we thought it was kind of funny when we stumbled upon “Barack”, a children’s book, when we were shopping at Target. even better was the obama meets spidey comic book at our local (self-titled “obama headquarters”) Walgreens.

after watching an episode about moules frites on the food network, we developed a serious craving for some. googling led us to find “Hopleaf”, which makes belgian specialties, including moules frites!

two pounds of moules frites with a mayonnaise aioli

we also tried the grilled duck reuben sandwich (slow-roasted pekin duck with cranberry cream cheese, home-made sauerkraut and emmenthaler cheese) which was also worth the trek. craving satisfied.

it’s a good thing we renewed our AAA membership this year because with the cold weather, our old car battery kept dying, which was getting really annoying. we finally got around to getting a brand new battery… only to have it die a week later eventhough nothing was left on! ofcourse we got worried about some more serious problem, and so we brought the jetta in for a diagnosis.

joe checking the battery with our new voltmeter.

me waiting for the car and killing time on the gold coast.

at the end of the (next) day, the volkswagen people still couldn’t find a reason for the drained battery… with only a working diagnosis that the cold temperatures might have caused the metal in the blah blah to constrict and cause a short circuit. hmmm. hopefully it will start warming up…

last week we went to a ‘fasching’ party hosted by one of joe’s professors. fasching is a german festival or carnival… and dressing up is a requirement. scrounging around the closets and basement eventually inspired ‘the UPS man and his Package’

pretty lighting from the party: