Oh What Do You Do In the Blizzard-time?

I discovered something interesting about myself this past week. I actually really enjoy being at home. Don't get me wrong, it was a huge relief to actually leave the house on Thursday after (literally) staying inside all day on Wednesday. But while all my friends seemed to be going a little crazy, I was really enjoying myself. Cooking... painting...crocheting (or at least prepping to crochet and looking for my crochet hook...)... plenty of movies & reading... This may have something to do with not loving my job these days, but being able to spend days on end NOT doing work was really refreshing. Here are a few of the ways that I spent my Snow Week:

Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred DVD. Ouch.

Crocheted Round Rug. Check out the link for a kind of unique project to crochet. You start by cutting or ripping about 9 yards of fabric. The instructions here tell you to use t-shirts, but I just bought a couple super cheap twin flat sheets from IKEA that work great.

and...

A Couple Recipes I Tried.

Roasted Red Pepper & Feta Dip.
This is what I made for our (all-girl) Super Bowl party. That seems like forever ago at this point, but that's just because The Game was at the beginning of the Snow Week. The past several days are pretty much a blur. With this recipe, I used bottled roasted red peppers instead of roasting my own, and they worked fabulously and I left out the olive oil completely. And to be honest I'm not sure how much of any of the ingredients I put in (I'm not very good at using measuring cups when I cook). But this is a good jumping off point at least.

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Cream Sauce
I used a butternut squash ravioli that I found in Costco's refrigerated section, but you could definitely make your own pasta as well if you're feeling really adventurous. I added caramelized onions as well, which was delish.

What's In a Name?

The clever folks over at the Washington Post Capital Weather Gang have been taking polls to name the storms of this past week. The Friday - Saturday storm was affectionately (?) dubbed Snowmageddon (although I prefer Snowpocalypse). And Snowmageddon it was. Grocery stores were jam-packed Thursday and Friday in preparation for the predicted dumping. People were stocking up on flour, sugar, eggs, any milk-based product and produce. You couldn't find a banana to save your life. The storm hit as promised, dumping something like 24" of snow at our house and more in other parts of the area. And after a 3-hour DCPS-is-still-requiring-us-to-go-to-school-on-Monday scare, the Mayor announced that the school system would be closed and I was able to enjoy my Super Bowl party in peace.

After a truly fabulous Snow Day (the first in years), we got another one on Tuesday. And then Wednesday, for storm #2. I've actually kept prety sane until now, but I'm sure the stircrazycabinfever will set in soon. Just found out we're out again tomorrow (not surprising considering the roads outside), which means with the Presidents Day holiday, I won't go back to work again til Tuesday. Awesome.

My car. I thought the December storm was bad, but we (literally) reached new heights with this one.

Not my car, thank goodness. Luckily the tree didn't seem to do much damage.

Favorite picture of the week.

The latest storm's name? Snowverkill.

Pictures to come as soon as I'm brave enough to go outside.

The Waiting Game

A couple weeks ago I was sitting in my classroom at lunch and decided to blog about the most exciting change in my life right now ... applying to grad school. I had composed a paragraph or two about "the waiting game" before some kids came in to make up some work, so I put off the blog until I got home.

Upon arrival at home, I promptly forgot about the blog because there was a big white envelope waiting for me in the mailbox. Not a mission call, but my first acceptance letter! I'm still waiting on a couple schools, but I'm feeling a lot better about things with a letter in hand. :)

So here's the plan. I'm not sure yet where I'll end up going, but I will be starting a Masters of Public Administration program sometime in July or August. That means quitting my current job (shhh, don't tell my boss yet) so I can either move to a new city or focus on school / internships.


If you care to vote, here are the schools. I'd love to hear your comments.

The Blizzard of '09

Hello world. It's ironic, every summer when I have fun things to write about and all the time in the world, I fall off the blogging bandwagon. And of course that leads to a months-long hiatus from the ol' blog. Well, I'm back. For the time being, at least.

I'm sure most of you saw this week all the news about the East Coast Blizzard and the chaos that it precipitated (pun intended). Well, DC was in the heart of it, so I thought I'd share some pics. Plus I'm supposed to be writing my grad school admissions essays right now and I'm looking for ways to distract myself.

Saturday morning, December 19. The whole house was up early because Marci was getting married that morning. This is not what you want to see out your back door when your wedding is an hour drive away.

The temple had called Friday night to say that they were closing all day on Saturday but opening up just for weddings. There was about a foot of snow at this point and unfortunately my boots are suede... so in my attempt to keep a little dry, I wore ski socks with tennis shoes and carried my pumps in. I know, I look awesome.

Driving home from the temple on Beach Dr. Our California girl, Louise, did a fantastic job driving through the snow. We stopped at IHOP on the way home and were pretty proud of ourselves for pushing the car out of the snow when we got a little stuck in the parking lot. And yes, we were still in dresses at that point.

Meradyth and I pretty much spent the rest of the day inside watching movies and crocheting. We finally ventured out to take pics and visit some friends that evening, and this is what we found. My poor poor little Penelope (I'm trying out a new name here, let's see if it sticks). She was still partially buried when I left DC- I'm just hoping she's ok when I get back.

Here's Meradyth and me inside the igloo that Billy and Scott built. Pretty sweet.

The big bush in front of our window was bent or maybe snapped by the weight of the snow.

Sunday morning. Turns out that 21 inches of snow makes my neighborhood look really picturesque. This was as I was dragging my suitcase to a main road so some friends could pick me up and drive me to the airport. My street was not really drive-able at this point.

As much as I love the snow, I am really grateful that I was able to make it out of DCA on Sunday and home to the family in Eagle!

Shoutout to Great Friends

July 2009 - my Month of Awesomeness - began fabulously with a visit from two of my favorite people. I'm sure you all don't want all the details of the week they were here, but let's just say that I didn't actually think it was possible to fit in everything that we did in such a short amount of time. (recap: lots and lots of touristy DC stuff, a whirlwind 2-day trip to NYC, a small-town parade in Harper's Ferry contrasted by DC's 4th of July Fireworks, the DC Temple and a beach trip). But what I really loved was being with the girls again. We were roommates on and off all through college, and Amanda and I have been friends and travel buddies since high school. I've come to realize lately how blessed I have been in my life to have people that inspire me to be better - both of these girls do that constantly. Motivating me to do the best at whatever I'm pursuing. Setting an example of constantly building a personal relationship with our Savior. Reminding me to always continue learning. And of course still being the friends that can get me rolling on the floor laughing. I have some incredible friends these days, but there's nothing like spending time with old friends.

Me, Amy & Amanda.

A & A. Amanda found this beach volleyball tournament at Coney Island. So fun!

Me and Amanda at Times Square

A and A. We found this awesome little parade in Shepherdstown, WV.

Chris, Me, Russ, Amy, Amanda. I think we forgot to tell Chris that we were going to a church service.

Russ, Amy, Amanda and Chris at the White House.

Amy, Amanda and Me. You can sort of see the Washington Monument in the back.

Amy and me the day she left :(

Let Freedom Ring

Text from my co-worker yesterday morning:

"U hear that... no students!"

This is why I love being a teacher.



I'll stop gloating after today, I promise.

Arlington Rap

Sorry to all of you Arlington-ites who have already seen this, but it's pretty hilarious. To the rest of you who are all under the illusion that I live in the ghetto, this is much closer to my reality. :)