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Sunday, January 24, 2016

Snowy Weekend

Pixlr_20160124144527067Here comes the snow. :) Had our first real storm of the season although our part of CT only got about 6 inches (16cm). We lucked out. A lot of areas around us, especially on the coast and south of us got buried in snow.  New York City got about 30 inches  (70cm) and had a travel ban (roads, subways, etc) in effect for a good part of the day yesterday and overnight.  Washington DC and a lot of other areas south of us got hit much worse too. 

We decided to stay home Saturday and worked from home.  Then when we were done with work we caught up on some TiVo stuff. So all in all a relaxing day. And today all the roads are cleared so it's fine.  I do expect some residual problems at work in areas where we deliver. Guess I will find out tomorrow. 

Today we are just taking it easy.  Slept in, went for lunch etc. Started reading my friend Falguni's book finally. Not looking forward to tomorrow and work. :( 

Mail Update: Received a letter/owe a reply to: Jessica/DE. 

Posted by Hanna at 04:04 PM in Weather | Permalink | Comments (0)

Monday, January 18, 2016

Cooking Sunday, Star Wars and more

Star_Wars_Episode_VII_The_Force_AwakensAnd already Monday again. Time seems to be flying. Today is Martin Luther King Jr Day, which is a holiday here in the US. But despite the importance and history of everything behind that holiday it is still a relatively minor holiday which meant that we did have to go to work either way. It was a bit of a quieter day at least since the schools,  banks, post office and most government  facilities were closed. 

We also were able to see the new Star Wars movie today. I know, I know. It's been out for ages but we didn't see it at first since we figured the theaters would be way too busy and crowded.  Plus I had never seen the older original movies.  So over the last week we binge watched the three original ones,  episode 4, 5 and 6, which was pretty fun. I have to admit liking them much more than I would have thought. 

Over the weekend I spent time with my friend Jana.  On Sunday I went over to her place and we went to Whole Foods for groceries, then made some delicious food.  Both of us like to cook but don't do it that much during the week.  About two weeks ago she invited me over for dinner. We had fun so we decided to do it again.  This time we made a mushroom, potato & wild bean soup followed by pesto stuffed chicken rollatini (with a side of wild rice pilaf and grilled vegetables) and spiced poached pears with vanilla ice cream for dessert. Watched a movie and had an enjoyable afternoon/evening.  

Mail Update: Received a letter/owe a reply to: Jessica/DE. 

Posted by Hanna at 07:33 PM in Film, Food and Drink | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sunday, January 10, 2016

Golden Globes Sunday

FB_IMG_1452453454555Another week gone by and tomorrow is already January 11th. The new year is truly underway. Doing kind of ok with my healthier eating. Well except for today when we went to Buffalo Wild Wings for lunch. But we had a gift card Mike got for Christmas so it's only half my fault. ;) 

Had a busy-ish week. Worked Saturday till 2. Then in the evening I finally took the Christmas tree down and spent some time relaxing and reading.  

Today we slept in. It's a rainy day.  Oddly warm but tomorrow it's supposed to go back down to freezing. Weird weather. Went for lunch and later we are going to watch Star Wars - episode 4 and 5. I am one of those odd people who has never seen it so we want to watch those before seeing the new one.  Yeah,  we still haven't seen that.

Then later the Golden Globes are on. We usually watch them anyway but I am extra excited for them this year cause my favorite show "Outlander" (based on the books by Diana Gabaldon) is nominated for three. I know they are the fringe underdogs but we will see. Fingers crossed! Just cool for them to be nominated and acknowleged at all. 

Mail Update: Caught up with my mail for once. :) 

Posted by Hanna at 02:41 PM in Food and Drink, Television | Permalink | Comments (0)

Monday, January 04, 2016

Remaining Canada Recap

  Pixlr_20160104192656330Back to work and every day life today so just a quick update on the rest of our trip. :) Saturday we went to the art museum where they had a really neat Monet exhibit. 

Then had a late lunch back at Les 3 Brasseurs/The 3 Brewers. Yum. Picked up a few things at some stores along the way and eventually headed back to the hotel. For dinner we went to Vineyards Wine Bar in Byward Market and had some good wine and a delicious meat and cheese plate. 

Then Sunday morning we had breakfast at Eggspectations, a really good Canadian breakfast chain we first discovered in Montreal. Had the most delicious breakfast before heading back to CT.

Now it's back to real life and trying to eat a bit healthier. It's been a bit of a challenge but it's only day 1. I will get there.  :) 

Mail Update: Letters went out today to: Carmen/Malta, Charles/TN, Kimber/Canada, Tiffany/OK, Lotte/Denmark, Celia/MA, Nina/WA and Caroline/Scotland. 

Posted by Hanna at 09:03 PM in Food and Drink, Travel, Wine | Permalink | Comments (0)

Friday, January 01, 2016

Happy New Year from Canada

Instaweather_20160101_155527Hello from Ottawa. Happy 2016. :) I still remember 2000 and the whole Y2K thing like it was yesterday and here we are 16 years later. How did that happen?  

Work was of course crazy as expected in the beginning of the week. Took Thursday off to drive up to Canada for our 3 night stay in Ottawa. It's about a 7 hour drive so not so terrible. When we got here we checked in at the hotel. Staying at the Indigo Hotel right in downtown which is convenient. Finding the parking garage for the hotel was a bit of a challenge but other than that no complaints. 

Went out for dinner to Les 3 Brasseurs/The 3 Brewers, a fun brewpub chain we first discovered in Montreal some years back. Had a yummy dinner and then headed back to the hotel where we had some more wine and warched the Times Square New Year's broadcast on TV. 

Today we had breakfast in the hotel (they gave us coupons for free breakfast) Then headed over to Parliament Hill and from there to the Canadian History Museum across the bridge in Quebec. Always a fun museum to visit even though they are currently remodeling the Canada Hall of History (my favorite part .. guess it will give us a reason to come back when they are done to check it out) Had a cool Vikings exhibit and also a special exhibit on the history of Canada. 

After we walked back to the hotel we relaxed for a bit and took care of some year end stuff for work. Now out to dinner at Lowertown Brewery. Very yummy place. 

Mail Update: So far letters have been written to (should be mailed Monday): Carmen/Malta, Charles/TN, Kimber/Canada and Tiffany/OK. Still owe replies to: Lotte/Denmark, Celia/MA, Nina/WA and Caroline/Scotland. 

Posted by Hanna at 06:00 PM in Food and Drink, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0)