Monthly Archives: January 2009

Family Planning Conversation

Posted on by

Cris and I have a ton going on right now, much of it requiring lots of big decisions to be made in the relatively near future.  The other night, in an attempt to maintain the semi-serious vibe while dealing with a little less stressful topic, I brought up something we could talk about, but wouldn’t require a decision right away.  It didn’t go as planned.

Me: So when do you think you want to start having babies?

Her: Leave my womb alone.

Implied, but not stated is that we should take one thing at a time.  We both are looking forward to kids, but we’ll table that for a little while.

Share

Audio Addiction: Pearl Jam’s Hard to Imagine

Posted on by

I’m completely hooked on this song right now.  This one comes off of the second disc of the Lost Dogs and Rarities album.  For context, Lost Dogs is a compilation of B-sides from singles they released and songs that were recorded during sessions for previously released albums that didn’t make it on the list.  For what its worth, I think some of PJ’s best songs can be found on Lost Dogs, this being one of them.

I can’t really explain why I like it so much.  Just a really cool, quiet vibe to the song.  I will say that the opening guitar riff is perfect wake up to on my iHome.

Paint a picture visions only grey
Light your pillow. Lay back. Watch the flames.
I’ll tell a story but no one would listen that long.

It’s hard to imagine. It’s hard to imagine.
Ohh [x4]

Tear into yourself count days on your arm.
Ah the beating ticking like a bomb.
After having seen all that they saw.

It’s hard to imagine. It’s hard to imagine.
Ohh [x4]

Things were different then. All is different now.
I tried to explain. Somehow.
Things were different then. All is different now.
I tried to explain. Somehow.
Ohh [x4]

Things were different then. All is different now.
I tried to explain. I hope this works somehow.
Things were different then. All is different now.
I tried to explain. Oh, somehow.
Ohh [x4]

Share

Favorite Eats in DC

Posted on by

So my post the other day about the Great American Restaurants got me thinking about our favorite places to eat here in the DC area.  I’ve made mention of some of these places in previous posts, but I thought I’d put them all together into one post to help give some ideas to anyone looking for somewhere to eat in DC.  I’ve included all kinds of restaurants, and they cover a pretty decent area through Nothern Virginia and DC so you should be able to find something that suits what you’re looking for.

Consider this sort of our culinary roadmap to NoVa and DC.  Notice I said “our” because this may not be right for everyone.  Hope you find something you like.

Vocelli – Favorite place to order pizza in town.  There may be better, but this is what we like the most.  Make sure to get the grande thin crust.  Their Hawaiian pizza is awesome and the Italian sausage is another favorite.  If you don’t feel like a pizza, they also have really good hot paninis.

Aladdin’s –  Great little lebanese/mediteranian place on a cool little street of restaurants in Shrilington.  The highlight here is the appetizers and deserts.  Great fool ‘m damas, tabouli, and falafal, and some of the best cakes I’ve ever had at a restaurant, particularly the carrot cake.  They used to have a belly dancer on Thursday nights, but the management changed and I don’t think they do that anymore.

Sweetwater Tavern – Simplay a great place to eat.  See my previous post for more info on this one.

Sfizi Italian Cafe – Also did a previous post on this at my old blog location.

Ruth’s Chris – Glass of wine, filet mignon, the best sweet potato casserole ever, and berries and cream for dessert.  ’Nuff said.

La Sandia – Located in the Mall where we normally go to see movies, this is my favorite pre-movie meal.  Great Mexican kitchen with better than “typical Mexican restaurant” Mexican food.  Think higher quality Rio Bravo or on the Border.  If you have Don Pablo’s its sort of like that, but better I think.

Teaism – Small little eatery and tea shop downtown that serves great quality asian “fast food.”  Go there and get a chicken bento box and go home happy.

Zola – Located in Penn Quarter near the Verizon Center in DC, Zola serves great food in a cool environment with some interesting character.  The food is what I could call “polished American.”  Nothing crazy in terms of what is served, but its prepared a little more upscale than your basic chicken or beef dish.  The restaurant is located right next to the International Spy Museum and they have taken some of that theme into the restaurant.  The “spyness” is done subtly so its not cheesey, and this is going to sound weird, but if you go to Zola you should go to the bathroom just to see one of the more interesting bathroom doors that I’ve ever seen.

Georgia Brown’s – Being born and raised in Georgia I can appreciate some good Southern cooking and Georgia Brown’s does it up right.  The dinners we’ve had there were awesome, but more importantly…Best. Brunch. Ever.  Let me say that again.  This is the best brunch I’ve come across ever.  The menu might have changed some since the last time we were there, but the spread for brunch is just awesome.  French toast with pecan maple syrup, fresh fruit, eggs benedict, grits, applewood smoked bacon, omelettes made to order, virginia ham, and home fries.  Need I go on?  No, but I will.  You also get to sample all of the deserts they have to offer including their chocolate fondu fountain, and their peach cobbler is rediculous.  While you’re eating your breakfast, you order an entree to take home with you for dinner that night, which is included in the cost of your breakfast.  Yes, two incredible meals of the price of one.  And to top it off, you eat your brunch while listening to a live jazz trio.

I just told Cris we’re going back soon.

Bilbo Baggins – Really good variety of food that probably doesn’t fit perfectly into a single niche.  It seems like the menu is made up of whatever the chef feels like cooking.  The decor is very much like something you might find in the Shire with a lot of wood and rustic touches like woven place mats.  My favorite part about this one is the really big variety of beers from around the world that you can sample.

Landini Brothers – Tuscan style Italian in the heart of Old Towne Alexandria.  If I remember correctly, the brother owners and operators are from and learned to cook in Tuscany.  Nice intimate atmosphere and a very good, accessible wine list.  I say accessible b/c I know basically nothing about wines and they’ve always made recommendations that I’ve been happy with.

And last, but certainly not least…

2941 – This is easily one of the best meals I’ve ever had all around.  Me trying to describe it wouldn’t do it justice.  Its also where Cris and I got engaged so it has a special place in our hearts.  Very toney, high class restaurant in Falls Church.  Great wine, great bread, amazing food, and incredible desserts.  One thing I love is that its one of the best restaurants in the city in a totally random place where you don’t find other high class restaurants.

Share

The Great American Restaurant Company

Posted on by

I can’t believe its taken me this long to put in a plug for some of our favorite restaurants here in DC, but a particularly good hickory bar-b-que burger at Sweetwater Tavern gave me the push that I needed.  The Great American Restaurant Company runs a handful of awesome restaurants in Northern Virginia.  All of them are basically a variation on American food depending on which one you go to. Sweetwater, the one we go to most often b/c its close, has a western theme to it with steaks, ribs and burgers the staple of the menu.

Their hickory BBQ burger is awesome, with great smokey sauce which is making my mouth water just thinking about it. I’m also a huge fan of their ribs, where they use the same sauce as the burger, but the meat truly just falls off the bone. Another favorite of mine is their sweet potato fries, which slightly outpace their regular fries for fry awesomeness.

I’ve discussed meat, now let’s talk beer. In addition to great food, Sweetwater also serves as a great micro-brew. They have a couple of standards available all the time, but most of what is available when you go in are seasonal beers. They have what is probably my favorite summer beer in their summer wheat, and I had an awesome stout last time that is similar to Guinness. There is generally a good variety and everyone should be able to find something they are happy with.

For those less carnivorous than I, Cris is a big fan of the salads that they have.  I’ll be honest and say that I don’t pay that close attention to the salads, but I know the last one she ordered had really good pieces of mango in it.

The last thing I’ll mention about the Sweetwater dining experience is what you actually get to experience first. Best Buns Bread Company provides all the bread for the Great American Restaurants and their “Ozzy Rolls” have ruined Cris’ appetite on more than one occasion.  They come in a typical bread basket, but if you’re like us, you’ll definitely be asking for more of these in particular.  On a side note, we finally discovered that they’re called Ozzy Rolls b/c their creator’s last name is Osbourne and he’s a big Ozzie Osbourne fan.

As I said, we go to Sweetwater most often but we’re big fans of some of the others as well. Coastal Flats sort of reminds me of the Charleston, SC area and has more seafood options, while Carlyle has a little more upscale, polished feel. All great places to grab a bite to eat in the Nothern Virginia area.

Share

Irony

Posted on by

Osama Bin Ladin is a fan of and is supported by an organization, the Taliban, that wants to eliminate Western technology like TVs and radios from life, but he insists on making us listen to him yap by continuing to put messages on TV and radio.

Share

Staggering Facts About our Government and Spending

Posted on by

Say whatever you want about the opinions expressed in the rest of this Bloomberg article, some of the figures about the spending of our government and our current budget shortfalls knocked the wind out of me.  Here are the highlights:

Or try this. The whole world’s military spending in 2006 totaled a little less than $1.2 trillion. So next year’s U.S. deficit [$1.7 trillion projected] could cover that and still have $500 billion left over for building bridges.

And…

Perhaps the most disturbing comparison is this one: When President George W. Bush was first elected, total federal government spending was about $1.7 trillion. In other words, the difference between federal outlays and federal revenue this year will be bigger than the entire government was as recently as 2000.

Another interesting thing the article points out regarding our governmental spending is that revenue has increased from approximately $2 trillion to projected $2.4 trillion next year, while spending has increased around %95.  In 2000, the government spent around $1.8 trillion and it is projected to spend around $3.5 trillion.

A couple of thoughts on that last tidbit.  First, almost all of that increase in spending happened under a Republican government.  So much for small government conservative leadership.  Second, it really gives one pause when considering whether the new government should be teeing up another huge spending bill and whether the bill is going to really accomplish anything.  Obviously, money spent on the wrong things isn’t going to help the economy any, and I think we’ve proven our inability to spend on the right things over the last eight years.  Despite the view of many that Obama is going to make it all better, he can’t turn the Titanic himself.

http://bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=aGgZR28hHCPk&refer=columnist_hassett

Share

What about Before the Beginning?

Posted on by

So I’m reading this article on BBC’s news site, which I finally understood after the third read, and it got me thinking bigger thoughts than I probably should have been having.  Soon thereafter I needed to lay down and take a nap.  In the hopes that I’m not the only one that will give himself a headache contemplating this article, here are a few of the questions and thoughts that popped into my head.

Okay, so black holes might be a precursor to the formation of a galaxy.  That’s cool.  We can see back some 13 billion years to study this phenomenon.  That fact boggles the mind.  So we’re getting a clearer picture of what happened in the beginning.  But here’s my question; what was there before the beginning?

I know, I know, the beginning is the start of stuff so there isn’t anything before the beginning, but how can that be?  If you’re a creationist, then God made everything.  If that’s true, what was God doing before he made everything and where did he come from?  Was he just hanging out in darkness doing nothing?

If you’re a strict evolutionist/Big Bang Theorist, then the Universe was created when an extremely dense, hot mass of stuff exploded and everything has been expanding since then.  So my question here is what was all that mass doing before it exploded and what was it sitting in.  Was it just a ball of mass sitting in a huge emptiness, and what was the catalyst for it to actually explode?  And where did the mass come from in the first place?

This is about time my head started to hurt, and its doing so again so I’m going to leave it at that.  Someone really smart answer my questions for me.

Share

Another Step Towards LA

Posted on by

Our move to Los Angeles took another step forward yesterday.  I got a call letting me know that I got the job in LA that I applied for.  Its not going to be a significantly different job than what I do now, but it provides some huge piece of mind that we’ll definitely have stability with my job while Cris studies for the Bar and gets started working at her firm.

I don’t really have any more details beyond the fact we’ll probably be leaving DC sometime around the end of May or the first of June.  Cris’ Bar prep will start during the first week of June so we’ll need to be out there before that starts so she can get her study on.

The next step in the process will be trying to figure out where we’re going to live and the kind of place we’re going to be able to afford.  We have an idea of what area of the city we’d like to live in and we’d love to be able to rent a house to give us a little more space (manpit) and possible get our first pet, but again we’ll have to see what’s available  and what we can afford.

Share

Pictures from the Netherlands

Posted on by

Just wanted to let everyone know that I finally took the time to post some of our pictures from our trip to the Netherlands.  Its been almost a month and a half, which I think is plenty long enough to get them up.  If you want to check them out click here, or your can go to the main photos page and use the link there.

I just started using a new plugin called NextGen Gallery which has some pretty cool functionality so the photos page might be changing as well.  Hope you like the pics.

Share