watched the festivities from the 42nd floor and the girls caught confetti by reaching outside the window. Everybody survived and this year we're all back at our respective homes.:rolleyes:
 
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No plans for New Year's Eve, but I'll be running a 5K race with a friend on New Year's Day.
 
ksr said:
No plans for New Year's Eve, but I'll be running a 5K race with a friend on New Year's Day.
Click to expand...

One of the most fun times I've had on New Year's Eve was a 10K around a reservoir (or maybe a lake?) in the San Fernando Valley back in the 1980s. It began at the stroke of midnight, and everyone was being very silly. At one point, I caught up to a group of about 5 or 6 who were each carrying several bottles of champagne. They were passing the bottles to everyone around them. You took a swig or two and continued your run. At the end of the race, it was just a huge party in the parking lot. A most memorable night!

Now, I just have one small ritual. My father's forebears came from northern Germany, and the tradition they brought with them is that everyone must have a piece of pickled herring on New Year's Day (not Eve) for good luck in the coming year. I've been doing that since I was a toddler, except when it was unavailable to me.

I know some people have a tradition of eating Hoppin' John on New Year's Day, but I don't know of any other food-related traditions related to this day.
 
We are not big drinkers but we usually get some sort of champagne or something like that for NYE. I like to be home for the event rather than out there with questionable drivers. I love to watch Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin in Times Square. She always makes him giggle.

Our nearest city has a "First Night" event that is family friendly and alcohol free. I've never gone to it but our son (audio tech) has worked the event for a few years.
First Night Akron

I look back at 2011 and some majorly horrible things happened and in a way everything has changed, forever. But I'm an optimist and I feel like overall it's still been a good year. I'm ready for 2012!
 
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