Hello!
I hope everyone had lovely holidays. Erik and I certainly did! Mom, Dad and Lee came up to stay with us for Christmas. They arrived on Saturday packed to the brim with presents. I think everyone was relieved to be at their final destination. I say that because Mom and Dad were sweet in offering a ride to an older woman who was spending the holidays in DC with her daughter. That would have been fine, but the woman packed quite a bit of stuff AND....her small yippy dog named Chewbacca. Seriously. Apparently the dog was barking the whole trip up. When they pulled into the driveway I peeked into the car and saw that my mother was squished with presents, the woman's hanging clothes, and she was holding the dog in the dog cage on her lap. Hah! The look in everyone's eyes was priceless. I can't even explain how funny it was. Well, not funny to them.
Sheila stayed with us on Christmas Eve as well and we all woke up early for breakfast and gift opening. There were so many, but very wonderful. Here are some of our favorites:
- New operating system for Erik's mac from my mother (erik)
- Red Winter coat from Sheila (me)
- Gorgeous prints from my father (both)
- cupcake carrier and cake decorating kit from Lee(me)
- Haiku Shirt from the Shevitz Clan (erik)
Tomorrow Erik, Sheila, Emma, and I are going to the Spy Museum. I've never been and I can't wait to check out the exhibits. Thank you William and Alex for the tickets! I will be sure we take the camera with us and upload some pictures from our adventures.
Tonight I am going to be cleaning our home in preparation for my dear friend Ellie to visit. We have been good friends since 7th grade. It's nice knowing someone for that long.
Speaking of other friends. My former roommate Katie and I exchanged gifts at our get together on Saturday. You won't believe what we did! We both got each other cake stands! Too bad I already have 2 :( The one I got for her was a white ceramic one with little pastries painted on it. It came with matching cake plates. So cute. I think that we are intertwined cosmically. That's the only explanation possible. Period.
I'll post some pictures for Christmas when I get home tonight and will make sure that we put up SPY Museum ones as well.
Best wishes for the New Year!
C
"What did you want to be when you grew up?" A co-worker asked me yesterday. We had just left a meeting in which our team had been described as "data storage experts."
"Whatever it was, it wasn't a data storage expert. Or a file typing expert." Was my job as exciting as I'd believed before going into the meeting? Children probably wouldn't think so.
What was it I wanted to be when I was a kid? I couldn't remember. I have completely forgotten. There's no going back, I've grown up. I tried to think back to being 7 years old. I lost a tooth that year. I played with GI-Joes. I tried to remember being asked the question.
"What do you want to be when you grow up?" I can remember being asked this question by my grandmother. I remember the questions, but no matter how hard I try, my response is lost in the mist of time. This is a silly question to ask of a child, really. Now that I'm an adult, I know this as well as anyone else. Even if a child has an idea of what they want to do, things are likely to change so much by the time they are grown that their planned vocation doesn't even exist anymore. Or new jobs may be invented, and that may be more appealing. A child that dreams of being a doctor, may discover that being a nurse fills that desire far more than medical school ever would. So what's the point of asking? Curiosity maybe. Perhaps a gap in conversation. I think its a ploy to discover what kinds of gifts to buy to be a successful gift giver. If a kid wants to be a firefighter than you can get them a fire truck for Christmas.
Whatever the reason, nobody says "file typing expert." But I get to do some really cool work. I'm lucky enough to apply studies from school in my work. At least I'm still doing what I wanted to be doing as an undergrad. A lot of people can't even say that.
I wonder what my niece Caitlin will be when she grows up. Just a few short months ago, If you'd asked me who the strongest person I knew was, I would have said my dad. All it took was one handshake from his powerful forearms, and you'd be convinced of the same. But now I know that it's most definitely Caitlin. She doesn't have the anchor tattooed to her biceps, or any understanding of oncology or hematology. And yet I keep seeing smiling pictures. Could I have been that strong? I don't know.
No matter what she decides to "be" when she grows up, there's one thing she'll always be. What everyone really wants to be when they grow up, without consciousness enough to say so. It's OK to say veterinarian, or doctor, or astronaut. We all know what the real answer to the question is, if we're lucky, that is.
Q: What do you want to be when you grow up?
A: Loved.
Anniversary Pictures
As promised...pictures from our anniversary.
Looks almost as nice as our actual wedding cake, huh?
Looks almost as nice as our actual wedding cake, huh?
NO!
Christmas is coming!
Happy Holidays!
The weather has gotten a bit warmer and all the snow has melted, but it is feeling more like Christmas. This weekend was so fun and full of events that made the holidays seem very close.
This Saturday morning I woke up early and headed off to a Chocolate Truffle making class! My good friend Katie went with me and we learned how to make ganache, pipe little bites, and coat them with yummy things. The piping was the hardest part as dark chocolate sets pretty quickly. My favorite ones were the dark chocolate centers flavored with brandy and coated in milk chocolate and toasted almonds. I coated 3/4's of my truffles with almonds and then realized that Erik is allergic. Oops! Next week I'll make them all Erik friendly. Yes, you read right...we have another day of truffle making next week! During that class we'll learn how to make truffles in shells and how to use white chocolate for them as well. It should be very fun.
On Sunday morning I headed off to church and discovered that in the evening they were having their annual "Carols, Cookies, and Coffee". So, I decided to drag Erik along. The program lasted longer than we expected and was comprised of more bell playing than actual singing. I think the cookies made up for it though.
When we got home we were happy to see that our tree timer had turned on the lights! Erik and I then gave Caitlin a call on her very important 8th birthday. She sounds much older already ;) We can't wait to see her for Christmas- here's hoping that she comes home on the 24th.
It looks like my Mom and Dad will be coming up for our Christmas party and staying through Christmas. I am so thankful that school is over and I'll be able to clean and get the house ready for the party and their arrival. We can't wait to celebrate our first Christmas in our own house.
Hope your holidays are wonderful!
Claire
** When I get home tonight I'll upload pictures from these past few months: anniversary and taking Emma to get her ears pierced.
The weather has gotten a bit warmer and all the snow has melted, but it is feeling more like Christmas. This weekend was so fun and full of events that made the holidays seem very close.
This Saturday morning I woke up early and headed off to a Chocolate Truffle making class! My good friend Katie went with me and we learned how to make ganache, pipe little bites, and coat them with yummy things. The piping was the hardest part as dark chocolate sets pretty quickly. My favorite ones were the dark chocolate centers flavored with brandy and coated in milk chocolate and toasted almonds. I coated 3/4's of my truffles with almonds and then realized that Erik is allergic. Oops! Next week I'll make them all Erik friendly. Yes, you read right...we have another day of truffle making next week! During that class we'll learn how to make truffles in shells and how to use white chocolate for them as well. It should be very fun.
On Sunday morning I headed off to church and discovered that in the evening they were having their annual "Carols, Cookies, and Coffee". So, I decided to drag Erik along. The program lasted longer than we expected and was comprised of more bell playing than actual singing. I think the cookies made up for it though.
When we got home we were happy to see that our tree timer had turned on the lights! Erik and I then gave Caitlin a call on her very important 8th birthday. She sounds much older already ;) We can't wait to see her for Christmas- here's hoping that she comes home on the 24th.
It looks like my Mom and Dad will be coming up for our Christmas party and staying through Christmas. I am so thankful that school is over and I'll be able to clean and get the house ready for the party and their arrival. We can't wait to celebrate our first Christmas in our own house.
Hope your holidays are wonderful!
Claire
** When I get home tonight I'll upload pictures from these past few months: anniversary and taking Emma to get her ears pierced.
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