We're back in Atlanta!!!
We got home last night about 6:30. I had a great time in Michigan for Christmas but I am so glad to be home. I haven't posted at all since I left so I thought I would briefly catalog what we did on our Christmas Vacation.
It really starts on Thursday night when Matt and I had our Yule celebration. We exchange gifts with one another on Yule because it is before we leave for Michigan and we don't want to lug all those presents up there and back again. I bought Matt a table top outdoor propane heater for the gazebo so we could use it year round. I also got him Detroit Lions pilsner glasses. To prove that after 11...nearly 12 years...we do think alike...when he opened the pilsners I was opening a present that also contained drinking glasses - in my case, lambic glasses! (He had also put lambic in my stocking so I could use them). Yay. I also got a new digital camera because our old one was dead. It is an awesome camera! And I got a Persephone and Hades wall hanging for my shrine.
My boss gave me the day off on Friday the 22nd so when oneandonlymatt and I got up on Friday we left for Michigan. We took our time stopping a few times on the way and the trip took us the total 12 hours - we left at 11:30ish in the morning and arrived at Matt's mom's house at 11:30ish at night.
That meant the day on the 23rd was a bonus day since we didn't expect to leave until after work on Friday and we planned to stop somewhere over night. So, Matt and I went to the Honda Dealership where his brother works and we went out for lunch and test drove a honda Civic SI. It was very dreary and very cold and I wanted to go home. I also remembered how rude people could be in Michigan. We had gone to Olga's (that is somethink I wish existed here). Olga's is, for lack of better word, a greek semi fast food place. It isn't fast food technically because they have waitstaff, but it is quicker than other placed. And what they serve are Gyros with different toppings on them - you can get a regular Gyro or you can get a thai gyro... But they are all very yummy. However, planning for the onslaught of food coming my way I had an Olga's Salad (Greek salad) and a spinich pie instead.
Then I got up to use the restroom. A girl went in ahead of me, and it was just a one person room. So I waited. There was a woman who was getting a carry out order who asked me if I was in line and I said yes. A couple minutes go by and she asked me if I was sure I saw someone go in there and I said yes. A couple more minutes go by and she got up and walked past me and pounded on the door. I said to her "I think that was unecessary..." and she said that was just the way she did things. I said it didn't really matter because I was next in line anyway. So the poor girl comes out and I appolgized on the rude lady's behalf and I went in the rest room. You better believe I took my damn time in there! Funny part was - when I came out the lady was gone! I have never run into that same kind of rudeness in Georgia. I was so ready to come home.
Anywho - that night we went to Matt's cousin Aaron's house. He was in town from Reno, but he still owned a house in the area where his ex girlfriend was still living. Hmm. Well, whatever. We played drinking games and hung out. We ordered Pizza and had a general blast. There were about 8 people there including Matt's other cousin Darrin. We ended up crashing there in Aaron's guest room.
The next morning we got up and went back to Matt's mom's. It was Christmas Eve and we napped some more and then watched the Lion's game - which was as always...frustrating. Then we went to my mom's for our annual christmas eve dinner. My brother made reservations at a new japanese restaurant - hibachi style. We ordered our food but Michael, Matt and I ordered a ton of excellent sushi as well. We ate way too much, but it was all so good.
Later, back at Ethel's (that is what we call Matt's mom instead of Mom...if you're curious about that, I'll explain it later) - she always has her best friend's family over for Mimosas before they go to Midnight Mass. Our friend Rob also came by and had some Mimosas, but neither Matt nor I went to Midnight Mass this year. I ended up in bed around 1pm - I didn't want to miss Santa.
On Christmas Morning, Matt's brother and his girlfriend came over in the morning and we had breakfast and opened our presents. We got some awesome stuff. Matt's brother got me a lyrical translation of the Homeric Hymns. Obviously it isn't for scholarly use but will be awesome for devotional practices. We also got a Zen alarm clock for meditation and new pots and pans. There are a billion other things too.
In the afternoon we went to Matt's cousin Evie's house for dinner and a white elephant gift exchange. I got a 20 questions electronic game (we played it on the way home in the car) and Matt got a bottle of wine.
Then Matt and I went to see a movie. That has been a christmas day tradition for the both of us since we started dating. We saw Eragon this year - it was pretty good but my 11 year old Nephew says they left a lot out so now we have to read the books.
On Tuesday we moved locations to my mom's house. That morning I made Pasticcio for my family's day-after-christmas dinner. My brother was also making a prime rib. My sister and her family arrived just in time for an elaborate lunch which my brother also provided - shrimp, crab claws, sushi, sandwich fixings, veggies, fruit, cheeses.....mmmm..
The we opened presents with my family. Again, we got a lot of stuff but here are some hightlights: new camp chairs, salad dressing from my favorite pizza place in Kalamazoo (Bilbo's!), scrapbooking shopping spree...
Then we had dinner - which was marvelous. And we played a game that Kyle (the 11 year old) had brought - Dragonology. It was a long game but we had fun.
On wednesday - Matt went to Toledo with two of his employees and went bowling. My sister and I went with our mom to a whole sale craft supply store where we were allowed to spend $25 each on scrapbooking stuff. We had a lot of fun going up and down the isles a bazillion times. We both left there with a TON of stuff.
That night we were going out with my best friend Jill - we had dinner at a cajun restaurant in Ferndale MI and then went to the Spike and Mike's Twisted Cartoon show. That turned out to be kind of stupid for the most part. But we had fun hanging out with Jill and her boyfriend Bill. We are planning a trip to Montreal with the two of them in June. Yay.
On Thursday, my friend Margaret came to my mom's house with her two little boys - 2 year old Dougie and 8 month old Liam. Then we met her husband Ryan for lunch at Red Robin and had some burgers. It was fun to see them.
Thursday night we went to Matt's friend Rob's new house (he bought it to fix up and rent but he just got it so he is starting after the holidays). It was empty so we brought in our air mattress to sit on! He was supposed to be having a listening party for his band's pre-demo (they roughly recorded 17 songs and want their friends to decide what goes on the real demo). We listened to it (Matt and I heared it already anyway) and made our comments on the survey sheet provided. However, it was only Matt, me and Rob in attendance. We walked up to a bar nearby and had some dinner and drinks and then walked back. I decided to "nap" but next thing we all knew was that it was 4am! Matt had "napped" too and Rob had curled up on the floor right in front of the heat register like Piglet. We were going to just go back to sleep but then we were awake so we went back to my mom's house and went back to sleep there. Then, at 8am Matt got up and went Downtown to play Poker at the casino. I gladly hung out at my mom's for some much needed relaxation from our whirlwind christmas vacation! Piglet and I even took a nap.
That night we had pizza and went to bed early so we could leave very early yesterday morning. We left about 7:30am and hightailed it home. It is good to be home.
Tonight we are going to a NYE party at our friend Chad's house. Then I am also thankful for not having to work tomorrow.
And that was our Christmas vacation. If I missed anything, I'm sorry. If I spelled anything wrong...too bad.
It really starts on Thursday night when Matt and I had our Yule celebration. We exchange gifts with one another on Yule because it is before we leave for Michigan and we don't want to lug all those presents up there and back again. I bought Matt a table top outdoor propane heater for the gazebo so we could use it year round. I also got him Detroit Lions pilsner glasses. To prove that after 11...nearly 12 years...we do think alike...when he opened the pilsners I was opening a present that also contained drinking glasses - in my case, lambic glasses! (He had also put lambic in my stocking so I could use them). Yay. I also got a new digital camera because our old one was dead. It is an awesome camera! And I got a Persephone and Hades wall hanging for my shrine.
My boss gave me the day off on Friday the 22nd so when oneandonlymatt and I got up on Friday we left for Michigan. We took our time stopping a few times on the way and the trip took us the total 12 hours - we left at 11:30ish in the morning and arrived at Matt's mom's house at 11:30ish at night.
That meant the day on the 23rd was a bonus day since we didn't expect to leave until after work on Friday and we planned to stop somewhere over night. So, Matt and I went to the Honda Dealership where his brother works and we went out for lunch and test drove a honda Civic SI. It was very dreary and very cold and I wanted to go home. I also remembered how rude people could be in Michigan. We had gone to Olga's (that is somethink I wish existed here). Olga's is, for lack of better word, a greek semi fast food place. It isn't fast food technically because they have waitstaff, but it is quicker than other placed. And what they serve are Gyros with different toppings on them - you can get a regular Gyro or you can get a thai gyro... But they are all very yummy. However, planning for the onslaught of food coming my way I had an Olga's Salad (Greek salad) and a spinich pie instead.
Then I got up to use the restroom. A girl went in ahead of me, and it was just a one person room. So I waited. There was a woman who was getting a carry out order who asked me if I was in line and I said yes. A couple minutes go by and she asked me if I was sure I saw someone go in there and I said yes. A couple more minutes go by and she got up and walked past me and pounded on the door. I said to her "I think that was unecessary..." and she said that was just the way she did things. I said it didn't really matter because I was next in line anyway. So the poor girl comes out and I appolgized on the rude lady's behalf and I went in the rest room. You better believe I took my damn time in there! Funny part was - when I came out the lady was gone! I have never run into that same kind of rudeness in Georgia. I was so ready to come home.
Anywho - that night we went to Matt's cousin Aaron's house. He was in town from Reno, but he still owned a house in the area where his ex girlfriend was still living. Hmm. Well, whatever. We played drinking games and hung out. We ordered Pizza and had a general blast. There were about 8 people there including Matt's other cousin Darrin. We ended up crashing there in Aaron's guest room.
The next morning we got up and went back to Matt's mom's. It was Christmas Eve and we napped some more and then watched the Lion's game - which was as always...frustrating. Then we went to my mom's for our annual christmas eve dinner. My brother made reservations at a new japanese restaurant - hibachi style. We ordered our food but Michael, Matt and I ordered a ton of excellent sushi as well. We ate way too much, but it was all so good.
Later, back at Ethel's (that is what we call Matt's mom instead of Mom...if you're curious about that, I'll explain it later) - she always has her best friend's family over for Mimosas before they go to Midnight Mass. Our friend Rob also came by and had some Mimosas, but neither Matt nor I went to Midnight Mass this year. I ended up in bed around 1pm - I didn't want to miss Santa.
On Christmas Morning, Matt's brother and his girlfriend came over in the morning and we had breakfast and opened our presents. We got some awesome stuff. Matt's brother got me a lyrical translation of the Homeric Hymns. Obviously it isn't for scholarly use but will be awesome for devotional practices. We also got a Zen alarm clock for meditation and new pots and pans. There are a billion other things too.
In the afternoon we went to Matt's cousin Evie's house for dinner and a white elephant gift exchange. I got a 20 questions electronic game (we played it on the way home in the car) and Matt got a bottle of wine.
Then Matt and I went to see a movie. That has been a christmas day tradition for the both of us since we started dating. We saw Eragon this year - it was pretty good but my 11 year old Nephew says they left a lot out so now we have to read the books.
On Tuesday we moved locations to my mom's house. That morning I made Pasticcio for my family's day-after-christmas dinner. My brother was also making a prime rib. My sister and her family arrived just in time for an elaborate lunch which my brother also provided - shrimp, crab claws, sushi, sandwich fixings, veggies, fruit, cheeses.....mmmm..
The we opened presents with my family. Again, we got a lot of stuff but here are some hightlights: new camp chairs, salad dressing from my favorite pizza place in Kalamazoo (Bilbo's!), scrapbooking shopping spree...
Then we had dinner - which was marvelous. And we played a game that Kyle (the 11 year old) had brought - Dragonology. It was a long game but we had fun.
On wednesday - Matt went to Toledo with two of his employees and went bowling. My sister and I went with our mom to a whole sale craft supply store where we were allowed to spend $25 each on scrapbooking stuff. We had a lot of fun going up and down the isles a bazillion times. We both left there with a TON of stuff.
That night we were going out with my best friend Jill - we had dinner at a cajun restaurant in Ferndale MI and then went to the Spike and Mike's Twisted Cartoon show. That turned out to be kind of stupid for the most part. But we had fun hanging out with Jill and her boyfriend Bill. We are planning a trip to Montreal with the two of them in June. Yay.
On Thursday, my friend Margaret came to my mom's house with her two little boys - 2 year old Dougie and 8 month old Liam. Then we met her husband Ryan for lunch at Red Robin and had some burgers. It was fun to see them.
Thursday night we went to Matt's friend Rob's new house (he bought it to fix up and rent but he just got it so he is starting after the holidays). It was empty so we brought in our air mattress to sit on! He was supposed to be having a listening party for his band's pre-demo (they roughly recorded 17 songs and want their friends to decide what goes on the real demo). We listened to it (Matt and I heared it already anyway) and made our comments on the survey sheet provided. However, it was only Matt, me and Rob in attendance. We walked up to a bar nearby and had some dinner and drinks and then walked back. I decided to "nap" but next thing we all knew was that it was 4am! Matt had "napped" too and Rob had curled up on the floor right in front of the heat register like Piglet. We were going to just go back to sleep but then we were awake so we went back to my mom's house and went back to sleep there. Then, at 8am Matt got up and went Downtown to play Poker at the casino. I gladly hung out at my mom's for some much needed relaxation from our whirlwind christmas vacation! Piglet and I even took a nap.
That night we had pizza and went to bed early so we could leave very early yesterday morning. We left about 7:30am and hightailed it home. It is good to be home.
Tonight we are going to a NYE party at our friend Chad's house. Then I am also thankful for not having to work tomorrow.
And that was our Christmas vacation. If I missed anything, I'm sorry. If I spelled anything wrong...too bad.