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.

Saturday's are perfect for birthdays.

Just look at that cake folks! (and it's just as delicious on the inside!) Jason whipped it up Saturday morning :-) on my birthday. Yummmmmm!

It was a very nice birthday weekend in Virgina. And the weekend seemed looooong too....that's always a good thing! I couldn't figure out why until, yes, it dawned on me. Leia (our new dog) woke up kinda early both Saturday and Sunday morning - and since i have morning walk duties, I was up too. It's ok, I didn't mind getting a jump start on my birthday. On our Saturday walk, I told Leia it was my birthday, but she didn't seem to care.

As far as birthday weekends go, everything was great! It was cold and gloomy on the outside (no birthday would be complete without a grey sky and frigid temps) and on the inside we were decorating cakes and eating chocolate chip Eggos! (Which for the record - were not very good.) We also made a trip to Best Buy to get my laptop serviced - it seems to have a cold.

Then it was off to dinner at my favorite sushi place. AKASAKA! Now that we have moved, we could probably walk to it - we live that close to the best sushi in northern Virginia. Jason was saying it's the best kept secret in our town. I'd have to agree.

It was delicious as always - and we topped off our meal with green tea ice cream! Yep! It was a two dessert day! (remember...the cake....)

When we got home it was time for presents and more dessert! Jason got me a jewelery box. I've always wanted one :-) Thanks Jas. He also got me this cool-crafty stitching kit. I am going to embroider designs on a pillowcase for Leia. Comfort is mucho important for that dog - so why not make it stylish too?! I got four patterns - on of my fav's is the retro spaced-out pattern. Plus, everyone knows it's funny when pets use a pillow like it's people. Not sure I know how to stitch yet, so I'll keep you posted.



Good to know: If you ever come to our house, Jason can make you a cake too.

File under: Disturbing

There's nothing more peaceful than an early morning walk with Leia. She walks very well on the lead, so we glide down the sidewalk like two peas.

Today - like any other morning - I put on my coat, put on Leia's coat (it's cold!) and headed out. The south elevator is currently getting an upgrade to marble flooring, so we took the stairs. I'm so proud of Leia - she can go down the stairs like a champ. Jason taught her. And she learned them so quick! (Considering she's four years old - and before we adopted her, she had never seen stairs before)...but i digress.

So, Leia and I headed down the stairs and out the door...then took off down the boulavard on our walk. The normal amount of stopping and sniffing occured - and even though it was a little brisk, our walk was enjoyable (yes! so far so good.) We got about half way down the boulavard and it was time to turn around to head back home. On our way back - I noticed a man about 10-15 feet ahead of us - pop out of his home and grab the paper. The thing is, he wasn't wearing shoes...or socks....or pants...or UNDERWEAR!!!! WHAT???!!! Dressed in just a tee-shirt, Leia and I were sure enough briskly walking toward a half naked man. He saw us, (thankfully, I didn't see his you know what - thank god) as he pulled his tee shirt down in an attempt to cover up.

Now - let me recap for a minute. It was COLD this morning. Like in the 20's. You would think this dude would take precaution just for climate sake. Guess not.

So he hops down his two stairs out to the sidewalk, bends down, picks up the paper - and I immediatly look down to avoid the fact that we just made eye contact. I thought I had been looking down long enough to let the uncomfortable moment pass, but as soon as i looked up again - i was graced by the back of his bum heading inside. Yech!!! EEEWWW. Did that just happen? "Leia, did you just see that?" I asked as we picked up the pace back to our house -in an attempt to avoid any more sudden nudity. I continued in shock, "Leia, I swear I just saw a man with no pants getting the paper. What he heck?" Leia did not respond. We quietly headed home in a state of wonder and disbelief. We got back inside, greeted Jason with our chapless, tee-shirt wearing ghost-man story and then had breakfast. I think we'll take the path tomorrow.

Creature Comforts: Fluffy The Hamster