I would have been in the office yesterday had it not been for a SNOW DAY… in FLORIDA. You heard right. That winter storm came at us in such a way that on the western edge, we got snow. And actual snow too; not like 3 years ago when we got a bit of sleet accumulation. This was actual snowfall – fluffy flakes of it. It only lasted a little while but ice and whatnot didn’t melt away until noon or so. Pretty cool.

I’m going to give you the quick and dirty holiday recap here then answer the Qs from Wednesday.

• Parents got into town Saturday the 23rd; we did last minute prep, etc.
• Christmas eve we went to a 4 pm mass, ate tacos, opened some pjs, then got everyone asleep.
• Xmas day went really well. All kids very happy with their gifts. We had pancakes and mom and I made our feast for the afternoon. Full, we took a neighborhood walk then made a fire outside. I then had to pack!
• We left around 9 Tuesday morning for Stone Mountain, GA. Only hit a bit of traffic and got to our hotel around 3, just when Ash’s dad and Mary got in. We had an early dinner then played cards and drank the beer we made and brought.
• Next day we explored the area, ate Chilis, then Ash’s brother and fiance got in around 4. We had dinner at a Mexican place then went back to the hotel for 2nd Christmas.
• Thursday was our snow day at the mountain so we hung out there most of the day – snow area, tubing, eating, train around the mountain, etc. Pretty cool place! We were exhausted but managed to walk over to another Mexican place for dinner.
•  On Friday, we only had until about 4 with his Dad and wife so we decided to go into Atlanta and hit the aquarium. People aren’t kidding when they say it’s crowded! I’d like to go back on a day when everyone and their mom isn’t there. We said goodbye to some of the family from there then went back; Ash’s bro and Mia offered to hang with the kids to give us a break so he and I went to Outback. That was pretty nice, not gonna lie. We sat at the bar and drank and ate; good times.
• Saturday, we weren’t sure what we wanted to do so I looked up local breweries. We ended up going to three in Decatur: Wild Heaven, Blue Tarp, and Three Taverns. All three had different good qualities but 3 Taverns was by far the best product. Good thing we Ubered because I drank quite a bit. We Ubered back towards our hotel and had hibachi then hit the hay.
• Ell and Mia had to leave around 12:30 on Sunday but we chose to hit Stone Mountain again to hike the one mile to the top. Everyone enjoyed it and the kids were real troopers, considering it’s a steep hike and it was even colder that day.
• We originally were set to stay until Tuesday but with everyone gone, we decided to just go home. We were there a while and I think a little burned out from all the activity. So we packed up and headed home! It was nice to get home and sort of back to normal, though it’s cold, my back hurts, and this year hasn’t truly started in my mind. I am sure once I get back into the groove here at work, I’ll feel more firmly seated in 2018.

1. It’s that time of year again…time for Lake Superior University to present a list of words (or phrases) they’d like to see banished (for over-use, mis-use, or general uselessness) in 2018. You can read more about the decision making process and word meaning here, but this year’s top vote getters are-

unpack, dish (as in dish out the latest rumor), pre-owned, onboarding/offboarding, nothingburger, let that sink in, let me ask you this, impactful, Cofefe, drill down, fake news, hot water heater (hot water doesn’t need to be heated), and gig economy

Which of these words/phrases would you most like to see banished from everyday speech and why? Is there a word not on the list you’d like to add?

Honestly, the only one that bothers me is ‘nothingburger’ because that’s just dumb.

2. What’s something you need to get rid of in the new year?

I thought about this yesterday and I’m not proud of this but need to stop. My oldest son is really smart; he’s probably on the spectrum somewhere. But he also acts really dumb sometimes. And I tell him this and I am sure it’s bad for his psyche. So I need to ditch that habit.

3. Where do you feel stuck?

With running. I love it and was getting ahead but now I am hurting and not running because of the cold. But I have a race in one month. I can do about 3 miles now without much effort and I have to run 9 – up two bridges!

4. January is National Soup Month. When did you last have a bowl of soup? Was it made from scratch or from a can? Your favorite canned soup? Your favorite soup to make from scratch on a cold winter’s day?

Hmm, I guess I had some at Chilis on vaycay. I ordered the loaded baked potato and Ell got the chicken tortilla but we swapped. I highly doubt that is made from scratch but I do like that kind. I prefer Campbell’s chunky but sometimes I pick up chicken noodle from Publix’s deli and it is SO good. 

5. Tell us one thing you’re looking forward to in 2018.

Well, Ell and Mia told us they’re planning their wedding for May… in Mexico. So that should be pretty interesting. Also, we’re going to be selling or house and moving so though I do not look forward to all that work, I am excited to start anew.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I am overloaded with work right now but kind of excited to catch up, as crazy as that sounds. I love getting back to the grind and the routine and, well, normality. I am stressed about money after Xmas but hey, that’s what we do for our kids, right?