new year's eve!

we're getting prepared for the new year around here. i've got appetizer meatballs ready to go in the crock pot, spumante champagne (the kind we used for our rehearsal dinner) chilling in the fridge, and plans to hang out with several friends to ring in the new year.

with 2009 rolling in, i think we're going to check out some dog obedience schools. obviously petsmart has several classes, but i've heard great things about top dog and want to see what they have to offer. anyone have any experience with them? it's not that pepper is behaving horribly, but i just have a feeling she could be better, and i don't want it to get any worse. today i'm trying out her having a "lead line" while she's loose in the house to make it easier to correct her and ending the frustrating chases when she has something she shouldn't or gets under the bed and destroys whatever she can find. it's a suggestion in our "puppies for dummies" book, and it makes sense as long as she doesn't get it wrapped around something.

i'm also trying to finish up our "2008" yearbook that we make annually. since 2005, we've created a book to document our year in pictures. i don't scrapbook, and i rarely make prints of my photos. this is the way that we organize, and i love it! the first year was a present from justin, but since then i've taken over. we typically use iphoto on the mac to create the book, though i've heard many people enjoy kodak gallery as well, and i just saw a great one that my aunt did on shutterfly. this year, i'm testing out the endless possibilities in adobe aperture. this program allows me to create my own layouts and move photos around much more easily than other programs i've used. i'm excited to see how it turns out when it's finally printed and sent to us!

i suppose i could do some sort of "year in review" post, and maybe tomorrow i'll be bored and work on one. i've already relived many of my memories creating the yearbook, and though it has certainly been a year of ups and downs, it seems like 2008 will end on a positive note. i want to wish everyone a safe and happy new year's eve!