365 - Centerpiece

making of an easy centerpiece.
(so easy, even kids can do it!)

365 - Angels

Alexandria Police Investigate Fatal Pedestrian Crash

ALEXANDRIA POLICE DEPARTMENT
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
3600 WHEELER AVENUE
ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA 22304
703-746-6600

NEWS RELEASE
DECEMBER 14, 2012 #12-082
2:00 P.M. DONALDSON

Alexandria Police Investigate Fatal Pedestrian Crash

Alexandria Police are investigating a pedestrian crash that resulted in the death of an adult man.  The incident occurred at approximately 7:00 A.M. on Friday, December 14, on West Braddock Road between North Hampton Drive and North Beauregard Street.

Initial investigation indicates that the driver of a 2002 Honda Accord was driving westbound on Braddock Road when it struck the man, who was crossing the middle of the road.  The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

The identity of the victim is unknown at this time and pending an autopsy by the Medical Examiner’s Office.  They identity will be released once known and notification of next of kin has been made.
Members of the Crash Reconstruction Team are investigating the incident.

Anyone who was in the area this morning or who might have witnessed the crash is asked to call the Alexandria Police Department at 703.746.4444.

Alexandria Police Cruiser Stolen

ALEXANDRIA POLICE DEPARTMENT
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
3600 WHEELER AVENUE
ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA 22304
703-746-6600

NEWS RELEASE
DECEMBER 14, 2012 #12-081
1:00 P.M. DONALDSON

Alexandria Police Investigate Stolen Police Cruiser

Alexandria Police are investigating the theft of a marked Alexandria Police Cruiser, #2618.  The cruiser, a 2006 Ford Crown Victoria, was taken from 2727 Duke Street overnight.  The vehicle was parked and locked.

The cruiser did have police property inside, including a Remington 870 shotgun and a Panasonic Toughbook Mobile Computer.

Attached is a picture of a cruiser similar to the stolen cruiser with the same make, model and year.

Anyone with information about the whereabouts of the police cruiser or with information about the suspects involved is asked to call the Criminal Investigations Section of the Alexandria Police Department at 703.746.6711.

Detectives would like to remind witnesses that they can remain anonymous.

365 - Nativity

365 - Rudolph

365 - Abominable

365 - Christmas reading

AFD gives Holiday tips

FROM THE CITY OF ALEXANDRIA:

The Alexandria Fire Department wishes everyone a safe and happy holiday season. Each year fires occurring during the holiday season injure 2,600 individuals and cause over $930 million in damage. There are simple life-saving steps you can take to ensure a safe and happy holiday. From Christmas Trees to candles to holiday cooking; by following some of the outlined precautionary tips, individuals can greatly reduce their chances of becoming a holiday fire casualty.

Alexandria Police Investigate Robbery at TD Bank

ALEXANDRIA POLICE DEPARTMENT
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
3600 WHEELER AVENUE
ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA 22304
703-746-6600

NEWS RELEASE
DECEMBER 10, 2012 #12-080
2:00 P.M. DONALDSON

Alexandria Police Investigate Robbery at TD Bank

Alexandria Police are investigating a bank robbery that occurred at the TD Bank, located at 119 S. Washington Street.  Around 3:48 P.M. on Sunday, December 9, a man entered the bank, handed the teller a note that implied a weapon and demanded money.  The teller relinquished an undisclosed amount of cash and the suspect fled the bank.  No one was injured. 

The suspect is described as a black male with a beard and approximately 6’1” with a medium build.  He was wearing a dark colored hooded jacket, blue jeans and light colored shoes.

Anyone with information about the robbery or who recognizes the suspect in the surveillance photos is asked to call Detective William Oakley at 703.746.6606 or the Criminal Investigations Section of the Alexandria Police Department at 703.746.6711.

Detectives would like to remind witnesses that they can remain anonymous.
          

Snowman Poop

I hear you’ve been naughty,                                                 

So listen, here’s the scoop….                                             

I’m running out of coal this year,                                     

So Santa's giving you snowman poop

(fill a baggie with mini marshmallows) 

365 - more baking

Candy Crackers

Candy Crackers

1 sleeve saltine crackers
2 sticks of butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 pkg semi sweet morsels
     (can use butterscotch, white chocolate)
2 blocks unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup finely grated cocoanut (optional)
     (can use chopped up pecans or walnuts, or crushed candy canes)

Pre heat oven to 400
line saltines on a foil lined cookie sheet
in a saucepan, boil butter and sugar for 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until lightly browned
pour the butter mixture over the saltines
bake for 5 minutes

melt the chocolates in the microwave for 1 min., stir and return to microwave for 1 more min.
pour chocolates over the saltines, spreading it completely
sprinkle with topping of your choice - nuts, cocoanut, pepermint
refrigerate for 2 hours
break into pieces

Holiday Cookie Party - EASY recipes

Chinese Chews

1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips - melted
1 cup peanuts
7 oz chinese crunchy noodles

melt chocolate in double boiler
add peanuts
stiff in noodles
drop by spoonful onto wax paper
refrigerate until solid


Peanut Clusters

1 pkg chocolate chips
1 pkg butterscotch chips
2 cups unsalted peanuts

melt chips in double boiler or microwave
stir to blend thoroughly
blend in peanuts
drop by spoonful onto wax paper
refrigerate until solid


Peppermint Bark

3/4 lb white chocolate
1/2 lb bittersweet chocolate
1 lb peppermint candy (candy canes)

melt chocolates separately
pour out 3 strips of white chocolate and 3 strips bittersweet chocolate onto a cookie sheet w/ an edge
drag a knife though the chocolates to marble
crunch up peppermint and sprinkle on top
refrigerate to harden


Truffles
1 pkg Oreo cookies (3 rolls)
1 8 oz pkg cream cheese
1 pkg chocolate chips

in a zip lock back, crush the Oreos well
mix the crushed Oreos and cream cheese

melt the chocolate chips

form the Oreo mixture into balls
dip balls into the melted chocolate

place on wax paper lined cookie sheet
refrigerate until hard.

Holiday gifts

Homemade Holiday 

As we are all try to figure out what to give everyone for the holidays and try to save money, here are a few things that I have done with my children over the year. Most years we have done our “craft” gifts over the summer and put it away for the holidays. My kids have been so proud of the gifts that they have made themselves and the gifts have lasted.   

-When my boys were really little, I would take them on a “collection” walk around the neighborhood. We collected rocks - big rocks, little rocks and pebbles.
Once home we washed the rocks, painted them and even glued things on the rocks – googley eyes, smaller rocks, feathers, and even cut up construction paper. 10+ years later, grandma still proudly displays her rocks on her kitchen window sill and in the garden.

-another year we purchased tiles in various sizes from the hardware store. We put handprints on the tile and gave them to grandparents and aunts and uncles to use as trivets. Again, they are still used today.

-Stepping stones are always nice in the garden and grandmas love their gardens. So one year we made stepping stones from a kit purchased from the craft store. We used our hands and feet to make imprints on the stones, then embellished them with small rocks and decorative pebbles.

-One year we went to the craft store and purchased small cardboard boxes and ornaments. (they were made from recycled materials). We painted them, put glitter on them, and even glued sequins on some of them. We gave the boxes to cousins and other relatives and we used the ornaments as gift tags on wrapped presents.

-When the boys were very young we made our own holiday wrapping paper. We took white tissue paper and used their hands in red or green paint to make handprint paper. We also took holiday cookie cutters, dipped them in paint and used them on the tissue paper as well.

-As the boys got older, we made more elaborate gifts. So one year we made soap. It was sooo easy and my boys loved it! We purchased everything needed from the craft store - molds, soap blocks, scents, colors, and a how to book. I did the melting of the soap and pouring it into the molds. My boys selected the mold, the color and the scent of the soap. It was so much fun and we had soap everywhere. (we were really clean that year!) The boys enjoyed selecting the mold and creating a unique soap for each family member – Cousins, peace symbols and happy faces in funky colors, grandpa doesn’t like spiders so they put a plastic spider in clear soap. Auntie likes turtles, so we made all different scents and shades of green turtles. A few teachers liked flowers so we made various colors of flowers with different scents. To accompany each gift we searched dollar stores, craft stores and other variety stores for different soap dishes. I think each gift cost about $7 and everyone loved it!

-Because we have sooo many girls in the family one year we made them all “magic wands”. We bought small dowel rods from the craft store, painted them and used feathers, gems, and glitter to decorate. The girls were so excited and thought they were truly magical!

-One year we thought we’d try to work with beads, so we made everyone beaded zipper pulls for backpacks, purses, and coats. The beads, pulls and sometimes a decorative charm were purchased from a craft store. The boys enjoyed making patterns with the beads and selecting various ending pieces (charm) for each pull – i.e. fish, phone, flip flop, sun, moon, cat, etc.. Some family members still have the pulls on their winter coats.

-For teacher gifts one year we made note and thank you cards. We purchased card stock from the craft store. My boys each selected 4 things that each teacher liked – coffee, dogs, golf, flowers, cats and so on. Using clip art and word, we chose different fonts and placed the teachers name with a picture of their favorite things on the page. The layout was 4 cards to 1 page of cardstock. We printed the cards out in a variety of colors, cut the page into 4 cards and tied with colorful ribbon. The teachers loved it and the boys were so proud of their computer skills.

-Other years we have gone to the Crate & Barrel outlet and purchased the following for teachers gifts --
-plain coffee mugs (about 1 ea) and put a $5 gift card to Starbucks in
it.
-big popcorn bowls (under $10) and put packages of microwave
popcorn in it.
-clear candy dishes ($1 or so each) in a variety of shapes & sizes, and
filled them with homemade candied nuts or bagged candy.
-holiday dish towels and pot holders all under $2 

Beauregard Rezoning Advisory Group Meeting

Beauregard Rezoning Advisory Group Meeting
Wednesday, December 12 at 7pm.

For Immediate Release: Friday, December 7, 2012
 The Beauregard Rezoning Advisory Group will hold a meeting on Wednesday, December 12, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., at Jerome “Buddie” Ford Nature Center, located at 5750 Sanger Avenue. The meeting will be generally focused on transportation.

The agenda and materials will be posted on the City’s Beauregard Small Area Plan website (alexandriava.gov/BeauregardPlan), on the Beauregard Rezoning Advisory Group page.

The meeting is open to the public. Public comments are welcome. Spanish translation services will be provided at the meeting. Individuals with disabilities that may require assistance or special arrangements to participate in the Beauregard Rezoning Advisory Group meeting may call the Department of Planning and Zoning at 703.746.4666. For meeting-related questions, please contact Maya Contreras in the Department of Planning and Zoning at 703.746.3816 or email maya.contreras@alexandriava.gov.