2009 started out ugly

To bid farewell to 2008 and throw our arms open to 2009, my friends and I had an Ugly Sweater Party, or USP for short. At this USP, we ate good snackies, played great games like "Guesstures" and "Apples to Apples," and did some leg wrestling. Our hosts, S and D, were grand. A soon-to-be married couple, they recently bought a house and have done a swell job so far of opening its doors to friends and neighbors. Thanks S and D!

On the eve of the new year, the new house welcomed an uglier sort than it had hosted before. They came carrying brownies, root beer float cake, chips, frozen pizzas and a few beers. They came bearing Wiis and cameras. And they came dressed to kill...or at least severely maim any soul unfortunate enough to behold their attire.

At this USP, the sweaters were indeed ugly. One slinky, red, droopy, super-long affair is burnt in my memory. Another blue zig-zagged and pink striped remnant from the '80s also lingers. And the fellow wearing woman's trousers along with a mustard-colored shirt and overzealous sweater vest definitely made an impression. Add to these get-ups mustaches cut from poster board and affixed with double sided tape, and you may rightly say 2009 started out ugly.

But ugly was fun. Self consciousness be darned. The uglier the better. The more ridiculous the richer. We laughed in the new year. And I don't think there was any better way to begin whatever adventures lie ahead of us all in 2009.

Yours truly in her ugly sweater and mustache. Seriously, I don't know how such a garment ever made it into this world...let alone got purchased. Alas, we all make mistakes.

S and D, our lovely ugly-sweatered hosts. Inside out is always classic, and S's stitches came straight from the '80s -- a never-fail choice for ridiculous and pitiful. Long live the '80s!

B and her brother J working the poster board 'stache, goatee and sideburns. Nice sneer, J!

Okay everyone, look ugly. Wait, you already do. Look silly then. That's it. Good job. Happy 2009! (Someone please take that fork away from N. He's scaring me.)

It wouldn't be an Ugly Sweater Party without pulling out the John Travolta vinyl. Who even knew Travolta had an album?! They say you learn something new every day. With such knowledge, I feel 2009 is going to be electrifyin'!