2013 ended up being a pretty great year for me. I wanted to do one of those year in review memes to commemorate it, but I've only been able to find one and I don't really like the questions on it. So instead I'll just do a quick review of all the awesome things that happened in this past year.
In January I started a new job that I love completely. The commute is shorter, which means I have more time at home. I'm focused on a single project instead of juggling 4-5 at a time. And I actually work in the same building as my coworkers which has made it much easier to foster relationships and stay up to date and visible within the company. Switching was absolutely the right move.
But before I started that job, I took two weeks off from work and spent the days reading, watching TV, cleaning, and playing with Kina. At the end of this, Kevin's entire family came to Virginia to see his cousin perform at the Kennedy Center, and we hosted a large dinner for everyone. I only got a little stressed during this, and hosting large dinners started to become more exciting than stressful.
In March I committed to training for a 5K that my company was hosting in May. I didn't end up finishing that 5K for a few reasons, but I did run it. And running in general became something I'm a little more comfortable with. I still can't go out and run for a mile or two (or three or four), but I can do intervals for 20-25 minutes. Maybe someday I'll stop injuring myself and be able to stick to a training plan long enough to make more progress.
In April our friend Chev came to visit GW and we had mini college reunion. Chev ultimately decided to go graduate school in Boston, but the weekend was still pretty epic. And we haven't given up hope that she'll move to DC.
In May we went to our actual college reunion where Kevin proposed and I said yes. We've been planning the wedding in spurts ever since and are looking forward to making everything officially legal next year.
In July Jen came and stayed with us for a week while she looked for an apartment and a job in DC. She moved here shortly thereafter. A couple of weeks later, Zach and Sarah followed suit, and now we have all sorts of friends in DC. This has probably been very bad for our livers, but it's been excellent for our social calendars.
In the midst of all this we flew out to California for Ben and Autumn's epic wedding weekend. It's almost refreshing to know that our own wedding will never live up to theirs because it takes some of the pressure off. We also used the trip to visit Danielle and Eric, see their new house, and meet their dogs. Well, the one we hadn't met yet.
In September my mom flew out for a weekend and we went wedding dress shopping. It didn't take me too long to hone in on one I liked; Kevin's mom was impressed with my decisiveness. Even though the trip was short, we had fun visiting
October was an incredibly full month. We threw a dinner party to celebrate Sarah's completion of her PhD and Zach's birthday. My brother came to visit and we all went to the Renaissance Festival. Then we threw the annual Halloweiner, during which 13 people ended up sleeping at our house. Next year we need to get more beer and less meat, though.
In November I tore a ligament in my knee, because no year can actually be perfect. I went through physical therapy and it ended up healing fairly quickly. The saddest part was that I had to stop going to the gym for a while, but I was able to postpone my personal training sessions until after I healed. It shouldn't be too hard to get back on track in January.
My dad, brother, and cousin all came to stay with us for Thanksgiving. We spent the days playing games, cooking, eating, drinking, and hanging out. Then Kevin and I flew out to Colorado to spend Christmas with my family there.
We closed out the year, as has become tradition, at a party hosted by Zach and Sarah. I'm looking forward to even more awesome things happening next year.
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Monday, December 30, 2013
Soup 4: Apple, Onion, and Cheddar
For Christmas, my mom got me a cookbook of soup recipes. I kind of stopped making soup when the insanity of the holidays kicked in, but I thought I'd get one more in before the end of the year. I chose this one to go with the turkey Kevin made for dinner last night, so we should have some good leftovers this week.
The recipe in the book said it made 12 servings, so I decided to halve it. Although for some ingredients it was closer to 2/3. It came out pretty good in the end, though. The nice thing about soups is that nothing has to be too exact.
Okay, that's way more cheese than the recipe called for. What can I say? I like cheese.
The recipe in the book said it made 12 servings, so I decided to halve it. Although for some ingredients it was closer to 2/3. It came out pretty good in the end, though. The nice thing about soups is that nothing has to be too exact.
The first step is to melt some butter on the stove while you slice the onions nice and thin.
Then sauté the onions with some garlic in the butter for about 25 minutes. While that's cooking, peel and slice your a apples and get the broth, cider, and spices ready.
The liquid base in this soup is three parts chicken broth, one part apple cider, to which I added a bit more apple cider.
The recipe called for 5 onions and 4 apples, which is hard to halve while getting the proportions right. Next time I'll either use less onion slices or another apple. Or maybe I'll just make the full recipe and find a way to eat it all.
Once the onions are nice and soft, add the apples and sauté for five more minutes.
Then add the liquids and spices. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, then cover and let it simmer for 40 minutes. This soup smells delicious, and unlike anything I've ever cooked before. Though that's probably because this was the first time I used carroway seeds in anything.
While that's simmering, you can grate the cheeses. One cup of cheddar and 1/8 cup of Parmesan. You also need some heavy cream.
When the soup is done simmering, remove it from the heat and add the dairy. Stir until it's all melted, then salt and pepper to taste. Bring the soup back to a simmer for a few minutes before serving. This tasted delicious, though I may need to chop the onions a little smaller next time. Or not. They ended up looking more like noodles than anything else.
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Christmas Vacation
This year Kevin and I went out to Colorado for a whirlwind holiday trip with my family.
We flew out Saturday and got to my mom's in time for a late dinner. Then in the morning we woke up and went out to buy food for Christmas dinner. Then we met my dad at a local Steelers bar to watch the last quarter of the Redskins game. We stuck around for the first half of the Steelers game, which was an experience. I hadn't ever realized that their fight song includes a brag about going to the Super Bowl.
That night we made spaghetti and sausage for dinner and Connor's girlfriend came over. After she left, we opened presents and played some Scrabble on the super fancy board my dad got for Kevin and I. The next day was devoted to Pinocchle and cooking, with a trip to see American Hustle. For dinner we had a pot roast, scalloped potatoes, asparagus, and lots of wine.
On Tuesday morning there was more Pinocchle, then we went to my aunt's house for dinner. She always does a big Turkey dinner, and this year there were enough people to warrant two turkeys. After we did presents with her husband's side of the family, we went back to my mom's house and opened presents with her.
On Christmas morning we woke up and puttered around for a while. Then Kevin and I started cooking the leg of lamb for Christmas dinner. My mom's sisters and a few of my cousins came over for more food, wine, visiting, and, of course, presents. We do a bunch of little gift exchanges, which I've come to prefer to one big gift exchange. It's more intimate with each group, it's easier to remember who gave and received what, and there's always a bit more to look forward to.
Boxing Day was mostly devoted to washing dishes and nursing hangovers. We rewatched the entire fourth season of Community while addressing wedding invitations. Then Kevin took a nap while Connor and I watched several episodes of Revenge.
On Friday my aunt threw a wedding shower brunch for Kevin and I. She made a delicious quiche omelet hybrid and there were plenty of mimosas and pool on their new-old table. That night we took my mom out for a nice steak dinner for her birthday.
As I said, the week was a whirlwind of family, food, and alcohol. It's always fun to see everyone, but it's also nice to get home and relax a bit before heading back to work.
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Registering for Gifts
As you can tell, Kevin and I did a lot of wedding-related stuff last weekend. One of the strangest and most fun things we did was registering for wedding gifts.
We started at Crate and Barrel. We've received several sets of glassware from them as gifts over the years. I love that they sell everything separately, so we can easily replace broken glasses. I wanted to have the same flexibility with plates and flatware, so we went there looking for those things. We also found some small kitchen tools that we never quite got around to buying for ourselves.
Setting up the registry at Crate and Barrel was really easy. A lady gave us a scanner and showed us how to use it. There were kiosks set up throughout the store where we could use the scanner to set up our registry once we were done "shopping". I really appreciated the hands-off approach, because that's how I prefer to shop.
After Crate and Barrel we went to Macy's where there's a bigger selection and some higher quality products. The experience was really different there, as we were assigned an associate who helped us set up the registry. I always find this annoying because I'd mostly rather not be forced to interact with someone when I'm shopping. It didn't help that he was never actually around when we had questions, so the whole thing seemed a little silly.
Macy's has a ton of programs that we didn't sign up for because they made me feel greedy. For example, you can link a Macy's credit card to your account. Then 10% of every gift purchased through the registry comes back to you as cash. There are also a variety of bonus gifts that can be added on when you hit a goal amount in a certain brand. The whole thing made me feel vaguely uncomfortable, and we tried to avoid it. But we did end up adding a set of pots and pans that, if bought at full price, will result in a bonus frying pan. So we'll see what happens with that.
We're also unsure about how to add a few things to the registry. We could always use more serving dishes and utensils, but we don't have strong opinions about what those look like. In fact, we'd prefer an eclectic collection that represents our families and friends as much as ourselves. Likewise with artwork. It would be cool to have a few things to hang on the wall or put on a shelf, but we'd almost prefer for those to reflect the people we know and love rather than ourselves. Most of the chotchkies we already own are reminiscent of specific people, like Kevin's grandmother's lighthouse collection, or the angel I received as a gift from the family I stayed with in Mexico. These are things we'd never buy for ourselves, but they have a lot of meaning because of where they came from.
Aside from these two registries, we're also in the process of creating a honeymoon registry. The idea behind these is that someone can pay for a meal or a night in a hotel during your honeymoon. Since Kevin and I already have so much of the home stuff we need, this seems perfect for us. We still need to figure out some of the details before we can pull that together, but we have time. I don't think the registries need to be completely done until the invitations go out.
We started at Crate and Barrel. We've received several sets of glassware from them as gifts over the years. I love that they sell everything separately, so we can easily replace broken glasses. I wanted to have the same flexibility with plates and flatware, so we went there looking for those things. We also found some small kitchen tools that we never quite got around to buying for ourselves.
Setting up the registry at Crate and Barrel was really easy. A lady gave us a scanner and showed us how to use it. There were kiosks set up throughout the store where we could use the scanner to set up our registry once we were done "shopping". I really appreciated the hands-off approach, because that's how I prefer to shop.
After Crate and Barrel we went to Macy's where there's a bigger selection and some higher quality products. The experience was really different there, as we were assigned an associate who helped us set up the registry. I always find this annoying because I'd mostly rather not be forced to interact with someone when I'm shopping. It didn't help that he was never actually around when we had questions, so the whole thing seemed a little silly.
Macy's has a ton of programs that we didn't sign up for because they made me feel greedy. For example, you can link a Macy's credit card to your account. Then 10% of every gift purchased through the registry comes back to you as cash. There are also a variety of bonus gifts that can be added on when you hit a goal amount in a certain brand. The whole thing made me feel vaguely uncomfortable, and we tried to avoid it. But we did end up adding a set of pots and pans that, if bought at full price, will result in a bonus frying pan. So we'll see what happens with that.
We're also unsure about how to add a few things to the registry. We could always use more serving dishes and utensils, but we don't have strong opinions about what those look like. In fact, we'd prefer an eclectic collection that represents our families and friends as much as ourselves. Likewise with artwork. It would be cool to have a few things to hang on the wall or put on a shelf, but we'd almost prefer for those to reflect the people we know and love rather than ourselves. Most of the chotchkies we already own are reminiscent of specific people, like Kevin's grandmother's lighthouse collection, or the angel I received as a gift from the family I stayed with in Mexico. These are things we'd never buy for ourselves, but they have a lot of meaning because of where they came from.
Aside from these two registries, we're also in the process of creating a honeymoon registry. The idea behind these is that someone can pay for a meal or a night in a hotel during your honeymoon. Since Kevin and I already have so much of the home stuff we need, this seems perfect for us. We still need to figure out some of the details before we can pull that together, but we have time. I don't think the registries need to be completely done until the invitations go out.
Friday, December 13, 2013
Invitations
Kevin and I spent Sunday morning on the couch figuring out our wedding invitations. I really love that my iPad made it so easy to do this, because I'm not sure it would have gotten done otherwise. Both of us have set up our computers such that it's difficult for two people to be working on them at once.
Back in the Spring I rather impulsively picked some stationary for our save the dates. This didn't necessarily lock us into a specific design, but it was certainly easier to just go with it. Especially since neither of us had particularly strong feelings about paper.
Putting together invitations was surprisingly difficult, though. We went back and forth about whether we needed enclosure cards and place cards. It took us forever to figure out the wording we wanted in places. We also had to put in a special request because the RSVP card only had places for three entree choices and we have four entree choices. This may be the most ridiculous rich person problem I've ever encountered.
Ultimately we figured out what we needed to order and what we wanted everything to say. We'll get a proof of the design back in about a week, and after we approve that the invitations will be shipped to us. I'm hoping to have them in the mail by early-mid January, so keep an eye out for them next month.
This whole thing is really starting to come together. I'm getting excited!
Back in the Spring I rather impulsively picked some stationary for our save the dates. This didn't necessarily lock us into a specific design, but it was certainly easier to just go with it. Especially since neither of us had particularly strong feelings about paper.
Putting together invitations was surprisingly difficult, though. We went back and forth about whether we needed enclosure cards and place cards. It took us forever to figure out the wording we wanted in places. We also had to put in a special request because the RSVP card only had places for three entree choices and we have four entree choices. This may be the most ridiculous rich person problem I've ever encountered.
Ultimately we figured out what we needed to order and what we wanted everything to say. We'll get a proof of the design back in about a week, and after we approve that the invitations will be shipped to us. I'm hoping to have them in the mail by early-mid January, so keep an eye out for them next month.
This whole thing is really starting to come together. I'm getting excited!
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Honeymoon plans
We bought our tickets for the honeymoon, which means I'm starting to get really excited about it. We'll be in Europe for two weeks, splitting the time between Barcelona, Paris, and Ireland. There are so many things we have planned that I'm super excited about.
We'll spend some time exploring Barcelona, and probably get in any beach time Kevin wants while we're there. We're planning to take an overnight train from Barcelona to Paris, because traveling by train is fun and it will give us a chance to see some of the countryside. We're going to tour the Aran Islands and check out a distillery or two in Ireland. We're also definitely going to spend a night in a castle.
Beyond that, I'm hoping we'll have a lot of time to just relax and wander around. Go to some bars and see some local music. Soak up the fact that we won't have any responsibilities for two whole weeks.
I'm also really excited because the flights to and from Europe aren't actually that long. Every time I've gone, I've been living farther west, so the travel takes a whole day each way. But the flights we booked are comparable to flights from DC to California, time-wise. It's still a good chunk of time, but it doesn't feel quite as daunting as I was expecting. Europe is so close!
We'll spend some time exploring Barcelona, and probably get in any beach time Kevin wants while we're there. We're planning to take an overnight train from Barcelona to Paris, because traveling by train is fun and it will give us a chance to see some of the countryside. We're going to tour the Aran Islands and check out a distillery or two in Ireland. We're also definitely going to spend a night in a castle.
Beyond that, I'm hoping we'll have a lot of time to just relax and wander around. Go to some bars and see some local music. Soak up the fact that we won't have any responsibilities for two whole weeks.
I'm also really excited because the flights to and from Europe aren't actually that long. Every time I've gone, I've been living farther west, so the travel takes a whole day each way. But the flights we booked are comparable to flights from DC to California, time-wise. It's still a good chunk of time, but it doesn't feel quite as daunting as I was expecting. Europe is so close!
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Thanksgiving
Kevin and I hosted Thanksgiving for the second time this year. It was a rousing success, possibly even more than last time. I didn't even get stressed at all!
My dad, brother, and cousin all came in to town for Thanksgiving and stayed with us. Zach, Sarah and Jen also stayed at our house on Thursday so they wouldn't have to drive home after all the wine we drank. And Kevin's mom and her friend came over for dinner, filling out our table nicely.
We had so much food that I was stuffed even without seconds. Kevin grilled the turkey and I made my mom's stuffing recipe. We made two batches of it, one vegetarian-friendly for my cousin. We also did butternut squash and cranberry sauce and olives. Zach and Sarah brought potatoes, cheesy onion bread, gravy, and probably something else. Jen made two different green bean casseroles (with and without bacon) and whole-berry cranberry sauce. Kevin's mom brought pies and my dad took care of the appetizers. There was so much food that we were able to feed everyone staying with us on leftovers for the rest of the weekend. It was pretty impressive.
We also discovered a wealth of things that we can put on our wedding registry. The feast was served on a mix of three different plates. We definitely need a new tablecloth and some actual napkins. There are also a few kitchen tools we've been borrowing from Kevin's mom that we should actually acquire, like a meat thermometer.
After dinner I fell asleep for about an hour, but managed to wake up in time to play Cards Against Humanity and watch the Steelers game. I didn't pay too much attention to the game until the end, which was painful. It seemed like there was an injury every play.
On Friday everyone hung out and played board games and drank beer all day. It was a good way to spend the day after Thanksgiving, when no one really wanted to move yet. I think we've got this whole hosting thing down. I can't wait for the next one - when we'll actually have some matching plates!
My dad, brother, and cousin all came in to town for Thanksgiving and stayed with us. Zach, Sarah and Jen also stayed at our house on Thursday so they wouldn't have to drive home after all the wine we drank. And Kevin's mom and her friend came over for dinner, filling out our table nicely.
We had so much food that I was stuffed even without seconds. Kevin grilled the turkey and I made my mom's stuffing recipe. We made two batches of it, one vegetarian-friendly for my cousin. We also did butternut squash and cranberry sauce and olives. Zach and Sarah brought potatoes, cheesy onion bread, gravy, and probably something else. Jen made two different green bean casseroles (with and without bacon) and whole-berry cranberry sauce. Kevin's mom brought pies and my dad took care of the appetizers. There was so much food that we were able to feed everyone staying with us on leftovers for the rest of the weekend. It was pretty impressive.
We also discovered a wealth of things that we can put on our wedding registry. The feast was served on a mix of three different plates. We definitely need a new tablecloth and some actual napkins. There are also a few kitchen tools we've been borrowing from Kevin's mom that we should actually acquire, like a meat thermometer.
After dinner I fell asleep for about an hour, but managed to wake up in time to play Cards Against Humanity and watch the Steelers game. I didn't pay too much attention to the game until the end, which was painful. It seemed like there was an injury every play.
On Friday everyone hung out and played board games and drank beer all day. It was a good way to spend the day after Thanksgiving, when no one really wanted to move yet. I think we've got this whole hosting thing down. I can't wait for the next one - when we'll actually have some matching plates!
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Silver Linings
On the way home from work last night I decided to stop at Target. When I came back out to my car, it wouldn't start. It wasn't even trying. Turning the key had no effect - no sounds or lights or anything. I called Kevin to come give me a jump and went back inside to buy some jumper cables. So now I finally own jumper cables.
Kevin arrived and we attempted to jump my car. Once again nothing happened. So now we at least knew that the problem wasn't with my relatively new battery. Which is actually kind of a shame, since that battery is still under warranty. We called a tow truck and went to grab dinner while we waited. There was a decent taqueria in the same parking lot as the Target, which was nice.
The car was towed to the shop by our house, which was thankfully still open. While I was figuring out how I would get my car back so I could get to physical therapy on Wednesday, I realized that it sure was lucky I stopped at the Target. If this had happened Wednesday morning, I would have been more or less stranded - able to get to work but not physical therapy. This way I don't have to miss or cancel an appointment.
I also realized that my car is just about due for it's annual safety inspection. Since it's now in the shop anyway, I get to kill two birds with one stone. I likely would have forgotten about this otherwise, with Christmas coming and all. The next time I get a car I need to schedule this inspection for some month other than December. But now I won't get a ticket, so that's good too.
This morning we woke up to learn that nearly every car in our lot had been broken into. It doesn't look like anything was stolen - just teenagers pulling pranks. They dumped all of Kevin's gatorades into the snow. They cut the cord on our neighbor's phone charger but left her crock pot alone. Since my car is in the shop, I managed to dodge that bullet completely, which is something.
Now if only this wasn't costing me the portion of my Christmas bonus I had allocated to new boots. But that's a pretty minor thing to complain about in the long run. All in all this seems to be working out.
Kevin arrived and we attempted to jump my car. Once again nothing happened. So now we at least knew that the problem wasn't with my relatively new battery. Which is actually kind of a shame, since that battery is still under warranty. We called a tow truck and went to grab dinner while we waited. There was a decent taqueria in the same parking lot as the Target, which was nice.
The car was towed to the shop by our house, which was thankfully still open. While I was figuring out how I would get my car back so I could get to physical therapy on Wednesday, I realized that it sure was lucky I stopped at the Target. If this had happened Wednesday morning, I would have been more or less stranded - able to get to work but not physical therapy. This way I don't have to miss or cancel an appointment.
I also realized that my car is just about due for it's annual safety inspection. Since it's now in the shop anyway, I get to kill two birds with one stone. I likely would have forgotten about this otherwise, with Christmas coming and all. The next time I get a car I need to schedule this inspection for some month other than December. But now I won't get a ticket, so that's good too.
This morning we woke up to learn that nearly every car in our lot had been broken into. It doesn't look like anything was stolen - just teenagers pulling pranks. They dumped all of Kevin's gatorades into the snow. They cut the cord on our neighbor's phone charger but left her crock pot alone. Since my car is in the shop, I managed to dodge that bullet completely, which is something.
Now if only this wasn't costing me the portion of my Christmas bonus I had allocated to new boots. But that's a pretty minor thing to complain about in the long run. All in all this seems to be working out.
Monday, December 9, 2013
Wedding Flowers
Kevin and I finally put down a deposit for a florist. This took a little longer than I would have liked, mostly because we had trouble getting in contact with several people who came recommended. But I'm really happy with the people we decided to go with. They responded to us promptly, offered flowers at what I think is a reasonable price, and were incredibly accomodating.
We don't have any really specific ideas about flowers. We decided on a Spring wedding pretty quickly, mostly because we love all the natural flowers and how colorful they are. This has also affected the color scheme by convincing me that we don't need one. Our theme is seasonal flowers, and we're hoping for lots of color.
The guy we talked to at the florist understood this immediately. He has promised us something colorful and seasonal that won't clash with the bridesmaids' dresses. I probably won't have a better idea of what we're getting until they actually show up on the day. That's perfectly fine with me. I'm more than happy to let a professional handle this, especially because I still barely know the difference between different types of flowers.
Here's to checking one more thing off the to-do list. I can't wait to see what everything looks like at the wedding.
We don't have any really specific ideas about flowers. We decided on a Spring wedding pretty quickly, mostly because we love all the natural flowers and how colorful they are. This has also affected the color scheme by convincing me that we don't need one. Our theme is seasonal flowers, and we're hoping for lots of color.
The guy we talked to at the florist understood this immediately. He has promised us something colorful and seasonal that won't clash with the bridesmaids' dresses. I probably won't have a better idea of what we're getting until they actually show up on the day. That's perfectly fine with me. I'm more than happy to let a professional handle this, especially because I still barely know the difference between different types of flowers.
Here's to checking one more thing off the to-do list. I can't wait to see what everything looks like at the wedding.
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