Merry Christmas!

This Christmas season has been a full one, and we have gotten to spend more time than the last two years enjoying the holiday events in our own area. This is our third Christmas living in the DC area, but really our fist time spending the entire season at home.

A couple weeks ago we had family members come stay with us, and we went to the ICE event at national harbor. They had re-created the entire story of the Grinch in larger than life ice sculptures.

It was only 9 degrees inside, so we had to bundle up in their special parkas before we could enter.

Inside who-ville.

We spent most of the two days leading up to Christmas cooking and getting ready. Every year growing up Henry's Grandma would make homemade tamales, and Henry would get to help. This year we decided to start our own tradition and try to make both the Guatemalan tamales that Henry grew up with, and some Mexican style tamales. They were a lot of work, but worth it.

Yum!
We also made about 20 loaves of banana and Cranberry bread to take to friends and neighbors.

We had a wonderful holiday, and we are looking forward to the new year and all the changes it is going to bring.

The Classics Really Are The Best

As soon as the Christmas season hits I get out the holiday movies. Good, cheesy or otherwise there is something great about Christmas movies, especially the classics. This year we have a new addition to our lineup. We got a compilation of Christmas specials which includes (among other things) the original Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, and Frosty Returns.

It had been years since I had watched most of them, which makes it even more fun. I think my favorite thing about re-watching all of these is that it is the first time that Henry has seen any of them. It’s been fun to watch him discover the absurd comedy for the first time, and to see him laugh at things like the elf’s desire to become a dentist. We still have to watch Frosty and Frosty returns, but this weekend’s feature film is an all time favorite; The Muppet Christmas Carol. If you haven’t seen it I strongly suggest you rent, buy, borrow or otherwise get a copy of it within the next two weeks. There is just something about Muppets reciting Dickens that makes it feel more like Christmas.

Homebound Holiday

This year we are officially staying home for Christmas! We have made it clear that anyone is welcome to visit, but we are NOT traveling. Somehow I think the knowledge that we will not have to go anywhere has put us much more in the holiday spirit. Our Christmas tree is up and decorated, and I even made a Christmas tree skirt to cover its naked trunk. I had a slight concern this year with bringing a tree into a house where a dog lives, but amazingly there have been no issues. The only change is that our pup has found a new favorite place to nap; right under the tree on top of the new skirt.

So along with this holiday atmosphere has come the overwhelming desire to start baking. Unfortunately the days are filled with work, and the evenings and weekends have suddenly started to fill up with meetings, activities, work parties, church parties, family and friends visiting, and little holiday excursions. All good things, but my inner baker is starting to get impatient. Once my frustrated cooking desires have been satisfied I will let you all know what wonderful creations I’ve made. Until then I’ll just keep dreaming up new recipes.

Homage to a Bus Driver

Every weekday morning I wait at the bus stop at the end of my street for the 10B to arrive. I ride that bus the mile and a half to the metro train which will take me to work. On the average day the buss arrives on time, delivering me to the station two minutes before the arrival of my Metro train, getting me to the office door four minutes before my official start time. It’s a perfectly timed routine. If I were to miss my bus and be forced to wait for the next one, it would cause a ripple affect leading to a longer wait for the next train, and result in my arriving at work a full 21 minutes behind my usual time. As catastrophic as this would be for someone as punctuality obsessed as me, the solution is easy; never miss the bus.

As affective as this preventative measure is, last week I was forced to recognize the obvious truth that my timely arrival at work does not depend solely on me. I was waiting on the corner as usual. The time for the bus to arrive came. No bus. Five minutes passed. No buss. More people began arriving at the stop. Those who had been waiting as long as I had began to check their watches every sixty seconds. Ten minutes passed. No bus. At this point those with whom I was waiting were visibly restless, some even upset. I’ll admit that I was beginning to get impatient. I had meetings that morning, I had calls to return, and I had people waiting for me. Finally, 13 minutes late, almost time for the next bus to arrive, we saw the 10B pulling around the corner. The disgruntled passengers boarded the bus. I stepped on last with my fair share of internal grumbling. Then I saw the driver. He was obviously new, with a map and a list of stops in his hand, he was furiously reviewing the stops as we found our seats. It was his first day driving this rout, and he had the first bus of the morning. On top of that, he had a bus full of passengers mentally directing their anger towards him, blaming him for their late arrival at work.

Suddenly my 20 minute late arrival was put into perspective. I had the responsibilities of my job to worry about, but this man had his own responsibilities as well as all of his customers. His job was just as important as any of ours. How narrow minded must all of us at that bus stop have been to think that our arrival at work was the most important event of the morning? Sometimes, despite being surrounded by people, I think we forget that we do not live in a vacuum. The events that affect us almost always affect others as well, and most often occur for reasons completely unrelated to ourselves.

This event was nothing spectacular, I received no epiphany, and there’s no great end to the story. However, I can honestly say that late buses no longer upset me.

Go Henry!

13.1 miles. It still sounds like a long distance to me, and even though this was Henry's third half marathon, I'm still amazed at how quickly the racers start crossing the finish line. This race was the first ever Woodrow Wilson Half Marathon. It started in Mount Vernon, up through Alexandria, and across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge into National Harbor in Maryland. Crossing the bridge the runners had Virginia behind them, Washington D.C. on one side, and Maryland straight ahead.





Henry was amazing! Even with a sprained ankle and a fresh cold he came in under 2 hours, matching his time from his first race. This race was the first step in his preparation for the Harrisburg full marathon in November. The next step will be letting his ankle heal. If running 13.1 miles seems long to me, 26.2 is almost too far to immagine. I may never run it myself, but I'll be there to cheer Henry on!

Nothing Says Happy Birthday Like Chocolate

September is a month full of birthdays for Henry and I. Among the many family birthdays are both Henry's and mine. Since our birthdays are only two weeks apart we usually celebrate them together sometime during the month. This year Henry succeeded in surprising me, and we spent the weekend in the "sweetest place on earth."

For those of you unaware, the sweetest place on earth is of course Hershey, PA, the home of Hershey chocolate. We spent Saturday at Hershey park with friends, and had so much fun! The last time we were there was right after we were married and we were still living in PA. While roller coasters have been added, and the park has been updated, it's still very much the same, and the chocolate is still delicious. Cheesy and silly? Probably. But undeniably fun!
Thanks Henry for a great birthday! Get ready, yours is next;)

What Happend to Lazy Summers?

It's already August, and before we know it summer will be over! It's hard for me to believe that it has passed so quickly. Henry and I have both had assignments at work that have kept us from taking any real vacations, but we have found enough time to have a little bit of summer fun. One of the great things about living near Washington, DC is that there is always something new to do. For our Anniversary I got Henry a gift card to a local boat rental called Jacks Boathouse. It is the cutest little boat dock right under the bridge in Georgetown where you can rent out kayaks or canoes by the hour. We went kayaking around the Potomac river for two hours.
It was the first time that either of us had gone kayaking, and by the time we were finished we both felt like pros! It was surprisingly easy to get the hang of.








This summer we also went to our first ever Nationals Game, Washington, DC's local baseball team. The team is not known for it's winning record, in fact there are often more fans in the crowd cheering for the guest team than for the Nats, but for passive baseball fans like ourselves this didn't put a damper on our fun. The highlight of the game for me was watching the mascots (giant headed founding fathers) race around the bases between innings. I sincerely wish I had a picture of that to share. Abraham Lincoln won.

There is so much going on in our own little neighborhood. In June we attended the local music festival, and every Saturday there is a farmers market and a small art fair on the main Avenue. It's nice to be within walking distance of so much.

My main project this summer has been to continue the interior decorating of our house. The living room and kitchen are almost done, and the guest room is finished. I'm working on our bedroom now. I have been vacillating over paint colors for a week and a half now, and hope to pick something out by this weekend. I'm going a little out of my normal design style for our room, which has been both challenging and really fun. I have lots of idea and just hope I can execute them the way they are in my head. I'll post pictures of the finished product.

Henry continues to train for his half marathon in September. This will be his third half, and should help him get ready for his first full marathon in November. The biggest challenge to his training has been the intense heat we have had this summer. Hopefully things should be cooled down by the time he has to run the actual race.

We may not be enjoying the same lazy days of summer that we used to, but we have had fun, and there is still a little time before autumn comes.