Sightseeing in DC

Last weekend, we visited DC. In between all the competition rounds that Brian was involved in, we also had the chance to do some sightseeing. Here Brian is considering why we cannot get any closer to the White House.


On our tour inside the capital, we saw many statues made of bronze or marble. This statue of George Washington was one of a very few that was made of another material: sandstone.


This is Brian standing in front of the US Supreme Court. Oddly enough, the doors to this court are less impressive than the FL Supreme Court doors (at least, that's what I think). The actual courtroom is also a little smaller, but it is decorated with lots of marble carvings.


Here is the FSU Law School team (holding the award for writing the best brief), along with the organizer of the competition and Brian. Congrats Bed and Sarah!


On the last night in DC, we walked around outside to visit several of the monuments. It was cold, but not unbearably so. Here are a couple of the monuments we visited:

Weekend Party

Last weekend, Brian and I went to one of his coworker's houses to hang out, enjoy grilled food, etc. They have a nice back porch (which is common in FL). Their kitchen table can instantly be doubled in size by opening the windows and also using the adjacent table on the porch. Pretty cool, huh?



Since it was such a great day outside, we played several games outside including bocce ball (sp?).


This last picture is Brian and Kristina, his coworker. Playing this game too long hurts your hand.

Pot Roast 2

Well, here are the results of last weekend's experiments. First, we have appetizers (traditionally, although they make a nice lunch too):


Then we move on to the main course:


Overall, it was pretty good. The gravy was very nice, and the tomatoes and yellow squash were nice additions. I think I used too much rosemary, and it needed to be a little sweeter. So the spices need to be adjusted, but the general idea was pretty good. We ate it with mashed potatoes.

Pot Roast 1

My new pattern on weekends is to do very little school work and instead to experiment with cooking. During the work week, I am often too busy to try new recipes or recipes that take some time--I just want to make something that is fast and easy. Last weekend, I read this book that Brian got for Christmas--it is a cooking textbook for chef's school, and it is really detailed. I got some good ideas from it and made a hearty stewed beef and gravy dish. This weekend, I plan on taking some of the lessons I learned last weekend and making up a pot roast recipe. The root of many of the recipes in this book is a maripoix (sp?), which is cooking chopped onions, celery, carrots, and a little oil over medium-low heat for a long time (30-45 minutes) so that they get soft and brown and the bottom of the pan gets nice and brown too (need a real metal pan, not one with non-stick coating). Then you add some tomato paste and brown it all some more. It really brings out a lot of sweet flavors from the vegis and tomatoes. Once everything is properly browned, you can start adding liquid (either wine, broth, water, tomato juice, etc). The liquid picks up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan and makes a very flavorful sauce. So anyway, I'm going to use this maripoix as the base of my pot roast recipe. It should be yummy. I will update later with the results.

Recent news from the other half

It has been a while since I posted what's going on with my half of the world, so voila.

I've been pretty busy with work the last week or so. It fluctuates for me, since I approach and receed from large assignments, but I am currently in the "approach" phase. This means both that many projects of mine are now complete, but that some of the major ones are kicking into their full-blown "due" period. Which keeps me at work late.

I'm coaching a Moot Court team this semester for FSU. The team is competing in the competition I went to last year, so that is enjoyable. The issue is a complicated First Amendment fact pattern involving the military chaplaincy. It is engaging and, for the team in particular, overwhelming; the fact pattern invokes several First Amendment doctrines, which means a huge number of cases for them to learn and apply. They are doing well and they compete next week. Until the competition arrives, I'm usually gone in the evenings two to three times a week for a few hours.

Otherwise, I'm trying to relax when I can. I'm still working a second job at the Court, but less than 5 hours a week, sometimes no hours in a given week. I'm still helping Professor Gey, but he hasn't needed much from me lately. I'm working on a section of a Monograph for a subcommittee of the American Bar Association, which will be due in early March, at least a draft will be. After that, I hope to work on an article or two and begin to more seriously pursue my employment options for 2009. I am just starting to work on a dedication video for the Tri-For-Gey team.

Finally, as I've mentioned to some of you, I was recently considering whether to have bridge work done on my front six upper teeth. After some deep soul searching, I have chosen not to have the full bridge work done. The total cost would have been just over $6000, and I cannot justify spending that on myself for this sort of thing. I would not say it would be "wrong" for me to have done so, but I still feel it is the better choice to decline to choose that path. Instead, I am pursuing what may result in a similar appearance but that is over $4000 less. What is right for me is not necessarily right for everyone, but under my view of what is just and admirable it would be inappropriate for me to spend that much on myself given the current state of the world. I am not necessarily consistent in my philosophy when I'm spending a dollar here or there, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't try to be consistent when I can. It was a very hard decision, and I am very appreciative of the detailed, well-reasoned thoughts many people sent me on the topic. I confess that most people told me I should do it; your wisdom was not lost on me. I felt I had to chose a different way; knowing you nevertheless supported me made that choice easier.

I'll talk to you all soon I hope.

ADT

On Friday, we got an ADT system installed, primarily to monitor our house for fire when we are not home, but also as burglary protection. It is a little weird to get used to putting in a code all the time, but I don't think it is too bad.

It's ferret time!

I realize that I haven't posted pictures of the ferrets for a while, so I thought I'd do so now. Here you can see Rex and Eve snuggling together in their condo. They are both in the bottom level, and there is just barely enough room for both of their heads to stick out the entrance.


Here is Rex with my feet. He is considering if he can leap over my feet climb the computer, which is a popular activity with all the ferrets. It is also not allowed.

All of the ferrets were having a good time running and playing on the futon. Here I managed to get all three boys in one shot. This can be difficult because you have to anticipate where they will be a couple seconds in the future. L to R: Chewbacca, Rex, Brussels.

Eve said she wanted her own picture, so here it is. She even posed for it!

Brian gets help with Rock Band

Yesterday Brian was playing the drums, and Chewbacca and Brussels offered some pointers. Chewbacca offered assistance with how to move the drumsticks, and Brussels helped with the bass pedal.

David, the drums are another instrument you can play with Rock Band.

February 7 yard

This picture is what I saw when I got home this evening. These flowers were budding over the weekend, but now they have bloomed. They are very lovely. :)

Rock Band

This weekend, we got rock band (which is a playstation game where you play instruments along with music on the TV). Brian was a pretty happy guy setting it up. I think it is pretty fun, but tricky as well. The songs that the game comes with are a lot of fun to listen to and play along with. Here is Brian with the guitar. The game also comes with a drumset and a microphone. I like playing the guitar the best, while Brian seems to enjoy the guitar and drums equally thus far.

Florida Fish

Lately we have been getting nice fresh tilapia in our grocery store. It is very inexpensive (2 fillets for less than $1) and very yummy. Tonight we had some for dinner. I tried a new and easy recipe, and it was delicious. I put some crushed stuffing mix on top of the fish and baked it for 20 minutes. While the fish was in the oven, I prepared some couscous. Couscous is great because it is so easy to make in the microwave (less than 8 minutes total prep time). On top of the couscous and fish fillet I put some of the salsa I made a couple days ago (for tacos). The salsa is quite easy to make as well (1 can corn, 1 can black beans, 1 chopped onion, 1 chopped red pepper, some chopped cilantro). I like making meals that are fast and good. I hope this tilapia stays in our grocery store for a while.