Funny birthday cards

My boss's birthday is coming up and so I was looking for something funny to get for her. She has a great sense of humor, but still... don't think I should get her these!

FRONT: Happy Birthday!

INSIDE: There. I came to your party. Now you owe me.

FRONT: Happy Birthday! Here's to another year...

INSIDE: ...older than me. Sucks to be you.

FRONT: Happy Birthday.

INSIDE: You've just turned an insignificant age that nobody really cares about.

4 day weekend

Got to love it! And I did.

Friday
Went for a run with Max in the morning. Had drinks at the Front Page and dinner at Firefly with the BU crew (Slav, Natalia, Alex).

Saturday
Had brunch at Food Matters with Natalia and Alex. Went shopping at Potomac Mills. Bought a new dress for Candi and Mike's wedding from Ann Taylor! Sangria and tapas at La Tasca.

Sunday
Battled DC traffic with Natalia and Alex. Made our way out to Chesapeake Beach Resort and Spa for Candi and Mike's wedding. Had SO much fun!



Monday
Breakfast with Slav and his work crew from the VA at Traders. Dropped off Natalia and Alex in Dupont Circle.
Rest.

Pretty things I would like to buy if I weren't being good

Parental visit

My parents are in town this week, visiting from Canada. They arrived on Saturday and we had a great Mother's Day dinner. For dessert, I made the lemon tart from Bouchon. Mine wasn't quite the same but still quite delicious. The recipe is still up on their site if you're interested.

On Sunday, my Dad made waffles for breakfast. We went to the Air and Space Museum in the morning, Ben's Chili Bowl for lunch, and then shopping at Pentagon City Mall in the afternoon.

Today, they are on their own. We had breakfast together but then I headed to work. Their plans included the Library of Congress, Botanic Garden, and lunch at the Air and Space Museum. Can't wait until dinner to find out how their day went!

Wordle

My favorite Disney memory

Fireworks at Magic Kingdom

I took these last Thursday. Seems like a lifetime ago already...

Dinner at the Flying Fish Cafe

Max and I went to the Flying Fish Cafe for dinner while we were in WDW. It's on the boardwalk. A very good meal.

Max had the Yellowfin Tuna Tartare and Crispy Tempura Tuna-Vegetable Sushi Roll
Hijiki and Wakame Seaweed, Yuzu Tobiko, Wasabi Foam, with Sweet-and-Spicy Sauce



I had the Salad of Local Vero Beach Arugula and Watercress, Candied Walnuts, Red Pears, Gorgonzola Dolce, and Artisanal Montegottero Walnut Oil Vinaigrette



For our main entree, we both had the Oak-grilled Maine Diver Scallops Butternut Squash, Sage, Mascarpone and Pecorino-laced Risotto di Carnarolli, Proscuitto di Parma Cracklins’



For dessert, Max had the Trio of House-made Sorbets with Fresh Plant City Berries, and Vanilla Cookies



I had the Berry tart. Delicious!

Good eating

Dinner at Jiko:

Crispy “Savanna” Rolls with Sweet Corn, Bitter Greens, Goat Cheese and Curry Vinaigrette



Jiko Seasonal Salad with Baby Romaine, Watermelon Radish, Pine Nuts and Blood Orange Vinaigrette



Roasted Apple Tarte Tatin with Vanilla Sauce and Cinnamon Ice Cream



Kenyan Coffee Ice Cream with Spiced Doughnuts



Ham and cheese terrine; Strawberry tart from the bakery in "France"

A week in WDW

Max and I got back on Saturday from a week in WDW. It was fantastic - best trip ever! We had so much fun and we were there long enough that it was also relaxing, very little rushing. Plus the weather was great, not too humid for the most part and in the 70s... which is unseasonably cool for this time of year - what a blessing!

Here's some of the highlights:

Fireworks at Magic Kingdom



Parade at Animal Kingdom



Beauty and the Beast musical at Hollywood Studios



Max at Animal Kingdom



And me!

Japanese forest grass

Newest addition to our garden

Baby shower

One really tiny green hat and one small blue hat are on their way to a new home.

Baby showers are so precious!

My new piece of luggage!

Bought it at Macy's for only $160! (There were two discounts and a gift card involved)

By the bus stop

Driving update

Over the weekend I tried out something new - driving to AC Moore. On the surface, it was running an errand to buy yarn but the greater purpose was to get me to drive somewhere new. It's a 15 minute drive, one of the longer ones for me, and included highway driving and narrow road driving (both of which make me nervous). I did fine. Sweaty, but fine. Enough so that I even drove home - something I don't usually do but I figured if I was going to push myself then I should really do it.

Agricola

Happy owner of my own set of Agricola.

But I love chewing gum...!

So sad to learn that chewing gum is primarily made out of plastic.

:(

http://fakeplasticfish.com/2010/01/chewing-on-plastic-yum/

Brookline in a box

Tired of Comcast? Consider Google!

Want more choice and competition for Internet access? Let Google know that we want them to choose Alexandria for their Fiber for Communities pilot.

Google is planning to test ultra-high speed internet access networks in one or more trial locations across the country. According to Google, these networks will deliver Internet speeds more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today.

Google is asking communities to submit responses to a Request for Information by March 26, to determine where to build the network. You can help by nominating Alexandria.

Learn how you can help bring Google to Alexandria!

Longest conversation with my brother since January

Nicole: hey marc

Marc: hey

Nicole: you're up early

Marc: yeah, I have to go to work soon

Nicole: email me back sometime then

Marc: ok

Nicole: ok. have a good day

Marc: thanks...you too

Gardening

The weather has been nice for the past few days so after work yesterday, Max and I headed to Home Depot to pick up a giant pallet of stuff from the garden center. When we got home, I planted some lilies of the valley while Max repotted one of our hostas. Then the two of us covered our front garden in a fresh layer of black mulch. Suddenly everything looks great! It's amazing what mulch can do. For now, it's a little bare with only the tiny green leaves of our chrysanthemums peeking up but we're expecting rain from Thursday through Monday so hopefully soon there will be more.

Tonight we tackle the back yard - including moving a giant juniper tree. THAT should be fun. But totally necessary. Luckily the hole is already partially dug (Sunday's effort) so maybe it won't take that long. My Dad gave me some chive heads to plant so those will go where the tree used to be, along with more mulch.

Allergies?

Is it allergy season already? It's only March! But I've been knock-me-over tired for the past two weeks... anyone else out there already feeling the effects of allergy season?

Mardi Gras Rock n' Roll Half Marathon

On Sunday, Max and Slav and I completed the Mardi Gras Rock n' Roll Half Marathon in New Orleans. Slav came in first, then Max and then me. I finished with a time of 2h48min. Longer than my first half but the circumstances were completely different.

It was 45 degrees when we started at 7am. I was wearing a long sleeve shirt and capri pants. Was I cold? Definitely! But I warmed up soon enough and the miles started rolling by. The three of us stayed together for a little while but I had a hard time keeping up with the boys and by the end they were well ahead of me. I managed to continue running without stopping until the 10 mile mark but after that I had to walk a little and run a little to keep on going. My legs just wouldn't cooperate. But my mind was strong and I managed to sprint into the finish. It was a good run, great scenery, and the weather was beautiful. Sunny and warm by the time I crossed the finish line, definitely the best day of the entire trip.

Busy weekend

I'm so tired. This weekend was alot of running around because my brother in law and his girlfriend are visiting. On Saturday we had breakfast at home (I made pancakes) and then we went downtown to see the Terracotta Warrior Exhibit at the National Geographic Museum. We couldn't find parking so we ended up parking in a lot but when we got to the museum, the exhibit was sold out! So we looked at their other photography exhibit for half an hour and then drove over to the Washington National Cathedral. Spent awhile there looking around at everything. When we got home, Max had to run out and buy a birthday present for our 5-year old neighbor's birthday party. For dinner we went to Food Matters. Then at 6:30, we went over to the neighbors house for Caleb's birthday party. And then at 7:15, we had to leave the house to go to the Kennedy Center to see the concert. We were sitting BEHIND the orchestra, practically on the stage. It was the weirdest thing because you know everyone was looking at us. The concert was okay, some weird stuff, some stuff I recognised. By the time we went to bed it was midnight and I was exhausted.

Yesterday we had brunch at Rosa Mexicano. Marvin and Helen seemed to like it. We took them to Chinatown because they wanted to see it - all 2 blocks! After a couple of minutes of looking around they decided they didn't want to wait for the Chinese New Year parade. Instead we went to the National Archives to see the Magna Carta, The Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Then to the American History Museum. I got to see Julia Child's kitchen. Very small but so interesting to see all the tools that she had and how they were displayed. We were there until 4pm and then took the Metro back. For dinner I made risotto with sauteed portabello mushrooms, and a big salad. For dessert we had some cookies from the store since Helen had been craving them. I went to bed on time but I'm still so tired this morning.

White blanket in progress

A little green hat

Icycles

Erin

More snow in DC

More like this

photo-791874
Originally uploaded by Knerq

Imagine the colors brighter

On the fritz

My knitting mojo has been on the fritz of late and after a row or two, I'm bored with it. Crazy, right? It's probably the winter blues just affecting everything else but this weekend I finished my first project of the year (and the first one since December). I don't have any pictures yet but I am quite happy with it. Very colourful and wavy. And even better, something for me! All that's left to do is weave in the end and steam press it on the ironing board.

Running update
Ran 5 miles on the treadmill yesterday. Could have been truly tortuous but it wasn't that bad actually. Today I'm feeling pretty good and if it continues I might go to the gym tonight and do another 2. I'm in training for a half marathon at the end of the month - yikes! Too soon! Too soon!

Driving update
There has been more driving on the highway and for longer distances. Woohoo!