A Rockin' New Year's Eve

Over the years, I've probably brought in the New Year in every way imaginable. In ballrooms filled with drunken strangers. Denying the calendar and pulling the covers over my head at 10 o'clock (alone.)

Tonight marks the 13th (!) New Year's Eve my husband and I have shared, and so I suppose you could safely say we have a tradition going -- we've always brought in the New Year at home, just the two of us.

With only these requirements: a fire in the fireplace and an overabundance of food. Oh yeah, and some alcohol thrown in for good measure.

Our actual drinks on an actual New Year's Eve in front of an actual fire...

Over the years the menu has ranged from picnic-blanketing with cheese & wine, retro fondue fests, takeout Thai, and for the past few years it's been all about the sushi and cosmos.

The 2004 festivities (perspective inspired by vodka consumption.)

There's really nothing that we miss by staying home -- I mean, there's just as much (if not more) potential for drunken debauchery with our scenario, and absolutely no potential for being careening into by a drunk driver.

Plus we've got Dick Clark back this year (at least theoretically) to count down the seconds until 2006.

So, we'll be rockin' out and I hope wherever you are and however you spend your evening, that you are rockin' out too (in one form or another.)