Showing posts with label holiday. Show all posts

The Pursuit Of Happiness: Week In Review

Saturday
Happy 70th Birthday Daddio, wherever you are. The 11th has been a weird day for the last two years now. I spent a lot of he day relaxing and reflecting. I of course bought my second blues song as my own tradition to honor my dad on his birthday. I explored many options, but I again went with his favorite, Muddy Waters, "I Love The Life I Live, I Live The Life I Love." For some reason it just seemed fitting. In the evening, my mom, Sue and Dick B., Rachel and I all went to a sushi dinner and then dessert to "celebrate."
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The Pursuit Of Happiness: Week In Review

Saturday
It's New Year's Eve. That wonderful time of year when there is so much excitement and optimism and...pressure! Pressure to do something special, epic, meaningful. Phew. I have found that when I stay true to me I have the best time. Do you agree? What is your favorite way to spend NYE? Do you have a perfect dream NYE? Although my ultimate NYE dream is to watch the ball drop live in Times Square, I found myself enjoying a calm day and evening with my love and some friends. The morning was spent having brunch with my mom, Rachel, and Adam. Like usual we stuffed ourselves like turkeys, but it's the last day of the year so there were no regrets (not that there would have been on any other day). Then I spent the day tidying up, relaxing, and preparing myself for the night. Since my typical bedtime is equivalent to an 8 year old, staying up until midnight is a hard task for me. But watching the ball drop (even if it is only on tv) is a must. It simply is not NYE without it. When Brenden got home from work we went over to Mark and Sarah's house were we spent the evening with eating (drinking?) pudding booze (genius), playing games, and counting down to midnight. Oh, and happy last night of Hanukkah!
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The Pursuit Of Happiness: Week In Review

Saturday
Merry Christmas Eve day and happy first night of Hanukah!! This is a week filled with holiday and celebration, and today was just the beginning. How did you spend your first night of Hanukkah/Christmas eve? I spent my day cooking all the things and prepping for a first night of Hanukah gathering with my mom, Rachel, Adam and kiddo, and Brenden. I made eggs in biscuits; I tried my hand at scotch eggs; I whipped up another batch of latkes, and I made one giant cookie for santa, of course. When everyone got to the apartment I was super proud of getting everything looking nice and prepped and super excited to have everyone together. We lit the menorah and ate all the fried food, plus some yummy chicken and salad that Rachel and my mom brought. Then we taught Mariel how to gamble (I mean play dreidel) before she even enters kindergarten, and ate all the chocolate gelt our tummies could handle. We of course exchanged a few presents: Brenden got a record player and Pentatonix vinyl; I got a puzzle, Spanish rosetta stone, a sticker, and some chocolate; my mom got a panda calendar, and Mariel got awesome ninja turtle hand-knitted gloves. It was a lovely start to the festivities to come.
celebrate Chanukah christmas
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The Pursuit Of Happiness: Week In Review

Saturday
Maryland's first official snow day (read: ice day) has come. My car was dropped off to get worked on last night, and because of layer of ice coating everything, I didn't want to ask anyone to go out of their way to help me get it when it was ready today. Therefore I was part voluntarily, part involuntarily trapped inside for a true snow day. All was well as I watched listened to the snow and ice fall. I spent the some of the day cleaning the house, but mostly wrapping presents and making envelopes for the holidays cards Brenden and I are planning to send out.
bhc celebrate Chanukah
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The Pursuit Of Happiness: Week In Review

Saturday
Thanksgiving prep has begun. Brenden and I are officially hosting Thanksgiving and we have a lot to do. Today involved shopping for dining-ware and decorations. Luckily Lauren and Anna met up with me because decisions are not my friend. How are you decorating for the Holiday? Plus it was fun seeing Lauren and Anna. After stocking up, Lauren came to hang out at my apartment where we made Thanksgiving banners and other decorations, and ordered in some sushi. We are right on track.

Sunday
Thanksgiving prep continued. I made some roasted pumpkin seeds and bought most of the ingredients we will be needing for the night. I also took the time to relax before anxiety really kicks in.

Monday
Geri stopped down for the evening before getting her train down to FL. We had a family girls night out with Rachel and my momma. We got sushi and talked about all the things. It was fun to enjoy my family together.

Tuesday
More Thanksgiving prep. Brenden and I cleaned up and made room for our makeshift table of ten. We set it nice and pretty and I prepped some more pumpkin seeds. What are you making for Thanksgiving?

Wednesday
Guess what. We prepped for Thanksgiving some more. Do you notice a trend for the week? Tonight was focused around food prep. We got the deviled eggs ready, the stuffing prepped, the dips made and the turkey buttered.

Thursday
Happy Thanksgiving! The day has come and all of our hard work paid off. I was so happy to see all of my family and have them over to my apartment (most for he first time). I was great to catch up and spend time together. We don't get together often enough. All of the food turned out great, and I was super proud of my cheese plate and decorations. Brenden's turkey (with my assistance) was perfectly juicy and flavorful. I was happy with my cheese plate, and everyone else's dishes were too good to stop eating. What was your favorite part of Thanksgiving?
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The Pursuit Of Happiness: Week In Review

Saturday
So excited for another cooking date with Rachel R. This time we made something from my new cookbook, Molly on the Range. #obsessed. As I was reading this book, every recipe was "the first one I wanted to make." I finally decided on trying the guyere mac and cheese with caramelized onions. I was pumped that Rachel was down to make it with me. It was pretty simple to make and so rich in flavor. The texture was perfect and all the ingredients really complimented one another. This wasn't your traditional mac and cheese, but more an upscale, adult-feeling-comfort-food-mac-and-cheese. Brenden actually said this was his favorite mac and cheese ever. For dessert, Rachel and I took on the challenge of making candy apples. And boy was it a challenge. Burns aside, in the end they turned out fairly well, but I think it will be a long, long time before we tackle those again.

Sunday
It's that time of year -- my Annual Pumpkin Carving Party time of year time! And per usual, it was fabulous, and the pumpkins turned out superbly. We dressed up, well Lauren and I did, and Anna grabbed my tutu for the photo opps., which looked amazing on her. I was "raining men" before changing into my elephant onsie when it came time for pumpkin carving, and Lauren was The Little Mermaid in her onsie. Did you dress up? What were you? What were your favorite costumes this year? (I gotta say, Donald Trumps hair definitely made it into my top 5 favorite).
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The Pursuit Of Happiness: Week In Review

Saturday (320)
Paddleboarding in Georgetown! Have I told how much I enjoy paddleboarding? Yea, I'm pretty sure I have, once or twice. There is just something about it. It is entertaining, calming, adventurous. Everything about it makes me happy. When it is a sunny, calm day, I love feeling at peace. I enjoy gliding easily across the water and dipping my feet in the water to relax and soak up the warmth as I take in the scenery. On rougher days, I love the challenge of staying balanced on the board and the accomplishment of making it to my destination. It is always a new experience.

Lauren and I were planning on going to the beach it, but because of a lot of little things we decided to skip it. Instead we went paddleboarding! And in a new location for me, Georgetown. Which I quickly fell in love with. Jeff and I were going to paddleboard later in the weekend but because of weather forecasts and a cancelled beach trip we decided to go on Saturday. Lauren has always wanted to try it and since she had no plans (because we were supposed to be beaching together all day) I invited her along. It was a hard day to learn as it was super windy, but she did awesome. I was happy to hear her say she would do it again.

We dd our SUP on the Potomac river. It was super windy, so we spent about an hour+ having the wind turn us in circles as we tried to paddle up stream (the only way we were advised to go). And then we had a quick 5 minute trip back to the dock when we decided to head in. The location was great. There were anchored boats blasting music which I thoroughly enjoyed. There was pretty wildlife. And there were little islands and sand(mud)bars we could rest on. It was a great start to my Fourth of July weekend.

Plus, an added bonus, I got an incredible deal on a season pass with lots of perks, so now I can paddleboarding the rest of the season without having to worry about money. Everyone let's go! And we don't just have to paddleboard. They have kayaks, which I will do with Brenden, canoes, and even hydrobikes(!) which I have only been wanting to try for like a year.
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The Pursuit Of Happiness: 2.266

Happy Mother's Day to my special momma <3. Painting, dinner and dessert.
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The Pursuit Of Happiness: 2.258

Spent my Saturday crafting and shopping, solo (aka spending all my money and drowning in color and clothes). Pretty much, it was excellent. I am so excited (my wallet isn't) that I now have a Paper Source close by, and it is parked right in between some of my favorite stores. And, I finally made the sweet matzo kugel I've been looking forward to, since I got two huge boxes of matzo. Passover may be over, but that doesn't mean I have to leave my leftover matzo in the pantry until for year. It had apples and walnuts and raisins and cinnamon -- so much better then stale, closet matzo. Mmm mmm.
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The Pursuit Of Happiness: 2.224

Happy Easter. So excited I was able to celebrate with my Lala home from Mali, and take part in an early b-day celebration for her. And, then I spent the afternoon and evening eating easter bunnies and Easter ham (turkey for me) with Brenden.
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The Pursuit Of Happiness: 2.223

Feeling accomplished today. I finished my minions rush challenge with less then 18 hours to spare, got my car oil changed, got in my 8.3 mile long run, bought some bathing suits, did laundry, experimented with dying easter eggs, ate hotdogs and s'mores with friends at Dj's bonfire, watched some March Madness as my bracket worked it's way back up the ranks (go Villanova), and still had time to lay in bed and relax.
accomplishment celebrate easter
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The Pursuit Of Happiness: 2.220

Morning swim, evening run, and halava hamantashen. Happy Purim (recipe adapted from whatjewwannaeat)
baking celebrate desser
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