Happy New Year!!

Well hellooooo there, internets!

I hope you all had a wonderful New Years! Brian, Coop and I had a lot of fun in Wisconsin snowboarding, snowmobiling and playing in the snow. I've come to the realization that snowmobiling is not for me. After three hours on our snowmobiles, I was asking the question, "So where ARE we going? Do we have to go ALL the way back?" I was bored. Wisconsin has over 850 miles of snowmobile trails mapped out with official stop signs, boards that give you directions and everything. It was cool, but I'd rather do something "in motion". Something active. Not pushing a button for gas or another for the brake. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I understand why so many guys do an all-guy snowmobile trip though. It's probably super fun with a big group. It probably didn't help that it was 18 degrees outside. Our snowmobiles were well-equipped with hand and feet warmers and my helmet kept my head warm, but man, my butt was brrrrrrrr-cold! We were able to jump on the trail right from our hotel which was super convenient, but unfortunately, there weren't that many bars on the trail close to us.

As for New Years, we laid low with some friends and made an amazing dinner of beef tenderloin and lobster tails and then enjoyed Rockband for 3 hours straight. If you aren't familiar with the game Rockband but have heard of Guitar Hero , Rockband kicks Guitar Hero's ass straight to the moon. You have a vocalist on the mic, a bassist on the guitar and a drummer on the drum set. Each band member sees their own set of chords on the TV that they need to play or sing on their instrument. After each song, you get ranked as a band and if you are good, you gain fans. If you suck, well, then duh...you lose fans. As you get better, the venues (which are real venues across the country), get better. You also get paid more the bigger venue, giving you the option of upgrading your digs (aka clothes). The mic and the guitar even have a motion detector so if it detects you are jumping around jammin' your ass off, then you get more points or are judged as "Top Performer" or "Most Energy" after each son. At 3:30 in the morning I was still saying, "Just one more song!!!"

Good times!!! Go get this game!

In other news, the wedding plans are coming along. I promised myself I wouldn't be one of those brides that constantly talks about her wedding, but we now have appointments for invitations and bridesmaid dresses. All ladies are getting their measurements to me and I'm hoping to have those ordered tomorrow. Brian has been busy doing research for the honeymoon. We really wanted to go to the Maldives but after 6 days in Mexico, the thought of traveling 3 days to get there is very unappealing. Not to mention its the 2-3 days back to Chicago. So we're exploring Bora Bora/Tahiti, Italy, Costa Rica and a number of other places. Hoping to get that squared away soon.

I have the name & number for our wedding planner in Mexico but I can't seem to ever get through to her....I want to get all of our activities planned. So far, I'm hoping for a day-trip to Cozumel by boat from our hotel, a day of golf for the golfers or shopping in Playa del Carmen for the shoppers, a happy hour once everyone has arrived and a dinner the night before for our "rehearsal dinner". Of course, the wedding will be an all-day party, too.

I've found all sorts of fun gifts for our gift bags. Once we have a better idea of how many people are coming (current count is 58), then I'll order those. We'll assemble them in Chicago and ship them to Mexico so they can be delivered to every one's rooms before they arrive.

All in all, we got a lot done in just a few days!

So what else?? Oh I know, CONGRATULATIONS AMERICA!!! You have finally opened your minds to the possibility of having someone in the White House who is not a white male. Whether or not I am an Obama supporter, I think yesterday's decision was a HUGE MILESTONE in American history. This will change things FOREVER. We are finally moving in the right direction. It's 2008 and it's sure as hell about time!! GO IOWA!!!