Thursday, January 1, 2009

Ten years since we've partied like it was 1999

Happy New Year 2009!  Pete and Jill hosted a fabulous party last night and the pomegranate martinis I brought were a hit ;)  In case you're interested, the recipe: 2 parts vodka (I highly recommend Kettle One), 1 part orange contreau, lots of ice, 2 parts pomegranate juice, lime - shake and serve.  Today I'm cooking my first pork and sour kraut for everyone and then watching Penn State and the Rose Bowl.  This will be my first personal experience with a crock pot so wish me luck (and send me your recipes!).  But before that, I am cleaning everything... laundry... taking a trip to the gym (mainly for the sauna...) then taking a nap!  
We've had at least ten people in the house at all times since I got back from my Christmas trip home.  It's been pretty hectic around here, but in a good way.  Jesse's parents flew in from Oregon so they've spent a lot of time at the house with Jesse, Sky, and baby Byrom (who is getting bigger EVERY day - it's amazing).  We've also had some of LA's peace corp friends here.  It hasn't exactly made it easy for me to get up and go to work this week but it's a small price to pay for the good company.  Evening activities mainly consist of playing catchphrase, drinking wine, and eating fantastic food.  The other night Jesse's parents bought a huge ham and served homemade scalloped potatoes and I made a green bean casserole.  Last night he made two crockpots full of delicious chili, enhanced by the Reed's soon-to-be-famous hot peppers.  It was the perfect thing to have around with people coming in and out of the house all day.  
It's great to have parents in the house.  In addition to eating well, we are also enjoying improvements to the house.  Jesse's dad fixed a drawer, helped keep the front door closed, and then went around and insulated all of the windows in our place, which should make a huge difference in our gas bills!  You can see the plastic bubbling out constantly which makes me realize what a draft we had coming in every day.  We may not get much snow but it's cold and windy here in DC! 

2 comments:

  1. glad to hear you're rocking the ketel one - that's my girl!!!! sounds like you're having a great time - YAY!!!! i'll try to send you some recipes... i've been making a lot of soups, and i'm hoping to get a crock pot so that i can extricate some of the time required to make them :)

    miss ya!

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  2. Where can I get my hands on these peppers?

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