The Obamas' First State Dinner

FLOTUS was flawless.

Worth the Wait

After an hour and a half wait, a bottle of wine, two Mojitos, and a platter of deviled eggs, we finally sat down for dinner at Founding Farmers. In all fairness, we didn't have a reservation and it was a packed Saturday night. But after reading about the certified green restaurant specializing in farm-to-table American inspired food, we were more than ready to sample dishes made from fresh ingredients straight from local farms. The restaurant is actually owned by a group of American family farmers. The menu offers something for everyone (for real) and highlights include a mouthwatering Steak Portobello, the Show Stopper Fisherman's Pasta with tuna meatballs, and Edna's Carrot Cake. Good food. Good times.

Buttergebackenes

Ok, party people. In preparation for Christmas 09 and in response to the request of my poor husband, who has been begging me to bake Weihnachten Plaetzchen for three years now, I have finally baked my first batch of Buttergebackenes! These simple yet oh so buttery butter cookies are the result of my Mother in Law's recipe. She bakes these cookies every Christmas. My first batch tasted almost as good as hers :) but my cookies turned out thicker. I still have to find a balance in the thickness of the dough when I'm rolling it out. And I'd like to find some mini cookie cutters as opposed to the larger ones I picked up at W&S. Overall, I'm very happy with my first try. And I will definitely bake these again - this Christmas and many more to come.

Precious

The most powerful movie I have ever seen.

Life Happens

Ok. It's obvious that this blog has fallen down my life's totem pole of priorities. It's not that I've lost interest or the desire. I still have funny stories, complaints, recipes, and adventures I want to share. There are still those moments in my life when I say to myself, "Gotta remember that for my blog." Or when I upload pictures and I see a shot that I want to immediately post, because I can't believe I've actually captured exactly what I was feeling at the time. It's just that now, instead of taking the 15 minutes to blog, I choose to do something else. Or something else just needs to be done. I started this blog to record and share the most precious and the most mundane aspects of my life. I didn't know that my blog would inadvertently bring new friends and even allow us to relive some of the most joyous and most painful events in our lives. Blogging has been a blessing. So I know that in time, I will figure out how to get my blogging grove back. Until then, please bear with my catch up posts:)

I teach an early Saturday morning class and to my surprise, G wakes up at 630am and actually takes the class. Every single Saturday. Sweet, right? Well, the other night, he says to me -

G: "So what's up with the Gays?"
S: "What?"
G: "The Gays. You know, the Gays...in your yoga class."
S: "WHAT are you talking about? The Gays?"
G: "The Gays! You always say, Take your gays to the left or up or over your shoulder."
S: "You mean GAZE? Your gaze means where you should look."
G: "Oh. Ok. I didn't know that word."

Priceless.


Recently, I had a super fun weekend with my girlfriend that I have known since I was about 12. G spent a weekend in Berlin so my girlfriend flew in to hang out. I didn't realize how much I needed some girl time. We talked for hours. It's crazy (and a little scary) how much we know about each other! And we had a fantastic dinner in Georgetown at a well known Ethiopian restaurant called Zed's. It's probably the best dinner I've had in DC so far. But I think that had a lot to do with the company.

I finally took my CPR/AED certification course. I've always wanted to take it and I'm finding that a lot of teaching positions require it. I'm happy that I took it and I feel confident with the skills that I've learned. HOWEVER. 5 hours? 5 hours for about an hour of information? Brutal.