Family Rivalry

DAWGS - 44
AGGIES - 20

Well, this year hasn't turned out so well for me on the family rivalry front -- I'm officially 0-2. First was the stomping by Arkansas back in October, and last night was the second defeat to Georgia in the AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl. I had the game on my computer at work and had high hopes going into the half, but sometime during my ride home, things got ugly very quickly. I caught the last few minutes of the fourth quarter at home and had to change the channel before it was over -- I guess there is always next year!

The worst part of it all was that I lost a bet with my cousin Bill. So now I have to meet my end of the bargain:

THE DAWGS DOMINATED THE AGGIES LAST NIGHT AND ARE CLEARLY A BETTER FOOTBALL TEAM*

*I was forced against my will to type this statement -- this does not reflect my true feelings for A&M.

Blogosbeer Update

Here is a little pictorial of what the Blackford side of the family have been up to so far this Christmas season...

Purchasing ~$80 of beer for the self proclaimed beer snob himself (aka Tom).

A full cooler of beer...waiting for his arrival



Too bad for him the supply is diminishing very quickly...

Kirkleton

Friday was a bit of a sad day for us. Kirk, (or Kirkleton as I like to call him -- think Scrubs and Turk) is moving back to North Dakota this weekend.

We have had so much fun having him as our roommate -- playing darts, NCAA football (with Derek), driving up to New York, and maybe a beer or two here and there. We can't begin to thank him for everything he has done...watch Reggie a million times, help us move, drive me to work, help on home improvement projects, etc. We will miss him a ton, but I think it will be hardest on this family member:

Holiday Food and Fun

Wow...apologies for the slacking off in blogging (I know you have been sitting on the edge of you seat).

There is a lot to report...food, family, and snow!

First the food...we have been on a cooking streak the last few weeks:

We got a great cookbook from Derek's Aunt Diane and Uncle Kent and tried the meatball stroganoff



Continuing on my pumpkin addiction over the holidays, I made a pumpkin cheesecake with cream cheese frosting. I really liked it but will need to do a little work on the crust next time.



Next up was pot roast. We found the recipe online, and it was awesome -- plenty of leftovers for work.



We hit the jackpot and found these seasonal Edy's Ice Cream -- they have pumpkin, egg nog, and peppermint. We tried the Egg Nog -- definitely worth getting again (but certainly not up to Blue Bell standard).



Last weekend, we made our homemade chili. It is Cincinnati-style chili, with jalepenos added for some heat.



This week we made some spinach mozzarella quesadillas with asparagus and then taco-filled pasta shells.



On the family front, we headed up to North Dakota for Thanksgiving with the Prossers. I was introduced to some Norewegian traditions -- potato sausage and lefse. I think I ate more food in the three days we were there than I had all year -- it was all so good!

We ventured into Grand Forks a few times and Derek gave me the official tour of UND - Home of the Fighting Sioux. We saw his old dorm and house and then headed to the UND bookstore to pick up some Sioux gear and then over to the Ralph Engelstad, where UND plays hockey.





We got some good hang out time in with our niece, Kaylee. We celebrated Christmas while we were there, and headed home with a lot of goodies!





We headed home and decorated for Christmas (our first year to be able to put lights outside)...in the snow! We had about 3 inches of snow last Saturday, and it was beautiful.





This weekend, we celebrated Christmas with Kirk. Kirk hooked Derek up with some cool UConn gear and me with Cowboys stuff. Kirk got a new sand wedge. We had egg nog and a great dinner (Santa even brought everyone their favorite candy).







Oh, and last but not least, my mom and dad got us the coolest anniversary gift -- they framed our wedding program next to the speech that my dad gave -- coolest present ever.



Poll:

What was your favorite Christmas present?

This is a tough one -- I think mine was the U2 Achtung Baby tape that Robert gave me in 5th or 6th grade-- I listened to "Mysterious Ways" approximately 1 million times.

You Tawkin to Me?

The last week and a half has been very eventful. It all started last Wednesday when Derek surprised me with my birthday gifts early. We weren't planning on celebrating the big 2-9 on my actual birthday since we were going to be out of town. I had to work pretty late that week, so it was a nice surprise to walk into the kitchen and see this:



On Saturday morning, Derek, Kirk, and I hopped in the car and started our drive to NYC to see my dad run in the marathon. After living in Texas for so long, it is still strange to me that in the same amount of time that it takes to drive from Houston to Dallas, we can be in the middle of Manhattan. The drive went well (minus one minor mishap on my part...apparently 295 and the NJ Turnpike are NOT the same thing). One thing to note for those people who plan on driving through New Jersey anytime soon...do not try to pump your own gas...New Jersey considers this to be a deadly sin. We were actually yelled at when we attempted to do this (I think the guys words were "This is New Jersey. You don't pump your own gas in New Jersey). Very strange.

We made it through the Lincoln Tunnel and to our hotel in the Upper West Side pretty easily. We met my parents down near Rockefeller Center and had some lunch. Then we went on a short little tour to show Kirk a few places in the City (Top of the Rock, 5th Avenue, etc.). We ended up at the Oak Bar at the Plaza where my dad somehow talked one of the security guards into giving us a mini-tour of the hotel and getting a spot at the bar.





My mom, dad, and I then took a Rickshaw ride through Central Park so my dad could check out the finish line. We finished up the evening at a great little neighborhood Italian Restaurant called Coppola's. I forgot to take pictures, but this place was awesome. Derek said it was the best Alfredo he's ever had. My parent's surprised me with a birthday Tiramisu -- a great way to end the night.


We made some posters to cheer my dad on for the run -- and since there were about 50,000 people running in the marathon, we thought we'd give him a sneak peek just in case we missed him.



My mom, Derek, Kirk and I had a great breakfast the next morning at the Manhattan Diner. I had the Belgium waffle.



We went down to Times Square to take some pictures, and then took the Subway to Brooklyn to see my dad at mile 8. All was good for the first 5 minutes in Brooklyn...until Derek realized that his wallet was gone...yep, someone picked his pocket (his front pocket nonetheless). So instead of cheering on the runners, we spent the next 15 minutes calling to cancel credit cards. And we missed my dad running by...needless to say, that may be the last time we ever go to Brooklyn.



Despite the whole stolen wallet, the trip was a lot of fun. We headed back to Virginia for an uneventful drive back.

In other news...here is what we had for dinner tonight -- Taco filled pasta shells. Definitely making this again.


*I forgot to take a picture of the finished dish (I was too busy eating :)


Poll

What is your favorite breakfast food?

Mine is either French Toast or a Belgium Waffle (but pancakes are a close runner-up).

One Year Ago...

Derek and I celebrated our first anniversary on Sunday! It's still crazy to me that it has already been a year (especially the Turks and Caicos part...I wish I was there right now).

Derek planned a weekend full of activities to celebrate. On Friday night, we watched The Proposal, which was actually really funny. On Saturday morning, we woke up bright and early and headed out to Shenandoah National Park to cruise down Skyline Drive and see all of the bright fall foliage. I've been dying to do this drive since we moved out here, and this weekend was the perfect time. We loaded Reggie up in the back of the car and made it to the Park in about an hour. We got a good view of the mountains and trees before a storm headed in, which was equally beautiful. The pictures just don't do it justice.









Once we got back to Alexandria, we headed to Rockland's, a barbecue restaurant that Derek recommended. They actually served brisket, which is rare up here. It was fantastic!

On Sunday morning, we exchanged presents. It's funny because usually we both have an idea of what presents we are getting from the other, but this time around, neither of us had a clue. The traditional first anniversary present is paper, so we both did a take on this. I gave Derek a framed print of the 8th Hole of Pebble Beach, and he gave me a gift card to a salon for a massage, pedicure, and manicure (which is perfect because I always say I want to do this but NEVER get around to it).


Derek with his new picture.

We headed out to dinner at the Chart House in Old Town. Wow, was this good. We started with the crab stuffed mushrooms. Derek had the Prime Rib and Shrimp and I had the Rockfish Hemingway. The plan for dessert (and yes there must always be a plan for dessert) was to go home and eat a piece of the top layer of our wedding cake (transported cross country and moved). But just in case the cake was not so good, we ordered the Butter Scotch Beignets to go. This turned out to be a good idea because the cake was pretty disgusting (Derek wouldn't even swallow his piece). I got the best of both worlds...follow the tradition, and enjoy a tasty dessert.


After dinner

Here are some more pics in honor of the Big Day:








Oh, and I almost forgot...we've got some seriously fat Blue Jays camping out on our deck.



Poll

In honor of my second favorite holiday of the year this weekend -- what was your favorite Halloween costume (either adult or child)?

I think I have to go with Bride of Frankenstein as a kid (kind of weird I know, but I think this was the first time I was allowed to spray paint my hair for Halloween and must have thought that was pretty cool). As a side note, I have a faint memory of having to dress up in a skeleton costume that my Mom sewed and that was passed down from Robert to Tom to me...I think by the time I got it, the bones were falling off.