Holiday Recap Part 1!

Happy 2013 everyone!  Right now, I'm curled up on my couch with a cupcake, my dog and some cheesy TV shows while Ben is out with co-workers and I have a rare night to myself.  I guess I have a lot to catch up on, since apparently I haven't blogged in over a month...oops...

Without further ado...here we go!

A few weeks ago, we have our first snowfall of the season and it was a doozy - at least a foot and a half of white stuff covering the ground, keeping the riff raff off the streets.  Well, most of the riff raff at least.  Ben and I decided to take Sidney out for a walk in the middle of the blizzard, and Sidney in the snow is always entertaining.  Observe:

Pleaz for 2 run??

Rabbit ears :)

Favorite

The weekend of the 15th, my parents and I flew to Chicago to visit my sister as she finished up her first semester of grad school!  We had three days of fun galavanting about the city, and I even got to see a few old friends.  I met up with my friend Katie and some of her Chicago friends for dinner at Owen and Engine, where I had a scotch and the greatest hamburger of my life.

Afterwards, we went to see The Hobbit starring my fave Martin Freeman!  Unfortunately, the movie didn't quite live up to my *extremely* high expectations.  I won't go into too much detail because I have an entire blog post planned on the subject, but for now I'll just say that even though I love Martin Freeman, and I love LOTR, The Hobbit had some serious flaws.  But it was still enjoyable and we had a great time!

Dinner after arriving in the city

Chicago Christmas Market!

Also Christmas Market

Dinner with the fam at the Walnut Room

Owen and Engine - where I had dinner with Katie and some of her Chicago friends.
HIGHLY recommended.
Obviously I ordered a scotch.

The Hobbit!  Yay Martin Freeman

My absolute favorite part of the holidays is the arrival of out of town friends!  My friend Ellen flew home from Stanford for Christmas and we got to spend some quality time catching up and watching Harry Potter movies.  We also attended a fun party at Tessa's parents' house - last year my camera erased all of my pics from Tessa's party, forcing me to recreate them using stick figures, but this year I have actual photos!

Julianna, me and El - slightly blurry

Also, this happened

Delicious treats

friendly friends

Lovely cookies from Patisserie 46

Yay friends

Well, I'll leave it there for now and hopefully do some more catching up in a couple of days.  Hope you all had a wonderful holiday(s)!

I'll tell you in another life, when we are both cats

Well, this is not a post I expected to be writing anytime soon.  We lost our Maggie on Monday :(  You will probably remember Maggie from such episodes as cat-sitting at my parents' house, and being generally ridiculous.



A few weeks ago she started precipitously dropping weight, which was initially attributed to hyperthyroid.  Then about a week and a half ago she completely stopped eating and drinking and was having visible acid reflux.  The vet who was going to treat her for hyperthyroid started to suspect GI lymphoma and all of her tests came back supporting that diagnosis.

There is no cure for gastric lymphoma, and the steroid medication that was supposed to make her comfortable enough to eat and drink normally again was making absolutely no difference.  My mom and sister were feeding her heavy cream and water through a syringe to keep her as nourished and hydrated as possible but it just got harder and harder.  The only treatment option left was chemo, but that would not have helped her discomfort.  Any time we tried to give her would have been time spent in pain and that did not seem fair.

My mom called me on Monday late morning to tell me they were taking her into the vet at 3pm.  I wish I could show you my work calendar for the day, because it was essentially a slew of back-to-back half hour and hour meetings, ending abruptly at 2:30.  If there was ever a sign that I needed to be somewhere at a certain time, that was it.

Letting go of Maggie was honestly one of the more difficult/emotional/intense experiences of my life.  I know there are probably people out there thinking "whatever, it's just a cat"...but trust me, I have lost pets before and this time is different.  I think of all pets as my family members, but Maggie was really and truly a member of the family.  There was just something really special about her.  Plus it was so sudden and unexpected... just really hard.

If it's OK I want to share some of my favorite memories of Maggie:

• The day we brought her home, she promptly managed to fall down the stairs.  I think that pretty much sums it up.
• Maggie always wanted to sit in a chair at dinner. Not on the table, not on the floor next to your chair - in a chair, like a person.  Sometimes this meant creeping on someone else's chair such as my dad.



Exhibit A - Maggie stealthily creeping up on his left

• She loved drinking  beer.  Obviously beer consumption was not allowed for Mags, but that didn't stop her from trying to steal a sip every once in a while.
  
  

  

  Exhibit B -it's Bell's so at least she had good taste?

• She really enjoyed staring at people while they slept.  Sometimes this meant sitting on the nightstand and just watching over you, but sometimes it meant that you woke up to find her on your stomach, staring down at you and kneading you forcefully with her (declawed!) front paws.
• Sometimes instead of staring creepily at you, she would actually sleep with you.  Her favorite spot was curled around your neck, regardless of if you were lying down or sitting up.  This occasionally made breathing difficult.
• When I brought her to my grad school apartment to cat-sit for the first time, she hid under my bed for two straight days, unable to comprehend that she was in a different space.  She emerged looking frazzled and totally covered in dust.
• Maggie was a frequent surprise guest in Skype conversations. Whether it was me Skyping my Ben while he was in Ohio, my parents Skyping me when I was in Turkey, or all of us talking to Julianna while she was in Australia, she always had a way of popping in.

There are tons more, and I'm sure they will keep popping into my head.  I hope Maggie knows how loved she was, and how much we miss her.



On a happier note, today is a day of beginnings, too: my friend Alex is getting married!  Alex was in my wedding last summer - we have been partners-in-crime for years and years, and continue to kick ass in Competitive Charades on a regular basis.

Alex is next to me on my right

I love her soon-to-be-husband Karl, they are such a perfect fit and I couldn't be happier for both of them!  On a related note, I should probably hop in the shower and get ready to report for bridesmaid duty.  Hope you are all having a happy and safe weekend.

In my kitchen, lately

Today I joined the frequent buyer club for a children's bookstore.  At age 29...for the purpose of buying books for...myself.  Thankfully I have a husband who loves me because I thought it would be a fun idea to re-read Madeline L'engle's Time Quintet, rather than in spite of it.  I am so damn lucky.

My book nerdiness has nothing to do with the rest of this blog.  I should tell you right up front that this entry is basically a bunch of food porn followed by a picture of my cat.  If you hate food and cats you might want to stop reading now.

*******

If you're still here it means you probably like food and cats.  Good for you! 

Despite appearances, I have actually been cooking recently.  There was a good period of um, several weeks after we moved where I pretty much subsited on eggs and toast, yogurt, and baked sweet potatoes with hummus.  Really anything you can cook in less than ten minutes was my bread and butter.

Finally last week I said screw that and broke out the Tagine my mother in law gave me for my birthday to make a spicy chicken tagine with apricots, rosemary and ginger.  The sweet potato and egg rut was officially broken.  Here's a little glimpse into what's been going on in my kitchen lately:

Mine did not look this pretty...

Turkish apricots and tomatoes - an unlikely, but tasty, combination

Eating on the porch...with wine ;)

I found these little siggi's bottles at Whole Foods last week - how cute!

The magic that is collard wraps and watermelon on a hot day

Collard wraps courtesy of Vegetarian Times website

 On Monday morning, I got up early and drove over to Minneapolis for a run around Lake Calhoun.  Sometimes I miss being so close to the lake, but it's really just a short drive and it is one of my favorite places to run.

After my run I checked the yoga schedule just to see what was going on, and saw that a class with one of my favorite teachers at the Uptown was starting in 20 minutes!  The fact that I had just run 3.5 miles was not going to stop me from...taking a 60 minute hot yoga class.  It was delightful. 



Chocloate Hazelnut Oat Bar - inhaled on my way home from yoga
Yes, I finally figured out how to use Instagram.  You may now applaud.



Unsurprisingly, the oat bar did not fill the void of hunger left by running + sweaty yoga.  Once I was showered and presentable, Ben and I zoomed over to Target Field for the Twins game, where I promptly inhaled a cuban sandwich and several forkfuls of Ben's buffalo mac and cheese.

Healthy?

Somehow, I even found time to get my bake on, and threw together a strawberry cake adapted from Eat, Live, Run (I basically just halved the recipe and put it in an 8x8 pan, and used coconut milk instead of regular milk for the cake portion because it was what I had on hand).  The original recipe comes from Back in the Day Bakery, one of my favorite places from my trip to Savannah.  Delicious!

...healthy?

And just because we all know who the real star of this blog is...

That's right.

Also, new car decision has been made... tomorrow I'm picking up my brand spaking new Honda Accord!  So excited...and also sad to say goodbye to my little VW :(  More on that later, hope you're all having a lovely week!

Bad Cop

The other night, Ben and I somehow got onto the terrifying topic of becoming parents.  No, I'm not pregnant and don't plan to be anytime soon, but having kids is definitely something we want in the future.  Occasionally I am struck by the totally irrational fear that I will be a horrible mom.  Ben assures me this isn't true, but I still worry. 

In a related story, Mini trapped herself in a bookcase later that same night.  Or maybe it would be more accurate to say that Mini walked into a bookcase and Ben trapped her there because it was funny.  Afterwards Ben decided that our reactions to our cat being trapped in a bookcase prove that together, we will be awesome parents because, as he put it, he'll be the one who tries to protect our kids from every little thing that could possibly go wrong and I'll be the one that's all "no, let them make their own mistakes!" and we will balance each other out nicely.

He has this idea in his head that I believe in allowing people to make their own choices and mistakes because a) that is what my dad always did for me, and b) it builds strength, character and confidence.  This is mostly true, but the truth is that in this case I just was really amused and wanted to see what happened.  True story.

Behold - the most pointless video of my cat ever, which apparently illustrates my awesome parenting skills of trapping living beings in a bookcase for my own amusement:

Weeeel I'm off to make some coffee.

Why are you making coffee at 9:15 on a Friday, you ask?  Well.  I will tell you why.  Ben and I are headed over to Mayslacks in a little while to hear our friends The Mayfly Rooks.  Unfortunately they don't even go on until 12:30 am.  I'm like an old woman, I go to bed at 10 and get up at 5:45.  I honestly cannot even remember the last time I was out much past 12.  Basically, if I'm going to make it through this night I am going to need a LOT of caffeine.  But also you should check out The Mayfly Rooks because they rock the shit, and their album drops on May 11.  Buy it.  Or at least download it illegally and then tell everyone how awesome it is.

No I'm kidding you shouldn't do that.  You should buy it for real.

Hopefully you survived the week!  Have a great weekend!!

Finally...time to relax!

I love my weekend jaunts to places like Boston and San Francisco, but they really take it out of me energy-wise.  I felt like I was just constantly sleep-deprived and was really looking forward to a weekend of lounging around in my pajamas drinking tea.  The weekend was a little rainy and cloudy - basically perfect for curling up on the couch with some tea and a book :)

In a related story, Mini has recently discovered that she can jump onto high surfaces.  She used to feel confined to chairs, beds and couches but no more.  Now, no table, counter or windowsill is out of her reach.  It is terrifying.

Tea, and cat photo bomb

Delicious new tea from Boston



I DO WHAT I WANT



I also did a little shoppin' this weekend, and bought a new dress at Anthropologie.  I saw it on the rack and thought hey, that dress would be perfect for work.  Well when I tried it on I realized that it does not feel necessarily work-appropriate.  I think if I wore it with tights it would be fine, but the fact that the hem is longer in back than in the front makes it feel more revealing, maybe?  Regardless, it makes me look like I am 8 feet tall (I am not) and have the legs of a gazelle (I do not) so - purchased!

Work-appropriate?  You be the judge.

On Saturday we went to dinner and the opera!  The show was Madame Butterfly, which is probably my favorite.  It's my Taj Mahal of operas - I expected to be underwhelmed because it is so famous, and ended up being completely blown away.  Puccini...the man knows how to write a melody.  Plus Kelly Kaduce rocks the shit.  Also it was way too cold and windy to be exposing my bare legs to the elements, but this did not stop me from wearing my new dress out.  Take that, weather.

We kicked off the evening with a sushi dinner at Sakura.  Butterfly is set in Japan, so it seemed like an appropriate choice.  Despite the host's strong recommendation that we make an early reservation, we breezed through dinner with two hours left until the opera.  What to do?  Drink, obviously!  



Perusing the menu



Salad and seaweed apps



More tea!



Sunday was brunch with my parents, more relaxing, and re-organizing our bookshelves. Super exciting.  In the evening we went to my friend Ellie's birthday party, and then to Tessa's for GAME OF THRONES.  As I mentioned in my last post, I wasn't so hot on the second book, so it's not too surprising that I am a little lukewarm on the second season of the series.  Some plotlines are awesome, others get boring quickly.  But every line out of Peter Dinklidge's mouth is GOLD.  Pure gold.  I would watch the show for his scenes alone.

Yoga last night was awesome.  The theme was "patience," and we worked on...hamstrings obviously.  Monday night was the intermediate/advanced class so we built up to Titibasana (Firefly) and Kurmasana (tortise pose). 

Kurmasana
(source)

Titibasana
(source)

Patience is definitely the key especially with Kurmasana, but I surprised myself by actually being able to get into the pose!  Normally I get claustrophibic and freak out, convinced my hips/shoulders/other body parts will break if I try to go any further.  But this time, I just took it one step at a time.   Stop, breathe, inner spiral.  Go a little deeper.  Stop and breathe, inner spiral again.  By the end I was basically flat on the ground.  Who knew??

Anyway, there's your little yoga inspiration for the day.  Just be patient and you too can squash your upper arms into the ground using your thighs.  Hooray!

Cute pictures of my pets sleeping

This post is pretty much exactly what the title indicates.  I had a long day and pretty much all I want to do is stare at photos of adorable fuzzy creatures...so in case you also had a long day and need too stare at adorable photos, look no further.

I feel like all I do on this blog lately is bitch and whine, and sorry about that...but sometimes, a girl's gotta vent.  I came back from an amazing weekend in Boston (recap coming) to a) a cold, b) snow (???) and c) the most stressful email inbox ever.  Would lighting my laptop on fire and running over it repeatedly with my car help?  Sometimes I wonder.

But seriously, no I would never do that.  Plus it wouldn't work.

Really though...if I laughed villanously while assassinating my computer it might work maybe?

Probably not.

So animal photos.  It should be noted that these pictures were all taken on the same day...within a span of about two hours.  That should give you a pretty good idea of the level of laziness we are working with here.  Behold - Mini and Sid:

Mini creeping over my shoulder

I do not understand how this could possibly be comfortable

...I also wish I could do this at work

LOVE ME

An hour later when they puke everywhere, I won't even be able to get mad because how???

Luckily, when I have a long day I also have awesome co-workers who share my slightly warped sense of humor, and who send me uplifting tidbits such as the following:

Happy thoughts?

...and some days, I remember that I just need to give myself a reality check.  Everything will be fine. It is not the apocolypse, I and everyone I love is still alive, and tomorrow is another day.

Amen.

Well happy Monday!  I'm back on the blogging bandwagon I think...life is sort of stabilizing so look for Boston recaps and cake recipes coming up.

Gifts

There is no way I'm going to be able to post anything until the weekend, so until then I will leave you with two small tokens to enjoy.

First up, our dog Sidney.  You may remember Sid from such popular episodes as "being fuzzy" and "bounding through the woods unencumbered by civilization and grooming."  Well...Ben took him to the groomer yesterday and...um.  This:

HOLA COMPADRES

Let me just remind you so that you fully comprehend my horror upon seeing Sid's new do. 

Before:

....and after:

whyyyyyyyyyyyy....

The photos don't even do it justice.  Not that it's any consolation, but Mini was almost as terrified as I was.  And...well, it's just hair.  It'll grow back eventually.  This is what we get for going "oh, we'll jsut get him a short cut for summer" and not specifying that we would still probably appreciate it if he came out looking like our dog.

Also, Ben has recently discovered iMovie, and these are the delicious results, originally posted on our baseball blog Peanuts from Heaven.  If you're not a baseball fan, I apologize.  Actually no, screw that, I refuse to apologize.  These videos are awesome even if you have never seen a baseball game.  Also just to clear up any confusion, we are NOT Twilight fans.  We just like things that are unintentionally hilarious, such as the latest trailer for Breaking Dawn part II.

Edit: OK I have now tried twice to get the damn videos to post and I give up.  Here's the link to the original Peanuts from Heaven post until I figure out how to work a computer:
Peanuts from Heaven: These Season Previews are Not Yet Rated