Moving Forward

Two years ago, I attempted to take up knitting.  One of my friends choose this "simple" felted bag for a starter project.  It was so bad I tore the whole thing out and started again.  The only problem was that I couldn't remember how to do the step that transitioned the base into the sides.  The project ended up in our closet and there it has sat. 

A few weeks ago I brought it to work, because there is a knitting club that meets in the space right next to my office on Thursday morning.  The people who were there---seasoned knitters, could not figure out how to do the next step and even tried to google it.  The told me to bring it back this week, since the two people who have made several felted bags would be there.

This past week, I brought the bag back and one of the seasoned felters couldn't understand why on earth someone would start me on this project; this was by no means a "simple" bag.  She helped me get the bag into the round and I am off to knitting again.  Hopefully some day I will actually finish the bag.  I'll keep you posted.

Activity: I got up for a quick run this morning before heading out to see some freinds we have not seen in a while.  It felt good to have my run done and over with before the day began.

Goats

We are fortunate enough to live in an area where most people have some sort of farm animal in their backyard.  For most, like us, it is a few chickens to provide eggs.  Others have small side jobs in providing meat, eggs, milk, or honey to their neighbors.  Such is the case with one of my friends.  She is a Special Educator by day and raises goats by night.  Most of the goats are for breeding purposes only, except for the unlucky males who occasionally end up on our dinner table because they are not as desired as the females in breeding circles.  At the beginning stages all of them are adorable (the little while one below is only a day old!). 

Evey year about this time my friend's goats kid and we are invited over to see the new baby goats. I took Little Man and one of his friends out for a play date to see the new babies.  They of course loved it, once they got past the fact that the moms all have "horns", and the poop was frozen, and ended up following the "favorite" kid around the pen - a spunky little gal named Wynter (there has to be something about that name), who just looks like she is going to be trouble.  Actually, they also got a kick out of touching one of the younger goats horns, once they realized that the goat was not out to stab them with it. That, and I actually think they were encouraging one of the kids to nibble on them so she would come close enough so they could pet her. I love the fact that they can do this without having to pay for an expensive farm yard petting zoo that only offers goats that follow you around waiting for you to feel them the 25 cent grain that just came out of a vending machine.   

Activity for the day: A quick 2.5 miles on the treadmill before heading out for a girls' night.

Snow

On the wall in our garage, where I park my car each day, hangs three sets of snowshoes.  Last year we had an ample amount of snow to create a whole series of paths through our backyard, as well as taking them out to a few of the local parks; they spent more time in my car than on the wall. This year we have been lucky if the snow stays on the ground for more than 24 hours.  Meanwhile, those snowshoes have been teasing poor Little Man every time we drive into the garage; he wants to use them bad. 

This weekend we were blessed with 8 inches of fluffy snow, and Little Man was ready to go.  For those of you who have never gone snowshoeing before, this is not really enough snow for snowshoes, but that does not matter to a three year old who has been tormented by his snowshoes all winter. 

It was hard to get a picture of the little blue speck that was running as fast as he could around the yard.  I think I may sign him up for a snowshoe race next winter, he would probably win.  He ran until Mommy got cold and convinced him it was time for hot chocolate.  If it was his choice, he would still be running around the backyard.

Workout so far this week: snowshoeing with Little Man yesterday and 3 miles on the treadmill today.

The End of a Busy Week.

At the end of a busy week, we decided making pizza would be a great family activity.  Once Little Man quickly shaped and topped his pizza, he quickly returned to his station to see if he could steal  some more toppings (snacks) from mommy and daddy.  Daddy, apparently the patient one in the family, spent his time carefully crafting and tossing his pizza in the air to form the perfect pie. I am more of a thick crust person, and went for the hand shaped dough(the "lazy way"-editor). 

Once we were finished crafting our pizzas, we placed them onto the "new" pizza stone that grandma gave us on Wednesday and popped them in the oven for a few minutes and enjoyed every bit. 

Running: I spent most of the week walking in an effort to nurse my leg back to health.  It must have paid off because I went on a 3 mile run this afternoon.  The only reason I stopped was because I was tired after a week off.  I figured it I was going to take a week off, this would be it, because as of the first of March I need to start increasing my mileage for a half marathon in June.  Hopefully it worked. 

Chick/Chicken Stuff

It feels like spring and the boys had the day off, so they ran around town doing all sorts of little tasks, including a few involving our lovely chickens; who I might mention are loving the warm weather because it means they are actually willing to step outside the coop.  A single flake of snow and they won't even stick their beaks out the door. 

To start off with, our new chicks have been ordered for the spring.  This year we ordered 3 Barred Rocks and 4 Buff Orpingtons (the breed we already have). 

Secondly, the boys decided they wanted to play with the drill this afternoon.  Since there have been a few occasions that the chickens have been left to fend for themselves overnight (we have a skunk who lives under the coop) Andy decided we needed a cheaper version of the feeders that hold a lot of food.  Hence the boys played with power tools this afternoon after they stopped at Lowes to pick up a few things.  I present you with our new feeder. 

(Editor's note: There's no proof that the skunk lives under the coop. It's more likely that the skunk lives somewhere in the fifteen acre field behind our lot. Regardless, I won't go out there when that stinky striped thing is touring the yard - they are remarkably fast moving if they want to be - and I don't think my boss wants me to call out of work due to "smell". We made the hanging feeder in an attempt to keep the various rodents and vermin from eating all the feed.)

Now  the chickens should feel like we are actually paying attention to them for a while. 

Run To Chocolate

I did in fact run a February race this year and it was worth every minute.  It also helped that it was 36 degrees out and felt like a spring day.  It was also a perfect race for a time when I wasn't feeling like I was at my peak performance.  Most of the runners were moms with strollers, I could actually count the people in front of me.  It was wonderful, I am used to running races with elite runners where I am just another runner somewhere in the novice group in the back.  It was a nice change of pace.  An added bonus was the spring like weather running down a dirt road, it felt like mud season in Vermont, it was wonderful.

After the run we headed inside for chocolate and lots of it, they even had a chocolate fountain with strawberries.  We didn't take stay for long since Little Man was determined to eat every piece of chocolate I managed to pick up.  I stuck to the strawberries and we were on our way to enjoy the rest of the day. 

 Little Man waiting for mommy to run by the playground.  There was actually a group of children that would come flying down the hill as various moms passed by.  A two year old I have never seen before in my life came running down the hill at me screaming, go mommy go.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to Me!

I ran/walked 4 miles just to work off all the chocolate I ate.

Good Cheap Fun

I used to think that everything in life comes with a price; then I moved to Vermont, had a child and realized that even on a budget you can have a great time.  This past week, for example, we did several things and had a ton of fun enjoying the free things that the community around us has to offer. 

My mother-in-law would be thrilled that we utilize our Public Library.  I am pretty sure that before I moved to Vermont, the only thing I did at the library was check books out.  While this is something I highly encourage, there are so many other things that the library has to offer that I really never paid much attention to before, especially when you have a child.  This week for example, we went to the library for evening story time (yes, our librarian cares enough about working moms that not only do they offer a day time story hour, they offer an evening one as well).  Little Man make many guesses on the way as to what we think the librarian will be reading and then sits in this cute little amphitheater corner in the corner of the children's section to see if we were right.  Following the story time there is a little craft project and snacks that go along with the stories read.  Another great thing about our library is that in the summer, you can check out passes for the different museums in the area.  Given the number of  attractions around us, if we didn't check the passes out, we could rack up a summer fun bill pretty quickly.  There are other amazing programs and activities that our library offers throughout the year that are a significant relief to the wallet. 

The second free thing we did this week was go on a factory tour.  If you live in a state that does not have a ton of these I am really sorry as they can be a ton of fun and usually involve free samples at the end.  Typically the price is either a few dollars or free, which was the case this weekend.  We went to a newly renovated train station, that houses the Green Mountain Coffee Roasters visitor center.  When we first walked in, one of the women who work at the visitor center was nice enough to point out the little button that makes the model train move around the room to Little Man.  I am pretty sure he would have spent all day pushing that button had we let him.  The next room has all sorts of little interactive stations that taught us about where coffee comes from and how it is made (unfortunately Little Man discovered the vacuum tube that carried Kuerig cups back and forth in the factory; yet another button to push).  Then on to the cafe for a cup of coffee and - with a little convincing from Little Man- a snack. Ok, I was hungry too, he really didn't have to convince me.  Now, had I been really ambitious I would have done the whole factory tour loop and hit the Ben and Jerry's factory tour, Cold Hollow Cider, the Cabot/Lake Champlain Annex and then stopped at the glass blowing place, but one tour was enough for me and we'll save that part of the trip for when we have visitors.

Of course, my favorite free activity of the week was the time we spent playing soccer in the back yard with Little Man.  Too bad the temperatures are back down to 3 and there is still not enough snow on the ground to go outside and play.

Run for the week:  Sunday was my day off, so I spent an hour watching CSI on Hulu and doing my various stretches and exercises for my IT band.  Today: I ran for 2 miles, walked for one, and then faithfully did my stretches.

Frustration

Why is it that I just can't seem to get ahead?  The past two weeks were great and then this week my IT band decided it hates me.  Fortunately, I have been through this before and know that I can get through it, unfortunately, it means easing up a bit.  It means I need to walk some when it starts to hurt, stretching it a lot more then I currently do, and sucking it up and making myself run outside in the cold, where the ground it a little bit more forgiving.  I have walked a bit this week, but the other two I have been slacking on, which has resulted in the throbbing I am currently feeling running from my hip to my knee.  The stupid part of all this, is that I could have run with friends outside this morning and could have gone during nap time today.  Did I? No - of course not, I decided to jump on the treadmill at 8:00PM tonight and make the whole thing worse.  Alright, I am done venting now, hopefully next week will be a little bit better.

Good Food

Only good food can make for good conversation.  This weekend was a great food weekend, despite a few flubs here and there.  If you don't believe me, check out Andy's blog, he won't hesitate to blog about the messes made in his kitchen.  Anyway, back to the amazing food. 

Friday night: We went over to a friend's house for homemade pizza and their own home-brewed hard cider. It actually sounds like a pretty easy process, and my friend was more than happy to show me what they had done. I am beginning to think we may have to make use of that apple tree out front next summer.

 Saturday: We ate really good winter pumpkin soup.  You'll have to read Andy's blog if you want to know about the extreme mess that was made in the kitchen, he does a much better job of telling the story.  Then came tonight; Little Man and I made strawberry jam. When I had turned my back on the pot for a few minutes, I heard Little Man ask Andy why there was steam coming out of the pot.  It was not steam, it was smoke from where the jam was boiling onto the burner.  Oh well, we ended up with strawberry syrup instead of jam (in the event that you have never made jam, it is an exact science, you have to boil it for just the right amount of time, to get it to gel just right; if you take it off the smoking burner before its time is up, you end up with syrup instead of jam).  Looks like we will be having pancakes sometime this week. 

Workout for the day was supposed to be a 2 mile tempo run, it ended up being 2 miles all out.  I had to force myself cool down when it was all over.

Racing Plan

Despite not feeling good for one of the days this week due to some stomach issues, I still managed to get my butt on the treadmill 6 days this week. It didn't total the mileage I wanted because of my 1 mile day when I wasn't feeling great, but I did manage to run the same mileage as last week, despite the minor set back.
I determined that I needed a plan to keep myself going and, besides, I had determined back in November that I was going to try and do a race a month, with a possible exception for February when temperatures can sometimes drop below 0 (although judging by this weekend, it looks like I may be running in a few weeks).  I sat down this weekend and mapped out races that
I am  willing to commit to, however,there are other possible races that I may also add in or substitute. Here is the plan so far. 

February (weather permitting): Run to Chocolate: 2 miles-short enough that even if it is cold I can probably get myself out of the house

March: Race Vermont Spring Fling: 5k

April: HoBy 5k and possibly Here Comes the Sun the following weekend

May: Partners Race and yes my lovely husband will actually be running all 5 miles of it with me this year.( "Lovely" I ain't...-Andy)

June: Covered Bridges half marathon; I ran it last year and loved it.

There it is, my races for the next few months.

Strike Out

I firmly believe that in most cases, local food is far better than most; it tends to be made with fresh ingredients, lacking all those funky ingredients that you have no idea what they are and it supports the local economy.  However, sometimes we strike out big time.  I am a huge salsa girl; I love the stuff and could possibly eat a whole jar in one sitting by myself.  Therefore I was very dismayed when my husband brought home flavorless local salsa(Don't blame me - blame the dude in Winooski who made it!-Andy).  Typically when we roll the local dice, we end up with amazing food like Boves, Snowflake Chocolate, Vermont Peanut Butter, you name it.  This time it was really bad and I was extremely sad.(Please forgive her - our three year old is learning about rhyming words, and she just got caught up in it! -Andy) I was very excited to see that my wonderful hubby bought some more-flavorful salsa for tonight.  I will continue to explore the local flavors, but I am thinking the next time, the local salsa is going to have to come from my own garden.

Run for the night: 3 mile recovery run