to one and all. I hope you have a wonderful holiday season filled with love, laughter, family and friends and, of course, the reason for the season! I’m heading to Montgomery for Christmas to have lunch with dad. The next week, I’m off to Wisconsin to spend New Year’s with the family up there. If you’re traveling, I hope you have safe travels.

I’m doing Christmas cards. And I’m listening to this beautiful song “Cherry Road” by Martina Sorbara. And I’m so sad. I miss these friends that I’m writing cards to. Some I see many times a year, some once, some never. I know the world is a big place and geography offers a solution for every gypsy heart, but why do we have to be so far apart? While I understand it, I don’t like. Not one bit.

Don’t listen to sad music when you’re writing your friends. It only makes things worse.

I originally planned to spend this past weekend at home, cleaning up and relaxing. However, when I heard that the gals were celebrating the birthdays of two very special people this weekend I had to hit the road.

There was a double celebration Saturday night in Montgomery for Virgie and Gillian. Unfortunately, Virgie is terribly sick and she missed it. I hated to miss buying my “mom” a birthday shot, but Gillian took one for the team. I, personally, had a blast and stayed out much later than I have been out in about a year. I kid you not. I’m getting old. I think last New Year’s was the last time I closed a bar down.

We started out at Red Star Tavern in EastChase. It was a wonderful choice (IMHO) with great food and better drinks (once I found the right one). A few people were missing, but there was a great turnout for the birthdays. I finally, after long last, got to meet Sarah and enjoyed ribbing her all night about her puppy. After dinner, we headed to Gator’s for a bit and then on to Woodmere for some dancing. That didn’t really pan out, so we headed to 322 for a bit. All in all, it was a lot of fun and I enjoyed hanging with everyone again. Mia, thank you for letting me spend the night!!

Happy birthday to Anna and Dana who are also having a dual celebration tomorrow night in Montgomery. Have a margarita for me! Happy birthday, chickies!

I’ll be back in Montgomery this weekend. The Brainfreeze Christmas show is Friday night at the Capri Theatre. I have them in my Top 12, so if you need more info, click on the poster. I was in the group years ago and I know they’ve vastly improved since then so please go and support them if you can.

This time of year brings a plethora of birthdays, so I’m going to give a shout out right now:

Gillian – November 30 (It was wonderful to celebrate with you. You look amazing for 21.)
Christie R. – Deccember 2
Linda – December 2
Virgie – December 3 (Happy birthday, Mom!!!)
Anna Banana – December 8 (please don’t hurt me!)
Scott B. – December 5
Nicole – December 14
Lyn – December 14
Brian H. – December 17
Terriany – December 22
Dana D. – December 23
Jas – December 28

I hope you all have the best birthdays ever!

That would lead you to believe that my Thanksgiving wasn’t that great, but that isn’t the case. I am just not a huge fan of turkey. Never have been. I dislike ham period, but I can do turkey. I make it because that’s the tradition and that’s what my father likes to put in his belly this time of year. One year, however, we did a breakfast for Christmas..instead of lunch. It was great!

Anyhoot (yup, I said ‘hoot’), I had a wonderful holiday weekend. Let’s back up a bit though. The weekend before last Ashley and I went to Chateau Elan Winery & Resort just north of Atlanta. We had the most wonderful weekend sipping on their wine, partaking of their amazing spa and just rejuvenating our minds and bodies. We checked out their lounge after arriving that evening (omg, I’ve NEVER seen traffic like ATL’s at 5 p.m. and I’ve been in Chicago at rush hour!) and played billiards. Afterwards, we headed over to their pub (Paddy’s) for some traditional Irish music. The next day, after eating a scrumptious breakfast at Versailles, we headed down to the Equestrian Center to watch a horse show. There were riders from the Georgia Hunter Jumpers Association competing. I have never seen a horse show in person, so it was quite neat. After getting stranded for a bit at the Equestrian Center, we then headed to the spa for our massages. Wowie…it was nice! Then we tried out the resistance pool, the sauna, the steamroom and the whirlpool. After that, it was time to get ready for dinner…with a few sneak peeks at the AU/AL game in between. How about them Tigers, baby??!?!? Dinner was amazing at Cafe Elan in the Chateau – which is also where the winery is located. Sunday, we took a tour of the winery and I learned how to taste a wine properly (apparently swishing it around in my mouth like mouthwash isn’t it…go figure), as well as how to store them, what to look for and when they go bad. We then tasted a few wines, had lunch at Cafe Elan again, got some goodies at the Market there in the Chateau and headed home. All in all a perfect weekend. Thank you, Ashley!!!!

This weekend was jam packed full of cleaning, visitors, food and cable! Jeff and Dad came up for Thanksgiving and I cooked a small meal for all of us. The rest of the weekend was VERY lazy and I watched TV most of it. And ate. A deadly combination. But I needed the rest. I didn’t dare hit the stores on Black Friday. There were a few things I wanted, but nothing I needed so I stayed at home. Anybody else go? How was it?

That’s about it for right now. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I’m thankful for many things this time of year….especially friends and family like you. You all make my life so much richer.