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I am a New Year's Eve Grinch.  I really wish I loved it- I wish I looked forward to getting all dolled up and going out to ring in the new year. The thought of spending my first moments of 2010 with thousands in Times Square almosts makes me break out hives thinking about the crowd, the jostling, the cold.  What are you supposed to do in those moments before midnight?

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I do support the whole kiss at midnight thing- I love kissing Topher- but I don't get the rest.  I'd much prefer a night in, with champagne, watching Dick Clark (still love him! gotta admire a man that can't be held down by a stroke!), with silly little blow horns.  Maybe that makes me a party pooper, but ah well, we all have our things.

Topher and I have never spent a New Year's apart, despite never having shared a Christmas (we're putting off that decision for another year---who wants to give up Christmas eve with their family?!?!). Long ago, we made a deal to spend this part of the holiday together, because neither of us have any entrenched traditions for New Year's Eve.  We rotate the duty of flying to wherever the other is to celebrate the 31st.  Of course, this means when it's my turn, I simply fly back to Maryland, as his family lives outside Annapolis.  Topher, however, has flown to Idaho numerous times and Oregon once to celebrate with me.  Somehow, the rotation has managed to allow him to miss North Carolina and Louisiana twice!

I've been reminiscing about our five previous New Year's Eves together, as I sit on my flight home from Louisiana for our sixth.  All of my best New Year's have been with Topher (obs) and two involve just us.  Our first New Year's Eve was spent in Idaho, alone, as my parents attended a party with friends at a local hotel.  We drank some champagne (under age! scandalous!), took dozens of self pictures true to our 18-year-old form (though, I still insist on doing this...I guess I'm stuck at 18!) and did generally nothing until the ball dropped. It was great.  Another favorite involved a romantic dinner at a nice restaurant with one of those price-fixed menus.  We noshed on some lamb and yummy wine.

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Finally, there is the New Year's that takes the cake of all of the rest- the one where we played champagne pong with Topher's little bro, his best friend, his mom and stepdad.  Yep, you read that right- champagne pong.  I'm ashamed to admit that about halfway through, we ran out of champagne and used beer...Topher took the hit of drinking the cups that were a mix of the two (we're classy like that) and I took care of the rest.

What is your favorite New Year's memory?