2012 Book List

This was another slow year for reading...

• Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
• The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
• The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
• Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
• The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
• Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder
• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
• Zeitoun by Dave Eggers
• Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James
• Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah
• Bunch of Amateurs by Jack Hitt
• Seriously... I'm Kidding by Ellen DeGeneres

I will leave with you a quote from The Art of Racing in the Rain that still resonates with me, months after finishing the book: "To live every day as if it had been stolen from death, that is how I would like to live. To feel the joy of life...To separate oneself from the burden, the angst, the anguish that we all encounter everyday. To say I am alive, I am wonderful, I am. I am. That is something I aspire to." (Garth Stein)

Remembering December, Week 5

December 29 -

• I woke up in my fancy hotel room at Mission Inn Resort, packed my things, and met my uncle at reception, for the next leg of this trip to Orlando. 
• I had not see my uncle and his roommate, a life-long family friend, in an embarrassingly long time. We spent the day chatting over multiple games of Skip-Bo. I won each and every game. That must have hurt the egos of these regular players. 

• I was dropped off at the airport for my late-night flight to my home-sweet-home. Lets refresh: hate is not a strong enough word to convey my sentiment on flying. There were flight delays leaving Orlando, the flight from hell, and icy roads on my drive from Baltimore to D.C., together setting me back quite a few hours. I am obligated to describe the flight I described as being from hell. Have you ever been on a flight were THE ENTIRE flight was too bumpy and twisty, for lack of a better adjective, for the flight attendants to move about the cabin? I have. 

December 30 -

• I had a "me party" all morning. Nothing like quality bonding time with yourself. 
• I met A.S.S. and her twin for beer and Bloody Marys, followed by a showing of Les Miserables at the fancy movie theater. Recliner seats, yes please!

• I stayed up WAY too late watching the Washington Redskins/Dallas Cowboys Sunday night game. The Redskins pulled off a win, in glorious fashion. I was not the only exhausted employee on Monday morning. (The Kansas City Chiefs are my one and only true love, no worries Kansas readers. Living in the heart of Redskins territory, I sort of caught the fever. You too would have trouble avoiding the contagious energy. And lets be honest, who like the Cowboys?) 

December 31 -

• My favorite person arrived.
• I worked a shorter-than-normal day from home.
• My brother, C.D.H, and his girlfriend, S.M.S, met J.P.B. and me for afternoon coffee (for the girls) and beer (for the boys) at Northside Social. I am not sure there was a moment to breathe during the endless chatter. 

• After C.D.H. and S.M.S. headed back to Northern Virginia for their wild New Years Eve, J.P.B. and I continued on with ours. The evening began with homemade Mexican dinner at A.S.S.'s place. I did not have to cook. I did not have to clean-up. And the food was delicious. 
• Then at promptly 7:00 PM, minutes before the kick-off of the Clemson Tigers/LSU Tigers, we headed to LA Bar and Grill for the townie experience. There were arcade games, drink specials, darts, and football. Oh... and heavenly fried pickles. (Recapping this evening now, here on January 19, I am questioning my priorities; I have not been back for another basket.)  

• We ended the evening like champions, two minutes into 2013. 

Remembering December, Week 4

December 22 -

• I did not get out of bed until 1:00 pm. I justified my laziness with the face I was nursing a cold. 

 December 23 -

• I baked seven dozen cookies.
• I watched a lot of football. 
• I patiently waited as my brother, C.D.H., made his way from his Atlanta home to the family home in Northern Virginia. 

 December 24 -

• I worked from home and had a Yankee Candle Holiday Trio candle burning all day. If you have to work on Christmas Eve, you find joy in simple things.
• Snowflakes fell most of the afternoon. No real accumulation, but it was pretty as it fell.

• Does it make everyone as sad and/or disappointed to witness all the garbage--kites, balloons, plastic bags--in the winter trees as it does me? This fleeting thought crossed my mind as I walked around with neighborhood with my parent's "puppies," Louis and Toby.

• We had our traditional fondue dinner, which was quiet this year with just our family of five. 

• The yearly unveiling of Christmas pajamas was done before 9:00 pm, leaving me with plenty of time to wrap my head in a new book--Bunch of Amateurs by Jack Hitt--before bedtime.

Christmas Day -

• The snow stuck around throughout the evening, making for my first white Christmas in a long time.
• After a 'better-than-Thanksgiving' dinner of broccoli, mashed potatoes, mushrooms, a hand-plated citrus, fried goat cheese, and pomegranate salad, rolls... and some sort of roasted meat for those so inclined, the poppers were popped to reveal cheesy jokes, crowns, and a prize.   

December 26 -

• I worked, again. Cruel world. 
• It snowed again. Awesome world.
• Our family of five ventured to Georgetown, D.C. in the snow/wintery mix/rain for at Mexican tapas at Mike Isabella's Bandolero. For those of you who, like me, do not idolize chefs and therefore have never heard the name Mike Isabella, he is a former Top Chef contestant. He might of won. Or maybe he just cooked a lot of food and was critiqued. Maybe he had this heavenly restaurant before. And maybe he did not. Bottom line: stop in at Bandolero for drinks, appetizers, dinner, and/or dessert--you will not regret it.  
• After this blue haired dinner, we went to the Kennedy Center for a showing of Million Dollar Quartet. The tickets were a surprise for the master musician in the family, but the show was enjoyed by all. 

December 27 -

• After getting home late the previous night, and with that full holiday weekend of family bonding time before me, waking up at 4:00 am, driving an hour to Baltimore, and hopping on a 6:00 am flight to Orlando, FL was really fun. Like so much fun. 
• I made it to Orlando amongst a trillion overly-excited Walt Disney World bound children, waited an hour for Bridesmaid No. 3, rented a car, and drove an hour to Howey-in-the-Hills, FL for the Royal Wedding... where my life was planned for the next 36 hours. 
• So the first 12 hours was lunch, followed by professional finger and toe nail painting, a hair washing session, a group bus ride to The Catholic Community of St. Paul church were the rehearsing (and later wedding) took place, dinner at the Angler's Club in The Villages, and a bus ride back to Mission Inn Resort where the out of town guest were welcomed with an official party. Then I found some time, albeit only a few hours, before...

December 28 -

• I got to wake-up for ROYAL WEDDING DAY(!!!). After I clothed myself, viola! my personal escort was outside my door, waiting to drive me to the S family ranch in Leesburg, FL.
• From morning to early afternoon, a make-up artist and two hair stylists transformed regular girls into glamour queens. I was unidentifiable. The things I endure for my favoritist friends. 

• There was brunch. And snacks. Do you know what a challenge eating becomes when your hair is being ripped out of your head by curlers and you face is layered in plaster?

• Picture Time. I sold this to myself as enjoying Florida sunshine time. 
• Once we were officially documented as the bridal party, we jumped onto the party bus and headed church for the exchanging of vows. 
• And, of course, the best part of every wedding is celebrating the happy couple... and we did that in grand style with dinner, cake, an open bar, and a live band. Congrats to Mr. and Mrs. M!

The week was another full one. And here I am on January 13, 2013 catching up on all that is and was. The deeper message from this week is I appreciate my life. I have a job I am thriving in. I had time surrounded with my immediate family. There were Christmas and wedding festivities. And time with a precious friend of nearly eight years before she said, "I do." And even though Florida is my least favorite state, there was travel during this week and the ability to escape the ruts of my daily life. 

Remembering December, Week 3

December 15 -

• Nothing like sleeping in on Saturday.
• Cracker Barrel for lunch. This has evolved into some sort of date-ish tradition. Nothing like gluttonously good fried food.
• Then there was time with friends at Lights at the Zoo. With a mix of Baileys and hot chocolate in hand, we walked aimlessly around the zoo for quite some time. After last year, I was prepared this year for no real animal spotting (aside for the stand-alone donkey)... however there were lots of lighted animals to been photographed.

December 16 -

• J.P.B. and I dined outside for brunch at Brooklyn Bagelry. While I am anxiously awaiting a white miracle, I could not pass up an outdoor eating opportunity in December.
• There is a lot I could say about the short afternoon window of time. But if you want the skinny, J.P.B. and I spent the 1 – 4:00 pm window watching NFL football at Union Jacks over a dose (or four) of Bloody Mary. To begin, I had no idea how hard it would be to find a seat at a bar for watching football on a Sunday here in our Nation's Capital. When we set off to our preferred bar, I figured the energized Washington Redskins had first priority… but literally, it was not until we went to a fourth bar, come the end of the first quarter, that I understood the real challenge associated with securing a seat in front of a television broadcasting the 'team of choice'. This led to a bit of tension. Mature. Truly. In spite of watching a team--the Packers--with a "guaranteed" win at hand, I spent the majority of time decorating our paper table cloth with scenes of winter wonderlands. I even created some table games, that remained unfinished because of the competitive spirit of both parties. Awesome. Truly. Then come 4:00 pm, about the time the 2-11 Chiefs were kicking off, J.P.B. was ready to head home. Charming. Truly.
• I took a nap to recover from the afternoon of sitting motionless. 
• We made grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner and watched 60 Minutes, in light of the recent tragedy in Newtown, CT. 

December 17 -

• It was a foggy day, from sun-up to sun-down. And I was OK with that, once I learned no flights were leaving from Baltimore/Washington International airport... which granted me a bonus night with my favorite person. Yippee Team Mother Nature. 
• In ordering a slew of Christmas gifts, I learned I have my credit card number memorized. I am frightened by this discovery. 

December 18 -

• For the first time in my professional career, I was in meeting from arrival to departure. This is the normal for the upper management, no matter where you work. I am not sure when tasks are accomplished in a schedule slammed with meetings...

December 19 -

• My day at work was frustrating, to say the least. Around 4:00 pm, I found myself firing off a third "well-crafted" hate email, each regarding a unique 'road block' with a different coworker. I might also add, this was not only the third 'road block' I encountered this week, this was the third 'road block' that merited this sort of response in my time at Company Crazy. The fact they all came in one week, the one right before the holidays, was just an added bonus. To my satisfaction, Boss Man told me he hopes to stay off my 'Bad List' in fear of my articulate emails.  

December 20 -

• Cube Neighbor Girl, a co-worker all of nine-months, gave me a bottle of Layer Cake for Christmas. I was dumbfounded by the thoughtfulness of this gift. She remembered Layer Cake is my wine label of choice from a seemingly insignificant grocery-store conversation the two of us shared shortly after I started in March. I wish I had been the giver of such holiday generosity.
• H.C.O. stopped at her halfway point--Washington, D.C.--for nine hours on her journey from Boston, MA to her hometown of Myrtle Beach, SC. We popped open the Layer Cake and blabbered on and on... far longer than we should have, considering her 3:00 am departure time.

 December 21 -

• The new recruiter brought Dunkin' Donuts into the office. There were more donuts (24) than people (16). That provided me with a good laugh.
• The office ordered pizzas for lunch. There were almost as many pizzas (12) as people (15, after one early departure). That provided me more to laugh about.
• I closed shop at 2:00 pm. 
• I attended Sweet Neighbor's Holiday Party. From her salad, to the homemade minestrone soup, to the honey baked brie, and molasses cookies... there was enough food to feed a village. And if you want to know just how much I overate, I will leave you with a comment from J.T.L., "You downed some food, enough for me to believe you came right out of the African bush!" These days, with the relocation, I rarely indulge in samplings from N.J.M.'s kitchen. So provided it is the holidays, and her food was so eloquently presented, I allowed myself to over-indulge.    

Remembering December, Week 2

December 8 -

• I could not motivate myself to do anything. Not a single thing... until about 2:30 pm when I decided taking a four hour walk from Arlington to Georgetown to the National Mall with a friend was a good idea. Apparently not seeing her for a week, merited this much talking time. Another weekend day with perfect weather drew quite a crowd to our end destination--the National Tree

• I crashed at 9 pm.

December 9 -

• I woke up after 12 solid hours of sleep, at 9 am. Bliss. And I thought I had lost my sleep-in powers.
• I met A.J.S. and her co-workers for a pancake breakfast at the Eastern Market. It was not until I stood up that I realized how much I had over-consumed. This "decision" to join the clean plate club was worth every bit of the hatred my stomach imposed on me.  
• I walked the seven miles home. This was my third extended walk of December. I anticipate many more to come. Not only am I learning the city (and taking cheesy pictures along the way), I am getting "exercise" and "outdoor" time. 

December 10 -

• It rained, again, for the bajillionith time this falinter. (Falinter, noun:  the conjoined season of fall and winter, comprising in the greater Washington, D.C. area the months of September, October, November, December, January, and February.)
• This was a slow day at work. P-A-I-N-F-U-L-L-Y slow.
• I received a message from Santa, courtesy of his elf, R.D.S. It was definitely the greatest thing that happened all day. If you have not experienced Portable North Pole, I highly suggest you proceed there immediately once you are done here.

December 11 -

• Boss Man has 904 business cards. Today I collected my eighth for sake of comparison. He "neatly stacks" them in a drawer, the one above the 4207 Starbucks napkins, in his desk. And he absolutely will not let me alphabetize them for him they way I have my own contacts. It hurts my sole to go in his office, knowing those disorganized cards are lurking beneath the surface. 
• In other news, my fancy business meeting today--the one where I collected business cards seven and eight--was all about cabling. And you thought this girl just did science, now she speaks beginner tech!

December 12 -

• I received a Christmas card (with picture) from K.K.S. and her adorable brood. I am such an adult. 
• M.E.V. sent me a coffee mug for my birthday. My birthday is many, many months away so this  was quite a surprise. A pleasant one at that.  

• I stayed up late to pick my favorite person up at the airport.

December 13 -

• I worked. Gee, imagine that. On a Thursday, I worked. I got to work from home. And that was great. So great. Except the part where I had to work.
• Since the weather remains mildly cold, J.P.B. and I were able to walk to Guajillo--a Mexican dining establishment--to meet M.E.K., her husband, and brother-in-law for a late dinner. There were many fabulous parts of this night: 1) Walking to and from dinner. 2) Delicious food. 3) Experiencing a new local restaurant, for the fourth time this month. 4) Ample "catch-up" time with the M.E.K. 
• As J.P.B. and I nursed our food comas, we watched Elf, my favorite holiday movie, to celebrate the season.

December 14 -

• Another work from home day. Another day of analyzing a mega huge scanned document.
• Before the end of the day, most everyone had learned of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary. Unspeakable emotions coursed through my mind as I tried to comprehend the reality that children were murdered at school. 
• I squeezed in a quick nap post exercising my brain. 
• The highlight: Of Montreal played at the 9:30 Club... and I was there. So... after years of waiting... I have FINALLY seen Of Montreal. It was every bit of weird excellence I was hoping for, and more.  

• After the show, I got a few minutes with my little brother, C.A.H. since he was also in attendance. He happens to find Of Montreal every bit as great as I do. He also might be responsible for introducing me to this band. 

Remembering December, Week 1

December 1 -

• The day started early, or rather the previous day ended late, with conversation in my freezing cold car... in the gravel parking lot... right outside my apartment. M.E.K.'s September wedding weekend came and went in one quick (undocumented--in picture and word) flash. Therefore I held her hostage in my car until I heard every detail of the first two plus months of married life. Prior to this conversation we met H.M.O., a mutual childhood friend, for had dinner at Domku in Washington, D.C. The time--10 years--has changed each one of us, and the places I have lived--distanced from their "stable" Kansas upbringings--have influenced the young women we are today (hopefully for the best), and yet, over dinner and a bottle of wine, none of this seemed to matter. The conversation was reminiscent and fresh, news of here and now. At the end of emotionally "complex" week, I am glad I chose to invest my time with these girls, the pillars of my early life. 

• I got a hair cut. At Hair Cuttery. And for the first time in my life, I did not regret not investing in a quality trim.
• R.D.S. and I dined at Ray's Hell Burger for lunch to start the season of eating. 
• I went to the Parade of Lighted Boats with friends in D.C. This was a festive event, complete with fake snow, Santa Claus, a bonfire, holiday music... and of course, boats decked out in lights.

• And in lieu of dinner, I stopped at Burger Tap & Shake--the second burger shop in one day--for milkshakes. 

December 2 -

• R.D.S., visiting from New York, New York, and I began the day at Target. Overnight, I went from thief (in that I stole from home) to adult by purchasing my own cleaning supplies(!!!). R.D.S. does not have the luxury of Tarjay in the Big Apple; she was more than happy to accompany me on this excursion, in fact she suggested the trip. 
• I had the best egg and mushroom breakfast sandwich of my life at Northside Social. The pumpkin cranberry cinnamon roll "side" was mega delicious too... honestly, who does not want dessert with breakfast?   
• We went to the White House. There were no outdoor holiday decorations. That was disappointing. We took our picture anyway. 

• I walked home from Union Station. I cannot express how much more than eight miles of alone time I could have used before rejoining reality. The weather this weekend was beyond perfection, that is, if you are more in to avoiding the Christmas spirit and soaking up Vitamin D. 
• I spent two (or maybe three?) hours on the phone with J.L.W. and was quickly reminded as to why she has been a constant in my life for the past 10 years.

December 3 -

• I spent the evening with my ex-neighbor munchkins. It might have been a 14-hour work day in total, when you include my salaried job... but the night was hardly work. Time flew off the clock as C.R.M., O.D.M., and I busied ourselves playing puppy, baby, princess, pirate, and monster. A timely dinner was neglected, and later, I had to convince myself of the importance of their bedtime. (These two children were not my "issue" come Tuesday!) The best part of the night was nonstop laughter. Their one-liners had me struggling to breathe at points. 

December 4 -

• My phone was dead... all day. And it was G-R-E-A-T. I should lose my charger more frequently... and for even greater periods of time. 

December 5 -

• I went for a run. It poured rain on me midway through. I was totally prepared. Not. So that was fun. Not. BUT... on my run, I did happen upon a discovery: Jimmy Johns... in Arlington... three tenths of a mile from my house. There is really nothing more dangerous.
• My boss and I had an offsite "meeting" to tag-up on just about everything.  
• I went (to my parent's) home to catch up with my mom. I had her entirely to myself. And it was absolutely exellent to sit by the fire and catch up on... well... just about everything.

December 6 -

• M had his first (of two) lung surgery at Sloan-Kettering. I spent the entire day worrying about him! 

December 7 -

• I convinced myself that going to the mall to pick up a few things on a Friday after work was a good idea. It was an absolutely horrendous idea.