lovely dinner

I invited a few friends over for dinner last night - no special occasion but a nice way to brighten up the winter. I served rack of lamb, a first for me, sweet potatoes, green beans, squash and zucchini, and brownies for dessert. My friend Laura brought over the squash and zucchini and sauteed it while everything else finished cooking. The sweet potatoes were really easy; I chopped them up, left the skins on, and surrounded the lamb with them. A little salt, pepper, olive oil and cinnamon and they were done.
Susan also came over and brought her new dog, McGee, who she adopted this weekend. He is so cute and friendly and didn't bark once. I would love to adopt a dog but my apt. is just not suited for one. Northern Va. has a golden retriever rescue society and that would be my first choice for adoption.
Anyway, back to dinner. Everything turned out really well and it was probably the easiest meal I've ever cooked for guests. We watched Oceans 13 afterwards and I really liked it. I never saw the previous Oceans, which are not a prerequisite for this one.

Ahead of the Curve

My friend Brooke is getting married next spring and has been searching through catalogs to get ideas for her wedding. In Martha Stewart's most recent wedding publication she came across a section detailing how to personalize wedding favors based on the location of the wedding, hometown of bride and groom, etc. For Georgia Martha's idea was peach preserves! My mom and sister beat her to the punch by a good year and a half. Mom and her friends spent hours making peach preserves from GA peaches for Sarah's wedding and they turned out so well.
Way to go!

Go Pats

I'm picking the Pats today after my Packers fell to the Giants. I'm excited about the superbowl but it seems like such a loooong time before next season.

MIT for free

Universities across the US are starting to offer courses for free. The catch: you can't earn a degree or get course credit, but its a cool way to keep learning.
Check it out here: http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/home/home/index.htm

The Star-Splitter

He burned his house down for the fire insurance
And spent the proceeds on a telescope
To satisfy a life-long curiosity
About our place among the infinities.

The girl gets organized...part 1

One of my new year's resolutions is to get organized - part of the great declutter plan of 2008. This weekend I've managed to make some progress. I have a habit of cutting out articles that interest me, ads I love, etc. so I've finally organized them all into folders. Next I want to tackle the ticket stubs, programs, etc. I have from every event since the beginning of time. Why am I keeping them? That's a great question.

Declutter tip 1: have cards, letters you want to keep? Punch a hole in one corner and keep them together with grommets from your local office supply store.

Hoping to see the Laubeau Leap

Today is a big day for NFL fans...I'm going to my friend Tom's house for a football bash. I'm predicting the Pats over the injury-riddled Chargers and the Pack over the Giants. Eli will be wearing a glove on one hand to ward off the cold - it's supposed to be four degees at kickoff - but Favre will not be wearing gloves because he is tough as nails. My friend Paul, who is a huge Packers fan, is also having a party at his house. Everyone is required to sit outside and watch the game to replicate what it will be like at Lambeau field. His invitation read: This party is for serious football fans only! No kidding.