Christmas Time!

It's hard to believe we are only a week away from Christmas! So much hustle and bustle around here, it's sometimes hard to remember to stop and smell the roses...or the trees...

Every Christmas, the White House hosts a tree-lighting. and a huge celebration. We missed the lighting ceremony and concert, but were able to enjoy it after the fact:

They also put up a smaller tree for every state. We walked around until we found Kansas, and MUCH to our surprise and delight...the ornaments were in honor of the 150th anniversary of our alma mater, Washburn University!

A few months ago, Tim was informed he had won an award at work called the "Rookie of the Year." We attended a ceremony last week where he was honored. I'm so proud of him! Tim always wanted to be ROTY, but never thought it would be non-sports-related. :) Associate Attorney General Tony West was the keynote speaker, and there were several other awards given out to well-deserving DOJ employees, so it was fun to hear of everyone's accomplishments. 

Tony West speaking

Lined up and ready to go!

I was videotaping the actual presentation, so this was the only photo I got of Tim and his award!

Last weekend, Tim and I participated in a "Jingle All the Way 8K" in DC. We had a team called "Santa's Grab Bag," which consisted of several of my co-workers. We had an absolute BLAST! Everyone running was given jingle bells for their shoes, so it really fun. Lots of people dressed up, I saw a nativity scene, complete with baby Jesus in the stroller, a team of 'reindeer', and a gingerbread man in a head-to-toe onesie costume.

Our Team!

We had our Community Group Christmas party this past week, and everyone was to wear an ugly sweater. Believe it or not, Goodwill had NO Christmas sweaters, so I settled on an ugly sweater for me, and a hideous tie for Tim. I then went to Ross and found what I still consider to be a crazy-awesome find. It was ugly sweater and tie COFFEE! Very random...so we wore tinsel necklaces of our coffees. Needless to say, we won the award for "best attempt." :)

We all had a white elephant gift exchange, and Tim happened to end up with this. It was originally a wedding gift from "Aunt Ellen" (an aunt of some of our newly-married friends) and it is supposedly hand-carved in Germany. It didn't "fit" in their house, they said.... ;-) Anyone know what it is called?! I believe you put wine in the top and the lantern is for decoration?! We had some good laughs about this one, :)

Happy countdown to Christmas!

We love veggies!

We have had a very busy weekend...finishing up Christmas shopping, finalizing our travel plans, and attending lots of holiday parties. At those holiday parties, there is always food... and inevitably, the conversations lead to many questions and discussions about our vegan/vegetarian lifestyle.

 Probably the most frequently asked question vegans and vegetarians get from people is, "What do you EAT?!"...with the emphasis on the last word, and a nose crinkle/face squinch (real word??) to add some oomph to the question. :) Let me explain...but first let me define some terms: a "vegetarian" is one who does not eat meat, but does eat animal by-products such as milk, cheese, eggs, etc. Some people who refer to themselves as vegetarians do eat fish (we do not), and are called "pescatarians". A "vegan" is a more strict vegetarian, and in addition to not eating meat, they do not consume any food derived from animals, so no milk, eggs, cheese, butter, cream, yogurt, chicken/beef stock, etc. I like to say I'm 99% vegan because "strict" vegans do not eat honey, and I do use honey when I make my granola. :) Other than that, we avoid all animal by-products at home, with the exception of Tim occasionally ordering something with cheese and very rarely chicken if he does not like the veg options at a restaurant. But being in the DC metro area, we don't usually have any trouble finding good veg food. Being vegan and vegetarian has opened up an entire world of foods and flavors that I never even knew existed...and we don't miss or crave the animal foods at all! I have learned to be creative in the kitchen experimenting with squashes, root vegetables, legumes, beans, grains, etc. to cook healthy and balanced meals without the use of animal products or by-products. I love it! It has been a fun journey and I'm constantly learning new things (with the help of some great blogs, like this one!)

To end, I'd like to share some recipes I made this week. They are both very easy and turned out amazing!

Delicata Squash Rings with Cashews & Sweet Mustard

Italian Meatless Meatloaf Muffins

Until next time...happy cooking!

We're Back!

I'm back to blogging! One of my New Year's resolutions is to keep up with my blog, and I'm starting now. I failed to do this towards the end of the summer...I think it was getting overwhelming because I was getting too wrapped up in details and thinking every post had to be checked and edited multiple times before posting. This go-round, I am going to focus more on content rather than every comma and period being in the "write" place, so bear with me! :)

Instead of trying to catch up on every single thing from July until now, I'm just going to start from the beginning of December with photos and stories. However, here are some highlights and (just a few! photos) from the end of summer and fall:

July: Tim's family came out for a 2 week visit, and we were able to visit Philadelphia all together. It's the first time I had been there, and it was great to see all the cool sights. My brother, Broc and cousin, Andrew came out at the end of the month...neither of them had ever been to DC and we had fun showing them historic sites, tourist attractions, and great food. I think Andrew's favorite place was the Air and Space museum...he was like a kid in a candy store!

Liberty Bell, Philadelphia, PA

Love in Philly!

Jon, Sam, & Tim in front of the Rocky Statue.

Broc & Andrew at Gravelly Point, where the planes landing at DCA are literally RIGHT above you!

Gelato in Old Town Alexandria.

Ford's Theater, where President Lincoln was assassinated.

Pizza & Ping Pong at Comet.

August: My very dear friend/sister, Lauren, married Scott on August 11. I went back to Kansas for a week to help out with the Bachelorette party and wedding. It was a wonderful wedding and I feel so blessed to have been a part of it, and thankful I was able to see many Topeka friends. At the end of August, Tim and I had planned a trip to New York to see our good friend, Erik. However, literally hours before we were to leave, Tim found out he had to stay and work the weekend. I was at lunch with my friend Grace and asked her if she wanted to go in his place (I really didn't expect it to work out)...but she pulled some strings and made it happen! So we had a last-minute girls' trip to NYC, and it was a blast! I was also able to meet up with my friend Marta, who is my closest friend from my time in Ireland. She lives in Dun Laoghaire, Ireland, but was visiting her father in NYC...we have somehow been able to see each other every year for the last 4 years!

My very best friend, Kristin. Miss her so much!

Happy bride and groom!

Hanging out in Erik's front yard...Long Island Beach!

  

Dining room view...amazing.

Gracie & I at Times Square

I've known Erik for almost a decade. We have been to Haiti, Mexico, & Israel on mission trips together, so needless to say, he's like another brother to me!

September: We took a road trip to Dayton, Ohio for the Air Force half marathon and 5k. Our friends Steven and Starr went also, and the 4 of us ran the 5k on Friday night (Tim and I somehow both took 3rd in our age group division?! We think it was a mistake because that is way too ironic!) Tim and Steven ran the half marathon on Saturday morning, and Starr and I were the cheerleaders. Funny thing...the race directors on the course misdirected several runners, and Tim ended up running 16 miles instead of 13.1!

After the half marathon + 3 miles.

5k :)

October: This month is always my favorite, between all the celebrations and gorgeous autumn weather! We took a little road trip across Virginia for a "wine-tasting weekend" for my birthday. Virginia has 221 wineries, and we visited 4, as well as the Shenandoah Valley (gorgeous view, even with the fog/clouds). We celebrated our 1 year anniversary (crazy!?!) on October 22. My parents came out to visit us at the end of the month, and they could not have picked a better time...the leaves were simply gorgeous! We enjoyed a long weekend filled with a Potomac river cruise, visiting George Washington's estate at Mt. Vernon, a trip to Amish country in Lancaster county, museums, monuments, old mansions, and Georgetown Cupcakes! On October 28, Tim ran the Marine Corp Marathon and I did the 10k. It was drizzly and a bit chilly, but overall a memorable and exhilarating experience. We were pleased with our times and look forward to next year!

1 year!

Mom, me, & Dad at George Washington's estate, Mt. Vernon. Gorgeous!

Library of Congress...aww my parents are so sweet :)

Skyline Drive, Shenandoah Valley, VA

One of our favorite wineries, Naked Mountain.

Sonni, Marine Mascot, me, & Leah after our 10k!

My fantastic running partner...we made it, 52:12!

November: I decided to make some changes to my work/life balance. I decreased my hours at my current job, and took another PRN job at an outpatient clinic. I have loved being back in outpatient and am enjoying working less hours, while being able to do more volunteering, investing in church, relationships, and NOVA/DC experiences. We stayed in Virginia for Thanksgiving, and this year just may have been my favorite Thanksgiving ever. We ran a charity 5k to benefit SOME - So Others Might Eat, took some turkey dinners to people's homes who were stricken with life-threatening illnesses, then enjoyed a vegan Thanksgiving meal at a fabulous vegan soul food restaurant in DC called Everlasting Life Cafe. Phenomenal...it's Tim's new favorite restaurant, and I loved every bit of it! We will take you there when you come visit...yes, all of you :) We also celebrated Tim's 29th birthday with dinner, a massage at a local spa, and a trip to his favorite place on earth...the Nike store!

Great race for a great cause.

December: Our good friends, Caley and Garrett Love came to DC for a conference, and stayed with us for several days.We had an absolute blast! Garrett is a Kansas State Senator for the 38th district, so he stayed pretty busy attending meetings and dinners. Garrett and I first met when he was just a junior in high school...as a Student Ambassador at Washburn I gave him his tour of the university, so I always tease him that I'm part of the reason he has been so successful ;) Caley is an absolute joy to be around and we had fun with our "girl-talk" whenever our husbands were immersed in deep conversations about politics and law. On Thursday evening, the Loves invited Tim and I to go on a night-time tour of the Capitol with them and the rest of the Senators...it began at 9:30pm and ended around 1am. It was hands-down one of the most incredible experiences we have had in DC! It was given by Kevin Yoder and was far more in-depth and behind-the-scences than any other tour we would ever have. While in the Rotunda, Senator Jerry Moran walked out of his office, and we chatted with him and got a few photos. It was quite the memorable evening! For the rest of the weekend, the 4 of us enjoyed the Christmas festivities in downtown DC, Old Town Alexandria, and Georgetown.

The new ice skating rink in Georgetown.

Ice skating + husband + glögg (Swedish mulled wine) = happy girl.

Hot cocoa at a French bakery on a cold night....mmm!

We met Senator Jerry Moran in the Rotunda at the Capitol. Thanks, Garrett, for snapping the photo!

The Speaker's Office.

The Speaker of the House's balcony...with an incredible view of the National Mall and Pennsylvania Ave!

Looking at another camera, but this angle works too :)

Garrett, Caley, Congressman Kevin Yoder, me, & Tim on the Speaker's balcony.

Beautiful Potomac River.

Love this shot of the Love's.

View of Arlington from Georgetown. If you look closely, you can see a stand-up paddler!

You all have permission to hold me accountable for posting on a regular basis :)

Have a wonderful Christmas season!

Not-so-lazy summer days...

The summer days are so quickly coming and going. We have been here, there, and everywhere, and had an abundance of visitors...so here is a recap of what's been going on at the Belsan house...

First off, some beautiful flowers Tim got for me at the Farmer's Market near the National Archives!

We love visitors to DC! In the middle of June, I met up with my friend Abigail, from the Kanakuk Institute. She was visiting her boyfriend, Chris, who lives in Pennsylvania, and they were in town to visit his sister and brother-in-law who live in DC. We met up with them for coffee at Firehook in Eastern Market. It was such a fun morning, filled with chatting, coffee, and meandering around the Market.

At the end of June, I was able to take a long weekend and travel back to Kansas visit my family and to see my new little "niece." More on this little sweetie later!

Driving to Sabetha, Kansas...looks MUCH different than northern Virginia or DC!

I spend the first few days in Sabetha at my parent's house. The longer I am away, the more I realize how much I love visiting. The first thing that always comes to mind is, "Wow...it's so peaceful and quiet here!" It really is a serene place. I spent much of my time with my mom in the garden I covet...seriously, she has it all (herbs, beets, kale, spinach, onions, carrots, squash, asparagus, brussel sprouts, plump and tart blueberries, delectable plums...mmm) and I'm so jealous of how much I have to pay for all that at the farmer's market or the organic store! Check out our lunch of roasted vegetables, all "FTG" (from the garden) as my mom likes to say.

And for all my DC friends who always wonder what my part of Kansas is like, here you go!

My mom and I had a great time drinking coffee and just chatting about life. The older I get, the more I realize how wise she is, what a prayer warrior she is, and how I will never be like her, though I strive to!

On Thursday afternoon, I went to see my Grandpa Hank. We had a great time telling stories and reminiscing  about old times. I brought him a chocolate milkshake and he couldn't get enough of it!

I also got to see my sweet cousins, Livie, Andrew, Tyse, and Jack. They are so precious and I miss watching them grow up!

Jack and me!

On Friday, I met up with Renee, my best friend from high school...we actually became friends in 4th grade, so we are coming up on something like 17 years of friendship. She lives in Colorado and I haven't seen her since my wedding. It was such a treat that we both had trips scheduled to our home town on the same weekend! We spent three hours at "El Canelo" catching up on life, love, and other mysteries. :)

Friday night, I headed to Topeka to finally meet little Grace. As I referred to earlier, my dear friend Lauren had her baby, Grace Arianna, on June 13 and I could hardly wait to get back to love on the little sweetheart! She is so precious! Kristin and Tim arrived late on Friday night and we stayed up chatting and doing some last minute detail plannings for Lauren's Bridal shower on Saturday. She is getting married to Scott in August...I'm so excited!

Beautiful little Grace!

Everyone!

The sisters I never had!

Now back to life in Virginia...
News Flash for all you Old Town Happy Hour seekers...Tim and I have found a new favorite happy hour spot in Old Town. For anyone in the NOVA/DC area, I highly suggest La Tasca's sangria and tapas menu. There are several to choose from and they are all so tasty!

One thing I love about living in this area is the plethora of locally grown foods. I especially love visiting the Farmer's Market in Old Town. I just soak up the atmosphere, talking with the farmers, and tasting the pure delight of fresh produce!

A few weekends ago, we had a terrible storm. I'm sure you heard all about it on the news, as the DC area was in a state of disaster. It was pretty terrifying! Friday night, Tim and I were out on our balcony and the air was eerily still. Not even ten minutes later, the wind was so ferocious, the trees were almost touching the ground. We were fortunate enough to only lose power for about 10 minutes...but many of our friends were not.

Falls Church, VA was one of the worst areas hit.
Thanks to my friend Phil for this photo.

I found out just how bad the storm was when I tried to go to Starr's house on Saturday...a trip that normally takes 15-20 minutes took over an hour. Let me paint the picture for you: every single stoplight was out, so the intersections were treated as a 4-way stop (side note: people do not understand how to utilize 4-way stops). My phone was not working. No calls, no texts, no internet, no GPS. Meaning when the two ways I knew how to get to Starr's house were both closed, I was sunk. I also didn't know how to get to Swain's Lock, where Starr and I were to pick up Tim and Steven from their morning 16-mile run. Let's just say I was a little stressed!

 A photo Tim took from their run on the C&O canal.
Yes, that trail is supposed to be clear!

Several hours later when we finally found our husbands, we celebrated by going to Founding Farmers...which had sporadic power but enough to cook our delicious lunches! I had the Vegan Bacon Burger again, and Tim had the Bananas Foster Stuffed French Toast. MMmmm!


After lunch, we discovered that Steven, Starr, Gracie, and Scott did not have power. We invited them to our house and they brought some of their fridge and freezer contents. It's pretty amazing how much stuff you can cram in a fridge and freezer when you have to! They stayed all weekend, along with their dogs, Mika and Pancakes. It was a great excuse for a slumber party...except we had to keep watching the dogs because Mika thought Pancakes was a squirrel and tried to eat her. :)

Just hanging out...

A trip to our pool provided some entertainment on Sunday afternoon.

Luckily, our friends got power on Monday, however it was several more days before everyone in the DC area had power.

Let's take a break from the happenings...time for some "featured foods and finds" I have tried and loved:

Teriyaki Chickpea Stirfry, from Mama Pea

Whole Foods Veggie Burger 

Dill & Rosemary Roasted Vegetables
I used a veggie burger recipe from a Whole Foods cooking class and added a special sauce made of Sriracha, Veganaise, and lime juice. I roasted the veggies with herbs, spices, and olive oil.

Summer Salad 
I crave this all year round, but especially in the winter!

Sidamo Ethiopian Coffee on H Street, DC
SO delicious!

Five Guys Burgers, Fries, and
...the peanuts
Yes, people, you read that right. I was with some friends on the Fourth of July, who were waiting for their burgers and I happened upon these peanuts. I annihilated my bag. I can't believe it took me this long to discover these delicious treat!

Carrot cake cupcakes at Lauren's shower
The flowers on top are made from dried pineapples, a Pinterest find from Kristin

Last weekend, Alexandria celebrated its 263rd birthday and America's 236th birthday. Tim and I braved the intense heat and went down to Oronoco Bay in Old Town to join in the fun.

The streets of Old Town have so much character, like this tree.

Cupcakes galore!

Alexandria's Symphony Orchestra in sync with the fireworks

This past week, Tim's family came to visit. They planned a full two weeks of touring, some of which we've had the opportunity to tag along for (when we're not working of course).  Stay tuned for more on that in my next post!