Christmas eve started with both of us going to work. Jason got off work at 1pm and I got off at 2pm. We headed home to change - I wore jeans to work and had to dress up, Jason wore khakis to work and changed into jeans. Choir practice started at 3pm and the first service at the Dayton campus was at 4pm. The church was full, but it seemed like most were visitors. The choir sang our 6 songs (as the sun came through the stained glass windows) and Doug Roe did the sermon. It was over a little after 5pm and we headed off to O'Charleys with Pat and Becky Caudill - always a great time with those two!
The 2nd service started at 7pm and we got back just in time. (We kinda got lost with the new exits on 75 and ended up way east of downtown.) Ken, Melissa, the kids, and Jim all came to the service. I had to sit in the front with the choir, but snuck back while we were sitting down to say hi to the kids. The church wasn't as full, but it seemed to be mostly people I recognized. Seemed a little more like our normal Sunday service. We had communion and Kevin Hoffman did the sermon this time. It really felt like Christmas with family.
After hugging everyone in the choir and everyone left at the church we headed to the Cheesecake Factory with Ken, Melissa, kids, Jim, Michael and Shirley (Ken's dad and girlfriend). Jason and I had dessert while everyone else ate dinner. Kenton was so funny, dipping french fries into everything - including the caramel and whipped cream on my plate. We had to leave before everyone was done so we could make it to the last (late) service at the Beavercreek campus.
At the Beavercreek campus we ran into so many of our old friends that we haven't seen for awhile. I said hi to the choir and caught up with some of them. We sat in the back so we could sneak out after we heard a few songs (it had been a long day and we had already heard the sermon twice). Our awesome small group leaders, Ralph & Anita Ludwig, happen to sit behind us, so we got to say hi to them too. We snuck out and ran into Eric Wright and Sarah and Tim Zechini. Jason had a great time goofing with the guys, as usual, and then we finally got out of there. It was just so awesome seeing everyone Christmas eve!
Christmas morning we slept in and then got up to open presents. Jason got me a beautiful snowflake set by Brighton. Appropriately named Snow Diva. I wrestled Jason's ipod Touch from him to wrap it, Cyndi style. Actually, I just put some ribbons on it and hid it. Then I had a trail of clues for where he could find it. (David, Amy, Stacy and I used to do this a lot as kids.) I think he enjoyed it, though he did seem a bit annoyed about running up and down the stairs. :)
We headed to Dad and Claire's house around 1pm and had appetizers along with Grandma Doris and Grandpa Bob (Claire's mother and step-father). Both Amy and Stacy called while we were opening gifts and I got to catch up with both of them. After opening gifts we had a delicious ham dinner with the return of the ice cream in chocolate cups. (Claire had to try to the chocolate drizzle again.) It was a low-key Christmas day with great company and before we knew it, it was 8pm.
When we got home I gave Mom a quick call to wish her a Merry Christmas. It was really odd not heading down to Florida as I have almost every year for the past 9 years. (I'm such a creature of habit.) I know I just saw Mom and Gary at Thanksgiving, but I miss them already. We're planning on camping over Memorial Day weekend, so we're just focusing on that.
Friday Jason had to work until noon so I went shopping with Melissa at the Greene. Great sales! After we got home Jason and I headed to Kentucky to celebrate Christmas with his family. Saturday morning we gave them stockings with gifts inside. Both Gayle and John said they've never received stockings as gifts before. (Yay!) Later that afternoon (while temperatures were 72 degrees) we opened a few more gifts. Then Sunday Jason's sister, April, and her boys came over for Christmas dinner and more gifts! And before we knew it, Christmas was over and we had to go home.
It's been an awesome week and I can't believe the last day of 2008 is tomorrow. I have a "year in review" blog started, but still need to think about things before posting it. Stay tuned... :)
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
Christmas pictures (so far)
This year we weren't sure what to do about a Christmas tree with two very curious kitties in the house. The tree I've used the past few years usually sits covered in the basement. Earlier this year the two boys demolished it. Not just knocking it down, but it was completely flat at one point. So we were trying to figure out how to secure a Christmas tree to the walls or bolt it to the floor when we had a great idea. How about a palm tree? The long trunk would keep ornaments high off the ground and if we decided we hated it, Jason would move it down to the man cave in the basement. (The parrothead/Coca-cola man cave in process.) So we found a nice little $21 palm tree at Flower Factory, brought it home, put some lights on it and then decorate it.
Ta-da!!
Unfortunately we didn't realize how top heavy it would be with all the ornaments on it. The cats helped us fix this. When we got home from work the next day, it was tipped over and most of the ornaments were scattered all over the house. We set the tree back upright, put some support around the pot and it's stayed put ever since.
Next set of pictures was taken at Jason's work. They had a Christmas party for the kids with a visit from Santa. Santa was played by one of Jason's friends from his previous position with Sojourner. Everyone had to sit on Santa's lap, so we got a few pictures...
And lastly, some pictures from the Christmas party last Saturday. (See previous blog if you haven't read it yet.)
Face Painting
Jason serving tables
Santa caught me peeking in through a window of his house!
Groceries were also given to the families
Ta-da!!
Unfortunately we didn't realize how top heavy it would be with all the ornaments on it. The cats helped us fix this. When we got home from work the next day, it was tipped over and most of the ornaments were scattered all over the house. We set the tree back upright, put some support around the pot and it's stayed put ever since.
Next set of pictures was taken at Jason's work. They had a Christmas party for the kids with a visit from Santa. Santa was played by one of Jason's friends from his previous position with Sojourner. Everyone had to sit on Santa's lap, so we got a few pictures...
And lastly, some pictures from the Christmas party last Saturday. (See previous blog if you haven't read it yet.)
Welcome to the Christmas party!
Gifts for the 800+ kids
Some of the caroling elves
Face Painting
Jason serving tables
Santa caught me peeking in through a window of his house!
Groceries were also given to the families
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Catching the Spirit of Christmas...
Not sure why, but I just wasn't ready for Christmas this year. I admit, I didn't want to listen to Christmas music until last week. I can't seem to get excited about Christmas shopping. I put up minimal Christmas decorations. I didn't even plan the annual (no longer annual) ugly ornament exchange.
What makes Christmas feel like Christmas? Snow? Pretty lights? Carols and candles? What happened to celebrating Jesus' birth? Where does that come into the picture? Over and over in my head I keep asking myself "what's the point?" We spend so much money at Christmas, for what? To get money spent on us too? No, no, no, really, I know that's not it. But doesn't it really feel like it? And so many of us right now don't have the extra money. We can't really be surprised when so many people are frustrated and grumpy this time of year.
So we go to the mall and first try to figure out which end of the mall to go to. (Which is usually the wrong end.) Then we try to find a parking spot. We circle the parked cars waiting for brake lights and then hoping they're leaving and not just pulling in. Of course we run into 2 or 3 other cars going for the same spot. (And the grumpiness doesn't help this situation.) Finally we find a spot that no one else is going for - and we're grateful that it only took 10 minutes. Then we make the decision - take the coat in and carry it around for hours, or leave it in the car and freeze to death. (It was 3 degrees when we left the mall tonight. The "feels like" was -18 degrees.)
Then we head to our store of choice with coupons in hand. Prices are really great, but they've cut the number of workers in half, so trying to find help is difficult. We have to be patient, but there's always those that are out for a better deal by complaining loudly to a manager in order to get another 10% off. (Is it worth it?) And the poor retail people, who have to put up with us while working until midnight each night, have little Christmas cheer either.
Like I said, where does celebrating the birth of our Savior fit into all of this? How do we get into the real Christmas spirit when things seem so helpless, hopeless? What is the real spirit of Christmas?
I found my answer. It might be different than yours, but it definitely worked for me. Serving others. Finding a need and doing what you can to meet that need. Even if it's just taking an extra moment to smile at someone and saying "Merry Christmas."
Yesterday our church had their annual Christmas party. The party involves serving a banquet-style dinner for 1,400 people in need and giving out almost 900 gifts to the children there. I really needed to be part of the party this year. Walking around and seeing people who were truly happy, really enjoying their time with family, laughing, and even skipping around, really helped me see that so many in need still remembered what Christmas was all about. For me, serving people meant doing face painting for 2 hours. I'm really great at snowmen on the cheek! I also did Santa, presents, poinsettias, Christmas trees, and candy canes. And so many of those that I got to interact with through painting their faces were teenagers or adults. The Christmas party fun is definitely not just for the kids. :)
Then today the real fun started. First there was choir practice at 8:00 am. Our little alto group is just four women, but I really love those women - Marti, Nancy, and Sally. We've had so much fun getting to know each other over the last few weeks of practice. Yes, choir is about singing, but there's also a kinship that is created by trying to help each other and staying together.
Then at 9:00 am we had worship team practice. Today was my first time singing on the worship team. I auditioned before Thanksgiving and Jim (the worship leader) put me on the schedule for toay. I didn't think about it too much, I just didn't want to get nervous. The songs were all so familiar and I've sang the harmonies almost every time I've sang the songs. The only difference was this time I was singing into a microphone. Oh, and standing in front of everyone, instead of hiding back at the soundbooth.
Church started at 10:15 and after Kevin opened with prayer, we started singing. What an experience! It was incredible watching everyone singing and getting into worship. I had so much fun and it was like I was hanging out singing with friends. And I just loved singing my favorite Christmas song, What Child Is This, and my favorite worship song, Praise Is Rising (Hosanna). It was just such an incredible experience. I asked Jim if I could sing with them again and he said I was going to stay in the rotation of singers. (Yay!)
After church we had a Christmas get-together at a friends house. We ended up hanging out with some of the funniest people we've met at the Dayton Campus. It was good to just sit, eat, tell stories and laugh. Then we had to rush off to go to the Fairfield Commons to wrap gifts. Our church wraps gifts for free every year as an outreach to the community. We were part of the 4-6 pm group, and also the 6-8 pm group. I helped wrap gifts for about 3 of those 4 hours. About the time I got tired of wrapping gifts, it was 8pm and the last shift of people starting coming in. Perfect timing!
There are a lot of stories that came out of wrapping gifts, and I don't have the time to share them all. However, I will say that everyone was smiling and chatting like we all knew each other and so many of us met for the first time that day. We got to talk to people while we wrapped gifts and hear their stories. So many wanted to give donations, but that's not why we do it. (And we don't take donations.) We tell them that we're just showing God's love in a practical way. And they seem to understand.
The Christmas spirit finally got me this weekend. I've got my focus back. And the presents waiting to be given are a sign of how much I love those that are in my life.
I need to share other stories from our Christmas experience, but I've run out of time for tonight. Stay tuned, we got a visit from Santa (and have photos with him), and we also put up a palm tree for our Christmas tree this year (and photos of this too). I'm sure I have pictures from the Christmas party that I can post too, but that will have to be tomorrow.
What makes Christmas feel like Christmas? Snow? Pretty lights? Carols and candles? What happened to celebrating Jesus' birth? Where does that come into the picture? Over and over in my head I keep asking myself "what's the point?" We spend so much money at Christmas, for what? To get money spent on us too? No, no, no, really, I know that's not it. But doesn't it really feel like it? And so many of us right now don't have the extra money. We can't really be surprised when so many people are frustrated and grumpy this time of year.
So we go to the mall and first try to figure out which end of the mall to go to. (Which is usually the wrong end.) Then we try to find a parking spot. We circle the parked cars waiting for brake lights and then hoping they're leaving and not just pulling in. Of course we run into 2 or 3 other cars going for the same spot. (And the grumpiness doesn't help this situation.) Finally we find a spot that no one else is going for - and we're grateful that it only took 10 minutes. Then we make the decision - take the coat in and carry it around for hours, or leave it in the car and freeze to death. (It was 3 degrees when we left the mall tonight. The "feels like" was -18 degrees.)
Then we head to our store of choice with coupons in hand. Prices are really great, but they've cut the number of workers in half, so trying to find help is difficult. We have to be patient, but there's always those that are out for a better deal by complaining loudly to a manager in order to get another 10% off. (Is it worth it?) And the poor retail people, who have to put up with us while working until midnight each night, have little Christmas cheer either.
Like I said, where does celebrating the birth of our Savior fit into all of this? How do we get into the real Christmas spirit when things seem so helpless, hopeless? What is the real spirit of Christmas?
I found my answer. It might be different than yours, but it definitely worked for me. Serving others. Finding a need and doing what you can to meet that need. Even if it's just taking an extra moment to smile at someone and saying "Merry Christmas."
Yesterday our church had their annual Christmas party. The party involves serving a banquet-style dinner for 1,400 people in need and giving out almost 900 gifts to the children there. I really needed to be part of the party this year. Walking around and seeing people who were truly happy, really enjoying their time with family, laughing, and even skipping around, really helped me see that so many in need still remembered what Christmas was all about. For me, serving people meant doing face painting for 2 hours. I'm really great at snowmen on the cheek! I also did Santa, presents, poinsettias, Christmas trees, and candy canes. And so many of those that I got to interact with through painting their faces were teenagers or adults. The Christmas party fun is definitely not just for the kids. :)
Then today the real fun started. First there was choir practice at 8:00 am. Our little alto group is just four women, but I really love those women - Marti, Nancy, and Sally. We've had so much fun getting to know each other over the last few weeks of practice. Yes, choir is about singing, but there's also a kinship that is created by trying to help each other and staying together.
Then at 9:00 am we had worship team practice. Today was my first time singing on the worship team. I auditioned before Thanksgiving and Jim (the worship leader) put me on the schedule for toay. I didn't think about it too much, I just didn't want to get nervous. The songs were all so familiar and I've sang the harmonies almost every time I've sang the songs. The only difference was this time I was singing into a microphone. Oh, and standing in front of everyone, instead of hiding back at the soundbooth.
Church started at 10:15 and after Kevin opened with prayer, we started singing. What an experience! It was incredible watching everyone singing and getting into worship. I had so much fun and it was like I was hanging out singing with friends. And I just loved singing my favorite Christmas song, What Child Is This, and my favorite worship song, Praise Is Rising (Hosanna). It was just such an incredible experience. I asked Jim if I could sing with them again and he said I was going to stay in the rotation of singers. (Yay!)
After church we had a Christmas get-together at a friends house. We ended up hanging out with some of the funniest people we've met at the Dayton Campus. It was good to just sit, eat, tell stories and laugh. Then we had to rush off to go to the Fairfield Commons to wrap gifts. Our church wraps gifts for free every year as an outreach to the community. We were part of the 4-6 pm group, and also the 6-8 pm group. I helped wrap gifts for about 3 of those 4 hours. About the time I got tired of wrapping gifts, it was 8pm and the last shift of people starting coming in. Perfect timing!
There are a lot of stories that came out of wrapping gifts, and I don't have the time to share them all. However, I will say that everyone was smiling and chatting like we all knew each other and so many of us met for the first time that day. We got to talk to people while we wrapped gifts and hear their stories. So many wanted to give donations, but that's not why we do it. (And we don't take donations.) We tell them that we're just showing God's love in a practical way. And they seem to understand.
The Christmas spirit finally got me this weekend. I've got my focus back. And the presents waiting to be given are a sign of how much I love those that are in my life.
I need to share other stories from our Christmas experience, but I've run out of time for tonight. Stay tuned, we got a visit from Santa (and have photos with him), and we also put up a palm tree for our Christmas tree this year (and photos of this too). I'm sure I have pictures from the Christmas party that I can post too, but that will have to be tomorrow.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Thanksgiving in Florida
I usually go to Florida sometime around Christmas to see my mom and step-dad. It's always quite a treat to drive down there with Kinzie and experience Christmas Florida-style. Last year Kinzie and I brought Jason along and he fell in love with the lighted palm trees and celebrating with shorts instead of snow.
This year was a little different though. First, we now have three cats (Jason brought his two cats up from Kentucky). Second, I only had a few vacation days left after the wedding, honeymoon, and going to Honduras. Third, Mom and Gary didn't get a chance to come up to Ohio during the summer, and if I didn't go down for Christmas, I wouldn't see my mom again until next Spring.
I'm not sure why I didn't think of it sooner, but we decided to go down to Florida over Thanksgiving instead. I haven't done Thanksgiving with my mom and step-dad for about 10 years. It's not our favorite holiday since neither my mom nor I like to cook, and we don't have family in Ohio to get together with. But this year Jason came down with me, and he loves to cook! It was definitely the first Thanksgiving that I didn't feel useless standing outside of the kitchen wishing I knew how I could help. Jason and Mom had it completely handled and all I had to do was stuff leftovers in the fridge and help Mom wash dishes when it was all over with.
We were originally going to drive down to Florida, but with gas prices after Ike (which was when we were planning this), it would have been $300 for gas down there and back home. Not to mention it's an 18 hour drive, and if you stay at hotel to break up the driving, we're now talking close to $500 for the entire trip - and wasting 4 days of the vacation driving. So then the search for cheap airline tickets started. Mom offered to send us Christmas money to help pay for our tickets, which really helped. We ended up getting tickets from the Tuesday before Thanksgiving to the Monday after for $331 each. (That's everything, including fees & taxes.) However, the "cheap" tickets required that we fly out of Columbus and that our first flight out left at 6:00 am.
So then we started looking for a cheap hotel around Columbus that we could check into Monday night. Through AAA we got a room at the Crowne Plaza North for $59.99. The hotel room was gorgeous with a King sized bed, little treats everywhere, including a sleep mask, ear plugs, and lavender linen spray. (And you know I love lavender!) There was also a complenetary CD with sounds to put you to sleep. The room was actually nicer than any of the hotels my law firm had set me up with. (And they use nice hotels.) So we sat on the huge comfy bed, checking emails on my laptop, watching Dancing with the Stars, and munching on snacks. The vacation definitely started early!
We got up around 3:30 am and were on the road a little after 4am. We pulled into the long-term parking lot at the airport and a sign told us what row to park in. As we headed for that row, there were men waving us to a parking spot. The shuttle bus was right there ready to pick us up. I've left my car in long term parking a few times at different airports and this was by far my best experience. We got checked in before 5:00 am and were in the air a little after 6am.
We landed in Naples, Florida by 11:15 am. We stopped at Bonita Beach for lunch at a place on the beach. We ate on the 2nd level where there was an amazing view of the beach and the gulf. It was a breezy 72 degrees, while back in Dayton I'm sure it wasn't 30 degrees. I had to take a picture and send it to my friends back home. (Love you guys! And yes, I'm a brat.)
Wednesday we went shopping at the Apple store to check out the iPod Touch. (It's like the iPhone, without the phone.) I tried to sell Mom & Gary on a MacBook but I don't think they're ready to convert. (I'll keep praying for them... ha.) Then we hit the grocery store and got all our supplies for Thanksgiving and the rest of the week.
Jason and Mom started Thanksgiving dinner early and the turkey was done quicker than they thought. There was one forgotten item, so I got to rush to the grocery store down the street and save the day. (It's good to feel useful.) We ate around 2pm and then waddled around the rest of the day. Just because it was Thanksgiving and we were in Florida, we had to get in the pool. The pool was heated (about 82 degrees) but it was in the low 70's and just too chilly to stay in for long. It was one of those things - how often do you get to say that you went swimming Thanksgiving day? :)
Thursday night Mom and I had a first. We went shopping! Michael's (a craft store) was open from 6-9pm Thanksgiving night, so we spent an hour there. Mom didn't get anything, but I got quite a few supplies I was needing. (The gourd parrot and the Pinto rock can now be painted!) Does this count as black Friday shopping?
Jason and I headed out on Friday to do some shopping at Macy's with gift cards we still had from our wedding. We had over $200 in gift cards but only managed to spend $57. I think there were just too many people there and not enough practical gift ideas. And for some reason it was difficult to shop for ourselves. Jason works the day after Christmas, so I have a feeling I'll be spending the rest of those gift cards that day. We also hit Bealls and got a few items, though we couldn't find the prelit aligator or parrot that we saw in the ads. Jason wanted to get a prelit palm tree and decorate that instead of a regular Christmas tree. With three cats, I'm starting to think that this would have been a good idea.
Saturday we went to the beach in the afternoon and then watched the sunset over the gulf. Gorgeous!! I'll post pictures below. Afterwards we hit our favorite (fresh) seafood spot, Kelly's Fish House. I got the garlic butter shrimp as I always do. It's the type of place where everything you eat is yummy, from the salads to the baked potatoes to the hush puppies - not just the main entree.
Sunday we decided to go to the Vineyard Church in Naples. We drove past the building the night before on our way home after dinner. We got there early the next morning and... there was no one there. I remembered that the church was on Davis Road and we were on Radio Road, so the church must have moved. So we headed towards Davis Road. I remembered that I had put Google Directory Assistance on my cell phone, so I called and got directions to the church. Without this free service, we would never have found it. The pastor talked about agape love and how to make your love (for your spouse, family or friends) better. His sermon series was based on the Fireproof movie. I really liked his preaching and got quite a bit out of it. It was a tiny little church, maybe 20 people. They're in a transition period right now so attendance is low. Naples is so different from Dayton.
Sunday afternoon it rained. Jason and I saw out on the covered part of the back patio and watched the rain. We decided that a rainy day in Florida is better than any day in Dayton. We really didn't want to go home, but our real lives are here in Dayton. Yesterday we got in the pool one last time before heading home. We flew Delta down to Florida - a wonderful experience. We flew US Airways home - we'll never fly them again. We shouldn't have been so surprised by the charges for checked bags and drinks, and the lack of snacks on board. What we were really surprised about was how rude the flight attendants were. Actually almost all of the crew we came in contact with were unprofessional, in my opinion. One good thing, we landed 15 minutes early which got us home and in bed much quicker.
The fuzzies were so happy to see us. Sleeping in our own bed made it good to be home. There really is no place like home. (Even if it's 20 degrees outside.) :)
This year was a little different though. First, we now have three cats (Jason brought his two cats up from Kentucky). Second, I only had a few vacation days left after the wedding, honeymoon, and going to Honduras. Third, Mom and Gary didn't get a chance to come up to Ohio during the summer, and if I didn't go down for Christmas, I wouldn't see my mom again until next Spring.
I'm not sure why I didn't think of it sooner, but we decided to go down to Florida over Thanksgiving instead. I haven't done Thanksgiving with my mom and step-dad for about 10 years. It's not our favorite holiday since neither my mom nor I like to cook, and we don't have family in Ohio to get together with. But this year Jason came down with me, and he loves to cook! It was definitely the first Thanksgiving that I didn't feel useless standing outside of the kitchen wishing I knew how I could help. Jason and Mom had it completely handled and all I had to do was stuff leftovers in the fridge and help Mom wash dishes when it was all over with.
We were originally going to drive down to Florida, but with gas prices after Ike (which was when we were planning this), it would have been $300 for gas down there and back home. Not to mention it's an 18 hour drive, and if you stay at hotel to break up the driving, we're now talking close to $500 for the entire trip - and wasting 4 days of the vacation driving. So then the search for cheap airline tickets started. Mom offered to send us Christmas money to help pay for our tickets, which really helped. We ended up getting tickets from the Tuesday before Thanksgiving to the Monday after for $331 each. (That's everything, including fees & taxes.) However, the "cheap" tickets required that we fly out of Columbus and that our first flight out left at 6:00 am.
So then we started looking for a cheap hotel around Columbus that we could check into Monday night. Through AAA we got a room at the Crowne Plaza North for $59.99. The hotel room was gorgeous with a King sized bed, little treats everywhere, including a sleep mask, ear plugs, and lavender linen spray. (And you know I love lavender!) There was also a complenetary CD with sounds to put you to sleep. The room was actually nicer than any of the hotels my law firm had set me up with. (And they use nice hotels.) So we sat on the huge comfy bed, checking emails on my laptop, watching Dancing with the Stars, and munching on snacks. The vacation definitely started early!
We got up around 3:30 am and were on the road a little after 4am. We pulled into the long-term parking lot at the airport and a sign told us what row to park in. As we headed for that row, there were men waving us to a parking spot. The shuttle bus was right there ready to pick us up. I've left my car in long term parking a few times at different airports and this was by far my best experience. We got checked in before 5:00 am and were in the air a little after 6am.
We landed in Naples, Florida by 11:15 am. We stopped at Bonita Beach for lunch at a place on the beach. We ate on the 2nd level where there was an amazing view of the beach and the gulf. It was a breezy 72 degrees, while back in Dayton I'm sure it wasn't 30 degrees. I had to take a picture and send it to my friends back home. (Love you guys! And yes, I'm a brat.)
Wednesday we went shopping at the Apple store to check out the iPod Touch. (It's like the iPhone, without the phone.) I tried to sell Mom & Gary on a MacBook but I don't think they're ready to convert. (I'll keep praying for them... ha.) Then we hit the grocery store and got all our supplies for Thanksgiving and the rest of the week.
Jason and Mom started Thanksgiving dinner early and the turkey was done quicker than they thought. There was one forgotten item, so I got to rush to the grocery store down the street and save the day. (It's good to feel useful.) We ate around 2pm and then waddled around the rest of the day. Just because it was Thanksgiving and we were in Florida, we had to get in the pool. The pool was heated (about 82 degrees) but it was in the low 70's and just too chilly to stay in for long. It was one of those things - how often do you get to say that you went swimming Thanksgiving day? :)
Thursday night Mom and I had a first. We went shopping! Michael's (a craft store) was open from 6-9pm Thanksgiving night, so we spent an hour there. Mom didn't get anything, but I got quite a few supplies I was needing. (The gourd parrot and the Pinto rock can now be painted!) Does this count as black Friday shopping?
Jason and I headed out on Friday to do some shopping at Macy's with gift cards we still had from our wedding. We had over $200 in gift cards but only managed to spend $57. I think there were just too many people there and not enough practical gift ideas. And for some reason it was difficult to shop for ourselves. Jason works the day after Christmas, so I have a feeling I'll be spending the rest of those gift cards that day. We also hit Bealls and got a few items, though we couldn't find the prelit aligator or parrot that we saw in the ads. Jason wanted to get a prelit palm tree and decorate that instead of a regular Christmas tree. With three cats, I'm starting to think that this would have been a good idea.
Saturday we went to the beach in the afternoon and then watched the sunset over the gulf. Gorgeous!! I'll post pictures below. Afterwards we hit our favorite (fresh) seafood spot, Kelly's Fish House. I got the garlic butter shrimp as I always do. It's the type of place where everything you eat is yummy, from the salads to the baked potatoes to the hush puppies - not just the main entree.
Sunday we decided to go to the Vineyard Church in Naples. We drove past the building the night before on our way home after dinner. We got there early the next morning and... there was no one there. I remembered that the church was on Davis Road and we were on Radio Road, so the church must have moved. So we headed towards Davis Road. I remembered that I had put Google Directory Assistance on my cell phone, so I called and got directions to the church. Without this free service, we would never have found it. The pastor talked about agape love and how to make your love (for your spouse, family or friends) better. His sermon series was based on the Fireproof movie. I really liked his preaching and got quite a bit out of it. It was a tiny little church, maybe 20 people. They're in a transition period right now so attendance is low. Naples is so different from Dayton.
Sunday afternoon it rained. Jason and I saw out on the covered part of the back patio and watched the rain. We decided that a rainy day in Florida is better than any day in Dayton. We really didn't want to go home, but our real lives are here in Dayton. Yesterday we got in the pool one last time before heading home. We flew Delta down to Florida - a wonderful experience. We flew US Airways home - we'll never fly them again. We shouldn't have been so surprised by the charges for checked bags and drinks, and the lack of snacks on board. What we were really surprised about was how rude the flight attendants were. Actually almost all of the crew we came in contact with were unprofessional, in my opinion. One good thing, we landed 15 minutes early which got us home and in bed much quicker.
The fuzzies were so happy to see us. Sleeping in our own bed made it good to be home. There really is no place like home. (Even if it's 20 degrees outside.) :)
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