As a woman who has a very Hispanic sounding maiden name (Hector…it’s actually German), I have adopted Cinco de Mayo as a personal holiday. Granted I am as Caucasian as they come, but who doesn’t enjoy a day that involves margaritas, Mexican food, pinatas, and victory over the French?

The holidays never end at our house. Not sure if we just need more holiday cheer than everyone else, or if we are just destined to be “those” people in the neighborhood who leave Christmas lights on the house year-round. Today, I opened up the blinds in my office, and this is what I saw.

An Easter egg still hidden in our yard. So I decided to take a look around and found 2 more. (The good news is that they had packages of mini M&M’s in them, so I had a yummy afternoon snack!)So Easter is starting to feel a little like Christmas 2007, which didn’t end until March 2008.

Because we were home with a new baby and no visitors, I decided to go all out and hang lights on the house. Well, I could never get the guy who put them up come to take them down, and my six-foot ladder just barely got me close enough to rip the lights off the bottom story. Luckily, we had some high-wind days and the clips on the roof started coming down on their own. So when a strand would fall down far enough, I would get the ladder and go rip them down.

That worked fine until it came to the last strand, which was completely unreachable unless you got on the roof. I tried to borrow ladders, to no avail, and finally came up with an idea. Not a brilliant idea, but it worked none the less.

I used duct tape to attach the 20-foot, light-bulb-changing pole to the skimmer pole for the pool…thus making a 30-foot pole. Then I stood in my front yard like a total clown, trying to balance the pole in a manner where I could knock the clips off the gutter on the tippy top of my roof. After about 30 minutes, this ridiculous pole dance finally worked and the strand came down just close enough where I could jump up (because I have about a 2″ vertical jump, this part took about 15 minutes) and yank the strand down. It probably wouldn’t have taken so long if I didn’t have to drop the pole and act all nonchalant every time someone drove by.

And just when I thought Christmas was over, I noticed this while I was out hunting for lost Easter eggs today.

One remaining Christmas light clip. Damn it!

Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope everyone got something special, even if you had to buy it for yourself. My hubby isn’t a big fan…he thinks it’s a “Hallmark” day…so I just made it all about Anabella.

So, here is my belated Valentine’s to all of you. Well, all of you who drink anyway. A yummy cocktail recipe perfect for a day that revolves around chocolate.
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Chocolate Martini
4 oz. chocolate liqueur
2 oz. vanilla vodka
Splash of Half and Half
Chocolate syrup

Preparation: Mix 4 oz. of chocolate liqueur and 2 oz. of vanilla vodka. Add a splash of Half and Half and shake over ice. Line a martini glass with chocolate syrup. Add mixture.

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And a very special Valentine’s photo for No Cool Story. I saw these and immediately thought of you. Then I thought, Super Happy Girl should so sue these people for copyright infringement!

Well, Happy Valentine’s Day anyway.

What’s funny about this photo is that Anabella has never met a stranger, and Scarlett never cries. Guess Santa smelled funny or something.

Merry Christmas!!

Here are the three things I am most thankful for today…

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, EVERYONE!

Today is my husband’s favorite holiday, which means I will be chauffeuring him to a St. Patrick’s Day party so he can get trashed. He used to start at 7:00 a.m., but as we have gotten older, the people willing to get up that early to start drinking has diminished significantly. So, wish Dan good luck in his yearly goal of drinking everyone else under the table. And send good thoughts out to me…sometimes I find myself wanting to strangle all the drunks when I am the designated driver…including my own husband.

Have a great St. Patty’s Day! Drink some green beer and watch the NCAA tournament. (Thank you, St. Patrick for letting Ohio State pull it out of their asses…otherwise my grid would have been totally fried!)

Here’s a kiss for all you Irish out there.

Now this is a made-up holiday that I can support.

My friend KB and I just returned home from a fabulous girls’ weekend in New York City. I have some good stories to share, but no time tonight. (I must pack for my next trip…we are leaving tomorrow for 7 days in Florida with the in-laws.)

But, here are some photos from NYC to put you in the holiday spirit.

The tree in Rockefeller Plaza

The M&Ms guy in Times Square (not very Christmasy, but what are the holidays without chocolate, right?)

Christmas ornaments in a fountain

Radio City Music Hall

Big-ass Nutcrackers!

And a girl’s wet dream…a Cartier box the size of a car!