yeah yeah yeah

Snowed In and Happy

Right now I'm sitting on the over-sized futon, dog in lap, looking up at the window in the basement. About half of the view is covered in snow but it still offers a pretty good peek into the world outside. The crazy snow world outside. Holy hell we have a lot of snow. After round one of Snowmaggedon I placed a ruler in the yard - officially marking the 23 inches of snow that dumped on us. This morning, the ruler is deeply buried. So I don't know what we are up to as far as accumulation is concerned but what I can report is that the snow is close to reaching the top of the fence in the back yard. Check it out.

 

What does one do to keep sane while cooped up in the house for what is now day six? This household has spent most of the days in the basement. Last Thursday I got ourselves all organized and snugged with our essentials downstairs. We got ourselves a bottles station, changing station, a dog and his bone area. Lance has his in-home office and baby girl has toys a-plenty along with blankets and pillows on the floor for grandé tummy time. The bassinet is back up for nap times and our fridge is full. Life is good. We are warm, happy and together. Lance spends most of the day working. He is actually working from home and getting paid (Gratefu!). Sunny rotates from my arms to Lance's lap, the jumper, the floor, the bouncing chair and back to my arms. It is a routine we are liking. She is completely obsessed with her rainforest bouncer and it is officially the MVP of Snowmaggedon in this house. 

 

So what does this momma do to stay sane? Bake. A lot of baking. Chocolate chip cookies, cinnamon rolls, apple dumplings, no-bake cookies... good God we are packing on some extra warmth in this house. Luckily we aren't eating these alone. We have been sharing with various neighbors and enjoying the camaraderie that a blizzard brings to the neighborhood. But the shoveling counteracts the sweets, right?

Lance is obsessed with these cinnamon rolls. So good.

  

Chocolate chip cookies full of love. I used more brown sugar and less sugar this time. Awesome change-up that worked really well. 

Apple dumplings. They were much better then they look. I used my mom's old recipe and my house smelled like cinnamon for days. Reminds me of my momma. 

I've also knitted for a special February birthday and made some Valentines. And of course facebook dominates much of my home-bound time. I'm completely frustrated that it is all wonky this week, but whatever. Good times! Ha ha. And I mean good times without sarcasm. I guess I'm one of the crazy few who actually enjoys these "no where to go" days. I've yet to experience cabin fever and all this snow makes me dream of spending a winter in Maine, snowed in for months. Crazy talk, right? But this is also coming from the person who spent her last vacations in Iceland and the Eastern most part of Maine.  

Happy winter and happy Snowmaggedon. Stay warm and stay safe friends.

Number 6. Que Sera Sera. Twenty-five Lessons of 2009

Learned a lot yesterday. Air travel with an infant on Christmas Day can do that to a person. It was a great day of both firsts and lessons. Here is a recap: 

1. Babies and Christmas are fun.
2. King Cab really only picks up in Alexandria City and their drivers are DBs at six a.m. 
3. The Admiral Club - Yatzhee! (A first for mom, dad and baby). Thank you Kevin for the hook up. How will we ever go back to being commoners? It is sweet! If you haven't been in one I highly suggest it. The club in DCA looks similar to the lobby of a business hotel - like the Residence Inn. Basically you have a few large rooms filled with comfy chairs and couches and HD flat screens and of course a great view of the runway. There is a small bar (not free) and complimentary coffee and snacks and plug-ins galore. The access to free plug-ins alone makes the club worth it. And the staff is so friendly and not at all cranky. We had two of the nicest women greet us when we walked in and as soon as the club door opens you feel as if you have just entered the eye of a storm or maybe an alternate universe. The stress of air travel melts away when you enter the calm, peaceful place within the chaos of airport terminals. It is quiet, comfortable and you don't have to fight for a seat. What a great place to chill. Oh, and the bathrooms are so clean, don't smell like chemical mixed ass and have super soft hand soap and lotions. I'm officially a fan.
4. Five diapers for twelve hours of travel are cutting it close. When deciding at the last minute to check-in a carry-on—pull out the diaper stash. It was a close one thanks to two blow-outs and three outfit changes but we luckily we didn't have to go and make a diaper out of Daddy's undershirt.
5. Sunny thinks it is her job to entertain others. She was pure entertainment on both flights (when she wasn't sleeping of course). And I'm not just saying this because she is my kid (okay, partly because of that) but she even had teenage boys smiling and that is a tough group to crack. Basically she was the welcoming committee on flight 1657 to DFW and 1672 to TUL. She just stood-up on my lap and made faces and eye-contact with each passenger as the walked by her. If she liked something she cooed and smiled and bounced a little on my lap. It was quite the sight. She made lots of fans and brought some sunshine to a very stressed out group of passengers. She is already vying to entertain the world and I think she inherited her "I need attention chromosome" from her dad.
6. I'm no longer a stressed-out, anxious control freak while traveling. That is a huge first. I'm normally a crazy traveler and get into a mode of panic at least a dozen times becoming obsessed with time and breathing. I'm constantly obsessing over what time we will board, when will we leave, when does the beverage cart come down. Do I have time to use the bathroom or will I miss my flight? What about food, do I have time for food? UGH. Air travel makes me feel like a prisoner to the terminal obsessed with the slow moving hands of time. Once in the air the hypochondriac in me kicks into high gear and I start thinking I need vapor rub and cough drops to breath. I'm also certain that everyone around me has SARS or small pox and I'm next in line to die. I'm a freaking mess on the inside. (Although I appear relatively normal to strangers). I'm typically just a stressed out mess. But not today! Traveling with Sunny changed that. I suddenly had to deal with poop explosions on Christmas outfits and bottle feedings that help with in-flight ear popping and my focus shifted from my own made up anxiety to Sunny's real issues and needs. Yet I don't think it was all of Sunny's needs that made me forget my anxieties it was really just her presence. She entertained me and kept me so happy that I forgot about all my travel anxiety and could actually say que sera sera. Let it be. Whatever. As long as the three of us were together and safe nothing else really mattered. Sure she cried, had a few meltdowns but she was great. 
7. My sister has mad skills when it comes to driving on ice. Props to Donna. Impressive. And thanks for getting us home safely.
8. Sunny is a big fan of "Jingle Bells" when song by soon to be super star Joel Schisler.
9. You actually can put too much liquor in egg nog but the Hills and Coplons will still drink it. 
10. Sunny loves her Claremore family and so does her momma.

We are safely in Oklahoma and trying to work our way around the new obstacle of the week - sheets of ice and horrible roads but Que sera sera. I'm not going to worry about it, obsess over it or try to control everything. Instead, I'm going to focus on enjoying my time here.

Number 12. I Heart Huntington. Twenty-five Lesson of 2009.

I haven't lived in a neighborhood since College Park Road and I have to say, it is nice to live in a neighborhood again. Since 1997 Lance and I have lived in over a dozen places: Ramsey Street, Sherwood, Rachel's attic, house across the street from the wooden Indian, Place One Apts, Hester house next to Balk, Em's old Ramsey House, Miller St., married student housing, Duck Street, Old Town next to Southside, Old Town King and Patrick and Huntington. Wow, that is a lot of moving. So it is nice to finally find ourselves in the middle of a community for the first time, a place where we want to stay put for a while and grow some roots. We love it here and think it is a good fit for the four of us. And the more we get to know the people in our community and folks on our street we realize just how lucky we are to live in a place full of good, kind folks. Neighbors that help keep an eye on your place when we are gone for two months. Neighbors who share with us good company, food, wine and beer. Neighbors who organize cook-outs and neighbors who organize neighborhood knitting groups. I heart Huntington. 

As the neighborhood of Huntington digs out from the 24 inches of snow from Blizzard 2009 I'm happy we live here. To the unfamiliar eye the neighborhood doesn't look all that appealing. The lack of a HOA is apparent and some of the places are run-down and vacant. It is an eclectic mix here on Huntington. Some houses are bursting with beautiful landscape and porches while others are barely mowed once a season. But all the same, it is what gives Huntington its character. 

Today everyone in Huntington is digging themselves out of the snow and helping their neighbors who can't. I love living in a community and Huntington is a great one. 

 Happy Snow Day Alexandria!

Night Four - Never Ever Saw the Stars So Bright In the Farmhouse Things Will be Alright

Night Four
Grindavík, the Northern Light Inn
November 26, 2008

Why Iceland?
Okay, many have asked the question, "Why Iceland?" So here is the answer:
We started thinking about a trip to Iceland about three years ago after we saw an ad in the Washington Post Express promoting cheap flights from BWI to Reykjavík. Iceland really wasn't in our radar as a future travel destination but we started doing some minimal research and discovered several appealing things about Iceland.

1. Iceland is only a five hour flight from BWI or JFK - not much different then a flight to LA or Vegas.
2. Northern lights are common in Iceland outside of the major cities between Nov - March. Iceland is directly below the strongest concentration of the Aurora Borealis annulus – The Green Belt – an oval of cosmic light that circles the earth off axis.
3. Compared to mainland Europe, Iceland is less touristy.
4. The Blue Lagoon.

And from there our obsession grew. The only problem, Iceland was also one of the most expensive countries in the world to visit. Basically the US dollar did not get you far. One beer = 10 USD. For that reason we put the Iceland trip on hold waiting to safe lots of money. But of course we spent our money on other things and the Iceland trip seemed just a passing thought. But I had this annoying, nagging obsession to see the Northern Lights. So jump forward to August 2008 and I'm sitting outside having a few drinks with a very close friend and she said, "Hey idiot, why haven't you and Lance gone to Iceland like you want.  It isn't like you have kids to worry about. Don't your really want to go to Iceland?" And you know what, she was right. I really did want to go to Iceland and why the hell didn't we go? So that week I started looking for flights, hotels and bam... we were going to Iceland.

Not surprisingly, I was pretty focused on planning a trip that allowed us the best opportunity to see the Northern Lights, which is why we chose Thanksgiving weekend. Now we needed a location away from the city lights and google searching our options I found the Northern Light Inn - a small inn located close to the middle of nowhere of Iceland and a mile from the Blue Lagoon. It was the perfect focal point for the trip and everything else just started to fall into place. We especially got a big break when the Icelandic krona took a huge hit and plummeted virtually overnight. (And I don't want to sound like we were happy for our luck based on Iceland's HUGE economic crisis. It was a break on our pocketbook but I'm sorry to the Icelandic people that they are in such devastation right now. It's real bad.) 

Right Place, Right Time
Like I said before, seeing the Northern Lights takes a little planning and a lot of luck. We placed ourselves in the right location by staying a couple of nights at the Northern Light Inn and we planned our trip in late November during a peak time for the lights. We were also not competing with a full moon and the weather report called for clear skies toward the end of that week, pretty much the perfect setting for Lights.

Luck
Wednesday night we ate dinner at the inn's panoramic restaurant where they had a beautiful view of the mountains in the distance. The whole dinner we kept asking each other, "Do you think we will see anything tonight?" After dinner we walked outside a few times noticing every single clear patch or break in the clouds. Just a few minutes past nine the sky cleared and we could see our first glimpse of green squiggly, dancing light. We rushed to put on layers and layers of clothes and ran outside to see what else was in the sky.

Okay, here is the hard part, describing the lights. Because first off they are like nothing I've seen. They started off very small and then suddenly a large green rainbow like line was going over our head. That line would move and small green waves would dance far off in the north then suddenly green would stretch across the sky for a second. All this carried on for about an hour and then it stopped. Most people outside with us watching the sky packed up their cameras and tripods and went in to warm up by the fire. At that point, probably 11:15 or so, TL and I were the only ones actually outside. He didn't want to go in because he saw something "suspicious" off to the north and thought more were to come. He was right. Directly in the spot he called, light started growing and taking shape and covering the north and it looked like small green flames were emerging out of the green band of light and then suddenly the light started getting more vivid and twirling. It created an S shaped funnel until it looked like the "Hatch" (a building up on the hill and to our north - named by the UK couple we met - it is a reference from Lost) was about to get sucked up into another dimension and then, in less then a minute, and it was gone and back to a light green glowing sky of lights. No, we weren't high and we weren't tripping. It was freaking crazy, celestial. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Once the sky went back to a little more normalcy we couldn't talk ourselves into going inside. We just wanted to see more - to chase that dragon.

We had no way of getting any pictures of that nights sky. You have to have a major high dollar camera, tripod and experience - but we met a very nice couple from the UK and they were kind enough to send us a picture they captured on Friday, after we had already left Iceland. The lights that night were not as bright as what we saw on Wednesday but you can see in the picture the shade of green that was lighting up the sky and you can see the "Hatch" building in the background. Wednesday night it looked like the "Hatch" would be sucked up from Earth and the green was much more vivid then what you see in the pic.

If you hadn't guessed it, I was pretty damn happy to see the Lights, especially while wearing my awesome "Northern Lights" mittens that BFF made me. I'm pretty sure the mittens brought me the needed luck to get such a clear night in Iceland to see the lights. And you know, that night felt about as surreal as the night BFF, my dear M and I found a full living room set-up and arranged in the KD apartment parking lot. The crazy green lights in the sky reminded me of that strange night in college - a dreamlike feeling in a truly bizarre moment...I couldn't help but think how much they would both love the lights I was seeing in Iceland.

Awww, the Northern Light Inn. We love this place. Cozy, clean and new. Helpful, nice staff always ready to shuttle you where you needed or wanted to be. Great restaurant and the views were amazing. But most importantly, the view was perfect for the lights. I feel like the luckiest girl that got to see the Northern Lights on her first try. But again, I did have the mittens and that worked in my favor. And guess what... I now, no longer can say, "I never ever saw the Northern Lights."

Day Three and Day Four - I Keep Calm Admiring Your Lava I Keep Calm

Day Three and Day Four
Reykjavík - Hafnarfjörður - Grindavík
November 25, 2008

Museum Day
Tuesday was the day we were suppose to travel to Akureyri and spend an evening in the bitter cold of North Iceland but the weather wasn't going to cooperate and our 10:30 domestic flight was canceled. We were a little bummed at first but once we realized that we would get a full refund on both our plane tickets and our hotel in Akureyri we were ready to make plans for one more day in Reykjavík. The airport in itself was entertaining. Very small. It reminded me of the airport in the early 90s sitcom Wings but the building looked a lot like the Ballston Center of MU (but only a couple of stories tall).

Finding a place to stay another night in Reykjavík was easy and we got a room right in the middle of city center at Hotel Klopp. Klopp was very accommodating and even allowed us to check-in at 10 am, which we were grateful for but not surprised. That is the thing with Iceland, everyone is laid back and easy going and everything just seems like no big deal. I guess the weather keeps the Icelandic people flexible. The weather changes by the minute, no matter the season, so a plan is never a guarantee. Speaking of weather, Tuesday was definitely a cold, wet, windy Icelandic day. Brrrrrr.

Not a lot to do outside on day like that so Tuesday became a museum day. TL loved museum day, especially the Sagamuseum in the Perlan. I'm not quite into the viking scene as much as TL but the Sagamuseum was pretty impressive. It is made up of 17 exhibits that highlight sagas in Icelandic history by using plaster figures. They were very life like and one statue was moving and I really thought it was a person at first. Here are three of the scenes depicted.

After Saga we took a long, very long, walk to city center to regroup and figure out a game plan for the day. We decided to finish up touring the cities' museums and hit both the art museum and the National Museum of Iceland. Oh it was so cold that day walking along the pond with the wind whipping through my three layers of clothing. Not going to lie, I wasn't so tough and was ready to throw in the towel and forget sightseeing but some chocolate cake at the National Museum helped and the tears were short lived. 

Reykjavík Pubs
So not knowing what to do with our unplanned night in Reykjavík we decided to grab a pizza and bring it back to the hotel so we could save a little money on our dinner expenses. Reykjavík isn't known for its pizza so it was as good as to be expected. After our short food break we hit the town yet again but this time for pub fun. We started off at Cafe Oliver (where we went on day one) and watched some Icelandic Karaoke. Or at least I just watched. After several Gull's (popular Icelandic beer) TL provided some good ol' American humor as he karaoked to Tenacious D's "Tribute". Being the ham he is, TL gave the locals a laugh. But unlike the karaoke I've seen in the US, there wasn't a machine or a computer teleprompter - it was just a guy playing a guitar, two mics and a stand for the sheet music. Very cool. The guitar player looked like a blonde Christian from Project Runway. Fierce!

After TL satisfied his "I need attention needs" on stage, we headed to a quint Irish Pub where we enjoyed conservation with some locals and the bartender. Our bartender had not heard of Budweiser or Miller Lite. Crazy, but I like that fact that Iceland hasn't experienced an American invasion. Yeah, they know Coca Cola, KFC and McDonald's but that is really about it. No Walmart. Isn't that a beautiful thing? 

Day Four
Icelandic Horse Riding
We rode Icelandic horses through lava fields on Wednesday. The excursion bus picked up at our hotel before 9 am and drove us to the horse ranch outside of Reykjavík near the town of Hafnarfjörður. As soon as we got to the ranch we were picking out our safety hats and bundling up in our winter gear and loading up on our horses. Icelandic horses are different from horses in America in the fact that they are much smaller. But they are sturdy and stout and very gentle. They don't kick and you can even walk behind one with no worries of getting kicked. 

My horse, Kubbur, was a very short and stout guy and his name in Icelandic was the same as what they call the bottom fat pieces of Lego sets. He was a good horse.

 

TL on the other hand got the craziest horse in the lot. That is what you get when you tell the guides that you are an experienced horse rider. Ditta was a wild hair and had her own agenda. TL had to hold tight to her reins to keep her in line on the path. The trail took us two hours to ride and it wound around craggy old lava fields with miles of huge black lava rocks covered in lichen. The landscape was so unusual. Beautiful yet something creepy existed in its raw rustic setting.

Neither one of us had ridden a horse since we were kids. It was a ton of fun. We weren't sure if the horse ride would be worth the money, but it was well worth it. We loved it. What we didn't love was whatever TL was allergic too at the ranch. By the time we checked into the Northern Light Inn Grindavik,TL's eyeballs were swollen. Poor guy. Swollen eyeballs in a foreign country would only happen to TL.

Surprises and/or Iceland Fact
No cleaning ingredients are added to Icelandic tap water. If want, you can just grab a handful of water straight from a stream and it is safe to drink. In my opinion, you could taste the difference and the water really tasted better in Iceland.