The chinook is blowing...the smell of mold right into my house.

"I hate people who are not serious about meals. It is so shallow of them." 

                                                        -Algernon, "The Importance of Being Earnest"

It's a balmy, breezy 70 degrees here in Missouri today. In February! Needless to say, the windows are open and the dog is quite excited. It's nice to have warm air, but it does smell kind of musty and moldy outside.So in the interest of the ever-elusive Springtime (because undoubtedly Old Man Winter will come back with a vengeance soon), I'm going to tell you about our plans / ask for suggestions on our Victory Garden!


Q: Why we are calling it a Victory Garden?
A: Vanessa read too much "Molly" books from American Girl as a child.

Q: Where is the garden going to be?
A: The Eastern side of the house! It's kind of the unclaimed area that gets enough sun and won't be disturbed. We have a really great corner in our back yard by the house, but Anya's claimed it as her toilet, so the side of the house it is!

Q: What about the deer?
A: We don't have any in our neighborhood! (I can feel Dad's jealousy through the web)

Q: What are you planning on planting? (tongue twister!)
A: HERBS like basil, chives, thyme, mint, parsley, and VEGGIES like tomatoes and peas (and maybe some FRUIT like strawberries... if we're feeling adventurous).

Q: Why are you having a garden?
A: Because we love food, and we love fresh herbs, and they're so expensive at the store. Plus we eat lots of tomatoes and peas, so why not grow them? (Plus, Vanessa needs things to occupy her time).

REVERSE:

Q: What else should we plant? What types of herbs do you like?

Q: When should we sow our seeds?

Q: Is a plow required? (Okay, just kidding on this one, I got a little carried away with the Little House on the Prairie scenario.)

We're also planning on growing lilies
in the front yard. They're beautiful
and they smell lovely. 

Love,
Vanessa, Stephen, and Anya

Right Hand Yellow

So...it's February. Pretty much one of the lamest months ever.

If you're wondering why we haven't posted anything lately, well, it's because not a whole lot's been going on. Let's recap:


Snow. Lots, and lots of snow.

Work. (For Stephen, not so much for Vanessa...no one's hardly been in school!)

90's movie marathons (Twister, Apollo 13, Jurassic Park, among others), and consideration for a Kevin Bacon movie marathon (unbelievably exciting, I know).

A Nephew! Isaac. Born January 23rd. He's pretty darn cute. We'll be visiting him in June.

We don't buy bread anymore. We bake it in our really awesome bread machine. It's delicious. Pictures to come, I'm sure.

I chopped all my hair off (well, fifteen inches of it), and sent it to Locks of Love. Now my annoyingly weird hair will be some little kid's problem. But hey, hair is hair, and weird hair is better than none. It's not like I needed all that hair.

Reading. (I most recently read "The Laughing Man" by Victor Hugo and "Darkly Dreaming Dexter" by Jeff Lindsay. Both of which were fantastic. Next on the list is "Rocket Boys" by Homer Hickam, Jr. More suggestions welcome, of course). I'm trying to get Stephen to read "Jurassic Park" by Michael Crichton, or "Lost Moon" by Jim Lovell.

We played "Harry Potter Clue" with Amy and Sam last night, that was pretty darn fun. It felt like it was Malfoy with the sleeping draught every time.

We went to the symphony (thanks to a Christmas present from my parents), and that was definitely something we could get used to (even if it does make us both re-think our career choices!).

I adapted an English scone recipe (from my awesome friend, Dorell), to make buttermilk scones. They were fantastic, if I do say so myself.

And today's the Super Bowl / my sister Sam's birthday. (She's 17 - legally an adult in Missouri, but not in Oregon - bummer for her).

So as you can clearly see, not a whole lot of excitement. We're enjoying ourselves, though. Tonight, we will (of course) be hanging out with my family and the Werners. It's pretty much the same as Christmas Eve, and New Year's Eve. I do recall one year which was particularly fun, involving Carl, Nathan, Abby, Megan, me, and a game of twister. Probably around sophomore year of High School. Good times. Unfortunately, Megan and Nate are at school, so it won't be a "completely" Rao-Werner fete. But it should still be a good time. Chili, bean dip, and bacon dip + *hopefully* awesome commercials + our "extended family" = a most excellent Sunday evening.

Date Night at the Symphony

Love,
Vanessa, Stephen, and Anya

Eskimo Kiss**

It's January in the Mid-West. We're having a heat-wave. Currently, the wind chill is 30*. Eventually this week, the temperature's supposed to drop to 2*. TWO. That is not enough digits.

So, in light of our freezing extremities, I thought it'd be appropriate to play a little game. Drumroll, please...


What would you need to live in an Igloo? 

It's like Desert Island - only you're living in an Igloo (probably in Northern Canada, or Alaska). Your necessities are provided for (The Three F's: Food, Fire, Fur), so what five things would you bring?


Vanessa:
1. Stephen - he's handy and fun to hang out with.
2. The Harry Potter Series - doubt I could ever be sick of that.
3. iPod - MusicMusicMusic.
4. The world's biggest notebook and pens. - to write, to doodle, to play tic-tac-toe.
5. (and as shady as it sounds - because I can't think of anything else) a bottle of Jameson. Hey, it's cold!


Stephen: (Asked Vanessa: "Are you a given? If not then I would want you!)
1. Solar Charger
2. iPhone with music on it
3. snow shovel
4. knife
5. playing cards
6. Vanessa (if not included)


Oh, how different we are.

Give us your answers and we'll post them, too!

Our Front Yard.

Stay Warm!

Love,
Vanessa, Stephen, and Anya (although the only igloo she's allowed in is the plastic dog kind)




**So an "Eskimo Kiss" is where you brush noses, right? Well that got me thinking; they probably do that because it's so cold that if they kissed on the lips it might get stuck. Yes? No? Well, maybe if one of the Eskimos had braces...

The best part of "Auld Lang Syne" is that it's Scottish.

I do love a good Scottish accent.  (Clearly by "I" we mean Vanessa - I doubt very much that Stephen cares about accents.)


Well, a new year - time to re-learn how to date papers and things. As always, this time of year, people set resolutions. And yes, we have resolved to do things and changes things and accomplish things. Instead of boring you with the typical "be healthier, save money, volunteer more, etc. etc. etc." (because really, we all strive to do these things more every year, and we should. No need to shout about it), we shall be entertaining you (our beloved, and undoubtedly devoted, readers) with:

 Resolved: 2011 

with Vanessa Waters and Stephen Waters

catchy, right?

• Resolved: to have less dinner-time fails!
• Resolved: to Face-Skype-Date-Night Hamez more frequently!
• Resolved: to take Anya on more walks! 
• Resolved: to keep winning large sums of money on $1 scratcher's tickets!
• Resolved: to get a new couch! (with said money from $1 scratcher's tickets)
• Resolved: to travel successfully and with much enthusiasm and entertainment!
• Resolved: to have a fantastic, fun, festive, fascinating, first-rate year! 

Holidays on The Plaza

Love,

Vanessa, Stephen, and Anya