Books, Glorious BOOKS!

The weather outside has been absolutely FRIGID lately. (The high this upcoming Tuesday is 18 degrees. THE HIGH!)

Side Note: I have a disease called Raynaud's, a circulation disorder that causes restricted blood flow to my fingers & toes in cold temperatures. My poor digits literally turn white when I go outside in the winter. My ex-military co-worker said the army considers Raynaud's a serious disorder and doesn't allow soldiers w/ the disease to be stationed in cold climates. THIS IS SERIOUS, PEOPLE!

The point of the story above is that I've been restricted to indulging in indoor activities for several weeks. My vitamin D levels are plummeting like a skydiver but the amount of reading I'm doing is at an all-time high! One of my New Years Resolutions for 2014 is to read as many books as possible and then write a blog post at the end of 2014 listing them, critiquing them, bragging about them, etc.

Here are some of the books I hope to read in 2014:

-Game of Thrones Series (Books 3, 4, & 5. Books 1 & 2... check!)
-Allegiant (Books 1 & 2 of the Divergent Trilogy... check!)
-The "Legend" Trilogy (Legend, Prodigy, & Champion)
-Some book about a lobster than my mom gave me that's sitting on my book shelf, gathering dust.
-That new book written by The Kite Runner author

What else should I add to the list!?

And here's a cute owl photo. Just cause I felt like it...

What to do with an empty vodka bottle?

I sit next to the spirits team at work. (For those of you born in the last 70 years, "spirits" is another word for "liquor"). One of their suppliers sent them 40 empty bottles of vodka last week. Yes, EMPTY bottles. (Pointless. Complete waste of postage. Utter waste of money). The spirits buyers were therefore giving away their empty bottles. I took one of the empty (shutter) bottles and challenged myself to use it for a kick-ass arts & crafts project!

I therefore give you... The Valentine's Day Advent Calendar! (Forgive me, Lord, for I have sinned). This beautiful bottle is filled with EXACTLY enough Valentine's-themed M&M candies for me & Mr. Handsome to each have one each morning until Valentine's Day. Let the official countdown for the next exciting holiday BEGIN!

How to Not Become a "Burrito of Sadness" After Christmas

WELL.. It's over. It's officially Boxing Day. Christmas came and it was AWESOME but now it's gone. No more presents to open, no more carols to sing, no more cookies to bake. (Sniff, Sniff).

Every year it's a struggle to not become utterly depressed after the Christmas season ends. After all, we still have at least 3 months of freezing weather before the tulips start to bloom. How do I plan on fighting the post-Christmas blues? Here's how...

1) Keep the Lights Up! Christmas light are beautiful, sparkly bulbs of brightness that bring hope, wonder & joy to all. Don't feel pressured to take them down on January 1st. Fight the neighbors' protests and keep them up until the end of February, at least!

2) Binge on new seasons of your favorite TV shows! January means fresh episodes of your favorite TV shows. Get ready to binge in 2014 on new episodes of "Orange is the New Black," "House of Cards," "Downton Abbey," "Pretty Little Liars," & "Game of Thrones." Start microwaving the popcorn!

3) Remember: The days only get brighter from here! December 20-something was the shortest day of the year. From here on, the days will get longer and brighter until finally the sun stays out past dinner time. WOO!

4) You have Christmas cash. SPEND IT! Whoever said "retail therapy" is an unhealthy habit is a moron. It makes you feel AWESOME! Go out and spend your Christmas cash from parents & grandparents on new clothes, books, earrings, shoes, etc. After all, you're supporting the economy! And there are lots of post-Christmas sales.

5) Workout! It has been scientifically proven that working out gives you endorphins, which in turn make you happy as a clam. So get off your butt and move it! Set a reasonable workout goal for yourself and then buy a special treat if you reach your goal. (Experts say you shouldn't treat yourself with food. Screw them! Buy an effing cupcake).

6) Listen to Music! Go to the iTunes store and download some upbeat tunes for yourself. (Robin Thicke, One Direction, etc). Then wait until your roommates leave the house (or not) and dance until you're happy. DANCE!

7) Set achievable New Year's Resolutions! Don't set yourself up for failure. Ex. "I will cook dinner for my family every night this year"... No sane person has time for that shit. Instead, set achievable goals! Ex. "I will take the stairs instead of using the elevator at work"... or... "I will eat more cookies"... COOKIES!

8) Set UNachievable New Year's Resolutions! Ok, we ALL need to have at least one goal we're never actually going to accomplish. My personal goal is to read the 3rd, 4th, & 5th Game of Thrones books before the new TV season premieres in April. The first 2 books took me over a year to read. (HA! GOOD LUCK, HILDAWG). At least I have dreams.

9) Find Joy in the Little Things! In other words, find small ounces of happiness wherever you possibly freaking can. The winter offers little comfort & joy, so don't overlook opportunities to smile whenever they offer themselves to you. For example, this cute little owl...

Have a pleasant Seasonal Affective Disorder season!

A Christmas Poem

10 DAYS 'TIL CHRISTMAS, the children do cry...

They are hopped up on sugar, (parents just want to die)...

Frosty the Fridge was created this night...

Open his body & grab yourself a bite!

The REINBEERS are made as a holiday treat...

Little gifts from the Gods for when relatives meet!

All the stockings are hung by the air conditioning vents...

Hoping they will soon be filled with lots of PRESENTS!

Tacky sweaters and hats are dusted off for fun celebrations..

Where friends gather together and drink festive libations!

Yummy sprinkled cookies are baked and devoured with glee...

NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM (hehe)!

Little chocolates are popped out of the Advent calendar tray...

Knowing that each one brings us closer to CHRISTMAS DAY!

'Tis the Season

Happy Thanksgiving!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, loyal readers! I hope you all had a great day stuffing your faces with friends and relatives. Here's what I was up to the last couple of days...

Mr. Handsome and I woke up early on Thursday morning to run a Half-Marathon "Tofurkey Trot!" We dressed warmly to brace the cold, windy conditions and successfully finished in shortly over 2 hours. (He designed our homemade race bibs)

After a hearty breakfast, power nap and condensed viewing of the Macy's Parade, we put on our race shirts (that Mr. Handsome designed himself) and headed to our first Thanksgiving celebration. Shortly after, we headed to our 2nd Thanksgiving event. Needless to say, we were stuffed and had to roll home.

The next day my dearest mom and grandma took me to the Kennedy Center to see The Nutcracker! (I don't understand how ballerinas bend like they do. I think they're secretly made of jello). It was a great kick-off to the holiday season.

This is the ceiling of the Kennedy Center. GORGEOUS! Bling, Bling.

And now... IT'S CHRISTMAS TIME! May you deck the halls all through December :)

Twenty-Six

Last weekend I celebrated my 26th birthday. And that is when I realized... I am old. I am as old as Meredith Blake in the Lindsay Lohan remake of the Parent Trap. I'm 10 years older than most of the Disney Princesses. OH-EM-GEE!

I've had a lot of adventures the past few weeks to celebrate my big 2-6. I've also had a lot of adventures just to have adventures & not be boring. Here are some of the things I've been up to...

On my actual birthday I made Healthy Birthday Pancakes for breakfast! (Multigrain pancakes topped with vanilla Greek yogurt, banana slices, agave nectar & SPIRINKLES).

My handsome man took me to celebrate the big 2-6 at Great Sage in Clarksville, MD. It's an all vegan restaurant with great food like the seitan w/ pepper, carrots & sweet potatoes shown above.

And there he is! Waiting for his foodz...

I also started spending my weekends volunteering at an animal shelter in Shirlington. This adorable little creature is Benjamin Buttons. Five minutes later he was sound asleep on my leg.

This little cutie is Rudy the beagle. Only five months old and ready to go home with you to cuddlez!

I had another special breakfast the other weekend at Open City Diner in Adams Morgan. The animal crackers placed on the side of all their drinks is the best signature business gimmick I've ever seen.

The big 2-6 was also celebrated w/ a tour of Port City Brewing in Alexandria. (Their beers are fantastic). This is me & Mr. Handsome post-tour in the tasting room... getting photo-bombed by our buddy, Paul.

I treated all who attended the tour w/ these pumpkin pretzel goodie-bags! Yes, I did make them myself. Not the pretzels, just the bags. Like YOU can make ribbon curls that awesome? Didn't think so.

On my actual birthday we went all the way out to Leesburg, VA and visited the lovely Tarara Winery. Because of my industry connections, we received a free tasting of six different wines!

We drank the wine while sitting on a bench and overlooking this lake right before sunset. (Cue string quartet).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Traveling

My mind and body tend to work much faster than the average human's mind and body. I am constantly on the go, both physically and mentally. I'm a planner, a do-er, a go-getter. An energizer bunny, if you will!

Unfortunately, this superpower makes it difficult to slow things dooowwwwnnn and catch my breath every once in a while. I haven't taken a vacation in quite some time and have several days of PTO saved up at work. I'm in my mid-20s and there are so many places I have yet to see. This is the time in my life when I should be traveling, going on exciting adventures and trying new things!

I therefore created a list of places I'd like to travel to in the next 5-10 years, (locally, nationally, & globally). The list also includes movies I want to see, restaurants I want to patron, and races I want to enter! Here is the list of all the places I want to travel to in the next couple of years...

Seattle, WA
Portland, OR
Boston, MA
Charleston, SC
Asheville, NC
New Orleans, LA
Austin, TX
Colorado
Hawaii
The Greenbrier in WV
London
Paris
Italy

Thirteen places full of exciting new adventures... HERE I COME!