My Love/ Hate With Costco

The hubs sent me this post. I'm glad to know the VP likes Costco AND eats their samples.

How do I love Costco, let me count the ways:
Samples, samples, and more samples!
Wine and beer- supersized!
The cheapest party food around.

Sometimes I loathe Costco:
The grody samples (does anyone say "grody" anymore?)
The parking,
the crowds, (cart gridlock in a store's aisles, only at Costco)
and the masses gathered at the sample station. I feel (mildly) bad elbowing a granny out of the way for my free hummus sample.
Out of stock ribs or fruit platters

Old Dog, New Tricks

That's it. I'm old.
Something about 31 feels old.
Here's how I know:

Today in the bathroom, under the harsh fluorescents, I spotted a grey. Maybe more, it was too shocking to look closely.

Yesterday, I didn't wear face makeup because I thought it was getting into my crow's feet. Today, I'm wearing it because, by God, I looked like a tired mess yesterday.

I can't lose weight as easy or eat like I used too. A week of binging on sweet and home-cooked meals, ehh, I could watch what I ate and work out really hard and loose it pretty quickly. Not so much anymore. This morning I told E, I don't think the bottom button on my coat with close because of my butt!

I wear flats at work more than heels. Actually, all the time I wear flats. Because they are comfortable.

My skin is doing weird stuff. I get hives on my hands when they get too dry or pollen hits them. Oh and my back and shoulders look like an Appaloosa horse.

Nice to know Channing Tatum has the same issue. Sun damage is NOT sexy though.

Instead of being negative, I'm going to age gracefully ;) Just Kidding! I'm taking recommendations for a good colorist in the DC area and some good eye creams. 

Give a Recipe, Share a Recipe

E made the MOST delicious muffins this weekend!
Here's the recipe:

I love browsing AllRecipes and other websites for recipes. I'm already getting excited for holiday parties! What should I bring to my office's holiday potluck?

Monday Monday

Back in the swing of things & it feels pretty good not to be like this:

and more like this:

Today is Cyber Monday- the day for online shopping. Between Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and now Cyber Monday commercials, emails, etc,  I am thoroughly disgusted with consumerism right now.
I just want to enjoy the holidays like when I was a kid. Remember Rudolf? That was my favorite.

If you do participate in Cyber Monday, beware of identity theft. This article made me think!

Deck the Halls

Ho Ho Ho!
The Brown's like to decorate right after Thanksgiving (well, I do ;))
Our pre-lit tree was out in two places. I changed the fuse (which i had to call my dad to find out how to get those little buggers out of the socket- a flat-head screwdriver, not a toothpick) and it was still out, so I fabulously added another string of lights over the "out" section.
We have a lot of ornaments- far too many for our little tree. The phrase "20 lbs of crap in a 5 lb bag" comes to mind (and to E's mouth); however, I like looking at the final product all December!

 

A close up of my favorite ornament(s):

 



I also love these guys:

When I was visiting Tennessee over Veteran's Day, I noticed some of my parent's neighbors had already decorated! I like to decorate "early" but the day after Thanksgiving is as early as I go. When do you decorate?

Thanksgiving 2012

We cooked, we ate, and we conquered Thanksgiving 2012:

 

Everything turned out really good- the turkey was exceptional & I highly recommend taking the time to brine your turkey beforehand.

We took a walk through Old Town after dinner to make room for dessert and gave the ducks (and seagulls and geese) their Thanksgiving feast :)

 

Black Friday, we did not go out into the craziness, and instead went to the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Silver Spring, MD. This is a FREE museum and had some awesome exhibits. My favorites were the medical abnormalities preserved (like a crazy leg with elephantitis) and then the kits of the 1800s (oh the dental kits brought a chill down my spine). 

 

 

Finding Money

What a great feeling it is to find money lying on the floor.
Ethan recently found $3 in the parking lot and we started discussing all the times we have found money. Last Thanksgiving was one of the best stories:

Thanksgiving 2011, E and I drove to Pittsburgh where my little brother lives. (We just have been switching between his place and my place every year for Thanksgiving).
Anyway, he needed to run out for some last minute items (as we all do on Thanksgiving), actually I think it's because I was a brat an NEEDED Diet Coke. My brother drove me to the local store, and we are walking into the Giant Eagle together when at the same time we spot a $20 bill lying in the parking lot.

Instinct took over and I shoved my brother to the side and dove for the money. He was like "geesh Kim, you can have it".
I was mortified as soon as I stood up. My brother had purchased a ton of food for a Thanksgiving feast for us, and here I was knocking him out of the way to get a $20. Plus, we are no longer kids fighting with each other.

Ethan did find a $100 bill once which was a cooler story since it doesn't involve violence and it was more money.
Here's to a Thanksgiving with no family fights!

Gobble Gobble Prep

I am super pumped about stuffing my face (of course seeing my lil' bro too).

We like to have fun together. By apparently my bro knows how to "Rock on" while only know how to give you the"I love you" sign.

I always love to hear what people do for Thanksgiving, there are so many neat traditional dishes people have.

Once, in college, I went with a sorority sister for Thanksgiving and they had a broccoli, mayo, bacon salad. Another friend I know always had pimento cheese with crackers as part of their spread.

Anyway, here's our menu. (Note, this is the same amount of food my parents make for 10 people, so I'm looking to pick up DC "orphans" to help us eat all this.)

• Turkey (brined of course)
• Mashed Potatoes & gravy
• Stuffing (not homemade, just good ol' delicious Pepperidge Farm)
• Biscuits (this year, we're trying Grands wheat biscuits, but I feel a little nervous about that)

• Green Bean Casserole
• Sweet Potato Casserole
• Jellied Cranberry (a white trash classic)
• Pumpkin Pie
• Apple Crisp

My parents always make a Waldorf salad (like a fruit salad with a mayo dressing and celery), which I think is unusual for most folks. It's too hard to make, so I'm omitting it from our menu this year.

They See me Cleanin', They Hatin', Tryin' to Catch my House Dirty!

That's right folks, this past weekend was a Kim Cleaning Jihad (that's what my husband calls it).
With holiday guests coming to stay with us very soon, I decided to thoroughly clean the apt.
Here are a few of my favorite (cleaning) things & tips:

1. Clorox Wipes & Swiffer wet wipes are both the bomb.com

2. Scrubbing Bubbles - a bathroom classic

3. For the kitchen stainless steel appliances- olive oil on a paper towel

4. For the cat hair on the couch- rubber kitchen gloves with ridges on the tips (works for all pet hair & on any upholstered/ carpeted surface)

We try to put blankets down everywhere to catch the fur & then just have to wash those. I'm rethinking putting plastic on our couch.  

This weekend, we also bathed the kitties. My lil' bro is very allergic to cats. What most people are allergic to is their dander, soooo, I hypothesize that bathing them helps reduce their dander, thus, minimizing allergy symptoms :)

It seemed to help last time my brother came to visit.

I Heart Bake Sales

Not really, I have a sweet tooth that's out of control & does not need to be encouraged. This week, there were multiple bake sales at work. One was to raise money to donate to the Red Cross for Hurricane Sandy relief. Since E and I lived in NYC and still have friends up there, we wanted to help.
Since I was travelling from TN the night before the bake sale, my sweet hubs baked some delish coconut, chocolate bars for me to take in.
I sampled a tiny bit as quality control & boy where they good.
Day of, I said I would resist the temptation and just make a contribution.

This is what happened:

Oh yea, the saran-wrapped bar is the chocolate coconut bar I brought in, then bought for myself :)

Hometown Weekend

This past looong weekend (for me), I went to Knoxville, TN, my hometown.

The Sunsphere from the '81 World's Fair is our famous landmark

I took the Megabus, which was $15 ROUND TRIP! Which is way less than gas or flying. You might be thinking, but Kim, the bus, a public bus for 9 hours, really?! I promise, it's very clean and is mostly students going to VA Tech (since it's stops in Blacksburg before Knoxville).

I would highly recommend bringing entertainment for your ride on the Megabus since they have outlets to charge your laptops, tablets, etc. I watched movies the entire way there and back, which included:
The final season of Curb your Enthusiasm (*****) (these are my stars for my rating system)
Madea's Witness Protection (***)
The Campaign (****)
Think Like a Man (***)
Moonrise Kingdom (**)
Rock of Ages (**)

Some highlights included a birthday party for my dad. I of course took zero pictures on my trip.
Looking at old family photos (to finish out my family photo wall project).

This is moi circa 5th grade. No wonder my father thought I would be an engineer like him. Don't worry, this is not going on the photo wall.  

Had a father/ daughter day which included viewing Skyfall (*****), visiting McKay's the biggest used bookstore I've ever seen, and visiting the new Publix (I really wanted to go- hahaha).

Me & my Pops last year. I had to crop my pesky brother out.

Shopping with my mom.

New shoes!

Oh and of course eating, eating, and more eating!

What do you like to do when you go home?

Stayin' Warm

This morning was freezing. I saw one girl with bare legs but I was dying in nylons and my winter coat. I actually wished I had worn gloves. I'm sorta a wuss though. E said he would choose my dad or brothers over me to be a partner in the Amazing Race.

As I stood on a windy Metro platform, I pondered all the fun ways I could warm myself up.

1. Quit shaving my legs and get a nice warm, soft fur. I suppose I should have started this last month or so.

2. Along with the above, I need to give up nylons in favor of pants.

These are pretty cute though right?

3. Drink a glass (or 2) or red wine of liquor (otherwise know as "warm me up juice") before I leave for work. Morning are cold yo.

4. Start eating chocolate and carbs for some winter weight to keep me warmer. Bears do it. 

5. Carry my warm, fuzzy cats around in a Baby Bjorn.

Right, I can't pick up my f*ing cats without them howling like I am torturing them. Let me tell you, the vet is fun.

Also, why in God's name does my iPhone weather App show it sunny & 73 degrees?

Good thing I'm headed to Tennessee this weekend and the forecast high for the weekend is 70 :)





Safety First

It is cold in DC, so I finally busted out my winder coat this morning.

Good thing, because the sadists at the Capitol Police office scheduled a fire drill today.

Fire drills at our office are a cluster-eff. I can say that because I am a(n unenthusiastic) Office Emergency Coordinator. AKA, the Safety Patrol. At my first job, I was also the safety person. I guess they like loud people (or great leaders ;) ) for this role.

This was me in the 5th grade, only I was a girl. With glasses & 80's clothing.

We have these big bookbags on wheels each room is supposed to carry out along with pagers that tell us what to do.

People are usually cranky, smoking, sneaking off to Starbucks (or home), and we always have someone "missing" (because they went to Starbucks).

I also take role outside, which is awesome. The first time we had a drill with my old boss (who was new)- she looked at my like I sprouted a third eye and asked what I was doing. Yes, I like to yell out peoples names in a parking lot.

Yes, we evacuate to the parking lot. Enclosed. Lots of gas tanks ready to catch fire at any moment.

My role also includes asking men (and women) for their personal phone numbers. I used to just walk up to a male contractor with my post it pad and ask "Can I get your mobile number?" After I got a few funny looks, I perfected my spiel and now open with, "In case of an emergency, I keep a list of alternate numbers..." If I was single, I would probably have to take Mystery's class on peacocking and scoring digits.

Remember this on VH1? How I miss it!

Although I jest fire drills and safety are important & I try to do a good job.  Stay safe & be prepared at work and home for an emergency :)

Election Day 2012!

I hope everyone (over 18) voted today!
I did and the line was awesomely short. Our school switched to paper ballots, so there were like 40 seats to fill your ballot in instead of the usual 10 machines.
E and I got there a little after 7:00 and left a little after 7:30a! Pretty good compared to 2008 when we waited over 2 hours.
The best part of voting- the sticker. I am proud to say that my school has the BEST stickers with the most flair. I have gotten many compliments on it.

I know I look drunk. I'm not, I promise.

On my way in, I was feeling exuberant that I wasn't going to be late to work, and then I saw them. Band kids. Selling donuts as a fundraiser. I couldn't resist. Since band nerds are my brethren, I felt it was my duty to support them. I'm sure I scared them with my talk of playing clarinet back in the day.

Oh, and they were delicious. I'm sure my co-workers appreciated them (on top of all the Halloween candy that's floating around).
Oh well, Happy Election Day!

Weekend Wrap up

Wow, I have been a very lazy blogger!
This weekend was low key- my favorite kind.

I had my first peppermint mocha of the season and promptly bounced off the walls for the rest of the day since I have been avoiding caffeine. (It is making my tummy hurt in my advanced age).

With all my energy I practiced my mother in law's recipe for Apple Crumble. I am going to Knoxville, TN this coming weekend & am making this for my dad's birthday and I want it to be PERFECT!

this was before I added the brown sugar, oatmeal, deliciousness on top

I also did a little Christmas shopping as well as got my brother's b-day present. He is going to be here with my other bro to celebrate his b-day in Dec. Yay!

Sunday was my dad's real birthday (but we're going to celebrate again next weekend). We Skyped with them in the morning. Skype is a nice tool to keep in touch with family that isn't close by. We might try using Google so we can do a group chat where all our videos show up.

Sunday was a perfect crisp fall day, so E and I went for a walk through Old Town Alexandria. It reminds me of when we lived in NYC and we would walk everywhere on the weekend (like 20 blocks to a Pet Smart).

Anyhoo, King Street (the main drag of Old Town) ends at the water/ harbor, so E and I always bring bread to feed the ducks! I love to feed the birds, except at the beach and nasty pigeons in the park.

We of course attracted a bunch of pigeons.

Ethan wouldn't let me get his picture because he didn't want to look like a crazy freak feeding birds- whatever, those are his jeans.

It's That Time....

With Halloween behind us, it's time for all the retailers to begin stocking the stores and advertising for... Christmas!
Forget about poor Thanksgiving
Today, I purchased Christmas stamps at the Post Office in our building.

OMG!
I don't have a picture for a card, no presents, nothing. It's only November 1 and I'm panicking for Christmas! (J/K, I'm super excited).
E and I discussed possible going to the stores this weekend to do a little early shopping. That and steam cleaning the carpets for all out guests coming in the next 2 mo.
What a crazy life we lead.
How about you- are you going to plan for Christmas before Dec.?