"All About You"

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That is the caption on the front of the birthday card I gave Missy. Indeed, she takes her birthday seriously. I've been reminded about it every other day for the last eight weeks. And, she sent me a two-page birthday list, complete with helpful links to Crate & Barrel... so failure was not an option and certainly not a valid excuse.

We started off the weekend hosting Dawn and Brian for dinner. Missy made a delicious Chicken Piccata and Tomato Oreganatta. We topped the meal off with a creamy cherry cheesecake. We kept one eye on the HDTV, as Brian's alma mater, Virginia Tech, came from behind to beat Illinois.

On Saturday, we went out to Manassas Park to celebrate Dawn's Green St. Patrick's Day birthday. Missy won a shamrock cookie for wearing the most green -- socks, shirts, belt, earrings, and nail polish to boot! I settled for wearing a green sweater -- which was possible since the temperature plunged back into the 30s!

Sunday was the big day. Since I was teaching Sunday school, we started off the morning early with some baked chocolate chip muffins. Missy got to open two gifts, including a grill pan. The tag suspiciously said it came from Rachael Ray. I didn't know they were on such close terms -- I suppose that's what you get when you watch 30-minute meals on the food network everyday.

After church, we came home and she opened the rest of her gifts while I baked my first angel food cake. Rest assured, it is what she asked for -- I was fully prepared to bake a simple chocolate cake. Continuing our food theme for the weekend, we trekked to McPherson Square near the White House for a celebratory dinner at Georgia Brown's. Known for its fine "low country" Southern food, it's a popular DC spot. It was also featured in a James Patterson novel. We ordered flavorful fried green tomatoes to start. The restaurant was very busy but the service was good. Our entrees -- Mahi Mahi for Missy and bacon-wrapped Filet Mignon for me were both excellent.

In an awkward exchange, we let the people at the table next to us know that it was Missy's birthday, which must have been overheard by our waiter -- because next thing we knew, he brought Missy a complementary peach cobbler dessert, complete with lit candle! A weekend topped off with a sweet surprise.

Now, maybe she'll give me a week off before we start counting down to March 18, 2008 ....

Daylight Savings

I had an early morning meeting yesterday and, because Daylight Savings came so early this year (stupid Congress), the sun was just coming up as I navigated my daily commute. As I drove past Iwo Jima, it peeped its head up behind the National Mall, casting a rosy glow on the monuments. It looked just like this. These moments are nice. They remind me why I live here. Good morning, Washington.

Musings on a Wednesday

It is still snowing. It is March. Those two sentences should not be in the same paragraph, much less right next to each other. Of course it couldn't snow in January, it had to be 70 degrees outside so that it could save up all its wintry misery for Spring. I'm bitter.

Jason has been in Africa for the past week, and it turns out that without him I am an utterly worthless, unmotivated person. Things I have accomplished since Friday:
* eating three huge bowls of pasta
* watching numerous episodes of "The Office," "Friends," and "X-Files" on DVD.
* staying up until 1 am
* sleeping through my alarm
* not doing homework
* skipping Sunday School
* accumulating a disgusting pile of dirty dishes, disheveled blankets, and random crap from the spare room on the living room coffee table.

It is a good thing he is coming home tomorrow (tomorrow!). Actually, that dysfunctionality lasted through the weekend, but my tolerance for chaos only goes so far, so by Monday I was ready to do the dishes and clean up my act. Jason will never know...

In other news...well, there really isn't much news. I have been trying to update the blog at least once a week, but it's (obviously) been a bit difficult for me lately. On the one hand, nothing exciting is happening in our lives. On the other hand, everything ordinary is crazybusy, and after 12-hour work days, class, and watching "American Idol" (cringe), sitting in front of the computer to blog is less than appealing. So here are a few more bullet-points for you, my version of a random update:
* Babies are everywhere. Congrats to Janae and Travis on the arrival of Abigal Hope, and to the Reviers on the appearance of Sam and Kate! Three more babies to go this spring...
* (Babies are NOT at our house.)
* I am published. Okay, if "I = Congressman Simpson," as it usually does. But this was an exciting tidbit for me (and major motivation for Friday's bowl of pasta).
* My birthday list is full of cooking appliances and cookbooks. I'm not sure what that says about me at almost-twenty-eight.
* I am still amazed at the internet, especially when I can gtalk with Jason, who is oceans, continents, and 8 time zones away.
* I wrote a (not so) thrilling paper on cover letters for grad school a couple weeks ago. Despite this utterly dry, dull, and boring topic, I really like my class.
* Tulips are in bloom in our living room. I have one little glass container of spring in this dreary, wintry world.
* Only three weeks until I see my favorite boy.