Christmas in South Carolina

We do things just a little bit different in the south.

This year was only the second time I hadn't been back home in PA for Christmas. The first time was in 2009, when I had only been at my job for a few months and couldn't take the time off for both Christmas and Thanksgiving. Each year we can only make the 800 mile trip for one or the other, certainly not both when they are so close together. So it was a quiet Stewart Christmas- just Doug and I with Karma, Pepper and Senior Gato.

...and Melissa Facey (she's peeking out at the bottom of the photo).

You may think I'm a complete lunatic for having a life-size picture of my sister's face but I assure you I am totally normal (mostly). See, there's a hilarious radio morning show that we're big fans of called Preston and Steve on 93.3 WMMR in Philadelphia. One of the co-hosts, Casey, created Casey Facey. Listeners can go on the website and print out a picture of his face, then attach it to a paint stick and take pictures with it in exotic places: France, The Grand Canyon, Chickie n Pete's... The point is that, um, I guess there really isn't a point other than embarrassing yourself in public and making a regional inside joke reach far and wide. When I moved to SC I really missed my sister. We thought that creating facies for one another would be a hilarious way to include the other in things that we do. My first Melissa facey was quite busy.

In my kitchen

I lost her on a road trip to Atlanta. So on Saturday while dreadfully slow at work I made a new one, this time without the ridiculous facial expression.



Melissa Facey with Rowyn on Christmas Eve



Despite how slow we were at work on Saturday I still had a fairly productive day. I started it off by running 8.2 miles with some friends. It was supposed to be a 12 mile run originally, but somebody couldn't hang...*cough cough*. Seriously though, I was not upset about cutting the run short because I needed to fix breakfast and get to work.

AND get a Grande Skinny Peppermint Soy Latte. What? We meet in a Starbucks parking lot to run. What do you expect?? I also got a White Chocolate Mocha for Doug. It's his fave!

I was able to finish off my homemade gift for Doug and was happy to send my employees home 2 hours early! I wrapped up the work day on my laptop while watching the Eagles win but still not make it to the playoffs thank to the Jets. Argh! We had dinner with the neighbors, played the PlayStation Move and then I graciously pulled an Irish goodbye and snuck off to bed with company still over. I was exhausted!

But let’s get back to business: CHRISTMAS! Doug and I had so much fun opening our gifts. We only exchanged a few small items between the 2 of us, but our families had kept the base of our tree full by mailing gifts for weeks.

New Eagles Trailer Hitch Cover



My Gift for Doug. I got this idea from another blogger and absolutely LOVE it!



I got LOTS of new running stuff, including a headband with headphones built in! SO COOL!

The aftermath

My new scarf, earrings and cookie monster pants

Notice I'm wearing a short sleeve shirt while on my back porch? That's a South Carolina Christmas for you! I couldn't even wear my cookie monster pants for very long because they were way to warm! Seriously. After about an hour I had to strip them off! The weather has been pretty unpredictable recently, with a week of warm and sunny and then 2 fays of bitter cold. I'm sure I’ll get good use out of my winter clothes eventually.




Christmas Breakfast

I really wanted to try a healthy gingerbread pancake recipe but the idea immediately got dismissed by Doug. It turns out he's not a fan of gingerbread :( So instead I made Tone It Up Chocolate Protein Pancakes. They were awesome. Naturally they didn't taste like a gigantic cookie like regular chocolate chip pancakes do, but they were nutrient dense, very filling and super healthy! I had a second pancake for a snack a few hours later. I also indulged with Bailey's in my coffee. Mmmmmm!



With Whipped Chocolate Fat Free Greek Yogurt

 All in all I'd say our morning was fabulous! After thoroughly destroying the living room with cardboard boxes and wrapping paper we watched a movie (Warrior- definitely recommended) and spoke to family members on the phone. Before we knew it the time had come to get get ready and head over to the Arlett's (2 of our close friends with 2 amazingly adorable children) for dinner and cocktails!

On Sofa: Doug, Bruce and Me
Back Row: Nikki, Emily, Dave, Tracy and Pat
Not pictured: Neil (holding the camera), Todd, Sally, Stef and Buzzy

Doug and I with baby Rowyn



Rhys with his cell phone



Emily, mommy-to-be, feeding Rowyn

We had a great time with some of our dearest friends. Dinner was wonderful (thank you to Neil and Tracy) and I especially liked the champagne cocktail we enjoyed at the end of the night. Despite being so far away from home on the holiday we had an incredible time. It made me realize that I have family everywhere- even in SC. I hope anyone reading this also had lots of laughter and love yesterday. Merry Christmas (Fa rararaaa rara ra ra)