a list of tens

I had this idea on the way to work this morning. It may be a good one or it may be a dud, we shall find out. I would like to ask the few of you out there who read this to participate in a little study. I want everyone to choose 10 songs from any time period or genre. You can choose any songs you want. The interesting part will be that you have to organize this list using some sort of methodology and then explain your list and why it is the way it is. This is sort of
High Fidelity-esque but I think it could be fun. Let me know if you are interested in this and if so, post your responses on your blog or my comments link below. I myself have not yet done this so stay posted for my list in the coming hours/days.

Christmas time

I made the decision a long time ago that I would never adorn any residence of mine with colored Christmas lights. I have never liked them, will probably never like them and could never understand why other people have such an affection for them. I am no Scrooge, I just prefer the plain white lights. Having said that, I will flash forward to present day.

Abbey and I are new home owners, working on about 4 months now. When we bought the house it was a bit run down and completely out of date but with enormous untapped potential. So, for the past 4 months we have been ripping wallpaper off the walls, tearing old walls down, putting new walls up, and basically re-doing every part of the house in some way or another. I am very, let me say it again, VERY fortunate that Abbey is as understanding as she is. When it comes to the house she has pretty much given me free reign. She has let me do everything to this house that I have wanted to with little to no resistance. Don't get me wrong, I run the ideas past her to make she doesn't hate them, and then with her approval I move on. (I will post before and after photos after we get the flooring done, estimated completion date: 2.1.07)

So, back to the beginning. In the spirit of Christmas, Abbey mentioned the other day that she wanted to decorate the house with Christmas lights. I became excited because I love this time of year and what better way to begin the Christmas season than by lighting our first house. This is about when she said that she loves the colored bulbs and then asked which ones I love. She could tell by the way I looked at her that her colored bulb comment didn't sit well with me. She went on about how they always had the colored bulbs as a kid and everyone in her neighborhood had the colored bulbs and it wouldn't feel the same without them. I was thinking there is no way I am putting those awful gaudy colored bulbs on our brand new (built in '53) home. The conversation didn't go much further than that and I kind of forgot about the whole thing. That is until I was at Target the other night wondering around seeing what else I could spend money on. I was walking through the Christmas section and up to the lights. I decided at that moment that since Abbey has been so understanding through this whole house renovation and I love her, I will surprise her by decorating the house with colored Christmas lights. So tonight while she was at Starbucks studying, I went out on the windiest night in history and hung colored Christmas lights on our new home. She was very happy, and you know what? they don't look too bad.

The Cappuccino

So for the past two years I have been nursing a slight obsession with the cappuccino. I must say though that my taste for the coffee bean isn't solely limited to the cappuccino. I enjoy many other forms of the drink: the latte, the macchiato, the frappuccino, and I consume about 4 cups of the stuff in its pure brewed form [black] each day. However, nothing can top the perfectly brewed Italian espresso mixed with just enough milk to make it creamy and then topped with a healthy amount of perfectly steamed froth. Truthfully, making a good cappuccino is an art form. I can't tell if my love for the breakfast drink stems solely from the taste and delight one feels when sipping on one while reading a book or the paper, or if there is something stronger or deeper there. I feel there is a great amount of romanticism involved with making a really good cappuccino. It is unlike most drinks in that a great amount of time and dedication goes not only in to making each cup, but in learning how to make your first cup. The first time you steam the milk into a rich froth, or attempt to pour a design into your cup. Learning how much milk to seam or how hard to tamp the espresso before extracting it. You know that when you order a cappuccino at your favorite coffee shop, a lot of hours have gone into that very cup.

About 3 months ago, my parents bought Abbey and me an espresso maker for a house warming gift. I am just now getting the hang of it and I must say, I make a pretty decent cappuccino. The only problem with that is, I cannot stop drinking them. Here is an image of one my cappuccinos. I have not yet mastered the artful pour of the milk, but as mentioned above...it takes time.

the new blogger

I attempted to get on the computer and blog tonight, only I ended up spending the past 45 minutes playing with all the new settings. Funny, with all of the new toys and options blogger is offering now, I seem to have come up with a layout that takes no advantage of them. Oh well, I like things simple. Sorry for the false alarm as I am now too tired to write anything worth while [not that anything I write is worth while anyway]. I was thinking earlier of what my next topic should be. I think I am going to write about my obsession with cappuccino.

And for those who have been asking about our wedding photos:

enjoy.