Holy Virginia Ham!

A very lovely surprised arrived today.  We have been waiting anxiously for our joint birthday gift from Andrea and Joe as Andrea sent a birthday card teaser earlier this week.  I've been trying to figure out all week what "it" would be.

So imagine my excitement when I looked out the kitchen window today to see our little neighbor gal bringing down a box.  When we opened the door she said "we think it's bacon".  Huh?  Wait...oh my gosh...flip the box over....it's better than bacon...it's a Virginia ham!  So exited.  We have missed country ham so much.  You can't really buy country ham here.  It just doesn't exist. Cliff immediately opened it up and started sawing off slices.  Amazing.  Look out folks as Thanksgiving is officially going to be a traditional Virginia feast. a

Nice work Andrea and Joe.  Nice work.

Life Is Beautiful

From September 28th - October 9th Cliff and I were lucky to be on the east coast to celebrate the weddings of two great couples and spend time with family and friends.  It was amazing.  Lots of smiles.   Plus, I got to dance.  Sometimes I even got to dance with Cliff.  It was a pretty epic week.

Part I: Sam and Steve's Wedding

We took the redeye out of Portland on Thursday night so that we could get into Pittsburgh with enough time to join into some pre-wedding activities.  We didn't sleep at all.  Maybe two hours of bad napping at the most.  We did get quite a few Biscoff cookies so that helped.  Kathy and Jill lovingly picked us up at the airport. What did we do first?  Cracker Barrel of course!  We don't have them around here and I miss then dearly.  We ate biscuits, hash browns, gravy.  You know all the essentials.  We stocked up with cheap candy and went to go get our nails done.

Cliff went with the boys to run errands and Sam and the bridesmaids got manicures and pedicures.  How girly!  It's been a really long time since I've had a pedicure and I was really ticklish.  Also, it was pretty funny as in college Kathy, Jill, Sam, and I were together all the time and never once was getting our nails done a considered activity.  Was not on our radar.  I think it was more fun because it was such a foreign group activity.  Also, BIG thank you to Jill who is letting me steal some of her photos to post as I only took one Sam and Steve wedding photo the whole time we were in Pennsylvania.

The wedding was at this beautiful farm (pond, donkeys, rolling hills, geese, silos, awesome barn).  The best part is that the bridal party got to sleep onsite in one big house. Slumber party!  Sam and Steve grilled out for all of us at the rehearsal dinner.  It was really nice to be able to hang out with everyone.  With very limited sleep, Cliff and I still managed to stay up until 10:00pm.  When we woke up the next morning we felt like new people.  Seriously.  It was like Cliff and I had finally arrived at the party.

The wedding was so beautiful.  I cried a whole lot.  Sam and Steve are wonderful together and we had all been waiting for the day when they finally got married. Sam was glowing and Steve was a dressed up version of his amazing self.  The setting was unbelievably beautiful and the food was super tasty.  They did a family style dinner with brisket, chicken, grilled veggies from the family farm, mac and cheese, pumpkin tortellini, mashed squash, and roasted potatoes.  I ate like a pig but who's really surprised.  We also got to see a real life cookie table in action!  We heard about this PA/HH tradition at our fake wedding back in 2008 as our co-couple was from that area.  Well, let me tell you.  I'm totally sold on cookies tables as they are amazing.  Sam's aunts baked thousands of cookies in preparation for the big day.  Thousands!  I sadly didn't get to eat any (so many of them hand nuts/touched nuts) but Cliff said it was the most consistently delicious array of cookies he had ever had.  And that's a compliment.  As if the day wasn't already good enough, THERE WAS SO MUCH DANCING!  I love to dance.  I'm kinda bad at it but that night I didn't care.  I danced like I was back at Emerson as a freshman at Hand Me Down Night.  I was a dancing machine.  Dancing. Machine.  I was sore the next day.  I had so much fun.  The best part, Cliff danced with me for two and a half songs!  We didn't dance that much together at our own wedding.  We hadn't danced together that much since junior year of high school (after which Cliff knew I liked him so he stopped wooing with dancing as he really hates it).  The whole night was magical.

Oh, there was also a photo booth.  That was pretty fun too.

Part II: Time with the Family

The next day we dropped Kathy and Jill off at the airport, rented another car (a Ford Focus), and drove the five and a half hours back to Maryland.  We ate our take home caramel apples at a rest stop someplace about an hour north of the PA/MD border.

The following day Cliff flew back to Oregon as he had work and I got to spend time with Mom and Pam.  It was really wonderful to spend quality time with them.  Over the next four days we played slots at the new casino at Anne Arundel Mills, installed a new front gate on Nanny's fence, drove to Virginia to eat lunch with Dad and Grandma, visited Arlington, shopped, ate Sweet Frog frozen yogurt, and celebrated Pam's birthday at the Gaylord Hotel.  I didn't take nearly enough photos but look these happy faces!

I also got to meet Mom's new dog, Sam.  He is a big guy (about 150lbs) but is really sweet.  He just wants to lay on the cold bathroom floor and be pet.  Weanie and Wibble are falling in line and you can tell that they like him too.

I wish there had been more time but it was really wonderful just to hang out and talk.  Next time we will need to go on an adventure.  I'm trying to talk them into coming out to Oregon.  My fingers are crossed.

I also need to mention that Mom and Pam saved the day quite a few times by lovingly taking three trips to the airport.  Thank you!

Part III: Andrea and Joe's Wedding

As if the trip wasn't already awesome enough we got to celebrate another fantastic couple.  Andrea and Joe got hitched and we got to be a part of it.  Sweet.

Nicole and I got to see Andrea and Joe's new apartment (nice work guys), get our nails done, and help put together the wedding flowers.  Cliff took his second redeye in eight days and got back into town just in time to put up directional signage and be apart of the rehearsal dinner.  Cliff did a reading and I was lucky enough to be a bridesmaid along with Nicole and Andrea's fun friend Cat.  I sadly didn't take any photos leading up to the wedding but Cliff took a few shots from the front row during the ceremony and then various folks used our camera to document the day.  Score.

Andrea looked beautiful.  Joe was so handsome.  It was a little cold (in the low 50's after being in the 80's and 70's all week) but that didn't matter.  We are all really happy to have Joe officially apart of the Lyddane clan.  The day was so much fun.  We got to see family that we haven't seen in years.  Plus, there was more dancing.  The Wileys and the Minters really know how to break it down.  Even the Lyddane men got into the action.  And I got to dance with Cliff yet again (thank you Stephen for documenting!).  Dancing makes me so happy.  Oh, we all also got to hear how Stephen has the most amazing, beautiful hair ever.  Seriously, both women and men were jealous.  I heard several conversations.  It was awesome.

Once again, the food was delicious.  We seriously lucked out.  For the rehearsal we got Beefalo Bob's BBQ (I miss BBQ soooooo much!).   For the wedding, there were tons of appetizers (crab drip, artichoke dip, various bruschetta, zucchini fritters, and something with tuna).  I sampled them all except for the tuna as I was never able to corner a waiter while they still had them on their tray. That was just the beginning as we also had salad, chilean sea bass on grits, and filet with mashed potatoes.  Best filet ever in my opinion. And the cake was chocolate and raspberry (very Andrea).  I ate two pieces plus several chocolate covered strawberries. Also, I got two shirley temples.  Always a good day when you have a shirley temple.  Apparently I like to eat like a pig at all weddings.

I was really sad to leave as the trip had been amazing.  I had a smile on my face almost the entire time (hey...a girl has got to eat and sleep).

It is hard to believe that four years ago yesterday Cliff and I got hitched.  Weddings make me happy.  Being married rocks.  Seeing friends and family also rocks.  Life is beautiful.

Happy Holidays!

Cliff and I were very lucky this year as we were able to go back home for ten days over the holidays.  We got to spend some quality time with family and friends in Virginia and Maryland.  We were always on the move but we got to hang out, eat amazing food, and reconnect with people that we love.

Before we left we got to have tea with Brie.  The place was really awesome as they had over 80 different teas available.   Per Brie's recommendation we ate at a Lebanese restaurant and had some really tasty falafel, homemade pita, tzatsiki, and other goodies.  It was the perfect pre-travel meal.  After dinner we spent the night at Kathy and Jill's apartment.  It was pretty wonderful to be able to see these folks over the holiday.  Yay!

I tried really hard to take photos during our trip.  Sometimes I failed to document everything but overall I was pretty proud of myself.  Sadly we didn't get photos with our friends in Williamsburg (Rachel, Allen, the two kitties, Sara, Brad and Cati) or Shanann and Caroline in Maryland.  Our visits were short and I think I was just so excited to see them that it didn't register to take photos.  Otherwise, the photos serve as a highlight reel of our trip so we hope you enjoy!

The security line at PDX.  We made it from this point to our terminal in less than 30 minutes.  Portland International really is a wonderful airport.  Small, super clean, friendly staff, and they have a guy who plays the steal drums outside of a Hawaiian cafe.  Awesome.

Ok so I didn't take this photo.  I failed to take any photos at the ODU vs. VMI game on the 22nd.  We got to sit in the new seats and get to know some of the new faces on the team.  Their new players look really good and I think they are going to be a great team in another year or two.  Thanks articles.dailypress.com for the great photo!

We got to spend two nights with Dad and Grandma.  On Christmas Eve we went to Aunt Margaret and Uncle Chris's house for dinner.  It was really wonderful as we got to see the whole family.  After dinner we came home and exchanged gifts.  We got a new alarm clock that plays ambient sounds (think thunderstorms, waves, windchimes, etc.) and we gave Dad a webcam so that we can Skype. On Christmas morning we went to IHOP for breakfast (by the way their pumpkin pancakes are pretty amazing).  It was so warm that Dad was in shorts and Cliff was in a short sleeves. Great visit.

At the Lyddane house we opened presents, ate Christmas dinner, and then played several hours of Taboo and Mad Gab.   Here Cliff is trying to explain to Joe and Stephen which syllable they need to emphasize to get their phrase right.

The next day Cliff and I got to have Christmas with Mom, Pam, and Nanny.  We went to the Gaylord Hotel right outside of Washington, D.C.  We did this last year and it is quickly becoming a beloved tradition.  We exchanged gifts, ate dinner, and hung out all night.  It was really nice to be able to spend time all together.

While at the Gaylord, Mom and I went to ICE!  It was a huge room filled with ice sculptures.  The temperature in the space was between zero to four degrees so they give everyone these huge blue coats to wear while inside.  We didn't wear the hoods (we should have as it was so cold) as we were both creeped out by putting something on our head that sooo many other people had worn before.   I wish I had taken more photos as it was really neat to see what people can do with a ton of ice and nice lighting.  At the end Mom and I got hot chocolate to help us thaw out.

We finally visited Andrea's apartment in Baltimore!   Andrea had a Vaccaro's Groupon so we stocked up on fill-at-home cannoils, chocolate macaroon cookies, and cake.  You can't not go to Vaccaro's and stuff yourself.  We also got a Himalayan Feat from an Indian restaurant that is right around the corner from Andrea's apartment.  It was advertised to feed two people but based on Andrea and Joe's previous meals they knew it would feed more.  It was so much food!  The four of us couldn't finish it all.  It was the best Indian food Cliff and I have had in a long, long time.  We decided to eat in so that we could pig out in our pajamas... and believe me we did.

On our last night we all ended up at the Lyddane house.  For his birthday, Stephen got edible tablets that make sour foods sweet.  We decided to have a feast of grapefruits (many as you can see by the bowls and peels), lemons, pickles, coffee, and generally any other food that was in the house that we wanted to test.  There was so much fruit!  I generally hate grapefruit and even I was sucking it down.  We all ate so much fruit that our teeth started to hurt.  I love Lyddane activities.

 

In addition to the fruit feast we also had Lydanish (danish made by Stephen- this time with cream cheese and lemon filling).  We had to document everyone eating the official family food.  I feel like this photo has the makings for a 2012 Lyddane Christmas card.

We had a wonderful trip and were so excited to see everyone.  Hope you all had a wonderful holiday and may 2012 bring you much laughter, good health, and many happy times!