French Breakfast

I have been a wee bit obsessed with things French lately, like the sole meuniere I insisted on making Sunday night (even though Jason doesn't like fish) and planting lavender in my new herb garden. On Saturday, we started a most perfect weekend by sleeping in (!) until I was driven out of bed by the thought of eating freshly baked chocolate croissants (Trader Joe's, I love you). I had imagined having tea and croissants in the sun on the deck, but let's be honest, I didn't mind too much that it was grey and rainy and we ate in the living room wrapped in blankets.

We had a really nice weekend, during which we planted tomatoes and spruced up the deck and played guitar and went out to dinner here (I've been scouring the web for almond cake recipes, mmm) and started hockey again and watched the best episode of Glee so far and did not crack open a page of my thesis. In spite of predictions of constant rain, we got two days of mostly dry weather, and we are only a few flower pots short of having all the spring gardening work done. And to that I say, yay.

What else have we been doing since the last post?
* Jason is home from Nigeria, despite a brief delay due to volcanic ash. So weird, seriously. But so glad to have him home.

* I spent most of my bachelorettehood eating seafood and spending time torturing my trouble zones with Jillian. Jen gave me two of her DVDs for my birthday. Seriously good stuff.

* I know that over the past couple of years we've given you play by play by play of the garden. I'm trying to refrain (to a point), but I did want to inform you that now our garden is fully planted. And everything (even the carrots!) is coming up but the green beans. (Nervous, as green beans and tomatoes are my reason for gardening this year.) We are growing (or trying to grow): asparagus (it all came up in frilly feathers! yay!), cucumbers, onions, green onions, carrots, green beans (including purple pole beans), sweet peas, tomatoes, yellow peppers, strawberries, and leeks that survived many, many feet of snow over the winter.

Oh, and zucchini. Jason is ready to ditch the zucchini, but I think the third time will be the charm (that, and if it doesn't work this year we are never growing it again!). My trick this year is to plant zinnias next to them to lure some pollinators. Here's to hoping.

We're off this weekend to enjoy the 85 degree weather (!!!) with our friends at a church retreat--wrapping up the spiritual disciplines study we've been working on since October. Good stuff!

Happy Birthday, Jen!

A shout-out to Jenny on her 28th birthday (wow are we getting old). No old-school picture tonight--I ran across this adorable pic of Hot Dog Troy while I was "flipping" through the photo file tonight and couldn't resist. Aren't they both adorable? Jenny is such a good mom, and it was fun to watch her love on her two sweet boys while I was home last week. Love you, J-Train!

Spring Travel, Part One: Idaho

Jason and I have been together for seven years now, and not once have we managed to plan work travel at the same time. Case in point: this week. I just arrived home to a quiet house after ten days in Idaho, and Jason will be in Nigeria all week. Sigh.

We're surviving just fine, of course--well, apart from the fact that it's 11:14 p.m. and I am blogging instead of sleeping. Clearly Jason brings the "going to bed" (and "getting up in the morning") discipline to the relationship. My trip home was really fun--even the long days of traveling for work. I went to parts of Idaho I had never visited, including Craters of the Moon and Teton Valley and this sweet place on the California Trail where pioneers signed their names in axle grease on the rocks. It's a rough job, traveling to some of the coolest places in the state.

(And by cool, I mean a foot of snow...)


The big highlight of the trip, of course, was meeting Baby Cooper. He is so sweet and cuddly...and much quieter than his all-boy brother and cousins! We pulled out Jenny's baby book to confirm that he looks just like his mama--complete with so much hair it sticks up a couple of inches!


Troy has decided that his brother isn't the worst thing that ever happened to him after all, and it was so much fun to listen to him string words together! He loves to go outside with his Papa--we had a tea party for Jenny, and he spent the entire time outside with Dad. Cole and Mason are great fun, too. Mason wants to be just like his big brother--he's at the age where he's not so sure about his Aunt Missy, so the best way to get him to hug me was to give Cole a big squeeze, and he was next in line. I wish you could hear him laugh.



I also wish you could just sit down and have a conversation with Cole. He makes a friend every time he meets someone. We all went shopping on Friday, and Cole (whose Granny spoiled him with cookies and chocolate milk) wanted me to come out and drink my coffee on a bench while he ate cookies. It is impossible to tell him no, no matter how much I wanted to shop!




It was a nice long trip, so I also got to see some friends, which was nice. And it's always wonderful to spend Easter with my family (even though we missed Jason, sad!). I just really love being with them--is there anything better than sisters and brothers and mom and dad and nephews?

Blossoms

Just kidding about what I said back here about fall being better than spring. Spring is amazing. And it just smells so nice!

Actually, if spring and fall were going to have a battle of wits, spring has two strikes against it: appropriations season and tourists. The city is absolutely crawling with tourists right now, which would be all nice and dandy if I didn't have to keep living here in the midst of them. The roads are infested with tour buses (don't get me started on tour buses), and it took me literally 40 minutes yesterday to get from my office to Jason's. That's two miles away, people. Unbelievable.

This is what they all came to see:

The Sap is Rising

Don't be fooled by this lovely picture of spring flowers--it is freezing outside. And I mean almost literally freezing. When we got up, the temp was 35, and we were both really relieved that we have (so far) restrained from planting anything in our garden except the asparagus. What with the days in the 70's the past week, it was pretty tempting to get out there and start putting stuff in the ground! Perhaps we are becoming wise gardeners...

Apart from the frigid temperature, things are just dandy around here. Now that the miserable stretch between President's Day and Easter recesses is over, and my thesis draft is finally in my adviser's hands, I am loving life. Did you know that there are books out there that you can read? And really great shows that you can watch? And, I know, get this--sometimes you can just sit down for no reason and not feel the least bit guilty.

To celebrate, some of my book club girls (whom Jason refers to as my "little friends") are coming over for a Pride and Prejudice marathon. We will be having scones. It will be lovely.

Other things that make us happy:
* This news is simply awesome. We've been praying for Adam's job situation for a while, and it is amazing to see God work everything out to the detail.

* The first spear of asparagus has peeked up its head!

* Baby Hudson, Steven and Amy's new son, made his appearance earlier this week. He is the fifth of five new babies born to couples in our Sunday school class within six months! I think this is what they call "growing a church the old fashioned way."

* Yesterday I got to go to Target and stock up on things like cleaning supplies and make-up. It was a big load, which shouldn't have surprised me--I literally have not had time to run errands for five weeks. It turns out there is a strange sense of freedom in errand-running!

* This soup recipe, which feels a bit like spring while still being warm and cozy. Nice.

It's a pretty nice weekend, all in all. And even if it's cold, the sun is shining brightly and I am finding that I can enjoy the hyacinths and tulips without feeling the urge to go a-digging yet...which makes the weekend even better. Ahhh...

The Scents of the City

Since Missy is at the moment (hopefully) putting the final touches on her thesis draft, the task of blogging our weekend jaunt to New York City falls to me. With the fond memory of our Fall trip to the Big Apple still lingering, and since the clock is rapidly winding down on Andrea and Telfer's time as our East Coast neighbors, we decided to hop on Amtrak and head to NYC. (We have really come to enjoy train travel. Comfortable seats, power plug-ins, smooth rides, and no airport security! In fact, I found myself browsing Amtrak's longer track lines and looking up Canada's VIA transcontinental excursions just for fun).

Weather-wise, we couldn't have picked a better weekend. In contrast to the cold, dampness that characterized our last visit, mother nature granted us bright sun and a balmy temperature for this trip. And we packed it in. We started out the morning with fresh bagels from the city-famous bagel shop across from the Griffiths' place. Then headed to the Union Square farmer's market for brunch, characterized by an unusual but amazingly delicious Brazilian pork and bean dish special.

We headed to Broadway in the afternoon to catch the hit musical In the Heights. We were remiss that we didn't make more of an effort to see a show on our last trip, and with Missy's birthday only two days removed, we decided to splurge. Afterward, we took a slow walk through a sunny (and very crowded) Central park, bought ice cream cones from a softee truck, and then linked up with Telfer and Andrea for a late evening dinner at their favorite restaurant, Fatty Crab. We quickly discovered why it rates on the top of many foodie lists. Billed as neo-Malaysian, the dishes, from duck, to pork sliders, to my favorite -- pork bellies on watermelon, were flavorful, spicy, and very filling. This is a must return locale for a future visit.

One of the things I noticed distinctly, especially as we walked around the Griffiths' Upper West Side neighborhood, were the fragrances of the restaurants and cafes as we ambled past. Despite strangely categorized places, such as a Spanish-Chinese cafe, or perhaps because of them, each locale was brimming with the seductive cooking scents you find throughout the world, all within a few steps. It certainly is possible to travel the world -- at least for a food aficionado -- block by block.

Fatigued by such pleasant smells and dining experiences, we were not surprised that we slept well that night (also, thanks to the Griffiths' gracious hosting). To round out our weekend, we decided to walk all the way to the Metropolitan Museum to see the Egypt and painting galleries, hit the downtown subway to pick-up some glassware Missy wanted, and then connect with Andrea for an evening church service.

We both remarked how much we both needed a weekend away, especially for Missy. And now, since Missy just came in and told me she finished her first draft, I will sign off.

March Rocks!

Cooper Milan McAfee was a little slow in deciding to make his grand appearance, having been expected on Wednesday, but today (with a little help from Dr. Auntie Fay) he decided to show up! He knows that March birthdays rock and just wasn't quite ready to be birthday buddies with Uncle Casey. I heart camera phones at times like this, since it always takes a good day for someone to send pictures via email (update: hooray for pictures from Shaanti!). He's pretty sweet, huh? Maybe I'll just have to go see him in person in a few weeks...

Brother.

Happy birthday, Brother! Casey reminded me when I called that his birthday means that mine is only five days away (as if I could forget...). Casey was my big 5th birthday gift--one of my earliest distinct memories was when Mom and Dad told us that something special was going to happen around the time of my birthday (I thought maybe a playhouse).

One of my favorite things about close birthdays is talking to Casey twice in one week (which is sad and should definitely be remedied). It is a long tradition for the two of us to think that March is the best birthday month...and now we have Kim and are expecting a Cooper to join in on the fun!

Busy

Grand Thesis Central

I am tired. We are three weeks into our worst five-week stretch of the year, and here's to hoping we've hit bottom and are about to work our way back uphill. Between spending 10-12 hours at work a day and then pouring over my thesis on the weekends, I need a vacation! And a very long night's sleep. I've been getting by with the help of yoga, the fabulous four-week meal plan, the first season of "Glee," and the best husband in the world. Oh, and an alarming amount of tea.

In other news, it appears to be spring. On February 28 it seemed like winter would never end. Then suddenly, March arrived much more like a songbird than a lion. For the past few days it has been balmy and in the 50s--the 50s! This weekend it is rainy (but not snowy. so thankful), and I've decided to let that thesis rest for a while so that I can finish Emma by an early-spring fire. Last weekend it was gorgeous, so we planted asparagus and took our first walking tour of all the spring bulbs that we've planted to see what has started to peak its head up. Crocus, hyacinths, and tulips, oh, my! And daffodils. Don't daffodils make you think of the cartoon version of Alice in Wonderland?

planting asparagus

First Signs of Spring...

Good Things

1. Watching US-Canada Olympic hockey with Jason. It's amazing how much my ability to follow the puck has improved over the past few years. Unfortunately, I don't know any of the US players (all the good Caps are Russian).

2. The Olympics. We are big fans and have watched about everything but Shawn White's half-pipe (sad). Don't you love the Olympics--suddenly becoming an expert on triple axles and "The Quad," remembering the sound of icy snow under your skis, quoting "Cool Runnings," choking up at Visa commercials?

3. Our great discussion about submission (erm...) in Sunday School today. Have I mentioned how much we love our group at church? We can't stop thinking/talking about how radical it would be if we all treated each other with Christ's spirit of grace.

4. Roasted asparagus. For lunch today we had the best asparagus I've ever tasted--it was so good it was almost like fruit. We are planting asparagus in our garden this year. Mmm...

5. My husband. I was about to lose it this weekend, in a panic about having to finish the first draft of my thesis weeks earlier than I thought, but by being so understanding (making dinner while I read, listening to my shrill freak-outs, providing tea at just the right time, acting like it's totally normal that I've been uber-type A about the coming week, and dolling out hugs when needed) he has largely made me feel in control again. I don't know what I would do without him.

6. Green things peeking up. It's been sunny and "warm" (i.e. above freezing) this weekend, and as the dirty stacks of snow recede, we've seen tiny bits of new green on the chives and butterfly bush. Spring? Are you out there somewhere?

Escape

After 40+ inches of snow and the chaos that follows, we were super happy that we had already planned a trip to Florida for President's Day weekend. Granted, it didn't get above the 60s while we were there, but the sun was shining and there was no snow on the ground!

We braved the beach for a couple of hours the first day we were there (I was glad I had a sweatshirt, which I pretty much wore every day).


The next day we went down to Everglades National Park, where we took a sweet airboat ride and checked out some alligators (an American safari?).




After our ride, we drove through the park to see what there was to see. The Everglades are pretty cool. We had a picnic and did a short walk among a bunch of birdwatchers, then headed back to Ft. Lauderdale, where we to see the Broadway show "39 Steps." Good fun.


And then we landed back in DC, where the ground was just a sheet of white. I have never been so ready for spring.

Cabin Fever

I love a good snow day, and working from home is significantly less stressful (and distracting, actually) than working at work (in spite of the frustratingly slow computer connection--agh!). But not long ago the prediction for tomorrow's snow storm went from 3 inches to 10-20 inches, and I started to panic again at the very real possibility that we might be stuck here the rest of the week. I've decided that it would be really awesome to go to work again some day. I love my house, but it wouldn't hurt to wear something other than long johns and fix my hair again one of these days.
To combat cabin fever, Jason and I donned our make-shift snow gear (the real stuff is, unfortunately, in Idaho) and went for a walk. Since we seem to be the only ones who have shoveled our sidewalks, it was a pretty short jaunt, and before we went in we decided a snowman was in order. Not exactly snowman snow, but we made do, complete with a carrot (we're going to the groc again tonight while we still can, so we figured we could splurge) and a scarf someone dropped in front of our house yesterday.
We've made a couple of important decisions this weekend:

1. We are buying snow pants and boots to keep in Virginia. Storing our snow gear where we are most likely to see snow has worked really well for years, but it turns out there is a bit of a flaw in the plans.

2. We need to get to know our neighbors better. They are the only people we've seen besides each other since noon on Friday. Also, it is a good thing we like each other a lot.

3. Still, should the opportunity for both of us to work at home all the time ever arise, it wouldn't hurt to give it some serious thought... :)

4. Definitely time for a new snow shovel.

I'm lobbying hard to go out to dinner--Chili's, McDonald's, whatever, just get me out of here!

Snowmageddon

As Jason and I drove to work the other day, listening to the outrageous weather report on the radio, we wondered what it will be like when someday we move to an area that doesn't freak out when it snows. I'm pretty convinced that there are areas of the country where people actually drive, work, and go to school when it snows. Here? People usually refuse to leave their houses when the first few flakes fall. It is pretty difficult to explain to Idahoans who call our office that the Congressman's staff is all at home because it is snowing--as we tell our interns, it's not that you can't drive on snowy roads, it's that no one else on the road can.


But hey, since we're here, we might as well jump into the crazed-out-ness with both boots, right? I think calling this storm "Snowmageddon" is a bit ridiculous, but it is one of DC's biggest snow storms in recorded history. That's why there was no school in Arlington and the government shut down 4 hours early, even though the snow didn't start to stick to the roads until around 4:00 yesterday. That's also why Jason got up at 6:45 a.m. yesterday to go fight the crowds the grocery store because we were out of milk and the county had warned folks to be prepared to not go out for 3-5 days...we tried to go on Thursday, but the shelves were bare and the wait at checkout was nearly an hour. The weather folks around here have a bad habit of using "snow" and "blizzard" synonymously, but this time at least there were actual blizzard conditions.



For the record, we are not freaking out. We are suffering through a long weekend with a full pantry, a pile of fire logs, and stacks of things to do. This is seriously the best winter ever.

So far, we have:
* Watched it snow outside. A lot. Once it finally stopped this evening, we measured 18 inches. That's a lot of snow to fall in one day.

* Read Pride and Prejudice. Because sometimes January is just too much to bear, and Jane Austen is the only thing that gets me through. I sat by the fire last night until I finished it.

*Did yoga together. Jason did his first downward facing dog after breakfast this morning. I suspect it will also be his last.* Eaten split pea soup. What is a snow storm without soup? Our tummies are still warm from the yumminess of split pea soup. Mmmm...
* Baked. The breadmaker has proven once again that is is not just taking up space, making a batch of homemade bagels a snap. Maybe there's still time for cookies tonight.

* Planned the garden. Nearly 20 inches of snow covers my garden, but that isn't stopping me from picking out seeds and plants for planting this spring! My friend Deanna is planting her first garden this year, so we've been pouring over seed catalogs.

* Started the 2010 budget process. Dangerous to discuss the budget when we are stuck in the house together for three days, I know, but as this is our 6th budget process, we've managed to minimize the more intense...discussions. Besides, we're being gazelle-intense.
* Made snow cream. First time for both of us--we intended to do it during the last big storm, but we got distracted by packing and Christmas, etc. Yum!
Church has, unfortunately, already been canceled for tomorrow, and they're waiting until afternoon to see whether Monday will be another day off. I think a snowman is in order...

Brussel Sprouts (and other January doings)

In general, experience has proven that veggies taste best (and are cheapest) when you eat them during the season in which they are supposed to grow. This mentality works well for someone like me, who can get a bit obsessive about one thing (right now? Lord of the Rings, black bean tacos, and Mat Kearney) before suddenly wanting nothing to do with it for a while because I am so bored. I do well with seasons--remember how in love with fall I was a few months ago? Now nothing sounds better than spring.

When it comes to food, I feel perfectly comfortable gorging on one meal over and over while the star veggie is in season (spring = asparagus frittata and ginger chicken with snow peas, summer = chicken with haricot verts and feta-crusted tomatoes, fall = butternut squash pasta as often as Jason will let me make it) because by the time boredom sets in it's already time to move on. You notice, of course, what's missing from that otherwise steller menu. January, of course. Seriously, what grows in January?!? I'm not much of a veggie aficionado (I eat them, but I don't love them), and by the end of January I have seriously done about as much damage to sweet potatoes and squash as I can possibly stand.

So Friday night we tried out brussel sprouts for the first time in our adult lives. Jason and I both gave them a hard, skeptical look as they sat on our plates, looking for all the world like the bitter, mushy greens we knew brussel sprouts to be. Except that they weren't. They were quite tasty (in a green, vegetable sort of way, so don't get too excited). Per Bon Appetit's feature on them last month, I sauteed them in butter and then simmered them in chicken stock with herbs. You should have seen the surprise on Jason's face when he tasted them. He even ate my leftovers (let's be honest, even at 30 it's rare when I finish off all the vegetables on my plate). I think we're growing up.

Speaking of greens, kale is next on the list. Anyone have thoughts on kale? Like it? Have a way to fix it that doesn't leave salad haters (me) running? I'm mulling over the idea of joining a CSA this year, which is a bit daunting for someone who prefers ANY type of fruit over ANY type of vegetable, since I know at some point in the year we will be buried in leafy greens.

Hard to believe, but we're actually doing more than eating our veggies (but you get the drift that none if it is too exciting). Our past few weeks have been filled with:

Traveling: I love going to Idaho, but I have to confess that it'd be nice if the trips were a little more spread out--we were back in VA for two weeks after Christmas before I loaded up my carry on and flew back for the annual work tour of Idaho's Second Congressional District. It's a pretty long four days (though two dinners at the Sandpiper made it a little easier to swallow, and I do love staying in hotels). The silver lining came on Thursday night, when I headed up to McCall with my parents (are we noticing a trend here?) for the annual Bunn family weekend in the snow. While I missed having any time in Meridian, we had a blast up at the cabin--Jason was the only thing missing! It was really too cold at Christmas to do much outside, but the weather was warmer this time, so we went cross country skiing. So, so fun.

Waltzing: In an effort to make my 30th birthday as classy and grown-up an occasion as possible, Jason gave me a private ballroom dancing lesson. Between a busy schedule and a broken ankle, we only got around to doing it on Thursday night. I had a wonderful time--I think dancing is like floating. Jason...well, let's just say that Jason was a good sport.

Bussing: Jason has been getting re-acquainted with the bus and metro schedules in the morning since he started his new parking space-less job after New Year's. We're back to a "normal" schedule in the morning, where he is up before me...and I confess to loving it a little too much. It's been interesting to see how his Hill experience has impacted him so far. I miss having him around.

Organizing: Ah, organizing things. The sense of faux-control that an organized closet/pantry/bedroom gives me is exhilarating. Take, for instance, my new 4-week menu. Or the alphabetized DVD collection. Or the plan to tackle one room every weekend until our house is immaculate. This weekend's project was reorganizing the pantry and cleaning out the freezer. Somehow we ended up picking up the Spare Oom and spending an unplanned three hours organizing our disastrous office without giving more than lip service to the pantry or freezer. Oh, well, next week. The label maker has been busy.

A Finished Family Room

Tonight I put pictures in the frames in the family room and said, "Wha-la!" Apart from a teeny bit of woodwork on the banister, our family room is finished and beautiful!

Before:



After:The project included sheetrocking, putting in insulation (for which we are grateful, as it's freezing right now), painting, redoing the light fixtures, and putting in new carpet and baseboards. Most significantly, and unfortunately something you can't see well from the pictures, Jason and his dad moved the wall where the TV is back about two feet, adding a good chunk of space to the family room and allowing us to watch TV without feeling like we're sitting in the front row of the theater. We LOVE it. Jason did such a good job getting it all wired and finished up!

While I'm posting on the basement, here's a picture of the library (which is notoriously hard to photograph), painted a crackly orange that I love. vastly prefer to the old color. Jason, how do I love the, let me count the ways: 1. repainting a room we'd already painted. 2...