Masonic Memorial

Jimmy and I went and took a tour of the George Washington Masonic Memorial. Neither of us had been. I wasn't expecting too much, but I was extremely impressed. It is such a beautiful building on the outside, but its really great on the inside too and the history is actually pretty fascinating.





(is that a texas longhorn?)
I was really surprised by some of it.


And totally blown away that the Knights Templar from National Treasury (disney) was not entirely accurate. I'm shocked by Hollywood.

Jimmy absolutly loved the elevator. Apparantly they go up at an angle. You can't tell as you ride, but its apparantly a major angle. This is him on the top floor. One elevator on each side.

This is the ground floor. I can't even get both elevators in the picture. There is one on the left hand side behind the pillars and one on the right


Our house is somewhere in there.

Technology

Jimmy and I got a Wii for Christmas and we love it. Jimmy is especially addicted. In fact, he is downstairs right now playing. I can even hear him yelling at the TV. So my question for you is...Can you guess what game he is so addicted to? Options include Wii Resort-we've got the baseball bat, raquet, sword, all the good things to make the game more realistic. There's Mario Kart with an actual steering wheel. Or maybe Wii Fit where the Pad can actually tell where your body is turning. Technology has afforded us so many different choices, so naturally the one Jimmy would make is Super Mario Bro. The original 2D nintendo game. Its a good thing we have the most advanced gaming system!

Addicted

I have a serious addiction problem and I have had this issue for a while. I love to bake. I have always enjoyed baking, but for the last few months I just can’t seem to control it. I think about it all the time. If I’m not currently baking, I’m either searching for new recipes or enjoying the spoils of a previous "incident". So my question is why?

I am completely happy while I am baking-so do I really thoroughly enjoy the process of baking. On the other hand, I get an extra high after I'm done (after the batter is done, not the baking-dough is so good). But thats because I'm eating and who doesn't love that. So am I addicted to baking because I enjoy the baking or because I know what’s coming?

Most recently I made a Tuxedo Tort and I love it. It’s my new favorite cake. Sooooo Good!

Love Messages

I recently read a blog titled “Love Messages.” It was about Love Messages from our spouse and whether or not we recognize them. Naturally my mind wandered to flowers and cards (which are scarce in my house), but after thinking for a bit, I was amazed at how many Love Messages Jimmy sends me. He really is very sweet and takes very good care of me.

I am a guy and I don’t notice anything. I do dishes sometimes and Jimmy does dishes sometimes, but until recently I thought we were both carrying our fair share. However, a few weeks ago I realized that every day when I came home from work, the dishes were done (I say 'realized' like I noticed that this phenomenon was occurring, but to be honest it was pointed out to me). I had no idea that after I left for work every day Jimmy always did any dishes that were laying around. Since then, I have noticed that he does this every day and I am blown away. Not because he does them, but because for a year and a half he has been doing this and has never made a comment about why I always leave for work without realizing what a mess the kitchen may be in.

Jimmy also usually beats me home (I love my DC commute-ugh) and he always has dinner ready or at least started. (This could be because he is hungry or more likely because he is afraid of my cooking, but I’m going to pretend it’s because he loves taking care of me, which I know he does).

To be fair, I don’t mind not getting flowers. Jimmy knows this-if you are going to spend the money, get me something good. Like Season 5 of The Office!! The newest season came out on DVD a month or so ago and I have been wanting it. I love this show and even though Jimmy thinks it’s a dumb show and the Michael Scott is insane, he came home a few days ago with a copy “just because.” I’m sure he now regrets it, since I haven’t stopped watching, but I really appreciate that he is always thinking of me and often tries to find ways to make me happy.

Of course my favorite love message is his look when he does his sad puppy dog face. I don’t know anyone that can do it as good as Jimmy. When we are watching TV together or doing something else together and I start to leave the room, he looks at me and it’s like his heart is breaking. His entire world is going to end just by having me go upstairs. Don’t be fooled, he knows what he’s doing and he’s totally fine. But he knows if he puts on that face and says “Don’t leave me,” I’m stuck and not going anywhere.

Pictures

Pictures I never uploaded.
My gingerbread village.

Jimmy's gingerbread train

We finally rented Julie and Julia. It was enteratining, and naturally the next day Jimmy ordered Julia Childs cookbook online. He doesn't plan to do it in a year, but he's planning on cooking his way through it. And I'm reaping the benefits. His first recipe was her potato soup. It was fantastic.

Too Much of a Good Thing?

Is it possible to have too much of a good thing? I decided to test this theory this past weekend. Brian, David, Jimmy and I spent the weekend exploring Philly. We’ve all been before so we were able to bypass the standard tourist attractions (or most of them) and spent the weekend checking out new sites but focusing on Christmas, chocolate and food in general.

We got into Philly at almost midnight on Friday night and naturally had to start out by sampling the local cuisine – Philly Cheesesteak… and a sample is all we needed. We tried out two places who claim to be the original, Gino’s and Pat’s, and both were horrible. Really, the cheesesteak wasn’t even good enough to finish (of course finish we did-it is food).

Naturally we started Saturday off with a big breakfast. Followed shortly by a stop at Naked Chocolate Café-a fantastic chocolate café-for some hot chocolate. But this wasn’t just any hot chocolate. This was European Hot Chocolate and it was crazy thick and ridiculously rich. But man was it good.



The rest of the day included some shopping and hanging out at Macy’s and watching the Festival of Lights-a six story wall of Christmas lights, inside Macy’s that take shape with changing Christmas music and narration by Julie Andrews. We also stopped by Philadelphia’s Christmas Market, just outside City Hall. It was a little disappointing, but to be fair, we wouldn’t have lasted long anyway. It was snowing and we were all freezing.


We also made quick stops to check out the Philadelphia Train Display and Reading Terminal market for some more chocolate, cookies and ice cream.



After heading back to the hotel to warm up, we all decided we were too full to move. So naturally, we forced ourselves to get up and head out to eat at Max Brenners. The whole point of trying Max Brenners was for their famous chocolate. Unfortunately after forcing ourselves to eat, we couldn’t even handle desert. Of course to make up for this loss, Brian and I bought some European style hot chocolate mix to take back to DC.

On Sunday we did some more shopping and then stopped by Longwood Gardens. It was absolutely incredible. Definitely the highlight of the weekend.


















All in all , Philly was a great experience. And no-there is no such thing as too much Christmas or Chocolate.

Outer Banks

Last weekend Jimmy and I went down to the Outer Banks with David and Brian. It was such a great weekend. Friday was gorgeous. The sun was out and it was crazy warm. We spent half the day in the water and the other half playing beach games.

I also found a new way of getting around the beach. Driving!!! So much easier and tons of fun!



There are some 'wild' horses on Ocracoke Island (horses that are coralled-does that make any sense?). Jimmy loved watching the horses.



And we all loved exploring the island, the lighthouses, shops and we even got to take a ferry!