2015 Task List

Things completed:

1. Mountain Goat Status Achieved: Sleepy Hollow 10k, Wachusett Mountain 10k, Pack Monadanock 10 Miler, Ascutney (3.7 miles), Loon Mountain (6.6 miles) and Cranmore Hill Climb (8.2 miles)

2. Ran my first snowshoe race

3. Went camping at a new place: Lafayette in Franconia New Hampshire

4. New Restaurant I have been wanting to try: We actually went to several: Blue Bird BBQ-awesome, Shillings Brewery-amazing, Sneakers-pretty good, Zero Gravity-nice place to go without children, Single Pebble-great ladies night out.

5. New Food: Bone Marrow, a variety of wild mushrooms-picked by me(with people who actually knew what they were doing), some Dutch and Indonesian food at a festival we attended.

6. Ottawa in Winter: Amazing!

7. Cross-Country Ski at Sleepy Hollow Inn: I couldn't avoid this one, I won tickets at a 5k I did on New Years Day.

8. Paint living-room wall

9. Wine Passport: Snow Farm Vineyard, East Shore Vineyard, Artesano Meadery, Charlotte Village Winery, Fresh Tracks Farm Vineyard and Winery, Shelburne Vineyard, Boyden Valley Winery, North Branch Vineyards, Lincoln Peak, and Hall Home Place Ice Cider.

10. Made Gumbo: It was not great, but I did it.

11. New Vermont State Park: Ascutney, Coolidge, Camp Plymouth

12. Sledding at Casey's Hill

13. Middlebury College Museum of Art; not as impressed as I had hoped to be.

14. Knottweed Chuttney

15. Made it to the Top of Mount Mansfield

16: At least on Sustainable act a month: Milk Soap, Mushrooming, Learned how to cook some of the wild edibles in my yard (not all were good), Ducklings and lots of them, gardening, water conservation, more energy efficient appliances (partly because some of them broke down), preserving food, purchasinge some chemical free products

17. Did some type of service/volunteer activity once a month: Saving Money/Giving Items to a charity, Serving Food at Salvation Army, Attending Fundraiser Events. moving mulch, marathon water station, Operation Christmas Child

18. Made Strawberry Wine

19. Road trip to Grafton Vermont

20. Recorded my summer spending

21. Montreal Botanical Garden

22. Maintained a running log-Finally

23. Some sort of strength 2x a week

Not Achieved:

1.Catch up with my scrap-booking: I decided I am done with scrap-booking

2.Put Levi's first and second years into photo albums: I decided I am going to make a photo book for important events, rather then every single waking moment of the poor kids life.

3.Finish a Book a Month: I got hung up in June and July on this one because I kept picking books I did not like and would not finish.

4.Cross-Country Ski at Trapps Family Lodge: I ran out of winter faster than I thought I would.

5.Mountain Washington-The day we had planned on going up, the weather was not in our favor.  Little Man would have been blown right off the mountain.

6. Run up Camels Hump: There was a bear problem this summer

7. Break an 8 minute mile 5k pace: close, but not quiet there

8. Boston Museum of Science: just didn't make it

9. Did my own oil change: new car, Andy stopped changing my oil at home

10. Shooting with Andy: I think he is chicken: I even had a babysitter lined up.

11. Separate flowers: I waited too long

12. Parker Pie in Glover: I did not do the family thing this year Memorial Day weekend.

Another awesome year with lots of great memories

 I started the year off the year by doing a First Run with 5 other friends from church. 

In February, I did a snowshoe race (my first) with my mom and a friend. It was hard, but a ton of fun.  I also learned that there is no way to sneak up on a person as you tromp through the snow. I will most certainly be doing another snowshoe race this winter; if we ever get snow.

Over the course of the year I also ran 4 half marathons with some awesome ladies.  We had fun traveling all over New England, running and hanging out together. I also did 100 mile relay race and a 5 miler with those same amazing ladies. I love my running friends.

During the Summer I traveled all over New England and did 6 mountain races.  I realized I was a lot tougher then I ever thought I was, and met some really awesome people along the way.  I also stayed with friends and family and was able to get some much needed visit time (some people I had been promising for years I would visit). 

I also ran 13 trail races (same bib) with my son, husband, cross-country runners and friends.   Afterwords there was tailgating in the parking-lot, stories of mud covered trails and a seven year old and husband who have begun to fall in love with the trails.Neither one is so sure about the roads yet.

I ran through a vineyard, by a lake and around an apple orchard for an amazing 10k that one of my cross-country runners was helping run.

I did a sundae run, a glow run and a turkey trot with my amazing husband. 

Then I finished out the year with a Santa run with my father.

It has been an amazing year with a lot of great memories.  Time to take it all down and see what 2016 has in store for me.

Christmas Lights

One of my favorite parts of December is all the Christmas lights.  This is probably due to the fact that it is dark when I leave for work and dark when I head home.  I spend the month trying to take in all the Christmas lights and pretending to enjoy the dark. Although I will admit typically it is much more magical when there is actually snow on the ground.  Below are a few places I like to visit. 

We will start our light tour with the spot many people in our area visit this time of year.  Church Street in Burlington, Vermont is a favorite location for most Christmas shoppers this time of year.  You can shop, eat a great dinner, and then venture over to Lake Champlain Chocolate for some hot chocolate. All while strolling down a beautifully decorated street. 

Next one of the local parks does a Christmas lights walk.  There are 22 trees (not including the ones at the entrance of the park) lit up, each with an odd bulb hidden within (Yoda, fire truck, flamingo, ect.).  When the kids walk in, they pick up a scavenger hunt paper and run around trying to find the items in the trees.  While they run around, mom gets to leisurely stroll through the tees taking in the beautiful lights.

 Finally the Round Church in Richmond makes for an eloquent and historic back drop to my morning runs. When there is actually snow, it also makes for an awesome backdrop for the local sledding hill..  Unfortunately the picture does not do it any justice. It is beautiful and slightly magical. 

If I am lucky I can even convince both of the boys to come along for the trip.

Unseasonably Warm

I has been an unseasonably warm December so far. Needless to say I do not think we are going to have a white Christmas this year. 

As a result our winter pass for Catamount Outdoor Family Center has turned from a time to go cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, to more trail running and mountain biking. Not that I am complaining about being able to run in shorts right now.  Little Man has actually been enjoying the trails with me as his gets some much needed mountain biking in. This week we were even joined by a heard of sheep.

Drive In

Best way to entertain a house full of crazy boys when they start to run out of energy.  Have them turn boxes into cars.  Give them a bag full of popcorn and a juice box.  Throw a Christmas movie on.  Sit back and enjoy.

Lot's of Cookies!

One of the ladies in our church had this great idea as a means of serving our community.  Get a bunch of people to make a whole lot of cookies(what you see in the picture is only about 1/6th of the cookies made).  Publicize it to the whole town(the same day Santa is across the street at the Center Store). Charge by the pound (with a cookie decorating station for the kids).  Donate the money to the Community Center and Library.  

A ton of people come and lots of money was made for the two buildings closest to our church.  It was wonderful.  

Santa Run 2015

My dad worked really hard to be able to run a 5k with me this year. I am really proud of him. Especially because it meant he had to dress up in a Santa suit.   

The Cutting Of The Tree

As a kid I fondly remember trudging through the snow at my grandparents farm to find the perfect Christmas tree.  Mind you these were not perfectly groomed trees, but they did the trick. Debating with my dad and Grandfather about which tree would make the perfect tree was one of my favorite times of the year.

While we no longer have the farm in the family, there is a cut your own tree farm close to our house.  Every winter since little man has been alive, we had trudged around (sometime in snow) to find the perfect Christmas tree.  Hopefully some day this will be one of his most precious memories.  

Three New National Parks

I have a friend who has created a monster.  Said friend has turned my son onto the Junior Ranger Parks program. It is actually a fairly inexpensive way to see new places and learn about cool things.  It is also a great way to get your family outside an moving.  

Over the Thanksgiving break, we managed to make it to three National Parks.  Two of them were parks I used to run in while we lived in Virginia, and it was nice to go back and walk around. 

 The first place we visited was Independence Hall.  The last time we were in Philadelphia it was closed, so since it was only a half mile away from our hotel we decided to go back (we had only seen the Liberty Bell last time).  I have to say, I actually learned stuff I did not know about the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, and I was pretty cool being in the place where our country was formed.  We also went to a few of the other smaller buildings surrounding it like the printing press and where Ben Franklin's house had once been.  I think the boys liked the printing press the most.

 The next one, I have to admit, we did not wander far from the visitor center at.  I used to run here ALL the time, and pick up ticks ALL the time.  There are some really great walking paths around it (with bridges, monuments, the creak,  and an old cemetery), and the history behind how the Civil war began is pretty interesting.   I just was not in the mental space to wander to far.  It is where my tick phobia began.

The third place was Prince William Forest.  I have to admit, I had forgotten how amazing the trails are.  While we were walking around, I really just wanted to be running on the trails.  The history here is pretty cool (it used to be a spy training place, camp for kids from DC, and a pyrite mine), but I just really love the trails. 

Fruit Tree

I often look through home and garden magazines in the winter and think; I really want a citrus tree growing in the house on those cold winters months (not joking).  I have considered buying one on several occasions, but I tend to kill all things living that grow in my house.  

While in Virginia, I bought one!

Philadelphia Marathon

This year I decided it was time to run another marathon.  Apparently enough time had lapsed that I had forgotten how much the last one hurt.  However, being in better shape this time, I decided it was time.  

My first error in this process was that I picked an elite runners marathon plan.  She warned me ahead of time that it was going to be hard, but at the time I felt as though I was up for the challenge.  I was not, and had to adjust the plan several times along the way.  Meanwhile all of my other runner friends kept telling me I was crazy for even attempting the plan and was going to hurt myself.  They were right.  On the last long run I did something to my hip. 

Thankfully Philadelphia is one of those marathons that you can decide you are only going to run the half marathon during the race.  It is a really easy decision to make also; turn right towards the finish or left for 13.1 more miles of torture. So, I thought what the heck; I will start with the plan to run the full, and if I am in pain, when it get to the midway point bail out and run the half.  It was the most expensive half marathon I have run, but hey I got to run through the streets of Philadelphia for 13.1 miles.  

Also while uphills still hurt a bit, I saved my hip enough to run a flat Turkey Trot with my husband four days after Philadelphia.  Too bad there are only hills around my house.  The treadmill has become my saving grace.

Beautiful Fall

It has been a pretty amazing fall this year. 

1,000 Miles

Last year one of my friends was trying to run 1,000 miles over the year.  I was curious as to how long it would take me to hit 1,000. Given that I am running a marathon this year, I knew that I would be over 1,000, but I was not sure how much over.  I just hit 1,000 this week and still have a marathon and a month and a half left to go to the year.  Wonder how many miles I will actually log for the year?

Hard vs. Fast

My September and October races were a week apart.  One was a 10K in Vermont, the other a half marathon in New Hampshire.  The first was a hilly, windy course by a beautiful lake that started and ended in a vineyard I love.  The second, a fast and flat course that was mostly in the boardwalk area at the beach.  The first one was a decent, but not my fastest, 10k time. The second was my personal best for a half marathon.  I will do the first one again and loved every minute. I probably will not do the second one again.  I prefer a race in which I have to grind it out to a race that I may run my fastest time on, but  find myself longing for some change in the grade.  

One fun fact: The first metal was a wine bottle stopper, the second was a bottle opener.

Cider

We have a big,beautiful apple tree in front of our house.  Two years ago, a friend told us that they were edible apples, and if we wanted to use their cider press we could bring them over.  Of course we did, and the cider was amazing. This year we decided to try out hand at making our own cider press.  Andy did a lot of research into types of (cheap - really cheap) cider presses, and Little Man and I happily picked a batch to be pressed.  

Everything came together perfectly.  Or so we thought.  We found out that using a hydraulic jack system created too much pressure on the beam above, eventually causing the whole system to crack.

Oh well; at least we got some cider out of the first batch. 

Montreal Botanical Garden

Haven't blogged in a while; must be cross-country season, and soccer season, and I am training for a marathon. I have a lot of excuses.  I have not, however, continued to plug away at my tasks for 2015.  Although there are going to be a lot undone this year due to lack of time.  One of the best trips made though was one I made with friends.  Little Man had school, Hubby had work and I had the day off with no cross-country practice.  

So off to Montreal we go! Yes, Canadian cities are closer to my house than American cities, so I spend a lot of time in Canada.  

First Stop: Dim Sum! I spend a lot of time at this wonderful place in China Town with my friends.  You can eat a lot of food for fairly cheap if your group is big enough.  Family or three and you're in trouble.  Thankfully we had a big group and empty stomachs.  The food was delightful as usual. 

Next we spend some daytime hours at the Botanical Gardens in the places we would not be coming back to that night.  I even managed to impress a bunch of girls(not everyone's kids had school) in the Insectatorium.  Some days it pays off to be a mom of a boy.  I have to admit, some of those bugs were crazy huge--- and Little Man is a little mad at me for going without him.  

Next we made a quick side trip across town to Marche Jean-Talon.  This great open air market with a whole lot to choose from.  It was a wonderful dinner of meat, cheese and bread.  

 Then back to the botanical gardens for the best part of the trip.  Mid-September through mid-October they light up the Chinese and Japanese gardens in this awesome display of light.  The Chinese Garden (below) is more of a big party of lights, while the Japaneses gardens are a soft play on lights.  It was really cool! I would totally go back next year, although maybe next time I might consider bringing my family along.  

Tracking Spending

I decided to track how much Little Man and I spend over the summer.  It was slightly depressing.  Although I will admit, made me more conscious of what I was doing as the summer went along. I am tracking fall right now--the amount I spend on races in the fall is also slightly out of control. 

September is Canning Month

There has been a ton of canning going on at our house this month.  Andy has been canning stuff from his garden, and I have been making apple sauce from our apple tree.  They are not pretty apples, but they taste good.  

August Service Project!

So the check list thing may be a problem in need of an intervention......However, this one is one we have done for the past three summers.  Vermont State Parks has a Venture Vermont program in which you need to complete a certain number of tasks, take a picture, and then mail them, in order to receive a free park pass for the following year.  When you consider all the things you can do in a state park around here, it is a pretty awesome deal.  Much of our swimming and hiking for the year has been covered by our pass.  

One of the tasks we needed to complete was a service project in a park.  We spent some time in one of our favorite parks shoveling and moving mulch to muddy spots on the trail.  Little Man thought it was great, right up until I told him that his grandmother found copperheads in a mulch pile one time.

Done!

I finally finished my wine passport! I forgot to take pictures, but this one is by far one of my favorites.  Hall Home Place Ice Cider.  They sell ice cider, hard cider and apple wine.  Not only that, the other half of the building is this cute little cafe run the owners children.  It is cute and wonderful.  Then on the other side of the road is a farm-stand with apples, apple jelly and a few other farm fresh items.  It is a little off the beaten path, but wonderful and worth the trip.  

Almost There

I am slowly completing my Vermont Wine Passport. Last week, I went to Lincoln Peak, which is by far one of the more beautiful Vineyard (sorry the parking-lot picture does not do it justice). The wines are wonderful, and sitting on shaded deck overlooking a well landscaped pond, is so relaxing.  One more Vineyard to go.  

Also, I give up sweets for cross-country season, and a friend took me to My Little Cupcake for a sweet and wine pairing. I was a little disappointed that they did not use Vermont wines, but it was still pretty awesome. 

Grafton Vermont

I have heard about this beautiful town named Grafton, Vermont. It is indeed beautiful and the type of town you would want to bike through, or stay in a bed an breakfast at during foliage season.  However, we picked the wrong day to visit.  You see the woman at the Nature Museum had just left on a field trip with a bunch of campers (yes there was only one woman running the place), the museum of mining and minerals as well as the history museum are only open on the weekend, the Village store was closed and Grafton Cheese was just not all that exciting.  However, it was stunningly beautiful.  

The trip could have been a total wash, however, I had made backup plans before leaving the house just in case.  

One the way down we went to The Vermont Country Store. Total tourist trap, but I have been wanting to go.  Why you may ask?  Every time we are someplace on vacation and people ask us where we are from, they go on and on about this stupid store. One woman in Virginia Beach even modeled her own store after it. Like every person who lives in the state of Vermont has been to this thing.  Both of my parents grew up in Vermont and have never been (one still lives in Vermont). We have lived here for nine years now, and never gone until now.  Total tourist trap, but Little Man had a great time sampling all the cookies, cheeses, and meats in the food area.  

 After not finding much to do in Grafton, Little Man and I went to Camp Plymouth State Park. The water was perfect, the bottom was nice an sandy, and it has a great playground area.  We swam right up until the bus full of campers pulled into the parking lot. Time to go.  Little Man's lips were blue by this point anyway. 

 Little Man had seen an add on the way out for VINS and really wanted to go.  We have been here before, and it is awesome.  Not only is it awesome, but if you arrive at just the right time, you get to see them feed the snapping turtles, bounce over to the raptor feeding (they currently have 40 different birds who call VINS home), and then go to the live raptor demonstration.  A perfect way to end the day. 

Strawberry Wine

One batch of strawberry wine happily fermenting away.

Mount Mansfield

I have gone up Mount Mansfield several times.  Run up it, spent the night in a hut on it, snowshoe, and various hikes.  I have never made it to any of the summits (it has four).  This year I finally made it to the top!