Internet is Back On

We've figured out how to get the internet to work but not the wireless part yet. We'll probably end up waiting on the wireless until we move to our new place.

Quick Update

We've moved to Richmond and are living in our temporary housing. I currently don't have access to the internet at home so will not be able to fully update until we get that fixed. Hopefully we'll get it up and running soon!

Something to Remember

On Monday, I tried to use my credit card but it was blocked. So, when I got home, I checked my home phone messages and sure enough, the credit card company had called me. I called back to find out that my card number had been stolen and had been used for fraudulent charges. One of the charges was for $2100 worth of items from the Coach website. You may laugh since you know that I love Coach but when I though about it more, it's actually not a laughing matter. There are a few different things that those people might have done with the merchandise. One is that they could have just wanted to send it back for a refund. Btu, that's unlikely because these days I think that most companies make you get the refund on the card that you bought it with. The more likely scenario is that they were buying them in order to sell them cheap on the street or on eBay. So, next time you see a street vendor with a great deal on a purse or you think about bidding on an auction on eBay to pay a lower price for an item, remember that it could have been stolen. But, it wasn't necessarily stolen from a store (only affecting the store); it could have been stolen using someone's credit card. That person may not be as lucky as me since the credit card company in my case was able to block the charges and never thought that I was making the charges.

Keep Your Fingers Crossed

MTH and I put a contract on a house in Richmond today. So, keep your fingers crossed that everything will work out. We're really excited about the house. It was built in the early 1900's but has been recently renovated. Hopefully some of you can come to visit and check it out in person. Phoebe should love the place as it's about 3 times the size of our current house. If you've seen our current house, you'll realize that doesn't mean that the new house is going to be a mansion. Instead, it means that the house will be a normal sized one! There will be no bocce ball tournaments in the backyard of this place but there is a park nearby that will hopefully work!

If The World Made Sense

The bowl games would have the following sponsors:

Minute Maid Orange Bowl
FTD Rose Bowl
Dixie Crystals Sugar Bowl
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl (that one is real)

National Portrait Gallery

MTH and I went to the re-opened Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery last Friday. That was probably one of my more fun days during my 2 week vacation. As I mentioned in an earlier post, MTH and I had some wellness issues while on vacation. Both of us didn't feel well at different points during our time off which made it not as fun as it should have been. Anyway, we headed down to the Gallery Place area for lunch and then the museum. We ended up having lunch at Fado's. I had a very good beef stew and MTH had a buffalo grilled chicken sandwich. We then spent over 2 1/2 hours in the museum. The President's portrait section was the most interesting to me. There was a blurb about each president. I had this book when I was younger that had a one page bio about each president. It only went through the 40th president (George Sr.). Although I didn't memorize the president's in order, it did help to me actually have heard of all of the presidents. It was amazing how much I remembered from that book. Like I said, not that I could have recited it but it still reminded me of when I would read anything so I would have something to read. Even the president's book for the 50th time!

Of course, the portrait gallery is much too large to see in one visit. MTH and I will have to go back to see the rest. Plus, it has special exhibitions all the time so there will always be something new to see.

Resolution Number Three

Figure out what I want to do when I grow up. I’ve been doing the same thing basically for the past 8 years. It really feels like it’s time for a change especially since we’re moving to a new place.

Resolution Number Two

Get back into working out once we’ve moved to Richmond. I still need to decide what “working out” means. It may be something other than running in order to do something different. The great thing about running though is that there’s no equipment needed except a good pair of shoes.

Trip to NYC

MTH is on "vacation" until around 1/22. During that time, he actually has a lot to get done. Work out as much as possible, ensure the house is ready to be sold, play golf with his Dad, go on a trip with me, find us a place to live in Richmond. Actually, the nice part is we get corporate housing for the first 2 months so will have time to find a place once we're there. Also, since we've lived there before, we know the neighborhoods and already have an idea of what we want.

Well, about the trip to NYC. We had thought about trying to go somewhere warm but for some reason couldn't pull the trigger. I think the reason for me at least was that we've had some travel bad luck over the past month and a half. When we went to Key West in November, we got record low temperatures. When we went to Wintergreen (for snowboarding) before Christmas, we got warm temperatures (along with a sick MTH). Therefore, I'd like to take a lower risk vacation this time. NYC seems like the right place for that. Plus, we should be able to see EE and her new baby as well as MKN and her new baby. Yes, there's something in the water :)

We're also planning on going to see Spamalot on Broadway. We'll check out at least one museum and otherwise, if the weather allows, just walk around and enjoy the city.

Resolution Number One

Do not move anything to Richmond that we will not use.

Happy New Years!

Hope everyone had a great New Years eve. MTH and I had a low key but fun one in Baltimore. I'll share my resolutions soon :)

New Years Cards

Since I didn't quite get all of my Christmas cards out this year, I've decided to send out New Years cards for the rest of the list. I even made them myself.

Big News

We're moving. It's finally official where we're moving. There were times when it seemed like we were moving to NYC. Chicago was even on the radar. But, after all that talk, we're moving to Richmond, VA. Just one hour and forty five minutes south of where we are now. A place that we actually already know fairly well. We've already started looking for a house (online that is). We're planning on going to look at houses next weekend. Of course, I'll already have been in Richmond for work on Wednesday. The one definite upside is no more commuting to Richmond since I'll already live there.

Upcoming 2nd Annual H's Christmas Party

This Saturday night we're going to have our 2nd Annual Christmas Party. It will be a night of food, fun and friends. I'm definitely looking forward to it. I have so much vacation left at the end of this year, that I'm taking Friday off to get ready for it. I'm looking forward to baking lots of cookies and other goodies. I'm planning on giving each guest a goody bag of cookies before they leave. The menu will probably include dark chocolate fondue with orange sugar cookies, homemade marshmallows, pecan brittle and fruit as dippers. There will also be lit'l smokies in bbq sauce, interesting cheeses and olives. I'm still thinking about whether or not to make a few other things like meatballs, some type of bacon wrapped hors d'ouevres and other types of cookies. I'll let you know after the party what ends up at the buffet.

Christmas Decorations Update

As I mentioned in my previous post, we bought a couple more nativity scenes to add to the collection. Here they are:



Since we were at a Christmas store, MTH decided we needed a couple more ornaments. Here they are as well. They're both inspired by The Nutcracker.





Also, here's an update on the how the paperwhites are doing! They're really growing. I have no idea when they'll bloom though. I wish it would be before Christmas but I have a feeling it won't be.

Christmas Decorations

I love this time of year just for the decorations. Here's what we've done in the house.

Paper Whites
MAK gave the container, the river stones and the paper white bulbs to me for my birthday. They are growing nicely. Hopefully I will not kill them any time soon! This table is just by the front door.

Our Official Christmas Tree and Manger Scene Collection
Here's our official Christmas tree. We put it on the highest shelf on our "entertainment system" in the living room. The pieces below the tree are our manger scene collection. We actually bought 2 more tonight but I took these pictures yesterday. I may update later but am too lazy right now.

Tinsel Tree
MTH "won" this tree last year at the annual H Yankee grab bag. It's on the cookbook bookshelf in the space between the living room and dining room.

Rosemary Christmas Tree
I found this tree at the Whole Foods near our house. I couldn't resist. I put it on the wine rack beside the back door. MTH bought the garland last year and now we've found a use for it.

Santa Display
I have a few different Santa Claus items so I decided to display them together on the plate rack in the kitchen. Before our party next Saturday, I'm going to add some fresh greenery above the Santas.

The Best Dessert EVER

MTH and I went to Eamonn's, A Dublin Chipper for dinner tonight. It's definitely a place that you don't want to eat at too often. Along with the traditional fish and chips and Guinness, we decided to have dessert too. The choices for dessert are: fried Snickers, fried Milky Way, fried dough and fried bananas. MTH decided he wanted to try the fried Milky Way. It comes out in the brown paper bag just like the fish and chips. The candy bar has been coated in similar batter as the other food. Then, when it's hot out of the oil, it's sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. When I first smelled the cinnamon, I was disappointed. I wasn't sure how the cinnamon would mix with the flavor of a Milky Way. I was wrong. It was the perfect complement to the gooey melted candy bar inside the crispy outer shell! I highly recommend this dessert at least once your in lifetime.

Grammar Question

Do you see something wrong with the following sentence?

This marks the beginning of ...



I thought that I remembered learning that there should be an object after the word "this". But it seems that is not the case anymore. I know that I don't always write or speak correct English but for some reason this issue annoys me. By the way, that piece of a sentence above is from a letter from the CEO of my company.

It's amazing what some people eat!

This morning there was a guy on the elevator in my building at work. He was carrying a plate of bacon (at least 6 pieces) and a bottle of chocolate milk. I can't even imagine that as my breakfast!

food for my life

That's the name of my new cooking blog. I'll still keep up with this one and will definitely still talk about food here. As the name implies, it will be food that I eat everyday which can include simple but tasty dishes but could also include fancy, hard to make ones. Hopefully you'll enjoy both types and might even get an idea or two for your own meals. Feel free to leave comments!

food for my life .

Enjoy!