The Aftermath

The feathers of the alternative Xmas tree have been brushed off the floor and hundreds of empties, many of them vodka bottles, have been taken down to the bottle bank for recycling.

The floor has been washed numerously as a mixture of spillage, and dirty shoe soles made for an interesting experience trying to navigate around the house bear foot or in socks and finally all the furniture is back in its rightful place.

While wallowing in the memories of the success of the party and reading the countless emails and thank you cards we have received, I cannot stop thinking that if it had not been for all the hard work that 'my team' had produced it may have never happened.

So a big thank you to Milo our lighting designer who has once again liaised with me in the last few months to ensure that my artistic vision and his lighting talent would work hand in hand to produce the right atmosphere for our little soirée and enhance the tree which, as always, was the focus point of the party.

A huge thank you also to DJ Chris Brogan who once again provided awesome tunes throughout the night.

He is very talented and during the last 4 years, he has made our party the success it now is. We are fully aware that one day his talent and popularity will take him away from us, so we are going to squeeze every last bit of his generosity until we no more can. He is such a huge part of our annual event that he has become an honorary Denning.

Do check DJ Chris Brogan's podcast

There was also the unsung heroes who were drafted in at the last minute to help us finish everything on time. My brother Sidney and his girlfriend Aurélie who, on my instruction, ended up ironing 500 balloon ribbons so they would hang straight from the ceiling once the balloon were filled with helium (I know, I'm a bit particular and demanding at times).

Our friend Scott who spent most of the Friday night putting valves and strings into the 500 latex balloons so they would be ready to be inflated on the day. Unfortunately, the helium inflated balloons have a short shelf life and could not be inflated in advance.

A particular thank you to my husband Chris Denning, for his patience, his kindness and his tolerance towards my eccentricities. Without his support there would not be a party and to me there is nothing more rewarding than seeing him working the room. He may live like a hermit most of the year but he surely knows how to host when the time comes.

And a huge thank you to all of you who have attended the party. As I have said before, we can try to impress you with décor, sounds and lights, but a party is only as good as its guests. You guys (and the many messages we received confirm that) were awesome, friendly, funny, hot (that seems to be a recurring subject in our messages) and very enthusiastic. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

So now that it is over, the Dennings can finally contemplate the new year. It is always difficult for us to wave goodbye to Christmas until our party is out of the way.

With the new year, comes new resolutions. Chris and I have decided that 2011 will be the year we will look after our bodies. I have a history of not being able to stick to my resolutions if the results do not show their pretty face soon enough. I am motivated and have self control but needs excitement regularly or my motivation flies off the door as soon as the boredom sets in.

Oh, have I also mentioned pressure? Yep, I LOVE IT. Pressure is my fuel and is what drives me.

As a result, tomorrow morning Monday 17th January 2011, I will be starting an intense training for the next 90 days called the P90X (look for it on youtube). As an added motivation, I will be documenting my training regularly on this blog so the added pressure of having committed to it and committed publicly to you should make for a successful experience.

I have taken my before pictures (they are quite tough to look at for somebody with body issues) but I am happy to post them on my blog as I know that in 90 days time I will be proud of the changes my body has experienced. I'm 38 years old, it's time to get fit!