Happy Valentine's Day from NoVA!

Who is that peeking out of a cozy sweatshirt pocket to say "Happy Valentine's Day?" It's Porkchop, come to bestow some good cheer! Actually, I think she could care less if any of us have a good V-Day. All she cares about it eating (as much as possible) and sleeping. She's such a selfish little pig.

But I hope that you have a great Valentine's Day! I even made some dorky homemade valentines to celebrate:



~S~

Snowed In: Day 4 1/2

In case you haven't heard- D.C. has been hit by one of the biggest snow storms on record. Snow started pouring down on Friday morning and didn't stop until late Saturday, dumping a total of 24 inches in Alexandria. The metro area has been furiously trying to dig out for the past three days, but progress has been slow. Work was canceled today and yesterday and tomorrow isn't looking good either- considering that ANOTHER storm just blew into town and is expected to drop another 10-20 inches on us. Help!!!

Sure, a "snow day" SOUNDS like tons of fun, but to be honest, I am bored out of mind. Being trapped in a little apartment gets real old, real fast. I am suffering from cabin fever in the worst way. There is only so much that one can do with 750 square feet at one's disposal. Every inch of me wants to go on a hike or climb a mountain or something outrageous like that.


So far, I have:

1. Cleaned the house- and washed a massive pile of dishes in the sink.
2. Did some laundry.
3. Made a snowman. And a mini-snowman.
4. Went sledding. (Okay, these last two were really fun.)


5. Played with Porkchop so much that she probably just wants some alone time by now.
6. Made some (really really cute) Valentine cards.
7. Made some really good food- namely the most delicious hamburgers yet, some steaks, cinnamon cake, and pumpkin-berry-pecan pancakes. Yeah, not the most healthy of days...
8. Drank. Wine. A lot.
9. Played two games of Scrabble. Won two games of Scrabble.
10. Watched There's Something About Mary and Chicago. Both solid movies.
11. Watched Seinfeld.
12. Watched Saturday Night Live, which caused me to get this terrible song medley stuck in my head.
13. Worked out in our apartment complex's little gym- which allowed me to watch this terrible reality show on MTV called "For the Love of Ray J."
14. Started reading a new book- "Game Change." I am learning more than I ever wanted to know about the 2008 election. Nice.
15. Read a lot of blogs.
16. Tried to be productive and finish some work projects.
17. Researched a dentist. (I know, exciting stuff.)
18. Dug the car out of the snow.
19. Found too many things that I want to buy on Etsy.
20. Rode shotgun as Ben got stuck going up a hill- which I would like to point out was not my idea at all. I also was there when Ben got stuck pulling out of a gas station. On both accounts, he was able to get us free and thereby impress himself with his manliness. But before you judge, you people must understand that this is serious ice and snow that we are dealing with. Serious.

Right now, I hear a couple of snow plows outside and I hope that they are able to finally make some progress, but there is only so much that they can do by pushing the snow around into new piles.

I would try to catch a flight back to Cali, but all the planes have been grounded due to the weather.

Drat.

~S~

Snowmaggedon: The Aftermath

Now you know why we haven't been able to answer the phone...

Just kiddin'. But we did receive a total of 24 inches of the fluffy white stuff over the last 36 hours, which even topped Snowpocalypse '09. The storm definitely delivered! Cabin Fever is starting to set in. Help!

~S~

Text Messaging is Fun Again!

This is an actual text message that I received from a friend back in California. I repeat, this text is real:

OMG!!!! I just saw a guy skateboarding down the street with a goat on a leash!

(Image via JTP Design)

Well, California is a glamorous place! I wish I had been there to see it...

~S~

Trainspotting: JoBro

For some reason, Metro was hoppin' tonight. As I boarded the Blue Line train at Rosslyn, I just happened to walk by what appeared to be a normal, 30-something(?) gentleman wearing normal office attire leaving the station. Nothing to unusual about that, right? When he walked by, what I saw caused me to do a double-take:

(Photo via mocollin)

Dude was wearing a Jonas Brothers backpack. This JoBro backpack, to be specific.

He must have had some logical explanation...

...right?

~S~

Nom Nom Nom!

Our guinea pig, Porkchop, really lives up to her name. She eats like there is no tomorrow! We discovered that it is more entertaining to feed her shredded carrots rather than regular ol' carrot sticks because she slurps them up like spaghetti.

And obviously, that amuses Ben and I.

Her appetite never seems to be sated; she is forever looking for her next handout of hay or salad mix. Luckily for her, we are pushovers. Obesity is impending for this little pig.

~S~

Salt bagels are delicious!

Today I had my first salt bagel. Ever. I'm not sure what took so long- those little doughy circles of goodness are freaking delicious! It's like eating a pretzel for breakfast. With a side of cream cheese. If you haven't had one, I encourage you to run out to neighborhood bagel shop and pick up a few.

Ode to Bagels

Bagels, bagels are good for the soul,
with their big outside and little round hole.

Bagels, bagels are good for the mind.
I’ve never been known to leave one behind.

Bagels, bagels, they put you at ease.
You can eat them with lox,
You can eat them with cream cheese.

(Poem written by a 6th grader from Illinois- but it pretty much describes my feelings completely)

And in other news...

It snowed (again) yesterday. Not Snowpocalypse status, but still enough that the roads are a tad bit icy and I don't feel like braving the conditions to go out into the world. There are just too many crazies-behind-the-wheel out there.

Yesterday was the big going away party for Tai Shan, the Zoo's four-year-old panda that China has decided to steal from the U.S. Well, I guess they didn't actually "steal" the cute little guy; China has a monopoly on the entire panda bear population worldwide and therefore has the right to claim its property at any time. Needless to say, some people have been really worked up about it. Like, really, really worked up. That panda has an intense fan club that seems to shun the rest of the zoo's inhabitants for that big black-and-white bear. They even have panda-themed hats.

Now, I'm no panda hater, but I think that someone needs to stick of for the other cool animals at the Zoo. Just a few feet away from the "real" pandas are the red pandas- adorable, energetic little guys that look like a raccoon-fox combination. They frolic and make noises and get very little attention, even though they are basically begging for a few photographs to be taken of them!

(Adorable red panda in the snow via National Zoo)

To be honest, I was more upset when the hippo was taken away. Happy (the hippo) left for greener pastures last fall without getting a send-off party. Also, since the elephant house is undergoing a major renovation, Ben and I haven't been able to visit the pygmy hippos or the capybaras, two of my faves. But the pandas are the real celebrities of the Zoo, so they get all the attention. Where is the justice?!

That said, there are still plenty of other cool animals worth checking out at the Zoo, which has become one of our favorite D.C. hangouts. Ben highly recommends checking out the maned wolf- it looks like a red fox on stilts. But it smells real bad.

I promise there are other, more important, things going on in our lives aside from discussing zoo drama. But I felt like something needed to be said on the other animals' behalf...

:)

~S~