Birdo in DC (day 2) 5:34 PM

Today we slept in. And we made cupcakes and prepped the beef pepperoncini for dinner. Then we did all those great Sunday things like read, showered, relaxed and rewatched the first 10 minutes of Cloudy with Chance of Meatballs. Then we went to church.

Afterward we headed to see some memorials before dinner. The Marine Corps War Memorial (Iwo Jima) looked nice with the sun setting. It gave a beautiful highlight to the landmarks in the District behind. I also love the outline of the leave-less trees in the winter.

Next we went to the Pentagon (9/11) Memorial. It looked really clean and serene with the white snow replacing the normal gravel on the ground. I am going to submit to the suggestion box that they keep the snow as a permanent fixture.

We tried to stay out as the sun set and the lights started "glowing" off the benches. But it was freezing. Literally. Hence the snow on the ground. So we kept the visit short and then headed back home.

Steph, Billy, Rob and Ryan came over to dine with Birdo and I. We had Beef Pepperoncini and Triple Leaf Salad with chips for dinner. And cupcakes with a surprise in the middle (to be blogged about later) for dessert. We played Ashley's newest game Wits and Wagers. It was a fun night.

Birdo in DC 4:54 PM

Kristin is here to visit me this weekend! It was so much fun to hang out and play tourist. This morning we woke up and headed to the Eastern Market for my favorite french toast. Since the weather was calling for a big snowstorm there was a marked lack of people there - we didn't even have to wait in line to order! It was a snow day miracle. The funny thing is that there was no snow on the ground as we headed in.

As we walked outside again the snow had started to gather on the ground. To accompany the lack of people, there was a lack of vendors. I was sad to miss the fresh produce at the farmers market and attempt again to find the sunglasses I owe David. We stopped by the bizarre bookstore that I love. Ashley is modeling the lack of head clearance in the basement.

Next we headed to the National Archives to see the original Constitution and Declaration of Independence. From there we were going to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to droll over the money, but we got sidetracked into the Holocaust Museum. I kind of pushed Birdo into going there. She thinks it is a sad place, which it is if you think about it, but I really like that museum. To me it is a reminder of what we cannot let happen again. It also makes me remember why it is important for good people to stay involved in politics and work to make sure their good voice is heard.

After we got out of the museum there was tons of snow and the roads were slippery, so we headed back home. We grabbed some Thai takeout and a movie and hunkered down waiting for the snow to stop. But it didn't stop. Nope. We watched Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (pretty hilarious), some shows on the DVR, read, and finally braved the snow to run to the store for groceries. It was a fun and relaxing day.

free frosty 2:44 PM

See the mini Frosty to the right? It is a keychain Frosty that I bought for one dollar. This keychain gives me a free Jr. Frosty every time I purchase sometheing at Wendy's - for an entire year! Greatest $1 purchase ever.

dirty jobs 2:43 PM

You don't want to know.

country man's work 2:26 PM

So the problem with trying to get a LDS boy in this area to fix something, is that they don't actually know how to fix stuff. The last man enlisted for the task (my HTer) was a Lawyer who could tinker. Tinkering was good, but ultimately the Lawyer didn't have time to help me replace the faucet. I was going to do it by myself, but when I asked Joel (my new Lieutenant) if I needed plumbers tape (like my HTer kept saying I needed) he offered to come and do it for me.

It was a good thing Joel came because it turned out that the valves were corroded too. Joel had to hack saw off the old valves, put on replace them and then put in the new faucet. I am now happy to admit that I did actually need a man's help. I would have had no idea how to do that. I wouldn't have thought to drain the water out of the lower bathroom faucets after turning the main water off. I wouldn't have known about the valves - I would have just let them spurt dirty water at me as I sat in a heap on the bathroom floor and cried about it. Joel saved the day.

sunrise in the Park 2:22 PM

Pulling out of the parking lot at work.

virginia rainbows 2:16 PM

Taken out of the right bucket of the fire engine with my iPhone. Combined the two shots so you get the whole rainbow. (click on image to enlarge)

hooker boots 9:20 PM

I bought these at the same time I bought the greatest boots ever. I affectionately refer to them as hooker boots, although I do not know if they are tall enough to fit in the hooker category. Oh, and I wear them to church. This winter as I was trying to find new long skirts (essential to keeping the cold out) I was unable to find any. So if the skirts weren't going to go lower to cover my legs, the shoes had to go higher. Enter the boots. And I love them.

man's work 8:56 PM

Yep, there is a man trying to fix my dripping sink. Ashley got Mars and Venus on a Date for Christmas and enlightened me on our walk the other day. It said that boys want to do man things for girls. Or boys want to be needed by girls. Or something like that. So we are experimenting. I just hate pretending that I can't do something, but I guess if it helps someone else feel needed... It turns out that I need a new faucet. I can put in the faucet by myself, it doesn't look that hard and I like being handy. But apparently I am supposed to need help? I might just do it by myself; I am pretty self sufficient. This may or may not be contributing to why I am not married.

elevator innards 8:51 PM

We did elevator training at work today. It was really interesting. We shut down an elevator at the old folks home, got in the elevator shaft and went over how to secure things and open doors and rescue people. It was really cool.

renewed 8:43 PM

I like this thing. Just go it renewed today. Glad to have it with me.

P.O.T.D. 7:04 PM

Picture Of The Day!

My friend Scott said that since he was really bad at journal writing, this year he was going to take a picture a day instead. I loved that idea so I am going to try it too. (And post them here of course). I started a little late (1/15) so just posted all of them. To catch up click here to see them all.

can I count this as a veggie? 7:02 PM

This stuff is addictive. Closest to the real thing as I have found, really light and fluffy too. I may or may not have eaten almost an entire bag of it today. That's okay if it constituted my breakfast and lunch right? It is a vegetable after all...

my corner 6:56 PM

This is my little corner of the firehouse. A bed in the female bunk room that I call home every third day. Thanks to the memory foam my Mom got me for the top, it is a lovely little sanctuary. Unfortunately I haven't been seeing much of it lately. I hope that changes soon. Note the pants and shoes staged as the foot of the bed for easy jumping into when a call comes in the middle of the night.

potbelly sandwich works 6:30 PM

Potbelly Sandwich Works is my favorite sandwich chain in the DC area. They have these delicious hot peppers that they put in the middle of their yummy toasted sandwiches that are to die for. It's no Ike's Place but I appreciate that Potbelly's is a chain in the DC Metro area so you are never too far away from one.

Today Ashley and I walked 5 miles to downtown Alexandria for a sandwich and then walked the hilly 5 mile route back. This sandwich was perfect motivation for exercise.

healthified 6:42 PM

I made the most delicious breakfast casserole for Christmas morning this past year. I wanted it again but a casserole filled with hash browns and sausage was not really on my healthy eating list. So I decided to experiment. Instead of white potato hash browns I jullianned sweet potatoes for the bottom layer. And as long as we're talking about it: Can anyone tell me why sweet potatoes are more healthy than white potatoes? They both come from the ground and are both vegetables - why the difference?

For the next layer, instead of frying up maple sausage, I got some 99% free ground turkey and cooked it. Then I added a tablespoon of pure maple syrup for the added sweetness. The eggs layer is (12) eggs mixed with (2 c.) chopped fresh spinach and when it finished cooking I sprinkled on low fat cheddar cheese. It was really good. And I don't even like sweet potatoes!

It is my new guilt-free breakfast casserole. I will be making it often purely for the leftovers. I divided the pan, wrapped the individual pieces and had easy breakfasts for the next couple of days. note: if you do make it, my baking time took almost twice as long as the original recipe.

In Gag Ed 10:48 AM

So I've held off a good 36 hours post event and 24 hours post being notified, I think that shows a lot of self restraint. I was going to catch up today and post pictures of the penguin cupcakes we made for Ashley's birthday (addendum: just did, see below this post), but I have more exciting news to share. David and Bobbiejane are in gag ed. Yes, David called me yesterday and said (verbatim) "I'm in gag ed!" Luckily I speak crazy person fluently and I could decipher the message. David and Bobbiejane are engaged!!!

These two are such a fun couple who compliment each other perfectly. I always wondered what kind of person David would end up marrying and I could never quite figure it out. Would she be a dreamer like him or someone more practical to balance out him out? Would she be a girlie girl or an outdoors trekker or maybe a sports enthusiast? What would she be artistic like David or a book worm or a numbers cruncher? Would we like her? How would she fit in with the family? Being the only girl to marry into three sisters I imagine would be hard. Luckily it won't be for Bobbiejane; she fits into the family so well already. She is the perfect combination of attributes that I never would have thought to imagine for David. I am super excited for the two of them. And I can't wait for our soon-to-be-sister to join the family.

I don't know why but I love this picture. It is hilarious!
note: no actual Culbertson's were harmed in the filming of this picture

details that I know:

Columbia River Temple (Washington State) sometime in May

you don't want to mess... 6:10 PM

...with the Rock. Or Billy apparently. As we went through BLS practical testing at the end of the first year of my BLS Continuing Education program, Randy (above) was my victim. He is on light duty so served as the patient/victim throughout the days of testing. This day Billy decided not to hold back when taping Randy's head to the KED. Mean. Super mean.

bed head 6:26 PM

As I rolled out of bed and used the restroom this morning, I was surprised to see this shadow against the wall in front of me. It is the top of my head. Scary.

Welcome to Picture Of the Day 2010.

penguins 10:32 PM

Ashley's birthday is Christmas Day, so we always have to find different times to celebrate it. This year we had some friends over for a yummy dinner and this super secret cake ... 0r cupcake. Ashley has a thing for penguins so we decided to go with that. Original recipe can be found online here based on the Hello Cupcake book. We modified it a little...

These are baby penguins. Plain doughnut hole heads on a mini doughnut bodies. They are pasted together with frosting and stuck in the freezer to firm up. It feels like home in there for them.

Come on, even without their little suits on they are still super cute! I am so excited to make these.

Next we dipped them in melted dark chocolate frosting (laced with black food coloring). This was the tricky part, trying to get them fully covered.

But we did it. And started building a little army of baby penguins in black tuxedos.

We stuck them on cupcakes covered with fluffy vanilla frosting with white and blue sugar crystals. Then we added the white tummies (look to the penguin to the left). It is just the end of a marshmallow cut off and stuck on the body.

Next came the beaks (half Starbursts with toothpicks). And wings (half Oreo's) stuck on with frosting. Then some white frosting eyeballs and little circle candy feet. Sorry there aren't any pictures I was busy dipping tuxedos on the bodies.

Ta dah!! How cute are they?!?! I love this little guy.

Love all these little guys and their funny personalities. They all had funny little differences. I forgot to get a picture of the one with the cute little bow on her head.

It's a party of happy birthday penguins for Ashley. Do you like the one little guy in the top right corner looking up at us?

Happy Birthday Ashley!!!

Ryan and I, the cupcake makers. After hours of slaving a toiling away ... people ate our labors of love.

I like this little guy, he was my favorite.

...and then I ate him. Life is cruel.

ballerinas 10:43 PM

While at the Berkeley street fair I picked up a pair of tutu's for Ella and Jane. I babysat them tonight so Erika and Jon could go out for Jon's birthday. I gave them the tutu's and they ran around the house, spun circles and played ballerina. On the tail end I remembered to grab my camera.

About 30 seconds in listen for Ella's hysterical laugh. I love getting her riled up to hear that laugh.