NYR - OH MY GOSH, HOW FAR BEHIND AM I????

3-13-14 - Since Jimmy was running a half marathon on Saturday (two days from now) and because he was in Barbados and couldn't pick up his race packet, I agreed to go with a friend who was also running to pick up his packet.  I am not exaggerating when I say the windchill temperature was 19 degrees.  Miserable and windy and horrible.  I was so thankful to be with a friend to do this horrible chore.

3-14-14 - Thankful that Jimmy returned from Barbados so I could stop being jealous.

3-15-14 - We ate dinner with my BFF's sister and her boyfriend who live in Maryland.  They were so much fun and engaging so Jimmy and I were entertained, and Mac got to play with a dog the entire time, so he was entertained.  Win-Win!

3-16-14 - We went to our first NHL game to see the Washington Capitals versus the Toronto Maple Leafs.  We really knew none of what was going on  - although Jimmy and Mac pretended to understand it - but we had a great time.  And since I ice skate where the Caps practice, I feel like we're sort of kindred spirits.  Kind of. Since we both ice skate.  Even though I'm more of a figure skater than a hockey skater.  But still.

the boys in the nosebleed section.

3-17-14 - Another snow day for Jimmy and Mac.  Thankful that Mac has lost most of his interest in snow and doesn't require us to go out for hours to be cold and wet with him and that we could stay in and eat green waffles for St. Patrick's Day.

view from the dining room of our apartment

green waffles - a much prettier idea in theory than in real life

Mac playing in the snowdrift on our building's terrace

3-18-14 -I'm sure something amazing happened on this day, but we're so far past it that I don't know what it was. Thankful to wake up healthy on another morning.

3-19-14 - Because of snow day make-ups, there is only one remaining early release Wednesday afternoon (in June).  HURRAY for full-day school on Wednesdays!

3-20-14 - See 3-18-14.

3-21-14 - I got to catch up with a dear friend from Brasilia days who, even though she lives right in DC, travels all the time and so I never get to see her.  We got to catch up in person and I was so thankful for it and her positive energy!

3-22-14 - We had an old colleague of Jimmy's, his wife and their son over for dinner. They have an adorable 2 year-old who I could just eat up.  Loved having some little boy time!  Plus the couple is so funny - their company is excellent!

3-23-14 - Mac had baseball practice today (and yesterday!) after endless bad weather cancellations.  So happy that spring is trying to get here.

3-24-14 - I had dinner with Bogota girlfriends for a nice grown-up evening.  We were at a nice restaurant in Clarendon but had a really surly server.  It made me miss the restaurants in Latin America where you sometimes have to fight to get the bill delivered because they are so concerned about appearing to rush you out the door.  Our server here appeared happy to turn the table about 3 minutes after we sat down.  One less restaurant to go back to in this area of great restaurants.

3-25-14 - I had my 4th ice skating lesson today.  There are now 5 of us in the class and this other lady and I are the rock stars of figure skating among our colleagues, two of whom never leave the wall and one of whom marches on her skates. I can skate backwards, I can glide, I can stop (I CAN STOP!), I can swizzle, I can half swizzle and I can do this quick turn from to go from forward to backward in a split second.  I've asked Jimmy and Mac for ice skates for my birthday.  And then I may get a  Little Pony the next year.

3-26-14 - I have been craving Argentine empanadas but don't know where to get them easily like we could  in Bogota.  So I made them myself.  Well I didn't make the dough myself because some company has already made these wonderful empanada disks that only require you to roll them out.  Why do the unnecessary?

3-27-14 - Mac was away for the night, courtesy of the 5th grade overnight camping trip to the Arlington Outdoor Lab, which is not, in fact, in Arlington but instead is in Fauquier County.  What this means is real terms is that Jimmy and I got to have a a date night without a babysitter or guilt.

3-28-14 -
1.  While waiting for friends to exit the White House tour, I saw the Obama's dogs being walked.  I'm a bit of a celebrity stalker and Bo and Sunny are quasi-celebrities, so it counts.

2.  We went to our first NBA game to see the Washington Wizards play the Indiana Pacers.  We actually left at halftime because Mac returned from his school camping trip sick with a horrible cold and an incredible lack of sleep, but the Wizards broke their losing streak and I kind of think it was because we were there.

(These are cheerleaders, not the players, in case your eyesight is going.  They were very sparkly with not a lot of clothing on.)

Start of the game.  Once again, we're in the nosebleed section, from which you may assume the Storys are cheap when it comes to buying expensive sporting event tickets.