Kyllan and I are headed to her sister’s to celebrate the coming of the New Year. My Parent’s are hosting what may be becoming an annual New Year’s Eve party. Hopefully my dad will post some pictures of the event.
Speaking of pictures, Kyllan received a new camera (from me) this Christmas. Pictures can be found on her flickr account.
Happy New Year everyone!
Well… it looks like William’s holiday plans have been pretty much turned upside down this year. As you saw in a previous post, after getting caught in Denver for a snow storm and having his flight canceled, he decided to make he long 14 hour drive to Dallas. He planned to spend Christmas here and we would both leave on the 29th to spend New Year’s weekend in Jacksonville with his parents and attend their New Year’s Eve party as we did last year. Well… those plans went out the window (or should I saw washed down he sewer) following torrential rain in Dallas that closed the airport for a period of time and led to several flight cancellations, including our flight. We soon found out after several phone calls to Continental’s 800 number and waiting in line at the ticket counter for 2 hours to see if we could get re-booked, and about 5 hours total at the airport that the only option for getting to Jacksonville was on Sunday, so we decided to not go through the headaches and hassles and just stay in Dallas for New Year’s. That is the abbreviated version. I do not feel up to talking about the unprofessionalism of the continental staff (mainly one person in particular who screamed and yelled and could care less about the stranded passengers). So it looks like we will be making other New Year’s celebration plans. On the positive side, at least we are together and don’t have to spend the holiday alone, but the Florida sunshine sure would have been nice, not to mention the chance for William to spend time with his parents. Hopefully next year things will be much smoother!
Happy Birthday to my mom, Sandra. She turns another year older today, but she could probably pass for many years younger. The women in my family tend to age well! Unlike most normal people, my mom requested NOTHING for her birthday this year. Now… I know what you are saying…. “oh, she is just saying that, but doesn’t really mean it.” Well, think again. My sister and I offered several gift ideas to her, but she refused them ALL, including a night at the Ritz Carlton. She finally decided that she wanted two magazine subscriptions.
Have a great Birthday mom. I love you!
p.s. on behalf of my mom, I will send a special birthday wish to Denzel Washington, who is also celebrating a birthday today.
To all our friends and family, Merry Christmas. Kyllan and I are getting ready to exchange gifts and then head over to her sister’s house for Christmas dinner. I will be sure to take a lot of pictures, and maybe a litte video. Don’t worry, I will include a picture of our first ornament. We bought it late last night 30 minutes before the store closed. It was slim pickings, but we managed to find one we both liked. It will have a place on our tree for many years to come. Next year spending Christmas together will be a planned event, so we will get started on the ornament shopping earlier. Merry Christmas everyone!
I have made it safely to Dallas.
I am just trying to get in the holiday spirit. Below are a few of my favorite Christmas songs. What are some of yours? If you don’t see it in the poll add it to my comment section. (not the link that pops up after you answer the poll, the one under “posted by William”)
I really like keeping this blog. I like the idea of friends and family being able to keep up with what is going on, on their own time, day or night. Thanks to everyone that called, text, posted or just visited the site. This was no Katrina, but it’s was nice to know that I was on your minds. It’s been a day of helping neighbors dig out their cars and long treks over short distances. The plan is to head to Dallas in the morning. The expressways are now open and if conditions look good in the morning, I will be on my way. This will also be Kyllan’s first Christmas away from her parents too. I guess we will try to start some of our own traditions. Kyllan and I will be going to my parents house in Jacksonville for New Year’s.
So, you know our plans for Christmas. What are yours?
Denver is getting approximately 1inch of snow an hour with 20-30mph winds. I am supposed to be flying out to Jacksonville, but Denver International Airport is now closed.
Update: A state of emergency has been declared. My flight for tomorrow has been canceled.
Update: -9am 12/21- My flight is now leaving at 7pm, but I will have to spend the night in Houston and fly to Jacksonville on Friday morning. It is still snowing and the city is saying it will be another 24 hours before side streets are clear. I am not optimistic about getting out of here.
Update: -11am 12/21- It’s official. After 25 consecutive years, this will be the first Christmas I do not spend with my family. My flight has been canceled. It’s still snowing, the plows that were out have been recalled so the National Guard can move the abandoned cars that are blocking there path. The streets aren’t expected to be clear until tomorrow afternoon, when the airport re-opens. The airline says the earliest they can get me to Jacksonville is the 27th. I am still holding out hope that someone else will cancel their flight on Saturday or Sunday and I can book that… I didn’t make it to the first floor of my building, but there are a few pictures on my flickr page.
Update: -4pm 12/21- So it looks like Kyllan and I will be spending our first Christmas together. The snow has stopped and the plows are back out. Sitting at home by myself was not an option, so I will be driving to Dallas sometime this weekend. From there I will catch a flight to Jacksonville with Kyllan for my parents’ New Year’s Eve party. (She was already planning to go. ) It’s the same airline, but they would not change my ticket to Dallas. They wanted to charge me a bunch of fees if I did anything other than fly out of DIA or another small airport 194 miles away. It was cheaper for me to just cancel my ticket and buy a new one online. Yes, the online ticket was cheaper than what the rep on the phone could give me… I miss my family’s Christmas tree.
What are some of your favorite holiday movies? Classics? Are there any new Christmas movies coming out they you plan to see? My favorite Christmas movie is A Christmas Story. TNT airs a 24 hour marathon Christmas Eve. I have no idea how it started, but it has become a Cody family tradition to leave the TV in den on all day and let the movie play as we prepare for Christmas morning. Elf is a more recent film that I enjoyed. I thought Bad Santa was hilarious, but I think you can only call it a Christmas movie on a technicality. If you are trying to find that holiday spirit, this is not your film. (I think this was the last movie I saw in Ithaca. It was in the theater that I realized that I was getting sick… Long story.)
A few other favorites? Christmas Vacation, A Charlie Brown Christmas and… I can’t think of any others. What should I watch over the holidays?
William and I took engagement photos a few weeks ago and they are now available for viewing and purchase for anyone who is interested. Follow this link and click online proofs to view all the photos. I have to warn you that there are about 400 photos, so it may be quite overwhelming! I suggest scrolling through the pages instead of each individual photo. You can click on the photo to see a larger version and order prints. Enjoy!