Ice, ice baby

We've been stuck in the midst of a wintry blast here for the past few days...ummm, I thought we were supposed to have patio weather in Dallas in December!  Isn't that one of the perks of suffering through the ridiculously hot summers?  Oh well, I guess we'll take a little actual cold; it makes it feel more holiday-ish, anyway.  I actually escaped from the ice (well, the start of the ice - still had to face the aftermath) by driving down to Austin Thursday night to go to tax school on Friday.  And since Dallas got covered in a thick sheet of ice Thursday night and Friday morning, I really didn't mind being in Austin where there was no ice in sight.  Especially since my office decided to say, "hey, you guys go ahead and brave the ice and come on in today!  If you can't make it, you'll probably just need to take some time off, ok, cool?"  Not cool, actually, especially when sanity says to stay off the crazy ice slick roads and you have a twenty-something mile drive that takes 45 minutes on a good day.  Anyway...happy to be in Austin so I didn't even have to deal with that.

No one wants to hear about tax school, so I'll just share my version of highlights, which you know includes food.

I picked up dinner Thursday night from Hyde Park Bar & Grill, which has one of my favorite restaurant landmarks - a big ol' giant fork outside.  It's awesome, and so is the food. 

I was originally planning to drive back Friday after the conference, but decided to stay an extra night, knock out some Christmas shopping, and face the icy disaster on Saturday instead.  Which meant one more delicious Austin dinner!  So I went to Maudie's and indulged in Tex-Mex deliciousness.  And yes, the margarita is virgin - no tequila for baby, I promise.

I waved at the Capitol on my way out of town.

The drive back on Saturday actually wasn't quite as horrendous as I thought it might be; the ice and mess really only added about 45 minutes to the drive and didn't get too dicey.  Although coming into south Dallas, the first bridge I went over had two smashed-up cars and flashy lights on the scene...oh boy.  Fortunately, sand had been laid out in force and most people were actually driving with caution instead of stupidity.  The worst part of the drive was our neighborhood, which with minimal traffic was still basically a ginormous sheet of thick ice.  I slowly pulled into the driveway...and slid right back down.  Oops.  Street parking it is.  But then Craig the Brave went out and made it up the driveway and into the garage - I just didn't watch it happen.

Our poor, sad tree-bush-thing in the backyard has quite a few broken branches.  Wah wah.  Hopefully it's salvageable and not a total goner.

Total ice slick out there!  And temporary street parking since the driveway got the best of me.

Brrrrrrrr.  So we've kept it pretty low key and have mostly stayed holed up at home with the fire going.  I've actually been semi-productive and knocked out Christmas cards last night and this morning, woot woot!  Now it's time to get my baking on.  And maybe I'll do the boring stuff, too, like laundry and a touch o' cleaning.  Stay warm, y'all!

Piles o' Christmas card goodness make me happy

Jumping the gun

It feels eighteen kinds of wrong to do anything acknowledging Christmas before the sacred day o' turkey passes...but we did it this year.  In the form of going ahead and busting out decorations, addressing a few Christmas cards, and engaging in one of my favorite kinds of shopping along with actual real, in-store shopping for things like extra garland and ornaments.

Pure logistics, people.  Thanksgiving is just late this year, and we'll be out of town, and then next weekend disappears, and then before you know it the tree's not up until December 8 and we only enjoy it for two weeks before it all falls down.  So we went for it.  I think it helped that it was cold and disgusting this weekend and actually felt like we were on the verge of real winter activity - roaring fire (well, as roaring as it gets when the fire starts by flicking a switch on the wall) all weekend long!

Ginormous tree, also an excellent tree fort for Harrison - thank goodness he leaves ornaments alone.  We just have to hang the breakables out of the reach of Zach's tail...

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care...oh, wait, do we have a real chimney?  Hmmm...

He of the wonky stocking (it turns!  I think I need to throw a few strategic stitches in there to keep it facing forward) and keeper of the fire

There's also garland and ribbon twirling down the staircase with giant ornaments dangling, a wreath on the front door, and cinnamon pine cones scattered here and there to make the house all Christmasy.  Yay for holiday cheer!  Just not excessive amounts of holiday cheer - please don't ever let me put inflatable things on my lawn.  I just don't think I can go there.

We also gave in to an impulse scentsicles purchase at Home Depot; they were a little overwhelming at first and a touch on the air-freshener-from-a-can scent side, but now they've pleasantly faded into a "oh, is that a real Christmas tree??" kind of scent coming from the corner of the living room.  It's hard to beat the pre-lit tree that's relatively easy to assemble, especially when you can kinda fake it on the real tree scent front.

Happy holidays, y'all!

Escape from The Oven

A little over a month ago...I escaped.  From The Oven.  To The Mountains.  And it was everything I thought it would be.  Except for the bat that swooped into our lives, which I was not expecting at all.  Don't worry, I'll tell you allllll about that particular adventure.  Just not yet.  First let's start with beer.

For our annual girl trip, this year Kami and Carolyn and I opted for something a little close by, a lot relaxed, and INFINITELY cooler than The Oven (also infinitely cooler than last year's trip, thank goodness) - to Colorado we go!  Specifically to Beaver Creek, where you're not exactly roughing it.  I mean that quite literally, since that's the slogan for their ad campaign.  We really did leave everyday life behind when we went through that magical gate.  But before we got there, we spent a little time at Wynkoop Brewing Company in Denver (source of the beer sampler above - I really loved the chile beer...imagine that!) and made the drive through some rather cool and picturesque scenery to get to our mountain escape.

I see mountains!!

Really, REALLY glad we never needed to make use of the runaway truck ramps - YIPES.

Since we were in the land of microbreweries (and since we had a late check-in at our condo - might as well kill some time with another stop for alcohol, right?), we stopped along the way in the cuteness that is Breckenridge and checked out the offerings at Breckenridge Brewery.

Just look at all of those adorable tiny beers!  I was actually very pleasantly surprised by the vanilla porter - dessert beer, yum.

After navigating the mountain passes and picking up provisions, we checked into our ENORMOUS (yay for summer rates!) condo at Ridgepoint and got settled.  Which for us means...

...wine and cheese hour in the living room.  There's really no better way to start the night.  We barely managed to rouse ourselves from the really comfortable couches, but we pulled it together for a late dinner at Vin 48 (it was outside the prestigious gates of Beaver Creek!!  but the food was really delicious) - boots and all.  We embraced the slight chill in the air and went all out with sleeves and cardigans and boots.  Coming from The Oven, it was a truly wonderful sartorial experience.  Day 1 in the books.  And yes, I realize that in the five pictures above, two feature landscapes and three feature alcohol.  We have our priorities right.  Pictures of actual people to come, promise.

The next morning we made the hike into Beaver Creek proper/the village/land of really expensive stores and hotels and restaurants and promptly made a new friend while grabbing lunch.  Meet Lexi.  Carolyn almost stole her.

After carbing up, we decided to tackle some hiking - after consulting a very large, very informative map, of course.

 

And into the woods we go!!

Byeeeeeee

Some notes on hiking:

• if you're on a paved path...or a freakin' ROAD...it's not hiking
• if you encounter your dream home along the way, possibly inhabited by a delightful young man named Hans...it's not hiking

• aspen trees are really lovely - you might even refer to them as nature's Q-tips (so skinny and so fluffy at the top!)
• if there are signs telling you how to avoid bears - then it's probably really hiking, at which point my ability to actually hike will fade considerably

We made it back safely, no bear attacks, and made our way back home...DOWNHILL!!...with short stops along the way to investigate the most enormous dandelions ever and some really beautiful views.

Chill afternoon at home, and then we again donned boots, cardigans, and sleeves (yay!!) for a drink on the gorgeous patio at the Park Hyatt and fancy dinner at Grouse Mountain Grill.  Great night.  Day 2 in the books.

Don't worry, that bat story is still coming.  I'm saving it for you.  You can check out the full photo spread here, though, and just know that the bat lurks within.

Adventures in moving

"Adventures in moving" is just a little broad.  Let's also file this one under (1) the poor kitty who couldn't fly (Harrison was supposed to fly out Wednesday...and then Friday...and now MONDAY!  Poor little guy) and (2) what happens when a door seal is broken during Snowy Icy Disaster Times (bazillions of cold air molecules rush into your home, creating a thermostat reading of...freezing.  Not good to see your breath in your house.  Heat is now on and the door seal is now fixed, phew). 

Possibly also file under (3) North Texas goes Super Bowl crazy (but at least the Pittsburgh and Wisconsin fans know how to drive in ice and snow, right?) and (4) reacquiring your four-wheel drive vehicle in place of rental car on the day The Great Melt begins (although in its defense, the little Nissan Versa did just fine as long as I went slooooowly - driving on the frozen equivalent of a Slip 'n Slide isn't exactly my idea of a good time.  Glow sun glow!  Melt that snow!).

Who would have thought that I'd need to worry more about snow and ice blanketing North Texas than attacking D.C. this time of year?  After powering through Snowpocalypse 2009 and Snowmageddon 2010, I sent up little prayers to Mother Nature for her to please go easy on the East Coast during late January, early February this year.  Too bad I forgot to account for crazy Texas weather.  Dallas has been blanketed by ice ever since Tuesday...and another six inches of snow fell on Thursday night.  At least I was fortunate enough to be traveling on one of the few flights that actually made it from DC to Dallas on Wednesday.  Egads!

However...I'm remarkably impressed that both the movers with my giant truckload of stuff AND the car carrier got here TODAY.  Thanks for battling the elements, guys!  And thanks for unpacking my ridiculous amount of stuff while I spend the day tethered in, knocking out things like address changes.  And blogging.  And wondering how the heck to arrange the living room.

It's starting to actually feel like I'm back here now and not just on a short visit.  Phew.  Now, if we could just get poor little Harrison here...

Holidayapalooza 2010, Virginia Beach-style

Christmas season 2010 was a little all over the place.  Craig and I drove down to Virginia Beach on the 21st to spend some time with his parents, where I learned the following things...

The beach is always beautiful, even when it's freeeeeeeezing outside.

The city of Norfolk has mermaids everywhere.  EVERYWHERE.

Large, imposing battleships are much less scary when adorned with a wreath.

Water is alllllll around.  And it can come get you.  I'm still not totally comfortable with water.

I also learned that my future father-in-law is an exceptional board game player (especially one particular game involving military strategy), my future mother-in-law is a rather wonderful hostess, and some kitty cats actually do like Craig (ahem, Harrison).  Check out the pictures from the Virginia Beach adventures here.  More holidayapalooza to come...pretend I'm flying from Norfolk to DFW at this very moment...

Here we come a-caroling

Still playing catch-up on the blog, so hope you guys enjoy all of these holiday-themed posts.  At least they're making an appearance in January instead of May or something.  Phew.

My D.C. time is coming to a close rather rapidly, and did you know that while I have done A LOT over the last couple of years, there are still plenty of things that just aren't going to happen?  The week before Christmas, though, I got to check one more thing off the list - a visit to Ford's Theatre.  Now, while I missed the "live historic interpretations by professional actors and National Park Service Rangers" that go on during the day (here's hoping the actors do the acting while the Park Rangers provide info and not the other way around), I did get to do something pretty cool - see "A Christmas Carol" in all of its Christmas wonder. 

Craig and I braved the freeeeeezing temperatures and brutal wind for the short walk from my place to our wonderful pre-theater dinner at Poste, a nifty restaurant located in the original 1841 General Post Office.  We warmed up with some ridiculous French onion soup and other tasty things, then took a quick stroll through the lobby of Hotel Monaco to soak up a little Christmas cheer.

Christmas cheer in place!  Also, bundled up to face the elements

We froze our way over to Ford's Theater a couple of blocks away, where I managed to take my gloves off long enough to snap just a couple of pictures before my fingers froze and crumbled to the sidewalk in a pile of frozen finger dust.  Ok, I still have my fingers, or else these incredible robotic fingers that are fairly nimble when it comes to typing.

One of the randomly cool things you come across in D.C. - old call boxes all over the city that have been painted to reflect something of historical significance in the neighborhood.  It's a pretty cool project!  Obviously, Mr. Lincoln and his untimely end pretty much dominate this block of 10th Street NW.

We got there just in time to sneak in and unbundle ourselves before the show started, so I snapped a few pictures at intermission - the stage all decked out all 1840s London-style and the box where Lincoln was shot:

Just another night at the theater!  Oh, in a theater of great historical significance while being filled with Christmas spirit.  Pretty cool night.  Actually, it was very cold.  But you know what I mean.

Early AM life lessons

1.  Do not, under any circumstances, start reading The Hunger Games anywhere near a time where a reasonable person should go to bed.  Good thing I ordered the trilogy from Amazon and have two more books to get me through holiday vacation time.  Yes, it's approximately 3:58 AM EST.  Oops.

2.  Holiday vacation time doesn't really start until 2:30 PM EST tomorrow.  Double oops on the whole "starting The Hunger Games at 11:30 EST" business.  Work tomorrow is most definitely not going to be awesome.

3.  When it's really, really cold outside, make sure you wear some kind of shoe that actually requires use of socks.  Your feet will be much warmer and toastier this way.  Basically, don't wear ballet flats in DC in late December.

4.  Consider shipping all gifts directly to their final destination when you live a looooooooooooong way from home.  Packing can get a little iffy when you're trying to figure out where to fit certain things in a giant suitcase.  Triple oops.

5.  If you're getting engaged but don't know it, try to magically summon the willpower to not look exhausted by 9:00 PM so that pictures from that night actually make you look human.

6.  If you're traveling to three different cities over the course of ten days during the Christmas holidays, consider starting the packing adventure before 7:30 PM the day before you're supposed to leave.  Also, don't get caught up in The Hunger Games.

7.  Kitty cats are very sweet when they snuggle up next to you for hours while you read young adult fiction.

Ponies, ponies everywhere

Amarillo is covered up in horses.  Plenty of real ones, yes, but there's also a herd of fiberglass quarter horses.  Center City of Amarillo and the American Quarter Horse Association (headquartered here in A-town) have teamed up for "Hoof Prints of the American Quarter Horse - America's Horse," a city-wide public art display featuring fiberglass horses outside local businesses that have been painted by local artists.  We are allllll about the horses here, and there are some really cute ones around town!  Also some odd ones here and there, but we'll focus on some cute ones for now.

Last night we had a need to get out of the house after spending the day in a bit of a Thanksgiving coma, so we drove around a bit and laughed at the people standing in lines during sub-freezing temperatures, just waiting to snag their bargains.  We also checked out a couple of ponies I hadn't seen before...it's Amarillo and there's not just a whooooole lot to do.  This one is "Reflections of Love" outside the Amarillo Children's Hospital.  Isn't it sweet with the mommy horse and the baby horse??  Plus they're shiny, which is just awesome.

But I think I was most amused by the sign accompanying the horses...

Outside the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center, there's none other than a black horse (looks just like the Masked Rider, except...you know...minus the rider) complete with a Double T:

One of my favorites is the horse outside Hooters - it's sporting the traditional Hooters waitress attire along with a bright red set of lips.  It's delightfully tacky.  And that's how we do it here in Amarillo.

Support the little people

I go back and forth on the Black Friday, post-Thanksgiving shopping extravaganzas that grip our nation.  I'm all for a great bargain, but not at the expense of sweet blessed sleep, my sanity, or dealing with the truly ridiculous crowds.  I mean, last year we even drove by Best Buy on Thursday night just to check out the camping situation, and it was pretty ridiculous.  With temperatures expected to dip into the teens in A-town on Turkey Day, I'm hoping those crazy people bundle up and prepare to face the elements so their hands aren't too frost-bitten to carry out their massive purchases.

That being said, the Bryan clan will usually get out and do a little bit of shopping over the holiday weekend - just not before the crack of dawn, that's all.  We like to hit up the stores when all those people who didn't sleep the night before have collapsed at home, therefore freeing up store space for us...the sane people.  And this year, I'm going to make it a point to do at least a little bit of shopping on Saturday to support the little people.

American Express is sponsoring Small Business Saturday, encouraging consumers to head outside of the giant box stores (not that there's anything wrong with giant box stores - they do come in awfully handy, and Target is one of the happiest places on earth) and put their dollars back into their community by shopping at small, independently owned business. And if you’re a proud AmEx card carrier, you’re eligible to earn a $25 statement credit on any purchase of at least $25 on Small Business Saturday at any locally owned independent small businesses that accept American Express.  Register here to get a $25 statement credit.  I'm certain that terms and conditions apply.  That's where the lawyers come in.

I might just have to go spend some dollars at Roasters...perhaps treat my family to some caffeinated treats to properly fuel us for allllll the shopping adventures!  Besides, shopping is my cardio...

Snowmageddon 2010

Just to give you an idea of the snow accumulation in the D.C. area over the weekend...I mean, poor teddy bears didn't stand a chance:



In case you've been living under a rock, the Mid-Atlantic region was smacked in the face by some crazy-ridiculous snowfall over the weekend.  After Snowpocalypse 2009, a snowstorm here and there, and Snowmageddon 2010's accumulation, D.C. is on pace for its snowiest winter ever.  Thanks for giving me the true winter experience, Mother Nature!  We don't get these coastal double moisture something somethings anywhere in Texas.  It's just crazy out there.

The office shut down at 10:45 Friday morning...and hasn't been open since.  Not going to lie, it's kinda nice to work from the comfort of my couch in some cozy jammies, but I think I might go absolutely bonkers without some human contact and adventures outside of this apartment.  However, I am extremely grateful to be in the city, all urbanified, where the plows have actually come through, the sidewalks are relatively clear, and the electricity is still on.  Some of these poor folks out in the burbs haven't had power for days.  And honestly, I could really make it into the office if I needed to...but there just aren't too many people there.  A lot of them are stuck at home with stir-crazy children and are therefore all too happy to shut themselves in a home office and take on the day one conference call at a time.  My child doesn't know what going outside really means, so all is well here in the Bryan household.  Although I think I'm throwing him for a loop with my continued presence.

To prevent myself from going crazy, I've managed the following:

• Actually worked until 3:30 or so on Friday and then sought refuge with fellow co-workers and other snowy folks at an early happy hour.  Walked home (rocking the snow boots, I might add) in a peaceful, fluffy, falling-straight-down-and-not-all-blizzardish snow.  Pretty.
• Busted out the snow boots and layers to go explore with the camera on Saturday right after the snow stopped falling.  Streets functioned as sidewalks, people were skiing, general crazy winterness.  You bet I took a million pictures.  I also may or may not have gone up on the roof and made a snow person.  It's been a while since I just fell into a giant pile of snow.





• Braved the (mostly clear and slushy main) roads on Sunday to make it to a Super Bowl party.  I get really excited about any opportunity to spend time in the kitchen putting together BBQ jalapeño poppers and chocolate whoopie pies with salted caramel buttercream to share with friends, and I wasn't letting the snow get in the way of my kitchen adventures.  I mean, it's too dangerous to make that stuff for myself...I'll eat it all.  Oh, yeah, and the game was pretty good, too.
• Escaped for lunch today to walk a mere block and a half to Potbelly for a toasty sandwich.  I was really craving it.

Since I have the essentials on hand in the kitchen (and by essentials, I mean coffee, leftover whoopie pies, and assorted pantry items...vegetables are so waiting until week), I've completely avoided grocery stores.  We have caffeine-crazed people screaming at Whole Foods, empty shelves, and lines from the registers to the back of the store.  This last piece is  based on today's first-hand report from my neighbor who quickly discouraged my passing thoughts at heading down the street to Safeway to pick up ingredients for a pot of chili.  So much for my winter comfort food.

Oh, and have I mentioned that it's snowing again?  Ummm...right now?  Looking a little blizzard-ish outside my window right now, and I feel exceptionally sorry for the valet guys at the National Building Museum who are attempting to park and retrieve cars for some gala that's still going on tonight.  Office is shut down again tomorrow...and I'm guessing probably Thursday, too.  We're supposed to get 10-20" out of this one.  Since we've already run through Snowpocalypse and Snowmageddon, I think the suggested moniker for this one is Snoverkill.  Ridiculous.  I might have to head out for pictures again tomorrow after the snow stops and share them with you...provided I still have things like electricity and Internet access.  Which I really think I will.  Not too much danger of falling trees crushing power lines here in the urban jungle.

Go check out the craziness on Picasa from my snowy explorations.  It's a little ridiculous.  Set the slideshow on fast, because you know me...there are far too many pictures there.  Happy winter, everyone!

Snow day!

When D.C. gears up for a winter storm warning and really any amount of frozen white stuff (come on, weather folks - couldn't you be a little more specific than "between a dusting and eight inches!" to prepare us for what may come?  Although you did get a little bit more specific as the snow made its way on top of us...), I'm momentarily thrilled by the thought of (1) a potential day off work and (2) pretty stuff falling from the sky that generally makes the world a softer, gentler place, covering the world with a coat of innocence.  Ugh, too mushy and Hallmark-ish on the last one.  Sorry about that.  Well, January Snow Day 2010 happened to occur on a SATURDAY, which meant no free time off work (although I have my doubts that the federal government would have closed shop today, which is what Uncle Pdub follows...drats), but I did embrace the general snowy joy and bitter coldness of the day by...well, by not leaving my apartment, cranking up the heater, and generally being lazy.  Let me just say, it's much more pleasant enjoying the snow from the comfort of one's own apartment than trying to fight one's way through it to get it out of town.

Allow me to share in my laziness and general happiness about not doing much of anything today.  After all, what are weekends for?  I might even count this as a D.C. exploration since Dallas is not covered in snow.  Can only have this experience here, people.  Or possibly in Amarillo where the snow was ridiculously worse.

Sleeping in until 11.  Yes, I can still do that!!  Kinda proud.  Busting open altruistic Christmas gift from the Vaughns in the form of my first shipment of a three month coffee of the month program from Grounds for Change, a fairly awesome certified organic coffee roaster specializing in 100% fair trade coffee.  Delicious coffee AND supporting a good cause?  Sign me up.  Oh, wait - you did.  Thanks, Vaughns!  And this month's coffee, Ramelau from East Timor, is absolutely delicious.  I had a lot of caffeine this morning...and into the early PM hours.  Had fond thoughts of my Dallas people as I sipped away from my newest Dallas mug.  Miss you.

Opened up the blinds and watched the snow progress throughout the day while I watched crap TV, took in some college basketball, finished the book I was on, caught up on all kinds of magazines, cleaned, rummaged for food, spent at least an hour on the sofa in a coma-like state where I may not have done much of anything at all, and busted out the zoom lens to at least make it feel like I was up close and personal with the snow and those who chose to brave it.  It was lovely.

Inspiration struck late in the evening, and I finally managed to wrap up a project I've been meaning to finish for...ummm...kinda forever.  Another gift from the Vaughns, actually - a wine corkboard...board provided, get the corks attached.  Finally attached corks.  I think I really like it.  Dry, glue, dry.

I'm also on a real movie kick these days - Oscar season tends to bring that out in me, so this weekend I appear to have gone on a bit of a war kick with a Friday night viewing of Inglorious Basterds and The Hurt Locker tonight.  Enjoyed the former more than I thought I would (sometimes Tarantino just throws me for a loop), and now need chocolate or something to chill me out from the tension I developed while watching the latter.  Good movie.

And yes, I took pictures throughout my snow day and have now blogged about them.  I think I might be getting a little bored.  Maybe I should go to bed?  Oh, wait, I got up at 11...so I'm not exactly ready to call it a night.  Oh, SNL in just a few minutes?  With Jon Hamm?  I think I'm set.

Let me just say that I wasn't the laziest one around today...