Caught my first Spurs game at the Verizon Center (the Wizards' home). Jeff agreed to go along to chaperone and make sure my rabid fandom didn't earn me the ire of the local loyals, which, fortunately, wasn't an issue, despite the pregame sangria warmup.

Headed out to Dell's Bra Boutique in Fairfax after being motivated by Oprah ("8 out of 10 women are wearing the wrong size bra") (NSFW) and Ashley. Come to find out, I don't belong in a size that batteries come in. Who knew? (Uh, besides Oprah and Ashley....) For other chicks in the D.C. area, I highly recommend Dell's -- they make you feel as comfortable as possible in an awkward situation. And this lovely frozen fountain seen in the office space's courtyard was going strong in the 16 degree weather when I visited, creating some gorgeous icicles.

Lauren and I saw this while we were out this weekend. 'coon urine. Presumably for when you want to attract raccoons to your trash for some nefarious purpose.

This is what 50 chocolate lollipops look like. Made them for the upcoming LVAPW bake sale. Mom got me a new mold which I love (close up in second shot), and you can see how the red-centered daisies turned into trouble if the centers bled. *blushes* Oops. We'll just get rid of those.

One pair of seriously ass-kicking Fluevog sandals. Sale brought to my attention by the boot-owning Ammit.

Had a highly pleasant evening out with Dave, Rob, and Liz, whose awesome Fluevog boots are pictured here. The photo's not sideways; she's doing a Matrix style beatdown on the tiles. Okay. It's sideways. I couldn't help myself. I mentioned that I was planning to catch The Comedy Spot's trial run of Dungeons and Improv, and they wanted to come with! I got to laugh at geek jokes with other folks and there was Italian food, so that was all good.

On the way to and from I listened to the last installment of Traditions (which Skivee talks about) on the now all-classical WETA. Mary's been doing the show as long as I've been alive, and though I wasn't a huge fan, I think it's a shame to take it off the air. Heard Stan Rogers sing Mary Ellen Carter on the drive home. Appropriate.

Apparently the rest of the kitchen appliances think you're an asshole.

Turns out "unlimited pancakes" is three for my family. Mom and Dad invited me along to IHOP, and I discovered my birthday is National Pancake Day. Too bad it's not National Cupcakes and Ice Cream Day. But I plan to celebrate as if it is.

Got into National airport just about on time, despite the snowy conditions. (Yaaay, Continental.) Opted to get a taxi and waited for 30 minutes for one brave enough to go my direction. Got into the cab with a really nice Army guy who was checking into Ft. Belvoir for some training. 17 years in, and this is his first time to D.C., so we talked about the sites he couldn't miss while he was here.

After we got him to the billeting office around 8:30 (with a Dominos parked outside, which bodes well for his dinner), the cab driver and I started exchanging stories. He's a father of 15, 8 of whom survived, ranging from 34 down to 3. He was a political prisoner in Afganistan, and has driven a cab here for 15 years. The whole family lives together in the Lincolnia area, in three adjoining condos, and he's got two grandsons from his eldest daughter.

He was telling me how it's harder now to be a Muslim in this area with all the security consciousness, and he was relating a story about a series of tickets he received because another driver falsely accused him. Offers from lawyers started pouring in to defend him for $1500 or $2000, but he opted to defend himself, and at the end of the day, the judge dismissed all charges.

At this point, we're trundling down Route 1 at about 25 mph, and we noticed a truck. Careening sideways. As in perpendicular to the road. Which is going to definitely intersect our path since we're parallel to the road. And WHAM. The whole front end of the cab was smashed. The truck continued on its sideways path right off the road. I was on the floor, despite being buckled up, and somehow I managed to lose a shoe (additional note to self: boots with laces). Cab driver was banged up pretty good. He wasn't bleeding that I could see, but he'd hit his head, and he was holding his left leg. His door was sealed shut, so he climbed through on my side, and called 911. Dude in the truck looked dazed, but, then again, I probably would have been, too.

Cab driver handed me the phone. The dispatcher was wondering where we were located. I saw a cross street up ahead, and I sludged across the highway to pick out the name and read it off. She said she's sending a crew.

My cab driver had the presence of mind to call me another cab, and a few minutes later the rescue team arrived. Some asked questions, others assessed my cab driver and got him into the ambulance. I sat in the back of the cab to keep dry (but not terribly warm since it wasn't running or airtight any more). I checked in with the cab company, who took my number and said they'd give me a ring when they found a cab to send my way. An officer noticed it was freaking cold in the cab, and offered to let me sit in the back of the squad car while he filled out paperwork. He rocked. Opened the divider thing and cranked up the heat until I stopped shivering.

These are Fairfax County police officers, and I live in Prince William, so I'm not so much on their way home. Eventually I whimper, "I can see Fairfax County from my balcony. Does that count?" and another officer offered to transport me so I didn't have to wait for a possibly non-existent cab. He dropped me off at the top of Riverview, which was a good decision. We saw one car successfully traverse the downward slope, but squad cars are unwieldy, and on my walk downward I saw another car try unsuccessfully to make it up the same hill.

So. Now I'm sitting on the couch with Sug curled up on me. Just about everything aches, but I suspect that's a combination of being out in the wet cold and having my entire body infused with a lot of adrenaline that wasn't really necessary.

Annnnd that's it for me. Longest. Entry. Ever.

After I logged a great night's sleep at Casa Moran, Laura drove me by my old place and we snuggled with a cold, wet Milla for a few minutes. She was elated to see us, and Laura got her all warmed up before we left her to her hunting.