Pseudo Christmas in Pasco

Though Clark couldn't travel to Pasco with me due to his work schedule that he currently has no control over (can't wait until February!), and even though I lost the majority of my wonderful photos due to a faulty SD card, I had a fantastic trip back to Pasco!  It's amazing how fast eight days flies on by.  Here's a taste of my last two days in Pasco, with the exception of the first two photos which were taken on my point and shoot's internal memory.

This photo is from they day we went up to the mountains for some sledding action.  This was taken right after my SD card died, after I had taken some ridiculously awesome photos. Not a very convenient time for my SD card to stop working!  The views on our snowmobile ride were seriously breathtaking.  I'm still sad about my lost photos, if you can't tell...

The other internal memory photo.  Katie and Teya outside the cabin, having some sledding fun.

Me and Cole being silly.

Dagmara's works of art.  Her cookies are not only unbelievably delicious, but they look like they should be placed in a gold plated frame or shadow box.

This is all her, no formal training whatsoever.

My Dad took us down to the river so we could take a walk on the sand dunes.

The boat ride was a little chilly.  Can you see my earmuffs?!  I finally found the perfect earmuffs at JC Penney for 5 dolla.  Thanks to my madre who had a 10 dollar off coupon.  I absolutely love my earmuffs. They rock my world and keep my ears toasty warm. 

Gorgeous scenery.

I just Love my Dad.  He's such a cool guy and I'm proud to be his daughter.

My parent's Christmas tree on Pseudo Christmas (Dec. 23rd, the night before I flew home).  I had really hoped they would adorn the tree with their fishing lures, like they've done in years past.  The lures look so dang cool.  Maybe next year?

Chase cheesing it for the camera.

Cole and Chase seriously concentrating on their "playing" tasks.

Teya in her SUPER TEYA Halloween outfit.  Katie dressed her up just so Scott, Dagmara and myself would know what we missed out on during Halloween.

I just want to pinch those sweet, cheesy cheeks!

Proud Aunts Rachel and Dagmara.

Scott keeping the boys--and himself--entertained

Later in the evening, Katie dressed Teya in one of her several holiday dresses.  Little girl clothing is just so darn cute!

This year we were presented with "grab bag" style gifts.  It was awesome.  Best type of gifts are the eclectic gifts that you can barter with your siblings.

Cole perched upon Tyson, watching TV.

Teya found herself a ride...

And a camera!

Me and Katie.  Not our best effort, nor our best photo.  What is up with our faces? And the UW sweatshirt strikes again!  Never shall it die!

Mom keeping Teya entertained.

I was so excited to find out that my oldest brother Cedar would be driving in on the night of the 23rd! I didn't think I would get to see him since I had an extremely early flight on the 24th and he told me he couldn't drive to Pasco until later in the day on Christmas Eve.  I was sooooooooo happy and pleased he was able to show up the 23rd!  I got to see him for a couple of hours, which is better than not at all!

My visit to Pasco flew by, but I am so thankful for the time I got to spend with my wonderful family.  I love you all very much!  Looking forward to my next visit home, which will be....several months down the road!

Holiday Spirit on the East Coast

West Philadelphia: Holiday spirit is overflowing at these two rowhouses. And I LOVE it.  I snapped these photos before Christmas while we were stopped at a stoplight.  There was some sort of confrontation arising on the porch at the left, so I thought it best not to get out of the car to take pictures.   "Hi, sorry for interrupting.  May I take some photos of your decorations?"

Totally awesome and excessive.  Wish I could have congratulated the owners of a job well done.

Baltimore: This street is referred to as the Miracle on 34th Street during Christmas time.  It is a miracle, in my eyes and in the eyes of all children and adults who equal my maturity level.  Excessive Christmas decorations= Happy Rachel.

I just love outside ornaments.  Someday, oh yes, someday. 

This photo is so busy and colorful my eyes don't know where to focus first.

This photo reminded Clark and myself of a quote from Wedding Crashers: "Crab cakes and football.  That's what Maryland does!!"

Just Lovely.

Grrrrrrr....

Yesterday, while having a delightful time sledding in the mountains, the SD card in my point and shoot camera just. stopped. working.  After taking dozens and dozens of pictures over the course of the last several days, they are now lost forever.   In some crazy digital realm or dimension that I cannot access.

I am so bummed.  (And no, I didn't get snow on/in the camera.  I'm not a retard.)  Perhaps the cold did effect the card, but I had taken at least 50 photos before it just. stopped. working.  Seriously technology, you really suck sometimes.

Guess I'll have to make up for all the lost photos in the next two days.  Please keep your fingers crossed that the new SD card in my camera does not malfunction.  If it does, I think I will just give up, take it out behind the hay shed, and shoot it to pieces with Dad's 9mm.  

Which reminds me, I lost the photos of the day we went out shooting, too. 

Guh.

The Pasco Fog

Welp, I'm here in Washington visiting my beautiful family, and I want you all to take a look at what we've been experiencing here in the Northwest.  Err, what my Washington family experiences on a daily basis during the winter.

Saturday:

Sunday:

Monday:

Today's bit of sunshine was a nice change.  We were even able to go out and shoot clay pigeons and pumpkins, although my fingers nearly froze off.  

Tomorrow's agenda: sledding in the mountains!  Can't wait to play in the snow with my nephews and niece!  

Classy Christmas 2011

Nothing says classy like a picnic in a condominium complex and Dr. Pepper served in Christmas goblets.  And Clark's black ankle socks.

May beautiful moments and happy memories surround you with joy this Christmas, and may the new year prove to be KICK ASS for you like every day is for us.

(Not gonna lie. The aforementioned sentence is probably the best Christmas message Clark and I have ever agreed upon.  Though it's really not appropriate for parents/grandparents,  it's the perfect blend of poetry, pretension and humor rolled into one sentence. Gosh, sometimes when we combine our efforts we really do accomplish great things.)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

An early Christmas gift for Clark

What could it be!? Here he is putting his present together...

And here he is hanging upside down in it! Santa brought Clark an inversion table!

We don't have a whole lot of extra space in our small, two bedroom apartment, but Clark's back has been giving him trouble since he began his job at HUP (Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania) back in early November.  I think he had sat through two days of orientation when his back aches/pains initially began.  And a month and a half later, the pains have not gone away.  We're hoping this inversion table will help alleviate whatever may be stressing his back! 

Totally random side note, I really hope he doesn't make himself sick while using this.  We both tried to hang all the way upside down and within 10 seconds we both felt nauseous.  Guess you don't have to go to a county fair carnival and ride all the circular rides for hours on end in order to get nauseous and throw up (which has happened to me--years ago).  Just hang upside down for one minute.  That should do the trick. Anywho, please don't throw up while using this, Clark.  I won't clean up after you.  You have been warned.

Hypocrite

That's right.  I'm a total hypocrite.  Yesterday I did something that I never, ever thought I would do, something that I've actually vowed never to do:  

I bought skinny jeans (gasp!).  I'm neither ashamed nor proud.  Maybe I'm humbled.  Yes, let's say I'm humbled by this experience.

 Under the influence of my friend Andrea's advice, I tried on a pair of Levi's and was shocked to discover that they made my butt look really, really good, and they made my runner/thunder thighs look trimmer.  Maybe it's just that I've never owned a pair of proper fitting jeans in my life (I'm pretty sure I've been buying jeans too big for the last 14 years) but I knew once I tried these pants on that I had to go against what I stand for and cross over to the dark side.  Welcome, Rachel. 

P.S., If you ever visit Philly, you MUST check out Macy's.  It's an old Wanamaker's department store, absolutely stunning inside with the largest playable organ in the world, blah, blah, blah.  Wikipedia can say all of this better than I ever could, so please click on the link to learn a little bit about this iconic building.  So just promise me you'll visit Macy's when you next find yourself in Philly.  You don't even have to shop.  Just walk inside, be amazed, stare in awe, etc.

P.P.S., Sephora has the best, most fun-colored eyeliner pencils in the world.  I used to use Victoria's Secret eye pencils but they actually curse me with contact dermatitis around my eyes.  Just picked up a Sephora eye pencil in gold and I LOVE IT.

Since finals have ended...

I've completed the one and only item remaining on my major TO DO list...

And crossed it off!  I have to cross it off before I erase it. It's just so much more satisfying that way!

We've decorated our miniature Christmas tree with miniature ornaments.  Our miniature nutcracker is the tree's security guard.

Hello there, Crazy Hat.

I've baked some amazing pumpkin bread...bread that is so good I actually blogged about it last year.  Remember, something has to be really, REALLY good for me to blog about it.  This and my last post about the quinoa have been the only two recipes to make the cut.

Clark has made his delicious fried chicken. Fried chicken that was so good I thrice gnawed  drumsticks to the bone.  Annnnnnd, my coronary arteries just narrowed a little bit more.

We've also been downtown to wonder around the little Christmas Village erected near City Hall, and went out to dinner with some friends last night.  Gosh, it feels good to be free of academic stress, even if the stress will be short lived!

Awaiting the start of a most stressful week

It's true.  This week will prove to be very stressful indeed. One final, after another, after another.  

I most likely will not be blogging until the end of my finals for obvious reasons, so I thought I would share a recipe with you all:

May I present: Quinoa and Black Beans

Click on the link to see the recipe.  I don't have the patience to type out the ingredients/directions.  So, I am not usually the type of person to post a recipe, since I don't have a lot of experience in that realm of domesticity and my husband does most of the cooking in this household (and I like it that way).  BUT HOLD THE PHONE, I think I am catching the hang of this cooking thing, and I'm pretty good at it.  Annnnnd it helps when your recipe Uh-mazing.  It met my expectation of having more than 1,000 ratings >4 stars, and since we have a massive bag of quinoa from Costco, I thought I would give it a whirl.  

If you try it I promise you will not be disappointed.  Pinky promise.

Oh, tonight I am going to feast on an entire carton of Roaster Red Pepper and Tomato Soup, courtesy of Costco.  It is unbelievable, hence the reason why I can eat an entire carton in one sitting.  I wish Costco would stock it in all seasons, not just fall and winter.  What are they thinking? I should probably be smart this year and buy massive quantities of this soup.

Tomorrow my mad studying sessions begin.  Guh.  I just want Friday to be here so we can decorate our cute little 3' Christmas tree with miniature ornaments.  Then we'll eat a whole roll of Tollhouse cookie dough as fast as we can, and then we'll snuggle.  And in light of the aforementioned sentence, we'll watch Elf, too.

Thanksgiving 2011

Our mini Thanksgiving vacation was pretty awesome.  Clark had a week off from work and I didn't have to attend class since all my courses are scheduled on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.  So, we both lucked out this year and got to enjoy the holiday without any work/academic distractions.

I'll spare y'all the details, but Clark and I spent our first Thanksgiving meal in Baltimore and then our second Thanksgiving meal in Alexandria. Yes, we had two feasts in three days.  We're glutinous little pigs.  Just kidding. (Kind of.) We had such a great time visiting with family, playing with Charlie and Greta, running around Rogers Forge, seeing the sites in D.C. on a very busy Black Friday, and watching Elf and old Friends episodes.   I've said it before and I'll say it again: we feel truly blessed to have members from both sides of the family within a three hour drive.  We actually feel kind of spoiled.

On with the photo essay of Thanksgiving festivities:

Charlie playing doctor with Clark the day we babysat. 

Greta enjoying some V8.  This little girl is NOT picky, and typically she'll drink two cans in one sitting.

Turkey Day, hanging out on the monkey bars at a nearby park.

Greta made two new friends.  She didn't care for the human friend so much, but she was extremely fond of the furry friend.

And when her furry friend left she took a little nap.

The Tobler Thanksgiving set up.  It was a delicious meal; a big thanks to Joanne, Kim's mother for preparing all the dishes!

Black Friday festivities consisted of absolutely NO shopping. Instead we all enjoyed a day out in D.C.  Have I mentioned that the weather over Thanksgiving was phenomenal and unseasonably warm?  Because it really was.  Mid 60's and sunny.

Above is T-Rex in the Museum of Natural History.  Below is the Smithsonian. 

The whole gang.

Charlie is such a sweet boy.  He loved taking every opportunity possible to push Greta.  

Each and every memorial was happening.  We've seen Lincoln up close before so we didn't even bother fighting the crowds this time around.

The Washington Memorial.

Scott, thank you for the clever placement of the WA memorial between our heads.  I promise there isn't any phallic symbolism going on here.  So everyone with dirty thoughts just get your minds out of the gutter.

Scott and Dagmara, always having to be the photogenic couple.

So then we tried to outdo them, and this is what we came up with...

Saturday we had our second Thanksgiving feast, replete with every item from a traditional Turkey dinner.  Dagmara single-handedly created this masterpiece.  It was delicious. 

Thanksgiving green jello also made an appearance, and disappeared within 24 hours.  

After turkey dinner #2, we watched some old Friends episodes and decided to steal an idea for a memory recall game.  In the Thanksgiving episode from season 7, they were supposed to recall and write down each of the 50 states within 6 minutes. It was something we all just had to try.  

It's not as easy as it sounds.  However, I conquered the task, and finished in 4 minutes!  Can't say the same for the rest of them.... ;) Everyone eventually finished.

Ahhhhh, it was a great Thanksgiving holiday!  We're so thankful for our wonderful families near and far, and for the hospitality shown to us by the Baltimore Toblers and the Ellisons in Alexandria.  We're extremely thankful to live in a free country, and a country where food seems always to be available in abundance.  Not everyone worldwide can say the same.  

Black bears don't live in Mississippi!

Just found out today --by reading a friend's blog and scanning her photos of the Ole Miss v. Auburn football game from a month ago-- that Ole Miss changed its mascot from Colonel Reb to the Rebel Black Bear!?

Say what?

  

First off, where have I been for the last year? There was talk of replacing Col. Reb as mascot when I attended Ole Miss back in 2002-2004 (it was very controversial), but I didn't think it would actually happen. Though my response is delayed, I'm really sad about this. Secondly, BLACK BEARS DON'T LIVE IN MISSISSIPPI! This is absolutely absurd, and I completely agree with the image below:

Yup.