A New Obsession with 'Pumpkin' Based Foods, Socialising and the Lead Up to Christmas

I'm embarrassed to state the fact that it has been a WHOLE month since I have last blogged. Looking back on my scrawled notes and then further adding more, I have come to the realisation that my entire Sunday afternoon is probably going to be spent typing - whilst also drinking copious milky coffees and admiring the twinkling Christmas tree. So, since my last blog post, the time has dramatically fast forwarded through Thanksgiving and to the Christmas build up. I have also began a slight obsession with anything remotely to do with 'pumpkin' whether it's a Pumpkin Spiced Latte at the independent coffee shop in my little town, or just Pumpkin Cheesecake, Pumpkin Coffee Cake or simply lighting a Pumpkin scented candle on my chest of drawers in my room. Sooner or later my face is going to start to become like a Jack-O-Lantern but hopefully one of the not so scary faces. Either way, I know that the obsession is not really going to disappear, as Americans are obsessed with it and cinnamon - another one of my new favourites! So, just imagine all the delicious smells wafting around, wrapping up warm and Christmas decorations. It all just feels like a Christmas Wonderland especially as I'm living with little children who still believe - there is an 'Elf on A Shelf' (named Sizzle by the boys) who 'moves' every night around the house watching over the boys to see whether they have been good or bad. Every morning there is a thrill to open their advent calendars and to find Sizzle before school. Which reminds me that tomorrow is Monday, which means another week that I may neglect blogging about the last month...and so I had better start filling you all in on my adventures!

Casting my mind back to November 12th, my friend Lisa and I went to meet 2 girls named Kim and Lamia who we became friends with at the Halloween house party in Georgetown. We all went for a delicious meal at the Cheesecake Factory (which doesn't just serve Cheesecake but other food too) and it was really nice to just hang out with people who are not aupairs and actually have grown-up jobs in the city! Despite feeling obscenely full, we both managed to squeeze in lunch the following day and a browse around TJMaxx (not to be mistaken with TKMaxx at home) - I have no actual idea why the same company has blatantly changed the middle initial so if anybody has any idea I'd love to know! That evening I was what us aupairs call being 'on duty' as I was babysitting Kevin for the evening whilst everyone went out to see a musical in D.C. called Hair, which is supposedly fantastic. Kevin and I decided we would go on a 'date night' so he chose the restaurant and for dessert we went to the ice cream parlour called Baskin Robbins. Following this we both curled up in the armchair to eat popcorn and watched a film called 'Dragon's. The next morning, I went along with my family to 'brunch' at my host Dad's Mum's retirement home which is pretty swish...it's very like a nice hotel with lots of apartments in and every Sunday visitors come along to join their family members for a leisurely brunch. I'm not going to describe it as having a 'bite to eat' as it was far from this- champagne, coffee, orange juice and then your choice of roast beef, fruit salads, smoked salmon, seafood and general hot food. It was all enough to make your mouth water and I took great delight in inhaling a plate of smoked salmon followed by freshly made waffles, pancakes drizzled in maple syrup and finished off with a gluttonous dollop of full fat whipped cream on top. Utter food heaven but utter food belly nightmare and many thoughts of how much I would have to sweat at the gym the following week!

Thus, Monday morning included the morning routine with the boys followed by a hard workout at the gym. After the afternoon/early evening routine with the boys it was time to get ready for D.C. where Lisa and I were going to watch Kate Nash at the 9.30 Club. As we queued to enter the venue and in typical American fashion we all had to display our Id's...Lisa went first, having to once again be branded with two HUGE stamps on either hand. Then it was my turn, I showed the guy my ID and joked that I was not under 21 like Lisa and hasty as he was, he proceeded to put the underage stamp on one of my hands. Following this, I told him that he didn't look at it properly nor understand my humour, and so he proceeded to get out this vile smelling liquid to remove it which basically burned off the 'you can't drink haha stamps' - replacing it with one, very small stamp on just my right hand. Despite all that nonsense, I didn't proceed to have a standard gig beer whilst watching the Peggy Sue support and Kate Nash herself. Peggy Sue were utterly fantastic, slightly spine-tingling in their harmonies and magical in the way they silenced the entire venue to small whispers. I don't think there could have been a better warm up for Kate Nash who was an utter show woman- appearing with bright red lips, a sharp 'indie cindy' haircut and a monochrome outfit behind a keyboard which was covered in light bulbs (see right). The up-beat numbers such as 'Mouthwash' made the crowd (where I was stood with Lisa at the front), dance like screaming, annoying crazy people which eventually drove us to push our way past them to the very front for the acoustic 'anthems' such as 'Birds' and 'I Hate Seagulls'. True to the amazingly, outlandish Kate Nash-style she laughed at her silly lines enough to make her stop, apologise and begin once again.  She also commented on the line 'I hate who anyone who if I was eating chips wouldn't talk to me by stating, " that's French friend to you guys!" which made everyone laugh. Practically everyone in the audience was female, which to be perfectly honest I wasn't expecting but then afterwards it became obvious that her lyrics are so female-minded! The rest of this week was fairly chilled and I proceeded to order myself a coat from Topshop in true Hannah fashion - at only $10 shipping fee it seemed justifiable! That Friday I went out for a meal at an Italian restaurant called 'Brio' with two of my German friends' who are both called Lisa which lovely. Eating out here is fairly prices and you never really pay more than $25 for a meal without alcohol. Tax is always added on and you always have to tip at least 10%...maybe even more in some places. Saturday morning it was the monthly aupair meeting at my local coffee shop which was a really nice occasion to see everyone...a financial advisor was arranged to come and chat to us all which was useful but I have made no real start to saving any money yet due to birthdays, Christmas and having just really arrived here. I believe in the New Year (with a resolution in place) I'll really begin saving up for travelling to other parts of the country and for also London rent upon my return! That night, my friend Marta and I decided to go out in D.C. to a bar which was a lot of fun and felt so American - everyone in there was up for a good time, all dancing and at one stage there was a female beer-chugging contest on the bar. All participants got up onto the bar (the bar was about 15m long maybe longer and full), given a pint of beer each in a red plastic cup and told to drink it as quick as possible and once finished to turn it upside down on their head. The first to do so, won a $50 bar tab for the rest of the evening which seemed worth it but I chickened out and just stood and watched with my seriously strong Long Island ice tea. Bars and clubs here close around 2am which always seems really early but means you have enough time to catch the last metro at 3am and to be in bed at a fairly decent hour. Needless to say, I wasn't feeling truly on form the following day and just lounged about - as usual putting off blogging. Weirdly though, as much as I always avoid putting off writing, once I get started I really love it. It's so nice to just think about how much I have been doing and to actually keep my brain active. As much as I enjoy not having to do tons of readings and essays for university work every week, I actually really miss it in a strange way. In January, I have to enroll in classes to fulfill my visa requirements and hopefully there are spaces on a few I have seen on a schedule at Georgetown University.

In just writing about reading and studying, I helped out in Kevin's Kindergarten Library class the following Tuesday morning which is always nice to do, but it is no league to helping out during the really fun art classes. I don't think I'll be putting my name down to help out with library much more- as it makes me as sleepy as it did at school and also the librarian never remembers my name, even when I am also wearing a name badge. To be honest, how many other English au pairs volunteer to help in library classes?! Oh well. After helping out, I proceeded to the Hallmark card shop where I had to find a suitably jokey birthday card for my Uncle who was turning 50 that weekend. I have never seen so much choice in a card shop and it was utter consumer heaven - there were cards for even 'your mother and your stepfather' or even better 'your cousin and their partner', I just laughed and proceeded to find a fitting card for my Uncle. On the front it was a drawing of a couples naked rear ends...inside it read ' I thought you would be getting a few cracks about your age'! Afterwards I popped to Starbucks as usual to meet my friend Marion whilst she was waiting for her host son to finish pre-school and that evening I drove to Bethesda in Maryland (actually 20 minutes away on the Capital Beltway which is like the M25 but it took me 1 hour 40 mins due to an accident and Thanksgiving traffic) to meet another friend Vanesha for a meal at a delicious Mexican restaurant which served all kinds of tortilla wraps.  The following morning I attended the Thanksgiving Prayer Service in the school church  and then again, that evening, food coma week commenced as we went out to grab a burrito each before returning to my house to prepare for Thanksgiving the following day. The smells in the house the following day were just heaven as the turkey was cooking in the oven. I helped to prepare some of the side dishes for the meal that evening including the 'Wholewheat flour bread rolls' which I made from scratch and were mouthwatering with butter on. I think I'll have to actually write down the menu we all enjoyed for Thanksgiving...

Turkey
Homemade Stuffing with Leeks and Onions
Sherry Glazed Shallots
Green Beans with Pancetta
Potato Gratin
Sweet Potato Mash with Brown Sugar Sprinkled on the Top
Corn Souffle
Homemade Whole Wheat Bread Rolls

Pear and Apple Tart
Pumpkin Spiced Cheesecake
(both served with a dollop of vanilla ice cream)

It was basically like Christmas dinner but on a completely different level and some Americans have even commented that they look forward to Thanksgiving more than any other holiday. It is the type of holiday where everyone really makes the effort to see their loved ones...even embarking on long road trips across country to not even neighbouring states! The following day the boys were off school once again and I drove them over to their friends house to play and stay over. The house was really quiet the following day and it was just us girls (my host Mum Tracy, Lizzy and I) and so we happily sat down and watched girly movies in our comfy clothes. Eat, Pray, Love was good but disappointing...especially as I read the book a few summers ago! Needless to say it was a lovely afternoon, especially as we made ourselves Turkey Panini's! Saturday morning, my friend Linette and I drove to a different mall than usual and I began to buy Christmas presents! That evening I just stayed in as on Sunday a group of us went ice skating at the rink situated in the National Gallery Sculpture Garden. For $10 including skate hire, we were permitted 2 hours of skating! The 8 of us really got into the flow of skating but took regular breaks to have chats and take turns in picture taking! None of us fell over which was an achievement, especially after mid-session when they decided to 'polish' the ice! In the centre of the ice, a lot of young girls in their pretty ice-skating costumes practiced their 'moves' which made the rest of us look like buffoons. I spent most of my time skating with my arms out either side to keep my balance...can't say it was overly graceful but it did the trick! Afterwards, we all went for lunch and hastily headed to Starbucks to get warm and buy ourselves hot drinks and sweet treats! It was such a beautiful day but bitterly cold. The weather here changes dramatically and the last week has been spent getting used to wearing numerous layers....currently my feet are freezing as I haven't put my slippers on as I fear moving away from the bench at the kitchen table will make me lose my thread and thoughts!

If you have managed to read to this point, well done!

This last week, I have been going to the gym, drinking lots of coffee and began buying even more Christmas presents! The other morning, Linette and I decided that we would just have to go and see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 - not only because it's only $6 for morning showings but because the hype was making us severely jealous. I don't know what your opinion was of it if you have seen it, but I absolutely adored it and could have happily sat there for another few hours to see the second part! I hate to have to actually mention it in my blog but I spent three hours each day for two days sat in the DMV waiting room (Department of Motor Vehicles). I've had to do my Virginia drivers license after a few months of being here as otherwise my international drivers licence is no longer valid - as part of it I had to do a written test which comprised of getting 10 Road Sign questions correct and 80% of the multiple questions also correct before being able to take the practical test. I passed the written test on Day 1 and thought I might as well do my practical test too which even though being 10 mins long, I still managed to fail as I creeped too far over a line traffic lights. The woman testing me was a witch with no backbone as whilst failing me also proceeded in moaning the first few minutes as she was cold in my car and asking whether I too was cold in the 'silly outfit I was wearing' (I was wearing a coat and gloves) and whether I had a heated seat or not. When she told me I failed when I had to go back inside, I asked her whether she was serious and she said yes, and that I drove fine but I would have to do it again the next day. Needless to say, I hopped back into the car, shouted some obscenities and drove home. My host Mum agreed that she failed me on something not too major, but I went back the next day...waited forever again (3 hours as you can't schedule test times) and then passed flawlessly with another woman instructor. Enough of the rant. Friday night, Linette, Emilie and I went to TGI Fridays for a meal and yesterday afternoon (Saturday) I went with my host Mum to a jewellery party at a neighbours house who also has an au pair. The jewellery was really different and my style so I bought myself a pretty anklet which will be nice for when I go to Florida with my host family for Christmas! Last night, my friend Marion and I went out in Clarendon to a fairly civilised bar and had a lot of fun with some of my American friends over here...we were home and in bed by 3pm and so I'm not feeling overly delicate today! As I type, my host Dad is putting up the Christmas lights outside the house and my host Mum is getting all the tree decorations out...she has also put some really cute, red bows on each of the cupboard doors in the kitchen! I luuuuurrve Christmas!

I'll try and write more regularly from now on, but don't hold me to it!

Starbucks Tally

Some ridiculous number that I don't even want to think about. This week I've had 4 Starbucks' and 2 Caffe Amouri Coffees...SHOOT ME NOW!

But, I have actually got a loyalty card with Caffe Amouri...so I can justify my purchases! It will be interesting to see whether I'll get my 10th free coffee this week or next!

Americanisms

FYI - For Your Information

The boys always shout at me 'Hannah it's not a jumper it's a sweater!' or ' It's not a rucksack, it's a backpack!'

I refused to become overrun by new Americanisms in my vocabulary! However, I do have to used them in daily context...it helps and is so much faster, especially when I ask the boys in the morning, 'Have you taken your viiiiiiiiitamins?"