Well it's finally here...the end of the blog for 2007. Thanks to all of those that read it! Hopefully it provides some light hearted entertainment and a short break from the work day. Steph and I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year and hope that 2008 brings lots of happiness and joy. New Year's Day is typically a time to "start fresh" and make those resolutions people rarely stick to. Just remember that everyday is an opportunity to make a difference in your life and the life of others, so don't worry if you can't keep all of you New Year Resolutions, just do the best you can and try harder the next day...don't wait until next year!!
December was a little less hectic than November. The first weekend we went to downtown Franklin with a few friends for "A Dickens of a Christmas". The downtown area streets were closed off from traffic and vendors set up booths all over town. They offered everything from food and drinks to numerous crafts and Christmas gifts. About 100 or more people were dressed up as characters from the Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. The weather was perfect and we had a great time. It was definitely a great way to start the Christmas season and get in the spirit.
That same weekend Stephanie did a great job of decorating the house to look like Christmas had arrived! I of course helped out by setting up the tree and watching football until she made me do something else. In the end, it was beautiful and really felt like home. We have a lot of ornaments that we have gotten over the years and I need to thank my Mom for most of them. She started this tradition years ago and I think it is a great idea. What she does is buy 2 identical ornaments, one she wraps and gives to me or my sister, and the other she puts on her tree. That way no matter where Casey or I am we feel like our tree has a little reminder of Mom and Dad and vers visa. I know it should be vice versa, but hanging around Feeney over the years has driven me to change common phrases into something almost unintelligible...like vice versa to vers vicea, hindsight is 80-20, you get the ideal, etc.
The middle of December was Stephanie's Christmas party for work. Steph's co-worker Scott and his wife Barbara were great hosts. They have a beautiful house not far from downtown Franklin. Food was catered in and we had a grab bag gift exchange which turned out to be quite funny for those involved. It was the game where everyone draws a number and then you pass around the gifts until someone gets stuck with the worst gift. We play a similar game with my family. (note the picture of Uncle Joe and his "new" hat.)
The following Saturday we were invited to attend the Nashville Symphony with Brandon and Shay. It was going to be my first trip to the Symphony...I wasn't quite sure what to expect. A good friend of mine(Bob)constantly had classical music on at work for years and I have learned to tolerate it and almost appreciate it. So needless to say my expectations for enjoyment were a little low. I will have to admit I had a great time. The music was almost entirely Christmas tunes. It was amazing and very enjoyable. The second 1/2 was also a treat with special guest Jose Feliciano...most of you have heard his hit Feliz Navidad. You can look him up at www.josefeliciano.com. Muchas gracias a Brandon y Shay!
Somewhere around this time of December, I was busy playing Santa's helper. I took a seasonal job at UPS. Basically I rode around with the driver and delivered the packages to customers. Nashville is probably not known as a very hilly place, but let me tell you otherwise. It is very hilly! The job was fast paced and fun. It allowed me to get some exercise during the day and then eat all the fun Christmas goodies. Speaking of goodies, Lindsey, our good friend, made us Bourbon Balls. For those of you that haven't had one it looks like a Buckeye with a pecan on top. After a few it is a good idea not to drive anywhere! They are very good, but quite potent.
Our first Christmas in Nashville actually took place in Cincinnati. Steph was able to get a few days off, so we traveled home for 4-5 days. It was nice to have plenty of time to see friends and family while we were home. We celebrate most of our family events on Christmas Eve. So a normal day for Steph and I is...8 am at Momzes and Papa's, eat breakfast, open gifts, visit...then about 10:45 head to Steph's Mom & Dad's, eat brunch, open gifts, visit, snack on more food, play games, about 4:30 Steph and her family headed for church while I went to my parents to start preparing dinner. About 6:30 we eat dinner (Pork Chops stuffed with apples and blue cheese) then we open gifts, visit, play games, etc. Quite a full day.
A few highlights and moments from Christmas this year: Favorite Gift-A whole box of Aunt Kathy's Chocolate Chip Cookies. I tried to steal Jeff's box, but he caught me. Most Thoughtful Gift-A few people this year decided it would be better to give to a charity instead of exchanging gifts. My parents and family members, Steph's Family, Jeff & Casey, and a few people in Jeff's family all made contributions to the Autism Society of Greater Cincinnati in other people's name. Very nice of them. Most Surprising Gift-Stephanie got me a new digital camera. She was very sneaky and actually sent it to her parents house and gave it to me on Christmas Day. Most Uncomfortable Moment-Playing board games at Janet's house. Normally I love board games, exspecially scrabelle (spelling intentional for Casey and Aunt Kathy), but this was a little different. Julia wanted me to play her new game she got for Christmas...High School Musical 2. Now for those of you that haven't had the privilege of playing this game it involves a lot of singing and dancing. I didn't win, lets just say that.
On that low note I think I will end the 2007 blog. Thanks again for tuning in and sometimes even tuning out as I babble on endlessly sometimes. Talk to you next year!
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Nashville November
I know it's already 2008! But I still have 2 months to finish in 2007. This being the first day of the New Year, I figured why not get off on the right foot. Since Steph and I already ate blueberry pancakes for breakfast and lunch, that "eating better" resolution is already in jeopardy, so I thought maybe I'll resolve to get better at keeping the blog a little more current. In semi-quick format...here goes!
November started with a great visit from my Mom and Dad. Friday, we toured the city a little and went to dinner at West End in Nashville. Very good as usual here in Nashville. Saturday we did what most kids do when their parents come to visit...we put them to work. Dad and I clean up the shed and the yard, while Mom and Steph worked on the flower beds and trees. We tried not to work them too long though, we still had to stop by the Winery and Tanya Tucker's old house before going to dinner. Dinner was tremendous! We went to Stoney River which is a great steakhouse. I'd put it up there with Ruth's Chris and The Precinct. It was a great way to cap of a wonderful weekend and pay Mom and Dad back for their hard work. Of course we weren't able to pay them back, because Dad picked up the check...Dad we owe you one. We probably owe you more than one, maybe more like around 1,000,000, but who's counting. Thanks for all you and Mom do, we are very blessed.
The following weekend was "THE" weekend. All the "Girls" were coming to visit! Well, not all the "Girls", but most of them...those that weren't able to make it, I know you were missed and hope we hope to see you in the future!
Shelly and Jess were the first to arrive on Thursday night. After picking them up from the airport, there was some debate if we should go out that evening, or just back to the house. The later option was chosen, because everyone was a little tired and wanted to be rested for the weekend. That plan sounded good in principal, but upon returning to the house, someone suggested having "just a small glass" of wine. Somewhere around opening the 4th bottle and noticing the clock said 3:00 am the plan was a train-wreck along with most of the guests.
Friday morning came a little too quickly for most, but everyone survived and headed out for a quick tour of Nashville. By the time our little tour was over, the other guests were arriving...Stacey, Jane, Erin, and Woody. Friday night was another evening of staying in and the girls catching up on old times and the new adventures going on in their lives. Charlie and I tried to stay out of the fray and make sure everyone was well fed and had plenty to drink. The evening ended with everyone climbing into their airbeds for a pleasant night of slumber. Well not everyone. You see someone...I'm going to blame Charlie, because he lacks the opposable thumbs to type a response to the contrary. Someone forgot to turn the heat back on. It was quite hot in here with all of the girls...interpret that for what you will, so we turned the heat off during dinner. I guess Charlie forgot to turn it back on before he went to bed. Normally it wouldn't have been a problem, except that night a cold front moved into Nashville and it was quite chilly. Jane decided to sleep in the bonus room (above the garage)...we told here that it was always a little colder in that room than the rest of the house. She said she would be fine and had enough blankets. When we saw her the next morning she had icicles hanging from her nose. To make matters worse, Charlie forgot to close the garage door! Much apologies to Jane and the rest of the girls for braving the cold.
Saturday I haded out to play golf and left the girls to fend for themselves. After thawing out, I think they took a walk and packed up their stuff. They were going to stay downtown for a night on the town. I'm not too sure what happens next in our story, so I will let Steph or someone else chime in on that later. Steph is starting her New Years off with an afternoon nap and can't type right now.
Picking up the story Sunday morning I picked Steph, Shelly and Jess up, we grabbed breakfast and took them back to the airport. From the few stories I heard Sunday morning, it sounds like they had a great time Saturday! Steph, Charlie and I hope to see them all again soon!
Well so much for a quick summary of November, but it's New Years day and I don't have anything else going on at the moment. Looking back, November was a busy month! The following weekend we came home to watch my Dad's band play on Saturday and went to the Bengals game on Sunday. Dad's band was a great time as usual. It is always good to see some friends and family members throughout the year instead of just the Holidays. Steph and I saw my Uncle Joe for the first time in a while, Aunt Kathy, my grandparents, Janet & Steve, and many others! The band is starting to sound pretty good. Sometimes a bit loud, but they are getting older and might be having a hard time hearing these days. You can check them out at www.finger-english.com
I'm not even going to dignify the Bengals game by devoting a whole paragraph to it. Instead it's best summed up like this...Tailgate = fun, Bengals = loss. The only good thing was that Casey and Jeff joined us for the agony, and then we met Mom, Dad and Owen for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory for Casey's Birthday. Yum-O as Rachel Ray and Casey would say.
The following Thursday was Turkey Day! Wednesday night I went over to Momzes and Papa's to watch them prepare the bird and get some pointers for Saturday when Steph's Family was coming to Tennessee for Thanksgiving. Papa gave me some hands on knowledge for preparing the Turkey and Momzes provided the back seat commentary on what Papaw was doing wrong. It was quite enjoyable to watch them banter back and forth, and after 58 years together they still can rib each other without the other one getting too mad. Although Papa did tell me later, that his hearing aids haven't worked for about 20 years and he has learned over the years that if he nods his head and says yes, a lot of problems just seem to work themselves out. Good advice from a wise man.
The food at Momzes and Papa's was great as always. To be expected, we had enough to have leftovers for the next 5 days. Thursday afternoon, Steph and I headed back to Nashville to get ready for her family visit that weekend.
Janet and Steve arrived Friday around 11 am and Rob and Kim and the kids were right behind them. We headed to lunch at Pucketts in downtown Franklin. Surprisingly we grabbed a table in a few minutes and got served right away. I talked everyone into trying the sweet potato fries and they seemed to be a big hit. After lunch, Jody and Rick and the kids arrived safe and sound after their adventures at Dino World. Nathan said he had a great time and can't wait to come back and visit Aunt Steph so they can go to Dino World agian.
Friday night was a planned trip to Cheekwood Plantation. Cheekwood was the former home of the Maxwell coffee founder. They donated the land and Mansion, which now serves as a Botanical Garden and Art exhibit hall. The Plantation and Mansion were decorated as part of Holiday Festival and there were tons of things for the kids to do. Everything from Balloon animals, Christmas songs, Santa, Christmas trees from Around the world, Carriage Rides, Disney characters, Ornaments to make, and plenty of Hot Chocolate and Cookies. The kids (of all ages) had a wonderful time and it was a very nice surprise for our first visit.
Saturday was the big day. It was my first attempt to tackle Thanksgiving day diner. We had quite a spread! In addition to the bird, we had Sweet Potato casserole, Mashed potatoes with Steph's Grandmas noodles, Fresh cranberry-orange sauce, Corn casserole, Stuffing, and Gooey Pumpkin Squares. Everyone did a great job of pitching in and helping get things ready and Rob did an even better job of cleaning everything up. Not bad for our first Nashville Thanksgiving!
November was a great month filled with lots of Friends and Family memories! However, November did finish on a small down note. I actually got a job. Well a part-time job anyway. I got hired on as an assistant delivery person at UPS for the Holiday season. It actually ended up being a fun job playing Santa's helper, tune in for more on that next month!
November started with a great visit from my Mom and Dad. Friday, we toured the city a little and went to dinner at West End in Nashville. Very good as usual here in Nashville. Saturday we did what most kids do when their parents come to visit...we put them to work. Dad and I clean up the shed and the yard, while Mom and Steph worked on the flower beds and trees. We tried not to work them too long though, we still had to stop by the Winery and Tanya Tucker's old house before going to dinner. Dinner was tremendous! We went to Stoney River which is a great steakhouse. I'd put it up there with Ruth's Chris and The Precinct. It was a great way to cap of a wonderful weekend and pay Mom and Dad back for their hard work. Of course we weren't able to pay them back, because Dad picked up the check...Dad we owe you one. We probably owe you more than one, maybe more like around 1,000,000, but who's counting. Thanks for all you and Mom do, we are very blessed.
The following weekend was "THE" weekend. All the "Girls" were coming to visit! Well, not all the "Girls", but most of them...those that weren't able to make it, I know you were missed and hope we hope to see you in the future!
Shelly and Jess were the first to arrive on Thursday night. After picking them up from the airport, there was some debate if we should go out that evening, or just back to the house. The later option was chosen, because everyone was a little tired and wanted to be rested for the weekend. That plan sounded good in principal, but upon returning to the house, someone suggested having "just a small glass" of wine. Somewhere around opening the 4th bottle and noticing the clock said 3:00 am the plan was a train-wreck along with most of the guests.
Friday morning came a little too quickly for most, but everyone survived and headed out for a quick tour of Nashville. By the time our little tour was over, the other guests were arriving...Stacey, Jane, Erin, and Woody. Friday night was another evening of staying in and the girls catching up on old times and the new adventures going on in their lives. Charlie and I tried to stay out of the fray and make sure everyone was well fed and had plenty to drink. The evening ended with everyone climbing into their airbeds for a pleasant night of slumber. Well not everyone. You see someone...I'm going to blame Charlie, because he lacks the opposable thumbs to type a response to the contrary. Someone forgot to turn the heat back on. It was quite hot in here with all of the girls...interpret that for what you will, so we turned the heat off during dinner. I guess Charlie forgot to turn it back on before he went to bed. Normally it wouldn't have been a problem, except that night a cold front moved into Nashville and it was quite chilly. Jane decided to sleep in the bonus room (above the garage)...we told here that it was always a little colder in that room than the rest of the house. She said she would be fine and had enough blankets. When we saw her the next morning she had icicles hanging from her nose. To make matters worse, Charlie forgot to close the garage door! Much apologies to Jane and the rest of the girls for braving the cold.
Saturday I haded out to play golf and left the girls to fend for themselves. After thawing out, I think they took a walk and packed up their stuff. They were going to stay downtown for a night on the town. I'm not too sure what happens next in our story, so I will let Steph or someone else chime in on that later. Steph is starting her New Years off with an afternoon nap and can't type right now.
Picking up the story Sunday morning I picked Steph, Shelly and Jess up, we grabbed breakfast and took them back to the airport. From the few stories I heard Sunday morning, it sounds like they had a great time Saturday! Steph, Charlie and I hope to see them all again soon!
Well so much for a quick summary of November, but it's New Years day and I don't have anything else going on at the moment. Looking back, November was a busy month! The following weekend we came home to watch my Dad's band play on Saturday and went to the Bengals game on Sunday. Dad's band was a great time as usual. It is always good to see some friends and family members throughout the year instead of just the Holidays. Steph and I saw my Uncle Joe for the first time in a while, Aunt Kathy, my grandparents, Janet & Steve, and many others! The band is starting to sound pretty good. Sometimes a bit loud, but they are getting older and might be having a hard time hearing these days. You can check them out at www.finger-english.com
I'm not even going to dignify the Bengals game by devoting a whole paragraph to it. Instead it's best summed up like this...Tailgate = fun, Bengals = loss. The only good thing was that Casey and Jeff joined us for the agony, and then we met Mom, Dad and Owen for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory for Casey's Birthday. Yum-O as Rachel Ray and Casey would say.
The following Thursday was Turkey Day! Wednesday night I went over to Momzes and Papa's to watch them prepare the bird and get some pointers for Saturday when Steph's Family was coming to Tennessee for Thanksgiving. Papa gave me some hands on knowledge for preparing the Turkey and Momzes provided the back seat commentary on what Papaw was doing wrong. It was quite enjoyable to watch them banter back and forth, and after 58 years together they still can rib each other without the other one getting too mad. Although Papa did tell me later, that his hearing aids haven't worked for about 20 years and he has learned over the years that if he nods his head and says yes, a lot of problems just seem to work themselves out. Good advice from a wise man.
The food at Momzes and Papa's was great as always. To be expected, we had enough to have leftovers for the next 5 days. Thursday afternoon, Steph and I headed back to Nashville to get ready for her family visit that weekend.
Janet and Steve arrived Friday around 11 am and Rob and Kim and the kids were right behind them. We headed to lunch at Pucketts in downtown Franklin. Surprisingly we grabbed a table in a few minutes and got served right away. I talked everyone into trying the sweet potato fries and they seemed to be a big hit. After lunch, Jody and Rick and the kids arrived safe and sound after their adventures at Dino World. Nathan said he had a great time and can't wait to come back and visit Aunt Steph so they can go to Dino World agian.
Friday night was a planned trip to Cheekwood Plantation. Cheekwood was the former home of the Maxwell coffee founder. They donated the land and Mansion, which now serves as a Botanical Garden and Art exhibit hall. The Plantation and Mansion were decorated as part of Holiday Festival and there were tons of things for the kids to do. Everything from Balloon animals, Christmas songs, Santa, Christmas trees from Around the world, Carriage Rides, Disney characters, Ornaments to make, and plenty of Hot Chocolate and Cookies. The kids (of all ages) had a wonderful time and it was a very nice surprise for our first visit.
Saturday was the big day. It was my first attempt to tackle Thanksgiving day diner. We had quite a spread! In addition to the bird, we had Sweet Potato casserole, Mashed potatoes with Steph's Grandmas noodles, Fresh cranberry-orange sauce, Corn casserole, Stuffing, and Gooey Pumpkin Squares. Everyone did a great job of pitching in and helping get things ready and Rob did an even better job of cleaning everything up. Not bad for our first Nashville Thanksgiving!
November was a great month filled with lots of Friends and Family memories! However, November did finish on a small down note. I actually got a job. Well a part-time job anyway. I got hired on as an assistant delivery person at UPS for the Holiday season. It actually ended up being a fun job playing Santa's helper, tune in for more on that next month!
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