Rain, rain, rain.

     It's getting warm lately, and humid. With the summer months come thunderstorms, and they surely appear to be getting close and soon.






Photo One is a picture of ducks in my in-laws' back yard in State College. Photo Two is a stormy afternoon in DC.
To quote my mother, it is weather for the ducks. I'm glad I found rain boots.

FYI...

     Yes, my purse is supposed to be a panda.







My husband got it for me for my birthday. :)
I'm answering this question because I'm getting it often lately.

Donating hair!

     I've been growing my hair out for a while. Initially, I made the decision so I could have longer hair for my wedding. I guess I made that decision last, say, summer. We're quickly approaching this summer. At a recent party, someone caught a picture of my hair's current length:




That's me in the lower left corner. I'm very close to my goal--to donate my hair to the Locks of Love Foundation. Ten inches is the amount of hair I need, tip to tip. My next hair appointment is in June, so I'm really hoping that I'll have the right amount by then.

     This will be the third time that I have donated my hair to LoL. The first time was in high school, and the second time was during my first year in DC. It's a fun thing to do. I'll cut it in a bob, then play around with different cuts and colorings for a while, but ultimately, I'll grow it out and donate it again. I think it's better than letting it go to waste, and heck, I'm not using it. Someone else can put it to better use than I ever could.

Ostara excitement!

     I loooove holidays, and Easter is no different. The Ostara celebration is full of fun traditions. My husband and I celebrated in a low-key sort of way, but it was still fun. I we dyed eggs, which I hadn't done in years.




Of course, I had to sort in rainbow order.


In my mom's tradition, we labeled each egg with family names--me, my husband, and our cats.
     We only dyed a dozen eggs because I don't like hard-boiled eggs. My husband is going to have to eat all of them!

     That was Easter Eve. On Easter Day, we went out into the world--and a beautiful day it was--for a nice breakfast.


My landlord's puppy, Daisy, on Easter Day.


The cherry blossoms are in full bloom.
     And finally, I leave you with a picture that my mother-in-law took of one of the baby bunnies that run through her back yard.


Meet George!
     I hope you had a great holiday weekend!

"It's a great day to be a particle physicist."

     She blinded me with Science! It' s poetry in motion! Check this out!:

Cern LHC sees high-energy success

     This is extremely exciting. If you're not sure what they're doing at CERN, check this out first:



     This is another useful article. Notably, it says that we're not likely to see Higgs Boson evidence until after 2013, when the collider is boosted to collision energy of 14 TeV. We're at 7 TeV today. Woo for science!

     Also, nice to know that the future isn't trying to sabotage us this time!

Spring is here!

     And I must admit, I really have been enjoying it. Summers can be incredibly stifling in DC, to the point where I forget that other seasons can be quite pleasant. Ask me again in two or three months, and I shall tell you that I hate this city irreparably. Right now, though, when the cherry blossom trees are blooming and there's a breeze through the streets, things are just lovely. I could live here forever if only it would always be this temperature.


That sky--talk about blue!
     I also just spent a nice and rainy weekend in NYC. My birthday was last week--26 years old!--and my husband took me to see a great new Broadway show to celebrate! It was a really fun trip, despite the rain.


Madison Square Garden in the rain--waiting for a taxi.


We saw a preview showing of The Addams Family, starring Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth. They were amazing!


There are gargoyles outside of our room on the top floor of the Radisson Lex.
     A short summary of my trip in photos is above. Omitted are photos of the largest martini I've ever consumed, along with photos of restaurants, hotels, and all of the indoor fun that can be managed in NYC.

     Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Best hoodie ever!

     I am enjoying the coziest hoodie ever, thanks to my wonderful husband. It is a Cashmere Waffle-Knit Hoodie from L. L. Bean. I think the Nautical outfits that are on the L. L. Bean's front page today are adorable! End sidebar. But this hoodie really is great. It has a dual zipper, which means it zips from the top and the bottom, and it's jut really comfortable. I have it in the pink shade shown below. The pastel shades are on sale here and darker shades are at full price here.



This hoodie reinforces my idea that my entire wardrobe should be made of cashmere.

Quick Revalations

     I have a few quick revelations.

1. I do NOT have green eyes. My eyes are brown.

2. I should not try to "force" my eyes to be green by trying to bring out their green-ness with green-enhancing eyeshadows, like the one made by Almay.



If I do force the issue, then I look like I was mugged on the way into the office. Case in point:



It does not matter that it looked really cute on Angela Kinsey on an episode of The Office. She is blond, and I am not, so it will not look cute on me. That is all.

Think warmer thoughts.

     Rain makes snow look icky. That's the state of DC lately. Yesterday, I wore regular shoes, but I found that to be a mistake, what with all of the melty, rainy snow, so I'm back to my Uggs. Super office-appropriate, I know.


     Some quick things that I saw and loved today:


Zipper Cups


Williams-Sonoma Steiff Bunny

As an avid tea drinker, those mugs are really charming. As the wife of a deutschophile, I really appreciate the Steiff brand of toys. Hand-made quality always gets me. I used to collect bunnies as a child, too, so I find this really adorable.

     For those not enjoying the cold, think warmer thoughts! March is less than a week away, and although the weather might not care, it just sounds like a warmer and more springy month!

WFD: Meatless Monday

     Have you ever visited MeatlessMonday.com? In general, I am a health spectator. I've learned all about what is necessary for good health, like exercise and nutrition. I've taken classes on it, and I think that I could advise someone about their own personal wellness, if I were so asked. However, I certainly do not participate in all of this knowledge. I do not practice what I could possibly preach. Not in a weight-loss frame of mind, but in an overall wellness frame, bodies like good food and to move. I have learned about good food and how to move, so I just need to do it. Back to MeatlessMonday.com. Their about statement:

Meatless Monday is a non-profit initiative of The Monday Campaigns, in association with the Johns Hopkins’ Bloomberg School of Public Health. Our goal is to help reduce meat consumption 15% in order to improve personal health and the health of our planet.

And that just so happens to be a purpose with which I agree. Wellness for me, the people, and wellness for the globe. I am down, so I will give it a try.

     It also helps with my favorite question: WFD? What's for dinner? I browsed the recipes with my pantry inventory in mind, and tonight, I think I will try the Tagliatelle with Mushrooms. I have mushrooms, and I should probably use them up soon. I might pick up a flavored tagliatelle, as the recipe suggests, if I can find one in Whole Foods after (or before) I go to the gym. Baby steps. :)

     N. B. Another great answer to WFD can be found in my brother-in-law's new blog, The Militant Carnivore Cooks for his Vegetarian Wife. My brother-in-law is brilliant with the food-stuffs, and his creations should be pleasing to a wide variety of palates. In one post, he'll describe a great cheeseburger, and in another, he will present Wheat Berries with Dried Cherries, Pecans, and Rosemary. Variety abounds!