Because of my new awesome job, I was off for the holidays from Dec. 22 through Jan. 1, which is why there were no blog entries through that time period. I wanted to count this week and a half as a vacation of sorts, and so going with my philosophy of leaving anything work-related behind, I got on the Internet a total of about five minutes. I like having days and days where I don’t even look at a computer screen. Many of you might think that’s weird, and that’s fine. After all, we’re all weird in our own little ways, now aren’t we?
So on to the recap:
Dec. 22
Slept in and then got ready and drove an hour and a half to have Christmas with my family at my brother’s. We had finger foods. My oldest brother showed up after being in Florida for a few months, and my sister-in-law announced she was pregnant with their second and last child. Now, I am in full support of this because my brother and his wife have been the BEST parents EVER to my little niece. Honestly, if I knew my kid would be just like Kylee, I wouldn’t be so scared about having a baby! Sadie was invited to this gathering because Kylee LOVES “cousin Sadie.” We then drove an hour and a half back to Rome.
Dec. 23
Got up a bit earlier than normal for a Sunday to go with our Sunday school class (well, we’ve never actually attended a class – they’re just in our age group) to sing Christmas carols at a local nursing home then came back for church. This was a bit strange. I felt really bad for all those people in there. We just kind of sang and left. I made a mental note to get more serious about finding a way to bring Sadie to the nursing home to cheer them up. Chris and I celebrated 10 years as a couple (that’s right, the poor guy has put up with me for this long!) by eating a meal at Red Lobster. (Hey, it’s no Grammercy Tavern in New York, but it’s about the best thing Rome has, plus, I had a gift card.) After getting home, I saw a story in the paper about a local group of people and their pets doing a program just like I would like to do with Sadie (jackpot!). Chris and I decided that the rest of the week was going to be really crazy, especially Christmas day, so we opened our gifts to each other. These included:
For Chris
Willy Nelson CD (I REALLY love my husband)
Paul Simon (so I bought him some REAL music, too)
Express dress pants
Neon Bible (but he’s already read it!)
The North Face jacket (yeah, I’m awesome)
For me
Chris Daughtry CD
Two shirts from H&M in New York
Another shirt
Starbucks coffee (yum!) and a mug
The Darkest Evening of the Year by Dean Koontz (mystery + dogs = me with a smile)
Record Player - awesome but my dad’s records are mostly all scratched up so we may have to take this one back :(
Dec. 24
Went to Chris’ mamaw’s house on his dad’s side (Did I spell mamaw right? Whatever happened to grandma?) We ate, watched kids open presents, watched older kids who are in show choir sing and dance (wow…) and played Chinese Christmas (I know it’s wrong, but that’s what they call it). So, another three hours in the car…
Dec. 25
Merry Christmas! We picked up Chris’ mom and drove back to Cleveland for lunch with Chris’ other mamaw at Golden Choral. Yep, that’s right! She had fallen and broken her hip, so she couldn’t cook. I suppose no one else in the family can cook or maybe they just don’t cause that’s her thing, but either way, we ended up at Golden Choral. Then we went to her house and opened presents. It was a great visit for his mom – progress, yay! Then we drove his mom back and went home. Another three and a half hours in the car.
Dec. 26
The day I’ve been waiting for! Chris and I dropped off Sadie at my BFF’s house and headed to Amicalola Falls in the Blue Ridge Mountains. We first stopped in Dawsonville to shop a bit at the biggest outlet mall ever (I’m talking more than 100 stores). He got some shoes. I bought a few shirts at my favorite store (White House Black Market – and no, it’s not THE black market, they pretty much just sell black and/or white clothing that is really classy looking. It’s usually pretty expensive, so the outlet part is key here!) We met up with Chris’ brother and his family because they were vacationing nearby as well. During lunch, I was asked by my sister-in-law if she should keep her maternity clothes for me… Sure, I mean, if it happens, it happens and I’ll need clothes… Then we traveled up the mountain and saw the BEAUTIFUL lodge where we stayed. The place was super nice and they gave us a room with a view of about 8 to 10 other mountains in the distance!
Dec. 27
Took a short trek down to the top of the falls. Beautiful! Took a long trek down 450 steps to the “bottom” of the falls, then another 150+ steps to the real bottom of the falls. Trekked up 600+ steps back to the lodge. Legs. Hurt. Jello. Sweat. I’m. Out. Of. Shape! We drove back down to the Dawsonville area to eat lunch at a local Italian/sandwich shop. Spent the rest of the day chillin’ and watching cool shows on the Discovery Channel (which we don’t get at home). We also did other things you don’t want to know about. Then we ate salad and soup in the lodge restaurant.
Dec. 28
Woke up with pain in the legs. I knew that was coming. Got ready and packed and headed to Calhoun to pick up Sadie. We stopped in another little town and ate breakfast at Waffle House, which is always fun (and that may be another post). Went home and repacked and headed out again, this time to Huntsville to see Chris’ dad for the weekend. Weekend in a nutshell: babies, three-year-olds, screaming, hugs, Sadie looking at me like “where the hell did you bring me,” no sleep on an air mattress, cooking, cleaning, Scrabble, laughing with Bryan and Stephanie, more food, family photos and Chris singing “On the Road Again” when we got back in the car (Oh, Willy…). Total weekend hours in the car: NINE!
Dec. 31
I am a vegetable! I must sleep! Chris cleaned the gutters and checked a leak in our porch (great, more home improvements to make!). I did about five loads of laundry. More sleep. Made dinner, watched "SNL in the 90s" show and then watched the ball drop. No party this year. Back to bed.
Jan. 1
We took Chris’ mom to the park to walk. Sadie came and provided the entertainment. It was frickin’ freezing. Then we went home and did more house stuff. Oh, and we watched “Waking Ned Divine” before heading to bed. Good movie!
Jan. 2
Back to work…
About Me
- Meaghan
- Rome, Georgia, United States
- Apparently, I'm mean at first! Keep reading and have your own impression.
10 comments:
Wow, that's a lot of time in the car. Maybe someone should have given you a gas station gift card.
That is a good movie.
Weren't you guys tempted to walk to Maine from Amicalola? You could have. It's only about 2168 miles by trail from the lodge.
Happy New Year!
Yeah, we were, especially after all that time in the car!
I felt strange reading this, since I already knew how I spent the last 10 days. But a good summary.
Just to clarify: she bought me a novel titled "The Neon Bible," not a neon-colored Holy Bible.
Oh, I forgot: Do they sing to you at the Golden Choral?
Wow, Mickey. I noticed the Golden "Choral" and then was amazed that you didn't point it out. But I'm even more amazed that you came back and left a second comment just to point it out. What a rotten SOB.
You should check out the Len Foote Hike Inn. I used to go with my family & friends at least once per year. You hike from the top of the falls to the approach trail and stay at the hotel at the top.
There is no TV but you get a bed, showers, toilets (composting toilets, very eco friendly) and two hot meals (dinner and breakfast the next morning). I'm not sure about their pet policy but you can always look online. That way, you would have more walking interwoven with the car riding.
Oh no! I misspelled the name of a buffet-style trough for fat-ass rednecks! Whatever will I do?
For the record, there was some singing going on...
I agree with you on Waking Ned Devine. I love that movie.
My first instinct was that the neon bible was a neon sign or what Chris was afraid we'd think. Then I guessed a novel made more sense so the clarification was unnecessary.
Why did you have to mention the things I don't want to know about? Now I know exactly what you two were doing because you sure as hell weren't doing laundry in a nice hotel room.
And god was that a long post. I actually skipped it yesterday, but came back to read today.
And Kim wants you to increase your font size. She's getting old and can't make out everything on the screen while reading over my shoulder.
And we celebrate our 10 years as a couple this year too. That's right guys, most of you graduated high school and started your first year of college a decade ago sometime this year.
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