Monday, February 25, 2008

A Splendid Book

I just finished reading this book last week and had to tell you all about it. It's absolutely fantastic! It's a novel that unfolds over nearly 4 decades in Afghanistan and follows the lives of 2 women whose stories become inextricable. I learned a great deal about the political climate of Afghanistan from the 1970s to the Soviet take-over in the 80's, to the terrible civil war in the 90's, the horrific reign of the Taliban at the turn of the century, and finally the U.S. "invasion" that has finally lead to a bit of peace, fragile though it may be. The (fictional) story of these women is both heart-breaking and inspiring -- and I know that sounds cliche, but I really mean it! If you haven't already, please get your hands on a copy of this book. You won't be sorry.

Now I MUST find a copy of the Kite Runner (another book by Hosseini - probably more well-known) -- I can't hardly stand to think that it might be as good as this one :-)

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Watch this...

A friend at work introduced me to this beautiful song last week and I can't get it out of my head. It is certainly thought-provoking. Let me know what you think! (And if this even works...my first attempt at posting a video!) Oh, it's called "Albertine" - by Brooke Fraser.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

I found some!



Here are a couple of pictures from our first date together on Valentine's Day 2004...so apparently I was mistaken when I mentioned there were no digital cameras around at this point. I found these in an obsure file on our computer after my last post. I think Aunt Linda was kind enough to lend us a digital camera that night - thanks AL! Oh, and sorry for the glare - I wasn't expecting to have a date to the dance and didn't spend much time (or any really) in the tanning beds :-)

A Day (or so) of Love

Ah, Valentine's Day...a day to celebrate those you love, and of course eat lots of chocolate :-) But for Dan and I, Valentine's Day also brings with it lots of wonderful memories of our very first (official) date which took place way back (okay, 4 years ago) in 2004 when he asked me to go with him to the Ballroom Dance at NWC. In fact, it was so long ago that neither of us had a digital camera back then so I can't even throw up a fun picture from that night for this post - wow, we must be getting old (okay, now I'm being fecicious...)! Here's a pic from the lessons a year or two later:
Okay, so moving on...this year we talked about it several times and really had decided on not doing much for V-Day. Neither of us really felt like fighting the crazies here in Nashville who would be willing to wait in line for hours for a nice meal I could probably fix in less time, so I thought I'd just make a "fancy" dinner and we'd be all set. But Dan insisted that he wanted to make dinner for me, and I finally agreed. So I went to bed on Valentine's Eve (that works, right?), reminding myself to make a card in the morning so I'd have something for my dear husband, and hoping we might even look through a photo album from our first year together and reminisce for the evening. Then I woke up to this:
Isn't he sweet?! I cracked up when my second pancake was added, and rather than a heart I got Mickey Mouse! I guess he messed up a little and thought he'd just be creative :-) They both tasted pretty good to me!
So I went off to work with a full belly and anticipation of what the evening would bring. After a busy day with the Dove Press Conference, I finally got home and opened the door fully expecting to be met with a wall of delicious smells. Instead, Dan stood grinning mischeviously in the kitchen with no food (or smells) in sight, and this on the counter:
Instead of cooking, he surprised me by taking me to our favorite Mexican restaurant in all of Nashville! So we dressed up (a little - nothing too fancy) and headed out, and when we arrived we were seated right away (apparently Mexican isn't the cuisine of choice on V-Day). And after we gorged ourselves on a delicious meal involving WAY too much cheese (or is there even such a thing as too much cheese?), we headed back to our cozy apartment, cuddled up on the couch, and watched several episodes of "The Office" - what more could a girl possibly ask for?! Oh, and we even got to flip through a few pictures, too.


Feeling completely spoiled, I decided to return a little of the favor on Saturday and cooked Dan a meal I knew he'd love: Steak (which we never have), garlic mashed potatoes (complete with 4 heads of roasted garlic), some yummy vegetables (zucchini & egg plant), and some sourdough garlic bread.

Oh, and I topped it off with a chocolate pie! He was one very happy boy :-)

So there you have it - our Valentine's Day extravaganza(s)! It's been a lovely weekend, and I'm so thankful to have had 5 wonderful Valentine's Days with Danny boy...here's to a whole lot more!

Monday, February 11, 2008

It's 4:51...

...and I'm quite sure that 5:30 is NEVER going to get here today. It's just one of those afternoons that drags on and on, seemingly without end. Not that I'm complaining about being bored at work...okay, maybe I am. It's just been rather slow around here lately, and I being the effecient person that I am have managed to complete all possible tasks for the time being. So here I sit, twiddling my thumbs and waiting for the clock to strike 5:30 so that I may carry on with my life. As for now, time is at a standstill I'm quite sure.

Honestly, I really do appreciate the slow times here at GMA as the crazy-busy season is quickly approaching. From about mid-March through mid-August, it will be pretty non-stop around here as we prepare for GMA Music Week, BreakThrough '08 (a simulcast event), and GMA Music in the Rockies. Then you will probably read blogs (if I even have time to blog) about how the clock hands must be on crack because I can't possibly imagine how a whole day has passed and my to-do list has only grown.

But for now, I'll try to enjoy the peaceful afternoons when I have some spare time to check my blog and search for new recipes (a weird way to pass the time maybe, but Dan enjoys it!).

Speaking of recipes, I tried a new one this morning - Curried Chicken. Dan loves to try all sorts of different ethnic dishes and frequently suggests that I try fixing some random cuisine I generally can't pronounce, so I thought this one was worth a shot. It took me all of about 10 minutes to throw together in the crockpot, so we'll see how it turns out!

Okay, it's 5:01 now...thanks for helping me pass a few minutes. What do you do at work to pass the time? (Not that you'd ever be bored at work...but theoretically, if you were...)

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

We're Okay!

Just wanted to get a quick note up to let everyone know that we're okay after all of the scary storms that swept through Tennessee last night. It was a long night as the tornado sirens went off twice, but the downtown Nashville area didn't really get much more than high winds and a little bit of rain. I was so glad Dan was home!

If you think of it, please be in prayer for the families who lost loved ones and homes last night - this storm really caused some devastation.

Monday, February 4, 2008

He's Back!

Just a quick note to let all of my faithful readers (all 2 of you...) know that Dan is officially back home to stay for awhile! Yeah!! He got back late Saturday night, and I am so grateful to have a husband again...even if my apartment has already become more cluttered :-) I'll take a cluttered home WITH my husband anyday over a clean home all by myself!

He really did enjoy his rotation out in Sneedville (except of course the part about being away...) and got a really good taste of what the medical field looks like in a more rural setting. The laid-back setting was right up his alley and in true Dan-fashion, he connected with the people right away and was able to fit right in. I don't know that we'll be moving to Sneedville anytime soon, but I'm so proud of my husband for the adaptibility he has shown in 4 VERY different settings already - an Internal Medicine clinic in downtown (predominantly black) Nashville, a Phsych clinic in rich (predominately white) Nashville, a Pediatric rotation in a more rural town outside of Nashville, and of course Sneedville. And while he would never tell you this himself, he has gotten great reviews from all of his Doctors. Way to go babe! You're going to make a fabulous PA :-)