Mom's Secret

I have figured out one of my mom's secrets.  My mom is truly the most amazing women I know.  The older I get the more amazed I am by her.  I have always been in ah at how she is able to do so much in one day.  I have never really figured out how she does it--until today.  I get to go home for Christmas today.  I think I must have the excitement you feel on Christmas morning because I woke up at 3:00 am and just couldn't go back to sleep.  I finally just got up at 3:45 knowing that I was not going to sleep any more.  Here's where the secret comes in--you can get SO much done from 3:45 to 6:30.  It's amazing!

I finished packing, unloaded the dishwasher, washed my bathroom rugs, stripped my bed and washed my sheets and even had time to remake my bed with the same sheets before I went to work, cleaned the whole bathroom including the tub, mirror, toilet, baseboards, and sink.  Then I thought it would be a great idea to mop.  So I put my sexy lingerie on (I like to clean in lingerie:)) and swept and mopped (on hands and knees) the kitchen and the bathroom. 

I organized part of my closet, went online and bought some music on iTunes and pinned my dress that I am hoping my mom will hem.  At 6:00 I decided I should eat so I made an omelet and washed the dishes.  I would have liked to vacuum my very clean house, but I didn't think my neighbors would appreciate it at 4:00 in the morning.  So I got all that done (and other little things) all before 6:30 am and I even had time to blog about it.

Mom, your secret is out!  What I'm really hoping is that my body will realize that I am going to put it to work if it wakes me up at 3:00 in the morning so it won't do it again. :)

Williamsburg Road Trip 2011

Tom and I headed out to Williamsburg on Saturday morning.  It was a gorgeous day!!!  It ended up being in the seventies in Williamsburg.  We could not have asked for anything better at the end of November.  I really enjoy Williamsburg at this time of year because they decorate each door with wreaths made of pine boughs and fruit.  The palace just looked beautiful.  They had put the wreaths on every window and hung the pine boughs along the windows—so tasteful.  We toured several houses and went into lots of different buildings.  Tom was pretty much good with anything so that made it easy for both of us.  Later in the day we toured the silversmith and were the only people in the group so I got to ask lots of questions.  It’s always fun learning about different time periods.

I am so grateful that I live now and not back then.  It would have been so difficult!  We ate at some really yummy restaurants.  Our favorite was The Trellis where we had these divine scallops and a variety of fresh baked bread right out of the oven.  They also made their own honey butter—total heaven!  I’m not supposed to eat bread or dairy, but sometimes it’s just totally worth it!

We also did a ghost tour in Colonial Williamsburg.  I didn’t think any of the stories were plausible, but it was a fun thing to do at night.  It did get chilly in the evening, but we had carried our coat with us all day so we were good.

On Saturday, we had breakfast at a pancake house.  Tom mentioned that he loved Virginia cured ham so I was glad he finally got it. :) 

We went to Jamestown State Park and the settlement on Sunday.  It truly is a miracle that people even survived in the new world.  We had a fantastic tour guide.  He was funny and could really explain how things were when the settlers came over.  Lots of time you hear it, but it doesn’t stick.  With him I could still talk about what he had told us.  Very interesting. 

We got to go on the reproduction boats which was also very interesting.  The tour guide from the state park said think about living on a bus with the people in our group for four months.  That really put it in perspective.  They also didn’t get up top that much because they would be in the crews way.  Imagine the food they ate for four months and really the stink of the bodies—yuck!  I am so grateful for clean running water! 

We drove back that afternoon.  By the time I got home (9:00) I was wiped out and I wasn’t the one who drove.  Poor Tom with all of the bad traffic.  Nicole Peterson made this game years ago that has tons of random odd questions.  I don’t remember the rules of the game, but the questions are a great way to get to know someone.  Tom may have gotten to know me a little too much. :)

That wraps up my fun eventful Thanksgiving.  It was awesome!

Happy Thanksgiving 2011

Adam, Kristina, me, Todd, and Kristen at Muddy Falls in western Maryland.

I am so grateful for my friends and their adventurous spirits.  My friends Tiff and Kristina put together a house in Deep Creek Maryland.  (This means that they rented a house/cabin and then invited a bunch of friends to go in on it and come up for Thanksgiving weekend.)  It was about a three hour drive from my house.  I headed out on Thanksgiving day which worked out wonderfully.  Everyone else went up on Wednesday, but it was rainy and took them a lot longer.  I would not have done well in the rain and darkness.  The roads were really windy too so having daylight and sun was wonderful. 

For some reason when I got there I had tons of energy.  I was just bouncing up and down (very unlike me) and I really wanted to go for a run.  I had not anticipated this so I didn’t bring any clothes to exercise in.  So I improvised with my pajama pants.  I did have running shoes and socks as well as a sweatshirt so I was good to go.

It was a beautiful run out around parts of the lake.  There was a large state park that was closed, but it had running paths and was just very pretty.  I explored around the park for awhile running and walking.  Tiff called me and wanted to know if I wanted to go explore.  She said they were going to look at waterfalls.  Of course I was totally game for that.  I went back out to the main road and ran back towards the house.  I realized that I needed a coat and my glasses so I called Tiff and asked her to bring them.  It didn’t dawn on me until it was too late that I should have asked her to bring me some pants too. :)

There was a beautiful waterfall about fifteen minutes away from where we were staying.  It was just a short walk from the parking lot.  Then we went and walked around the area exploring a little.  We had to leave too soon to get back to finish our Thanksgiving feast.  

Tiff had worn a dress, hose, and running shoes down to the falls so we were quite a pair. :)

Everyone brought something so it made it really easy.  I brought a delicious salad knowing I could eat that.  Kristina did the turkey and used all of these different spices.  It was delicious!  It was nice sitting around the table with friends and talking about traditions.  We found out that there are several names for German pancakes. :)

Afterwards we went on a walk.  The weather was just gorgeous—in the sixties and upper fifties.  I just loved it!  We found an aviary where there were two hawks and two owls.  The owls were gorgeous.  One was called a barred owl.  It reminded me of the owl in the movie Secret of Nymph.  It looked so old and wise.  I was in a very giggly mood so Tiff and I were constantly laughing.  It was great.

It was Tiffanie’s b-day on Saturday, but I had made her a carrot cake—her favorite—which I must say is so addictive.  It’s just so delicious!  I wanted to have some so we sang Happy Birthday and had cake.  There were also several pies, but I was quite pleased to note that people mostly ate the carrot cake.  It’s all about the cream cheese frosting—YUM!!!

That night we were going to get into the hot tub, but it had very strange controls on it so it had been turned down to 90 degrees.  Way too cold to get into!  We played a game kind of to get to know people in the group.  Then we had Karaoke.  Everyone who sang could sing so that was fun.  When I was at Duck they did it and finally I had to leave the house because the people sounded so bad I just couldn’t take it anymore.  That was not the case here. :)

The next morning I got up and went for a walk.  My knees were really hurting (I should not have been running) so I decided to get into the hot tub.  Once I got in both Kristen and Tiff joined me.  I was in there for probably two hours.  It felt so good and of course it was fun to just talk about all sorts of stuff.

I headed back to my house around 1:00 so that I could get home before it got dark.  I really wanted to stay, but Tom was going to take me to Williamsburg that weekend so I had to get back.  It was a wonderful Thanksgiving!  I’m so grateful to live in a place that offers so many great opportunities to explore the beauties God has created.  I’m grateful I have amazing talented friends who make me laugh and smile.  I’m grateful for happy memories of people who touch my life.  I'm grateful for an amazing guy who wants to take me on a road trip and explore with me.  I’m grateful I live in a place where I have so much freedom to come and go as I want.

I’m grateful for Christmas and the time it gives me to be with my family and see my dear friend Richard.  I’m grateful that it reminds me of everything Christ has done for me and for those I love.  I love the peace of Christmas and how what’s important comes to the surface.  I love the Christmas trees and Christmas lights.  I put my tree up before Thanksgiving.  I have never done that before, but I wanted to be able to enjoy it for awhile and I’m so busy during this time and then off on holiday that I don’t typically decorate.  This year I just got in the mood and did it.  I love looking at my little Christmas tree.  It gives my place a wonderful sense of serenity, peace, calm, and beauty. 

Grand Bahama 2011

I just got back from a fantastic holiday in the Grand Bahamas. My friend Tiff had a timeshare to use and chose Grand Bahamas for rest and relaxation. Tiff, Alison Decker, and I flew in on Saturday. Their flight got in a half hour before mine. There was only one couple in head of me at customs so it was quick. I didn’t know where I was going to stay as I didn’t really care. The customs guy was a bit upset that I did not have that information on the form. I’m not sure why that was so critical as I did have a return ticket home. What if I didn’t make any reservations in advance? Anyway, when I got through Tiff and Alison were sitting on the luggage turn style. It was nice to have them there. I got my bag and we took a taxi to our condo.

These two pictures were the view from our patio.  We would just walk out to the ocean or the pool.  It was perfect!

Evidently everyone thinks where we were staying was a place that didn’t have anything going on. I thought that’s what made it so nice. I really liked that there wasn’t anything going on. There were ten units each with two floors. We had two bedrooms and two and a half baths. We had a beautiful ocean view and a view of the pool.

Some highlights from the trip were that we hired a charter boat to take us snorkeling. We didn’t have a whole lot of sun while I was there. I was quite annoyed by that.  On Friday, when we went out on the boat we did get sun.  I am a total snorkeling snob because I have been to some of the best places in the world to snorkel.  I had lowered my expectations so that if I just saw a parrot fish I would be happy.  Luckily it was better than that.  We saw what I call the prison fish, some yellow fish, pretty luminescent blue fish and a gorgeous long trumpet fish.  Of course there were more fish, but those were my favorites on this trip.  I also saw a nurse shark which I was really happy about as I hadn’t seen one before.  It was probably 5 feet long.

I broke my camera while I was in the Bahamas. I was trying to do a self timed picture and it fell off onto the rocks. It did still take pictures, but you couldn’t tell it was still taking pictures. I will have to find out if it’s fixable.

When the sun was out, the water was just gorgeous! We did have a nice day on Saturday and Sunday—no rain, but it just wasn’t sunny.  You can see from the pictures how beautiful it was. One part about the charter boat, besides being out in thon the water and seeing the different colors, and snorkeling, our captain took us ‘trolling’.  He had us hang onto a rope and snorkel through the water while he drove the boat.  It was so much fun, I wish he could have done that while we were snorkeling with the fish.  He had gone to kind of a dead area—no fish.  Instead there were sea biscuits which are puffy with a flower design (God just amazes me!).  There were huge starfish too.  Les’s son Adam would dive down and get us dead sea biscuits and pick up the starfish for us to hold and see. That was really cool!

We found lots of cool shells on the beaches which I was surprised by.  I didn’t expect to find cool shells.  I even found small beautiful conch shells.  There were also sea fans that had been washed up that we found. Some were still purple. There were conch shells all over the beach—again a surprise. They were weathered and also very heavy so I only brought home a small one. It was just so cool to see all of these conchs.

MLK Memorial 2011

Tom Loo and I went to the MLK memorial last Sunday.  It was such a perfect day.  It was in the 70s and some of the trees were changing colors.  It was just gorgeous!  This is one view of MLK.  The whole memorial is very well done.  There is a very nice feeling about the place--peace.

 This is a side view with the Washington Memorial in the background.

On the left is where you enter the memorial. They have made it so it's something you enter--not right on the road.  It's kind of set apart.  It's on the Tidal Basin so MLK is looking out over the water towards the Jefferson Memorial.  Along the wall here (you can kind of see under the trees) they have different sayings from MLK.  It was beautiful.

Outer Banks 2011

I went to the Outer Banks for Labor Day (which was a few weeks ago, but I'm finally catching up.)  It was such a fun trip!  I was able to stay the whole week for the first time.  It was so awesome!!!  Julie Palmer and I went paddle boarding.  It's a sport where you stand up on the board and paddle.  The wind was so strong that it just pushed us out to the bay.  Julie was smart enough to suggest we turn around at one point--before we got out too far.  It was SO hard coming back.  I was paddling with all of my might and wasn't going anywhere.  I kept telling myself that I was a strong women and could do it.  It was so incredibly difficult!  I started having short goals like--get to that red boat--then I would move onto the next short term goal.  We ended up on our knees for less wind resistance.  I think it took us about ten minutes to get out there and a good hour and ten minutes to get back.  We did rest for a few minutes, but it really did take all the energy I had.

I don't think I would paddle board again.  It was kind of boring just standing there in one place for so long.  No music, no nothing.  Going back took so much concentration and energy it was not boring, but quite a challenge.  I'm glad I tried it once.

We arrived on Friday, but by Wednesday everyone except Amanda and I had left.  There was another house of friends who did stay so we went and hung out with them for the rest of the week.  They were in Corolla so they had a much better beach!  Front is Jen Anderson, behind her is Amanda Morgan, me, Tiffanie, Palani, Suzette, and in the back Brian Schilling.

Palani is from Hawaii and suggested that we create the words with things on the beach.  It turned out really good.  The 'o' is made out of shells and the other letters are twigs and straw.  Left is Palani, Tiff, Jen, and me

We also went jeeping to find the wild horses.  It was fun to drive on the beach and wander around the sandy roads.  There are some enormous houses down there!  One of them even has a ballroom.  The remnants of the hurricane that had been there the week before were on the beach.  A lady from there said that other storms had brought up old pirate ships.  I thought that was pretty cool!

We went to see the sunset one evening.  It was beautiful!  I had seen several sunrises while I was there.  I was really energized by being there at the beach.  Our house was right on the ocean.  I would head out and go biking and then I would come back and run and then do weights.  I was eating a ton of sugar so I needed to exercise as much as I could.

We stayed up really late each night with the other house.  They did a bonfire on the beach and even sang a little.  Then they decided that we should all get into the ocean at 11:30 at night.  I had already showered and changed, but I couldn't miss the opportunity.  Jen loaned me a suit and we headed into the water--all of us.  It was so much fun!  The water was ok at first.  I didn't want to get my hair wet so I wouldn't go too deep.  I should have just gotten in because I ended up getting so wet that I had to wash my hair again anyway.

After awhile Tiff and I went in and skinny dipped while everyone was in the ocean.  Our friend Craig was watching the fire at the beach (not in viewing distance).  We told him to yell 'Killers' (his favorite music group) when someone was coming up.  Tiff and I just laughed the whole time we were in the pool.  It felt so 'something'--I can't think of the word.  Like we were doing something deliciously wrong.  There was a public walkway next to us, houses, and the people from the beach.  We could have been caught at any time.  We were both at the one end of the pool when we heard 'Killers.'  We both screamed and 'ran' for our towels.  Evidently Palani had started running up the stairs and Craig asked him to wait--he had to stop him.  Palani asked if we needed any time, but Craig said no he could go ahead.  He claims he didn't see anything, but I'm not sure. :)

I left early on Saturday because I wanted to miss traffic.  It was such an amazing trip!  I'm now headed to the Bahamas on Saturday.  I'm so excited!  I am so excited to have my feet in the sand, body in the ocean, to see beautiful fish.  So excited!!!!

The Adventure of Old Rag 2011

 

Left to right: Gana, me, and Eileen --just starting out on the hike.

Gana, a friend from work, suggested a few months ago that we go hiking to the most popular hike in the Shenandoah National Park.  I had been there like nine years ago and wasn't able to go to the top because we had to get back to do something (I don't remember what.)  I was also breathing so heavy I was embarrassed that I couldn't breathe because I was out of shape. 

This hike was me proving to myself that I was in shape and that I could do this hike.  Aala'a was supposed to go with us (another co-worker and very good friend), but she ended up having a family emergency and couldn't make it.  We were all so disappointed that she couldn't come.  We left early--5:30 from my house.  I hadn't fallen asleep until around 1:00 am so I was VERY tired! 

 Gana is showing us that she's hiking.  The hike is a lot of switch backs up and down.  I had been the one to decide if we were going or not because it was supposed to rain.  It didn't seem like it would so I decided we would go.  I am so busy so this was the only weekend that I could go.  It had rained there the day before and it was very humid.  The ground was a little wet and so some places it was a little slick, but we didn't really notice going up. 

 It was so beautiful!  There wasn't anyone around as we were hiking up.  It was peaceful.  You can see the fog in this picture.  It sadly stayed with us all day, but really was so beautiful. 
Then something happened.

I looked down and my soles literally came apart.   You can't see it on the shoe on the right, but it was doing the same thing.  We had been hiking for an hour and twenty minutes when they decided to fall apart.  I thought they would be ok, but it just kept getting worse. 

 Gana wrapped them in my bandana and a trash bag.

 Here I am sporting my held together soles.  However, it didn't work.  With each step they would come forward and then eventually slide off.  We had to stop every few steps.  It was so incredibly frustrating!  Finally it was decided that I would take Gana's shoes (we are the same size) and go back down the mountain and get her Keens (they are sandals that can be used for hiking) and hike back up.  I refused to not continue the hike.  I had done a lot (it seemed) to get there and wanted to prove myself. 

So I set off with Gana's boots on my feet and my boots in a bag.  It was awkward carrying the bag, but better than carrying my pack both ways.  So I attempted to run down the mountain.  It was somewhat difficult as it was very slick and there are tons of jagged rocks on the path.  I would pass people and ask them to tell my friends without the shoes that they had seen me and give them an update.  They later told me that it was fun getting updates and not have to explain why they were sitting there.  They would tell them that they could see me running down the trail.  It was tough! 

I finally got to the trail head and there was a group dropping off boy scouts.  I quickly asked if I could have a rid down to the car park.  I was so grateful to have a ride which cut out about a mile of what I planned to run.  (It took me an hour to get to the trail head.)  I changed shoes, got some water, and then ran up the road to the trail head.  I passed people along the way trying to hike as fast as I could.  I only stopped once at a big rock formation that looked like a toad.  Some people I had just passed then passed me as I got some water.  I explained my situation and then ended up hiking up with them to my friends.  It took me about another hour to get back to my friends.

 

Erich on the left (yes that's a kilt) and Jason on the right--we ended up hiking with them the rest of the day.  Erich had hiked Old Rag 12 times this past year.  This was his 12th time.  I have to say that it was such a blessing to have them along. 

Erich knew exactly where to go on this part called the Rock Scramble.  (I kept calling it the wrong thing so that may not be the right name. :))  You have to go up some difficult parts where you need people to help haul you up. You go in between rocks like Gana is doing here. 

You go down large crevices like this one.  Erich showed us exactly where to step and how to get through everything.  You can see in this picture that I am completely wet.  It was so humid and I had been hiking for hours with my little two hour detour.  I will wear a tech shirt next time to wick away the sweat.

Here is Eileen, Gana, and Jason going through one of the crevices.  You had to put your feet on the one side and 'walk' with your hands on the other rock to get through.  Some places you would walk with your feet and hands between rocks.  It was really fun!

The sad thing was that it was cloudy/foggy when we finally got to the top.  We couldn't see any of the vistas that were there.  I would say 'wow what a gorgeous view'.  This looks like a waterfall, but it's really a leafless tree.

This was a really cook rock entry to part of the trail.  Gana has her great camelbak on.  I think I need to get one. :)

We are holding up this rock, but Erich definitely has most of it. :)  I'm in the middle with the green shirt. 

We sat and had lunch on the summit that you can see here.  This is looking at it once we left.  

The cloud cover moved for seconds.  I was a little behind and they said hurry come see the view.  I hurried, but I could already see the clouds moving in and barely had the chance to get this shot.

 In some places they had rock stairs.  I thought that was so cool.  They were totally even--no slipping and no wobbling.  I am so grateful to those who make the trails so nice for hikers.  It was fun to have Erich and Jason along on the trip.  We had interesting conversations, laughed a lot and and enjoyed their company.

Erich had said that Rudy's had the best pizza.  We thought about the pizza place the entire trip (not me so much, but Eileen.)  So of course we had to go after we got down the mountain.  I ate it despite the dairy and the gluten.   We had ham and pineapple--delicious!  Then we went to a burger place and got shakes that were SOOO GOOD!  I remember when my mom and I used to ski together that we would go to a place and have burgers afterwards (this is before my red meat allergy) and it tasted so good--better than if we didn't go skiing.  I think the pizza place was like that too.  It was so good after our all day hike.

It was such a fun hike.  I took a long bath in epsom salts when I got home and then was so tired I could hardly brush my teeth.  I was so glad to go to bed.  I slept eleven hours and honestly needed probably one or two more hours.  I only got up because I had to prepare my RS lesson for church.  (This is what procrastination does to you.)  I was also SOOOO sore!!!  I am so sore.  My hips and knees are killing me!  Basically everything hurts.  :)  I think running down a mountain does not agree with me. :)  I really did have a great time though!

Florida 2011

I went to Florida--this is Sanibel Island-- over Memorial Day. I will have to post more pictures and the story, but I figured I would hold the place with this photo. I look so happy. :) I really do need to live by the beach or a mass of water that I can use jet skis on. :)

Moonlight Kayak

Tiffanie called me about two weeks ago and asked if I wanted to go on a moonlight kayaking trip. I didn't even pause for breath. Of course I wanted to go. :)
We went to Mason Neck about an hour from where I live. It was the perfect temperature, the perfect night, and with the perfect friends. The reflections in the picture were so cool. It doesn't show how beautiful it was, but it reminds me of my memory.
Here's Tiff just before I got into the kayak. I was quite tired from all my workouts so I told her she could just row me and I would just be the queen in the back. We got a lot of laughs over this as I really didn't row a lot. However, I didn't get credit when I was rowing either.
I love this picture of us at sunset. To the right of Tiff and I is Alison. For a long time (we were out from 7:30 to 10:00 pm) we kayaked side by side so we could talk. It was such a gorgeous setting and we were surrounded by a chorus of frogs. It was truly incredible.
This was the river at sunset--a picture I took.
This is a picture our guide took as the sun was setting.


Of course this was the reason we went--for the moon. It was very exciting to see it rise above the trees and then reflect in the water. It was so beautiful. We all felt like we had been so blessed to spend the evening here despite our fatigue. I think it gave us perspective on life and gave us a chance to slow down and enjoy the beautiful outdoors.