So Long, Farewell

And 2006 comes to a close...this has been a year of firsts:

First (and only) marriage
First time buying a home
First time being a godparent
First time going on a Cruise (which included first time going to Belize and the Bahamas)
First gastric doctor visit (more to come, I am sure)
First time buying a car (this was late 2005 and it went with the theme of the post)

This year has been the happiest, craziest, busiest, fullest, and a whole lot of other adjectives that don't exist in my vocabulary.

For the second year in a row, Polly and I will be in Atlanta for the Downtown Countdown. Crazy pictures are sure to follow.

Goodbye 2006.

Here's to 2007, may it hold surprises and gifts for all of us. Hopefully a better football season for the Clemson Tigers.

Atlanta here we come!!!!

Post Holiday Post

Forgive my palindromic title, but I couldn't resist.

With much on my mind, let's skip the niceities and get right to it...

Christmas was great! Among some of the more memorable presents for myself were: Cranium Pop 5, Scrubs Seasons 4 and 5, and tickets to see John Mayer February 8th in Columbia with Polly!!! Another gift that Polly and I will be getting soon is our newest member of the family, Zoe Riede. We will be picking her up from Camden on January 12th, and we are very excited to welcome her to our home. We would like to thank those that made it possible- you know who you are even though you don't read my blog.

We had a wonderful time with our families this Christmas. We started by hosting a "linner" or "dunch" (probably easier to just call it supper) for my sister, brother-in-law, niece, and my dad. We had a honeybaked ham, mashed potatoes, broccoli casserole and rolls. For dessert, my sister honored us with her famous pumpkin roll which we really enjoyed. That night was spent awkwardly introducing ourselves to strangers and putting in face time with Matt Steele at his parents home for their catered Christmas party. An early night prepared us for Christmas Eve. As good Methodists, we got dressed up and made the early service on Sunday Morning. Next came the road trip, stopped in Columbia, became fugitives from the law after failing to pay a 50 cent toll getting off the Southern Connector near Greenville, SC, introduced our dog to 8 to 11 other dogs over the course of the entire trip, and settled on Pelham Road.

After opening gifts Sunday night, we woke at 5:30am Christmas Day to travel back to Columbia for more family time. After brunch and gifts Polly and I finally came to our final resting place around 4pm yesterday and we slept...hard.

Numbers of the Trip
3 : the number of times Lily crapped in/on a family members' backyard/carpet;
2 : the number of times I found it and flushed it before that family member could find out.

1 : number of single Christmas Tree Cakes Consumed

2 : number of questionably racist gifts received

3 : number of people piled on top of Joey after making the mistake of laying on the floor

590: the number of pounds combined, crushing Joey on the floor

5 : the number of months it took to get our "professionally" produced wedding video - I've seen steadier panning shots in the Blair Witch Project

3 : the number of times I called Lee, Jim or Jim, Lee
1 : the number of time their mom made the same mistake

2: the number of baking mix gifts received this year (monkey bread and beer bread)

5 : the number of days left in the year- Here we come HOTlanta

(pictures for this post will follow)

merry xmas and happy new year to all

God Rest ye Merry Gentleman

Although I wasn't a part of the right generation to know how talented Peter Boyle was and I only really "liked" Raymond, I was sad to hear about him passing away yesterday. Of the few episodes of Raymond that I have seen, Frank Barrone was an honest, brutal, and unforgiving character that Peter Boyle made Everyone love. Frank Barrone was a listener and when he spoke, it was something that defined who he was. Pardon the play on words, but his frankness was a representation of his generational upbringing. He was a part of a group of men that went to work while the mother stayed home and took care of the children. He probably worked for the same company for most of his life and got a gold watch and a party when he retired. Frank went to school with kids named Lawrence, Henry, and Jonathan who were called Larry, Hank, and John. He fought for his country and his wife worked while he was overseas. He went to drive-in theaters and asked his girlfriend's father for a marriage blessing. He listened to radio, walked to school, and spanked his children when they needed it.

A moment of silence for Frank, the signaling of an age that has come and gone and will be remembered as simpler and better times.



Christmas Tree Cake: 7 boxes consumed

Times watched A Christmas Story: 2

Christmas Tree Cakes by Little Debbie

During this month of December, I will be ending all of my posts with a current count of Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes that I have eaten. If you are not familiar with these individually wrapped confections from the heavens I would recommend picking up a couple of boxes. Each holiday decorated carton holds five individually wrapped tree-shaped cakes covered in frosting and sprinkles. Don't be fooled by the chocolate version of this treat, the vanilla is the real deal.



Christmas Tree Cake boxes consumed: 6 (and counting)

P.S. This is my number one reason that I love the holiday season...CTCs are obviously seasonal and once January comes, I must wait the long 11 months til Little Debbie starts selling them again.

Holiday Pet Peeves

Although this is truly "the most wonderful time of the year" there are some aspects of the holiday season that I could do without. Here is a short list of things that are pet peeves of mine that seem to resonate each year during this time. The list is in no particular order and no animals were hurt in the making of this list.

1. The "All Holiday" radio station that starts it's "Santacast" the day after Halloween.
Personally, I refuse to listen to it until the day after Thanksgiving. I won't even let my radio dial approach the station without plugging my ears with both fingers and

singing "Mary had a little lamb" to myself until I am certain I won't hear even a single note of "O Holy Night." This may seem extreme, but its much worse when you realize that I am probably driving at the time and I can't plug both of my ears with just one hand. Before I am accused of humbuggery, I would have you know that I am a Christmas enthusiast. I enjoy decorating and gifts as much as the next guy. However, as in all things I think there must be moderation.

2. Holiday Horror Movies - Horror classics like "Black Christmas" released December 20, 1974 and "Silent Night, Deadly Night" in 1984 are movies that have paved the way for the release of current horror movies such as "Wolf Creek" last year, Darkness (I haven't heard of it either) in 2004, "Scream 2" and the remake of "An American Werewolf in Paris" in 1998, "Turistas" coming soon to a theater near you, as well as others I didn't care to research (thanks joblo.com and imdb.com). I guess not all holidays can be merry and bright, but as opposed to the first two movies I mentioned, the other horror films have nothing to do with Christmas in the first place. At least with Black Christmas and SNDN the premise was centered around the holidays even though violence and terror was to follow.

3. Traveling - Let me make the distinction between travel and visiting. I love visiting my family, my in-laws, my friends, and I wish we could all meet at one location and celebrate. I hate traveling during the holidays, the traffic, the delays, the rushing, the waiting...car trouble, airline strikes, transit strikes, leg cramps and pit stops, slow drivers and speed traps, high gas prices and heavy jet lag...sometimes you have to wonder - Is it really worth it?? Then there are the deeper issues of who to visit when and for how long...guilt inevitably ensues and can ruin the spirit of Christmas altogether.

This rounds out my top three, but to be honest, the holiday horror movies aren't that much of a problem for me, I just couldn't think of anything else to throw in there. I am sure there are more things that get on my nerves that are associated with the holidays, but feel free to tell me some of your own. And to be fair, I will follow this post with some of my favorite things about Christmas and Holidays.