First of all: Christmas! Kyle and I had a wonderful Christmas season this year. We - and Spur - drove halfway across the country to spend our Christmas in good ol' warm Texas. It was wonderful! Since I had quit my job, Kyle was able to get an extra week of leave approved, so we were able to spend the new year in Portland, too! It was very likely one of the best Christmases either of us has had, and I think it's because we had twice the family to celebrate with :)
To bring in the new year, Kyle and I played Risk with Cullen (our gift to him for Christmas) and then watched Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve for the Eastern, Central, and Mountain time zones. It was a wild time.
After the drive back to Charleston, Kyle went back to work at his ship, and I went to work trying to fit our new gifts into our already snug apartment. Thank you notes followed (I hope we got everyone!), so now the paying-job hunt begins! I am hoping for a part-time job... maybe a cashier at the Piggly Wiggly (and maybe I'll get the chance to win a date with Tad Hamilton ;)). There are also a few physical therapy clinics in town that I've discovered since my initial job hunt, so I'll go apply there as well.
A week ago, Kyle and I went to a bar downtown, Mad River, for Trivia Night, which is every Tuesday night. Our team won, and we won $50! ...It was split 6 ways, but it still cut our bill by more than half :) Tonight we'll be looking to get as lucky. It's a lot of fun, and I wish I could share it with more of you!
This past weekend, Kyle and I attended a pro-life rally in the state's capital, Columbia, SC. We went as chaperones for our youth group because the Diocese of Charleston (which is actually the whole state of SC) was having a youth-pro-life-celebration before the actual rally, which was held on the steps of the Capitol building. It was purposely held the Saturday before Inauguration Day, and we prayed for our new president. The previous governor, as well as a number of state legislators, and even the attorney general were all there! The attorney general and previous governor even spoke. South Carolina has enacted almost 10 pieces of legislation guarding the sanctity of life, and the abortion rate in South Carolina has dropped 50% in the last 15 years! It was very refreshing to see publicly elected officials there in support of life and to publicly announce their Christian faith! The attorney general even said that we can't expect our economy or our government to be strong until our churches are strong, and that it's up to all the church-goers to strengthen our churches, pray for our government, and raise our voices. It was inspiring to say the least. The sermon at mass that evening (back in Charleston) was given by a priest who was at the rally, too, and it was great to hear his reflections on the event.
While we were gone, Spur was dogsat by Alex and his girlfriend, Caitlin... who I'm still not sure hasn't actually stolen Spur and left us with a replica. They went walking downtown, and he got to eat on a cafe's patio, play in the park in front of the old Citadel, and he even had goodies from the Doggie Bakery! After such a fun day with the "cool aunt and uncle", life back at our place is going to take some time to settle back into. Speaking of Spur, his manhood is going to be snipped in a couple weeks. Yikes. Can't say I'm sorry though, considering how aggressive he's been getting lately. Kyle and I have the scars on our hands to prove it.
The weather here has been fuh-reeeeeezing. I'm not made for weather like this. It's pretty rough. Today there might even be snow or sleet! I don't know what to make of this.
Tonight Kyle and I will be trying our luck again at Mad River. Yay!
