Surprise Winter

Well this winter seemed to be pretty minimal in the snow department, and as much as I would've loved to have had a huge snowstorm on some weekend back in December or January, by March I assumed the chance of that had passed. However, back at the beginning of March we got a freak snowstorm that brought about 5 inches of snow to Leesburg, and up to 21 inches in the mountains. Since the government closed for the day, Josh and I weren't able to go to work, so we decided to take the opportunity to make our first, and only, crockpot full of chili! It's nice to be able to stay inside in the nice warm house, in our nice warm comfy clothes, with the dogs curled up with us and the smell of chili cooking all day long!

Once all the snow melted, we thought we were done for the year, and then this morning, here comes a few more inches! AND I see it forecasted again for next Monday. As much as I love snow, it's not nearly as much fun when you become an adult, and you have to take paid time off from work AND worry about shoveling your car out of the drive! So next time, I'd really love it if the snow came on a Friday evening, snowed all day Saturday, and then miraculously melted all on its own on Sunday ;).

 

Valentine's Weekend 2013

This year, Valentine's Day was on a Thursday, so Josh and I planned to celebrate on Saturday the 16th. I had picked a place that neither of us had ever been, and planned it as a surprise for Josh, and a new adventure for the two of us. Since we were going out on Saturday, I hadn't expected to do anything on the actual Valentine's Day, but Josh emailed me at work and said he really wanted to go out that night. Even though I believe you should take advantage of every day to tell those you love, that you love them, not just one day a year that Hallmark uses to get more money from people, it still seemed odd not to go out with my husband on February 14. So we originally planned to go to an Italian place nearby called Travinia's, but even though there was surprisingly not a wait, there WAS a specific menu set aside that cost $99 per couple. Not an outrageous price, but without knowing what was on the menu, we didn't want to have to spend that much money if it wasn't food of our choice. So instead we decided to go to Macaroni Grill, since we haven't been there in a long time. There was almost no wait, and we had such a great time! All bottles of wine were half off, so we ordered some red wine....I think it was merlot, but I am not a wine expert so I can't be sure. But seeing as how it's been a year this weekend since I've drank, one glass of wine and I wasn't doing so well lol! After 2 glasses, well.....it was an interesting night! The food was delicious though; Josh ordered the lasagna, which I've ordered in the past but there was a grilled chicken dish that looked really good, so that's what I got this time. It was delicious but food served on a skewer + 2 glasses of wine = a very interesting meal that included some flying utensils lol! For dessert (I figured I broke my diet with the bread bowl so might as well go all out), Josh ordered the cannolis, and I ordered chocolate cake, which I normally don't prefer but the warm chocolate syrup and whipped cream with toffee pieces sealed the deal for me.

For our actual Valentine's Day meal, I surprised Josh by taking him to a new restaurant I'd heard of, called Cheesetique, which is also a wine and cheese store. I had thought about doing brunch there, but that's only on Sundays, and on Saturdays they do wine tasting from 1-4pm, which is one of the things I wanted to do. So we arrived around noon, and sat down for our meal. To start with, we ordered "The Big Cheese," which is a tray that comes with the 10 cheese they have on rotation, which changes each week. Some of the cheese I preferred more than others, but it was all delicious, that's for sure. You can order accompaniments with it such as bruschetta or olives or (I believe) salamis, but we were fine with the bread basket that came with it. After the cheese, we ordered our entrees; Josh ordered the regular mac and cheese which was truffle-infused and made with goat and asiago cheeses, and I ordered the broccoli and cheddar mac and cheese. Both were delicious, but we were pretty full from the cheese, so I think next time we're going to split a Caprese sandwich, and make the cheese tray our main meal. Of course, no matter how stuffed we were, we couldn't pass up dessert; I'd been looking forward to it ever since I saw the menu months ago! We each ordered the bread pudding, and it was amazing, tasted like French toast in a bowl!! Overall, everything was delicious, and Josh was very surprised! We had a great time, I can't wait until the next time we go back.

Unfortunately, it was also the same night as my brother's 30th birthday party, which we didn't know until after we had made our plans, so we were not able to go. Hopefully we will be able to celebrate with him soon though! We have been spending the rest of the weekend just relaxing and getting some things done around the house....I normally put out Valentine's Day decorations, but I didn't get a chance this year, and it seems like as soon as I put them out, it's time to put them away again! But I did put out my outdoor decorations, I figured I could be somewhat festive! I hope everyone was able to spend the day with those you love, and make sure to tell them how you feel, not just on February 14, but every day!

The cheese tray:

 

 Josh matching the descriptions to the cheeses:



Josh's truffle mac n' cheese:

 

 

 

My broccoli and cheddar mac n' cheese:

Yummy bread pudding!

 

Josh:

Josh and me:

Me:

 

Valentine's Day presents for Josh... .minus the red icing-covered heart-shaped Rice Krispy treat that he ate lol.... I ate the first 3 I kept buying him to replace them ;)



Normally my pig goes out in the summer but I figured the pink makes him Valentine-worthy :)

Christmas 2012 in Beaverdam....in 2013

Josh and I had planned to go down to Beaverdam to celebrate Christmas with my parents back during the weekend between Christmas and New Year's, but we didn't get a chance to go until yesterday. With us living 2 hours away from my family, it's difficult to get together as often as we'd like, since it has to be planned more than just dropping by. But we headed down there early yesterday afternoon, and had a really nice time! I've almost forgotten what it was like living so far out in the country, but I do miss it sometimes. I'm more of a city girl now, but it's definitely nice to get back out there once in a while, away from the craziness of Northern Virginia!

Sylvie wants to open some presents....

 

 

 Autographed book to my dad from Oliver North



Blanket for my parents

Adorable flying pig cookie jar from Andrew and Meredith (please excuse my lack of makeup!)

New Year's Eve 2012

Welcome to the New Year! I'm pretty excited for 2013. A few things did happen this past year that I'm so excited about, I met some people that have come to mean so much to me and I'm incredibly glad they are in my life. But overall this year felt very lonely. So I decided I am making some changes in this new year. I am going to put myself first this year...not necessarily in a selfish way, but I have come to realize that in this world, if you don't put yourself and your happiness first, not many people are going to do it for you. I am going to do everything I can to make sure my family, my dogs, and my friends are happy, but I am not going to go out of my way to ensure the happiness of those who do not deserve it. I'm not going to allow myself to be a doormat, or allow the opinions of others to affect me. As long as I'm happy with myself, that's what matters. I am also going to use this year to just have FUN. I've spent too much time and energy worrying about things that I can't control....worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do but doesn't get you anywhere. I'm going to do what I can to ensure good health, keep food on the table and a roof over our heads, and everything else comes second. Josh and I are going to enjoy ourselves this year...more trips to DC, more hiking and biking and walking, more holiday celebrations, and more time to appreciate our 5 years of marriage and our ten years of being together. We also want to spend a lot of time with friends over the course of the year as well; we always say we're going to do that but this year I really want to make an effort to spend time with those we love. The hot topic of conversation in regards to the Connecticut school shooting is whether or not guns should or will be banned, but if it taught s anything, it's that we never know how much time we have left. You can do everything possible to prevent tragedy, whether it's disease or violence or any other form of it, but in the end you can't control your fate. So while we're still here, we need to make the most of it and not take time or friends or family for granted....definitely on my list of my 2013 resolutions. My last goal for this year is to declutter my life...physically, mentally, and emotionally. I need to go through the house and get rid of everything we don't want or need, it makes me feel so much better when the house is more organized. Additionally, I'm going to do the same thing in other aspects of my life. I'm not going to allow negative people to stay in my life who only bring me down; if you can't support me or lift me up, you don't need to take up space in my life!

Now that I've decided on the changes for this new year, it's time to move on to a lighter subject! Josh had Morgan for the holidays this year, which includes New Year's, so we went to Morton's Steakhouse to ring in the New Year with his parents. We had a great time, but I am definitely not used to eating so much, so late! I had breaded chicken with asparagus, broccoli, au gratin potatoes, and "a" brussel sprout (just one, which I tried for the first time...it was pretty good but not on my list of future vegetables!!). I tried to save some room for dessert; I didn't have the room but the dessert cart looked so amazing, I had to order the carrot cake...afterwards I almost wished I had ordered the chocolate mousse because the icing on the cake was so rich, but to be honest, I probably should've avoided dessert at midnight altogether! But the healthy eating doesn't start again until Wednesday, so I suppose if you're going to do it, do it right! And boy am I paying for it today....my body isn't used to so much sugar, so I'm spending the day vegging out on the couch, watching Lifetime Movie Network and letting myself take a mental and physical detox from the holidays. In my mind, the New Year officially starts tomorrow and I cannot wait! Hope everyone had a great end to the holidays and a wonderful beginning to 2013!

 

The monstrous piece of carrot cake!

 

 Josh's key lime pie

Got a midnight kiss from my love <3

Morgan and her Papa

Josh and me

The three of us

Pam and Louis



Group shot

Father/daughter shot

2013 has officially started!

Christmas Day 2012

We spent Christmas Day with Josh's parents and Morgan at their house...we had yummy appetizers and a delicious lunch with turkey, ham, stuffing, cranberry sauce, asparagus casserole, green bean casserole, and sweet potatoes with marshmallows, syrup, pecans, and brown sugar (super low calorie of course!). After lunch, we went downstairs and opened presents. Being nearly 14 years old, Christmas isn't quite as exciting for Morgan as it used to be, and it makes it a little harder to shop for her, but hopefully she enjoyed everything! I do miss the days when she was young though, it makes it so much more fun seeing Christmas through a kid's eyes, with Santa coming to visit and seeing all the presents under the tree! But at the same time, it's nice to be able to get through dinner and make it till 5pm before opening presents!

 

Ready for the day:

 

Pixie comfy in her bed:

Yummy lunch:

Present time:

Sweater from Josh and me:

Official One Direction book....I remember picking the same thing out for myself 15 years ago, except it was N'Sync:

Moving on to her stocking....

Pixie wants some candy!

New purse:

 

Cowboys gloves:

 

Yorkie statue from Josh and me:





Copy of the Oliver North book:



 

Autographed jersey by Danny White from Josh and me: