I think I'll go to Boston...

...I think that I'm just tired
I think I need a new town
to leave this all behind
I think I need a sunrise
I'm tired of the sunset
I hear it's nice in the summer
Some snow would be nice
               -Augustana, Boston


Happy 2013, my friends.  It's that time when everybody is claiming to change their lives, refocus on what matters, get organized, get healthy, save some cash, become kinder, give more, be something else.  Bloggers all over the interwebs are choosing their word of the year, and I'm abstaining from that.  Too trendy.  (Oh Puhleaze - y'all know I'm as much a sucker for trendy as anyone.  I just couldn't think of a good word.)

Instead I share this fantastic song from Augustana (listen here) about needing a fresh start.  Boy do I need that as much as anyone.  I was quite happy to see 2012 glide into the rearview mirror.  Here's to a fresh start in 2013.

But actually this song works even better because we just got back from a grown ups only New Year's trip to Boston where I got to see dear friends (who both happen to be friends of the blog as well!).  Yes, you read that right - Super Derek and I got a whole weekend away from the boys, complete with a little black dress-worthy event for NYE.  Yeehaw!

Spent most of the weekend alternating between the following statements:

"Wow!  That's cool.  Hold up, let me take a picture."

or

"Damn, it's cold.  There's a coffee shop.  Let's go drink coffee while we thaw out."

We spent some great time with my friend BG, meeting her hubs, drinking their homemade brew (which was fantastic!) learning about Boston, and enjoying their hospitality.  We had a minor adventure finding them in the first place - we attempted to meet at our hotel, in a sports shop, in one restaurant that was closed, AND in another restaurant that (surprise!) was closed.  Thank heaven for cell phones.  It was a comedy of errors, which would have been far more funny if we weren't facing gale force winds while wandering the streets of downtown Boston.  But we found each other and found good eats, so all was good in the end.  BG has been my tour guide/host on quite a few Boston trips, and it's always great to catch up.  It's good to spend time with people who knew you in your dorkiest middle school phase and still like you today.

Then for the main event - the New Year's Eve wedding of my college friend KHC.  In all honesty, New Year's is usually not a holiday I get too excited about.  Watching cold drunk people standing in a very crowded Times Square for hours, my practical side always peeks through (see dork reference above).  I spend the whole time thinking about how miserable they must be.  And how surely they have to pee.  Then people get all fake and start shouting "Yippee!  A new year!" and kissing everyone in sight ... the whole concept feels phony, like everyone is happy because they are supposed to be.

But this time, we got to play dress up for real - fancy attire, red sparkle pedicure, champagne, the whole shebang.  And it was super fun.  It was one of those weddings where we didn't know many other people there, but were seated at a table with folks that turned out to be lots of fun to get to know.  The rooftop ballroom was gorgeous beyond description - and being the moron that I am, I even stepped outside to check out the rooftop view of the city.  Took me a good 30 mins to thaw back out after that.  Boston weather is cold, people!  See how pretty it was?!

I spent a huge portion of the weekend playing with my camera, and I was probably a little obnoxious taking pictures of everything in sight.  But it was all worth it for this little series of dance moves of our tablemates:

love how E is demanding he show off...

and he does.

See!  Told ya we got put at the awesome table!  I gotta admit - this dude was the last person I expected to be able to dance like that.  But he was fantastic and it was a hoot to watch him - even more, it was awesome to watch the crowd react to him.  He had a great way of getting folks into the celebration.

Wolfpack in the House!

And while it was wonderful to spend some time with old friends I don't see often, it was even more wonderful to spend real time with the hubs that I see every day.  It was a luxury to be together for two whole days with nothing to do but enjoy each other's company.  We danced, we laughed, we kissed at midnight, we toasted the happy couple and drank to the start of new things in 2013. May this year be filled with new and beautiful things for each of us.