can you cook?

So remember once before when I said I had a lot of cookbooks? Tonight I was cleaning my apartment (it's a complete disaster!) and found a stack of new cookbooks that I got for Christmas (so I haven't totally put things away from the holidays...) and I realized that I really have no more room for cookbooks.



Seriously. This is why----

Do you think I have a problem?

Don't answer that :)

Instead, answer this- what is your favorite cookbook AND favorite recipe? Let me know, because I clearly need more of both.

They'll be a winner! Oh yes, another contest! This will be randomly chosen by one of those random integrator things that I see people use (I'll ask someone...) and the lucky winner will win a copy of Rachael Ray's Big Orange Book! No, it won't be the copy that you see on my shelf and is signed by Rachael herself, but a new copy of your very own!

So, get cooking!

you know you love me

Okay, Gossip Girl, let's chat.

1. Blair and Jack? Did I miss something?
2. Jenny, please take your ugly hair and go away. Don't ever come back.
3. Is the sibling actually alive? I am totally confused by that.
4. Blair, forget Manhattan. Move to Georgetown and be my BFF. I'll take you to my favorite crepe place.

xoxo

are you a lurker? lerker? I like lerker better, but it's the wrong one...

So I'm a bit slow and am now realizing that this is National Delurking Week. Considering about seven people read my blog, I don't think I have any lurkers...but if you are, please say hello! Ask a question, make a comment, whatever, just let me know who you are, in case I am missing out on wonderful and fabulous you!


(I don't know how to paste in those nifty pictures everyone else has)

my bulleted life

• I hate the song "I Knew I Loved You" by Savage Garden. I have no idea why. In theory, it's a lovely song, but there is something about it that irks me. A friend wanted to use it as her first dance at her wedding, but then found out that someone else planned to. I was secretly relieved. I know, I'm awful.
• It makes me really sad to see Christmas trees lying on the sidewalk, their glory days being over. I wish they could stay up year-round, I really do!
• Last weekend, we stopped by Mount Vernon (I LOVE Mount Vernon...) and there was a wedding reception there. It was so lovely and beautiful that I wanted to cry. It was one of those perfectly cool and crisp days that wasn't too cold, but cold enough that you knew it was January. The bride had an amazing dress that I may secretly covet for my own, and she had a mink stole around her neck. Really, she was stunning. I'd love to have my wedding there, but since it is unlikely that the entire plantation will be relocated to NH anytime soon, I guess it won't be happening!
• Obama was outside my office building this afternoon and I didn't see him. I'm not particularly upset about not seeing him, but my colleague stood outside for 40 minutes waiting for a glimpse. She saw him, she was happy.
• I have lemon rosemary chicken baking in the oven right now and it's smelling delish.
• I hosted a cookie swap last month and I still have not posted the pictures. It was a lovely afternoon and much fun was had by all (I think!)
• I saw snow flurries for about seven minutes today. Then, poof, like magic, they were gone.
• I love Russian babushka nesting dolls. I have a bit of a collection, including a tea towel and a few ornaments, and they never fail to make me smile.
• There is a rowhouse on 8th St. SE, near Eastern Market that is still decorated so beautifully for Christmas. They had wreaths hanging with red velvet ribbon from each window, and candles in the windows as well. When I walk home from the metro, I go by it every night and think about the sort of people who live there. A little part of me wants to knock on their door and tell them how wonderful their home looks, but I think that might be a little creepy, so I don't; I just walk by and think it to myself.
• I got two new Vera Bradley bags for Christmas and haven't used either of them yet.
• As an impulse, I bought a package of strawberries at Harris Teeter tonight. There were samples out and they were so sweet and juicy that I couldn't resist.

What makes your week random?

busy schedule? fine with me!

I've come to the conclusion that I am happier and more productive when I have a full schedule. Like anyone else, I like my downtime, but too much of it, and I become a lazy blob.

Example. My senior year of college, I was taking six classes (18 credits), was on the equestrian team, babysat twice a week for six hours each day, worked part-time at Bath and Body Works, volunteered on a campaign that fall, was chair of one club on campus and Executive Director of the state chapter of that club and something else that is escaping me. My day planner was a million different colors and I liked it that way. I felt like I accomplished a great deal each day and had a great time doing it.

When I moved to DC, I worked full-time and that was about it (at first, anyway). Two years later, I began the second Master's, at GWU, so I had classes at night and often meetings with people for projects and such. It was a good thing. The thing is, for as much as I complained about how tired I was, and how much work I had to do, I really enjoyed my classes and liked being in school (nerd alert). Now I am missing that. I liked that element of my life; going to class, meeting new people and sharing ideas. I felt so inspired by some of the people I met and hearing about the amazing things that they've done. Now? Not so much. I'm missing that interaction, wishing I was still there. In my heart, I am contemplating what Master's to get next (ha!), though my head knows that a third Master's and another $30K in loans isn't the best way to go.

Trying to find inspiration and passion isn't easy; it is something I feel as though I've struggled with for a long time. There are things I love and things I want to do, but I feel like I lack the ability to get there. Some days, I am not sure how to get there, what steps I need to take. I've begun to do some volunteering in the city. I found the Washington Literacy Council and once a month, have gone to a local elementary school to read with students. I also went to an info session for Greater DC Cares, which has all sorts of different volunteer opportunities, from working in soup kitchens, to reading with students, to working at a horse barn (which I am totally going to do, by the way!) I've also found a pottery studio where you can take classes, so I am thinking about maybe trying that as well.

What do you do to stay busy?

Christmas, New Hampshire style

Somehow during my week at home, I didn't manage to take a picture of the outside of the house or the approximately two feet of snow we had in NH! Oh well...look my mum's snowmen and pretend they are outside!

12 in 12

Happy New Year, all! Hope you had a good evening. Me? I was asleep by 10:30. Seriously. I'm not sure what came over me, but I was exhausted. Frankly, NYE has never been a huge thing to me, so I was okay with that!

With regards to resolutions, I try not to make them- mainly because I always break them! Instead, I've made a list of 12 goals that I'd like to accomplish in 12 months. Some of them will take longer then others, which is why I've given myself a year!

So, here goes---

• eliminate ALL credit card debt- difficult, but can be done if I really work at it
• take a yoga and a quilting class...then maybe stick with one (or both!) of them
• learn to knit and make a scarf and matching mittens
• get hired directly by the agency I work for, rather then continuing with contract I'm currently on
• visit three new countries and six new states that I've never been to
• send three chapters of my book to a publisher- this is something I haven't talked much about...I have a general outline for a book I'd like to write, and it's long been a secret goal of mine, but it needs a lot of work, and I mostly ignore it, but shouldn't
• try and then stick to the Sonoma Diet- I need to be making healthy eating habits...healthy that doesn't include cool ranch doritos! besides, the Sonoma diet includes and encourages drinking wine, so that is a diet that I can enjoy!
• find and attend a church in DC that I love and feel a part of
• buy a small condo for an eventual rental unit- yes, this may be a pipe dream, but it's something that I'd really like to do, if possible
• cook at least three times a week from existing cookbooks- I have way too many that I rarely use!
• stop referring to Steve's ex as a dumb ugly whore (among other things...)- I despise her for various reasons, but they are still friends, so I really should be nicer, right?
• plan a trip to Albania
• give Steve a backrub once a week without him begging (haha, he added that one...)

(yes, that's 13...but I added one, since Steve did, haha)

crafty goodness

It seems that, in recent months, I've developed a new fondness for adorable fabrics. Along with that fondness, I've begun to purchase said adorable fabrics. No, I don't sew, quilt or do anything that would resemble coziness, so I think it's time to change that.

So, one of my new-years resolutions is to learn to quilt! I've found a quilt shop in Gaithersburg (bonus, it's metro accessable!) that will be offering a ten week course, teaching you to quilt!

Capital Quilts Complete Course click for photo Annette Burns 10 sessions/2 hrs. ea./$168 This is the ultimate quilt course! Annette will teach you everything you need to know about quiltmaking, from fabric selection to cutting, piecing, pressing, appliqué, set-ins, paper piecing, and so much more. You will make a sampler quilt incorporating all the major quilt techniques, and learn to sandwich, quilt, and bind your masterpiece. This is the perfect opportunity to start at the beginning and learn one step at a time—but it’s a great refresher course, too. You’ll be welcome whatever your background in quilting may be!A.) 2-4 pmB.) 7-9 pmJan. 21, 28, Feb. 4, 11, 18, 25, Mar. 4, 11, 25, April 1

http://www.capitalquilts.com/index.htm

Now, I can learn to make masterpieces! Anyone want to quilt with me?

books, books, everywhere!

I went into Barnes and Noble today and all Christmas books are 50% off...plus, an additional 10% off if you are a Barnes member, which of course, I am. Shocker...

So, I purchased the following-

Olivia Helps with Christmas (I love that pig!)
Madeline's Christmas (who doesn't adore Madeline?)
Librarian's Night Before Christmas (for my mother, next year!)
The Nutcracker (illustrations by Susan Jeffers, and they are gorgeous!)
Auntie Claus (had never seen this one before, but love it!)
A Very Marley Christmas (can't wait to see the movie...who wants to go with me?!)

Yes, they are all childrens books.

So, 60% off all hardcovers? Yes please! Now the hard part will be deciding which to keep for my collection and which to give as gifts!

ackkkkkk

Apparently I'm dyslexic this month.

I got back to DC around midnight last night to find a week's worth of mail waiting for me...including my scarf swap and sweet treat exchange packages...unfortunately, they were mine, as in, the ones I sent to my swap partners!

They were returned to me because I'm an idiot. Meaning, when addressing the box/envelope, I switched zipcodes and wrote the IL zip on the package going to CA, and vice versa. I guess the post office didn't like that, because they both came back.

Oooops.

They both will be re-sent tomorrow...

PS. More on holidays later! I'm still unpacking....

white, white everywhere!

Oh hello! This is Lexi, live from New Hampshire, where I'll be ALL WEEK LONG! Yes, true bliss, right there.

My cousin also lives in DC, so he and I drove home Saturday. We were welcomed to the Granite State by at least a foot of snow and more to come. Today? There's close to two feet of white, fully wonderfulness.

My week so far? Yesterday- church with my parents, visiting my grandmother, home, lay around and read a book, homemade beef stew for dinner, ice cream for desert, more reading my book, bedtime. Today? Errands- went to post office to mail Christmas gifts to Steve's family (yes, I'm the jerk who forgot to send them home with him, so I had to pay $36.10 to express them to Iowa), license renewal and such.

My gifts are wrapped lovingly and under the tree, which is gorgeous, by the way. Note to seld- take a picture and post it. Maybe I will be a good daughter and go outside to shovel the back walkway. The dogs are outside frolicing in the snow.

I kinda want to go make snow angels...

her small hand

I came home from work tonight and found in my mailbox two Christmas cards and two letters from Albania. Excited, I hurried up the stairs to open them. Both letters were from Majlinda. One thanked me for the jump rope I sent many months ago and told me how much Majlinda likes to "build the snowman," but it doesn't snow much there. She asked about my Christmas tree and what sort of decorations are on it (note to self: take a picture of my tree to send to Albania).

The second letter told me how much Majlinda loves going to kindergarten and how she wants to learn to read, so she can read my letters, and then learn to write, so she can write to me. Ahh, simple joys. Then she said "I am asking now Majlinda what she would like to send you and she says a hug and her small hand." When I looked at the second page of the letter (the first page is the English translation and the attached second page is the original, in Albanian), Majlinda had traced her hand, and written both our names inside the hand. She even colored at the end of the fingers and she has green nail polish, along with a pink bracelet.

I may frame that letter and hand.

I love coming home to mail from my girls and I love knowing that I am making a difference in their lives. Part of my Christmas shopping was done on the World Vision website. Ducks, chickens and seeds, oh my!

Really though, it's things like this that make my holidays happy.

What makes yours happy?

my green thumb?

I don't have much luck with plants, but I still have it in my head that I could have a gorgeous garden someday. Someday, just not this day. In the meanwhile, I practice on things that are supposedly impossible to kill, but this isn't always the case.

For instance, bamboo. I had a bamboo that I bought at Eastern Market more then two years ago. It was growing like a champ. In fact, so champ-like that it was getting too big for its container. So, I googled "how to transplant bamboo" and figured it wasn't too tricky. I had a larger container and bought a bag of those smooth, polished stones and lifted it out of the old to move to the new. Meanwhile, I noticed that the roots were a bit stinky, maybe from being so cramped together, so I decided to rinse them under the sink. Maybe that was the downfall, because soon after, the bamboo died an untimely death. The leaves were yellowing and falling off, and the stalk was black. It also was really stinky. I had to toss the entire thing.

Last spring, I bought one of those herb kits from Whole Foods. It came with four small pots and bits of soil, and four seed packets- rosemary, thyme, parsley and oregano. For the first few weeks, they too, grew like champs. Then, they dried out and died too. The same day I planted those, I also had two pots where I planted wildflowers. Same story.

Last October, while waiting for my flight back to DC at the Orlando airport, I found a palm tree plant in the gift shop. I thought I so desperately needed it, so back to DC it came. I can't tell how it's doing, it looks about the same it did then, but it could possibly grow to be five feet tall. I'd totally love having a five foot palm tree blowing in the spring breeze of DC. I also have a new bamboo plant that is okay so far.

Just now, I ate an avocado and "planted" the seed. We'll see if I end up with an avocado tree to add to my nursery.

until we meet again

It's so strange to think that it was six years ago that my grandfather passed away. It's still such a shock, as it was so unexpected. He hadn't been sick, there was no big accident. Nothing unusual.

I had been in Poland since August, and I was coming home for Christmas. My flight landed in Boston late Friday night. That morning, Grampa had gone into the hospital for a few tests. Apparently, he had a slight case of peunomenia and spent a few nights there, just to be safe. Sunday morning, my sister and I went to see him and he was so good. He was in great spirits, happy and jovial, as he always was. Grammy was with him. He always got a big kick out of those scratch off lotery tickets, so I had brought a few from Poland with me. He scratched them off and won roughly 50 cents on one of them. He gave me the ticket and told me to buy myself something nice with it. I still have the ticket. He was to be released the next morning. Well, I'm not a doctor and I don't know how it happened, but my father woke me up very early Monday morning to tell me that he died suddenly from some complications with the medicines he was on, or the like. I couldn't believe it. I still can't.

My father took my sister, my brother and myself over to the hospital, where my mother and my aunt were already there of course with my grandmother. It was bad. I don't remember much of the day. I assume the wake was the following day, but I really don't remember the entire course of action, it was all such a blur. I think the wake was the next morning and the funeral was that afternoon maybe. We also had a ceremony at the cemetary. My cousin and I both did readings during the funeral mass, but I have no idea what I read. I don't know who was there and what was done. It wasn't the best Christmas we've ever had.

Grampa was my mother's father. My Meme, my father's mother, died six months later, of lung cancer. Somehow, that was much less tramatic for me, maybe because she'd been so sick for so long that it was expected and better for her so she wasn't suffering anymore.

I've been sad today, remembering. Just thinking about all the aspects of the day and the day before and the days after and how much we still miss Grandpa. I'm also thinking how all the memories still make me smile. There are so many smiles to remember and reasons to laugh out loud. My mother tells me how proud Grampa would be of me and of my sister and brother, and my two cousins. He loved politics and would be so thrilled by my being here, and working on the Hill and now for State. So many random make me think of Grandpa. The missing him never goes away, the thoughts of him will be with us always, but usually with a smile.

and until we meet again, may God hold you in the hollow of His hand....love you always Grampa

it's the little things

I came home the other day to find two letters from Albania in my mailbox, one from each of my girls. Bliss! Both girls are only 6, so their mothers write. Majlinda's mother told me that everyday when she comes home from kindergarten, she takes my letters out and looks at them, every day. Inaete wants to know when my birthday is and she loves vegetables.

My heart melts each time I hear from them.

I love these girls, I do, I do.