Training Day

One of the stipulations of me accompanying Frank to Richmond over Labor Day weekend for his soccer tournament was the necessity of me fitting in an 18 mile run on Saturday morning. Frank did all of the research and found that Pocahontas State Park had good trails to run on – He had confirmed with the park rangers and the Richmond Runners Club. Ok – Although I was leery about running on dirt paths through the woods, I decided I was game.

Saturday morning, 6:30am: The alarm clock in our hotel goes off and I get geared up for my run. The park was about a 20 minute drive from where we were staying, so I didn’t start running until close to 7:30. It was a nice cool morning and my run started out great – somewhat relaxing through the forest…For the first 4 miles. It turns out that the ‘well marked trails’ (as quoted by the park ranger) are NOT so well marked. I took a wrong turn about 4 miles in and ended up trudging through what appeared to be swamp land. I was terrified about stepping on a snake or running into some other type of woodland creature, so I was cruising. When it became quite obvious that the trail I ended up on was not the correct path, I turned around and navigated back to the fork where I had taken the wrong turn. Ok – I was back on track…For another mile or two…As I neared the bottom of a hill, I noticed a sign to the right saying something like “Be careful crossing due to strong currents”. WTF? Strong currents? How did Ranger Joe forget to mention this??? Just around the bend I see a creek…a river…I don’t know what the heck it was, but I certainly wasn’t about to cross it and get my feet completely soaking wet only 6 miles into my run! (At this point, I have to admit I was cursing Frank for sending me into the wilderness for my longest run to date!) While the thought definitely crossed my mind to go back to my car and drive home to Arlington and get in my 18 miles the next morning on known territory, I persisted. Off to the left, I noticed another path back up the hill and decided to try that – Where at the top I was greeted by campers outside of their cabin and a gated path. After exchanging a few words with them, I gathered that they wouldn’t shoot me if I continued past their gate and was told the path would lead me to the ‘main road.’ At this point I had no idea where I was and was quite thankful that the park ranger had suggested I bring my cell phone along with the ranger’s office phone number in case I got lost. After another few miles, I came to a sign that led me to believe I was still in the park – Ok, I was starting to feel a little better. I managed to navigate back to my car somehow and still had another 7 miles to go until I reached my 18 mile goal! No problem – I figured I would just go the other way on the trail and hope for more clearly marked paths and no streams/creeks to pass. The entire run was definitely more hilly than I am used to (which didn’t surprise me since the park ranger mentioned, “Ma’am, you’re in the Piedmont of Virginia – It’s hilly”.), so my legs were definitely getting tired. Proof: Mile 12.5 back on the dirt path and I tripped over something (I’m assuming a tree stump and not my own feet) and completely fell to the ground. Luckily there was no one around to see me fall or hear the choice words that may have come out of my mouth about my husband at this point. There were definitely tears shed, but I got back up, tried to brush most of the dirt off, picked up my water bottles, and pushed on. I didn’t get up at 6:30 and get this far to stop at 12.5 miles. In the end, I completed my 18 miles with only a few bruises, scrapes, and a bloody palm and somehow managed to keep a decent pace throughout everything – My average pace was 9:38, not ideal, but I’ll take it considering the ‘adventures’. Looking back, I can laugh now, but at the time I was certainly extremely unhappy with Frank (for making me run through the woods!) and the park ranger (how do you not mention the stream to someone you know is running on the trail???) – I figure, if I can complete 18 miles of hills and dirt paths with a few unpleasant obstacles, then I can certainly complete 26.2 miles through the city of Baltimore!

What I did on my summer vacation

Somehow over two months have passed since my last blog, which would lead one to believe our summer was jam packed with so much fun and excitement, leaving me little time to write...While we did manage to fit in a lot this summer, I think my lack of blogging has more to do with laziness. ;) My last post was about July 4th…So, since then, here’s what we’ve been up to!

1. While Frank was stuck working the weekend of July 11th (his project ‘went live’ that weekend), I flew to Long Island for a quick trip to celebrate Dawn & Ryan’s wedding. I got to spend time with our two nieces, my in-laws, and enjoy another fun Long Island wedding!




2. We spent the week of July 19th in Nags Head with my family – The Garone’s annual summer vacation. I think this was year 15 for us! As always, it was a great relaxing, fun packed week!



3. I celebrated Domenic’s first birthday on August 1st in Berryville with my ladies, K&R, along with K’s family. I can’t believe the little guy is already one!



4. Frank & I hung out at Lake Anna on August 9th for my sister’s birthday. We had a great time tubing and just lounging in the water.




5. I spent some time in Winchester to celebrate my mom’s birthday. We relaxed by the pool and enjoyed great food and great company!

6. My cousin, Stacey, moved to DC from Arizona to attend Gallaudet University, so I spent some time touring around DC with her, her family, and my dad. We hit up the typical tourist spots: Museum of Natural History, WWII Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, White House, Georgetown, etc.




7. I squeezed in some much needed QT with Kristy and Rachel where we gossiped and provided advice to each other into the wee hours of the evening!

8. Frank & I spent Labor Day weekend in Richmond where six of his Arlington teams competed in a soccer tournament (and 4/6 won championship titles!). In between all of the soccer madness, we managed to squeeze in dinner with my old friend, Laura Ritenour (Robinson) and her husband, Matt. It was great catching up with them as it had been two years since we’d last seen each other – Way too long!

9. Somewhere over the summer, I got ‘the bug’ to run a marathon and decided to register for the 10/10 Baltimore Marathon, which means over the past two months, my Saturday mornings have consisted of early wake up calls and long runs.

10. We continued to make home improvements: We had a massive landscaping job completed in July in order to 1. attempt to fix our drainage issues and 2. get rid of the massive bushes in the front of the house. We also ordered new furniture for our living room since I offered to give our old set to my sister once her and Jon move into their brand new house that is being built!

Before...

After...


That's our summer recap in a nutshell! I'll do my best to keep the next posting recent and short! :)

Happy 4th!

Since this weekend is one of the few we don't have to travel, we decided to stay in town and enjoy a laid back 4th of July. Frank played golf on Friday with Mike, while I headed to Lake Barcroft with Mary Kay (who knew there was a lake 10 minutes from us!??!) to spend the afternoon with Mark & Sarah who were in town for the holiday weekend. The boys met up with us later on for some beach lounging and then we all headed to dinner. This was the first time Frank & I got to met Eamon who is now almost 1 year old! He's a cutie and was great company at dinner, too! Thanks to the Flynn's for inviting us to the lake!

On Saturday, my mom, aunt, cousin, sis, sis's BF, and my friend Kelly came over for a little BBQ. We hung outside, ate, ate, and ate, and then headed into Rosslyn to catch the fireworks. It certainly beat hiking down to the mall and camping out there for the day! Thanks to mom & Aunt Colleen for all the goodies!

Today is extremely relaxing - I'm almost not sure what to do with myself. We slept in, went to the 11:00 mass, watched some tennis, I got my nails done...With no pressing errands/chores to do, we were truly able to enjoy the day! What a great 3-day weekend! Glad we enjoyed it, because we're on the road for at least the next four weekends...

Blacksburg Wedding

Last weekend, two of my friends from VT tied the knot at Maison Beliveau in Blacksburg. The setting was gorgeous, the couple beautiful, and the reception a blast! It was the first time that Rachel and I got to hang out with our boys from VT along with our significant others. Throughout college we were all single (most of the time) and it's great to see everyone together now and either married, engaged, or in a serious relationship...My how we've all grown up! :) Brett & Charlotte looked picturesque as they tied the knot outside on the grounds of the bed & breakfast. Best wishes to the happy couple!

It was also nice to walk through campus and see how much it's changed over the past 8 years. (Has it really been 8 years since I graduated??) The campus is still as beautiful as ever and brings back such great memories.

Alyssa's Visit

My cousin, Alyssa, is in town for two weeks visiting from New Hampshire. I took all of last week off from work in order to spend some time with her. On Monday, we relaxed and didn't do anything too exciting - And then on Tuesday we toured the Capitol and hit the Museum of American History. We spent Wednesday walking around Baltimore's Inner Harbor and then topped off the day with dinner at Medieval Times.





Coincidentally, the day we visited the Museum of American History was also the first day for the Red Sox display - Go Sox! :)

Packing a lot of fun into a short trip

Last Saturday morning, we headed up to LI again for two very imprortant reasons: 1) Saturday was Uncle Carl's 80th birthday celebration and 2) Sunday was little Michael's graduation party! Sunday also happened to be Father's Day, so we were lucky enough to celebrate with both of our dads. We managed to pack a lot into the short trip and the parties gave us a great chance to see so many people!

Happy Birthday Uncle Carl!



Congrats little Michael!



Two more pics from the graduation party, which happened to be at the same beach Frank & I had our wedding photos taken...A nice pic of Laura and I with Dad...and then the pic of just Laura & I cracks me up - Anyone notice anything odd?

Celebrating 2 years with 9 courses

Our anniversary started out stormy - literally...I braved the early morning dark, threatening clouds and decided to head out for my run anyway only to get caught in torrential downpours and terrible thunder and lightning. It was definitely not one of my smarter decisions. It was so bad that as I turned back onto our street, Frank was running out to his car to come look for me...proof that he really does love me! :) From there, the day got much, much better! We celebrated our two year milestone with dinner at Citronelle in Georgetown (where President Obama and Michelle recently enjoyed a date night) - and a celebration it was! It was one of the most phenomenal meals I've ever had. We decided to splurge and went for the 9-course dinner. Each dish was more delicious than the previous. We started out with a selection of amuse bouche (bite sized appetizers) which consisted of a chicken 'lollipop', a 'hard boiled egg' (which was really mozzarella with a yellow tomato as the center - quite creative!), and a crab fondue. The second course was a potato asparagus soup, served chilled atop a huge bowl of ice. Followed by soft shelled crab, halibut in a mouth watering lobster sauce, a then a lobster burger...all leading up to the main course - short ribs so tender they melted in your mouth. Just when I thought it couldn't get any better - the next course was a cheese platter - followed by a selection of various desserts: a strawberry 'cocktail' (crushed strawberries topped with homemade vanilla ice cream and caramelized ginger), a chocolate bar, and petits fours. It was one of the most amazing meals - with the most amazing man! Happy Anniversary my love!

I now pronounce you husband and wife...

Last Saturday, Frank & I made the trip to Winchester to attend Justin (my old roommate) and Jessica's wedding. The ceremony was held on the grounds of the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley and turned out beautifully. The weather cooperated and the sun shined brightly as Justin & Jessica exchanged their written vows. Jessica looked stunning in her dress and the two seemed blissfully happy - We are so excited for them to start their life together as one! Dinner and dancing followed at the recently remodeled George Washington hotel in 'downtown' Winchester. It was so nice to catch up with old friends from High School - It had been so long since I've seen some of them! Congratulations J&J - We had a fabulous time (minus a certain cake incident ;) ) and wish you much love and happiness!

An offer we couldn't refuse

I'm a Godmother! On Sunday, Frank & I officially became Godparents to the family's newest addition, Emma Grace, making Frank a Godfather three times over - and me a Godmother for the first time! We went up to LI this weekend to celebrate Emma's big day on Sunday.




And a few other pics from the weekend...(note Kate's t-shirt)

Where did the time go?

I can't believe summer officially kicked off this past weekend. It feels as though Christmas was just the other day. Where have the past few months gone?

Since Frank's teams typically play in a local soccer tournament on Memorial Day weekend, we stick around town. (I need to talk him into playing in a tournament at the beach one year!) We kicked off the summer season by hanging out with our local friends - Dinner/drinks with Kelly on Friday night...Chuck's birthday BBQ on Saturday night...Lunch with Megan on Sunday, BBQ with Chuck & Kristen on Sunday night...and the best of all...ALONE TIME ON MONDAY! Since Frank's teams didn't make it to the play-offs, I had him all to myself on Monday. We had originally planned to meet my family at Lake Anna but since the weather wasn't cooperating, we decided to veg-out all day. We had a lazy breakfast, read the paper, and by that time I was itching to do something so I went for a six miler (which ended up being just about the only hour that the sun decided to poke its head out from the clouds making it a heck of a lot hotter than I anticipated!). We did a little shopping (I got new running kicks!), read some more, and just finished a delicious meal. I loved relaxing with just the two of us - especially since we don't get to do it that often.

Ascension Sunday?

Yes, I was baptised Catholic. Yes, I received First Communion. Yes, I was confirmed Catholic. Yes, I try to attend mass almost every Sunday. Yes, I agree with most of the Catholic beliefs. Despite these accolades, I would not nearly consider myself a religious aficionado. There are times though when religious topics do arise that I find myself pondering. Take yesterday for example - I read in our church bulletin that the Vatican approved churches in the United States to move Ascension Thursday to the seventh Sunday of Easter in order to heightened the celebration. (Essentially making yesterday Ascension Sunday.) Um - Excuse me? In order to make it more convenient for American Catholics, we are no longer recognizing the actual day Jesus ascended into heaven? What's next? Are we going to change Christmas to ensure it falls on a weekend to appease everyone's schedule? I am perplexed at some of the rule changes the Vatican approves - yet, they still can't get past allowing a father to marry (along with many other dated beliefs). Perhaps if we conjure a theory to prove that priests marrying will bring more parishioners to church (aka pad their pockets), they'll reconsider.

No Plans!

For the first weekend in a very long time, Frank & I didn't have any plans - even the soccer schedule was extremely light. After the past few hectic weeks at work, I definitely was in need of a relaxing weekend! On Saturday, I went for a great 6 mile run (who knows - maybe I'll do another race this year!) and then finally planted my veggie garden. Hopefully this year we'll get to enjoy more of the tomatoes than the squirrels. I'm determined to find a way to out-smart them (that doesn't involve violence).
We even managed to find time to clean out our closets over the weekend - a task that had been on our to-do list for quite some time. I made some money to boot - I just had another Craig's List customer come pick up a bag of my clothes! I got a chuckle out of some of the things we keep - We are quite the pack-rats with paper work. I finally went through my files from the wedding and was a bit shocked at what a Nazi I was! I had pretty detailed maps drawn up and our days planned out hour by hour to help with the planning process. I still think I had to be like that since the wedding was on Long Island and our time/trips up there were limited (Frank prefers to think I'm just crazy anal). I also found a few notes from when Frank & I started dating and were hiding our relationship from our co-workers...Notes that he left on my desk, proving he can be a romantic at times!
Now that our closets are in order, I am off to sit back and relax some more...I think I hear a book calling my name...

Congrats Chuck & Kristen!

Last night we celebrated Chuck & Kristen's engagement at DC Coast - A fun-filled evening complete with great food, music, and most importantly, GREAT COMPANY! Frank & I are both excited to be a part of their wedding party and are looking forward to celebrating with the happy couple over the upcoming months...The countdown is officially on until October 24th! Congrats you two!


Ali and her date, Frank & I with Mark & Sarah

The Bridesmaids!

The happy couple with Mark & Sarah

Happy Mother's Day

I'm very blessed to have such a wonderful mommy. Laura & I appreciate everything she does for us and today was our day to show our appreciation. The three of us enjoyed getting our nails done, eating a leisurely lunch outside, and a bit of shopping...but most importantly just spending time together! Love you, Mommy!

From one extreme to another

Geez...What a tease last weekend was! Gorgeous sunny skies, temps in the 80's-90's, eating outside, BBQ's with friends, soccer, jogging, gardening - Just enough to get me really hankering for summer!

...Enter stage left...The return of rainy spring. I have to say, Saturday didn't end up being a wash - and I did get to enjoy dinner outside on Friday night, but man, yesterday was a drag - and the week outlook isn't lookin' too hot either! As I mentioned, the weekend didn't start out badly - An early dinner in Georgetown with Kelly and then (get this) an evening at the Opera with Placido Domingo! (Love my random nights with Kel!) A nice ending to a crappy week! On Saturday I got in a run outside, spent the afternoon at a baby shower, and then at our neighbor's for a Kentucky Derby party (where I reaffirmed my dislike for Mint Juleps). Unfortunately, I spent a good deal of Sunday working - I suppose I should be thankful for the crappy weather since I was stuck behind my computer. This week I am vowing to leave work at a reasonable hour each night - and not work over the weekend!

Happy *Belated* Easter

In an effort to procrastinate at work on this gorgeous spring day, I figured I would catch up on my blog. For some reason I haven't been keeping it as up-to-date as I used to! Frank & I spent last weekend in Winchester for Easter. I enjoyed a long four day weekend and relaxed on Friday - then headed out to Winchester Saturday afternoon. I met Mom, Laura & Jon (Laura's BF) to check out the house that Jon is having built! I'm so excited for him (and Laura, too!). If everything goes as planned, Jon will have an awesome 4 bedroom, 3 1/2 bath house built! My fingers are crossed for them! The girls then headed off to get our nails done - which of course, was not without incident. The last time I got my nails done in Winchester, it turned out to be a not-so-smooth experience and this time proved to be more of the same! Since we were in Stephen's City looking at Jon's house, we decided to try a new salon in that neck of the woods. As our hands & feet were soaking...and soaking...and soaking...we started to get an uneasy feeling - This place certainly didn't have their stuff together! After two past customers walked in complaining about issues with their nails, we decided it was time to cut our loses and hit the road! We quickly put our shoes back on and scooted out of there - and over to our 'usual' salon - much better! So much for trying new places! The rest of the weekend consisted of eating...I stayed up until midnight on Saturday night just so I could eat some chocolate which I'd done without for 40 days! (I've made the same sacrifice for the past few years, and I swear it gets harder each year!) The eating continued into Sunday as we enjoyed Mom's home cooked dinner. Since I had taken Monday off from work, I was able to relax Sunday evening instead of rushing back to Arlington. After breakfast and a little shopping with my sister, I ended up back home shortly after noon on Monday - With plenty of time to do some yard work around the house and go for a run outside. I've managed to cut my past three work weeks down to four days and am not looking forward to next week's five day week! Hopefully the forecasted nice weather this weekend will make it easier to relax and ease into the next week.

DeMarco Visit

The DeMarco's came to visit us this weekend! Mom & Dad DeMarco, Danielle, Tony, Kate, and Emma all drove down on Friday making it in a little before dinner. On Saturday we all metro'ed in to DC to catch the Cherry Blossom Parade (which, I have to say, was somewhat disappointing - I had higher expectations...), came home for an Easter egg hunt with Kate, and spent some time at the park a few blocks from our house. (I did sneak out Saturday night for some girl time - Kelly celebrated her 30th bday at Kitchen in DC...Happy Birthday, Kel!) On Sunday we managed to squeeze in time to dye Easter eggs before the crew headed back home. What a fun weekend!

At the parade...
At the park...
Swinging with Uncle Frank...
Easter Egg Hunt...
Digging through her Easter 'basket'...
Emma hanging out...
Bath time...
Our God-daughter...
Dying Easter Eggs...
The girls showing off their Easter dresses a little early...
Emma in her dress...
Had to throw this one in...