Food in HD

Nothing beats TV in HD, and coming soon to the HD lineup - THE FOOD NETWORK. That channel is mouthwatering! On Sunday we had the channel on for part of the afternoon, and I just remember Jason saying, "When this channel becomes HD we're gonna get fat!" I laughed. Start date is March 4th!

Speaking of food, I just got over my urge to buy in on a veggie share for the year. Jason successfully - and to be honest (thankfully) - talked me out of it for the second year in a row. It's expensive, none of the pick-up times go with our schedule and the list of veggies are sort of foreign to me. My sister did it last year ( I was jeeeeeeeelous) and she even advised me against it. She said it was the guilt of throwing away veg she couldn't use. Plus, she was sharing the "peck" with 2 other girls and she still couldn't eat it all. Thanks for the advice Kris, I'm not going to do it! However, I have a facination with local produce that won't quit - so I'm going to make it a point to go to our local farmers market on Sunday mornings. I think i can walk there with Leia. And considering Leia's new favorite thing is to wake me up at 7am on Sunday mornings for a walk down the path, no doubt we'll be getting first pick! I'm not sure when the farmer's market opens for business - probably in April.

Just for kicks, I've added the Bull Run Farm blog to my list on the right hand side - the owner and farmer tells great stories. Just click on "Split Honey and Fried Frogs" on the right.

We Made It Home.

"Ice Fangs"
(Grrrrrr....the front of my Camry after the ice storm.)

I know we can't possibly top the mounds of snow that everyone's getting in the mid-west, but yesterday's ice storm in the DC area came pretty close. All day it was dry and then - like all of a sudden - ice started falling from the sky!

On a normal day, I get a call from Jason around 5:30ish when he's made it home and out walking Leia. It's our daily dog update call - to assure me the house didn't burn down or she didn't "accidently open the window and jump out." (Neither of thes have happened.) So the phone rang and it was Jason - still in his car, stuck on 395 in front of the Pentagon.

He said to me, "WTOP is reporting that 395 is closed." So, i asked, "where are you?" He said, "I'm ON 395." Oh my!....well then.....what do you do? You sit, and wait....and that's what he did.

4 hours later...

Jason finally made it home. My pour thirsty, hungry, tired husband who had to go to the bathroom!!! finally made it! In fact - after leaving work at 4:45pm - and several updates on the cell in-between- Jason called me to tell me he was in the turn lane to our street. Yes, the journey was so long, he felt it was necessary to call in to report he had ALMOST made it.

"I am in the turn lane to our street, I'm about to turn in!" he said.

At 8:45pm he arrived home safe.

All the while - i was still at work. There was no reason to leave and to sit in the jam....so I cleaned my desk (I was overdue anyway) and finally got home aroun 11pm. It took me 45 minutes just to get the ice off before i left the parking lot.

Leia got a new toy for being so good, and sleeping through the whole thing.
A green frog.

Early Bird Special

Jason woke me up at 5:20am this morning. Not that I was shocked by that. We planned it. The polling place opened at 6am and I needed extra time to walk Leia first. Leia was confused - as she usually wakes US up...but was happy to go outside early to get in her daily sniffs.

Then it was off to the voting booth to participate in the Potomac Primary. You can hardly ignore politics in this town so it felt good to contribute. Our voter registration card indicated that we vote down at the community center (that has the gym and pool) but there was also voting happening right next door at the elementary school. (So THAT's why all those people were lingering about when I was walking Leia.) It did seem strange to see a bunch of cars "idle" on our walk. And the frantic lady who turned her car around right in the middle of the street. Crazy early birds!

But, I guess I'm lumped into that catagory too. At work they give us a 4 hour "leave" time to vote, but since I'm on the air...it doesn't really work out that way for me. HOWEVER, Jason said he will be leaving early to "vote" (wink, wink) even though he already did this morning.

Speaking of which - the coolest part was getting this "I voted" sticker - and somehow, during our 2 minute car ride back home, I lost mine! What the heck? Jason was so sweet - he let me have his sticker, and it's the one I'm wearing today.

Cocoa O'Clock!

"The Burrrrrrrrd Feeders."

Holy snow! These pics just in from Illinois. (above....the "Burrrrrrrrrrd Feeders"...my dad gets all the credit for that title.) While Jason and I have been enjoying record high temperatures in Virginia (it was 71 degrees on Wednesday) it's was a much different story on Wednesday in the midwest! Back home on Oak Street, my dad worked diligently to remove snow from the driveway that was piling up at over an inch an hour. Snow totals were almost a foot by the end of the day, travel was strongly discouraged, Kohl's closed and my mom was sent packing! She slowly made it back home as no one was driving faster than 20 miles an hour. Yikes!

It was a classic adult snow-day for my parents! How fun!


"Frosted or Flame Broiled?"

Mid-storm, my dad gazed longingly at his grill.

"The Ruler."

Barely visible, a 12 inch ruler sticks out of the snow on top of the spa. My dad religiously uses the top of the spa for "accurate snow totals".

Cocoa anyone?

Beautiful Beat

It's raining today. A LOT. And I've got more work than normal with the Grammy's next weekend...but I've found a reason not to complain. More, a reason to keep on livin'! I just realized the new Nada Surf record comes out on Tuesday. The album Lucky is their follow up to the highly acclaimed 2005 release The Weight Is A Gift. (An album that's been referred to as a "21st century pop masterpiece" and "nearly flawless". ) If you've never heard it - you should take a listen.

While my love for the group does not run any earlier than their last release on Seattle's indie Barsuk Records, I know they've been together for something like 12 years. Back in 1995 with the release of High/Low, they were tagged as Weezer-wannabees, and early on - I was not a fan...but on their last record, they put out some great songs. I can't say enough about their 2005 release and I really like them now. It's just that simple.

I read that they'll have guest appearances on the new album too! Death Cab’s Ben Gibbard, Ed Harcourt, John Roderick of the Long Winters, and guitarist Phil Wandscher of Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter. How can you go wrong - I LOVE John Roderick! (The Long Winters are great!)

And thanks to technology, and where i work, i am currently previewing the album....so far it's wonderful!


I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of Lucky.

Good To Know: You can preview the album too - perhaps even get your own copy HERE.