Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Chick-fil-A and Marriage

I just discovered Tim Hawkins via YouTube. I'm not sure which video/song I like better:

"Chick-fil-A"



or

"Things You Don't Say to Your Wife."

Monday, December 21, 2009

Catching Up on December

I must apologize for failing to do my part to update this blog. Matt is so much better about it than I am, but in the new year (and before!), I resolve to have that change.

December has flown by for us, as I'm sure it has for many of you. A lot has happened since Thanksgiving, so here's a quick recap:

1. We attended "Light Up Durham" on December 4th. It's the event that kicks off the holidays in Durham, as the iconic Lucky Strike tower is illuminated. It was a great time, complete with performances from Durham-area school choruses and an appearance by Wool E. Claus (a.k.a. Wool E. Bull, the Durham Bulls' mascot).











































2. We bought the Taylor Family Christmas Tree on December 6th. The guys at the TROSA lot were great, providing not only the tree and standard services (cutting, trimming, netting), but they also put the tree stand on! We'll definitely be visiting them again next Christmas.






























3. Matt and I celebrated our 6th dating anniversary on December 7th with a nice dinner at California Pizza Kitchen. What a great 2,190 days it's been!














4. We headed to New York City for an unexpected holiday trip on December 9th and 10th. We were both traveling in the Northeast for work during the same few days (me to Philadelphia and Matt to NYC). So, we made a mini-trip out of it and took in the great holiday atmosphere in Manhattan (after completing our work, of course!). The highlights of the trip were seeing the Kentucky/UConn game at Madison Square Garden, having lunch at the restaurant beside the Rockefeller Center skating rink, and taking a carriage ride through Central Park.


















































































5. Matt and I decorated our house for Christmas on December 12th. Yes, that means the tree stood bare in our living room for 6 days, but hey...we were busy!

Before...


















During...

















And After...




























My most prized piece of Christmas decor this year is something that Matt got me for our most recent wedding anniversary: the Ryman Auditorium Snow Village piece. It's been retired for several years, but Matt was sweet enough to seek it out on eBay for me. I love my growing village, and especially the Ryman!


























We had a busy week from the 13th - 20th as well, but I think this is more than enough for one post. So, we'll be back in a couple of days with another update. Hope everyone is well!

Sunday, December 6, 2009

A Taylor Family Thanksgiving

After painting, cleaning, and cooking, we finally had the house ready to host our first family Thanksgiving in North Carolina.

(Last year's Turkey Day was simply a quiet dinner for two.)

Dad, Denise, Pete, Michele, Emily, Lindsay, and Madelyn came to town to help us celebrate the holiday.

The food was phenomenal thanks to Erica's hard work in the kitchen. She must have done something right as Lindsay indicated she was thankful for "Aunt Erica ... and Charlie Brown." That comment came shortly after Madelyn wrapped up Pop-Pop's prayer for him by saying, "Okay, can we eat now?"

The rest of the weekend was spent playing lots of Wii - Erica got everyone addicted to Rock Band; Dad insisted on a boxing re-match, several actually; and Emily whooped us all in bowling with her record-setting efforts.

We also visited Chapel Hill for the Kidzu Children's Museum and the 12 days of Christmas at The Carolina Inn, made a trip to the playground that ended badly when Pete had a hard spill while playing tag (you should've seen his swollen elbow), and took the girls to visit Santa at the Streets at Southpoint.