Stuff

I can see that this year's blog book will be much thinner than previous years. I've been averaging 1-2 entries per month. I'm not sure why I write less frequently. I think there is so much I want to write about that I can't pick just one thing and start writing. Hence - time for a "catch up" post, in no particular order  . . .

Bonding with the Ladies
Two weekends ago I embarked on a road trip to the wilds of rural Virginia with six other ladies, including my sister, to celebrate a friend's 40th birthday. Our group was made up of people that I have known almost my whole life: my sister, two childhood friends I've known since age 4, the sister of one of those childhood friends who was also the birthday girl, a friend I met in high school and a friend who is married to someone I've known since high school. So in a nutshell, we go WAY back.

There is nothing quite like hanging out with people who have known you through different stages of your life. There is something incredibly comfortable and calming about being around people who really know you, not just the YOU that you are now, but the many YOUs throughout the years. When we get together it's like all the years melt away and we're just the same as we ever were.

Our journey began with a drive through rural Virginia south of Charlottesville. We drove in two separate cars and all that we knew was the address of the house which we were renting for the weekend. By the time we reached our destination it was pitch dark outside. The GPS said "Turn right" and as we turned onto the dark, gravel road that seemed to lead nowhere, an uneasy silence descended upon us, punctuated with nervous laughter. "Oh my God, where are we GOING?" is what we were all thinking. The road got bumpier and narrower. An old broken down barn loomed before us as we turned to make our way up a big hill. As we crested the hill our rental home, a large Victorian looking farmhouse, rose up to meet us in the shadows, blanketed in darkness. There was NOTHING around and no lights on anywhere. We were completely freaked out. The Blair Witch Project popped into my head and my sister, who recently starting watching "The Walking Dead" stated that she expected to see zombies lurching toward us out of the darkness.

Needless to say, I pulled right up to the house and turned my high beams on so that we could see

what we were doing. Thankfully we found the key and got in and turned on every single light in the house. It ended up being a gorgeous house, full of cool stuff like an octagonal shaped room, gas fireplace, surround sound system complete with a record player and an eclectic mix of records and CDs, a hot tub and a curious sign on the kitchen that read "Experiment in Progress".

It turned out to be a great weekend. We went to wineries, sat in the hot tub, ate big dinners at the stately dining room table while blasting opera music and laughing hysterically, played a ridiculous charades-type game in the octagon-shaped room, slept in big comfortable beds, laughed, talked, drank lots of wine. You get the picture. My sister and I even got up and went for a four mile run down a remote country road where the only living things we encountered were a bunch of cows and a baby deer scampering ahead of us.

I think a trip like this is in order on a yearly basis.

 

ALS Walk

For the fifth year in a row we walked around the Washington Monument to remember my dad and to raise money for the ALS Association. Each year has a slightly different feel. This year for the first time the skies were overcast and we were all bundled up against the cold. There's something nice about doing the same thing every year with the exact same sign that we made for our very first walk. Every year I do a little repair work to the Viking helmet my mom made our of aluminum foil. Our initial idea behind the helmet was to attach it to the top of the sign so that people could find us. My dad wore the original foil helmet to a toga party many years ago, and then subsequently would pull it out of storage every Halloween along with a curly wig and a poncho to entertain the trick or treaters.

 

ALS Walk 2010

Five days after our second walk my dad passed away. I remember my mom saying she didn't want to do the walk again because it was too hard. I'm glad we stuck with it though - it always turns out to be a happy event which usually ends with us at a local barbecue place stuffing our faces with ribs and pork bellies (and Shiner Bock beer in mason jars!).

 

 

Running

This has been a great year for running for me! I haven't written about my running in a while. I've finally gotten into a groove and this year I finished not one but two half marathons. I never in a million years thought I could run a half marathon when I first started running five years ago. I looked at people who ran anything longer than five miles like they were crazy. But I think I'm officially addicted.

 

The best part is that I've recruited family members who always looked at ME like I was crazy to run races with me. My sister and I ran the Oktoberfest Half in Philly in October. We bought silly Fraulein shirts and I did my hair in a weird, Shrek-looking style and we ran together the whole time, laughing and talking. At the end they had German brats and sauerkraut for all the runners - my kind of race.

 

 

 

And THEN a week later my husband, a self-professed non-runner, joined me for a 5K! Even more amazing!! I put him on a "training program" which he followed somewhat sporadically. I told him the race course was flat and realized I was wrong when we were halfway through the first mile and trudging up a big hill. I ended up leaving him behind (sorry, John!) and took off, which paid off since I got a new personal record for my finishing time. It also allowed me to take a photo of him crossing the finish line. I think he forgave me for leaving him behind when we went back to the pub and got our free pints of Guinness. I don't know if he'll ever do this with me again, but I hope he does.

 



 



The Big 1-0

And last but not least, my little girl turned ten in October! It's unbelievable how quickly time flies. When kids are little and demanding you think it will never get easier, but it does. Each age has its high points and its challenges. I realized with a pang that in a few years she won't be "little" anymore. She's my baby. I can't imagine a time when she won't want to cuddle with me in the morning or let me pull her onto my lap. She's an amazing little person and as much as I can't wait to see how she turns out, I want her to stay little as long as possible.

 

One of my favorite things she does now are cartwheels and backbends in the front yard. She does them so much and in the same spot that the grass is now worn out in her little gymnastics patch. She loves to paint and still plays with her American Girl dolls. I wish I could slow time down to keep her here just a little longer.

 

 



I think that's it for me. I feel like I'm somewhat caught up and can now get to writing those specific posts I've been wanting to get to! I have about 4-5 in mind so stay tuned.