Accio Twenty Eleven

My first blogpost ever was about my goals for 2010. Let's see how I've done:

Work on French : I drank a good amount of wine in 2010.
Volt: Whatever.
Minibar: What was I thinking?
Zaytinya: Yes, but threw up in the middle of dinner and we had to leave.
2 Amys: Yes!
Rays Hellburger: Yes, twice.
The Gibson: Whatever.
Run a Half Marathon: I had intentions, damnit. Intentions! Then I tore my hamstring and just never really...riiiiiiiight.
Visit Monica in LA: Visited her in Palm Springs. I'll give myself half a point here.
Take more photos: DUH.

My goals are really embarassing to go back in read. Perhaps it's the fact that I really didn't accomplish many of them, or maybe that half of them were restaurants? I mean, New Years goals are supposed to be about self-improvement, right? I suppose those are resolutios, I think there is a difference. This year I'm going to try and clean up my 2010 list and add an important resolution.

Visit Monica in LA (for the full point)

Run a Half Marathon

Simplicity and focus

These should be doable 2012 Kerry if you are still alive! I believe in you!

Last thing: The End's Not Near by Band of Horses is and will always be the perfect New Years song.

Merry Christmas

A Christmas Eve present from Lauren.

Christmas Tree Lights

Koa, laying in the middle of the lights as we stretched them across the floor before putting them on the tree.

A Conversation with Mr. Kelly

Monica: My Dad did all of his shopping online. Isn't he brilliant?
Sent at 2:13 PM on Monday
Monica: Hi Kerry. It's me, Mr. K. We r looking forward to having you to dinner tonight. See ya. What the French, toast!
me: oh my god.
my day is made.
Monica: R u going to wear the glasses????
me: yes i am.
if you would like.
Monica: Yea!
me: /wouldn't be embarassed??
Monica: No!
me: excellent. glasses are game.
Monica: Gots to go now and check out my stocks. Checking out.
me: amazing.

New York iPhone

The bus hub

A purple stained hand

The gentleman eating his noodles

Unhappy in pecan pie


The westest christmas tree in New York

New York

I put a few photos from New York up on my flickr. This second photo was taken by Drew. It's one of my favorites from the trip, go figure.

iPhone fun to follow when I have nothing to do at work.

The National Tree of China Smells like Parmesean Cheese

I know this, because the path along Rose park is lined with big Ginko Trees and I walk along the path every day. In the fall, their fan-shaped leaves turned the most amazing shade of yellow.

Ginko Leaves

A few weeks ago, however, my intimate relationship with the Ginkos began to waiver along when big yellow berries began dropping in my path by the hundreds. Not only is it impossible to avoid smashing five berries with every step, but when crushed, the berries bleed a goopy flesh that smells, in a word, cheesy.

Because I walk through them every day, I have had time to progressivly pinpoint their smell: Bad -> Vomit -> Cheese -> Old Cheese -> Parmesean Cheese -> Wet Parmesean Chesse. And that is exactly what they smell like.

The obvious solution would be to avoid Rose Park in the first few weeks of winter. Allow me, however, to throw this into the mix: Rose Park is also a dog park. So that's that.

My Favorite Kitchen

Is in Blacksburg, VA.

In the kitchen is a giant wood stove that eats wood all day and night. It heats the house and makes it smell of wood smoke. In front of the stove is a big comfy chair to sit in and read. The kitchen was added after the house was built and the original siding still makes up one wall.

The house has slanted stairs and wooden floors painted blue, it has a library with a record player and whiskey, but that doesn't matter.
Not as much as the kitchen.

But maybe as much as Mike's roommates' amazing dog Finn, a retired racing greyhound and the tallest, sweetest dog.

Oh also, you can walk from the kitchen of Mike's house to the basment of the Cellar in less than 2 mintues. Whaaaaat?

Modernist Cuisine

Modernist Cuisine is apparently going to revolutionize cooking because it's a 2,400 page tome explaining science-based and modern techniques in cooking. The photos look amazing and I'm sure it will be interesting, but it's not going to be released until March of 2011.

I visited the blog and found this video and probably watched it about 27 times in a row. As if I didn't already love popcorn enough.

Thanksgiving with My Family

A perfectly dreary Thursday for Thanksgiving. I forced home-made green bean casserole and corn-syrupless pecan pie on my family this year. Brian protested because he loves canned green beans?
I also made and ruined the gravy, but got off the hook because my Dad turned our turkey into a zombie (hilarious, actually).

Because of the turkey fiasco, my family had another Thanksgiving Sunday where my Dad could give deep frying a turkey one more go (it was really good the second time). So that's 4 Thanksgivings in all for me. Awe-some. I need to start running again...

I put more photos from Thanksgiving and other stuff up on my flickr.

My Best Friend Is Famous and Yours Isn't

ha-HA
Monica is on IMDB!

Dress Your Baby in American Apparel

Ladies and gentlemen, I am sad to announce the death of any shred of self-respect American Apparel once possessed. The other week, while walking down M street, I saw this small bebe mannequin in the window.

RIP comfy v-necks in assorted colors. RIP checkered button-up that I bought once and then returned because it made me look like a man/lesbian. RIP bright purple zip-up with the sleeves just a tad longer than I would like but is so comfy I will probably continue to wear it

Now go, get.
DON'T MAKE THIS HARDER THAN IT HAS TO BE, BUDDY.

Ain't no rules says a dog can't play basketball.

Texts from My Dad

"Cougar alert. They're everywhere..."

"Want anything special for din din?"

"Relacements on channel 221. Rock on"

"You duckin me wench?"

"Point Break on right now - rock on"

"I'm glad you understand I am a deeply cerebral man."

"Yo momma" to be followed the next day with "Have I told you about yo mamma?"

"Point Break - 8:00 pm - b there"

"Case of bud under the stretcher"

"Ha ha-you're working and I'm not!!!! - have a stupendous day"

Love that man.

Thanksgivings One and Two in Portrait

The First Thanksgiving
The only photo that really came out, unfortunately.
Somehow nine people and one seven-foot German fit around a small table. Because everyone's food was so delicious, I let them go see Harry Potter without me afterward. I didn't even ruin it or complain that I couldn't go because I was too tired.
I think this is growing up?


The Second Thanksgiving
I carried a 21 pound turkey slung over my back and spent the rest of the day basting until she turned golden.
It's honestly amazing how many people can fit into one tiny room and how a lot of good food and wine and music can turn a word like cramped into something more like cozy.



One day Victoria is going to make her fortune in mini pies.
No, seriously.


The father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.
And the Turkey.

After looking through all my photos from both nights (a total of 9-sorry, i'm awful at taking pictures without a lot of light and after I've had more than one glass of wine. But the people there were looking sharp and if I had taken more pictures of them, they would have at least looked like they were having fun) I noticed all were taken in portrait. This really bothered me because I definitely prefer looking at photos in landscape.

And a quick word to all those already celebrating Christmas.
Just stop, please. It's not that I don't love Christmas, but you're despecialing it. And well, I think Thanksgiving is pretty great.
I'm looking at you Georgetown.

Testing.

A Very Special Midnight

HIGH POINT

Even if I was in Hufflepuff, even if i had to leave Koa behind. (But lets be honest, I'd for sure be in Gryffindor. Pork Chop Pork Chop Greasy Greasy Slytherine girls are Easy Easy!)

Halloween

amazing

Paul the Octopus, Republican Jesus, Madeline, House and Cuddy, still not sure exactly what Michael was, Penny Lane, Joan Jett.

A fun group after we rallied from the rally, really.

Woodberry, VA

Woodberry homecoming, corn hole domination, worn paths through fallen leaves, Charlottesville in the fall, a good bench outside a good book sale, Ghirardelli brownies and then, after all that, John left Virginia.

I was warned I might swoon by merely stepping inside the grounds of Woodberry Forest, an all-boys boarding school. Really I was just amazed that they had chandeliers in the dining hall, a view of the Blue Ridge Mountains and little silver tags on all of their (amazing) trees.

This is my effort to take more pictures during the weekends.

Might I add the first and last photos were taken by Drew on my camera.

People I Don't Like

Lauren had her 2nd grade students write a journal entry and this is what one of them wrote.
Another one wrote about Life and how it's hard when you get parking tickets and lawsuits.
This really kills me, I just love kids.

"You Gotta Hear This One Song"

Natalie Portman's New CD Player

What Drew Phillips does with his free time.

It's good, I like it.

Meet Norite

This is copied and pasted directly from an e-mail this morning.

"well, you see. my family was never really a pet family. it must be a foreign thing. I had a dog for about a year - but we had to give him away because he was bad and we didn't know how to take care of him. That was pretty traumatizing. Then Bubba, yes, he ran away. Well he was an outdoor cat and refused to come home during a tornado in 2001. Also pretty traumatizing. I just picture him flying through the air like Dorothy's dream in the Wizard of Oz, you know.. dana dana danana with the witch on her bike, yikes. But it was like fate when Boonji, the stray, showed up at our doorstep. We brought him to da vet and errrrrrthang and he is all good! He's still an outdoor cat, but he comes home for some eats and sleeping. Too bad he don't love me - he's a meanie kitty. sometimes i think he thinks he's a lion or a tiger or something."

Ten Things I Liked About Yesterday:

Ed got more hot chocolate for the office kitchen. Ghetto mochas forever.

My towel sits next to the heater in my bathroom. Warm towels after showers forever.

Seeing someone run after the bus and actually catch it.

The song Vesuvius off the new Sufjan album, especailly the end.

Wednesday's farmers market.

Buying walnuts with the shells at the market and finding the exact way to hit them with a hammer without completely shattering the nutmeat.

Apple and Walnut Tart. A tart is what you make when you want to make a pie but have no pie pan. Then you call it rustic.

Trees remembering to take the tart out of the oven before it burned without me calling him.

Having an uncomplicated and only mildly confusing conversation with the people at Penn Camera and then having almost no line at Trader Joe's.

Gemma Jones' character in You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger. Oh and Josh Brolin's pot belly, that too.

Dear Dad,

Congratulations on becoming the newest Centreville EMT.

Thanks for telling me nearly every monday how the lungs work on the way to the metro.

You're welcome for being such a talented actress and playing the best unconscious girl with a thready pulse and a ticklish predilection (a very rare but serious condition).

So anyone who dislocates their shoulder can be assured they are in good hands-and don't forget to ask for the nitrous oxide!

vote.

but only if you want, because i wouldn't presume to tell you what to do.

i guess this puts me in dante's vestibule of hell for being indifferent, but i find it extremely annoying and frustrating to try and follow politics. plus i mostly care about puppies and good recipes and how fast the leaves seem to be falling, so no sticker for me.

that being said, i truly admire those who have the patience to know what the hell people are talking about.

marc johns.

makes me smile big time.

things that go bump in the night, especially last night if you were sleeping in the basement and definitely heard something

The Bell Witch is one of my favorite scary stories.
Even if it's not true (though if you visit the website, the story is documented through annotations, biographies and historical facts!), it's a great scary story of a poltereist/witch hybrid that weaves American history and folklore together.

The haunting starts with John Bell seeing an animal in his Tennessee cornfields with the body of a dog and the head of a rabbit. Honestly, all i can picture is a Koa/Waffles hybrid and I think we can all agree that would be adorable. But I guess it's pretty scary considering he couldn't shoot it or anything and later they heard it pawing at their log cabin.

You can read the legend for the rest of the story but highlights include the suspected suicide of John Bell Sr., a love triangle including Betsy Bell (pictured above) and the promise of a return. Spoooooooooooky.

One of the best things about the Bell Witch, she haunted Andrew Jackson! That's what you get for signing the Indian Removal Act, though admittedly that was after the haunting. When I took an American Indian Studies class in college, my professor who was a member of the Cherokee Tribe literally spit when he said Andrew Jackson's name.

Anyways, I thought sharing the story would be appropriate for the Halloween weekend and if you are interested in any more, then call Alli Heaney because she is obsessed with ghost stories and knows a ton of them. Definitely ready for Halloweekend this year.

two damn hours

some things are worth the time you put into them.

these aren't.

they aren't even pretty.
i hope you enjoy them book club.

oh and FYI, the top right apple is a poorly executed drizzle technique and not a chocolate avalanche like the others.

m street northwest to m street southeast.

the navy yard and capitol hill

georgetown after the metro

20 minutes by metro. 50 if you include walking to the metro stations.
point a to point b and back again, these two neighborhoods are the alpha and omega of my day.

on 8th street in capitol hill you will find poverty-stricken people begging for change. you will find young people in black framed glasses walking to their renovated row houses. you will find marines sweeping the streets of fallen leaves with assault rifles strapped to their backs.
how funny to be in georgetown 20 minutes later.