Christmas #1

This weekend, Matt and I flew down to Nashville to have an early Christmas with his family. No snow, of course, but it was C-O-L-D. Nevertheless, armed with layers of clothing, it was bearable without mounds of snow on every corner.

Saturday night we went to Valentino's, a nice Italian restaurant closer to downtown, where the food was good and the staff were excellent. Both our waiter and the Maitre D' could do magic and when they spotted our nephew, they had a captive audience. My sister-in-law's blog has more here. She also has pictures here.

Sunday, the guys went to the Titan's game and we went to Cheekwood botanical garden, which is just a stone's throw away from Matt's parents house. They had a holiday tree exhibit we went to see and do lunch. See here for more pics. That night we opened our presents for our early Christmas and had Barbeque for dinner. In Chicago, we say "a" Barbeque and it means taking out the barbeque and grilling hot dogs, hanburgers, etc -- usually a summertime thing. So when they said, we're having BBQ for dinner and I asked, what are we barbequing? The answer was Barbeque. Barbeque in Nashville means pulled pork sandwiches and tangy hot red and white sauce. I'm slowly learning the lingo...

Sweet Acidophilus milk and boiled custard -- other things you'll find in Nashville that you won't in Chicago.

Cheekwood house - owned by one of the Maxwell House family.

Why Christmas Trees Aren't Perfect.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Toy Story

The Nutcracker

Polar Bear Express

Monday, we headed out to Franklin where Matt, me, my sister-in-law and our nephew had lunch and did some shopping. We went to Merridee's for lunch and waited in line to place our order right in front of Ashley Judd. Celebrity spotting!

Downtown Franklin - Me, Matt, & Brant

Our flight was scheduled to leave at 10:35am yesterday, and we boarded the plane like it was going to take off, only to be told we were delayed. It kept getting pushed back and they let us get off the plane and stretch. Then we boarded again to leave at 1:50pm (got drink orders and everything), only to be told again, delay... The weather in Chicago was just so bad that no one could leave. We deboarded the plane again around 3PM and Matt was ready to rent us a car when we finally got the OK to leave and we took off at 5:30pm -- 7 hours late. We got home at 8:30pm and home never looked so good. But I felt so bad for all the rest of the plane passengers who were headed somewhere else.

This morning, I called my mom's and Tony answered. "Thank goodness you're home," he exclaimed. I then told him how we were 7 hours late and how the plane was supposed to leave at 10:35am ... he cut me off, "Mom's still in bed."
"But Tony, I was telling you a story."
"I'm just glad you are home," he answered.
"You don't want to hear my story?" I asked.

"No."