This year just sucks, period.

So, I had the party on Saturday. A whopping 20 people showed up, not including my next door neighbor and her party guests who came over for a few minutes. It felt like a lot less people since a few didn't stay long and a couple didn't come til late. I almost felt like I went back in time to the first party I had where only 5 people showed up. It just seemed so danged LAME after the growing party every year. Anyway, I didn't stress out this year, didn't get all upset and end up in a crying spell at 4 pm before the party, didn't rush or yell at everyone. I just did what I could, Andy helped out and did what he could and whatever didn't get done just didn't get done. I just had a "screw it" attitude about it all this year.

I had to work on Friday night/Saturday morning before the party, so I came home from work around 8 am and took a 2 hour nap. The previous mornings I got about 3 or 4 hours' sleep, so I was pretty tired. I had a ton of food, even without doing all the homemade stuff and Jello molds and other things I normally do... which led to a lot of leftovers, so I took some of them to work for my coworkers to enjoy during our lunch break. I really am wishing now that I just canceled the party this year. My BFF and I ended up going next door and crashing what was left of their little party since every one left my house around 11. We played a dice game and had some laughs. I came home around 2:30, stayed up and talked with Andy until about 3:30, then cleaned up the party mess til I was falling asleep standing at the sink at 5 AM. I slept until 7:30 PM Sunday evening, when Andy had to come in and wake me up so I could get ready for work that night.

Since we didn't have many guests and the party just wasn't hopping like usual, we didn't take very many pictures.

This is me with my very best friend Shelly. Pic is dark and blurry, but I find that I look best in dark and blurry, especially standing next to her. :)

This is my other best friend, Ivy on the left, with two of her friends. Ivy was dressed as Ellen Degeneres... the costume was great!

This is our friend Gary's son, Jesus. If he is Jesus, does that make Gary God? Hmmm....
But I LOVE this picture. It just seemed so... perfect.

This is Chip and Cindy, Ivy's parents and our good neighbors that live down the street. Their costume with the body tattoo sleeves and all was a riot. These are two of the most laid back and reserved people I know. Cindy's a school teacher (sorta) and Chip's a lawyer.


This is Daniel the Dork who never freakin' dresses in costume and his beautiful and always perfectly costumed wife, Ashlyn - who even coordinates whatever wonderful dish she brings with her costume! This year, she was the Princess from the Princess and the Pea, and she even made matching individual beds with peas desserts!

Here we have an action shot of Gary and his wife Jackie and the rest of their gang. And all the rest of the crew, including a couple of our very best friends, Catherine and Darryl.


Andy, watching the World Series, he just can't resist.
Chip, Cindy, Shelly and her husband Dave.The rest didn't get photographed. I took a few pics of the food and stuff, but they're on a different camera that I can't locate right now. Andy and I were zombies, in case you were wondering. :) I didn't need a whole lot of make up with the lack of sleep and all. Next year, the invite list will be pared down some. Three strikes rule is in play now, and those who haven't attended in the past 3 years of being invited will be eliminated from the list.