Garden Update and a Completed Patio

The patio is complete- I cannot even convey how much work that was...

Adam's beautiful design...
Lettuce, Basil, Cilantro, Cucumbers and Tomatoes
Green beans are really taking off and starting to climb up the teepee.
Sort of blurry- but you can see the peppers are fruiting.
Spinach, Carrots, and Lettuces
Sugar snap peas
Summer Squash and Nasturtiums

Albany, a year in review...

We have lived in Albany for a year already. It's crazy to think that a year ago we were pulling up to this house after only seeing it twice before. I remember the night that we moved in- we went out grocery shopping and spent an hour trying to find our house afterwards. Adam and I still get lost from time to time. More Adam than me, as he basically spends all of his time driving the two miles from our house to the hospital. 

It's strange because I'd really like to hate it here. It was hard having to move 3,000 miles away from everything I knew so well. Though, oddly enough, this has been one of the best years of my life. The Northeast is lovely- the seasons are all enjoyable in their own way. I love driving around and exploring new places, each has so much history. Just last night, we drove over to Troy, NY- home of Uncle Sam. Seriously, I'm upping my trivia skills on a daily basis (if only my "mom brain" didn't diminish those skills at a faster rate). It's nice knowing that we have a time limit on this experience, as it makes it feel sort of like an extended vacation. What's funny is that I was thinking last night, "oh, we only have three years left and there is a lot more to see!" 

I have enjoyed slowing life down a bit and having the time to cook and garden. Gardening has become a quick addiction and when we return to the Northwest, I'll be seeking a home with ample sun. I think we'll also need a front porch and lots of maple trees. I can do without the grey squirrels but will miss the cardinals. 

Adam is just a week from completing his internship year and is more than ecstatic about that. Now he will finally be studying anesthesiology and should start to really enjoy his work. He has worked a lot of hours over the past year but it was not nearly as bad as I thought. I have a tendency to build things up to be really crappy, then I'm usually relieved when they aren't so bad. I can't decide if that makes me a pessimist or an optimist... 

When we arrived, Gavin was 9 months old. He could sit up, but could not crawl. Now, he's a crazy little boy that runs all over our house. He provides us with hours of entertainment and continues to surprise us daily. 

The beagles, after some initial struggles, have finally accepted their new home. Thankfully, they have mellowed out and seem to enjoy it here. I'm pretty sure they're west coast dogs at heart. And really, aren't we all? Don't worry, we'll be home soon.

Albany: Summer 2008
Albany: Fall 2008
Albany: Winter 2008
Albany: Spring 2009

Lobster Feast

Lobster is the silver-lining of the seafood selection in Albany.  It's been hard not having access to wild salmon, halibut, and even Oregon bay shrimp meat. BUT- we can buy whole live lobsters at a very reasonable price and that is just what we did when Jenny and Emily came up to visit. I had not bought them live before- I previously had the seafood guy steam them for me. We decided to be adventurous and that provided quite a few laughs. It was actually a little disturbing watching them try to crawl out of the pot and squeal. 

We made a nice little meal of bow-tie pasta with asparagus and snap peas (Emily's creation), sourdough bread, a fresh garden salad (with my home-grown lettuce), and of course lobster with lots of melted butter. It was fun to provide Em and Jen with a quintessential New England dining experience. Hopefully, it was so tasty- they'll find themselves flying back for more!

An Epic Surprise Party

I had the most amazing 30th birthday celebration! Last Friday, Adam told me that we were going for a day trip to celebrate my birthday. I had no idea what he was up to but I went along with it and the three of us piled into the car and headed out. Once we got on I-87 South I realized that we were heading to NYC. I asked him what we were going to do there and he told me that we could do anything I wanted until our dinner reservation at 6:45pm. Because it was pouring out, I decided that we should finally go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The MET had been on my to-do list for years but I never feel like spending my NYC time at a museum. Unfortunately, we had a somewhat frustrating time because Gavin was an absolute pill! He had missed his nap so he proceeded to scream bloody murder in the middle of the Modern Painting Exhibit... my apologies to Picasso. I was a little confused as to why Adam didn't take our friend Toyin up on her offer to babysit Gavin. Don't get me wrong, love him dearly, but I was just thinking our day could have been a little more relaxing without him! We did manage to see most of the museum in between temper tantrums but eventually we had to spare the other patrons.

After driving around trying to figure out what to do on a rainy NYC day with a grumpy toddler, 6:45 finally came. We arrived at Bar Americain, Bobby Flay's restaurant. We were shown to our table where it was set for 9! Ok, what's going on?!? Looks like a surprise party! But, nobody was there! Poor Adam had been texting my friends all day trying to keep his plan organized. I explained to him that none of my friends are particularly punctual (sorry girls, but it's true). It was still an amazing surprise as I watched my friends arrive- first Allison Engman and Chelea Kent. Then my three fabulous NY friends, Michelle Barson, Toyin Weaver, and Ryan Cowper. Finally, my original college roommates, Melissa Ardales, Jenny Goodman, and Emily Adamson! At that point, Adam scooped up little Gavin and said that he was leaving! He explained that he had booked us all a hotel suite for the weekend! He had been planning this for a year! It didn't go as he had hoped- he had thought we'd have a fun family day but the weather really killed his plan of walking around the village and central park. It didn't matter- it was absolutely perfect! 
Here are all the amazing gals that were in on the surprise! We had a great dinner at Bobby Flay's complete with a sampling of desserts.
The gals had maneuvered a deal with a limo driver - could it get any better? We then proceeded to have a fun night out and those details I will not share! HaHa! It was all clean fun, don't worry!
The next day we split up to go see the city. There is so much to do that some decided to shop, others wanted to sight-see. We all met up for dinner and then hit a Broadway show, Rock of Ages, a new musical featuring 80s music. It was awesome! I am so grateful to have so many good friends and an amazing husband that put this all together. It was a fabulous way to ring in my next decade!

Rounding the Corner to 30!

Never before have I had so many people ask me about my upcoming birthday. I guess 30 is one of those milestone birthdays, new decade and all. I have already written about why I am perfectly comfortable with becoming 30. However, I will admit that the other night- I was made to feel, for lack of a better word, older. Not OLD, but OLDER... Here's how it went down:

My girlfriends wanted to take me out to celebrate my birthday, but with conflicting schedules we had to do it a week early. They planned a night out, complete with dinner, cocktails, and dancing. We started out at Ryan's house with some pomegranate margaritas (really good by the way). There, they surprised me with a birthday tiara that read "Birthday Queen" across it and with a lei full of sparkly flowers. I really didn't want to wear this out all night, but I'm not one to spoil such a gesture. Plus, it's my 30th birthday and I should be ready to announce this proudly! So, of course, the rest of the night I had people saying "Happy Birthday!" "How old are you?" "Is it your 21st birthday?" At one point,  a guy came up to me and said, "Oh, it's my birthday tomorrow! How old are you going to be?" I told him and he said, "Oh, wow, I'm going to be 23!" Awesome. But, here is the best part- when we hit the dance club, a guy came up to me and wanted to dance. He starts asking me questions about how old I am etc. He then says, "Well, if you're 30, I should ask if you're married?" Yes, I am. "Oh, does it get worse?" What do you mean? "How many kids do you have?" I have 1, a little boy. "Ok, Peace out!" HAHA! That was the conversation verbatim! Classic! 

The moral of this story is two-fold. First, don't wear a tiara out when you feel the urge to let loose and just go dancing with your girlfriends. Second, and most important, the club scene really is meant for early 20 somethings. I find nothing wrong with indulging occasionally but honestly, it's just not my thing. Obviously, part of that is being in a different part of my life entirely- married with a kid. I'm perfectly comfortable with forgoing the $3 shots for a $12 martini. I seek the comfort of a nice booth over being shoved against strangers in a crowded club. I can do without my shoes being sticky and my clothes smelling of cigarettes. That whole scene actually will make you feel OLD. But, indulging a few times a year will sure give you some good laughs! Awe... to be 21 again! That's the beauty of aging- each age gives you a little more perspective and lots of good stories for years to come! After all, we should never take ourselves too seriously! Cheers!

Howard and Rainy Days

Have I told you about Howard? Howard is the groundhog or woodchuck (am still a bit unclear as to what the difference is between the two) that lives somewhere on our property. I decided that Howard was a good name for a groundhog. The only other groundhog that I've heard about is, of course, Phil, from Pennsylvania. I'm not always a big fan of Phil, prolonging winter just because he sees his shadow. What a self-absorbed little bastard! Anyhow, I officially discovered Howard a few weeks ago during a windstorm. The trees were blowing fiercely and I was looking out my front window watching them sway. As I was looking, I saw something crawl up the front steps to the porch. It was a brown animal, about the size of a cat- I quickly looked away, freaked out. Then, I decided to look again and see what it was. It wasn't a mole, too big. It wasn't a raccoon, wrong coloring. It wasn't a rat- Thank God! I thought, oh my gosh, I think it's a groundhog! He paused for a few seconds before making his way across the porch and hopping down. I went to the computer to google groundhogs- that's where I ran into the woodchuck vs. groundhog debate. I think it's the same thing. They are basically a large rodent (gross), most closely related to squirrels. Yes, people, squirrels are rodents! For some reason, I kind of think groundhogs are better than squirrels. Maybe it's just the novelty of groundhogs, having never seen one before. I guess they aren't too big of pests but they do like to eat plants, flowers, and vegetables. So- if I spot Howard anywhere near my gardens- all bets are off and I will officially hate groundhogs, aka woodchucks, too!  

I haven't seen Howard since then but I think I found his little tunnel or den on the side of the house. And, over the winter I think that I spotted his footprints after a snowfall. There were peculiar prints on the porch that I couldn't identify- now, I'm thinking it was definitely Howard. Hmm... I wonder if he lives under the porch?  Anyhow,  I will keep you posted on any Howard sightings and/or engaging developments.

Today was very drizzly and wet. We haven't had much rain over the spring so the grass and plants definitely needed it. My little patio project, however, did not. See photo below:
I started excavating the dirt yesterday and now we have a moat in our backyard! I cannot believe how hard it is to shovel out all that dirt. I worked for several hours yesterday and made only a small dent. Here is a picture of the dirt I have left to dig up:
It's going to be gorgeous when we are finished. It will have a nice curve with perennial gardens surrounding it. Honestly, my back aches just looking at that picture and thinking about all the work still to be done. It was nice to have a rainy day as an excuse to rest. I made a pot of tomato bisque and caught up on some indoor chores. It turned out to be a somewhat relaxing day. I'm sure that Howard spent his day nestled in his little den or whatever they are called. Hmm... children's book idea... Howard, the groundhog. We might have an award winning series folks! HaHa!

Jenny, Jenny, How Does Your Garden Grow?

I'm sure you've all just been dying with anticipation wondering how my little vegetable plot is doing!?!? It's been so much fun to play around with different ways to trellis and I've switched a few things up since I last posted pics. I decided to have the sugar snap peas grow on a trellis instead of the teepees. It's working out beautifully- they are about 12 inches tall now. The butterhead lettuce is growing in between and I'm becoming more convinced that I just might be making a salad before long.
Here are all kinds of different sprouts! Carrots, iceberg lettuce, spinach, onions, leeks and peppers. Honestly, it is kind of a cluster - I think the wind blew some of my seeds around and the birds haven't been helping my cause either. My neighbor brought me a Flying Saucer Squash- it looks pretty cool so I added it to the collection.
Below is my trellis for the cucumbers, which I finally planted out today. I had started quite a few plants inside so I gave some away to my neighbors. It's easy to get carried away with this hobby. Behind the cucumbers are my tomatoes- I have three different varieties. I cannot wait for a fresh tomato, mozzarella salad.
I also changed up how I am doing my pole beans. I had two teepees constructed but after further reading, I realized that I needed it to be 6 feet tall and extremely sturdy. It's going to look really cool when it's covered with vines. I just planted the bean seeds today- should start sprouting in about a week. You plant the pole beans on little mounds around each pole. 
Below is a shot of the whole garden- I've got a lot growing. I am hoping that by growing some of the stuff upward, it'll control some of the chaos. Adam put up a fence around the space to keep the beagles (and Gavin) out of there. This is turning out to be a really fun hobby!

A Rant about Grocery Shopping

I just returned from going grocery shopping. I am filled with dismay about how overly complex this errand has become. It seems like nearly everyday a morning show will have some piece about those awesome "coupon moms" who bought $130 worth of groceries for just $38. It has gotten my attention several times and I think to myself, "Ok, let's see what we can do about taking advantage of sales, etc."

I have found that I can do pretty well in the meat department, utilizing my Foodsaver. If I see that pork tenderloin is on a two for one- I'll get it and put one in the freezer. I will take advantage of sales in produce but find that most of the coupons are in the processed food category. I am pretty much against dieting- the rule I stick to is limiting processed foods because they are highly caloric and generally unsatisfying. Well, with exception being Doritos, in which I can down an entire bag in one sitting. I just won't buy stuff like that because I have no self-control when it comes to salty foods. I try and avoid the center aisles of the grocery store, except to buy stock, canned vegetables, crackers, and maybe some Uncle Ben's Wild Rice. Which brings me to my first part of my rant- I had a coupon for the rice so I stocked up. I got to the checkout stand and was told that the coupon was only good for the instant boil rice or something like that- not the rice that I had selected. The clerk goes on and on about why and how... and I just want to yell, "Is the EFFING rice on sale or not!?!?" I apologize for the expletive, but I feel like it's necessary in getting my frustration across.

She then asks me for my Price Chopper Advantage Card, which of course she does, all the stores have their own cards these days. I keep my card on my key chain for simplicity. I hand it over to her and she informs me that beginning June 1st- they are going to require the actual card to receive promotions. Well, I don't have that card. "Oh, I guess you'll need to apply for a new advantage card," she offers. Are you freaking kidding me with this? How efficient is that? Let's just generate more plastic because some genius decides that the key chain card is not good enough for promotions. Why can't we just know what's on sale and everybody gets the sale because they shop there every week? Or- how about just figuring out what an appropriate cost is for goods? I am just sick of this - I open my wallet and I find all these ridiculous cards that are intended for customer loyalty, yada, yada, but all it does is PISS ME OFF!

I don't really know where I'm going with this rant- I'm just annoyed. I miss Costco. You get your membership card- and that's it. Everything has its price and you feel that you get a fair deal. Price Chopper is so stupid- "Have you chopped your food bill lately?" Seriously.

A Weekend of Pilates and After-Parties...

I spent the past few days in Alexandria, VA for the Beginner Mat Certification for my big pilates endeavor. After months (ok, years) of talking and debating the teacher training, I finally decided to take the plunge. I chose Power Pilates for my training program. The classes are not offered in Albany so I have been waiting for a class to be offered in a city nearby and a weekend that would work with Adam's schedule. I found a course in Alexandria, which was perfect as my friend Melissa lives there. I had a place to stay and a wonderful host that took me out to fun places after my class each day! She even let me practice teaching her which was very helpful!

I arrived Thursday night with one request- to revisit the speak-easy that I raved about a few months ago. I snapped a photo this time- as you can tell, the blue light was on so we rang the bell. It is just such a lovely bar. It's beautiful inside and cozy. We had just driven through a powerful thunderstorm prior to our arrival so it seemed particularly inviting. There is just something about the intimacy; the dark wooden bar, the rain dripping down the outside window panes, and watching the bartender mix up something magical right before your eyes. I obviously can't say enough good things about the PX in Alexandria. You'll just have to see it to believe it!

The certification program began on Friday afternoon and went through Sunday evening. WOW! Learning to teach movement is really like learning to teach a foreign language. It was extremely intense. There is a lot of vocabulary to learn in order to set up proper technique for the 18 exercises that make up the beginner mat workout. We spent 6 hours each day practicing drills. First we had to learn the correct terminology. We then had to learn to make it flow together with energy- i.e. "and kick, kick! and kick, kick!" "and switch! and switch!" "Inhale, 2, 3, 4, 5 and exHALE!!!, 2, 3, 4, 5!" It was craziness! We even had a take-home exam filled with anatomy questions! Even though it was way harder than I anticipated, I feel like I progressed pretty well through the weekend. I should have the results in a few weeks. In the meantime, I will be offering practice mat classes at my home for a few of my friends! Poor suckers!

I finished the course Sunday evening and Melissa took me out to a wine festival at Mount Vernon to celebrate. It was so beautiful! The evening was magnificent- watching the sun set over the river and touring the mansion. I still can't believe that I walked through George Washington's house! It is so cool! The beds are all very small and short! He had the tiniest desk in his office. It was just a perfect way to end my trip- although, I must say that Virginia wines are really not very good. As my friend Toyin says, I'm a west coast wine snob. The growing season for grapes just isn't long enough in the Northeast. The wines are all very sweet- we tasted quite a few and I think there was just one that we liked. It didn't matter, the venue more than made up for it. Here are some pictures but none of them do Mount Vernon any justice. Sometimes it's hard to capture atmosphere with the camera. Aren't you just enticed to go visit Alexandria now?!?


This is the side of the house- the place is enormous!
Cheers to a perfect spring evening!
What a view!

Happy Mother's Day!

I thought I'd write about motherhood today. I don't necessarily give much thought to the subject outside of my daily parenting activities, i.e. bathing, feeding, playing, etc. But last night, I had a couple of girlfriends over and they made several comments about how I talk to Gavin like he's an adult and that they don't think they could be so patient. I tried to explain that once you have kids, you kind of fall into your own style. This morning I revisited the conversation in my head as I fed Gavin breakfast. 

I guess you really don't know what kind of mother you're going to be until you reach that point in your life. There are the ubiquitous cliches about learning what it means to love- blah, blah. I am not minimizing those commentaries, but, it's just more than that. I have learned a lot about myself through Gavin. Oddly enough, my crazy toddler makes me calmer. These little people are just young enough to get a free pass on some of their antics. For example, last night Gavin chucked one of his toys and it hit me squarely on my cheekbone. It was thrown with all of his might and it freakin' hurt! While I was upset, I knew that he had not intentionally tried to hurt me so I just calmly explained that he needs to be more gentle. (Oh, and then I held my chilled glass of white wine up to my face for 30 minutes!) If kids don't teach you patience, I don't know what will. However, I do not let him get away with some of his games. You know, the super fun ones like put the shoes on, kick them off, want them back on, etc. I will tell him, "Gavin, you cannot manipulate me." He will then proceed to throw himself on the floor in such a show of rage that it's almost impressive! I find that if I ignore him, he eventually picks himself up and moves on. 

When I'm cooking in the kitchen, I will explain what I'm making. I know very well that he does not know what I'm talking about but language is important so I converse with him like he's one of my friends. And that's just it- this little 20 month old is becoming just that- a little friend. We have inside jokes and games. He listens and chatters about. When songs come on the radio that have a catchy beat, we'll dance. I could be having the crappiest day but his giggles are so contagious that I can feel my mood rebound quickly. It's a relationship that makes me laugh because as much as we teach our kids-  it turns out these little people have a few lessons to teach us as well. Happy Motherhood!