Adventures of J.R. and Jo

The holiday season has been very busy this year in the Salzman house. It feels as if the month of December was two days long. Looking back I'm sure I slept but I can't figure out when I actually curled up into bed and closed my eyes. Between finals, alive day, Christmas, the Packers game, and New Years Eve.... I'm exhausted.

After finals wrapped up J.R. and I made our way up to Hayward for Christmas with his family. We arrived late on Christmas Eve. Having worked all day prior to driving up north I was exhausted and it didn't take me long to find a bed. We awoke the next morning and continued with Christmas traditions. We opened presents, ate food, and then the fight for the shower began. As normal we were all late to get out of the house and we arrived at Grandma Mary's house half an hour late. After eating more and laying around for a few hours we once again packed up the car and headed back to Hayward. J.R. and I stayed the night only to rise early the next morning and head to Michigan.

The trip to Michigan was long. We were fortunate to hit very little snow on the way (thank God). With a quick detour in Indiana to pick up my Grandmother we finally made it to my parents house around 12:30 am eastern time. During the whole bijillion hour trip we managed to have only one small argument (a miracle if you've ever spent time in a car with J.R. and I) and we were able to stay in the same room without wanting to strangle each other. YAY!

Now when you only go home a few times a year, you have to really make the few hours you have count. It seems as if we were constantly on the go while home. The busy schedule was exhausting but worth it as we now have some great memories to look back on. I even managed to fit in lots of quality time with my best friend Becca!

On the 29th we packed up the car. Packing the car was not easy. While in Michigan, J.R. had a dry kiln delivered to my parents house. Try loading a dry kiln, one large suitcase, one large duffel bag, a laundry basket, a box about the size of a laundry basket and various other objects into the back of an Xterra. It's not easy. With the Xterra loaded to the cieling we pulled out of the driveway and plugged Green Bay, Wi into the GPS. We were off to watch the Packers beat the Lions. We spent the night in a really ritzy hotel room in GB... complete with kitchen AND fireplace. I wanted to light the log in the fireplace so bad but J.R. told me not to touch it as it probably would cost us another twenty bucks (party pooper). We were both exhausted and the bed was surprisingly comfy. Sleep was amazing.

The alarm went off early in the morning and we jumped out of bed. After quickly showering and drying my hair I began the process of getting dressed for the game. For years I've watched the Packer/Lion games on my tv and my thought had always been "Wow.. look at those morons. It's 10 below and they're watching a stupid football game. Idiots." I thought of this as I began the layering process and realized that I was officially a moron. On my bottom half I had one pair of long johns and my toasty snow-pants. Two pairs of socks, foot warmers, and my winter boots finished off my feet. On my upper body.. well.. that's a different story. Two layers of underarmor, two tank tops, one long sleeved shirt, one fleece, and my winter jacket. I could move... kinda. I finished myself off with my ski gloves, carhart hat, and a Packers Santa hat on top of that. After the half hour of dressing was completed we once again loaded the car and were off to tailgate with J.R.'s siblings that also came to the game.

9:30 am and the sound of the first beer of the day could be heard. We fired up the grill and cooked steak and potatoes. What a great breakfast. After freezing for a few hours we left the cars and went into the stadium. Once inside we were surprisingly warm. By warm I mean I could almost feel my toes. We made sure to call my Dad a couple times throughout the game and rub it in that we were kicking their asses. He's a good ol' Michigander who still has faith in the Lions. After all.. you never know when they may have an off day and win... as Dad would say "That's why they play the game."

The game wrapped up and Packer fans rejoiced. We made our way back to the car to meet up with the family and off we went to find a bite to eat. As we left the stadium area we were sitting at a stop light watching fans celebrate the win. I laughed as I watched a slightly intoxicated woman in a Brett Favre jersey run around with a football on the side of the road. Then I noticed the group of men on the opposite side of the street encouraging the Favre wanna be to throw the football across the road to score the winning touchdown. Her arm went back and the ball was released, I watched in what seem to be slow motion as the ball came closer and closer to our shiney new car. Realizing it was going to hit the Xterra I announced the obvious to J.R. only to hear *THUMP* a moment later as the pigskin collided with the hood of our truck. Seconds later a young man appeared at our window asking if we wanted a name and number in case there was damage. There wasn't any.. but this does bring me to a very good point.

JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE WEARING A BRETT FAVRE JERSEY DOES NOT MEAN YOU CAN THROW LIKE BRETT FAVRE.

After dinner we returned once again to the car and drove back to Menomonie. For once J.R. didn't mind that the heat was cranked up the whole way home. I still don't think I've thawed out from the game but it was worth the freeze.

The following day was New Years Eve. We had big plans to go into the cities and celebrate with a bunch of J.R.'s friends. Exhausted we cancelled. We curled up on the couch and brought in the New Year watching movies. It may not be as exciting as a big party, but it was the perfect way to end a year full of adventures.

Tomorrow I return back to the real world. I start back at work again after my wonderful week off. I'll probably spend most of the day saying "huh?" as I get my brain churning again. At least I still have a few more weeks before school starts back up.