1000 Challenge for August

So folks, I heard back from several of you that you would be joining me in the 1000 challenge.  I know that a few fizzled out.....anyone that actually finished out there?

Here's my report for the month.  I finished!  Yay!  I did 1000 push up and 2000 sit ups.  Push ups - still hard and challenging to get that many in a month.  I am getting marginally better at them and can do more in one set but still have some progress to be made.  What I need to do for September is pace myself to get more done on some days and give myself days in between for my muscles to rest.  Sit ups - 2000 was still pretty "easy" to get done in a month.  Really, it's not all that difficult to do 3 sets of 30 a day (which is what I planned to do most days).  I think this month I'll have to up the number to 2500.

So, all of those who quit half way through August (or even only a couple of days into it), here's your chance again.  September is a new month.

Also on the fitness front, I've been riding my bike to work a few days a week.  I had set a goal of riding twice a week if possible.  If possible meaning given the right weather conditions (I will not ride in the rain) and if I didn't have any post work commitments.  The week before last I wasn't able to (or just didn't...not sure which) ride in at all but I made it for it by riding in 4 times this week.  And, you know, I really enjoyed it and very much missed it the day I didn't.  You see, I'm a serious fan of multitasking.  If I can fit two or more activities into one, especially when I can get my exercise in, I'm a big fan.  So, commuting AND getting my heart rate up is a great double wammy.  Plus, as most of you know, morning is not exactly my cup of tea.  Riding in definitely gets me a lot more awake for the start of the work day than my normal car ride over.  Hopefully this nice weather will continue and I'll get to ride in lots this week as well.  

Just to make you folks in the south a wee bit jealous, it's been cool enough in the mornings for me to bike in a long sleeve shirt....in August!  The downside to the northeast, though, is that I'm already seeing the beginning of the sun descending after work so my riding commute days are definitely limited. Riding in the dark is not something I'm willing to do!

Meep Meep!

By a genius collaboration and evolution of a gift idea, I made these adorable onsies for my friend Kari's upcoming bundle of joy.  With a set of quarter length sleeve onsies (all the babies are wearing them this season), iron on paper from Joanne Fabric, graphics complements of online searches and a fun, creative idea, the result is this:

A back story might make them more meaningful.  My dear friend loved the name Wiley for her baby boy but her fab husband wasn't quite feeling it as a first name (it will be the baby's middle name).  So, of course, to drive hubby nuts, all of us gals have been calling the baby Wiley for the last several months.  Hence, the Wile. E. Coyote T's complete with Latin genus names from the cartoon series that are baby appropriate.  My favorite - Appetitus Giganticus!

I should also mention that Kari's a native Texan as well.  So the following onsie had to be made to complete the set of fun!

And she loves them!

Hot Mamma Kari and I at the best baby shower ever!

What made it the best baby shower ever you ask?  With an ice cream bar and a pool party, what could be more fun with the gals?

It's a Nice Day for a White Wedding!

Last Saturday, we had the pleasure of attending the wedding of Mike's cousin David and his lovely new bride, Leah.  The weather was absolutely perfect as were all the events of the day.  It was a fab evening with the family and a good time was had by all.

In addition to getting to be present at such a wonderful event, we also got to see Mike's cousin Eric and his wife Jessie AND their new baby, Justin.  Justin turned the big 1 mo the day of the wedding.

Cocktail Hour Pic (From L to R)

Joe,Maureen,Kristina,Jim,Myself,Mike, 

Jessie and Eric (the proud new parents)

The new Mr. and Mrs. David and Leah

The gorgeous bride and me

Extended Vacation (Even Though the Work Day Got in the Way)

Eddy, I love ya man, but you have crappy timing!  So, the last time I saw Eddy, one of my best friends from the college days, was a week after our wedding.  That's right, a week AFTER.  He had some work conflicts and couldn't make the big event.  However, his wife (fiance at the time) had a work conference in Boston the following week.  Unfortunately, I didn't get the memo that they would be in town until after Mike and I had already planned our mini honeymoon for the weekend after the wedding in western Massachusetts (the South African, Zimbabwe honeymoon was to occur a month later).  So, we ended up only being able to grab a quick meal and some drinks for one little evening while our staying in town coincided with their being in town.

Flash forward to almost two years later.

I get a text message from Eddy about 2 weeks before our Dallas trip to let me know he and Hazleena, his lovely wife, would be in town for another work conference for her.  Of course, they would be spending the weekend in Boston while we were in Dallas celebrating the big parental anniversary.  Again, there was only 1 evening our staying in town and their being in town would overlap.  So, the evening after we returned from Dallas, we got to play with Eddy and Hazleena!

We had a super fun time showing them the house (and all the renovations) chatting over dinner, munching JP Licks ice cream and laughing over a few drinks.  I miss being around Eddy's quirky sense of humor and it's so great to get to know Hazleena - she's a great, witty, smart, fun gal.  I hope we get to see them again before another couple of years pass and maybe we'll actually figure out a way to be in each other's towns at the same time!

The Boys - Eddy and Mike

The Girls - Kara and Hazleena

The Lovely Couple - Hazleena and Eddy

Final Vacation Leg - Surprise Dallas Trip

Friday morning (a week and a half a go), we packed up the car (complete with the kitties), closed up the NH condo and headed back to Boston. We were home only long enough to unpack and repack. Then, we headed to the airport. The last leg of our vacation was to be spent in Dallas at my parents' house. The tricky part is that they didn't know we were coming!

My Mom and Dad have been saying for a long time that they wanted to spend this big anniversary, their 40th, with their kids. Since we're all spread out, that's a lot easier said than done. We (the "kids") had been planning to come for some time but wanted to keep it a surprise.  It didn't work out for us to come the actual weekend of the event, so we made it even more of a surprise by coming a week after the big anniversary.

As usual, my flying arrangements didn't go smoothly.  We had a connection through D.C.  There was weather in the nation's capital and our plane coming from there to "pick us up" in Boston was late and we were going to miss our connection from D.C. to Dallas.  They announced that we should go back out of security and go back to the ticket counter for re booking.  After standing in line for about half an hour, we finally got to work with someone to figure out a new plan.  She searched around for a bit and was able to book us on a direct flight leaving at 9pm on a different airline.  Thank goodness!  Only problem?  It was 5:30 in Boston and my brother was to be picking us up in Dallas at 9pm central time with all of his family in the car (they were driving down from OK and picking us up at the airport to then surprise my parents at their house).  So, we booked it over to the other airline, went through security (again) and went to the gate of the flight that was supposed to have left at 5:30 but was also experiencing a delay.  Lo and behold they were boarding when we got there and there was room on the plane!  So, after all that, we ended up getting to Dallas earlier than our original flight and we had to kill some time at the Dallas airport awaiting our ride.  If any of you know my luck with the airlines, it NEVER works out for the better so this was a rare treat!

(Almost) The whole family (minus Jamie and Sarah who unfortunately couldn't make it) showed up at the 'rents house and they were definitely surprised!  Yay, we pulled it off!  We had a whole weekend of treats planned for them.  

Since we showed up unannounced, we wanted to be sure to plan all the meals and pick up all the ingredients so Mom and Dad wouldn't have to worry about that.  So, first meal Saturday morning, master breakfast chef Mike took charge and made eggs and pancakes....even matching big and little Mickey Mouse pancakes for me and mini-me (aka Presley).

Master Chef and Cute Helper

Ryker's getting so big AND so much cuter!

After a day of hanging out, chatting and playing with all the kids, we got spiffied up and took Mom and Dad out to one of their great local Mexican restaurants.

The whole gang at dinner

There, we presented them with their gifts, including a group effort crafted plaque which was inspired by a wood crafted plaque my brothers and I made for them on their 15th anniversary.

Since my parents' church family is very much their extended family, we also presented them with a "real" plaque to them there.  Here's all of us with the fancy plaque.
Sunday afternoon, we were joined by my Aunt Pam and Uncle Kerryn for lunch.  Jody and Mike grilled us up some burgers and "the gals" worked on side dishes and all the fixin's.  The rest of the afternoon was spent playing with the kids as much as possible before they headed back home.

Two Cuties - Little Smooch and Awesome Big Sis 

Mike and Flying Ryker

Reece, Me, Ryker and Presley

After Jody and his gang headed home, Mike and I had a relaxing evening with the parents.  Monday, we packed up, had a quick visit to the Dallas Farmer's Market and headed to the airport.  The trip back to Boston was blissfully uneventful.  

The end of our vacation was a little rushed and hectic, much unlike the beginning of the vacation, but it was just really fantastic to get to spend such an important celebration with the family and we loved every minute of it!  

The End of a Long Day - Falling Waters Trail

Before heading down back into the trees, I took one last look at Lafayette Mountain.

So pretty!

The Falling Waters Trail was about 3.3 miles down the mountain back into the parking lot. After about 20 minutes of trying to keep up with Mike and Tom hopping down rocks, we heard the sound of water. For the rest of the trail, we followed the water downhill, traversing it a couple of times and saw a lot of really cool waterfalls. I have no idea what any of them were called so just enjoy the pictures that follow without any annoying dialogue from myself.






So, after about 9 miles later (from the start of the day), we arrived back to our cars around 6:15. It was a very long, but extremely enjoyable day of hiking. I honestly enjoyed almost every minute of the exercise (except for the previously mentioned rock hopping part where I had trouble keeping up with the boys that actually have legs of a decent length) and I seriously loved the views so much that I might have to drag Mike and whomever else I can up that trail with me again next year.

I will say, though, that a soak in our hot tub after getting home to the condo never felt so wonderful! After taking a dip there, having a nice long shower and enjoying the beautiful sunset (pictured below), we went to Mexican night at the local tavern.
Now, any of you from Texas that have suffered through a Mexican meal in Boston know that this part of the world is not exactly known for making the best food in this genre. However, after a full day of hiking, I think I would have enjoyed just about anything. So, we stuffed ourselves silly on nachos and burritos and headed home. I think I lasted until about 9:30 that evening and settled in for a LONG night of sleep!


Other than some tight calves, I felt really good the next day....still pretty worn out, but good. It's amazing what a toll that long of a day of hiking can take on your body. We played a little tennis to keep our legs loose but didn't do much of anything else. Hey, what are vacation's for if not lazing around?!?

Summer Vacation Part Tres - Lafayette and the Ridge Trail

For many, many months, my father in law, Tom, and I have been discussing taking a LONG hike up Lafayette mountain.  He's done the hike several times and wanted to give it another go.  The trail is popular, so a weekday trip was a must to avoid some of the crowds.  Since we were up there all week, we were hoping for a nice day to make the trek.  Honestly, the weather didn't look super promising for any day that week, but we decided to take a gamble and go on the day that had the most promise.  This landed smack dab in the middle of our vacation week.

 Lafayette Mountain makes up part of Franconia Notch, which is one of the most beautiful places in NH.  I seriously am not allowed to drive when we go through that area because I just can't stop looking at the views around me and pay absolutely no attention to the road.  One of the most noticeable parts of the notch is the huge rock face, shown below.  On the right most side of the rock in this photo is where the historical Man In The Mountain, the symbol of NH, used to be located.

Tom was driving up from the Boston area so we decided to meet up in the trail's parking area at 9:30am.  After "gearing up" for a few minutes, we started out for a LONG day of hiking!  The loop we were taking started with the Old Bridal Path Trail.  

When hiking up a mountain, you of course start uphill pretty immediately.  It was a gradual climb at first and then we started getting to some ledge parts that were a little steeper but still very manageable.  I really didn't pay much attention to time that day so I have no clue how long after starting it was that we got to the first outlook.  It was incredible!  We stopped for a snack on the ledge that overlooked Lafayette and the ridge trail that we would traverse after making it to the peak.

Mike and I in front of the "Ridge Trail" (the shiny parts are wet granite)

The rock ledge (as in the first picture posted) from our first outlook

The peak of Lafayette is at the left of this photo

After a snack and a little rest, we started back up the trail.  The Old Bridal Path ends up at the AMC's Greenleaf Hut.  We decided to break there for lunch since we would need the energy for the next bit of the trail, The Greenleaf Trail, which leads to the summit of Mt. Lafayette. It was such a gorgeous picnic spot!  In the picture below, you can see Tom and I munching on some grub.  In the background is the peak of Lafayette.  DO NOT let this view fool you.  That peak looks very close, but trust me when I say IT IS NOT!

The Greenleaf Trail is approximately 1.1 miles of very steep rock stairs.  Those stairs are the start of the alpine zone.  So we said goodbye to any kind of tree cover and said hello to unobstructed views of the white mountains!
It was a tough uphill battle and we stopped several times to catch our breath.  Below's a picture of Mike catching his breath.  I realize that the background looks like gently rolling hills.  Um, those are mountains.  To get some sense of perspective, on the left of this photo is the rock ledge of the notch (pictured twice above in this post) and directly behind his head are the ski trails of Cannon Mountain Ski Resort.  We're up there!
After a lot of huffing and puffing and stopping to enjoy the fantastic views, we finally made it to the top!

Just beautiful!

Tom, myself and Mike at the top of Lafayete

After more resting and snacking and taking in the scenery, we started off on the Ridge Trail.  It was so amazing!  It's just too cool to be walking along the top of some of the tallest mountains and looking down on 360 views of other mountains. 

Cool rock - eagle or turtle..what do you think?

After hitting 3 peaks - Lafayette, Lincoln and Little Haystack, we headed down the Falling Waters trail.  I have so many pictures of waterfalls from that trail, it deserves its own post!