And the Nominees Are....

So, my friend Holly has nominated me for a Liebster Award!  I had no idea what it was and truth be told I was skeptical that her account may have been hacked.  How sad is that?  But I did a little research and discovered it to be a for real thing, so Awesome!  For those who are like me and wondering what in the world this is all about here's the skinny:

What is a Liebster Award? A Liebster award is given to blogs with less than 300 followers as a way of making them more well-known. The rules for the acceptance are:
1) Visit and thank the blogger who nominated you
2) Acknowledge that blogger on your blog and link back
3) Answer the 10 questions posed by the blogger who nominated you
4) Select 3 – 5 bloggers for the award
5) Pose 10 new questions to the new nominees
6) Post the award on your blog

So here are my questions from Holly:

1. How long have you been blogging? According to my archives, they tell me about 2007.  I hit my stride in 2008 when I think I had WAAAY too much free time on my hands.  Then I decided to move twice (GA-NY and NY-VA), get married, and have a baby (wow a lot has happened in 4 short years!), so free time is something of an endangered species.  I blog to share cool things I find, annoyances of the world, delicious recipes, nifty crafts, and and also to just have a place to practice writing. 

2. Morning person or night person? Before my son was born, I would say hands down night person.  Anywho who knows me knows I do not operate without a cup of coffee and/or being awake for roughly 3-5 hours before being 'cheerful' enough to talk to.  In fact, at one workplace, I had been known to grunt at people until I had been there 30 minutes or so, made and ate oatmeal and had a chance to process what it would take to be productive for the day.  Since having him, mornings haven't been the dreadful thing they once were.  When there is someone who greets me which such joy, I can't help but be happy and kind of get over my own lack of sleep just to partake in the happiness in front of me.

3. Favorite book?  I do love so many books, but the one I love to read over and over (at least once annually) is Stardust by Neil Gaiman.  It is part of the inspiration for this blog name.  I just love the tale and the world he creates in the land beyond the village of Wall.  I have not and will not ever see the movie.  My imagination has it just right in my head and I don't need Hollywood screwing it up.

4. Summer sun or winter wonderland?  Summer sun.  The days are longer, people are happier, there are more picnics and sunshine.  The Summer also compliments my love of the beach.  It's a lot more fun to be there in the warmer weather than in the cooler weather (I have done both).  There's something about putting your feet in warm sand and feeling a warm breeze on your face that just makes a person happy.  Also in the summer, there is far less hassle with the weather.  It's either sunny, breezy, or rainy so pick the appropriate jacket.  In the winter you have cold, ice, snow, and windy.  All of which need too many layers to enjoy unless you are under the age of 12.

5. What do you do in your free time?  Free time?  Ha.  My free time has been extremely reduced, but I am the queen of multi-tasking.  I also find it impossible to sit still, so I do make the most of what little time I have.  When I am watching TV I tend to use my laptop to surf the web for any number of things.  Facebook and Pinterest are frequent stops as well as any other "research" I am currently interested in.  Right now I have a "Couch to 5K:" and Online Fabric shopping tabs open.  I also enjoy working on my projects (which are piled high and deep right now, let me tell you!).  I sew a lot, mainly quilts right now. I take a lot of pictures, mostly of my son, but the cats get in on the action too, which means I also spend a lot of time uploading and purchasing photo stuff (books, cards, etc).  I love to work on the house (which has gotten surprisingly more difficult with a baby) and my next two projects are repainting hideous brass lamps and reupholstering two obnoxious pink wing back chairs, FINALLY.  I also try to read a little each day and because of my health plan at work, I am trying to get at least 7,000 steps a day on my pedometer.  Sometimes this means walking around the house in circles after Colin has gone to bed.  Thankfully I recently acquired a Kindle so I can watch older TV shows while moving around the house.  It has worked out well. 

6. Do you make New Year’s resolutions?  Yes.  I think they are a great way to think about doing something new and different.  They don't always have to be tied to a "don't" which I think is where people get stuck sometimes.  Make them small and manageable and write them down and put there where you see them everyday.  I try to use my resolution as a way to be a better person.  This year mine could have been trying not to swear like a sailor while driving in DC, but I opted for something that would help others.  I am buying and donating food monthly to a local food shelter in our area.  Before the holidays had come, I heard a news story on the radio about how much the need for food has gone up and it made me sad.  People only ever think to donate to the food pantry around Thanksgiving and Christmas.  And that's not to say it's not a good thing, but those people don't miraculously get food the other 10 months out of the year.  So I have decided to make a donation drop off once a month.  My preferred way of giving is 100% anonymous so it works out well.  I don't need a thank you, just appreciate what was given to you and that's enough for me.
 
7. Family’s favorite meal? (Share the recipe)  We have many, but here's one of our go-to favorites.

Angel Hair Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Goat Cheese
(makes 4-6 servings)
1, 10 oz. jar sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, chopped (oil reserved)
1 small onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 cup dry white wine
1 lb. angel hair pasta
3 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley (flat leaf italian parsley)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper (freshly ground)
3-4 oz. soft fresh goat cheese, coarsely crumbled

Heat 3 tbsp. of reserved oil from sun-dried tomatoes in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.  Add wine and chopped sun-dried tomatoes and simmer until liquid reduces by half, about 2 minutes.

Cook pasta according to package directions, but when you drain it, reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid.  Add cooked pasta and parsley to the tomato mixture and toss to coat, adding some reserved pasta water to moisten.  Season pasta with salt and pepper. Place into a serving bowl and mix with crumbled goat cheese.

8. Preferred way to communicate? Email/text/call/facebook/etc It depends.  If you are a close relative, I prefer a phone call or email.  If you are a close friend, phone call, text, or email.  If we are just friends, email or Facebook.  Right now I will lean towards more written forms of communication because it allows me to write them whenever I can (in the likely event I am interrupted) and give some thought to what I am telling you.  With a baby, sometimes that routine phone call just doesn't fit in.  And besides, if I write an email, I can send pictures too. :)  Facebook is fantastic for staying in touch with people in general though.  I have a manageable number of friends, and I am interested in what they are up to.  Some share more than others, but I enjoy catching up with everyone's lives when I can sit and process through my stream. 

9. How many people/animals live in your house?  We have three people (me, my husband, and our son) and two fat cats.  In my opinion, it's a good human/animal ratio. 

10. Favorite snack food?  I am a sucker for chocolate covered pretzels.  I will eat an entire bag if I am not careful.  That whole salty/sweet combo is to die for. 

So my nominees are....
1. LaTisha over at Blushing Black keeping it real for all things fashion and beauty.  She's got an eye for style; sophisticated and fun.  We used to work together and then she got smart and is doing something way more fun, but we still keep in touch thanks to the internets. :)
2. Ryan and his crazy adventures in fatherhood, cooking, and funny stuff at Grillside Stories.  He is a  co-worker and truly has a knack for seeing the bright side of life.
3. My third would have been Holly, but as she's nominated me it'd be a never ending loop.  She is so much better at keeping her blog updated and it's always interesting bits of her and her family's life that make me smile. 

So here are my questions for you:
1. Why do you blog?
2. If you could get on a plane and go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
3. What is your favorite holiday?
4. What is your favorite vacation spot or what was your favorite vacation?
5. What do you do in your free time?
6. If you could have a super power, what would it be and why?
7. What is your favorite game (board, video, card, school yard)?
8. Cat or Dog Person?
9. What is your idea of a perfect weekend?
10. What is your all-time favorite blog entry you have written?

Many thanks again to Holly for nominating me and giving me a reason to answer fun questions and pass it onward to others.  As a result of this exercise, I realized I need to update my links of people I follow on my side bar.  I think many people have dropped the blogging routine, which is to be expected, but I just need keep it updated. :) 

Ryan and Alina Get Married

In September my high school friend Ryan got married to a lovely lady named Alina and they invited Rob and me to partake in their day (along we a lot of other friends and family).  It was a wedding of a few firsts, one being the distance to it.  It wins for closest wedding I have attended and it was nice to just pop up to PA for a day and come back to my own bed at night.  It's also the first wedding I have attended where I knew a lot of people (from pre-Rob days) and got a chance to catch up with some I haven't seen in a long time.

The ceremony was and reception were both really nice.  You could tell the two of them put a lot of thought into it and it reflected them. And they were in the same location so that eliminated the chance to get lost on our way to the party.  Bonus.

They had lots of cake.  All different kinds and they also put donut holes on sticks and dipped them in chocolate.  They were tasty!

The guys, Shawn, Josh, and Adam.  Between them and Ryan, they were the gang I hung around in high school and when I was home from college.  I will never forget the ride back from the Carousel Mall where Shawn was begging me to go to Denny's (or Perkins) I can't remember which.  I said no because I was tired and I was driving.  We had stopped at a red light next to it and Shawn got out of the car and made a run for it.  Needless to say I was too shocked and had to pull in to at least retrieve him, so we stopped and had snacks before returning everyone home.  Lots of fun memories.

I also got a chance to finally meet Sterling, Shawn and Bonita's baby.  I have seen him in lots of photos, so it was nice to him for real.   He's a very well behaved baby.  And cute too. :)

Of course, the night wouldn't have been complete without some awesome dancing.  My husband and Josh and Shawn getting down with their bad selves.

It was a great chance to reunite with a number of people I truly miss.  They are like the extended family you only get to see every now and again with a huge family reunion (or wedding).  I know they will be a part of my life always. :)

St. Lucia in a Nutshell

At the end of May, Rob and I and a couple of our friends went to St. Lucia.  We had rented a villa at the north end of the island for a week.  Some of the highlights about this vacation was how hot it was and driving on the left.  It was a really pretty place, but not a very big one for sure.  In the week we were there we saw pretty much the whole place.  Since I take some many pictures, I'll do the highlights using them.

View from the villa

View from Pigeon Island

Pigeon Island

Rob and I in front of the Pitons

One of the pretty flowers in the botanical gardens

Marigot Bay

Sunset at Smugglers Cove

Enjoying a nice cocktail after a hard day of snorkeling at Te Kay Resort

The Rum Distillery

Starfish we found on our last outting

Our super fancy dinner out at the only place we didn't sweat all through dinner

Group photo by the pool!!

It was a great trip and I am glad we were able to do it with friends.  We can now say we have been to the Caribbean.  Check!

Happy 13th B&B Party

This year we celebrated the 13th year of the B&B Party.  This year I took a kind of different approach to my costume.  I more or less bought pieces of my costume and assembled them together instead of sewing on leaves or sequins until the 11th hour.  I also had this costume picked out last year.  Of course I still waited until last minute to start to put it together.

I decided to go as Flo from the Progressive commercials.  I figured given my personality, it wasn't much of a stretch to imagine me as her.  There were two things I learned in putting this costume together.  One - the instructions on the iron on patch were not applicable to the apron I was using.  It burned a little, but still mostly looked ok.  Two - How to use a "Bump-It" which I have to say was one of the more ridiculous things I have learned in a while.  The good news, the "Bump-It" had been out for so long, I got it on clearance.  Bonus!  Overall, I think it turned out pretty good. 

Rob was inspired by some tall boots to become his college self.  Mostly it was inside jokes with the people he went to college with, but it was done well.  :)

Rob as his college self

Here are some of the other stars at the party:

The Most Interesting Man in the World

Mr. Tea

Buddy the Elf and Jovie

Marty McFly

Chilean Miners

It was nice to see everyone again and I am still amazed that we have so many original costumes after 13 years.  I already have ideas for next year, but as usual I will probably wait until September to start working on it.  :)

Fast Forward Catch Up

It was really my intent to post on everything I had taken pictures for up til now.  I figured those were probably the more significant events that occurred in the last 6 months.  There were also some things were just significant news items with no pictures, but either way, I had a hit list of things to "catch up on".  To be honest, the thought exhausts me.  So I thought I would do a one longer post with a 3 sentence limit on events as they happened.

Right after graduation, our house was getting packed up one more time for our move back to Washington, DC.  I had gotten a job offer with a promotion to work in Rockville, MD for my off program position and I took it.  Let's just say, the older my kitties get, the less the enjoy the long car rides.

Shortly after arriving in DC (about a week), we were back into the events of friends in Northern VA with a 4th of July BBQ out in Loudon County.  Jeremy marinated and cooked meat for something like 20 hours and it was delicious although hot as balls out.  After roasting all day, we went over to Jeremy's parent's house for fireworks and s'mores.

The crowd that plays volleyball

The crowd that watches volleyball

The following weekend, Rob and I decided to go "hike" at Great Falls but we didn't make it to far because it was 100+ degrees out and we were just miserable.  Instead we walked the C&O canal and dodged rain drops.

Great Falls, MD side

Later in July, I timed my return trip home to pick up remaining items from NY (including my wedding dress and plants) to coincide with a good friends baby shower.  That was a lot of fun.  She has since had her baby and he is super cute.

Baby Shower Cake for Jenn

At the end of July, we went to Megan and Bruce's b-day party where there was more volleyball.  I have decided being a sports photographer could be a back up plan if being an engineer falls through.

Rob missing the return from Mike

Matt serving it up

Before we knew it we were in August and off visiting our close friends The White's in Newport News.  We spent some of our visit in Colonial Williamsburg, but most of our time was spent playing with Julia, my favorite little person!

Julia with her new bff Tigger (gift from Aunt Sarah)

As we were unpacking, apparently we found some hats. 

The things Sparky puts up with

In the middle of August we went to West Virginia for an adventure weekend of white water rafting and zip ling through the tree tops with an overnight camp trip at ACE Adventure resorts.  For reasons I don't totally understand, I don't have any photos of this.  It was a lot of fun and I didn't die white water rafting; which honestly was a concern.

At the end of August we set out on our next excursion which was down to GA for a wedding of a classmate of Rob's.  We stayed with Bonnie and Alex in TN so we got a nice long visit in all around.  Also, the photographers for this wedding mistook me for someone who knew what they were doing because they were following me around and copying angles I was getting.

The happy couple

 In September I celebrated my "last" birthday by walking around DC, hitting up the German beer garden, and enjoying a 4 day break from work.  We also celebrated Amanda and Collen's birthdays later in the month with various activities.

Rob and I participated in the critically acclaimed Applefest 2010 at the Godfrey's house.  It was a lot of fun and we even got to take home some cider (which was delicious).

Sarah picking some apples

Bruce taking a turn at the wheel while Sarah and Rob feed apples in

Bruce and Rob squeeze out the juice

In October, The White's came to our house for a weekend of fun, pumpkin picking, and hanging out.  Julia even started to crawl a little (a few forward creeps before rolling out of it).  She's growing up so fast!

Andrea, Julia, and Tyler

Julia in the pumpkin patch

SO!  I think that brings us up to Halloween, which I think I can handle it from there.  And if I can't, I am not sure I should continue to have a blog.  :P  Besides I have had a lot of funny thoughts that I haven't posted because I "should really update the blog first".  It's not a rule written down anywhere, but one I impose on myself because I have slight OCD.  Here we go again!

I Are Graduated!

Over the last two years of my life, I have been going through a rotational leadership program at work (amongst other things).  In June, I officially graduated from the program.  When I started it felt like I was on a never ending road.  A year of grad classes, a few business projects, committee work, community service, 3 week long conferences, and not to mention learning a new job every 6 months with at least two bosses, and oh hey, throw in a move too. I am really happy to be done.

Graduation was kind of a two part deal; we had site graduation and then graduation at our final conference which was also held in June.

Allison and I at Syracuse Site Graduation

Tea time bud Shawn and Andy and I

Our final conference was held in Landsdowne, VA at "the compound".  This week long conference was better than others before with better classes and more personal time (a rare and precious thing during these events).  They also arranged for a "Night at the Museum" where they opened up the Udvar Hazy Air and Space Museum at Dulles International Airport just for the conference participants.  The had their docents there to ask questions about planes and history in the museum.Very cool night.

Brent, me, Allison, Bryant, Greg, and Susan

SR-71 Blackbird

Me, Greg, Susan, Brent, Dave, Bryant, LaTisha

It was an interesting two years with a lot of experience.  I met a lot of great people and made life long friends.  But I will have to think long and hard about doing something like that again.  :)

10 Years Later

Last night Rob and I attended my 10 year high school reunion. I wasn't sure I really wanted to go, but I felt that I would feel regret if I didn't attend. Like I had missed out. So Rob and I got ready and headed into the metropolis known as Phoenix with our two stop lights and our one local bar where my reunion was happening.

We got there a little after it started and I immediately spotted Ryan who I haven't seen in about a year and was truly looking forward to seeing. I greeted him with a hug and he pointed out the "sign in location" where I was to get a name tag and my bracelet for the night. Our name tags had our senior picture on them which brought back some memories. Shortly after we greeted Shawn and Bonita. They finally got to meet Rob which was super nice. Then Megan showed up and joined us which was great. She and I were roommates briefly in college, but haven't seen each other since.

Throughout the night I got to meet and greet with some people who I wanted to catch up with, but most of them are mentioned above. I did get to talk with a few people that I was curious about how things were going with them, but largely, there were a number of people I didn't talk to in high school and it just felt bizzare to ask those people, "So, how have things been? What are you up to these days?!" I don't say this to be mean, but what do you say to someone that you never really knew? I got a lot of those kind of head nods and recognition, but that's about where it ended.

Everyone fell back into their own clicks, but I think it's only natural. Those were the people who you spent a lot of time with during our younger years. I wasn't really that surprised. There were some people who were really nice and some people who were still big snots, but hey, we all can't change for the better. :) There was a lot of awkward moments that were like, ummm ok, moving on. I wished there were a lot more people there that I wanted to see. Overall it was kind of a small turn out, although more people showed up after our event "ended". We left shortly after that because we were pretty much ready to go and thought we wouldn't get much more out of staying. We came back to our house and hung out playing the Wii and flipping through the yearbook. Honesstly, between all of us, I got more information on where people were than if I had stayed chatting with people.

I thought about what has changed with me since high school. There are some things that haven't changed like my hair color, my ability to laugh at silly things, and my parents home address. But there's lots that has. So I thought I would compile a small list of things that I thought of.

- I like sushi
- I have lived in big cities and survived (Washington, DC and Atlanta)
- I have moved more than a dozen times
- I have a pretty good career
- I have been skiing out West
- I made my first international trip
- I dated a few losers
- I found the man I will marry and whom I am very much in love with
- One of my most fun jobs was in college scrubbing dishes and mopping floors
- I have officially watched the all of the Star Wars movies
- I own a guitar I can't play
- I have two cats who provide much entertainment and comfort
- I have great friends
- I enjoy a dinner party and game night more than being at a bar and at the movies
- I don't dress like a dork anymore :)
- I wear make up
- I donated my hair to Locks of Love and will donate it again to Pantene after my wedding
- I practice yoga

I am sure this list could go on, but I have a house to decorate for the Christmas season. :) I had a good time, but I don't know if I am interested in going again. I probably will for the same reasons I went to this one. The hopes of seeing people I really would love to see. Let's just hope next time we don't plan on in the middle of the worst economic downturn/recession ever. :) That might help.

B&B Party

I figured it was probably time for the official B&B Party post. Everyone has had a chance to recover from their party escapades and to make it home safely. :) This year was a little different for Rob and I because it didn't involve getting on a plane and therefore we didn't have to figure out our costumes based on airport security rules. We were only restricted based on the size of the car. Also, we actually finished out Halloween costumes two days before the party. We are pretty sure that's a first. I have been known to sew leaves on a costume on a plane before or glue things on the day of.

And since we could drive, we were able to bring a pumpkin to the carving table this year. I haven't had as much practice as other pumpkin carvers (I haven't carved a pumpkin in probably 10 years), so I decided to kick it old school. This picture isn't the best, but I blame the bad lighting and a few drinks.

Our costumes this year required some creativity. We needed something that people haven't done before (getting harder every year) and something that wasn't going to take forever or cost $$$. All of this combined put our thinking caps to the test, but we found a pretty fun solution. We decided on costumes that "go together like". So we settled on Bees and Honey. I went as a giant bumble bee and Rob went as a pot of honey. Now, the added layer of fun is that all of Rob's friends call me Sarah B and Rob's my honey. Yup, just over the top sweet.

In the picture of Rob and I, you can't see it too well, but I have an extra pair of arms attached on string (left over costume part from years past) to make the 6 legs necessary for a bee. It shows up better in the picture of Melissa (flapper) and I as well as my butt. That was probably the hardest part of my costume this year, trying to figure out how to make that part proportioned properly to the rest of me and then how to get the shape. One of these years, I am going to get back to making a costume from a pattern. Rob's costume is constructed out of two wreath hoops and a large quilting hoop about the middle covered in fabric. My cats enjoyed laying in and on his costume as he made it. :)

We even got to make a few side errands (thanks to having our own car) while we were in town as well. We were able to meet up with Meredith and discuss wedding ceremony plans (it's going to be AWESOME) and also hit up Total Wine. It's nothing like the Total Wine in GA and yeah, I probably sound like a wino, but if I know I can buy wine at a 50% discount, you better believe I will. Also, to boot, I got free dress socks out of the trip by using a gift card from Banana Republic on the day it expired. Nothing like cashing in free money for a much needed clothing item.

All in all though, it was another great weekend spent with friends. We even got to see Rummy, although we are pretty sure he doesn't remember who we are anymore. That part was really sad. :( We must visit more often to make him remember.

Until next year, Happy Halloween!