Layering

The numerous pieces to the layering puzzle, as I frantically tried to peel them off to get into a hot shower:

1. hats and ear warmers, wool socks, several pairs of gloves
2. clothes galore. tanktop, t-shirts, long sleeve shirts, hoodies, tights, jeans, several pairs of socks, etc.
3. fleece, scarf, and a winter jacket in the closet. I also had those handwarmers shoved into the bottom of my shoes and gloves. They just didn't help with the wetness...

Thank God for Little Hotties

Handwarmers, that is.

Chris's brother got us free tickets to the Redskins/Giants game today, so off we went at 7:15 am to meet up with everyone.I layered significantly before we left. We tailgated from the time the parking lot opened until game time. Robert has season tickets, so he's a pro. He made beer-soaked bratwurst, brought out his portable beer pong table (anyone else have any idea these existed?) and we braved the rain.

Our tailgating neighbors shared some delicious hot chocolate and turkey soup with us, as well as some of their shelter from the elements.

The day started out promising. I stayed pretty dry and warm during the hours of tailgating, and the game was Sean Taylor's induction into the Redskin's hall of fame. Unfortunately the game didn't end so well. The skins played pretty poorly and I was soaked completely through despite all of my layers. My feet and hands and pretty much entire body was freezing, but it was quite the experience!This was my first skins game.. so I guess it can only get better from here. I'm hoping for a win and no rain for whenever I go to another.

Turkey Bowl

I'm so sore!! We kicked field goals on Thursday morning (tradition), and yesterday and today my kicking leg has been killing me! It's amazing how a using a couple of muscles you don't normally use takes its toll. On a happier note, I kicked a 15-yard field goal this year, which is my record! I'm going for 20 next year...
At one point Chris put me up on the goal post, and it didn't end very well for my clothing.

Sleigh Ride

Now that it is Thanksgiving and it's officially Christmas season, I can post this video. Most of you all know that I love Relient K; this is the video for their version of Sleigh Ride. If this video doesn't make you sing along or just jovial in general, you are either:

a) anti-fun
b) anti-Christmas
c) Jennie

Happy Thanksgiving (and Christmas season)!

Apple Pie

I made an apple pie yesterday during the day for Thanksgiving. Well, it certainly didn't make it that long. Here's a picture of it this morning. Notice the time on the clock. 10:11 am. We ended up making it last night instead of waiting for today...so much for patience!

Thankful Thursdays (#5) Thanksgiving Style

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! I know today everyone can find something to be thankful for :) This week, I'm thankful for my family. My wonderful parents, Colby, Eric, Lauren, & Chris who are all here this morning together, and everyone else that we aren't able to be with today. I'm also thankful for delicious food (esp. mashed potatoes...), and a four day weekend to spend time with great people.

Now it's your turn. Leave a comment below and let us know what you're thankful for!

Red

I was doing dishes this afternoon, when all the sudden I noticed something...
Dang. Think I like the color red much? :) I definitely didn't plan this.

Surprise

I was straightening up the office a bit before I left to go home, throwing trash away and putting files back, when I leaned down to pick up what I thought was trash on the floor. Well. It wasn't. I definitely didn't touch it, but I got so close and almost screamed when what I thought was garbage turned into a huge disgusting bug of the cricket variety.
Also, I didn't get that close to take this picture. I literally kneeled on a chair and zoomed in from across the room. The thing didn't move the entire time. I sort of hope it's already dead... or at least gone next time I go in.

4 OTs

It was a big weekend for the Tribe sports-wise. We went down to go to the football game, which ended in an overtime, and then went to the basketball game, which ended in triple overtime. Both were losses, so a bit disappointing, but they fought hard and I enjoyed seeing friends and cheering for my school. That's two weekends in a row now driving several hours each way for Tribe Basketball.. should we go for some kind of record?

One of the highlights of the weekend though was filling up for $1.65...gas is still over $2 here!

Chris + Leonidas

Chris dislikes pets. Strongly. But for some reason, he and Leonidas get along great! Leonidas always comes up and sits with him, licks his jeans, and Chris has even started petting him back. If you don't know him, this is a huge step forward. Gives me hope for getting a cat one day... (if they come up with a way to cure my allergy, of course)

Look how content he is to lay in Chris's lap...
Haha, on the other hand, I am terrible with him. I accidently let him out of the house when I try to leave (this has happened twice. Once was today, and then I have to chase him down). But I try! I even helped Ashley give him a bath the other day. My job was to put water in the cup and pour it on him. I know this seems like a little feat, but I was pretty excited that I accomplished it.

Williamsburg, home away from home

Well, we're back in the burg. I love this place. I can see why old people come here to retire.I'm not sure how much I'd enjoy it if I hadn't already lived here for four years, but it will always hold a special place in my heart. Where's your home away from home?

Thankful Thursday (#4)

It's Thursday again, and obviously you all know what that means...

This week I am thankful that holidays are just around the corner. I need a break and can't wait for that four day weekend coming up!! Plus, I'm getting sick of all this cold weather and no holiday spirit! So starting this weekend, I'm gearing up for the holidays. Watch out.

Don't forget to let us know what you're thankful for this week...leave a comment below and join in the thanks-giving!

Roll the dough

My mom and I decided to bake some cookies while we were together this weekend. She lifted a sugar cookie recipe off of Heather's cookie post a little while back and we tried it out. We had to improvise a bit as we didn't have quite all the right ingredients, but they still came out well.
My mom made the dough and then we rolled it out and cut cookies. We ended up doing bells and snowmen.
They we put them on the pan and did some decorating (a.k.a. shaking sprinkles on them).
Next step was the baking, which we had to watch carefully since we rolled out some cookies thinner than others. I think they came out beautifully! My mom busted out her 12 days of Christmas plates to put them on.
Here we are: bakers extraordinaire!

Snow!

Okay, so in my picture, the snow isn't as obvious as in Lauren's, but I promise, it's there! It "snowed" on and off for about two hours today. Nothing stuck and the flakes were tiny, but it snowed!

On a completely unrelated note, I saw a tank on the side of I-495 today... anyone know what that was about? It looked almost exactly like this (but gray instead of camo):

Socks

How to dry your socks when the dryer doesn't do its job...

Home

We decided to go out to Leesburg to spend the day with family yesterday. When we were getting ready to head out, we started remembering all the things we had to do that we are unable to do at our apartment due to lack of space/supplies. So, while the main reason was to hang out, we decided to be productive as well! We did laundry, I vacuumed out and cleaned my car, we pumped up Chris's basketball, and Eric fixed my bracelet. (Note: Eric is awesome. He fixes everything always and has every tool you need imaginable.) It's nice to have another home to go to when you don't have the stuff to get things done yourself (i.e. a washing machine/dryer, a garage to plug a vacuum into, a pump, and special glue). Seriously though, how do people vacuum out their cars when you have to park on the street?

A cold front is coming through!

I put on a jacket to go out yesterday and as soon as I stepped out of the house I had to take it off. It was SO warm! It felt like late Spring weather in the middle of November. There were still leaves on the ground and it looked like Fall, but definitely didn't feel that way. When I got to the car, the thermometer said 78 degrees (not sure how accurate it was, but it felt possible!).Anyway, I kept the jacket with me because I had gotten a county warning for a tornado due to a cold front coming in. Even when we got home later though, it wasn't too bad out. So this morning I checked the weather because we're about to go to church and I want to know what to wear. Lo and behold:
That cold front certainly came through last night. 32 degrees colder in 24 hours!

Tribe vs. PSU

We made it to Penn State for the game, and went in to get tickets. The Bryce Jordan center has blue and white lights that change colors and patterns as you watch. I thought it was pretty cool..The Tribe played pretty well, in particular one of the new freshmen! We had great seats in the second row behind their bench (which is pretty awesome of PSU, because some opponents put opposing teams' family/friends tickets up in the rafters). They ended up losing 65-51, but played really hard and had good energy. They definitely have a lot of potential this season and I can't wait to see them again in a couple weeks!
Also, the drive home was much less eventful and we made it back in record time. 3 hours and 15 minutes, AND I got to sleep part of the way.


By the way. Tribe basketball has their NAMES on their jerseys now! Man, they had to wait until the first year Chris wasn't on the team. Lame.

Pennsylvania - The Ride Up

We all (Chris, me, and his bro) took half days of work to drive four hours up to PA for the Tribe's first game this season. We had three different sets of directions and after we deviated from the first two (long story) we ended up following the GPS the rest of the way. Since we had already gotten turned around a bit, we were taken the rest of the way through what I can only imagine is the "back door" of Pennsylvania. First, we drove through fog where you literally couldn't see 10 feet ahead of you. If you look at this picture closely, you'll be able to see the outline of a truck about 20 feet in front of us.
Then, we ended up in some random town called Orbisonia. I mean. It was literally a couple of houses, a general store, and a main street. I think you could live in PA your entire life and never have heard of this town.
Then finally, we ended up on the ridiculously bumpy road. For 29 miles! I mean, whatever happened to highways?? It was insane. This video doesn't even do it justice, because right after I finished filming, we hit a HUGE pothole.

Anyway.. despite the trip up, we still made it to the Bryce Jordan center in plenty of time!

Thankful Thursdays (#3)

Well I've been way out of it this week. On Tuesday I was convinced it was already Wednesday, and then this morning, Chris asked if I was going to do a Thankful Thursday this week and I said, "yeah, tomorrow". Again, I thought it was Wednesday. Wow. That means I thought it was Wednesday three days in a row this week...I don't know how much more out of it you can be!

Anyway, it's time for Thankful Thursday!! I love these. I hope you love them, too.

This week, I'm thankful for opportunities. Last night I went to have coffee with a friend and had to pay with my credit card because when I checked my wallet, I only had a single dollar. This morning on my way to work, I was stopped at the light beside the Key Bridge in Rosslyn. There was a homeless guy on the corner, I remembered the dollar, and started to roll down my window to give it to him when the light turned green. (Note: I NEVER give money to homeless people, but at this church Chris and I went to weeks and weeks ago, I remembered just at that moment that they were doing something called the One Dollar Campaign, and since I had never participated, the opportunity just seemed so right! I mean, I had a dollar, there was a person who obviously needed it more than I did, and I had remembered that campaign all within like 30 seconds.) Anyway, no one honked at me while I stopped traffic (during rush hour!) to finish rolling down my window and lean out the passenger side of my car to give the guy the dollar. Also, I want to point out, that I realize my dollar could have been given in a more effective manner, but it just seemed right at the moment. The guy said, "God bless you woman" and I drove to work. I know it's lame, but I felt good about the opportunity. It wasn't much but I hope that dollar is used for good purposes.

Now it's your turn. Leave a comment below and let us know what you're thankful for. Serious, superficial, or otherwise, we want to hear about it :)

I don't know how to put this....but I'm kind of a big deal

I'm sure some of you have noticed there is a section on the left side of the blog titled "Stuff Chris likes to read but Katie doesn't." These are all sports blogs, and I read them all pretty much every day. The DC Sports Bog is a Washington Post blog about area sports. Every year, they have their own college basketball poll called the Atlantic 11. They were asking for people who thought they could be voters, and I thought I could, so I e-mailed Dan Steinberg who writes the blog saying that I played at W&M and I'd like to vote. He e-mailed me back and thought that it was cool a former player wanted to be a voter. So I am now an official voter in the Washington Post's Atlantic 11 college basketball poll. And then that somehow turned into this....

College

I've been thinking a lot about life over the past few months; especially today after my wonderful friend Maggie pointed out that it's our 6 month anniversary of graduating from college (that also means it's been almost 6 months since we all started blogging to keep up with each other!). She asked what we all missed the least from school, and honestly, I could only think of the good things! I learned so much, and grew exponentially as a person during the last four years, and I really wouldn't trade a single experience or do anything over at all. Anyway, her post prompted me to share with you some of my college experience:

1. Picking a school was really hard for me. I visited every school I applied to and found something I disliked about each of them except for W&M. I never really thought I would get in there, and when I did, my dad sent in my deposit before I had even seen the place! I realize now that God had such bigger plans for me than I did for myself.

2. I got paired with a completely random roommate who turned out to be the perfect match for me. We ended up living with each other all four years, she was in my wedding this summer, and now lives right down the street.

3. I started going to FCA, where I became friends with people that I will keep in touch with for the rest of my life, learned a ton about myself, and found out what it meant to have a real relationship with Christ.

4. I met my husband during our sophomore year and proceeded to go to every Tribe Basketball home game (and a lot of the driveable away games) for the next three years.
5. I had a great time. All four years. I studied just enough to get good grades, and spent the majority of my time hanging out, making memories, and building relationships with people.

So, I'm sad it's over, but also very happy/excited about where I am now. I love the area we live in, spending time with Chris, and can't wait to get plugged in to a good church (we've been to the same one two weeks in a row now, finally!). And get ready, because college basketball starts this week, and I'm sure you'll be hearing a lot about it from Chris!

Dinner Adventure

Well at least it was an adventure for me! We made Chile Rellenos tonight (la-jan, you would be proud! We got the idea from your blog). They didn't look beautiful, but they tasted great.
Here's the thing though. I am a TOTAL wimp when it comes to hot/spicy food. We used Anaheim peppers, which I was told (by wikipedia) were pretty unspicy. Well, that may be true for other people, but my mouth was burning! It wasn't tooo bad that I couldn't eat it (I finished dinner because it was delicious), but Chris even ran to the kitchen to get a glass of milk. He didn't think they were quite as hot as I did.. Next time we make these I'm definitely trying a different (hopefully less hot!) kind of chili pepper.

Cupcake Crawl

For Kayla's birthday, Ashley came up with the very creative idea of doing a cupcake crawl around DC. She had a list of a couple places, and we got to try different flavors at each one. Here are three cupcakes we all split from Hello Cupcake. They all have very clever names which I don't remember now, but they were lemon flavored, pumpkin spice, and some sort of chocolate and peanut butter. Later we found out that the Washington Post has been running a contest in their food and dining section the past few weeks called "Cupcake Wars", so apparently this is a really popular thing to do that I had never heard about. The winner of cupcake wars, if you are interested, was none other than Georgetown Cupcake. We ended up going by there (before we knew this information) and the wait was over an hour and a half so we didn't stay. But, if you're looking for the best cupcake in DC, that's where you can find it!
That's the ridiculous line that we decided not to wait in...

For my sister

We passed this car in the city today! I thought of you!

Phone

I think it's noticable enough without the two miniature orange cones guarding it.. how about you? I wonder if it still works..

Thankful Thursdays (#2)

This Thursday (and past week) I am thankful for being blessed with such wonderful friends. They are so amazing, and while some are farther away than others, I know they are all no more than a phone call away. I have a whole handful of people who are fantastic at listening and advice giving (and I hope that I am equally patient enough to provide the same to them).
I also know that most of them read this. Sooo, thank you!


I am also really thankful that the political commercials/ads on the TV and radio are over for awhile! Congratulations to Obama.

Now it's your turn. Leave a comment and let us know what you're thankful for this week...

Election Day Map

I definitely wanted to take advantage of free things people were giving out yesterday for having voted. Chik-fil-a was giving out free sandwiches at some locations, but not in DC. So here's what my path looked like:

1. Arrive in line at Key Elementary School to vote
2. Go to Court House Metro

3. Arrive at Farragut West Metro

4. Arrive at the office

5. Go to Starbucks to get free coffee for voting

6. Arrive at the office

7. Go to Krispy Kreme to get a free doughnut for voting (also check Ben & Jerry's on 19th Street for a free scoop but they are closed for the winter. How can you offer a free scoop to everybody who voted but be closed for the winter? I smell a scandal.)

8. Arrive at the office

9. Go to team happy hour at Rumors and watch the first results come in

10. Arrive at the office to pick up stuff

11. Go to Farragut West Metro

12. Arrive at Courthouse Metro

13. Arrive home.

Election Day experience

We got up and rushed out the door to try to get to our polling place early. Ours is an elementary school across the street from our neighborhood. It was pretty uneventful, but since I voted absentee last election, I was so excited to participate on the day of, and for the chance to use the touch screens! Our wait was about an hour and 15 minutes from the moment we got in line to the moment we left the school. A girl in front of us told us that the line on Saturday for early voting was over 3 hours, so she left and decided to come back today!

What about you? What was your experience like; polling place; lenth of wait?

Election Eve

Happy Election Eve! Don't forget to go out and vote tomorrow! Seriously. Go vote.

Protest

So on Wednesday of this past week, I got sent to a client site to help out with some work over there. I had never been to this site, so I didn't know exactly where it was. We were driving along the road and this building on the left side was barricaded with police cars and cops. And then we stopped in front of it, and I realized that this building was my destination. As me and my co-worker Matt got out of the cab, we looked down the sidewalk and there was a mob of people wearing yellow shirts walking toward us. We had no idea what was going on, but figured that our destination was also theirs. We got up to the front gate, where after some questioning, the guards finally did let us in. We had to wait on the front steps though while they took our i.d.'s to make sure we were supposed to be there, and I took a quick video with my phone: (I had some technical difficulties with the video; the sound isn't working, but just imagine people yelling catchy chants and a guy leading them with a bullhorn)



Those U-hauls that are parked out front were full of furniture, which the protesters took out and set on the sidewalk in front of the outer wall. And then they took out their signs and started marching around in front of the building. For lunch, the company had food brought to the building for all of the workers (including us) so that nobody would have to leave the building and face the crowd. It was quite a welcome to a client site. I googled it later and this is what was actually going on.

All in a day's work.

Brinner

We got home decently late last night for having not eaten dinner. So we decided to go the route most people would in this situation: Brinner. We had waffles and strawberry-banana smoothies. It was delicious! :) Unfortunatly, it was too late already that I didn't feel like doing dishes, plus I wanted to watch John McCain on SNL (which I fell asleep during, right after his skit), so I woke up this morning to this:
Dirty waffle maker, blender, mixing bowls, etc... to clean when I get home from church. yay. Don't feel too bad for us though. Brinner is awesome. (that last part was added by Chris)