we made it to springfield, after all

So, after all but resigning myself to being stuck here this weekend, the big snowstorm turned out to be a non-event. Boy, those weather-peeps had egg on their faces! We got maybe a couple of inches in all, and Springfield got less than an inch, I'd say.

So, anywho, we set off on Saturday morning and got to my Dad's around 11:15. Soon thereafter, I had to leave to attend the rehearsal at the church where I was to sing the next morning. The rehearsal went well, and my solo stuff sounded great. We did some really pretty choral stuff, too. In the meantime, Brian and my Dad took Nick to Bass Pro Shop to get his picture taken with Santa. They had to wait an hour and a half, during which time Nick was apparently really well-behaved! But, just as it was his turn to go up to Santa, he pooped! He didn't want to sit down on Santa's lap then, since he hates sitting after he poops (who wouldn't?), so in the picture, Nick is standing and Santa is kind of leaning in. It's still pretty cute.

After the rehearsal, I stopped for a quick bite at Panera and then met my peeps at the ice-rink, where we watched my 15-year-old niece skate in the winter ice show. Nick was rather squirrelly, and wouldn't sit still, but he didn't make any noise or cry or anything, so we chose to let him roam around a bit. At one point, the announcer introduced the next skater, named Kayla, and Nick shouted "Kayla is beautiful!" When a skater named Natalie was introduced, Nick yelled "Go, Becky!" :) He really enjoyed the popcorn that Aunt Mary bought him - that actually got him to sit still for awhile! My niece did a great job, and after the show, I got some great pictures of my nieces and Nick. Tim and I had been planning to go to a concert that evening, but ended up deciding against it - we just weren't in the mood.

We all went to Mr. Yen's for dinner (Fun! We got our own private little room.), after which Tim and Caitlin came out to Dad's house to bond with us. We had fun chatting and playing Christmas carols on the piano. In the meantime, we didn't realize that even with the small amount of precip, Dad's streets had gotten very bad. His neighborhood has always been very treacherous, and you have to go uphill to get out of it. Anywho, to make a long story really short, Caitlin couldn't get her car out of the hood when she and Tim finally left, and Tim ended up having to give her a ride home. Worse, when my Dad drove out to try and help them, he ended up sliding into some mailboxes and completely ripping the driver's side power mirror right off his car, in addition to some other damage to the body. :( It was not a good way to end the night.

I ended up getting to bed later than planned, but still had to be up bright and early at 5:30 (blech!) to get ready for my church services. Dad ended up taking me, and he managed to get out of the hood OK, but not without some slipping and sliding. The services went great (save for some bad playing on the part of the organist)! Between the two services, Tim, his friend Jennifer, and I went out for a bite, which was really nice. My "bite" was a decadent piece of French Silk pie - see how my diet goes out the window when I'm in Springfield? I think I've gained a bit more weight back - must get back on track! But, I digress. Dad and Brian came to the second service so Brian could videotape. They left Nick in the nursery, much to his utter devastation. :) It was really a lovely morning of singing, and I got a nice paycheck, to boot. That's always a good thing!

After church, Tim dropped me off at the mall so that I could do some power bargain-shopping (The crowds sucked, but at least I didn't have to find a parking space!). Due to my masterful combining of sales and coupons, I got some majorly great deals at Bath & Body Works, Yankee Candle, and JCPenney. For instance, at JCP, I got two shirts (one is all silvery and fancy) with a combined sticker price of $38 for....drum roll, please.....$5! Getting deals like that gives me such a high - I think I'm a little addicted to it.

Dad picked me up and took me back to his house (By this time, the sun and higher temp had all but melted the ice off the streets.), where Brian and I packed up our stuff. We headed to the Christmas program and dinner at Holy Trinity (my siblings' church), after which we were leaving to drive straight back home. My two younger nieces were in the program, and the 15-year-old sang a solo. (She is multi-talented.) The program was weird, disjointed, made no sense, and was just plain BAD. But, I had fun making fun of it with my 20-year-old niece, and singing the Christmas carols! Nick wore his Santa hat, as he had been doing all weekend, and looked really cute. And, he sat very nicely on his Aunt Gayle's lap during most of the program. The dinner, when it finally got started in a very tardy fashion, was yummy (And, in keeping with the ways of Catholics, it involved free wine!), and I had fun chatting with my family, all of whom were there. Brian and I got away around 7 and were home by 8:30 p.m. yesterday, and here I sit!

Tonight, our friend Mike is coming over for dinner. I'm making baked rigatoni and cheese, so I guess I'd better get off the computer so that I can get my butt in gear...