it's that time...

what a year!  
lots of ups and downs (mostly ups!).  here's my year in a nutshell (ok, maybe a brazil nut.  those are pretty big)

 - january - 

had a hilariously good time speed dating [no pics unfortunately]

reconnected with long lost elementary school friends

 - february - 

blizzards galore [biggest icicle ever]

new found glory concert [met chad gilbert!]

- march -

the marriage of 2 amazing friends
[which facilitated the making of new ones, and reconnecting with old ones!]

(photo by Sam Hurd)

- april -

tulip farm and a trip to the outer banks

- may -

easter in richmond (followed sadly, by the loss of our dog daisy)

getting my cookbook signed by pioneer woman
memorial day in solomons island

- june -

said farewell to the black hair

celebrated father's day with a sports theme

- july -

4th of july flag cake (and lots of sangria)

9 days in greece

a wedding in new jersey

- august -

tubing on the shennandoah river

a weekend in texas for a birthday surprise (miss you ally and ryan!)

- september -

wine fest and an airplane ride
(and started this little ole blog!)

- october -

a 5k

the rally to restore sanity and/or fear

double rainbow all the way

- november -
the odyssey of gluttony and another 5k






- december -
my first redskins game and an epic christmas gift






2010 was a remarkable year.  my favorites were the trips to greece and texas.  unfortunately there were still some difficult lessons to learn,  particularly about inviting people to walk all over me.  but hey, without it, i don't think i'd appreciate the good times as much as i do.  this year has been all about perspective.

looking forward to raising my standards in 2011!

things that taste good thursday

easter candy in december

totally not gross, right?

things that taste good thursday

bourbon balls.

courtesy of co-worker david.  gotta love christmastime at the office!

merry christmas eve eve!

the odyssey of gluttony: recap and extras

it's about time i re-capped the odyssey of gluttony!

so we went to cheddar's, asian grill, and plaza.  they were all amazing.  

but this is how we filled in the gaps:

visiting the library

we ran into an old friend.  miss linda's smile and enthusiasm are unrivaled.
she is the type of person you can never forget

some artwork on the green monster

the tree!

one of our old dorms

freshman dorm

leaving our mark

a visit to the warwick cheese shoppe (where i inevitably bought beer)

a gem of newport news

back to campus for a nighttime visit to the ferguson center for the arts

the bounty of leftovers

and we topped it off with shakes from sonic!

this trip was a true odyssey of gluttony.  i'd have to say the best part wasn't the food, but the amazing company i enjoyed.  a good meal (or 3) is a good meal, but you really can't beat quality time with your best friends.

rudolph the red-nosed reincookies

not only super easy and festive, these are also the cutest little cookies you'll ever see.

but first:  my apologies.  the dreaded coral bowl is back with a vengeance.

start with some butter, peanut butter, white sugar, and brown sugar
cream until light and smooth, about 2 min on medium speed.

add egg and vanilla, beat well (forgot to photograph that step!)
 add flour, baking soda, and salt

mix until combined well.  it will be a sort of crumbly dough

roll into 1-inch balls and place on a greased cookie sheet.  bake for 8-10 min

in the meantime, get your red m&m's, mini chocolate chips, and pretzel pieces ready

as soon as the cookies come out, stick the pretzels in the tops for antlers

red m&ms in the center for noses ("m" side down, of course)

and mini chocolate chips for eyes.  i find it easiest to put them in pointed
 side down so they stick in the dough better, but that's up to you

and there you have it, rudolph the red-nosed reincookie.

wasn't that easy?

rudolph the red-nosed reincookie.

ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup peanut butter

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

~30 red m&ms

~60 mini chocolate chips

~60 thin pretzels, broken into 1-inch pieces

method

preheat oven to 375

grease 2 cookie sheets (i use floured baking spray)

in large mixing bowl, beat butter, peanut butter, and sugars on medium speed until light, about 2 min

add vanilla and egg, beat well.

mix in flour, baking soda, and salt until a crumbly dough forms

roll into 1-inch balls and place on greased cookie sheets, about 1 inch apart

bake 1 sheet at a time for 8-10 min.  cookies should be set and bottoms golden

immediately place 2 pretzels on top for antlers, 1 m&m in center for nose, and 2 chocolate chips for eyes.

giggle and enjoy.