Fat and Happy

I'm finally back! I didn't realize it had been a month since I last wrote. I hope everyone had great holidays. I know we did!

We got moved in here in Florida just in time to get all the boxes emptied and leave town again. My hubby and I had our own private Christmas the night before we left town...the first of 3! We spent about 5 days with my family over Christmas in Atlanta. My mom has all the pictures, so if you wanna check them out, see here. We really had a great time. We spoiled my 3-year-old niece, pigged out on good food and holiday goodies, went shopping, and watched football in front of the fire. I haven't been able to spend time with my family since my wedding, if you can even say that. It was a very busy time, but it was all of us in one place for a couple of days. It's a rare occasion and every time it happens we wonder how long it will be until it happens again.

Hubby and I left my 'rent's a couple of days after Christmas and headed to FL to see his family. His mother had the stomach flu on Christmas, so it worked out nicely to postpone it a little. Although she was still a little worn out, and his dad caught it while we were there, we managed to get a little QT in. We've spent time with them more recently, and his only sibling, an older brother, also lives in town, so we hit them both in 1 shot. Those gatherings are a little easier to come by than my family assemblies. We had a very nice time eating leftovers, going to the movies (A Night At The Museum was great!) and watching even more football.

For New Years, my hubby and I, along with 7 other friends rented a condo at Cinnamon Beach (Palm Coast, FL) down between St. Augustine and Daytona, for the weekend. We had beautiful weather, even eating dinner outside across the street from the Spanish Fort in historic St. Augustine on New Year's eve. It was so nice to spend time with a group of friends again! We played jenga, watched "Best of Saturday Night Live" dvd's, cooked a HUGE breakfast, played football on the beach (well, watched the boys play, at least), and rung in the New Year with good friends and cheap champagne. You can't beat that!

We were gone for less than 2 weeks, but as you can see we crammed a lot in, as usual! We've done quite a bit since we've been back too. I had a nasty cold for the rest of the week after we got home. I didn't feel like doing anything but laying in bed. I have since mostly recovered with only a slighty stuffy nose and occasional cough lingering. Thank God I didn't get that stomch flu! Since then, I think my hubby has had the most exciting day one can have, aside from marriage or the birth of a child!
First of all, we donated his 94 Buick before we left TX. We've been saving up for a new car that we can start a family with. So, once I started feeling better, we hit the lots. We tried to hard to play it cool..."we're looking to get into something in the next month or so, so I can get back to work and back to school..." Saturday we found it. THE car. We knew it when we left. But, we walked away. The guy was amazing about it, actually. He said, "ya know, tomorrow's Sunday, a lot of the lots are closed. Go look around without being hounded by a salesman." He didn't even ask for our phone number. We took his advice, and did a little more consumer report-type research, but we knew we'd found it. But Monday ended up being his big day. He started the day with his first day back to work at his new training wing. Got the tour, met the people, all around easy day. Then, when he got home, we went back to the car lot. Walked away with a 2006 smoke gray Nissan Altima, special edition (my hubby's never bought a car, period, let alone had such a nice new one. He's SUPER psyched! I'm sure I'll have pic to post of him and his new toy soon.) We got a good deal, lots of warrenty left, and had a very plesant experince.
We immediatly left the dealership, dropped one car off at home, then headed to meet up with some of his fellow University of Florida alumni. Yes, that's right, he went to UF! Heading to the game he said he didn't know what he was more excited about, the car, or the game, or starting work! The game, of course, was super fun. He is almost the definition of a superfan. He doesn't paint his face or anything, but he knows all the players by number, where they're from, and all their recruits for next year. He's very enthusiastic, to say the least. He is also a HUGE Chris Leak fan (that's the senior QB who hasn't exactly gotten great press in his career, even though he's a solid qb. He's just not fantastic.) Hubby's been complaining that not only the gators, but Leak hasn't gotten their due from the media, and he's right. Well, they earned it this time! Leak had a near perfect game, as did everyone else on the team, heading up a shocking 41-14 victory over undefeated Ohio St, lead by Heisman winning QB Troy Smith. It was pretty fun to see the entire world of sports journalism backpedal simultaneously! People had been saying maybe Michigan deserved a rematch and that Ohio was going to blow them out, and were proven VERY wrong on both accounts. It's always fun to root for an underdog (did you see the Boise ST game?!?! My fave of the year!!!). It's also nice to see a team who is just clicking on all fronts to come out on top. It seemed like every player on the team was on his game, was focussed, and was doing his job well. And besides all that, it was our home team!

So, we end the holiday season, and begin the new year full of good cheer, good food, good memories, and very, very happy! Hope you're were good as well! Next mission...finding a job!