Snowy Sunday

Today after church, Sarah and I bundled up and went for a long walk in the AMAZING snow. We had some adventures along the way, including (but not limited to) making snow angels, sledding other kids' sleds, rolling down a hill (and realizing it was much more fun when I was little), sitting in furniture on the street, shaking tree limbs until becoming covered in snow, sliding down a playground's slippery slide, and licking frost off a pole. I love playing with Sarah; she's so fun.

When we got home we made snow ice cream. If you've never tried this, let me encourage you to do so (see recipe below). There's nothing quite like it. :)

Recipe for Snow Ice Cream:

5 cups of pure white (not yellow) snow
1 cup of half and half (or milk. You could also use powdered creamer or milk)
1/2 cup of sugar
1 tsp of vanilla extract (you could use mint or almond instead)
dash of salt

SHE HAS A NAME!

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for!

My new guitar's name is...


(drum roll, please.)


Eva Alegria
(A-vah Ah-lay-GREE-ah)

Doesn't that have a nice flow? :)

I chose this name for several reasons:

a. I love the Eva/Eve metaphoric link to the tree-of-life inlay.
b. Eva Peron really is an early muse of mine, and I love Webber's EVITA (My mother knows me well).
c. I like the sound and meaning of the Spanish word, Alegria (joy/happiness). I hope this guitar--and my playing it--brings joy to God, others, and myself.




Now, who was the "Anonymous" person who suggested that? Show yourself!

And now for my thank-you speech:

I'd like to thank all of my avid and enthusiastic participants; I couldn't have done this without you. :) I sincerely appreciate your support and input. I was overwhelmed at all of your thoughtful contributions. I liked so many of the names, I had a hard time choosing! (How am I ever going to name a pet? Or a baby?!)

Sunday Afternoon

Spent the afternoon at Great Falls with Mom, Dad, Daniel, and Molly. It snowed while we were there, which was very awesome.

"The river looks so placid, before the tumultuous waterfalls...gotta put my SAT vocab to work." -Dan


Dan rock climbing.

Me rock climbing.

Dad and Mom.

Dan, Molly and Me.

Wow, Dad.

Family Update

HUGE family update! This past week, my dad accepted a job with the Department of Veterens Affairs...in Phoenix, Arizona!!!!! Their townhouse is for rent and he'll move out there in early April. Mom has to finish up her job, so she (and Molly the dog) will move out there in early June--right in time for the hottest season of the year. :)

Always an adventure in the Romaneski family. We just can't seem to rid ourselves of the gotta-do-something-different-every-couple-years military mindset. :)

dan the man's new car

Dan came home this weekend...And bought a brand new car: a Volkswagon GTI. We had a photo shoot: him with his car and me with mine. :)

Not only did i get to ride in the sweet car, I also got to drive it. And, I must admit, it's a verrrrrrry sweet ride. (Although it doesn't come close to my '99 Cabrio. :)

random pics from the weekend

spent this weekend in cambridge, maryland, for my church's women's retreat. it was awesome to get away and enjoy so much time with friends. on the way home, sarah and i stopped at st. michael's and had lunch with a couple of my college friends, matt and katie sevon. we hadn't seen each other since may 2003 because they were in bolivia for 2 years. it was a fun reunion and a great weekend!!

help me name my present!!

My favorite birthday present this year came from Mom and Dad: a beautiful Ibenez acustic guitar with mother-of-pearl inlay along the neck and a leather strap that keeps it in place. (Do I sound like Ralphy in A Christmas Story? :) I absolutely LOVE this guitar; its tone is rich, its sound is clear, and its physique is impeccable. :)

I couldn't help but start to call it Excalibur, but i don't think this is the best name, for three reasons:

1. I didn't pull it out of a stone
2. It's not meant to be used as a weapon
3. The name seems too masculine for such a girly-looking instrument

So I've decided to ask your opinion. What do you think I should call it (her)?



Note: the inlay is a "tree of life" metaphor, just to give you material to work with.

my birthday: january 31st

i had a fabulous birthday on wednesday! in the morning as i was doing some reading for school, there was a knock on the front door. i opened it to find a tall box from "1-800 flowers." inside was a "money tree," a type of bonsai plant from my stud-brother, dan. he sent a plant instead of flowers b/c it'll "last longer and will serve as a reminder that 26 is for kicks..." (at least, that's what he wrote on the card.) :)

when i went to baby-sit, and the kids had a homemade poster on the door, and we enjoyed cake afer lunch. kate came over in the afternoon and brought the incredible creative dessert: breyer's mint choc chip ice cream over crumbled oreos (yes, it tasted amazing). jonathan and jessica, my bro and sis-in-law, sent me an awesome present too: a t-shirt with napoleon dynamite dancing and "check out my dance moves" written on it.



my birthday concluded with a fun dinner at my parents' house. my grandparents came too.



mmm...food from Outback Steakhouse!



one of my most favorite desserts = cheesecake!!



gramma gave me this hat she got in hawaii...



we had some fun with it. :)












at the end of the evening, just as i was getting ready to leave, my dad came down the stairs with a surprise present for me: a new guitar!!!! check out the next post to see pics. :)