Annual After Christmas Zoo Trip

Today my Mom and I took my niece and nephew to the Jacksonville Zoo for what has become an annual ritual for us. We started doing this after Christmas zoo trip a number of years ago, and it's jut a fun thing to do! The weather is usually perfect (for me, anyways) and though it is Christmas break for all the schools, since we go on a weekday, it's not as crowded as it could be. Though it may not be amongst the nations elite zoos, I think it's a pretty spectacular zoo, myself. For starters, it's HUGE compared to Indy's zoo. I have to admit, the fist time I went to the Indy zoo, I was pretty disappointed. And I think they just have a great overall layout and set-up of things. Plus, they're still expanding! And it's right on the St. Johns River, so you get a nice view when you're at the one end of the zoo. I guess in the summer, they even have canoeing, and such, off of their dock.

Anyway... enough promotion... more about the trek itself. We didn't rush to get there or anything, but we still got there before noon (which you have to do if you even want to think about seeing the whole thing). The kids, of course, always have their favorites they have to go see. Darian loves the giraffes. Bubba loves the monkeys. Not that they are the only things they want to see... they like seeing it all. The Lorikeets are usually pretty cool to feed, too. But for some reason, they weren't too hungry today. Their keeper said they hadn't eaten much at all today... we were there rather early. There must've been something in the air, though, they they seemed very stand-offish for some reason. Of course they're the extras, too... the train, the huge playground/kids area. Me? I just like taking pictures of it all. You'd think after going all these years that I'd have enough pictures of the same animals. But I still always take more pictures. Next year there will be an entirely new permanent exhibit, The Asia exhibit. Not sure what all will be there, but I'm sure they'll have some cool stuff. What they're building so far looks awesome!

This year, however, there was a temporary stingray exhibit set up (though it sure looked permanent with the way it was built). It was the full, hands-on experience where you could pet and feed them. Well, the kids didn't want to feed them when it came down to it, so I fed them some. I swear, one bit me! The keeper said beforehand they don't bite, they just have a strong suction... but I swear I felt the thing clamp down on one of my fingers! There were no teeth, mind you... but it was something! But I survived it, whatever it was.

Anyway... my Mom and I are taking advantage of this annual ritual while we can. I'm sure one day, the kids will out grow the desire to do this. I just hope it's later rather than sooner. I guess time will tell.

A Christmas to Remember

This Christmas has been one for the books!! I briefly talked about Christmas Eve at Eric's, which was a great time. Eric did a really good job hosting, both with the ham dinner and the decorating for the 'Christmas Feel' for gift opening. It was mainly about the kids, though... they all had lots of gifts to open and they ripped through them. Afterwards, we headed up to my house and opened our gifts to each other. I got him one of the few things he actually wanted and asked for... a bonsai tree. And he almost broke it. Don't ask... I'm still trying to figure it out!! Overall, though, it was actually a nice, low key evening before the craziness that is my family Christmas.

Okay... so maybe crazy isn't the right word. We just had a 'big' Christmas because that's what we do. But it was a little crazier this year due to circumstances beyond our control...

So Eric and I head to the airport on Christmas Day. I hadn't talked to the family at all since I'd be seeing them shortly. We just took our time in the morning and enjoyed the bit of Christmas that we had to ourselves. When we got to the airport, I called home to let them know everything looked to be on time. My grandmother answered the phone, which she rarely does - usually only if no one else is home. I jokingly asked why Mom and Dad had her answering the phone. She then proceeded to tell me that Mom had taken Dad to the ER - they thought he was having a bad reaction to a prescription he had. WTF??? Why had no one called me?? I guess I couldn't get there any faster, anyway, but at least give me a heads up! So this freaked me out a little, obviously. I get through security and to the gate, and my Mom calls right before we board. No the doctors are thinking it might be appendicitis. They had to run a few tests to verify things, though. So I tell her to keep me posted and leave me a voicemail of the status if I'm in the air.

We get to ATL... no voicemail. So I wait awhile, then try to call, and it goes directly to her voicemail since she's in the hospital. So i text her and tell her to leave me voicemail as we're leaving the gate for our last leg of the trip. We get to JAX... still no voicemail! So I call, and it goes to directly to her voicemail again, so I leave a massage for her to call me and let me know what's up. At this point, as Eric and I head to the rental car, he suggest we go directly to the hospital. Only, I have no clue what hospital they're at - Jacksonville is a big city! So we end up going straight to the house. Mom and Dad were home - had been home for about an hour. Turns out he had kidney stones and would spend the next few days waiting for them to pass. No fun for him. :(

So after all this drama, I stayed up late to help Mom put some finishing touches on 'Christmas' before the kids came up the next day - she had to postpone a lot of her last minute things since she spent much of the day in the hospital. I finally crawled into bed close to 1am. Eric was asleep long before this, the bum!

So the day after Christmas comes, and this is actually our Christmas Day since this was when the whole family could finally be together. We spend much of the day doing our normal routine of opening gifts under one tree, then eating dinner, and then doing the other tree and stockings. The big present of the year was a Wii for my Sister's family from Santa. We'll be playing with that the rest of my time here. Too bad Eric heads home tonight... back to cold Indiana!!

Oh, and on a side note to all this, I am in shorts right now. The weather is gorgeous, with highs in the 70's and not a cloud in the sky!! I'm loving it!!

A Familiar Feel

Ah yes... I remember what this feels like... a layover in ATL. It's been awhile, but I still remember how it all is.

While I got a moment though, I can tell about my Christmas Eve. I went over to Eric's and his family all came over for dinner and gifts. It was quite a house full, even in a house his big! But with six adults, two kids, and baby (and all that comes with a baby), it fills up quickly! But we had a really nice ham dinner with all the trimmings and his Mom made some really yummy cream pies (chocolate and banana). The kids seems to really like all their gifts, too, as did the adults. It's fun to do a big family thing, though - it was nice to gather around the tree and open gifts.

And I get to do it all again tomorrow! Which is why I'm at ATL... on my way to JAX to see my family. So I hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas! I'll post pictures from all the fun later! :)

These are a Few of My Favorte Things

Christmas traditions. I think everyone has them in some form or another. Some are just personal. Some are family oriented. There are old traditions, passed down from generations and some are new traditions you hope to start this year. Regardless of the tradition, I think they are a very important part of the holiday season. I’ve found that if I miss out on a tradition, it just feels like something is missing. So this Christmas Eve, I wanted to take a minute to share some of my favorite traditions. Some are silly. Some are sentimental. And then there are some that have yet to begin since I don’t have little ones, but I know one day I want to.

First and foremost, there’s the lighting of the outside of my house. This is something that started long ago, growing up. My sister and I would climb all over the roof and outside to put lights on the house. We’d wrap them around palm trees (which look really cool with lights reflecting on the frawns) and the poles on the porch. And ultimately, we even figured out how to rig it to light fixtures so it was all controlled by a flick of a switch or two. We took it so seriously, in fact, that when my parents built their second house in Palm Bay, they installed a switched outlet in the eave of the roof. And THAT carried on to their house in Jacksonville and my house in Indiana. The builder thought I was crazy when I told him what I wanted. So every year, the firm warm day in November, you’ll find me on my roof, installing lights. I won’t turn them on before Thanksgiving, but you take what warmth you can get in Indiana.

Then of course you have to do the inside to match the outside. This can vary with me, depending on my own travel plans, time available to do it, whether or not I’m expecting many visitors during the season, and amount of straightening up that must be done beforehand to make way for the décor. There are a few pieces that I always have to have out… but I’m pretty happy so long as I have my tree up and decorated. That in itself is quite a task. I have a lot of ornaments. At least I feel like I do… until I go home and see Mom’s tree again.

I have a tradition of making a certain cookie now, too. I can’t remember when it started… probably about 10 years ago. But I HAVE to make it. It is, essentially, my Christmas cookie. It came from one of those urban legend emails that has gone around – the $250 Niemen Marcus Cookie Recipe. It looked good, so I tried it one Christmas, and we all loved it. So I’ve made it ever since. It’s also made for any cookie exchanges or company parties this time of year. It’s just my staple, I guess. But they are SO good!

The biggest tradition I have though is going home to Florida for Christmas. I have no idea what a ‘White Christmas’ is because I’ve never had one. I’ve always had a very ‘Green Christmas’ down in Florida. And I wouldn’t trade them for the world. Christmas is big in my family. Always has been. We spend a majority of Christmas Day around the tree, opening gifts. We usually have a lot of gifts. In fact, we now have multiple trees, even. But by all means, it’s not the materialistic part of Christmas that makes it big… we just happen to have a family of givers. I know I love to give gifts. Of course, we do the traditional ham dinner. But I think what makes it all so special is that it’s the one time of year we make sure we all are together. My grandmother comes down from Pennsylvania. My sister comes up to Jacksonville from Palm Bay. And of course I’m down from Indiana. This is one tradition that I always say whomever I marry will have to be very understanding and accepting of, cause it’s not one that’s going to change.

Finally, a brief moment to touch on traditions to come when the kids come. This also would count if I had kids visiting me for some reason. The first came from a gift I received from my uncle and aunt (Andy & Jan). They sent me The Christmas Pickle one year. Essentially, it’s a glass ornament in the shape of a pickle, and it’s the last ornament hung on the tree after the kids go to bed. The first one to find it in the morning gets something special, whether it be the first to open a gift, or even an ‘extra’ gift. The second is The Elf on the Shelf. I’m sure you’ve seen this out there somewhere… it’s a little elf doll and appears after Thanksgiving and quietly sits and watches the kids. And every night, he reports back to Santa to tell him how the kids are behaving. The sometimes he’ll come back to the same place, or he’ll find a new place to spy from. Now you don’t get anything if you find him… but you know that he’s watching.

So these are just a few of my traditions. There’s more. Especially when you start delving into the tradition of Christmas Eve/Day. But I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I love Christmas and everything that comes with it. It’s just such a magical time of year. Please feel free to share some of your traditions with me in my comments – I love hearing about stuff like that.

So to you and your family, I wish you the very best!! Merry Christmas!

Trans Siberian Orchestra

So tonight I got to see a Christmas concert staple... the Trans Siberian Orchestra. Eric's parents took the whole family to see the concert tonight for Christmas. I've never seen them before, but I've always heard it's a spectacular show. And it was! The first half of the show was essentially a Christmas story told through music (with some narration). So you really had to pay attention... if you actually wanted to follow the story. The music was good, regardless. The second half of the show was just music, the TSO way... which, surprisingly, has a lot more electric guitar than I realized. Still good, though... just a little harder rock than what most people hear of TSO.

Anyone who knows about TSO in concert knows that the big draw is the light show... all kinds, from lasers to pyrotechnics. They definitely lived up to all hype! They even warn you of a lot of strobe lights before you go in. And it's pretty smokey at the end of the night. But it is an amazing show!

So all in all, a great night out before Christmas that I was actually able to enjoy. I still can't believe Christmas is this Thursday... but I can't wait to go home to FL for the holidays!

Christmastime Catch-up

Okay... so I have a minute to breathe. *whew*

So it's been a few weeks since I got to really got to take some time out to get on here. So since the Pacers game,I've been busy, obviously. I LOVE Christmas!! So I get really into the decorating, buying and wrapping gifts, etc. So a lot of that's of my time. And since most of my gifts get shipped, I had to be done shopping and wrapping before last weekend.

I've hit a few Christmas get-togethers with friends, which also had 'White Elephant' gift exchanges. Now, I had never heard of it called that before, but it's essentially when you have the option to take someone else's gift (that's already opened) or open a new one. And unless you're the last person, someone can always steal yours and then you get to pick a new one. Depending on the group of friends, you can do re-gifts, or tacky gifts, or something someone may like. The key is to just set a price limit. Anyway... I can say I ended up with a couple of... um... interesting gifts from those. I'll just leave it at that. :)

Then, of course, there's all the food in December. My company does this thing called Fat Month for the whole month of December. Basically, everyone in the company gets assigned a day, so there about 8-9 people a day that are supposed to bring in some sort of food to share. It can be ANYTHING! People brought in things anywhere from meatballs, to quiche, to cookies, to pie. So that, on top of the party food... lots of things to taste test! Then there's all the baking/cooking I like to do... again, it all keeps me busy!

So that's been my past few weeks in a nutshell... nothing majorly exciting, just a lot to keep me real busy, as I always am this time of year. It's just crazy to think that Christmas is next week. Wow...

Christmas Craziness

I know I've been totally MIA on here, and I apologize. I've been crazy busy trying to get ready for Christmas... decorating, wrapping gifts (because I have to ship all of mine), getting cards out... but I swear, I'll be back with more posts soon. Packages went out yesterday, and I only have a few things left on my list to do. :)

Don't you just love Christmas!! :)

Lakers @ Pacers

Yesterday was a good day. I had my first review at my new job (which went very well), and then I got an email asking if I wanted to catch the Pacers' game verses the LA Lakers. "Sure!" I said, without hesitation or care as to where we were sitting or what time the game even was. Well, the day only got better.

So after work, I meet up with Eric, and we head to Mo's Steakhouse to meet our architect friend (we'll leave it at that for this story - I don't want to give up my sources! LOL ) So after a couple of rounds and an awesome steak dinner, we head down to Conseco for the game. I was amazed at the seats we had! I mean, we weren't "Row 2", we were "Row 1A", where we could lean over and talked to the guy in the $600 seats! And the court side view was awesome (as you can see from all my pictures). So I'm taking it all in, completely enjoying the experience - we even had access to the Locker Room Restaurant, which I had no idea even existed - I turn around and realize that Larry Bird and Herb Simon are right up the bleachers from us (yes, ABOVE where we were sitting). So I had to get Larry's autograph - how often do I get that chance? I know - I'm a goober!!

So getting back to the game... the Pacers actually gave the Lakers a run for the money most of the game. The Lakers pulled away by about 16 points in the 3rd, but the Pacer's didn't let that keep them down. Definitely one good thing about a young team with no huge names to hog the spotlight! As the 4th nears the end, Kobe Bryant missed what seemed like an easy shot and the Pacers got the rebound and took it back down court. The clock ticks down to about a second to go and the Pacers' Marquis Daniels took a shot that bounced around and then Troy Murphy tipped it back to the basket, where it bounced around for what seemed like 20 times before finally dropping in after the final buzzer, giving the Pacers a one point lead, which gave them the win!!

It was an awesome game to be at. I can honestly say, it was the best Pacer's experience I've had, to date. And not just because of the seats, though you do tend to stay a little more focused on the game when you're that close to the action. But that is the best way to see basketball... close games with the good guy winning in the end. :)