This Christmas was the first time since I was a young lad that we actually got snow ON Christmas thus making it a WHITE Christmas!  The downside of a white Christmas: travelling in it!  By the time Tessa and I got to my aunt’s house on Christmas Day, it was already snowing at her mom’s house up in Rutherford County, NC.

After we had made our rounds down here in my neck of the woods, it was already getting close to 5 and the snow had already begun to fall in Greenville County.  So we hit the road and hoped for the best as we made our way into NC.  Naturally, the weather and road conditions only got worse as we made our way up I-85 and onto I-26.  Once we were in NC, we got onto US 74 and endured the worst part of our trip as the last several miles were quite slippery and the ’snow trails’ I had been following were slimming.

We managed to make it to her mom’s in one piece so we relaxed, opened gifts and rested until morning when we had to tackle the dilemma of getting back home.  When we got up, we decided to grab food and test the roads locally for a while before venturing back to SC.

When we finally got on the road, it was getting close to time for Tessa to go to work and we were not certain she would be able to leave work the following morning due to the potential of roads freezing over so I took her to work armed with enough clothes and food to get her through the following day and night since she had to work two nights in a row.  As I drove home without her, I realized that the snow and ice had not only melted, but that the roads were virtually dry so I decided to get up early the next morning and pick her up from work.

Now we are both back home safely and looking forward to kicking off the new year this week and usher in 2011!

Wow!  It has been a great time for some great films both on Blu-ray AND in the theaters!  Last Tuesday Tessa and I went out to Best Buy to pick up Despicable Me and The A-Team on Blu-ray for a fun double feature at home!  We played Despicable Me first because I knew Tessa would love it!  Her expectations were not very high so she was quite impressed because I loved the film myself and I am normally a naysayer of computer-animated films not made by Pixar.

Despicable Me  \m/  \m/  \m/  \m

Tessa wasn’t as thrilled with The A-Team since she’s not a big action movie buff (neither am I, truth be told unless they’re well done) but managed to find it entertaining nonetheless!

The A-Team  \m/  \m/  \m/  \n

Saturday night I met Tessa and her mom in Spartanburg to go see the latest Narnia movie, The Voyage of the Dawn Trader.  I was a little disappointed with Prince Caspian so I didn’t know what to expect with the third film in the series.  However, I was pleasantly surprised because the film was fantastic!  Great action and wonderful special effects!

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Trader  \m/  \m/  \m/  \m/

After Tessa got back home from her mom’s on Sunday, we went out to Olive Garden, rode through Roper Mountain Holiday Lights and went to catch a late showing of TRON: Legacy.  We decided to go the extra mile and watch it in RPX (Regal Premium Experience).  Although the screen wasn’t nearly as large as IMAX, the sound was very impressive and was the loudest I have heard since the heyday of the THX Theater Program!  And the film itself was visually stunning as I am sure the original was to moviegoers back in 1982.  Honestly, I was never a big fan of the original although I have massive respect for its pioneering use of early CGI technology.  The long awaited sequel certainly lives up to its predecessor and I was pleasantly surprised to catch the appearance of one of my favorite character actors, Michael Sheen in the film!  Phenomenal!

TRON: Legacy  \m/  \m/  \m/  \m/  \n

I’m excited about Christmas, finished up shopping a few weeks ago and can’t wait to watch the openings now. Though I do admit that I would really rather watch kids open gifts instead of me getting any. Seems that is what Christmas is all about anyway. Also excited for vacation, I get to go to the beach so hopefully I can fish some. Might be awhile before I get to go again, lol. MERRY CHRISTMAS.

Men will spend a good share of their hard-earned dough on their wives this Christmas, but their mistresses will make out even better.

According to AshleyMadison.com (where else?), men spend twice as much on their extramarital honeys than on their wives.

The infidelity website heard from more than 147,000 cheaters who said the number-one gift they give their mistresses is jewelry, followed by lingerie and a day at a spa.

Wives expect gifts like perfume, bath and body products and gift cards.

Thursday was our P1 Lounge with TRAPT at Earshot Music.  TRAPT played a few acoustic tunes, answered some questions from some listeners and took pictures and signed autographs.  As for me, I got to eat free food and take some pics myself!

Over the weekend, the new Carolina Ale House was having what is referred to as a ’soft opening’ where customers and clients are invited to come in for free food so that the staff can test the waters and get broken in properly!  I called and made a reservation for 8 but ended up waiting for the better part of an hour to actually be seated since they were well overbooked!  However, it was indeed worth the wait and I cannot wait to return now that they are officially open as of yesterday!

Saturday afternoon, I was at Master’s Car Stereo on E. Washinton in Greenville to give away an autographed SEVENDUST guitar for the second day in the 12 Days of Axemas.  Always a good time when a listener gets to walk away with an autographed axe!That night was the Entercom company Christmas party and I was glad to get to take Tessa for the first time!  Always love the free food and the free booze at the OPEN BAR!!!!

Sunday we went to visit a friend’s church down in Simpsonville and then went and had a couple of great burgers at Mojo’s since we were in town!  We then went home to take care of a few things around the apartment and relax before Tessa had to leave for work.

 We’ll see you at Plat Plus this Thursday night! 10 to 12!

My people think of everything!! haha  The Enoshima Aquarium just south of Tokyo will be using eels to power a two-meter Christmas tree. The power is not enough to keep the tree lit consistently, but it is strong enough to keep the tree lit on an intermittent basis. They also have a robot Santa powered by human muscle. When people step on a pad, it enables Santa to move.

If you’re wondering the title means, the answer is simple: this weekend marked the fourth time seeing TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA as well as the fourth time seeing SKILLET!

Before I get to all that, I will start with my crazy girlfriend’s bright idea to go ahead and open some Christmas gifts on Friday night.  So I agreed and gave her the heels I got her with skulls on them that she had been wanting and she gave me a Garmin Nuvi GPS unit and a LEGO Star Wars AT-AT.  I feverishly began working on the LEGOs and got about half of the project finished before going to bed.

We slept in on Saturday then cleaned up the apartment and finished decorating the Christmas tree – except for the star since we were not pleased with the one we had bought.  Then Tessa went to get her mother while I tied up a few loose ends and got ready for the TSO show.  My mother then met us at the apartment and we left for the Bi-Lo Center.  Mom had never seen the show so it was a treat to take her for her first TSO experience as they were amazing as always!

After taking her mom to her car, Tessa and I grabbed some Waffle House chow and then ran to Wal-Mart to grab a new star for the Christmas tree and she picked up Eclipse on Blu-ray.

When we got home, Tessa put the star on the tree while I put the finishing touches on my LEGO AT-AT!

After we finished, we started watching Eclipse but I had to throw in the towel halfway through because I was bushed!

When we got up on Sunday, we got ready to go to the Greer Christmas Parade where I was judging some of the floats for the Greer Jaycees.  Tessa and I froze our asses off since it was quite windy and bitterly cold.  Needless to say, we couldn’t wait for the parade to be over so we could go get warm.

From there, we ran a few errands, grabbed some food and went back to the Bi-Lo Center for the Winter Wonder Slam presents the Awake Tonight Tour with TOBYMAC and SKILLET.  Some new Christian rapper opened the show and then SKILLET followed almost immediately.  Even though it was my fourth time seeing the band overall, it was my first time seeing them use pyro even though two other times I have seen them headline.  During “Monster”, bassist/vocalist John Cooper climbed up into a huge Punisher-looking metal skull with awesome red and green lights!  Their set was fantastic as always and we stayed for a couple of TOBYMAC songs and then bolted.

When we got home, we finished watching Eclipse which I have to say is by far the best of the Twilight Saga thus far!  Much more action than the last installment New Moon.  Still not a big fan but I do enjoy the films as a casual viewer.

Eclipse  \m/  \m/  \m/  \m/

Since Tessa has been exposing me to the Twilight films (although I saw the first two films before we started dating), I decided to make her watch a Star Wars film.  And what better episode than The Empire Strikes Back?!  She seemed to enjoy it but was a bit lost as to what they were fighting for since we skipped A New Hope.  However, she is now willing to go back and watch the films and see if she likes them!  The force is strong with this one!

A 4-by-4 drove headlong into his shop, Han Song, a barber from Anchorage, Alaska, had a few options.  Instead of screaming at the driver or throwing his scissors at the wall, he just carried on cutting his customer’s hair.  Song did exactly that, first checking that the driver was all right, then promptly going back to giving his customer what looks like a short back and sides.

Well, after the Greenville Christmas Parade, Roper Mtn Lights, carol service at the Church, I am pretty much knee deep into the Christmas Spirit. Last year, I did not feel very merry. Maybe, because I had preminition that I was about to spend almost 6 months of my life in a cast. I broke my leg on the 27th of December. I think I am enjoying things much more. I guess some how I have been visited by the ghosts of Christmas past. I have seen some rough times in my life. Lets face it, the economy is still in bad shape. People are losing their jobs. I realized the other day when I heard a friend of mine discribing their dating wows, that I will never date again. It was a relief-and a strange feeling all at the same time. I guess it is tough to meet the right person. I am happy that I have a family now for the Holidays.
It is important for me to start my own family traditions.
I cooked Thanksgiving Dinner this year. My family is meeting at my house for Christmas Dinner. I just have to look on the brighter side. I am definantly counting my blessings. My pants are tighter and my wallet is lighter. I am going on my honeymoon finally. We leave for the Bahamas December 11th. We will be back on the 17th, just in time to finish my Christmas shopping.
(Merry Christmas)