http://www.youtube.com/user/johannebanana

Love you all,
Amber and Mark

Every year I look less forward to the x-mas vacation because each year it seems shorter than it was last year. I don’t even know why I call it a vacation, since x-mas involves so much work on everyone’s part to make it happen.

The theme of christmas for me this year is constant driving. During the holiday I will have driven every single day.

Tuesday 12-23… left at 8:30 am – arrived at cousin’s home at 7:30pm – 11 hours

Wednesday 12-24 … left at 12:30pm – arrived at Ileana’s parents home at 8:30 pm in extremely poor driving conditions such as freezing rain and horrible drivers – 8 hours

Thursday 12-25 … estimated leave time 4:30pm – estimated arrival at my mom’s home 6pm – a relaxing 1.5 hour jaunt

Friday 12-26 … return to Ileana’s parents home – approximately 1.5 hours

Saturday 12-27 … leave NY and stop at cousin’s home in VA again… hopefully closer to 6.5 hours of driving

Sunday 12-28 … the last leg in our return to ATL … 9.5 hours according to google maps.

Monday 12-29 … lots of beer while i sit in my Lazy Boy reclining chair

so, all in all our time spent in the car is going to be somewhere around 38 hours. In contrast, I estimate that we’ll spend only about 25 – 30 hours visiting with our loved ones….

as to what I’ve learned:
- live closer to my family next year.
- a GPS in the car will save a relationship that must endure seemingly endless driving
- sleeping in one’s own bed is under-rated

Finally, for those who haven’t heard; Ileana and I will be permanently leaving Atlanta at the end of January. We will be moving to the “great” state of Connecticut (CT). Hopefully there will be a lot of exciting news coming out of CT over the next year as Illy and I start a new chapter in our lives. We don’t have an exact plan, but we’ve both always been the type to fly by the seat of our pants and just jump right in.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

Kent, I hope next year you’ll break bones fewer times.