Sunday, January 25, 2009

9 Days

Holy Moly that was some trip. I want to write all about it, but I truly don't know where to begin. The inauguration, visiting friends who I wish I could see more of (so bittersweet!) and, finally, the culmination of an exhausting, joyous 9 days with last night's incredible party at The Hong Kong. It's been an emotional week, filled mainly with mind-blowing highs, over-the-top laughter and hard-core celebration. I'm actually so exhausted that my eyes are blurring. And I feel lucky, rich, full and happy.

Mom, thanks for all your support this week! From being so excited about getting my phone calls from the inaugural to treating the kids to a great 48-hours while Neil and I were in the city to packing snacks for our ride home. You're wonderful!

The Supah Six



I LOVED these boys when we were kids. They were my boyfriends. Well, not at the same time, or at least mostly not at the same time. They've turned out to be wonderfully sweet, good men. I have great taste. Rich is on my left and Toby on my right.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Wicked Awesome Snow!

Today was nearly perfect. We awoke to about 6 inches of new snow and it was still coming down. We spent the morning cross country skiing. Here are the kids headed out on the trails:
This is me:
Patrick taking a rest:

My handsome husband:

She She and me:
Rosie was happiest of all:
This is a picture of Patrick climbing a very steep hill on his skis after about an hour and a half of steady skiing. What? You can't see Pat in his cute little red, Eval Knieval, ski pants? Oh, that's because my kid is a goddamn machine and booked it up the hill before I could take my camera out of my pocket! Cross country skiing is his calling:
After our morning of skiing, we left Neil behind to watch football and the kids and I went to a friend's house in a beautiful spot in Sutton for an informal sledding party. Boy, did we tucker ourselves out! But it's January (not March) so we still love winter.




Oh, and I made a lamb tagine for dinner, which was a pretty good ending:

Manny on a Sunday Morning

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

New Year's Resolution; the Art of Small Talk

I'm really excited about my resolution.  It all started on New Year's Eve day.  Jen and I went to the Hardware Store and Agway to buy some sleds.  We wanted to do some serious sledding with the kids and all we had here was one crappy old sled.  I don't know what happened to our red plastic sleds.  Anyway, we're in these stores picking out sleds and Jen is chatting with everyone, just being funny, charming Jen, not trying at all.  There she is, in my community, wearing her gaitors, making people laugh and smile while I keep my head down, get out my wallet to pay for the sleds and make sure I don't drop a glove.  Fast forward a few days and Deb and I are doing errands together in East Burke and Lyndonville.  We go to the post office so I can mail Benjie his left-behind watch and she can buy stamps, and Deb's chatting with the post master lady.  The post mistress is a really nice woman and she always remembers my box number when I have a package.  I really like her; she's much nicer than that mean old lady who must have retired or been transferred.  But I just never think to chat with her about the various types of stamps or anything else.   The next day, after the incident at the post office, I shared a story with my family about an encounter with a friend/acquaintance of mine:  I ran into this guy at the post office one day about a year ago and he said something complimentary about my hair.  I thanked him (and I think I even smiled), collected my mail and went on my way.  He later told someone that I was unfriendly to him; wondered what my problem was.  I was surprised at his interpretation.

It may come as a surprise to some of you, but I can be pretty shy and introverted.  When I'm out in the world doing errands, whether they be personal or work related, I'm all business.  But when I think about Jen and Deb, and even reflect on times out in the world with my mom, who is also shy, but very chatty, I admire and envy their social skills.  I want to be friendly!  I WILL be friendly!  It makes the world a nicer place.

So I've been working on a resolution to be more friendly and chatty.  So far it's going great. Turns out, it's not so hard!  Sure, during these first few days of my efforts, I have yet to achieve the easeful charm of Jen or Deb.  But I feel like with practice I just might some day.  In any case, it's a goal, something to aspire to and work towards.  And it's probably easier than giving up cookies or red wine.

This picture has nothing to with anything except for the fact that Nina is awesome.  And five years old!

Marathoning--A Record of My Times

  • NEW HAMPSHIRE MARATHON, October 3, 2015. 4 hrs. 56 minutes, 8 seconds.
  • MONTREAL "ROCK 'N' ROLL MARATHON, September 22, 2013. 4 hrs. 20 minutes, 41 seconds.
  • VERMONT CITY MARATHON, May 2012. 4 hrs. 20 minutes, 8 seconds.
  • MOUNT DESERT ISLAND MARATHON (Maine), October 2011, 4 hrs. 45 minutes, 14 seconds
  • SUGARLOAF MARATHON (Maine), May 2010. 4 hrs. 18 minutes, 35 seconds
  • MONTREAL MARATHON, September 2008. 4 hrs. 19 minutes, 33 seconds
  • VERMONT CITY MARATHON, May 2008. 4 hrs. 11 minutes, 58 seconds
  • VERMONT CITY MARATHON, May 2007. 4 hrs. 19 minutes, 42 seconds
  • MONTREAL MARATHON, September 2006. 4hrs, 30 minutes, 2 seconds

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