31/365 Birthday Cake!

My birthday cake from Reynolds Tavern Tea Room.  It was tasty!

30/365 Bridal Snow

I bought a wedding dress today after driving in this:

Sorry.  Can't post photos of the dress...

29/365 Insomnia

Today's favorite appliance.

28/365 More Music

I joined a church choir today (actually I joined the church as well).  Here is the stack of music I came home with:

27/365 Brrrr!

It's cold out there!  I'm modeling my new scarf and earmuffs that my Godmother gave me for my birthday!

26/365 Lunchtime Amusement

25/365 Monday Blues

Can I just say that I am tired of this view?  Guess I need another vacation...

24/365 Bad Kitty

Here is Marcello where he is not supposed to be.  On the sink.  Although...I can't blame him too much.  On Sunday I made him endure 2 hours of cooking fish stock for Boullabaise.  It smelled great, and both he and Alfi spent the afternoon running around like crazy kitties trying to find the fish.  I think that is why he is looking in the sink in this blurry photo.

23/365 Wedding Bag

On Saturday, I created my "wedding bag".  I have a bag for everything else I do in my life (work, singing, running), so I thought I'd create one for wedding stuff.  It currently contains magazines, my newly created wedding planning notebook, and TuEasy2 (My GPS).  I need TuEasy2 to find all of the places I am looking for wedding paraphanelia!

22/365 Poor Felina

J's dog Felina is such a sweet lab.  Here she is in her cone.  She doesn't like the cone (obviously), but it is the only way she won't lick her "hotspots" when no one is around.  Poor Felina...

21/365 Oh Happy Bed!

This is my bed...so patiently waiting for some attention from me! I think I will have to treat those flannel sheets to a cuddle with Page on a cold, rainy night!

20/365 Combos

Tawny Port and French Chocolate...a combination I highly recommend.

19/365 The Nightstand

Here are the books currently on my nightstand:

(That's a Bible on top...still working on my New Years' Resolution to read through it in a year).

18/365 Hadyn Creation

In case it's too blurry to read...the words are "The heavens are telling the Glory of God".  Not bad words to be singing on a Monday night...

17/365 Marcello in the Washer

He does this often...

16/365 Manicure

(Sorry it's a bit blurry...I need to start using my real camera again!)

Saturday was our Chorale Gala (black tie optional fundraiser), so I decided to get a mani/pedi.  Especially since I had a feeling a lot of people might be looking at my hand! :)  I haven't had a manicure in forever...mostly because I pick at my nails and they are ugly!  But now, I have lovely French manicured nails!

15/365 The Crab Stack

This is one of my favorite appetizers anywhere...the crab stack at Chart House! Jumbo Lump crab, mango, avocado, and red pepper. It really is the perfect combo. And the Chart House in Eastport/Annapolis is such a great place...good food, tasty drinks, and a classy atmosphere. Perfect for a Friday night kicking off a "classy" weekend!

14/365 A Little Bling...

Well, I thought I would be arriving back at my house on Wednesday evening with only the bling from my Disney races.  J had a different idea, however.

 

(For some reason, I can't get the pic larger today)

He very sneakily invited me to join him for a drink after rehearsal at the wine bar where we had our first date.  I go there often, so no bells went off that this was different from any other night!  We ordered drinks, and then he began to tell me how much he missed while I was at Disney and that he had done a lot of thinking about where we are headed.  I wasn't clued in to what was happening until he reached into his pocket, pulled out the ring, got down on one knee and asked me if I would do him the honor of marrying him!

Needless to say, I was shocked!  The funniest part was that I was still in my grungy travel clothes and the dirty pink fleece I had worn for 6 days in freezing Orlando.  At least it wasn't the stinky marathon fleece that I was tempted to wear for warmth...

Sorry for the blurry picture above.  I think it's definitely time for a new camera...my cameraphone and 3.0 megapixel camera just aren't cutting it anymore!

13/365 Hollywood Hotel Tower of Terror

Today was our last day at Disney and we made it to two parks in the morning. We got to the Magic Kingdom right as it opened and hit Space Mountain. We rode it 3 times and then went back to Hollywood Studios to ride the Aerosmith roller coaster and Tower of Terror one more time each.

12/365 Epcot

Here is a photo of Italy while I was across the lake in China. Odd, huh? Such is the nature of the World Showcase at Disney though. It was a lovely day...upper 50's and sunny. Tomorrow, we head home. :(

11/365 Bath Goodies

Last March when I was at Disney to run the Princess Half Marathon, I stopped in the Basin store at the Grand Floridian and bought myself a tube of bath bombs. I have loved using them so much since then, so I decided to pick up another tube of 10 plus these 3 extras that wouldn't fit. These are called Wild Palm and supposedly soothe tired muscles. Wish I could trust the tub in our hotel...my legs need to be soothed!

10/365 Goofy Medal

I completed the Goofy Challenge today and now have 3 great Disney medals to add to my Princess Half marathon medal! The race was good...I maintained my pace through most of it and finished strong and happy. Now I get to have a great time at Disney for the next 3 days!

9/365 Done with Donald

Donald Duck 1/2 marathon complete! Now on to the Mickey Mouse Marathon tomorrow and the completion of the Goofy Challenge!

8/365 Ready for the Goofy Challenge

Our clothes are laid out and ready for the icy first leg of the Goofy Challenge...the Donald Duck 1/2 Marathon!

7/365 Leaving on a Jet Plane...

I love my "Pack-it" Cubes.  They make packing light for a 6 day trip much easier!  Tomorrow, I head to Orlando for the Goofy Challenge, and some much needed fun time at Disney afterwards.  Since I have my BlackBerry with me, I'll still try to post a photo a day.  Ideally, I'll have some good photo ops at Disney!

6/365 Bach St. Matthew Passion

Here is our pretty blue St. Matthew Passion score.  Bach at its best.  Let's hope I can learn it and sing it well!

5/365 Yesterday's Photo "GPS"

Ooops...forgot to post this yesterday!  My parents gave me a GPS navigator for Christmas, and I love it!  The above photo is a bit blurry since I was driving and holding my Blackberry with one hand.  I'm not sure how I lived without one of these...

4/365 Crack-Fil-A!

A little slice of heaven on a cold Monday...

3/365

Tonight's dinner was Boeuf Bourguinon a la Julia Child.  The kitty cats wanted some for sure.  But eventually, they ended up sacked out on the kitchen chairs waiting for their share!

Twin kitties on the twin chairs!  Hoping they will get a bit of creme brulee....

2/365 Half-Completed Creme Brulee

Today, I spent almost all day being domestic.  Cleaning, organizing, and finally doing a little baking this evening.  I worked on the first step for making Creme Brulee, baking.  We'll have this for dessert tomorrow after my Julia Child Boeuf Bourginon attempt.  Once the custards have chilled overnight, I'll use my handy kitchen torch to make the "brulee" tomorrow.  Yum!

365 Project...Day 1

After a fun, late party last night, I spent most of New Years' Day on J's couch watching football and reading magazines.  Hence, the photo above, showing all of the magazines I got through.  Not the best photo, but at least it is a start for my first day of the 365 project!

New Years' Resolutions

I don't typically put my New Years' Resolutions out on the internet...well really, I don't often even make resolutions!  But this year, I've felt a bit of a need for some changes in my life...nothing major, but little ways that I would like to improve myself.  I also like the idea of using the "New Year fresh start"  to inject a bit more discipline into my life.  I look around at my friends with kids and realize how little time they actually have to themselves.  If I have kids one day, I hope that I will have used the time I have now to accomplish some small things that are easier without little mouths to feed and lives to mold. So...here are my resolutions for 2010!  Let's hope I can stick to them for a little while at least...

1.  Complete the 365 day Photo Project-  Something about this is incredibly appealing to me.  Maybe it is the idea of having a photo record of what I've done for a year...or maybe it is the thought of being disciplined enough to take at least one photo every day and post it.  If I'm successful, this blog might have many more posts than in the past!

2.  Read through the Bible in a year-  I've had this goal for awhile.  But every time I start, I lose steam after a few days/weeks and never finish.  I think it's important to have read the entire thing if I am going to base my life on the Word of God, so I'd better get cracking!  I found a nice plan here...perhaps having a paper copy and one online will make me more motivated!

3.  For every novel that I read, read a nonfiction book-  I waste a lot of time reading fiction.  Some of it is good...some not.  So, I think I need to incorporate some nonfiction into my reading regimen...whether a history book, biography, book on a subject I'm interested in, or a spiritual book.  Since I joined J's book club, this will be a bit easier since the club occasionally reads non-fiction.  Coming up soon is a biography of Huey Long.  876 pages.  Think I can get away with counting that as 2 novels?

4.  Stick to my savings budget-  I go in and out of being good at saving money.  My net worth last year fluctuated by $5000 at any given time.  Sometimes I'm really good at saving...and then I go on spending sprees.  This year, I'd like to even that out a bit, so I've thrown a little "cushion" money into my budget to cover my erratic spending.  Instead of putting $1000 a month into savings, I'm going to attempt to put $700.  Better less saved a month and kept in there than having money subject to my erratic spending habits!

5.  Attempt a "No Spending" month-  This goes along with number 4.  As much as I detest our materialistic culture, I often get caught up in it.  I'd like for March or April to be a "no spending month"...including food, eating out, coffee, clothes, books, etc.  Don't worry...I'll still eat!  I'd just like to see how long I can last eating out of my freezer and pantry!

6.  Cook one or two recipe's from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking for Sunday Dinner each week- So obviously, I stole this from the Julie/Julia Project blog and the book/movie of the same name.  But I love French cooking, and need to have a little discipline in order to make myself cook.  I am a decent cook...I can whip up a mean red sauce, put together casseroles, and cook a decent roast.  But, I'd like to take my cooking skills a little further.  I love cooking on Sundays because there is no pressure to be done at a certain time.  I can start cooking at 3:00, and if I'm done by 5:00, then we eat then.  If it's more like 7:00, that works, too.  Part of what I don't enjoy about cooking is the timing.  I haven't told my roommate that this is my plan (she might see it on the blog, though!)..but I don't think she will complain since she doesn't think that I cook enough.  I'm starting this weekend by watching Julie and Julia and making Boeuf Bourginion.  Good luck to me...

7.  Oh, and what is a list of New Years' Resolutions without one to lose weight?  So, I'd like to Lose 10 lbs.  Ha!

So those are my goals for 2010.  Again, nothing major, and all improvements I can certainly live with!