More Snow!

Because I can't help myself, here are more pictures from the "doggone-close" blizzard of aught-nine.

Chuck gets the final measurement: 20"! TWENTY INCHES! Awesome!

We went to the park because Rhett thinks he wants to go, but when we get there, he's not so sure. I think the snow was just a bit too deep for him. I, however, loved it. I even busted out the snowshoes my parents gave me five years ago that still had the tags on them. They worked great!

Chuck and Rhett sledding on the street. I love this picture. It makes me smile.

The snow in the front yard. Certainly this section sees more as we shovel onto it from all four sides.

The finished product. Beauty. I am so glad for the bluebird day that is helping to melt the driveway.

We even built a little cave for Bruno! I'm just glad it didn't collapse on him and scar him for life. Because that's just what this dog needs.

I Interrupt My Regularly Scheduled Posting...

...to bring you pictures of the snowstorm of December 2009 (or whatever equally unclever title the news media will find for this storm). We have about 18 inches and snow is still falling, even if it is tapering. Now, all you Utahans, don't go getting self-righteous on me. Eighteen inches is a BIG deal out here. Church has been cancelled for tomorrow, and Chuck thinks he might get out of school all next week. Already this storm has broken into the top ten snow-getting storms in DC and it's not over yet. Let's just say that this is big news out here. Forgetting about all the records, the storm has been absolutely beautiful. It's been a perfect snowy day and I can't wait for a repeat tomorrow. And the next day. And the day after that.

Ooooh wait! Breaking news from the Washington Post. Here are some of their suggestions for storm names:

I-95 Whiteout storm (meh)
The Great DC Blizzard of Aught-Nine (me likes)
Capital Crippler (sounds like a murderer, or just a crippler)
The Great Festivus Snowicane (what does this even mean?! I get festivus, but the whole thing together just doesn't work for me)
Snowpocalypse ("horrible" says Chuck)
Beltway Blizzard '09 (probably the best but oh-so-boring)








Update: As of Sunday morning, we have about 24 inches. And it looks to be a beautiful cloudless day.

Flashback Friday

Here's another gem from my grandparents' house in Idaho. They used to have this 50cc motorcycle until one of my cousins wrecked it. It's the size I'd ride today, if I dared ride. But I think a leather jacket would look great with the hair and jeans that go to my boobs. Sweet.

Input Please

Quick reader poll: What do you do for internet, phone, and cable TV at your house? Do you bundle them? How much cable TV do you get (just the ESPN, TLC sorts of stuff or do you imbibe in a little HBO too)? Do you have a DVR or a TiVo? And if you don't mind, would you tell me how much you pay for all three?

Comcast has wronged us (WRONGED us, I tell you!) and so we're trying to figure out what we're going to do.

(And by "wronged" us, I mean treat us the exact same way they treat all of their customers. Which is basically the same way that Verizon and all other large corporations treat their customers. Like poo.)

I'm Still Learning

Isn't it amazing that I can be 32 years old and still learning new things about me? I mean, really, I thought I was done when I was 15 because really, I knew everything then.

Anyway, I recently returned from a work trip to San Antonio, Texas. It was the first time that, as an adult, I went beyond a Texan airport. I really liked this town. I stayed right on the beautiful riverwalk (that's my hotel on the right) which meant I got to take some lovely morning runs. I explored a lot of the city and enjoyed getting to know it a little bit.

Here is the Alamo, which was only a couple of blocks from the hotel. It was much cooler at night, but without a steady hand, my camera does not do dark well.

See? This is what happens in the dark. Although in this case, it kinda works.

Okay. So what did I learn? I learned that after all these years of thinking I am not shy, well, turns out that I am. I do NOT like being in places where I know no one and am not good at engaging people in more than blah conversations.

This is a problem at a work conference because networking should be a big part of my trip. But rather than go out to lunch and dinner with colleagues, I'd much rather buy some cold cereal and milk (for lunches in the room while watching cable) and eat a quick dinner alone. And really, this is what I do best. I am really good at being alone. Even at 5'1", I can use more king sized bed than most people. Mind you, I still get out, but I do it alone.

Had I spent too much time outside of my hotel room, I might not have figured out that my trouser socks stick to the wall! Think of the horror of going through life not knowing this?! I am shuddering now even as I type. The Horror.

Made by e: Latest Projects

Ack! My sewing machine is in the shop and I'm going through serious withdrawals. What do you people do with yourselves once the kids have gone to bed?! Kidding. Seriously. Kidding.

Anyway, here is an up-close picture of the shirts I made for our Turkey Trot. Genius me forgot that I didn't actually have to wear the shirt in order to get a picture. This after I had already strained to get a picture of the backside. Oh man, sometimes I kill me. But these freezer paper stencils are so satisfyingly easy. Love them. Tutorials abound on the internet, but here's one from a blog I like. Don't you love Rhett pleading to watch a video he's never seen? Especially since he's never even seen any video?! I do.


More oven mitts. These were Thanksgiving gifts for for my sister and my mom.

And drum roll please...here we have quite possibly one of my most favorite things I've ever created. I don't know what it is about this pillow, but I just love it (made from this tutorial). I would love to decorate an entire room from this pillow, which would be easy because it's got everything on it. I created it using scraps, and so I love looking at the pillow and remembering what some of the fabrics originally made. In fact, I bet some of you can look at this pillow and see gifts that I've made for you (I'm talking to you Angie and Linda).



I've got a couple of other things that are in the process of being made and some that are Christmas gifts and can't be shown. Now everyone send wishes of (affordable) healing to my sewing machine.

Magic Goggles

A couple of weeks ago Chuck and I happened upon some magic 3-D glasses. So what's so magic about them? Well, only the fact that they turn Christmas lights into snowflakes! Hello!

I picked up a couple for my sister's kids and they seem to like them and we're now enjoying them in our house as well. If I lived in Alaska with my brother and it was dark all the time in winter, I'd totally wear these things all day.

I mean, who could not be happy when these trees...

...are transformed to this?
If you're placing on order on Amazon soon, let me highly recommend these for everyone's stockings this year.

Thanksgiving Report

(I'm still trying to get caught up on everything. I hope to never time-zone hop like this anytime soon.)

We spent Thanksgiving week at my parents' house in Utah. I can't say enough about how awesome Rhett did on the planes and with the time change. He was perfect. Many people around us on the plane didn't even know there was a toddler in a row near them; he was that good. And he slept in beyond our wildest dreams--no 4 a.m. wake-up calls! It made me confident that we could do it again in June for a family reunion. Here's hoping!

We arrived in Utah before my sister; this gave Rhett and us some time alone with his Utah grandparents. One day we wandered around Park City.

Given that my parents live "out there," we spent a lot of time in cars. Here Rhett is multi-tasking so his inbox isn't too full when we return to Maryland.

One day we were able to spend time with my dear friend, Angie, and her two sweet girls. We went to Wheeler Farm and watched the kids enjoy the animals. Rhett LOVED the pigs and was the only kid throwing a fit when we had to leave them.

On Thanksgiving morning, Emily, Chuck, and I ran a 5K race (or slightly greater than a 5K) in Park City. It was hosted by a ward there and didn't have t-shirts so I made our own. The shirts have our names on back. I had forgotten this when running and was surprised when a fellow runner on the course cheered, "Go erin and emily!" Fun times. Freezer paper stenciling is my new favorite thing.

The Thanksgiving meal was awesome. I started a new plan of attack: eat only what I want to eat. So that means no turkey. I just don't like it. Why eat it and take up valuable stomach space that could be filled by sweet potatoes? I won't do it. We had dinner at my parents' house and some aunts, uncles, and cousins joined us. What you see here is Jonas wearing a woman's wig and his face when I tell him to give a "nice, woman face." This kid is a character.

After dinner we posed all four cousins. Rhett just started making the infamous "face." It's part smile and part "I'm not going to do what you want me to."

And on the day we left, we had some professional family pictures taken as the entire Jim and Dixie family was there. We're a pretty good looking group.

Flashback Friday

When I went home for Thanksgiving I thought I'd pick up a couple of old pictures to take home and scan. However, the entire album proved too tempting and it had to come back to Maryland in its entirety. But now you'll reap the benefits in the form of occasional Flashback Fridays.

In this gem, you see three of my cousins. (Don't be mad Melissa; I mean, really, because of my bangs we can barely see you.) You also can see my sister Emily, my mom, aunt, uncle, and paternal grandpa.

A couple of highlights from this picture: my sister and my cousin's matching sweaters. We figure Grandma saved time by buying multiples. This would be a great plan if not for the fact that 11 of the 16 cousins lived within three miles of each other.

My mom's hair. Awesome.

And, of course, my unit belt. Really, erin?! Over a sweatshirt? Now that's hot. And those pegged pants? Hotter.

Just Looking at You Makes Me Chill

One of the reasons I started running was because it was an exercise I could do anywhere. Other than a good pair of running shoes, no special equipment is needed. (iPods are nice, but not necessary.) And whenever I am in a new city, I love running on the streets to get a better feel of the city than if I just walked it.

Right now I am in San Antonio for work and already I am in love with this town. Other than many layovers in Dallas, I have never really been in Texas as an adult. The San Antonio River runs through the city and they've built walkways along the river which make for beautiful running. I also ran by some amazing homes with architecture that literally made me squeal. (I wish I was kidding.)

I added a little detour to the hotel-suggested running route that took me to the Alamo (only three blocks from my hotel). It seriously took my breath away! It was about dusk and the spotlights made it absolutely gorgeous. Now to go back tomorrow on my walking feet and take some pictures. The night watchman inspired the title to this post when these were the words he spoke to me as I ran by him. I'm thinking (hoping?) he meant that I gave him chills because I am soooo good looking when I run. Because that's totally true.

If only my sweet husband and funny baby were here to share this with me.

And although it's not related at all to this post, let me talk about the new funny thing Rhett is doing. If you ask him to say a word he knows ("elbow," "magnet," "baby,") and he doesn't want to for whatever reason, the picture below shows his response. Isn't he great!? I love this boy!

Stop Kat Now

So, Utah was great. Saw the fam. Ate turkey (well, I actually didn't, but everyone else did). Felt sadness that I no longer live in Utah. You know, the usual.

The real news is that I finally spoke with Kat. She of "I-used-to-have-your-cell-phone-number-but-now-I-don't-yet-I-continue-to-distribute-the-number" fame. Apparently she used to have my cell phone number. When she first got our number, she left a message with her old number saying she changed numbers (to my number). When I talked (talked!) to her, she said that she has since erased that message, but sometimes the phone screws up and it gives the message out erroneously. Hence my only getting calls sporadically.

This still doesn't explain why so many people call her. I mean, who gets 23 phone calls a day? Anyone? Not me. I still think she's dealing drugs or dabbling in prostitution. But in true Utah fashion, she was still super nice and had really cute Girbaud jeans too! J/K! (j/k about j/k.)

Chuck thinks I should call the police. But really, what to say? "Uh, there's this girl who gives out my number and she gets lots of phone calls. Do something."

I think it's finally time to change the number.

Apparently I Forgot about Option 5

When I got home the other day, I found out that Chuck had chosen option 5 in order to deal with our illegally-parked neighbors. What's option 5, you ask? Right, I didn't give you an option 5. Turns out that option 5 is to leave a note on the car...in Spanish. Why Spanish, you ask? They'd never guess that the white guy across the street speaks Spanish. So we'll never be the target of mean glances or, say, eggs thrown at windows. Let's hope this works. Apparently neither one of us has the chutzpah to really do anything else.

And even though he didn't, I want you to imagine that Chuck dressed in all black, tip-toeing out the front door around 1 a.m. to deliver the note on the windshield. Maybe he's even wearing a black raccoon mask. Isn't that a great picture?! I don't know whether to be secretly pleased and proud of my dear husband, or secretly embarrassed that he's part wimp.

P.S. Daniel, we tried a modified-Mumma park but we were too chicken to do it fully. Hopefully we won't need to.

P.P.S. Amanda, you better believe that as soon as the foreclosure is complete, and if they continue to park like that, I'll let the bank know. But as far as I can tell, tax records indicate that ownership is still in a person's name. However, the paper taped to the door suggests that it'll soon be changing hands.

P.P.P.S. Everyone, a new puzzle: same owner, different car. They have a truck with a flat tire and flat tire has been flat for months. Do I let that one go? I'm really trying to be more laid back, but this neighbor is really pushing my buttons!

P.P.P.P.S. Off to Utah tomorrow! Wish us luck on the flights. Oy.

Yeah Fall!

Summers here pretty much suck. I'll admit that this summer was unusually un-humid, but generally, they are hot and humid; it's not pretty. However, spring and fall are typically very lovely. (For example, Sunday was 70 degrees. Awesome!)

When my sister was in college, she was a nurse at a summer camp in Connecticut. I remember she said that taking drives there was no fun; you couldn't see anything because all the trees got in the way. I couldn't really understand that. But boy do I understand now. There are sooo many trees and they make sooo many leaves. It's crazy. (I won't mention that my tax dollars pay for a big leaf vacuum that comes and vacuums up people's leaves. Nope, not one word about it.) Rhett loved walking through the leaves and it's certainly an activity I can support. Can you believe how big that one leaf is?! Let's not forget his head is in the 80th percentile, people. This thing is HUGE!


And just because Halloween is over, doesn't mean I can't dress up my kid in Halloween pajamas. Honestly, pajamas are my favorite thing that Rhett wears. I would love to keep him in pajamas all day. And yes, they glow in the dark. How fun are they?

Habitat for Hubanity: the Pantry

Since the inception of TV-free Mondays, Mondays have turned into big work parties. They're the days we worked on the yard. The days that Chuck and I switched the master bedroom from upstairs to downstairs. And now, the day that we lined the shelves in the pantry.

I saw the contact paper at Target and felt inspired. That and the fact that the cans in the pantry are turning the shelves black. That helped too. The first picture is obviously the before picture.


And these show the end product. I am really pleased with how they turned out.


The containers for flour, sugar, etc., are my favorite things in my pantry. Thanks Mom!


For full disclosure, I must confess that this project did not take place on a Monday night. It was scheduled to, but this most recent Monday was just too rough a day and neither of us was up for the job. But don't worry; we'll be back to regular Monday work days soon.

The next project I would like to tackle is painting the shutters. Has anyone every done this? I don't know where to start; we can't even figure out how to get them off the house.

Go Rhett Go

And not only does he "stop" the dogs, but he tells us when to stop at traffic lights, and other appropriate stopping times. Oh man, I love this boy.

Again, please ignore my voice. Yikes.

What Would Good Neighbors Do?

What you see here is an aerial picture of my house (with the digitally-added smiley roof) and the house next door. As you can see, we share a driveway. Right now, that house is vacant (a victim to foreclosure) and Chuck (the green car) and I (the yellow car) have full access to the neighbor's half of the shared driveway. Of course we never park in that half, but we do use it to get around each other's cars.

However, one of our other neighbors has started using this driveway for their own personal vehicle's use (the red car). This is not only illegal but a complete nuisance to us! So here's the question: what do we do?

As we see it, we have a few options:
1. Leave a note on their car asking them to kindly not park there. This one is scary because it will obviously come from us. I mean, which other neighbor would give a fig about who is using this driveway ? Not one. And I really don't want to come off as the type of person who cares about this, even if I am the type of person who cares about this.
2. Put up a sign on the fence at the end of the driveway that says "No Parking." We'd do this at night, dressed in all black to avoid being seen. The violators would assume this came from the bank that owns the house and presumably stop parking there.
3. Report it to the county' housing authority. Not sure what they'd do, but I can do it and even anonymously. (I'm such a wimp.)
4. Do nothing. We take a couple of deep breaths and repeat the mantra, "It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter." We will be the first to admit that we're upset about this more because it ruins our beautiful little parking setup rather than the legality of the issue.

I want to be a good neighbor, but I also want our driveway back!

You've Lost that Lovin' Feeling

In every edition of the Washington Post Magazine is a feature called "Date Lab." And it is what it sounds like: a blind date service. People apply, go on a date with someone with whom he/she should be compatible, take pictures during the date, and then it gets written up for the magazine for the entire DC metro area to read over Sunday morning coffee cake. One couple even got married! (Read an example here...with a Mormon...a Mormon whom I know!)

But in Sunday's edition of Date Lab, they put out the word that they're looking for couples who are already married. Says Date Lab, "Even if you've found The One, it's easy to lose sight of the romance once you fall into a routine. But married couples need a good date once in a while, too...Tell us why you and your significant other are long overdue for a date...We'll choose our favorite response, send that couple out to dinner, then write about it in the magazine."

This is what I sent. Think we'll win!?

"If it’s oatmeal, it must be Wednesday. And no, I’m not kidding. Generally I love schedules: schedules for meals, chores, events. You name it and I’ll find a calendar appropriate for it. When a son joined my husband and me 19 months ago, my love for schedules grew even more. But for some reason, my husband and I have not been able to schedule time for just the two of us.

I like to blame this on a couple of things. First, we didn’t really learn to date. Before we were married we had a long-distance relationship. After we were married and before the little guy came, we did almost everything together, so it seemed like a three-and-a-half year date. We never learned to make it formal however.

Second, I’m cheap. When we travel, I’ll pack sandwiches for us so we don’t have to eat fast food on the road. (I like to say that it’s more about the quality of the food rather than the money, but really, it’s about the money.) We are pretty good at earning and saving money and feel like responsible adults, but this definitely comes at a cost.

Third, did I mention the 19-month-old? Because he’s definitely the biggest culprit. Being first-time parents means we’re still getting used to this parenting thing. Between a husband who works full-time and a wife who works part-time outside of the home, we both feel the hardest job is inside the home with the little guy! When he goes down for the night, so do we. This does not leave a lot of time for dating.

The light at the end of the tunnel is that there is desire! Both he and I would love to go on a date, so come on Date Lab…make it happen!"

No New Car For Me

Sad to report, but I will not be getting a new car. Although it was possibly my fastest time yet (25:55), it does not justify the VW Eos. And really, neither would a time of 24:00.

I have to say, I was a little disappointed in my time. The race was almost an out-and-back. At the turnaround point, the girl said that we were half-way done. Hooray! When I get back to where I thought was the end, I started really pushing myself to finish strong. Imagine my dismay when I saw that we had to keep going--a half mile to go. I had just given everything I had and therefore barely had that extra half mile in me. So that last half mile was really tough. But I finished. Let's just hope it's enough to earn me points!

Just In Case You Were Wondering...

...he's all boy. (Notice the hand placement.)

My Prize

This year I made a goal to finish in the top 10 (for my age group and gender) in six races hosted by my running club. It's all part of something they do called the "Championship Series" and I wanted part of it. I don't expect to get a prize at the end, but rather it was something I wanted just for me. Currently I have five races down and only one more to go. On Saturday (a day predicted to have perfect running weather) I run my final Championship Series race: a flat 5K.

Chuck said that if I run this race in 24:00 or less, I can have this car. What do you think? Can I do it? (See more pictures here.)


I'm not usually a girl who is in love with cars, but this one, ooooh, this one is much different. I love this car. I get excited when I see it on the road. I want this car so very badly that I might run my race at a pace which will cause me to puke at the end of it. That's how badly I want this car.

(Of course, none of that matters because there's no way we'd actually buy this car. But sometimes it's fun to imagine.)