Christmas with the Chicago Bulls

I can honestly say that Christmas this year was unlike any other.  This was the first year that Scott and I were on our own, over eight hundred miles away from either one of our families for the holidays.  That concept is something very foreign to me.

The thought of missing out on family traditions I grew up with makes me a little sad, but given the situation of not having more than a few days to get away, I am confident in saying that we made the best of it.

Yesterday was my first time blogging via iPhone while riding shotgun on the ride home from a quick trip to Chicago.  I shared a little bit of how it went with you.  A little.  The full version awaits… and it is a fun day to look back on and highlight.

Welcome to my crazy life (and marriage) involved in sports entertainment, where holidays are always a possibility and often included.

Just last weekend, we had a surprise visit from Scott’s best friend, Barry, from Chicago.  I say best friend… but what I really mean is another version of Scott in a different body.  Anyone who has had the experience of hanging out with these two together knows exactly what I am talking about.

They are precious, and their obvious brotherly bromance love for each other melts my heart.

When a last minute change of plans concerning Christmas dinner fell through mid-afternoon on Christmas Eve, Scott and I decided to skip the production of cooking and have a quiet holiday at home.

As we started doing chores around the house, buying groceries for the week and talking about what exactly we were going to do on Christmas, we discussed how sweet it was for Barry to come visit us out of the blue.  While he was on his way out the door, he casually extended us an invitation to drive over to his neck of the woods and enjoy Christmas and a game day with him.  So… we did.

Scott and I spontaneously decided that Barry is practically family and we would love to spend the holiday with him.

Eggsperience Cafe

When we woke up Christmas morning, I almost forgot what day it was, until the messages and phone calls rolled in.  Thank you for not forgetting about me friends and family!

We all lounged around for a little while, then finally got ourselves in gear to go grab brunch.

Have you ever been to a big city like New York or Chicago on a holiday?  Shockingly, they even become ghost towns.  While looking for somewhere to go, we stumbled upon a great little place called Eggsperience Cafe.

As you might have guessed, it was quite the esggsperience, and I did – in fact – end up getting eggsactly what I wanted.

While sipping on a few cups of organic coffee, I enjoyed about half of a “fluffy three egg white omelet” with mushrooms, spinach, roasted red peppers, and low-fat mozzarella cheese.  Barry and I ordered the same thing, and when the waitress brought them out I knew right away that we could have just split one.  Are you kidding me with the three egg shpeal?

That thing was the size of my head!

I opted to go with fruit instead of hash browns, and indulged in a small stack of pancakes instead of toast.

And I thought I was not going to be miserably full this Christmas.

Right.

Instead of sight seeing (like we would love to still do together another time), Scott and I headed back to the house to relax for a bit before the Chicago Bulls vs. Houston Rockets game later that night.  A nap and time to chill is exactly what I like to do on a chilly Chicago afternoon!

Chicago Bulls Christmas Game

Scott and I have been to our fair share of NBA games.  We have both worked for two teams now, and I have traveled with him to at least seven other arenas and teams.  We love having an opportunity to see how other organizations work and *bonus* we usually get a little bit of a hook up.

Bulls Fans for the day: Party of Two.

While Barry was busy running around making sure everything was in place for game time, he invited us to come a little early and see how it happens.

He and Scott paced back, forth, and around the building comparing how “we do things”, while I stayed back to observe dancer rehearsal and player warm-ups court side.

Not too shabby.

The game kicked off at 7 p.m. and a few minutes later there was a loud crowd and a lot going on.

I loved the Benny blimp!

If you are a longtime follower of this blog, it will come as no surprise for you to realize I am a big fan of NBA mascots.  Generally speaking, they are incredible performers and make me laugh until no end.

Benny the Bull just so happens to be one of my all-time favorites.

It was really cute when he pulled out a mistletoe pole and set it above unobservant couples.

It was hysterical when he pulled out the silly string and sprayed a fan (who kind of asked for it) with not one, not two, but three entire cans of it.

Between watching his crazy antics and enjoying a salted pretzel at halftime, I had a pretty good time!

Thanks for the laughs and post-game photos, Benny! You rock.

After the game, we met back up with Barry and saw a late night showing of This is 40. I have heard mixed reviews of it, but personally, I thought it was amazing.  It was a little long clocking in at two hours and fourteen minutes, but I have to say that I enjoyed every single minute of it.  Hands down!

It felt like a whirlwind of a trip, but we had a good time spending Christmas with Barry in Chicago.  We woke up early yesterday to make the four and a half hour drive, which actually turned into a seven hour drive thanks to Mr. Snowstorm.

Umm… what?  Thank goodness Scott knows how to handle that because this Florida girls is still learning to deal.

In the mean time, I will be enjoying it at home… or what used to resemble the streets leading up to it.

I guess you can say we have officially been introduced to living in the snow! Wish us luck as we head out to the Detroit airport to pick up my mom, who gets in for a visit early this afternoon.

I am very much looking forward to spending time with her and showing her around our new city.  Oh, and we finally get to open the rest of our Christmas gifts! So much excitement!

Have a fantastic day, and be sure to drive extra careful for those of you who aren’t enjoying the “high of 62 degree weather” down south.  I don’t feel sorry for you.

😉