two thumbs up

When we criss-crossed the country this week, I caught three in-flight films, the best of which was Julie and Julia. The movie was fantastic; it inspired me to cook more, and to just do something... big.

(I also caught The Time Traveler's Wife. I wonder if the book is just as creepy?)

Veterans Day

I take shanks seriously, too, sir

See this handy little kitchen utensil? That benign peanut butter and jelly spreader, right there? Yeah, it almost got me detained at the Phoenix airport yesterday.

My mom gave me said spreader while we were home, as Sam eats lots of PB&J sandwiches. I stuck it in my carry-on and thought nothing of it, until TSA confiscated my bag because it "contained a knife." They called over no less than three supervisors, who inspected the thing, trying to pull off the plastic caps to expose a deadly weapon. They didn't seem to care that it was a gift from my mom or -- more importantly -- that it was an accident, a silly oversight on my part. "We take shanks seriously, ma'am," one of the (humorless) TSA guys said.

Eventually, I left the PB&J shank with them, as I was beginning to fear I'd end up in one of Sheriff Joe's prison camps, rocking pink underwear and eating bologna sandwiches. And while I'm happy I left with my freedom, I'm bummed I had to leave the spreader behind. It really would've come in handy.

home sweet home

Well, our team lost, but our trip home to Arizona was still wonderful. We ate way too much and enjoyed lots of quality time with my family. As usual, the time went by way too fast, and we're already counting down the days until we head home for Christmas (39).

[More pics from the weekend here.]

the downside of technology

So this is why it took me more than an hour to drive the 3 miles to Sam's office and back last night.

And on the same day Metro experienced a power outage? I smell a conspiracy.

25 candles

I have wonderful memories of Nov. 3, 1984, the day my brother was born. My grandma took me to McDonald's for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And when we went to the hospital, my parents presented me with a new stuffed My Little Pony (to distract me, I suspect, from the fact that I was no longer an only child). It was a 6-year-old's dream.

Over the years, though, I've discovered that Kyle was the best gift of all. Happy birthday to my brother: a witty, smart, loyal friend who's better than any pony.

Octoberfest

Sadie is her father's cat.

October 30, 1998

Eleven years ago today, I met my husband. He was in the Air Force and I was 20. Wow, time flies.

I’ve always said that I’m glad we met – and got married – when we were so young. We essentially grew up together and shared challenges and triumphs that we never would’ve, had we met just five or 10 years later. We are truly stronger together than we are apart.

And while much has changed over the last 11 years – my senior airman is now an MBA with a CFA and Wall Street dreams – Sam is, at his core, the same man I met in 1998: generous, good-natured, humble, hard-working and kind.

Cheers, love. I can’t wait to see what the next 11 years have in store for us.

party pooper

I discovered today, that the office Halloween potluck I thought was scheduled for tomorrow, was actually today. This was both good and bad: good, in that I don’t have to bake cookies tonight, and bad, in that I look like the office grump, since I just decided to slip out for lunch.

Honestly, I’m not keen on potlucks and I’m really not keen on office costume parties, so it’s just as well.

I guess that “grump” label is pretty spot-on...

another thing to love about fall

When my mom was here, we went to Politics and Prose, where I picked up the latest in the Best American Crime Reporting series. I've read these books every year since 2002, and look forward to their release every fall. I started the 2009 book on Saturday and am already halfway through; it's another arresting read. (I kill myself.)

and many more!

Happy birthday to my mom, who's so much more: my comic relief, my encyclopedia, my sounding board, my moral compass, my cheerleader, my friend.

I love you, mom!

houseguests

For the last six Octobers, my parents have come to D.C. during my mom's fall break. In the past, they've always missed the changing leaves by a few days or a couple weeks. This year, we finally got it right.

During my their way-too-short visit, we went to Gettysburg and enjoyed some of the sites in D.C. Everywhere we looked, we saw gold, orange and red leaves. It was gorgeous. Fall is, by far, my favorite season, and I'm so glad I finally got to share the best of it with my mom and dad.

Even though we'll see them again in two weeks when we fly home for the ASU/USC game, there were still a few tears after I dropped them off at the airport. While I love the fall leaves on the east coast, I sure miss my favorite people on the west coast.

[More pictures from my parents' visit here.]

a first

After years of Betty Crocker, I finally made my first cake from scratch: a coconut cake for my mom's birthday. It was a lot more work than just adding eggs and oil to a mix, but it was delicious! Next on my baking agenda: rum cake.

my other patient

Late on Wednesday night, Sam got really sick all of a sudden. Chills turned into a high fever and he was running back and forth to the bathroom so frequently that neither of us slept all night.

Thursday morning we went to the doctor, who determined he had a viral infection. Since there’s no meds to help – you just have to ride that sort of thing out – they put him on an IV for an hour to help him rehydrate.

Let me just say that I’m terrified of needles, nevermind needles that are injected into your veins. But, I sat in IV room with him for an hour, patting his arm and trying not to look at the giant needle in his hand. The things we do for love.

Thankfully, he’s feeling better today. He’s still got a fever so he stayed home and slept. Poor thing was so miserable yesterday, he said he’d rather be at work with his boss yelling at him. I’m going to remind him of that, next time the boss actually does yell.

when the scarves come out...

I wore a scarf today. It's official: Fall has arrived.

We're expecting rain and temperatures in the '40s and '50s for the rest of the week. I love October, but... brrrr!

busy bees

Over the past few days, we saw a movie; tried a new fro-yo place (appropriately called Fro Yo); made dinner; and tended to our sick kitty.

We're now giving Sadie four different medicines five times a day, along with wet food morning and night and fluids ever third day. Needless to say, this weekend I also wrote all that down on a calendar.

touched

Sadie has developed some new “issues” (in addition to her old “issues,” which are managed by pills, fluids and very expensive food). So, we’re headed back to the vet this afternoon.

It was no problem for me to get the time off from work. My editor is incredibly understanding and told me to take as much time as I need, and not to worry about taking any vacation or sick hours to cover it. But, when Sam suggested he’d ask for an hour off to accompany us, I thought it might be a bad idea.

His boss is a very intimidating, hard-charging man who frowns upon lunch breaks and Christmas vacations, let alone vet visits. I could only imagine Sam saying to him: “Well, you see, my cat’s been having some very bad diarrhea…”

So, I was very surprised when he called me up and said he’d be there. His boss scoffed at first, but Sam put his food down and said it was important.

I know Sadie doesn’t know the difference, but I’m touched. He knows how stressful these visits are for me – especially since they inevitably end with bad news – and I appreciate that he risked embarrassment with his boss to accompany me.

do you Pandora?

Twitter continues to baffle me (I stand by my opinion that it's a narcissistic exercise), but I've fallen hard for Pandora.

My co-worker turned me on to Pandora: a free Internet radio station that delivers a personalized mix based on your favorite band or song. I have my uber mellow Iron & Wine "station," perfect writing music, and others based on Rogue Wave and Death Cab. The best thing is, it's turned me on to tons of new bands I never would've discovered otherwise.

It definitely makes the ol' 9-to-5 a little more bearable!

bird on a wire

This is the necklace I scored at Crafty Bastards on Saturday. I must have stood there for 10 minutes, debating between the dark green bird with yellow flowers and the yellow bird with red flowers. In the end, though, I decided on the black bird, in part because I've always really loved aqua and red together.

Though I found lots to love at the craft fair, this was the only thing I bought. I'm proud of myself for showing a little bit of restraint.

the look for less

This fall, I desperately needed to replace my grey Banana Republic peacoat from a couple seasons back. I love the coat, but it didn't wear very well. When we were cleaning out our closets a couple weeks ago, Sam even commented that it looked a little dirty, despite just having been dry cleaned. And when Sam notices... well, it's time for a new coat.

I love J.Crew's navy peacoat, but I wasn't crazy about the $225 price tag. So, when I happened upon this boucle jacket at the Gap today, I just had to have it. It's soft, warm, and hits in just the right spot; and it features thick sweater cuffs at the wrists to keep wimps like me warm. And, with my 25% off coupon, it was only $65 -- $160 less than the J.Crew peacoat.

I love a bargain -- especially one that will hide dirt from my husband's eagle eye.

you crafty bastard

The CFA studying commences this weekend, so on Saturday I'm headed to Crafty Bastards in Adams Morgan to give Sam a little quiet time.

The woman who makes these adorable ceramic bird necklaces that I've been eying on Etsy for months now will be there, along with 100 other awesome crafters.

There is a serious possibility that I will blow all my rent money there.

even better than the real thing

Last night's U2 concert was amazing. I've never seen them live before, so I don't know how this show compared to previous tours, but I was blown away. First of all, it was held at FedEx Field, where the Redskins play, and there must've been 75,000 people there. Between the sheer number of people and the intricate stage set-up, it was a huge spectacle. And, our seats were incredible: club level, row 1, completely unobstructed view.

And then there was the music. They played for two hours, and treated the crowd to some oldies-but-goodies: One, New Year's Day, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For. I loved City of Blinding Lights, as that's one of my favorite U2 songs, but the highlight was the second encore, which included With Or Without You. It literally gave me the chills -- and not just because it was cold and windy last night.

The only downside was the traffic. It took us 2.25 hours to get there (about 20 miles), and another two hours to get home. Apparently FedEx Field has only one exit, so we literally sat in the lot for 45 minutes without moving an inch. Thank God Sam's not a 'Skins fan, as we will not be going back. Ever.

a friendly face

We had a very nice visit with my sister-in-law this weekend. We ate, laughed, told stories and generally had a very wonderful time. Aileen's visit really made both of us miss home in a way -- the world can feel very cold and harsh when you're so far from your family, so it was great to see a friendly face from Arizona.

and so it begins...

life is good

This has been a whirlwind week. After being sick for five days, I returned to annual report hell. Literally, hell.

But, I have four bits of news that are brightening my mood, tremendously:

1. My sister-in-law flies in tonight for an audiology conference. She's coming in a day early to see us, and we have lots of fun stuff planned for tomorrow: lunch at Tabard Inn in Dupont Circle, dinner with Sam and frozen custard.

2. Today I bought our plane tickets to Phoenix for the ASU/USC game in November. I can't WAIT to go home, see my family and eat all my favorite foods (it always comes back to food, doesn't it?).

3. I also bought tickets to Sunday's preseason Caps game versus Sam's New York Rangers. I can't believe hockey season is almost upon us -- I love fall, and I love my Caps.

4. Sam just called to tell me his boss gave him two tickets to Tuesday's U2 concert. I'm soooo excited, despite the fact that we'll be sitting next to two wierdos from Sam's office. I anticipate lots of great music and a story or two about said weirdos.