Random Thoughts

I don't have anything in particular to tell you, so I'm just going to give you a bunch of random thoughts that are floating through my head today.

~ It is freezing yet again. This is getting to be old news, but I think this is the coldest winter I remember in Maryland.  My toes are frozen from waiting for the bus.  And my cheeks.  I brought running clothes to go running at lunch but I think it's only going to be like 12 degrees out so I don't know if I brought warm enough clothes.  We'll have to see if I can make it.

Evan in the backpack waiting to go out and walk the dog in
in the freezing cold.

~ I have reached that age when exhaustion isn't flattering.  I remember when I was in college and I'd stay up all night studying and the next day I would look fine.  Maybe a little glassy-eyed, but that was about it.  Ha, not true anymore!  Now I get deep, dark circles under my eyes and they (my eyes) look like they've sicken into a deep crevice.  And I look old.  Yesterday I only got a few hours of sleep and when I went to the bathroom at work I looked at myself in the mirror and was appalled.  I looked so old!!  My eyes were sunk so deep into my skull I could barely see them.  Not a flattering look at all. I must get more sleep.  I didn't do too well last night so we'll start tonight maybe.  I'm not sure why I can't get to bed before 11pm.  I remember back in the day when I would try to be in bed by 9:30pm.  How was that even possible!!

This picture has nothing to do with anything except that
the other day I found a bunch of my kitchen utensils in the
garbage and I can only blame this munchkin.

~ I need a new TV series to watch on TV that is on Amazon Prime.  I tried watching Alias but it was really hard to follow.  I couldn't keep up with all the plot twists and turns.  I may try it again later, but I had to take a break.  So. Now I am watching Quantum Leap.  I loved that show as a kid and it's fun to watch.  There are only two seasons though, so it won't last too long.  Did you watch that show as a kid?

~ I am going to Houston tomorrow for a work trip.  My sister is driving over from Dallas to watch Evan while I present at and attend a conference.  I am excited she is coming.  I am excited about the conference too.  It is looking to be a very forward thinking conference and like it.  They have free childcare!  And they have "Scent Free" sections so people who are sensitive to scents (like smelly perfume, cigarette smoke, etc.) can sit in peace.  I can't sit there because my deodorant and shampoo are scented, but I really like the idea.

~ I am having so many problems getting my nursing school applications in.  Just when I think everything is golden, something new comes up.  Hopkins wanted my Description of Service (a document that I wrote that states everything I did in my two years in Peace Corps) and now Peace Corps says that they can't find it.  What???  How can that be missing?  Grrr.  Not sure what that means exactly, but Hopkins has a really great Returned Peace Corps Volunteer program and offers scholarships and now I am afraid I won't be eligible.  Boo.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they find the document buried under my maiden name or something.

Ok, enough random thoughts for today.  My eyes won't stay open.  The black bus abyss is dragging me under.

A Broken Rule, a Tragedy, and Catch-up

Sorry I didn't get a chance to post last Thursday.  I went to work (the only day that week due to MLK Day, a snow day, and my telecommuting days), but I ended up sitting with a bus friend who wanted to chat the entire time.  Yes, I have broken my cardinal bus rule: no more bus friends after Jacqui, especially male bus friends.  The reason I became friends with Jacqui in the first place was because she was rescuing me from a male bus stalker who wanted to sit with me all the time.  She started sitting with me so that he couldn't and it saved me (the guy was actually mad at her and yelled at her for sitting with me all the time - he had serious problems).  When Jacqui stopped riding the bus I promised to stop making bus friends and I really promised to never make a male bus friend because they always turn out to be creepy.  All rules broken.  As hard as I tried not to, I made a new bus friend.  And he happens to be male.  He was just so friendly that I would have had to be down right rude to get rid of him and that's hard for me to do.  He seems happily married with two young girls so I am hoping that he never invites me for coffee or to stay the night in his "condo" or any other creepy gross things.  There are only so many different buses I can take to escape the weirdos.  But the point of this long tangent was to say that the bus was crowded that morning so I sat with him and then couldn't write my blog.

Saturday morning I headed out for a run.  Amazing, right?  Well, now that I have joined up with the TNT  group to do my long runs (not fundraising, just running with them), I feel more compelled to go.  It's a good thing too because it was like 13 degrees but felt like 5 due to the wind.  Yup, it was chilly.

That was my running outfit.  It kept me nice and warm (kind of, I was still a bit frozen).  The face mask was useful in keeping my mouth from freezing off, but it did get some condensation on it that froze.  I ended up doing 7.18 miles in one hour and five minutes, and that was including our water break stop.  That was pretty fast for me..I was tired but glad I kept up that pace and survived.  I admit I am a bit sore but I'll just have to push through.  Our half is coming up in like a month.  Yikes!

And on Sunday Evan and I decided to be brave and go back to church (the last time I went we got "the Look" because Evan hasn't figured out the difference between an indoor and an outdoor voice and so I stopped going - but I've decided I am going to try and ignore "the Looks" and persevere).  There had been a random shooting in our mall the day before and church was on my mind as a place to go and find peace (no matter how often you hear of gunman shooting at random people on the news, it feels very different when it happens in your own community).  This morning driving past the mall on the bus there were four or five reporters reporting early this morning and the mall is still an active crime scene.  I could also see police headquarters set up in the parking lot too.  Just very surreal.  Evan wasn't too bad at church and the nice woman in front of me specifically told me that it didn't bother her if Evan made a lot of noise.  I was thankful for this.  I am glad we went mass because the homily on the shooting was very good and I did feel better afterwards.  The thing that stuck with me the most was the priest made a comment about how it is much easier to buy guns and ammunition in this country than it is to get decent mental health care and that is sad.  And it really is very sad.  People are hurting in this country (mentally/emotionally/physically) and it's our responsibility to take care of them but we seem to be doing a really bad job of it.  And I wish I knew what was causing people so much pain and making them want to kill people and then themselves rather than getting help.  It's easy to be dismissive and say people are crazy - but that is not helping anyone.  As a society, we need to start figuring out why and what we can do about it because it it getting scary around here.  Ok, that's enough on that topic.

Onto something much happier: Evan!

And now I am gonna update you on some funny things Evan has done.  The other night he was eating dinner and put this bag over his head.

He ate his entire dinner like that.  He'd lift the bag up and I'd put some food in his mouth and then he'd put the bag back down over his head.  It was hilarious.  And surprisingly he ate more than he normally does - he actually finished all his dinner!  I'm debating whether I should put a bag over his head every night for dinner (don't worry, I made sure he was safe and wasn't suffocating himself and I don't let him put bags over his head without supervision).

And take a look at his new seat.

Ivan caught him sitting on Dolce and looking out the window.  It was so cute!  Then he started bouncing on Dolce and that was less cute.  Now he tries to climb on Dolce every time he can.  Less fun and way less cute.  Pretty much I have to separate the two of these creatures these days because I try not to let Evan bother Dolce too much.  You just never know when a dog is going to have enough and the last thing I want is Evan hurting Dolce and making him snap/bite him (this has never happened and the only time I've seen Dolce snap is at the vet when having stitches removed).  Plus, Dolce weighs about 65 pounds and Evan is about 18 pounds - so there is a big difference there.

Ok, I'm gonna banana split.  Hope you have a great Monday!

Snow Day, Running, and TEAS!!!

I haven't blogged for a while because I haven't gone into work for a while.  I'm not complaining though!  Yesterday was a holiday and today we have a snow day.  Yay for random snow storms!  Ok, I'm not that excited about the snow storm because it seems like it will be cold the rest of the week and that means it won't melt for a while so we'll be left with icy roads and a wet dog (after every walk).  However, it was nice to stay home today and play with Evan.  He has decided he LOVES this pig that my mom made him and when he spots it on the floor he picks it up, gives it a big hug and kiss, and makes some cute cuddly noises.  It's the cutest thing ever.

Please excuse the messy apartment - we have no place to put the stroller except the middle of the living room.
And most photos with Evan turn out blurry because he won't stay still for two seconds.

This past weekend was good and bad.  I had my TEAS exam (nursing school entrance exam) for University of Maryland scheduled on Saturday...or so I thought.  In my head I had scheduled it for 18 January at 7am.  I had to be there 30 minutes early so I arrived bright and early at 6:20am.  And then I waited for someone to show up, and no one ever did.  I got out my confirmation sheet to see if there was a phone number and there wasn't.  So, as I was debating what to do, I looked closely at my confirmation sheet to realize that I had scheduled the exam for 18 December 2013.  WHAT???!!!!  Why would I do that???  It was clearly a mistake because I never would have scheduled it for December when December was full of moving, finals, work, and our trip to Vermont...so I had obviously messed up.  And it was a pricey mess-up because it costs $115 to take the test and there are no refunds.  So I went home and paid the fee again and signed up for the test on Monday (luckily there were a few spots left so I could still take the exam before the 3 Feb. deadline).

Uggg - that mistake did not make my weekend a happy one.

On the other hand I was able to make it to my friend's son's 5th bday party and that was a good time.  It started at 10am and I stayed until 3pm!!  I know, maybe I overstayed my welcome.  I don't see my friend very often and since I was out there I felt like we should spend some time catching up, so I wanted to make the most out of the visit.

On Sunday I did the amazing - I got up early and met the Team In Training group for a training run.  I hadn't met up with them for a long time - since I was a mentor back in 2012.  I love TNT though and missed running with a group.  I ended up doing 7 miles, which is pretty amazing to me since I had only run four times since October.  I wasn't sure how 7 would feel but since it was only 21 degrees out, my legs were numb by mile four and I couldn't feel how tired they were.  Plus, I was running with one of my friends and she was doing a run/walk (run four minutes, walk one minute) so it made it slightly easier.  She tried to convince me to run 14 miles with her but I declined.  I may have been persuaded but we were planning on hitting up the aquarium again so I needed to get home.  I promised I would do a longer run with her next week.  I think.  If I don't wimp out.

We did end up going to the aquarium again.  We love that place and I'm so glad I decided to buy an annual membership.  It is so fun!  This time we toured the Australian exhibit, which was really fun.  We also saw the jellyfish exhibit (amazing) and watched the dolphins during a training session.

Isn't that beautiful!!!

That's Evan in front of the Moon Jellyfish - they glow in the dark.

We ended up staying for about two hours, but it was plenty of time.  And I don't really worry about it because entrance is free with the membership so I don't feel pressured to stay all day (which I would if we had paid $30 a person to get in).

After the aquarium I headed to the grocery story.  I love grocery shopping.  I think it stems from my days when I was in college and I'd meet my mom on Thursday mornings and we'd go grocery shopping together.  I just think it's super fun.  Well, up until I have to pay the bill.  I am trying so hard to keep our bill below $100 but it still creeps up to more than that.  On Sunday my bill was $119.43, so pretty much $19.43 over budget.  As I get to the self-checkout (does your grocery store have a self checkout?  I love it), I see that the person who had gone before me had gotten $20 cash back but hadn't taken the money.  There was a $20 bill hanging out of the machine.  The person was long gone and I was unsure what I should do with the money.  I thought it was ironic that I had found $20 and my bill was almost exactly $20 over budget...so I was tempted to keep it.  However, I just couldn't do it and it felt too much like stealing so after I paid my bill I went to customer service and turned it in.  They said they could reprint the receipt for the person before me and if they had used their bonus card they could call them up and tell them they had it.  I really hope it works because I'd be really bummed if I forgot to get my $20.  I'm really hoping that turning that money in (when most people probably wouldn't have) turned my karma around and some good energy will flow my way.

On Monday I headed out to take the TEAS test again.  It was so stressful trying to reschedule because the only other options were on days that I was working.  I thought that Monday, being a holiday, would be a good day for me to retake the test but it is SO hard to find someone to watch Evan.  Since it was a holiday, my sister closes the day care.  She said she could watch him for a few hours but I could tell that she didn't really want to...so it made me feel bad.  Ivan had to work and could take a sick day, but I hate using his sick days unless we really need them because he has so few.  My golf friend said she could watch him but she had a meeting in the middle and wasn't sure if her daughter was going to be around to watch him for that hour.  Ahhh!  In the end my golf friend watched him and her daughter watched him while she went to a meeting and then I picked him up after my test.  So, it worked out...but it was so stressful beforehand.  I'm not sure how I scored on the test - I ran out of time on the math section (boo) and the science section was a bit hard...but we'll see.  Hopefully I didn't do too horribly.

And that brings us to today.  Snow day.  I surprised myself by getting up and going for a run this morning before the snow started.  Or that was the plan anyway.  By the time I got all my running clothes on and sneaked (did you know "sneaked" is the past tense of "sneak" and "snuck" isn't a word...I just had to look it up and I still can't believe "snuck" isn't a word, I've been using it for years) out of the house while Evan wasn't watching (Ivan didn't have to go to work until 11am), it had already started snowing.  So I did four miles in the snow.  My legs were tired from Sunday though so it felt a bit like work.  I'm sure they are protesting running so much after such a long break.  Hopefully they will adjust though and I won't end up injured or with shin splints.  It was chilly and wet, but a nice peaceful run.

Please excuse the unmade bed, it eventually got made.

By the time I got home the sidewalks were covered in snow and some of the roads were turning white too.  They forecasted 5-10 inches today and another 1-3 at night but I'm not sure I fully believe that.  Although it is snowing a lot today, so we'll see.

The view from our deck/balcony/whatever it's called.

Luckily tomorrow is a telework day for me, so I don't have to stress about going in to the office.

*********************************
Is it snowing where you live?

Would you have kept the $20 or turned it in?

Thursday is almost Friday, right?

I don't know why some weeks feel so much longer than others.  This week should feel short since I worked from home Monday, Wednesday, and tomorrow...but no, it feels long.  And I don't know why I can't get to bed before 11pm these days.  I do know actually.  Evan.  Yup, I am blaming it on my son.  Ever since we moved he has had serious problems falling asleep and even when I know he's exhausted, it still takes him at least 30 minutes before he's asleep.  And since I stay with him until he falls asleep, that means for at least 30 minutes I am with him and not doing night time chores.  I decided a long time ago that I didn't want to let him cry himself to sleep and I believe that he shouldn't ever have to fall asleep alone (if he doesn't want to).  So, I realize that this is a consequence of that decision and I'm not complaining about it, I am just saying that he used to fall asleep in five minutes and now he doesn't.  I don't know if it was the trauma of moving or the confusion of vacation or what, but I hope our bedtime routine shortens soon!  And that he starts going to bed a bit earlier...instead of 9pm.  I really need more than 5.5 hours of sleep a night.

Yesterday he was obsessed with these prongs - he sat in this chair and played with them for longer than you would expect!

Yesterday was super busy at work and then I had a coffee date with a good friend.  Remember one of my 2014 commitments was to be a better friend?  Well, I started by calling some friends I hadn't seen for ages and making plans with them.  My friend Heather was first on that list.  I hadn't seen her for almost 9 months or so.  She was one of my best friends in high school and there is no reason we should have gone so long without seeing each other.  Coffee was fun, although Evan made it a bit of a challenge, and it was nice catching up.

It did mean that I didn't get my run in though.  I was going to go between work and coffee but I ran out of time.  So that means I am going today and tomorrow and Sunday if I want to get my runs in.  I think I am doing 4 today, so nothing too scary I hope.  I am running with my coworker and I think I've just about convinced two other coworkers to join us in the future.  We'll see if that ever happens!

You might be wondering what that is.  That is my favorite Christmas cookie, the candy bar cookie.  My mom sent me home with a few extras after Christmas and that was my last one.  It's a sad day when you eat the last Christmas cookie.  A sad day indeed.  I had to document the yumminess of that cookie and give it the respect it deserves.  Cookie, you will be missed.

And since this post is full of random bits of information, I will continue down the random path.  Yesterday I made a Hello Fresh meal.  I hadn't ordered a box in a while and then I forgot to pause my orders after Christmas so they sent me a box, but they sent it to the wrong address so I cancelled, but it was too late so they refunded my money and the box was shipped to my old address (that is an prime example of a run-on sentence).  I wasn't sure I would get it , but I did.  It wasn't the best box of food this time around, but it was ok.  On Monday I made a spicy shrimp with rice and that was good; however on Saturday I made a beef stroganoff that had no taste whatsoever.  Yesterday I made chicken kabobs with creamy leek risotto.  The kabobs where really good, they were marinated in a honey-olive-oil-spices mixture that turned out to be really good.  The leek risotto was interesting and not entirely delicious.  However, somehow the leeks permeated everything so all my clothes and bags smell like that risotto.  Not pleasant.  Go away leek smell!

Ok, that is all and I am tired...so adios!

Hope you have a great Thursday!!

Weekend Recaps and Good Morning

I think I went to bed close to 10 pm last night, a small miracle.  So I feel a smidgen less tired this morning.  Don't think that means I won't sleep in a few minutes, I just might be a but more coherent while writing this.  Except I just tried to spell writing with two t's in the last sentence (auto correct wouldn't let me though), so maybe I am less coherent than I think.

Sorry I wasn't around yesterday.  It was my niece's bday so my sister had to volunteer at her preschool, which meant the daycare was closed.  So I worked from home in the morning and then took the afternoon off.  You will be shocked to know what I did in the afternoon.  Put your seat belts on or you will be blown away!  I went for a run!!  I know, pretty monumental, right.  And not just a five minute run down the street...nope, I did a full 5.5 miles.  Amazing, right?!?!  I took two and a half months off completely and then last week I did a three mile run and a four mile run and then I managed to get a five and a half mile run in without falling over.  And it was hilly!  My legs were tired but I made it.  We'll see what I feel like today but hopefully I will recover.  I will admit my recovery fuel was not stellar...some chips and frozen yogurt...but I will try and work on that.  I have today off and then I will try and do four tomorrow.  I'm not sure it't the brightest idea to jump right into the middle of my training plan pretending that I have been running for the past few months, but I'm not sure what other options I have...the half marathon is a short five weeks away!

These past few weekends have been lots of fun but I was busy posting delayed holiday posts so I will tell you about them now.  Last weekend we actually did something fun and this weekend we didn't, but for some reason it was still a good weekend in my eyes.  Last weekend we FINALLY used our membership to the aquarium.  We got it for Evan's birthday because we thought it would be a fun activity to do in the winter but then with the move and the holidays we never made it downtown.  However last weekend we went with some friends and it was a lot of fun.  I'm not sure who liked it more, Evan or Ivan! 

It's hard to make us out but there we are in front of the Amazonian mangroves.  My parents and I actually went on a mangrove tour in Honduras and it was amazing, so this was fun to look at.  That tour seems like years ago, and actually it was seven and a half years ago so I guess it was years ago.

Our attempt at a family selfie

One of my favorite parts of the aquarium is the rainforest.  You get to walk through it and I think it's so fun.  I guess it might seem odd since it's not underwater, but I like it anyway.  We saw a sloth sitting on a tree which was fun, although I have seen a sloth in Costa Rica in the wild so this was a little less amazing.  Ivan wasn't a fan of the rainforest exhibit because it was hot and by the time we left the rainforest he was drenched in sweat.  I made him pose for one more family photo though.

His favorite thing was the sharks, of course.

We didn't see everything so we want to go back soon, maybe next weekend or the weekend after.  Since it's free with our membership all we pay for is parking.

This weekend we went shopping for some rugs to put in the house but were unsuccessful.  We ended up going to Kohl's and JCPenney's but Kohl's was way too expensive and JCPenney's didn't have many in the store, so we ended up buying one online.  We still need on to put in the dining room and kitchen because it's just too loud with the dog and Evan that we are afraid the neighbors will complain.  I wasn't willing to shell out $100 bucks so we only bought one, and the one we bought is for the living room.  We needed one to put in front of the couch so when Ivan puts his boots on he doesn't stain the carpet.  It's really annoying renting sometimes - you have to constantly think about what the place is going to look like when you move out...and dirt stains on the carpet can be a problem.

On Sunday we tried to go to church but failed miserably.  Evan is just so talkative that it was a nightmare.  Everyone kept giving us the Look and even though I tried to be strong and kept telling myself that the Catholic church is against abortion and birth control and that children are the future of the church and they should be welcome...Ivan still ended up spending 98% of the time in the hallway with him.  We may not go back for a while.  Then we went to Panera and ate chocolate chip bagels and coffee and played on the mall playground.  They have a little play area inside and during mall hours it is crazy with kids jumping wild and large kids (who are too big for the playground anyway) pushing the little kids, etc.  However, the mall hadn't opened yet so there were only a few other kids playing around.  Evan loved it.

We went to the playground by our house yesterday too and no one was there so Evan had a blast walking from one play thing to the next.

He loves these cars but there are two so you put him in one and then he points to the other.

So then you put him in that one and then he wants the other one.

And then he just wonders off (that's the dog's leash in the bottom of the photo, in case you were wondering). 

After my run we went and got Evan's haircut.  It's very cute.  We had the same woman who cuts Ivan's hair cut Evan's and she did a good job.  He was so well-behaved and just sat there the entire time...completely unlike church.  Then we headed to my sister's for cake and ice cream to celebrate my niece's birthday.

Now it's back to the bus and work.  And my nap!

New for 2014

I think we are slowly coming out of the polar vortex.  It was 27 degrees out when I went running yesterday and only 25 degrees this morning while I waited for the bus.  It doesn't really bother me too much waiting for the bus in the cold, dark morning except for one thing.  My toes getting really cold.  That must be why people wear boots in colder climates, because it keeps their feet warm.  My little leather work shoes and old, thin socks are no defense against the bitter cold.

And yes, you read that right, I finally went for a run.  It was only three miles but it felt good and I didn't keel over from lack of physical fitness.  I just have to be able to add 10 miles to that and I'll be golden.  It was a bit chilly and although I never warmed up enough to sweat even one drop, I wasn't freezing the entire time.  My face was cold but other that that it wasn't too horrible.

And now to my new year commitments...

Looking back on my 2013 commitments, these are pretty much the same.  So, I didn't commit to them very well.  I will try and do better this time around!!!

I don't like to call them resolutions because most resolutions fail miserably.  Not that my commitments don't fail with time but I am hopeful.  My co-worker says that 2014 is going to be our year and I really want to believe that it will be.  Last year, although it had it's great moments, did not end well and I could use a more positive year in 2014.  There are a lot of things I'd like to commit to do better in 2014, so here they are (yes, I realize I am a bit late in these but I have been doing them since the beginning of January,  I just didn't get a chance to write about them.

 
1. Be a better friend. 
 

My bus friends - haven't seen them since this photo
was taken in May!!!

I have some really amazing friends and in 2013 I called in a lot of friend favors but I rarely was a good friend back.  Between adjusting to being a working mom, taking classes, coaching golf, etc., I was kind of overwhelmed and good intentions like phone calls and notes and letters and short visits just never happened.  I can't expect to have great friends if I am never a great friend myself.  This year I want to get more organized and keep in better touch, get more coffees, send more notes, etc.

2. Be a better housekeeper.  

Evan will always challenge this endeavor as he sees it as his mission to take out everything I put away!

 Last year I got a bit lazy with chores (for most of the reasons above), and the house was often a mess.  This year I would like to make little changes so that the place is more presentable.  For example, make the bed every day.  Ivan thinks it's stupid to make the bed when you are just going to sleep in it again, but I like looking at a made bed.  It makes the room look nicer.  I'd also like to find places for all the stuff that accumulates on the dining room table.  We'd like to eat family dinners there but we are always moving junk around.  And then I'd just like to be more on top of things like cleaning bathrooms, doing laundry, washing dishes, etc.

3. Be less frumpy.  
 

Not the frumpiest, but hair in ponytail, no make-up, and bad posture - changes could be made.

 I haven't completely fallen into the frumpy stage, but I am close.  My hair is always in a ponytail, I never have make-up on, and I wear the same sweatshirt and jeans every day of the weekend.  Something must be done!  I can't continue to let myself fall to the wayside.  So, a little self-improvement can't hurt.  First on the list is better posture.  I need to stand up straight, end of story.  I also need to start putting on some make-up every once in a while.  And blow-drying my hair (when I get it cut).  I can't look like I just rolled out of bed every day.

4. Do more things.

Camping - let's do more of this!

After Evan was born we slowed down a bit, activities got expensive and we were content to just hang out at home.  Nothing wrong with that at all, but now Evan is older and it's fun and easier to go places.  I'd like to go to church more, take Dolce to the dog park more, play more golf, do more fun activities like the aquarium and zoo.  Take Evan to the playground, on hikes, and for bike rides.  Get more camping in.  Things like that.  

Ok, those are most of my commitments for the year. I realize there are a lot and they are quite involved but if I succeed in just one area I will be a better person for it!

What commitments did you make for 2014??

Christmas Vacation Part II (and lots of photos)

Before I get started I just have to mention that it is 3 degrees out and with the wind chill it feels like -14 degrees.  I thought I was going to freeze waiting for the bus at 6am but Ivan nicely waited at the bus stop so I could stay in the warm car.  I was very appreciative.

Now, back to pretending I am still on vacation and enjoying life in Vermont.

You would think that a nice storm was adventure enough and that the rest of the trip would be smooth sailing...but you would be wrong.  This year my younger sister and her family came up for Christmas and my older sister stayed in Texas.  Usually it is the other way around, but we had fun my my younger sister and her family...although we missed my older sister and her boyfriend.  

The babies eating breakfast - they are only 3 months apart

Due to the large amount of ice on the trees, they were getting heavy and many branches were breaking and trees were falling.  It you went outside you could actually hear sporadic crashing in the woods.  Unfortunately, one or two trees looked like they were going to fall right on the house in the direction of the guest bedroom!  And they weren't little trees.  My Dad called some tree people to come cut it down but they couldn't come until the next morning.  The tree looked so precarious that my sister and family ended up sleeping in my parents' room and my parents slept on a mattress in the living room.  Ivan, Evan, and I were fine because we always sleep in the basement because it's much easier down there with Dolce.  So we were safe from falling trees.  Luckily no trees fell and the tree guys came on Christmas Eve and cut them both down (they were each 88ft tall!!) for a hefty price.  

What an adventure!

Then it was Christmas!  

My parents' tree - it is so pretty, I love it.  They've had the same
tree for 23 years or something.

We have a Christmas tradition were Christmas morning we wait until everyone is awake and then we munch on Panetone (an Italian fruit bread) and open presents.  My Dad is responsible for handing out the presents and we open them one at a time.  I know it seems slow and arduous but I love it.  That way you can thank the person who gave it to you, see what other people got, and watch people open your present.  Plus it prolongs the gift opening session.

Getting ready to open presents Christmas morning

This year Ivan and I didn't buy anyone presents.  We sent out an email in advance so people would know and wouldn't think we had forgotten.  We just didn't have the money after moving and putting down our deposit and everything.  That put a small damper on the holidays because we love gift giving and we had great ideas for people's gifts this year.  And there is something extra special about buying Christmas gifts during the holiday.  Plus, people still bought us stuff and then we felt bad opening things from people we didn't buy anything for.  Such is life though and we'll just have to make it up next year.

I got some great gifts like a Barnes and Nible gift card, new clothes, a Peace Corps calendar, a teapot, tea, Christmas ornaments, a necklace, a big blanket, a cookbook, a microwave popcorn maker, new sheets.  I loved everything.  

Evan looking at the tree...before Santa came.

Evan got lots of fun gifts too.  We gave him a wooden train and a piggy bank (we had purchased the two items before we spent all our money on moving).  He also received some clothes, some ornaments, some little cars, books, a hammer type toy, a puzzle, some bath toys, and other things I can't remember this early in the morning.

Ivan was most excited about a gift certificate to his favorite Chinese Buffet.  The gift certificate was for $60.00 and the buffet only costs $5.95 a person.  Super cheap, right!!  So he went twice and treated the entire family one time.  He still has almost $20 left for when we return.  That man loves his Chinese buffets.  He also got a Honduran soccer scarf, new socks, clothes, and some other things I can't remember because I wasn't able to pay attention while I was opening mine and Evan's gifts.

The rest of the trip involved lots of time hanging out with Evan and my sister's girls, chatting with my mom, sledding in the woods, hanging out at my Aunt's house, and drinking lots of tea.  

Evan had a great time playing with kitchen items!

Evan dancing in his Christmas outfit.

Getting ready to go sledding!

Playing with Mimi on the kitchen floor (we spent a lot of time in the kitchen).

Evan in his snow outfit - coat, snow pants, snow boots, and all!

The trees were still frozen days later - this is the view from
the living room window.

Evan loved taking every item out of the drawers and playing with them all over the kitchen floor.

Playing in the little rocking boat my parents had - so cute!

Cousins happily playing in the kitchen - check out the doll stuck in the basketball hoop!

An attempt at a cousin photo in front of the tree - complete failure!

Hanging out with Papa (ignore the opened pantry in the back)

The weekend before we left we headed into Burlington to go to the Echo Center, which is a lake aquarium geared toward kids.  Evan loved looking at the fish, playing in the water, and playing in the kids room which had a boat and a little slide.

He could have stayed here forever!

Looking at snakes.

I had to take a photo of Evan in his shirt next to the Caution Wet Floor sign - that shirt is so special beause
my friend made it for me because I have that same tattoo.

It was a fun place.  Afterwards we headed to dinner at the Skinny Pancake where my Dad's second cousin works and enjoyed yummy crepes.  They were really delicious.  

And that my friend is my recap! 

The only other adventure we had was coming home from an attempted trip to Burlington (we turned around because it was snowing too much and we passed three accidents in an hour) we went to drive down the street my parents' house is on, only to find out that an electric pole had fallen and there were downed wires all over the street.  We called the electrical company and headed to Chinese Buffet to wait while the wires were removed.  It turned out that they were cable wires instead and we could just drive over them.  Which is what we ended up doing the rest of the time because the cable company never came out to fix them.  Luckily they weren't the cable lines to my parents' house so we still had TV and internet. 

We had an uneventful drive home and came home to find our house ransacked.  Oh wait, no, it wasn't ransacked.  We left it looking like a disaster because we hadn't had time to unpack anything.  I spent the rest of the week trying to get things organized and figure out how we were going to fit everything in our new place.

I'm still working on that.

I sure miss vacation. I really miss sleeping in until 8am and not having to commute into the city everyday.  And getting home so late.  But at least I don't have class this semester, so that's a big positive.

And as far as my half marathon training goes - it isn't going anywhere.  I had all these plans to run in Vermont and half my suitcase was filled with running clothes - and then the ice storm came and the ice never went away.  I was too nervous about slipping and spraining an ankle so I didn't go.  Plus, there are no sidewalks where my parents live and I have to run on road that have a speed limit of 50mph but no shoulder - with a snow-packed street it just didn't seem like a smart idea.  Of course not training for my half marathon doesn't seem so smart either!

How's the weather where you are?  Are you suffering from the Polar Vortex too???  Have you ever run a race with little to no training???

Our Christmas Vacation, Part I

Hello!  Merry Christmas!!!  Happy New Year!!  It has been too long since we've chatted.  I didn't mean to be away so long but I just never got around to posting while I was on vacation.  I had a lot of things to share but nothing so important it couldn't wait.  And now it's 6am and I am on the bus again, back to work, like vacation never happened.  I am hoping I am refreshed for the new year and motivated to get a lot of work done and all that.  We'll see what happens when I get to the office...that motivation often disappears!

We had such a fun holiday.  Honestly, it would have been difficult to not have fun though.  We really needed some time away from reality and work and the move and unpacking and all that jazz.  By the end of the month it was starting to wear us down and we just wanted to be finished with it all.  I took my Chem final without studying (and luckily got a B, not a high B but I still kept my A in the class so who cares), we moved, started to slowly unpack (which we are still doing), and packed up our suitcases for Vermont.

Yet again we woke up on the Friday before Christmas super early and were on the road close to 5:30am...me, hubs, Evan, and Dolce.  It was squishy like always but we survived another ten hour car ride.

The dog and Evan get lots of very close time together.  Evan pulls out Dolce's fur and Dolce eats Evan's snacks.  I think it's a fair trade.

Once we hit Albany the drive got a bit interesting.  The temperatures started dropping and it started raining...and freezing.  Literally the rain froze on our windshield almost faster that we could clear it.

That stuff in the upper right corner is pure ice.  It was crazy!  Ivan was driving and he did a great job...while I took pictures.  We were still able to make decent time and arrived at my parent's house close to 4pm.  Not too shabby.  And even though it was a bit treacherous, it was a very pretty snow-filled trip.

If you can believe it, the picture above is Lake Champlain, frozen over and covered with snow.  It was weird looking at it and knowing it was a lake, but seeing no water.

The rest of our trip went similar to the car ride: snow-filled, treacherous, lots of people and animals, yet still filled with the people you love and lots of fun times together that make it special.  Our first adventure was a terrible ice storm (figures, since we battled ice on our drive up).  Literally everything was frozen -the streets, our cars, the trees, the snow.

It looked beautiful though.

The snow was frozen right onto the trees, which I thought was the prettiest thing ever.  It made the trees look like they had fresh snow on them for days.  However, you know what else freezes during a nice storm?  Power lines!  And it rural-ish Vermont, when you have no power, you also have no heat and no water.  Not fun...especially since a nice storm usually means cold temperatures.  I was happy that power was restored about four hours later...not too much suffering.  It would have been three weeks before we got power back in Maryland!

Ok, I feel like this is getting long and I still have so much to share so I think I'll end it now and continue tomorrow.  Don't stay away too long though - the adventures continue!!

Happy Monday!!