Invisible Title

First, I give you a 2nd lolcat to vote on. He made it weeks ago but it didn't get promoted here yet because I've apparently fallen out of blogging again.



My reason for not blogging has been totally valid. Work. Lots of it. I was blindsided. For a little over 2 months I've been splitting my time evenly between 2 campaigns and they both converged in a perfect storm of deadlines nearly 2 weeks ago. That meant taking work home every night and part of the weekends. But unfortunately for you, I can't delve into more of these gripping details...work and blogging are a bad combination.

In other news...

Check out my new bike!!! I loves it!

Oh, did I mention my bike got stolen? Yeah, that was a sad Monday morning. I learned a valuable lesson. The U-lock is indeed the most secure bike lock....however, it's most effective when used to lock the bike TO a stationary object. Simply locking the front wheel to the bike frame and then 'hiding' the bike with trash barrels will not do the trick.

So after a week of mourning and obsessively checking every bike that rode by to see if it was mine, I starting thinking hard about what I'd like for a new bike. I was on the fence between a road bike and a sleeker hybrid than my previous bike. I knew I didn't want the upright, comfort-style hybrid, but since every brand defines the category differently, it was impossible to figure things out with online research. So it shouldn't be surprising that we ended up spending 4 1/2 hours in the bike shop last Saturday. Hubby also needed a new bike because his 10 year old, 3-sizes-too-small, gear-shift-challenged, mountain bike was becoming a safety hazard.
During these 4+ hours of monopolizing Uma the Bike Lady's time, we each tested about 2-3 hybrids and roads. I am still not sure exactly how we ended up choosing the exact same bike in the end.

Yeah, now we're that couple.

Once

I was going to include this in the last post as part of my "Weekend Update," but it really deserves it's own post.

A friend lent us her copy of Once over a month ago and we somehow never got around to watching it (probably because we had never heard of it and therefore weren't motivated to make time for it.)
But after watching the movie's leads win an Oscar for Best Song and hearing their endearing acceptance speeches, I was suddenly gripped by a desire to watch it.
Which we did on Saturday morning - we were floored.

I highly recommend it if you're into indie music and quirky, low-budget films. Both Erich and I woke up this morning with the main song stuck in our heads (odd in its own right) so I scratched the itch by listening to the soundtrack over and over today at work via the Fox Searchlight website. I acknowledged today that I'm probably going to buy the soundtrack because after their sincere speeches about struggling artists, I wouldn't be able to justify burning the songs from someone else.

3 quick updates

We finally made it over to the Portrait Gallery the weekend before last. I have no shame and can admit that my primary reason for going in February was because of the Stephen Colbert portrait, which is only going to be displayed until April 1. Although I did hesitate before asking the woman at the info desk which bathroom the portrait was located outside of. After wandering around the lobby and part of the 1st floor hallway a bit, hoping to see a sign posted, I broke down and asked.
(It's across the atrium courtyard, up to the 2nd floor, left-hand hallway.)

I feel bad for the people who actually had to USE the restroom. The portrait viewers were definitely in the way and were oblivious to others' needs.
The portrait and it's plaque are awesome.

This past weekend we had a different kind of fun at the med school's formal. We got dressed up, drank less than last year, and pretended to dance to 2 songs. But we also got to catch up with some friends that we haven't seen much since everyone started their 3rd year.

And on the bread front...
We decided to take a bread hiatus - we could stand to ease up on the carbs for a bit, especially judging by my self-esteem level throughout last week's dress-buying process. Ugh.
So the only thing I cooked last weekend was a variation of my new favorite fake indian dish. I start with 1/2 jar of Masala Simmer Sauce from Trader Joes and add garlic, onions, chicken, and whatever vegetables that I have on hand that go well with the spices. This time it was peas, 1/2 can of diced tomatoes, and carrots. The first time it was peas, spinach, and a little cauliflower I think. I usually serve it over cous cous but this last time it was jasmine rice that I FINALLY cooked perfectly! It tasted so good that I almost didn't even think about how it wasn't brown rice.