This Christmas was a whirlwind—both figuratively and literally.

Before the in-laws arrived early Saturday evening, Mark and I did a little last minute grocery shopping and had some lunch at one of our favorite places, Mediterranean Sandwich Company. Their “mixed grill” is out of this world—I can’t get enough of the onion marmalade and béarnaise aioli!

Once night fell, the in-laws, Mark, and I rode down to Bellingrath Gardens to meet my parents and walk through A Magical Christmas in Lights. Viewing the beautiful display of over 1 million lights has become one of my husband’s and my favorite holiday traditions—particularly since it was the site of his proposal on December 1, 2006.

After a chilly but lovely walk, we had dinner back in town at RBS Chicken Shack. This meal was as delicious as the first one I reviewed here.

Late Sunday morning we packed up gifts and made the short journey to Bay St. Louis for Christmas dinner with Grannie. And what a feast it was!

As soon as we opened the door, the boiled shrimp with horseradish sauce, stuffed artichoke, brie, and pepper jelly cream cheese spread welcomed our taste buds.

The star of the show, however, was the turducken. The meat was perfectly tender and juicy; if I had to choose, I’d say the duck was my favorite.

Other accompaniments included: cornbread stuffing with pine nuts; rice pilaf with sliced almonds and golden raisins; spinach, artichoke, and water chestnut casserole (topped with provolone); sautéed green beans; butter lettuce salad with feta, dried cherries, and a vinaigrette; and rolls. Everything tasted heavenly!

After dinner we opened gifts and laughed—a lot. Grannie is, well, feisty, and not one to hide what’s on her mind. We also enjoyed a dessert of petit fours and homemade pumpkin bread.

Our shiny, new bread machine has to be one of my favorite gifts—although I do love my gorgeous silver bracelet, earrings with Mark’s and my birthstones (you never see amethyst and peridot together), and a set of 4 beautiful fleur de lis wine/water glasses.

All day Sunday, however, I could tell I was beginning to get sick. As much as I denied it (oh, the irony of telling coworkers about how I never get sick and still have leftover sick leave to use before December 31), it got worse Monday.

We had lunch Christmas Eve at Felix’s Fish Camp, a local seafood restaurant overlooking Mobile Bay and the delta. My trio of turtle soup, crab bisque, and gumbo was delicious, but my salad (mixed iceberg and romaine with artichoke, grape tomatoes, and hearts of palm) wasn’t anything special.

We then went to the movies to see “Jack Reacher.” While I was in the mood for a comedy, the movie was pretty good, although the violence was overwhelming.

Staying true to what’s become a new tradition, we enjoyed a Christmas Eve dinner of homemade pizzas at my parents’ house. By evening, I was beginning to feel pretty under the weather; I did enjoy my food, though, and tried to stay upbeat.

Next stop: Christmas morning! Throughout my childhood (and teen years) I was an early riser on Christmas, but this time, we didn’t begin opening presents until 10:30 or later. I felt absolutely more sickly than I’ve ever felt—in fact, I felt so horribly that I have zero photos of Mark and me in our holiday pajamas that I’ve been obsessed with all month. 🙁 It’s just the 3rd day of Christmas, so maybe we can fake a photo before too long.

I barely felt like opening presents, but I survived. Although I love my pelican charm from Mark, I especially love the books he gave me (along with a julienne peeler, antimicrobial cutting board, and other foodie gifts). He may tease me about the food blog, but he really is the most supportive husband!

And then there was the weather.

A strong cold front + unseasonably warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico = TORNADOES.

While we’re used to hurricanes in the summer, we rarely get weather like this—especially twice in just a week’s span. From what I’ve read, a total of 40 tornadoes touched down throughout the Southeast on Christmas Day. An EF-2 caused some major damage to neighborhoods in historic, more densely-populated Midtown. Windows were shattered at Mobile Infirmary, an entire front wall is missing from historic Trinity Episcopal Church, nearly every building at Murphy High School (built in 1926) sustained minor to severe damage, several beautiful 80+ year old homes are destroyed or severely damaged, and as many as 500-600 trees are gone.

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Miraculously, there were no fatalities or serious injuries. With so many families traveling to see loved ones, things could’ve been much worse.

While that same funnel traveled fairly close to where I live, it was far enough away that we suffered no damage. After enjoying a delicious dinner of ham, green beans, potato salad, cucumber/tomato/onion salad, we quickly opened our presents from my parents and hurried home in between lines of storms, grateful to have made it back before it started storming again. Even then, the worst weather had passed our area.

My parents hunkered down in their closet, however, when what turned out to be an EF-1 tornado was headed toward a neighborhood adjacent to theirs. They were safe, however, and the storm didn’t head their way.

All in all, we had an interesting Christmas. Now that it’s Thursday and I’m back at work and the post-holiday blues are taking over, I’m starting to feel much better. I just hate that I had to be sick on one of my favorite days of the year. I guess it’s all about whom you spend it with.