A reporter/producer for the station came by on Monday evening and talked with me for about an hour, which she then had to shrink down to 90 seconds or so.  The whole experience was very pleasant, and I’m thrilled to have been asked to discuss the neighborhood I love.

Many thanks to the reporter/producer, Jonna McKone, for making me sound good.  I’m sure it wasn’t easy.  The story can be found here.

We hung out with some great friends last night watching the Ravens game – too bad they lost – and I think just relaxing with them was really energizing. I hate that they live all the way in Baltimore because if they didn’t we’d hang out so much more. They’re some of my favorite people (and blog readers, HI AARON).

Bubus is back in the swing of things sleeping-wise, which is a relief. He of course has his moments (teething yesterday made him very grumpy) but I’m thankful that he is, for the most part, sleeping pretty well. It makes him a pretty sweet baby. I think that an end is near for pumping to feed him is also giving me some energy. I’m going to stop pumping at work totally at the end of February, which will free up some time and hopefully give me a little bit of energy back. We’ll keep aiming to breastfeed in the mornings until he’s not interested or I get sick of it. Not pumping though, will be such a huge relief. I want to write a little more about my breastfeeding endgame (or at least my pumping endgame) later on this week. The dissertation being close to completion is also a huge relief. As I mentioned before, though, these defining things ending definitely will mark a new phase for me. A bit scary!

A quick note about our lovely trip to Brazil.

One thing that I found fascinating about Brazil was how many similarities there are to the US. They were “discovered” by Europeans, colonized, have a history of slavery, and then a wave of very diverse immigrants (from Japanese to African to Italian) that now make up a huge portion of their population. They’re even more multicolored that the US!

This statue is of the “banditos,” native peoples the Europeans sent to colonize the interior of Brazil. It’s an open question whether the statue will remain. As you can imagine there’s some tension around the enslavement of native peoples in Brazil, just as there is here, and they’re not sure they want to commemorate it. The statue is outside of Ibibuerca Park, a beautiful and huge park in Sao Paulo. It’s a great place to go for a bike ride or a run, and it’s just gorgeous. If we had been closer to it from our hotel, I’m sure we would have spent a lot more time there.

Happy Baby In Ibirapuera Park, Sao Paulo

Another beautiful park, Parque Tenente Siqueira Campos, was close to our hotel and Hub and Bub spent some time there while I was off with my students on company visits. This was a working vacation for me… although I still had a great time. The park had a real Amazonian jungle feel to it, and it was fun being in the midst of a rainforest (at least that’s what it felt like) while in one of the largest cities in the world.

We still have so many things to share from the trip, including wonderful meals in Sao Paulo and crazy Rio de Janerio.

This  year’s procrastination destination was the trip to Brazil. I had put off a lot of decisions, big and small, until the trip. Partly because putting together the trip was a lot of work, and partly because it fell at a good juncture to make some decisions. Bubus would be almost 10 months. I would be well on my way to finishing my PhD. And we’d have been in our house for almost three years, at which point we no longer had to pay back the $8K we got for buying it when we did.

So here we are, at procrastination juncture.

I need to put the finishing touches on my dissertation and give it to my adviser, hopefully to be approved for defense. Hub needs a new phone. I need to make dentist appointments for at least two of us… maybe all three now that Bub has six teeth. We need to figure out what we’re going to “do with our lives” (will I get a new job? stay put? try to take on some additional responsibilities)? And the question that’s been perplexing me the most, I need to figure out if I want to wean Bubs at a year or not. Honestly, today I’m so tired and hungry (pumping/breastfeeding makes me ravenous) that I want to wean him like, right now.

Two major things have defined my life over the past couple of years – working on a dissertation and being pregnant/breastfeeding. My mind and my body have both been dedicated to those endeavors, and now I’m facing the end game for both of them at the same time. Part of me is overjoyed, and part of me is plotting how to f everything up so I stay in this limbo for just a bit longer. Well, at least with the dissertation. Don’t see how I can f up and continue to breastfeed.

I’ll keep you posted, it’s kind of a weird/excited/anxious/nauseating place to be right now. Good things are afoot, but they also mean change.

What decisions are facing you right now as we head into 2012?

Other than some tummy issues, an almost 36-hour delay, and a minor (ok, major) freakout by Wif at the baggage claim at Dulles airport after said delay and missing bags, we had a wonderful time. Bubus was a real trooper and charmed possibly every woman in Brazil with his blue eyes and smile.

More to come, enjoy the photos!

My second resolution, which is really a life goal, is to make sure that family comes first.

I got a little caught up in the craziness of work this year. We have a lot of events in December, and I didn’t do a great job of saying, “Nope, sorry, gotta head home” a couple of times when I probably should have. Of course work is work, and sometimes you are going to miss bedtime. But if you don’t have to… don’t.

This one is harder to break down into smaller steps, but I think that I’ll just focus on some small things. One is to make dinner and clean up the kitchen when I’m done. Sure, it’s great for one person to cook and the other to clean up, but the fact of the matter is that a lot of the time, Hub does both. It’s also not like one person is cooking and the other is drinking wine like in the old days BB (Before Bub). If one of us is cooking dinner, then the other of us is giving Bub a bath and getting him to bed. So making sure that I start and finish a job – even a “small” job like cooking dinner – is a tangible way of honoring my commitment to my family.

Given that our food posts are less popular than they used to be, there’s nothing wrong with a simple bowl of pasta for dinner.

Plus, it helps out with that whole “saving money” thing to eat at home and not to keep asking to go out to dinner.

To recap… in January, I’m going to get a library card to save money on buying books, and I’m going to make dinner – start to finish, meaning chopping to running the dishwasher – most nights for my family. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.

My colleague said that her mother actually chooses resolutions for her and her brothers; this year, she looked at her and said, “My new year’s resolution for you is patience!” Not quite sure that’s the way it works…

I have two main resolutions. The first is to be more frugal.

I had a long conversation with one of my friends about this, and she thinks that I’m already pretty frugal. I haven’t bought a lot of clothes, besides the necessary ones to help me adjust to post-baby body. We have one car, and we cook at home a lot. But there are definitely other places I could cut back. I spend too much money on books for my Kindle. I have a Starbucks addiction. And I can really drop a pretty penny at the grocery store. Produce is so ridiculously expensive.

A couple of ways that I’ve thought of so far to cut back… one is to get a library card. Most libraries have digital editions of a lot of books, and it’s a great way to save on books.

As for Starbucks, well, I was thinking that perhaps I could learn to love a tall coffee. I think the real thing that I love is to sit and sip for a few minutes. That doesn’t require a dirty chai latte ($4.02).

The grocery store. Hmm. Well, I could cut coupons. (Crickets.) I could stop buying beer. (That might cause a revolt.) We could become vegan. (Bleh.) I’m still considering this one. Let me know if you have thoughts. It ain’t getting any cheaper, either, as we have a Bubus coming online for dinner. And he likes risotto.

I’ll write about my other resolution tomorrow!

Chalk it up to the holidays, chalk it up to work being busy, or whatever – but it became clear that blogging had to take a backseat for awhile.

This blog has been around for awhile now, and you may accuse us of getting somewhat into a sophomore slump. You know, you’ve done pretty well, but now you’re like, “What’s the point?” You start to get angst-y. You start to be like, “Where’s my book deal?” I mean, not really, but there is that part of you that does think that.

I don’t think that means that it’s a lost cause, or that keeping a record isn’t worthwhile. It’s fun to write, and that’s part of the reason for doing this. Creating a blog allows for an off-the-cuff, fun, and spontaneous way to put down thoughts. Given all the well-researched, footnoted writing I do for work and school, it’s nice not to have to cite my sources.

I can’t resolve to blog more, but I can say that I will try to enjoy it more. Make it a fun part of my day rather than a chore.

Here’s to 2012.

Our most popular posts this year were:

5. Sunshine of My Life

4. gDiapers: Status Update

3. Update: Basement Stairs Before and After

2. Bookcase Made of Salvaged Doors (Not a Door/Bookcase)

1. Secret Bookcase Door (thanks to Pinterest!)

January

I tried to get organized, as I do every year. Hub posted about our sideboard restoration, and I complained generally about pregnancy. I feel more OK about it now that I actually think having a baby is pretty cool, despite my hatred for pregnancy. Oh, progesterone. Thanks for making me grumpy/rage-filled for nine months. Also, our basement renovation began, making me particularly anxious as I entered my third trimester.

I made some radicchio. It was sort of a pregnancy craving.

And then something very sad happened – we lost our sweet cat, Henry. He had been my pal for almost seven  years, through five apartments and finally on to our house. I still miss him.

February

We learned some lessons from a two-year old, were creeped out by an ultrasound, and updated the banister. Hub also made a secret bookcase door. I made cloth diaper wipes.

I had my baby shower, where my mom came and surprised me.

Penny is also very interested in the blanket.

March

We got excited about our cloth diapers, and Hub offered advice to friends on painting their door. I fretted about not being ready for the baby. We lost our car, Helen (we weren’t quite as sad about it as we were about Henry).

Japan had a terrible triple disaster of earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown. In better news, we had a baby.

That was pretty cool.

April

Um, we had a baby so… that’s pretty much what we focused on. And took lots and lots of pictures. We still managed to eat, too.

May

I breastfed in the car, a lot – that being our new Ford Fiesta, “Carla.” Mostly on my way back and forth to my dissertation advisor’s house, where Bub was forever getting hungry at inconvenient times, like in the middle of Massachusetts Avenue or Florida Avenue in a not-so-great part of town. I didn’t care and just dropped everything to feed him. Seemed to work out OK. We tried to get some sleep, too.

Bub met Testudo, the University of Maryland mascot, in preparation for his future as a Terp.

Tony n' Testudo

June

We finished the basement (or at least, posted about the now-finished basement). The room came in handy not just for visitors, but for when Wif or Hub needed a good night’s sleep.

It really is a lovely room.

I enjoyed my first summer as a mom, and got a bit nostalgic about it… while it was happening. There as a lot to be happy about, including having a very happy baby.

I gave everyone some unsolicited birth prep advice. We celebrated our second wedding anniversary, and Hub made a super-cool gift using old flashcards. Oh, and I’m pretty sure I successfully defended my dissertation proposal this month, too.

July

We took our first trip upstate with the Bub – although it might not happen too frequently given how far it is for us to drive.

Hub roasted a pig.

We loved living in DC and wrote about it. Tony got a hair wrapped around his toe (a “hair tourniquet”) and had to go to the ER.

August

I wrote about how to support your partner’s breastfeeding, and dealt with a nursing strike. My mom and my mother-in-law both came to help fill in the gaps in our childcare until daycare started. I reminisced on how fast time goes with a small baby. Our niece, Shay Catherine, was born.

Now there are three babies in our family, and Bub loves to watch his cousin Welles.

I talked about going back to work, and Bub and I rode the train to visit family in New Jersey.

And our little one started solid foods. We also dealt with an earthquake and Hurricane Irene, all in a short two week period.

September

I started off the month by falling and messing up my wrists. We learned a new routine as we started daycare and entered the world of “the drop off.” As soon as we started daycare, Bub got a cold and then an ear infection. Bub turned six months and we played a lot of games.

Mama's Gonna Get You

October

Bub enjoyed daycare and his size earned him a nickname – Big Baby. Said like you’re announcing an NBA star at a home game.

Is he grabbing for milk or a rebound?

I complained about clutter. Hub made some excellent pepper jelly from our garden.

And we visited a pumpkin patch with our dear friends the Diplo-Family.

Among the Pumpkins

November

We had visits from family – both of Bob’s brothers and their wives came down to see us at different points in the month – and our new baby cousin, Shay. We attended a wedding in New York city (sadly, forgot to bring the camera!) Posting on the blog was slim as work ramped up for both Wif and Hub and life got very social in the run-up to the holidays. We did enjoy some family time at Thanksgiving.

Cousins

Oh, and Bub starting both crawling and pulling up this month as he approached 8 months!

December

Once again, our posting was slim as both life and work were busy. We did get some good eats in this month, with some marrow bones.

And of course, this was baby’s first Christmas. We didn’t do anything special but he did get a lot of lovely toys from family.

And that’s it! We had such a great year. I know 2012 is going to be even better – full of love and laughter. Thanks for following along with our journey this year and being part of our lives.

Today, marrow is making a comeback, though it still freaks some people out.  If you are cooking for more adventurous diners, marrow is a quick, simple, and delicious first course for a meal.

You’ll need a good butcher to cut your bone appropriately, ingredients for parsley salad (below), and a loaf of fresh bread.  You could also skip the parsley salad, and just treat the roasted marrow like butter.  That’s pretty delicious too.  But the parsley salad makes for a more balanced dish, though one of our diners found it overwhelmed the marrow.

We had our butcher at Union Meat Company at Eastern Market in DC cut off the ends of a beef femur, then cut it length-wise.  We let our dog, Penny, chew on the ends.  At $2 a pound, the whole bone was just $12.  Before the bone is cut, it looks like this:

We are in Flinstone’s territory.  Too cool.

We used a Ferguson Henderson recipe I found on the New York Times’ website from Googling “beef marrow bone recipe.”  Fergus Henderson is pretty well known for his pioneering of the  ”nose to tail” approach to cooking.  He was on Anthony Bourdain’s London show.

We took the two lengths of bone and placed them on a sheet pan, flat side up.  We added sea salt and pepper, and put the bone slices into a 450 degree oven for 15 minutes.  That’s all it took, and they came out looking like this:

They smelled amazing too.  The marrow had liquefied some, with just enough viscosity to spread nicely.

We pared the marrow with a parsley salad, as the recipe suggested.  For that we just combined:

• 1 cup parsley, fresh from our garden (parsley is somehow one of the few crops that’s survived through the cold)
• 1/4 red onion, diced (the recipe suggested shallots, but we only had the onion)
• 2 teaspoons of capers
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of lemon juice

Toss ingredients together.