[insert philosophical yogi voice:] if not now.. when?

It's the beginning of a new year - time to contemplate the last twelve months and set goals and resolutions for the months to come. My (substitute) yoga teacher, in classic philosophical yogi fashion, encouraged my class to push ourselves harder - example: while we were in a certain pose, he said he could tell we were all managing well and okay, but he wanted us to go a little bit further until we each thought "oh my gosh". Building on this, he asked us constantly if we weren't going to push ourselves now to accomplish goals in life or in yoga, we would we? "If not now, when?"

My newest friend Leslie and I have decided this is to be our 2011 resolution. The good and bad is that the phrase can be applicable to anything, i.e., "if you aren't going to make a budget and start saving money, when?" or "if you aren't going to go to the gym tonight, when?" or (the bad) "if you aren't going to eat those fries, when?" Regardless, it is a good way to forge ahead - carpe diem.

Over the time since my last post, Alex and I had a lot of fun celebrating the holidays in the city - our apartment really became a home when we got our first "family" Christmas tree. From a nearby garden shop, our tree boasts sixty tall inches.. :-) and we love it. While the three was easy to find and easy to transport (it fit in my trunk, and I carried it with one hand in the elevator while talking on my cell with the other hand) the tree stand was a completely different story: The garden shop was sold out of smaller stands; the bigger stands made the tree look even more dwarf-like. I walked to our local hardware store, who carried exactly what we needed, but I was certain the same one could be found at Target for a lower price. Wrong. Alex and I made the voyage to Target (at 10:00 on a Friday night, no less) only to learn they were completely sold out of stands. What a huge disappointment! Especially as our Friday night plans were to decorate our tree. We drove back home sad and depressed when, lo and behold, we enter my parking garage and see a pile of junk thrown in a corner - it looked as if someone was moving out or getting rid of old furniture - a desk chair, a broken dresser, etc. And Alex spots a small red and green box - with a tree stand inside! It was perfect. Alex felt like finding this stand was a sign that we should decorate our tree, and decorate it now! [This sort of thing happens to Alex regularly.. I don't get it.] I, on the other hand, was afraid that someone had left it there planning to come back minutes later for a second trip. What if someone was planning to decorate their tree as well?! So we compromised: we took the tree stand and left a note asking if the stand was trash, and if not, leave a note and we will return a brand new one the next day. Point of the story, we never heard back from the mystery giver, and have enjoyed our stand for a month (and probably next year as well!).

Alex caught a hilarious shot of our friends helping set the tree into its stand - I hope Alberto doesn't mind this shot - it is too funny not to share:

Sergio and I work on the stand while Mike holds the tree and Alberto takes in the wonderful pine smell.

the finished product. beautiful.

As a Mississippi girl further north than normal, I was extremely excited to be here for DC's first snow of the winter. Flakes began falling around ten in the morning - I noticed them while waiting for a meeting to begin. By noon, I thought it a good idea to have an early commute and work from home. The idea of snow and ice in rush hour traffic makes me VERY nervous, and working for such a safety-minded company, no one minded my leaving. Here are a few shots; sorry, not the most iconic DC places:

Farragut Square from K Street.

the Potomac from Key Bridge.

entering Virginia - the Key Bridge Marriott.

Here are a few photos taken at a tacky Christmas party.. Alex is wearing a sequined jumper; my head band is homemade with Christmas ornaments.

me and Natalia.

best roomies. ever.

After eight wonderful days at home in Mississippi, I returned to DC to celebrate New Year's! New Year's Eve has never been my favorite holiday: everyone makes plans weeks in advance to do something for a "special price" (too expensive), and the night always seems to be too crowded with too many people drinking way too much. I don't enjoy all the hubbub especially as the ball drop is anti-climatic. That's sounds very cynical. I can't help it.

So this year, my girl friends and I decided to have an anti-hubbub night - we didn't make any plans. We got ready and thought to call Hank's Oyster Bar, a restaurant literally across the street from our apartment. Miraculously, a table for four called and canceled minutes before - could we be there in five minutes? Yes! Of course! We ran across the street and had a beautiful meal with many, many laughs:

to new beginnings.

cheers us.

i only have beautiful friends.

HAH. it was something in those party favor chocolates.

This was my favorite New Year's celebration ever. Let's all cheers to new beginnings! And, speaking of, I started the new year off well - by cooking! Not only did I make a quiche for the morning of January first, but I also cooked the following weekend.. If you are a veteran reader of my blog, you know that while in Europe I wrote mostly about food and sleep - these photos are to continue the tradition. (Yes, I still have been shooting for eight hours of sleep!)

homemade hummus! my first time. yummy!

chicken pot pie - this was my second (first was turkey).

check out my lattice. woohoo.

salad with walnuts, cranberries, goat cheese and white zin (complements of Tim)

Thanks for keeping up with my life - shoot me a line and let me know what's going on in yours. If not now, when?!? 

Call me, email me, Facebook me, text me, write me, or come see me - any form of communication is acceptable! :-)