let your heart be light

there was kind of an awkward moment at work the other day when someone asked if it was OK to put christmas music on and two people shouted 'NOOO!' but now that it's officially christmas season, i am christmasing it up. though this whole legitimately cold weather thing may be a little too much for me to handle. it's 40something degrees outside and my body is not having it. even with a fluffy hat, gloves and a wool sweater.

thanksgiving was a success at becca's. it was a lesson in turkey 101. it ended up taking two hours longer than it was supposed to.. probably because i can't stop myself from opening the oven to check on it rather than looking through the door. who has that much self control? no one. anyway we had a really nice time with a couple of nirav's friends from college. the pumpkin pie was a hit. i just covered it with whipped cream.

applied for a job today! time for a shower, flannel jammies, a glass of wine and a movie. hope everyone had a happy thanksgiving.

hot sun dancin' on the river

god bless country music. it makes me feel like i'm driving out to the lake.

wellll i made all of the food i'm bringing to becca's tomorrow for thanksgiving, and it was a bit hit or miss. i had a bit of a pie meltdown. the filling overflowed over the edges but i figured once it went in the oven, it would set up and be fine.. not the case. one edge collapsed and a river of filling flowed out of one side and burnt in the bottom of the oven. finally i just scooped a few spoonfulls out of the middle.

then when i was taking it out of the oven, i gouged the side of it with the pot holder. whoops! now it looks a little like the surface of the moon. but whatever, it will taste yummy. i'll just cover it with whipped cream and no one will have any idea. :)
the green bean casserole is perfect though! woo! and the macaroons, which i never ended up taking a picture of, are pretty, crispy and tasty.

today is a big day because one of the girls from my circle of friends in middle/high school had a baby! she's the first one. baby drew. 4 lbs and something ounces, he came a little early. i can't believe we're old enough to be married with babies.

did i mention that my family is having thanksgiving dinner at the tiny new house? here are the latest photos:

each one is different

funny how holidays make you homesick. i'm thrilled to be where i am. i've seen/done things that not very many people ever get to experience and it's all been amazing beyond anything i'll ever be able to explain.. but there are still those days when i miss my other life.

hugging little kids all the time is a big one. you don't realize how much you miss those little cuddly moments until you have no little kids to be sweet with.

joyce is getting so big! every time i see a new picture of her, her face is getting longer and her eyes look different. still cute as ever, but so big!

i got an unexpected call from taiwan this week from the kuo's. usually i call them on saturdays but this time they called me. they keep asking when i'm going to come back. i told them this summer, so i better find a job and start saving my pennies.

maybe it will be different when there's a whole new group of teachers there. for now, it just seems like everyone's there but me.
funny how i miss taiwan so much more than my family. probably because we talk just as much as we did in taiwan. now we're just an hour apart rather than a day apart. majjy sent me a bunch of hats, scarves and gloves today so i'll be toasty in this silly DC cold.

anyway enough of thattt. it's just one of those days/times of year i guess.

the prime minister of india arrived in the US today. it was president obama's first state arrival. the streets were lines with american and indian flags all around the white house complex. the ceremony was moved indoors to the east room because of the weather. it was good for the people inside, but it meant that the general public had to be turned away. a lucky few got to watch inside though. there's a pretty picture on the flickr page of mrs. obama and the first lady of india in their green and orange dresses to match the flag of india.

ooh and this prettier picture of the first couple at the state dinner, from if the lampshade fits.

night breezes seem to whisper

good newsss! my AC adapter shipped in a mere 3 days and i'm back in business. and thank goodness because i've been bursting with this story.

so saturday afternoon we had a little football game. we were supposed to lose big. the staff, while not overly athletic, far outmatched us. our strengths were an asthmatic and a girl who was on her high school football team. our two other prospects were both out sick. they had 30something people and we had 12. but we came out ahead in the first quarter with 2 touchdowns so we were feeling amazing. late in the second, the staff scored.

then we were in the 3rd (we were only playing 3 quarters), i was running up behind the guy with the ball, about to make an outstanding tackle and he elbowed me in the face by accident. my nose kind of hurt but i thought i was fine until i looked down and there was blood eeeeeverywhere. before i knew it, the entire staff was crowded around me asking if i was alright. i was mortified.

after a couple of minutes, the bleeding stopped and i sat on the sidelines clutching a very bloody handkerchief and watched the end of the game. we scored one more time, making it a final score of 3-1. they awarded me the game ball and i got to hold the trophy. two guys also lifted me up on their shoulders. i don't usually mind attention, but i was ready to just disappear after that. embarrassing!

so that was kind of an ordeal, but now everyone knows my name.

yesterday i went to brunch at tryst and then lunch with people from work at this place called baked and wired. they have cupcakes and coffee. we made a little stop at jcrew where i bought this top i've been thinking about for a couple weeks. it's much cuter/pinker in person.

(j crew.com)

anyway i have to get going but i'm thrilled to have my laptop back and i'm looking forward to catching up on what everyone else has been up to for the last couple of days.

stars shinin' right above you

well. bad news. my AC adaptor on my laptop is toast, so i'm out of business until some time next week when the new one arrives. fortunately with my fancy phone i have email and facebook, but i can't update my blog from it so i'll be off the airwaves.

it should be a low-key weekend/week though. tomorrow we have a staff vs intern football game which will be a lot of fun. i'm slightly concerned over my lack of tennis shoes. i'll be running in silver ballet flats :)

happy weekend! see you next week.

the land of the sun

it's a week from thanksgiving which means it's a week from the socially acceptable time period for CHRISTMAS MUSICCC!! the hardest part about being in taiwan in december was missing out on the christmas goodness in america. no red starbucks cups. no christmas music in the grocery store. no red and green everywhere you look. i think of myself as a summer girl, but christmas is a whole other thing.

anyway i guess i shouldn't get ahead of myself. right now i'm looking forward to thanksgiving. i'm making green bean casserole, pumpkin pie and becca's mom's hot fruit salad. have you had 'dump cake?' ..we were just talking about this the other day at quizno's how there are some things i would never order because i'm too embarrassed to say the name. like 'sammies'. and tonight at the crepe place all of the crepes have stupid names, but i just ordered mine by ingredients. OCD? afraid of small scale public humiliation? who knows.
ANYHOW dump cake, while the name is not so nice, is delicious. it's a can of crushed pineapple, a can of cherry pie filling, topped with a box of yellow cake mix, topped with half a stick of butter. it might be a whole stick. half would probably work. but it is deeeelicious. so bad for you, but so good.

dinner with this boy marc tonight. he has:
attended school in..
switzerland
hong kong
canada
worked in..
australia
india
interesting hm? ..and he read shantaram.

it's good to see you

spent the morning pulling up broccoli and planting garlic in a very fancy organic garden. giant compost bins, about 20 brooms hidden behind a tree, a beehive. it was awesome once the sun came out. brr it is so chilly in the shade.

then this evening i got to take a really fancy tour. i will happily email you details if i haven't already.

tonight on the metro there was the sweetest blonde 3 year old girl sitting on her dad's lap asking a million questions. the guy sitting next to her was terribly attractive and couldn't stop himself from giggling.
why is that man sleeping on the metro?
why does that girl have a bike?
her bike is too big, it will get hit by a car.
how can that man sleep on the metro?
do you see her dress?
i'm not sleepy at all. i could stay up all night.
finally attractive guy said 'these are all questions i think to myself but that i would never ask out loud.' if it wasn't so late at night i would have gotten off 2 stops early with him just to chat him up. am i becoming one of those creepy people? i have a weakness for sweater vests.