Creature of Habit

I am such a creature of habit.  And I've got it BAD.  Case in point: yesterday.  It was raining, so I parked my car at the Park and Ride instead of walking to the bus stop.  Makes sense, right?

RIIIIIIGHT.  Until yesterday afternoon, when I got off at my regular bus stop, instead of getting off at the Park and Ride, and walked all the way home and pretty much got to the door before I remembered, "Oh yeah! I parked my car this morning.  Duh."

So... yeah... turned myself around and hoofed it up to the P&R to get the SUV and then finally come home.

I did it again today... let's hope we don't have a full repeat.  We'll see.

It wasn't a complete waste, though.  The fall colors in our neighborhood are out of control and I decided to go all Suzy Snapshots, so here you go!

 

 
 
 

Angel

I'm jamming to my Jack Johnson station on Pandora right now.  I don't know how this has happened... but Jack's music used to always make me just want to lay on the beach.  NOW, it just makes me want to be with my Michael.  Laying on the beach would be nice, too!  Can I have both? Thanks.

Wait! Maybe I do know how this happened...

The moment I got to the door to walk out for my wedding, my bridesmaids were walking down the "aisle" (really more of a planked walkway on a deck on the beach, you'll see) Jack Johnson's "Angel" was playing.  And I just remember looking out the window.. people were everywhere!  The wind was blowing lightly and the tulle we had tied around the gazebo was flowing and the music was perfect!.  The girls looked so cute in their little brown dresses!!  As I stood there, listening and breathing in.. it hit me.  This is it! This is HAPPENING.  Now!  This is my wedding! I'm going to walk down there and around the corner and we will do this.  It was definitely a snap shot that is frozen in my head, hopefully forever.

Thank you, Jack Johnson, for being the soundtrack to so many wonderful snapshots.

His song, "Angel" was perfect for my bridesmaids.  These ladies are all "angels" (in their own way, HA!) in my life.  I was so blessed to have two best friends and my sister, and my new sister stand with me as I made the biggest promise of my life.

I wish you could hear the song playing now... Here's a link.

  Aren't these the most beautiful girls you've ever seen?  And they will make you LAUGH!!  Aahhhh.  I miss each of them so much right now.  Haven't seen anyone since the wedding :(  Boo.  I love you girls!!!

Lyrics to Jack's "Angel":

I've got an angel
She doesn't wear any wings
She wears a heart that can melt my own
She wears a smile that can make me wanna sing
She gives me presents
With her presence alone
She gives me everything I could wish for
She gives me kisses on the lips just for coming home

She could make angels
I've seen it with my own eyes
You gotta be careful when you've got good love
Cause the angels will just keep on multiplying

But you're so busy changing the world
Just one smile can change all of mine
We share the same soul
Oh oh oh oh oh ohhh
We Share the same soul
Oh oh oh oh oh ohhh
We Share the same soul
Oh oh oh oh oh ohhh
Oh oh oh oh oh ohhh
Umm umm umm uhhhhhhmm

 

Banana Pancakes

 

This morning, as I was coming up the escalator from the Metro, in my rain boots, umbrella in hand, this song came up on my ipod.  I wanted nothing more than to turn around, go back down the escalator, get back on the train, the bus, open the door to my apartment, throw my husband in the bed, and get back in there with him and sleep the day away!  I love me some Jack Johnson, and Banana Pancakes never sound like a bad idea, right?

I enjoyed the song and googled it once I got in and stumbled upon this darling little video.  I can't wait to get home and snuggle in the rain!

Oh, Tuesday

I have never been a fan of Tuesday.  A friend pointed out why.  Because on Monday, you're like, ugh.. it's Monday, but it is what it is, you know?  Then by Wednesday, you're well on your way to the weekend.  Thursday breezes by, Friday is celebrated, then the work week is over.

But Tuesday.  UGH. Tuesday is like that long chapter 2 that drags on, but you have to read through it, or the rest of the book, which could very well be amazing, won't make sense.

So, dear friends, Happy Tuesday!

I had another great weekend!!  It was super fun, and productive and I got to do something I now really, really treasure - sit on my BUTT and relax!  Listen to this weekend recap and please follow with applause for our amazing productivity.

Friday night, dinner at Wegmans and grocery shopping and we actually stuck within our budget of $60 for the week.  I think the Frugal Girl would be proud!  We are really making progress in the food department.  We got a good night's sleep, got up Saturday morning and cleaned the entire apartment - top to bottom!  LOVE that feeling!

Saturday afternoon, Michael threw me a birthday party at Lucky's.  It was so much fun to see friends, eat really bad-for-you food and watch football.  THEN... we ventured out in the RAIN and went shopping.  It had been a while since I had visited my good friend, Ann Taylor (Loft).  So, we went there, then to the mall.  In the end, I had a new suit, a new argyle cardigan, another pair of pants and a cute jacket!  I felt like a million bucks driving home.  Hadn't felt like that in a while.  I forgot (or maybe I just never realized) just how much I love shopping!!!  Too bad I have such an obsessive, addictive personality!  But, that's okay, everything in moderation, right? :)

I definitely appreciate it more now that I don't do this every other Friday!  Plus, since I've lost more weight, it's certainly a lot more fun to by clothes in a smaller size.  Whenever I leave a store with a single digit sized item that I bought because it fits and it looks cute and not because it kind of fits or might fit one day so I'm buying it because it's on sale... that, my friends is a victory!

I think that's like my second "my friends" I've said in this post - sorry friends! I don't mean to go all John McCain in my posts. 

Sunday was church, then I got to watch the ENTIRE STEELERS GAME!! I literally sat down for three whole hours - that hasn't happened since I don't know when - months ago!!  It was pure bliss.  I made a good dinner and we just enjoyed being together.  I love being married. 

In Other News... I've been absolutely, categorically HORRIBLE at remembering to take pictures lately!  I am a complete failure at documenting the first year of our marriage.  I need to be better about that.

Especially because I want to be a more faithful blogger, and I just don't feel like it's interesting unless I have pictures.

Here are a couple of pictures to put up for pictures sake, but that have no real significance:

I love that there's a STBX across the street from my new office.  I can be there and back in a flash!  Did you know if you get a Starbucks card and go online and register it, you get a coupon for your Birthday for a free drink!!?!?!! DO IT.

And in keeping with my tradition of if you give me something sweet, you get a blog shout-out tradition.  Shout out to Jacob today for giving me this maple leaf cookie on a stick with a honey maple center.  I'm pretty sure my dentist will find part of that center on my teeth when I go in a couple of weeks but it sure was wonderful! Thanks.

Hope everyone has a good Tuesday.  Tomorrow's Wednesday!
 
 

My Little Family

A birthday highlight

I forgot to mention this in my birthday blog.  This morning, as I do every day, I was reading Mike Allen's Playbook email from The Politico.  It's a daily read-thru of all the goings on of the White House/DC etc.  It's like Cliff's Notes for the day ahead.

Folks, I made the Playbook!!!!!  My birthday made the list!  It was so cool to see that! I was totally not expecting it.

Check it out:

BIRTHDAYS: First Foursome Member Marvin Nicholson (hat tip: Christina Bellantoni) … Homeland Security spokeschief Sean Smith … Patricia Ireland … Jon Favreau (the actor, not the more famous one) … Amy Carter ... Amy Walter ... Winston Bao Lord ... Steve Doocy ... WaPo's Lindsey Applebaum ... Grover Norquist ... Dana Brown Ritter CBN News DC Bureau Producer (uber-h/t: Patrick Gavin). TOMORROW: Sheldon Whitehouse

You say it's your birthday...

it's my birthday, too!

Yep! I'm the big 3-0!!

It's nowhere near as big of a deal and/or as scary as I thought it would be to be 30.  I feel great.  I'm so 100% happy in every area of my life right now.  Bring on the next 30 years!  But not too fast!! :)

So.. math majors... this means I was born in 1979.

According to my friend Wikipedia, we have 1979 to thank for the following things, along with Yours Truly of course!

The Steelers won the Superbowl.

The Pirates won the World Series. (What a great year for Pittsburgh!)

The Happy Meal was born.

The Iran Hostage Crisis dominated the news.

China implemented the "one child" policy.

Mother Teresa won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Also -- on October 19th:

1781 - Cornwallis surrendered to George Washington at Yorktown (yay American Revolution!)

1987 - Black Monday

Also, it's Michael Steele's birthday today (he's the current chairman of the GOP). What Up, my man?  :)

History and facts are fun.  Dorky? Yes.  Moving on...

Oh, wait - my mom says that 1979 was also the year the Susan B. Anthony was born, "the year of the child."  You know it!!

My Mom and Dave flew in for the weekend!  It was so great to see them, and although it was a very short visit, we had such a great time!  Too bad the weather was nasty, so my little drive-thru DC tourist-mobile plan wasn't all that great.  But, we had a really fun trip to the mall and dinner at the CHEESECAKE FACTORY!! One of my all-time favorite restaurants.  (Michael and I still have pasta to eat from the leftovers!)

Pecan Pumpkin Cheesecake?  Yesss!! the waiter described it as "basically a piece of pecan pie with pumpkin cheesecake on top of it."  He had me at "basically..."

Oh, wow! My tastebuds are so overstimulated with sweet tastes right now!  Yesterday, I baked my first cake from scratch!  It was just a yellow cake with chocolate frosting (the frosting was from a can).  My cake is a little lopsided, a little crunchy on the sides, but it's not bad, especially for a first effort!  We totally ate cake and ice cream for breakfast - that made me feel like a 7 year old instead of a 30 year old.  Good stuff!!

I'm happy to report that my birthday gift loot has been pretty sweet as well!  I got the perfect bag for work (a cute and functional brown Kenneth Cole bag that I can hang across).  The new Michael Buble CD!! I can't wait to hear it when I get home tonight.  My mom hooked me up with their wonderful trip to visit us (my favorite thing of all!) and a cute blue sweater, a couple of shirts from H&M, and the perfect black trench coat!  And cash on top of that!! I'm starting to think I'm special or something!

And I talked to Ann on the phone!!! It was so great, I miss you soo much Ann!
 
 

Video Test

I want to see if I really know how to upload video on this blog... if it works, you'll see a video of the random protestors I saw on my way to work a couple of weeks ago.

 

 

Too bad they sound took me back to Friday nights in high school... totally reminds me of the Marching Band warming up before Indian River games!

Annual Tradition: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Inspired by my friend Christin, I have become an annual baker of Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies.  I made some last Sunday, and we'll likely finish them off today/tonight.  MMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmarvelous!

Make 'em!

• 1 cup canned pumpkin
  
• 1 cup white sugar
  
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  
• 1 egg
  
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
  
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
  
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
  
• 1 teaspoon milk
  
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
  
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg*
  
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.
   
2. Add vanilla, chocolate chips and nuts.
   
3. Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly brown and firm.

*I just started adding Nutmeg, and it really makes the cookies good, very pumpkin-piey.  Yes, piey is a word.  Well, now it is.  Because I say so.

 

Heart Warmer

I have a firm belief that if you are prepared.. you can handle just about anything.  Case in point: Thursday vs. Friday.

Thursday... I stormed out of the house in a grumpy hurry, minus the proper gear to handle the weather of the day.  I was cold and wet ALL DAY.  And it was a busy day, I was on Capitol Hill for 4 separate events/press conferences!

I attempted to cheer myself up with a Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate from STBX, but my friends, they don't have them anymore!!! Heartbreaking, right?  So, I bailed.  I did buy myself a cup of regular coffee from the House cafeteria, and that was the best $1.60 I've spent all week!  But, by the end of the day, as I was standing at the bus stop in the cold, windy rain, I was OVER IT.

But what did I come home to?  Enter, my wonderful husband.  I obviously know he is great, since I married him and all... but last night, he was my hero.  Every girl loves a hero, right? 

Get this: I walk in the door... and there's a blanket on the couch and coffee in the microwave FOR ME.  Then, for the first time in 6 weeks other than the times we've been out** I didn't have to lift a finger to get dinner ready!  My Michael heated up our leftovers, and brought everything to me on the couch, as I sat there under the blanket! 

HERO!  I tell you, hero.  I was finally dry, and warm and warmed from the inside out!  This morning, I still couldn't stop thinking about how he had served me and how nice it felt.  What a treat.

**I have to make a note here for clarification.  Michael would make dinner for me every day if he could, I know this. (Well, maybe not every day, he is a man!)  And it's one of those things... I'm used to getting the meals ready, etc. because it's just generally easier and faster if I do it.  And it's not all work!  I receive great joy from putting a hot plate of goodness down on the table in front of my husband!  I honestly never expected him to serve me dinner.  Ever.  But wow... it was awesome!

Now... he just may be the king of the leftovers.  Watch out!  See, this is what happens when he shows me he's figured out how to do something... he signs himself up for more work!  I love you, Babe! :)

===

This morning, I was READY for the elements!  I wore a sweater, a long coat, a scarf, and these:

I wasn't quite sure if I had what it takes to pull these puppies off... or if I would just look like a clown... but upon walking in the door at work this morning, I received 3 compliments.  Whew. 

And, I'm working on this.  I filled a bottle with coffee this morning and re-heated it upon my arrival in the newsroom.

Never mind the fact that my heart is still warm and fuzzy from last night.

And it's FRIDAY, yay! And my mom and Dave are coming to visit this weekend, double yay!

Oh, P.S. - one of the events I was at yesterday was the kick off of "Girls Rock the House," and Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz was totally rocking some Chuck Taylors.  Proof:

I took this picture with my phone, so it's pretty bad, but you get the idea!  I'm pretty sure if a powerful Congresswoman can sport these puppies in the rain, I'm good with the clown boots!