Alright, now that the Christmas season has wrapped up, I've got a lot to share with you! Erin and I had a wonderful Christmas at home this year; the first we've had without family so it was a quiet day around our house. A few days after Christmas, we packed up the car and drover up to Central Illinois to catch up on the family time with multiple families. Here's what we did!
I snapped this first picture as I was playing around with some slow shutter speeds on my camera. This is my favorite part of Christmas: the glow of the lights on the tree. This pic successfully captures that glow the way I see it.
We had an nontraditional Christmas dinner: homemade pizza. It was so good!
This is a shot from Christmas Eve service. I was in the back with the brass ensemble, but I managed to snap a picture during the candlelit portion.
We're on the road! We encountered some awful weather on the way back to Illinois, so we pulled off the highway to grab some coffee. I couldn't believe my eyes when we discovered a Starbuck's/Jimmy Johns! I wish we had these at home. Heck, I wish we had Jimmy Johns at home; ours is now closed down :(
On the first day up North, we went to Qdoba for lunch. I was curious to compare it to Moe's.
I had a steak burrito, similar to a Joey Bag of Donuts. I didn't like it nearly as well, it was very bland and full of white rice. They didn't have any good hot sauces, either. Erin liked hers a lot because the ingredients seemed to taste fresher.
This is the view back at my old stomping grounds. You can't see how cold it was at this point, but suffice it to say, I could only go out and snap a few pictures before my hands started to sting and the poor camera would get too cold.
I snapped a picture one morning to demonstrate how cold it was. We felt like Illinois was punishing us for something. It was miserable!
Here's Sam and Komen, my Mom's Yorki-Poo puppy. Poor Sam was constantly being bugged by the little guy. It got to the point where we just let Sam fight him off to see if Komen would get the point. You can see both of them wearing their new Snuggies.
Of course, when Sam is at any of the grandparents houses, he is treated like royalty.
Sam dressed up for the Christmas party in a tie. It was very nice of him!
While we were in Peoria, we went to a service at our old Church, Northwest United Methodist.
Here's Keri, leading the worship.
My beautiful mother looking at me with that face "Are you done taking pictures, yet?"
Here's a nice family pic with my parents and Erin.
Avanti's was a must-have while in P-Town.
Erin is displaying a new village piece to add to our Christmas Village. Can't wait to set this up next year!
Erin wanted to demonstrate how much easier the Snuggie makes daily tasks, such as talking on the telephone...
...or reading a book. Suddenly, these are much more fun!
Here's mom and Komen, watching my dad out the window.
Here's dad plowing the snow on his four wheeler. When I was a kid, there was a lot of hard labor to clear the driveway. It was not fun at all....it is a big driveway!
I snapped this pic of our little Civic while in Springfield. You would not believe how much stuff we crammed into that car!
Erin and I went to see Avatar in 3D. Not only was the movie incredible, but she looks so good in her 3D glasses!
We brought the Wii with us and we taught Erin's grandparents some new games.
Buffalo Wild Wings was another must-eat. I'm so pumped that Greenville is getting a BWW this summer!
My buddy Jon and I went out for pizza at Godfather's. We completely pigged out, of course.
On our way back to SC, we stopped at Erin's favorite restaurant, Lynn's Paradise Cafe, in Louisville, KY.
It's bold, eccentric, and a local treasure. Here's the gift shop:
Here's Erin in the dining area. There are funny lamps, nick nacks, etc.
I had a Cheeseburger, it was delicous! Erin enjoys the black bean chili, chips, with mango salsa.
I also tasted a chocolate shake. The boot mug made it even tastier!
Erin and I had a great time on the trip, but realized again, that we really really like living in South Carolina. Sure, we miss our family, friends, and favorite restaurants, but at least we don't have to worry about constant frostbite or snow down here.
Just to update you on everything else that is happening in my life: Work is still going well down the road, it's a laid back job that suits my personality well. Last weekend's ALLIANCE camp was canceled due to bad weather in Atlanta, but the next one is scheduled for next weekend. I'm so excited to start marching again! Also, CQ, my quartet, will be competing in two months, so we are hard at work perfecting our contest pieces. The weather has warmed up a little, so I plan on spending some more time on the motorcycle this week. I'm so lucky that I have the opportunity to ride year round. So far, we've stayed healthy and happy during the flu season, so I'll cross my fingers for continued health. I've been on a weightloss routine this month; we're not eating out, I'm hitting the gym everyday, etc. That Christmas trip menu, if you couldn't tell, really did a number to my waist. I'm happy to report that the tide has turned and in the next month or two, I hope to drop about 10 more pounds. We'll see! I hope you enjoyed my pictures, and you can count on some more next time. Thanks for reading, stay warm out there!
