Friday, December 31, 2010

3 days in a row

So I sort of fell off the workout train the last few days. We were in ABQ visiting family and friends and eating tasty food!

The past three days have been full of workouts!
Wednesday - 5ish mile run - 1st half = 23:24. 2nd half = 23:04. Total time - 46:28.

Thursday - ~45min run/walk with Molly (5 year old lab mutt) and GH - both are trying get in shape! When we got back I did the compact chain (From Stephaine's Boot Camp) with 10lb weights. 10 reps -> 1 rep.
Compact chain is a long series of exercise performed back to back in just one seamless movement.

-push-up
-leaning forward row
-bicep curl
-alternating lunges
-triceps extension
-squat with shoulder press

Friday - repeated Wednesday's run - 1st half = 23:00. 2nd half = 22:30. Total time = 45:30! I finished the workout with a walk/run with Molly and GH in the neighborhood. The loop is probably 2.5miles and we did it in 51min.

Now it is time to rest up for New Years Eve!
I made chocolate pots and sea salt olive oil ice cream! Pics coming...
Have a great time tonight!
Enjoy!
-ELH

Friday, December 17, 2010

Workouts

Tuesday - ~5.5mile run in 48min. It was 24degs but with the wind chill it felt like 8! We did a different loop that was more protected by trees - running over 32 sucks!

Wednesday - Boot Camp!
2min of pushups - 35
5min of plank

2 times....each exercise was done for 4min (definitely a good workout!)
-superman (face down), hop up fast like you are a surfer, squat surfer jump
-3 mountain climbers, on the 3rd one, keep your foot up near your arm and do a pushup.
-table top (2 min on each leg) - feet flat on the gnd, butt down, arms behind you with your hands faced towards your feet, stretch up, keeping one foot flat on the ground the other foot points straight out, hips up, and head back. Probably a bad description :)
- squat jumps into a pencil - fast
-abs - pike position with your arms crossed over your chest, feet off the ground ~6inches and criss-cross your legs back and forth.

Next we did some arms work with bands.
Supermans keeping your arms at 90deg.
Abs
Stretching
It was a great workout!!

Thursday - travel day... I did walk from the C terminal to baggage claim instead of taking the train.

Friday - off. Errands and baking to do... pics tomorrow.

Enjoy!
-ELH

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

workouts

Workout update -

Saturday - 5mile run in 24deg weather! I did this in 41 minutes! This was the third time I have done this loop the last few weeks and I have progressively gotten faster at it - 45:30, 42:30, and now 41. Going to do it again tonight...


Sunday - Pilates and some weights. I really like the Ana Caban videos. She is a great instructor.


Monday - Boot camp with The Boot Camp Girl - Stephanie Dignan. I have been doing boot camp with Stephanie for almost a year and I love it. It is challenging every time I go. The work included:
Active stretching
2min of pushups (nose to the ground) - did 39 (my new record)!
5min of plank - my record is 20min...
Abs
Plyometrics - 3 min of mountain climber, 3 min of frogs, and 3 min of shoulder press with a squat jump.
Resistance bands mixed in between the plyometrics working on shoulders, arms, and back muscles.
Abs
Side raises to work on your obliques - I am terrible at this. It works my arms more than my sides. Maybe I already have great obliques!
Stretching
Usually we do a mile run, but it is too cold and dark. My best mile is 6:57!


On another note, my wedding dress came back from the cleaners/preserving place. I have decided to sell it. We don't really have the space to store it and I know if we have daughters, they won't want to wear it. I am going to keep my veil. It is preserved in a separate box!


-Enjoy!
ELH

Friday, December 10, 2010

Random stuff

I am going to try and be better about blogging....

So let's start with some random things....

I have been caffeine and soda free for 11 days! I did have sweet tea vodka with soda water last Friday with girlfriends. I have also curbed my drinking for the last week. I guess it is sort of an impromptu cleanse and realizing that the last two months have been full of lots of drinking and eating. I wonder why?!:) I do feel better, but get tired ~1pm. I think I will continue this until Christmas week. My mom loves Starbucks and we like walking ~1mile to the coffee shop.

I still haven't changed my name. It sort of seems like a daunting task.

We are in the middle of job/career changes - needless to stay, I am feeling the stress. More on that once stuff is settled.
Christmas shopping is done! And has been done for a while. For GAH's family we do gift baskets with an adult beverage and personal ornaments for the children. This year the baskets are full of small things from Maui! I got a few things in Maui for my family as well.

We did decorate our tree with all the ornaments we got from our rehearsal dinner. It looks beautiful! (I'll post pictures later...)

I am signed up for the Publix Georgia Half Marathon in March! 2011's goal is to do a marathon. A friend of mine started posting her workouts on her blog - I might take this up to keep you posted on my marathon training.

It is freezing here a few miles below the Mason-Dixon Line. I need to get a better winter coat. I have a wool pea coat that goes down to my knees, but in 20deg weather, I am still cold.

I will leave you with pictures from the Gobble Jog 2010...
Enjoy
-Not quite ELH!

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Gobble Jog

The last two Thanksgiving mornings, I have participated in the MUST Gobble Jog. I run the 10k (6.2miles) and then walk the 5k (3.1miles) with various family members.
Last year, my time was ~56min. My goal was somewhere around 50min (~8:10min/mile) and try to be consistent with my splits.

My official finish time was 50:58.80 (average of 8:13min/mile)
67th woman out of 660
14th in my age group, out of 104
Pretty good!

Splits by mile from my watch-
1 - 8:02.89
2 - 8:17.33
3 - 8:20.72
4 - 8:27.94 - slowed down to pace myself, probably too slow
5 - 8:09.85
6 - 8:10.92
6.2 - 50:59.54

The was the first race that my splits were not all over the place, so I am happy about that!

The 5k walk took us ~56min!
It was a fun morning. The rest of the day.....not so much fun:( Ended up getting a pretty bad migraine that resulted in vomiting. Fun!
My new family took care of me and the day ended on a happy note!

Happy Holidays!
ELH

Thursday, October 21, 2010

We made it on a website!

I am not one of those crazy brides that wanted her wedding splashed all over the interwebs, but I secretly wanted to be make the blog of each of our vendors!

We made it! Well actually pictures of my best friend's 10month old son and GH's cousin's daughter, but they are from our wedding!!

Probably a little too excited :)

We hired Bring the Kids! to baby sit during the reception. The owner Marissa was wonderful to work with. She helped create a great plan that stayed within our budget. I highly recommend her company and will use her services for future events.

Enjoy!
ELH


Monday, October 4, 2010

Cake Topper


The wedding has come and gone and it was a wonderful day!
We had an amazing day and I loved every moment of it.
I will be posting more pictures and vendor information (all of our vendors were amazing and wonderful to work with) soon.

Now it is time to relax and play with our presents!
xoxox
ELH

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Summer Reading Review

Summer Reading Review (My time definition - Memorial Day to Labor Day)


The Women by T.C. Boyle - historical fiction about the women in Frank Llyod Wright's life. Well written, but read Loving Frank by Nancy Horan first otherwise the book will be spoiled. Recommended!

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Free book on my Kindle. Plus I wanted to refresh my memory after seeing the new Tim Burton movie.


Death in a Prairie House: Frank Lloyd Wright and the Taliesin Murders by William Drennan

Do you see a theme/obsession. His life is fanasting.


The Tinkers by Paul Harding - 2010 Pultizer Prize in Fiction. Very short book, not that interesting.


The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich - 2009 Pultizer Prize in Fiction runner-up. I listen to this book from audible.com It was interesting, but the transistions between characters and how they were related was a bit of a stretch. It was a good book. Recommended!


The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday: SPC #5 by Alexander McCall Smith - 5th book in the series. I am a sucker for serier of books. This is a good series, but like most of his writing, you are reintroduced to the characters in each book. One would thing that by book #5 you know who the characters are?! Recommended!


Swimsuit by James Patterson - easy reading. Not his best novel. It seems like his novels are rushed, except for the Alex Cross books. Thoes are fantastic. Recommended for fast, easy reading!

House Rules by Jodi Picoult - I have read all of her books and it is intersting to see her progress as a writer. This was a good book, but I did get frustrated with the characters and the ending was a disappointment. If you are going to read only one of her books, stick with My Sister's Keeper.


Scarlet by Alexandria Ripley - Written in the 90's as a continuation of Gone With The Wind. It focuses on Scarlet and Rhett's relationship. It is ~800pgs and could have been shorter. I love the relationship between Scarlet and Rhett, but this book doesn't do it justice. It is a great book and if you are a GWTW fan, I highly recommend this book!


A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley - 1992 Pultizer Prize Fiction winner. I enjoyed this book and the development of the three sisters. Unlike most Pultizer Prize winners, this book has a beginning, middle, and end. I like that! Recommended!

Rabbit, Redux by John Updike - This was book #2 in a series of 4 books. Books #3 and 4 are Pultizer Prize Fiction winners, and since I am trying to read all the Pultizer Prize Fiction winning books, I thought it was a good idea to first read books #1 and #2. #1 I hated. #2 not much better. It took me ~2years to finish book #2! I have started #3, but it is slow going. I wonder how long it will take me...



Enjoy!

-ELT

Monday, August 30, 2010

Annapolis 10miler 2010

So, it has been awhile since I posted...


Wedding planning has been coming along. We are pretty much done, besides paying the vendors :(
We did get some press on another blog. Yes, we are totally nerdy!


Yesterday was my "last" race of the year. With all the wedding stuff, mini-moon, GAH's famous cousin's wedding, and our honeymoon, my running will be sporadic at best. So I haven't signed up for anything offical. I might do a Turkey Trot 10k....

I am seriouly considering a full marathon in San Diego with my friend Amanda, next June! Scary!!


On to the results....
Mile splits:
1 - 8:08
2 - 7:54
3 - 7:21 - I believe this, since my best 1 mile sprint is 7:17 and this part was downhill.
4 - 8:16
5 - 8:21
6 - 8:34 - 48:36
7 - missed this marker
8 - 1:05:45
9 - 8:45
10 - 9:11
Unofficial time - 1:23:47!!

The last 2 miles were difficult mentally. Physically, I was ready, but I have been training with other runners who help push me. My splits are inconsistent - something I need to work on as I progress as a runner. I did walk for a minute or so after passing mile marker 9. I was ready to stop and had little motivation. I kept thinking about a repeat of my last after race experience and didn't want to push myself. Regardless, it was a best time. I did have an overall good time - going to sign up again. And I have decided that I need to get a GPS, mile split running watch to help me train alone.

-Enjoy!
ELT

Friday, July 9, 2010

Migraines

I get migraines. I was a freshmen in high school when I got my first one.

Probably on the scale of migraine sufferers, I would be in the low risk category since they are not daily, I get one every few months.

But I do get them with an aura which on the Dr. worrisome scale, takes me to the top of the list. Lovely!

My aura usually manifests itself in blindspots in my vision. I can be looking directly at you and not see a thing. It sucks. I have also been known to get nauseous - fun story of getting one of those migraines on an airplane and using multiple of the throw-up bags! I had eaten ice cream at the airport. Never again! Yes, I am superstitious:)

I have tried lots of drugs, but basically feel awful from the meds after the headache is done. You basically have to take a ton of the stuff to have any effect. I hated it, so I didn't refill my Rx and stick with the over-the-counter Excedrin Mirgraine, caffeine, and a nap with ice on my head! It works most of the time and I can function the next day.

In grad school, I was dealing with dull pain almost everyday. Sort of a stress related migraine. The Dr I went to see noticed that I am a fan of homeopathic medicine and suggested I try Migravent - a natural supplement that contains butterbur.

I started taking 3 a day as recommended for a few months and then stepped down to 2 a day, then 1 a day, then none. The daily pain disappeared after a few months of treatment!

It definitely is a wonder drug and I highly recommend it to all migraine sufferers as a way to eliminate migraines from your life!



Enjoy!

ELT

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Baltimore 10miler

Yesterday, I completed my 2nd 10 mile race - The Baltimore 10 Miler. The course was hilly which is why the last 2 miles were slow!
It was hot and I was tired after the race. I drank a bottle of water, 3 glasses of gatorade, and ate an apple. ~15min after the race I started not feeling well, very nauseous. My friend and I were meeting more friends for brunch at Golden West Cafe, so we headed over to put our name on the list. The nausea wasn't getting any better. My friends ordered breakfast and I ordered a Sprite and a plain biscuit. Before the food came the nausea peaked and I tossed up the apple and gatorade in a bush around the corner from the restaurant! Ahh I felt so much better :) I guess an apple on an empty stomach wasn't the best idea. The food at Golden West Cafe looked great and my friends gave it great reviews. I guess GAH and I will have to check it out...

Mile splits:
1 - 8:52 - thick crowds, weaving in and out of people
2 - 7:57 - downhill
3 - 8:12
4 - 8:21
5 - 8:33
6 - 8:33
7 - 8:32
8 - 7:20 - I think the mile marker was off, my best straight out sprint mile is 7:27!
9 - 9:07
10 - 9:28 - 1:24:59!!

~12min faster than the Annapolis 10miler in August 2009.
133rd woman out of 1795 women
38th out of 397 in the 30-34 age group!


Enjoy!
-ELT

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Sick Kitty

Artichoke (AKA - Chokie or Arti) is my 4year old adventurous tailed cat! (Gus - is my other 9 year old Manx)


Arti likes to get into things - she likes to drink the shower water; she dips her paws in the water bowl after using the litter box - sanitary reasons??; she loves kitty treats and will do tricks to get one; she loves to eat and play; she likes to eat rubber things - Lance Armstrong bracelets will be eaten in a matter of minutes!; she likes to look outside but runs away when you open the door; she runs to the door when I come home; she is up and at the food bowl as soon as I am up; she likes to sleep under the blankets; she is terrified of the vacuum cleaner; she likes to lick paper especially with fresh ink; and I just love this kitty.


A few weeks ago I came home to a lovely hairball - eww! I have dealt with Gussy's before so I didn't think much of it. Both cats eat Hairball prevention cat food and get the nasty malt-like toothpaste prevention stuff to limit the amount of hairballs I have to clean up. I knew it was Arti's hairball because there was a rubber band in the hairball, I mentioned she likes to eat rubber stuff?!

I cleaned it up and didn't think much about it.

I guess the hairball and some other toxin (the Vet thinks she licked something bad or ate something unsettling) cause Arti to get sick. She was vomiting clear liquids and not eating for a few days.

I took her to the vet and they kept her overnight (I did miss my kitty, but Gussy had a ball being an only-child for the night!). She got IV fluids (she is sporting cute shaved arms - the latest in Kitty Fashion!) and her blood work came back normal - thank-goodness she didn't have serious disease. We have special bland Rx cat food that both cats will be enjoying for the next month!


The apartment has been kitty proofed and she is not allowed to lick the bathtub water and paper!

-Enjoy!

ELT




Friday, June 11, 2010

Chile Brownies

I like to bake. One day I would like to open a bakery. I even have the name already picked out - Favorite Choice! I'll tell you the story behind the name later....


Last fall at work, there was a chili and brownie cook off - perfect!I love to cook chili and brownies, but I don't eat red meat or pork, so I knew my turkey chili wouldn't win, so I decided to make NM chile brownies!
In case you didn't know, red and green chile are a staple to any New Mexican's diet.
You can get green chile cheeseburgers at McDonald's, Wendy's, Sonic etc. The official answer to the question - Red or Green? is Christmas!
I prefer green over red, mainly because red chile is usually cooked in a pork broth or has some pork in it.

My brownies won for Most Original Ingredient! and now I am going to share the secret recipe...

NM Chile Brownies -
Find your favorite brownie recipe - homemade or out of a box.
Diced frozen NM green chile - defrosted
Dry crushed NM red chile


Follow the recipe as directed with a few modifications -
Usually the recipe calls for water, replace the water with "green chile" water from the defrosted green chile.
Add 1 tablespoon of the defrosted green chiles to the batter.
Add 1 tablespoon of red chile to the batter.

Continue to follow the directions for making your favorite brownies and once you have the brownies in the pan, sprinkle the dry crushed red chile on top for decorations.
Bake as the recipe suggests and enjoy!

I would definitely have an extra glass of milk when enjoying these brownies!
-Enjoy!

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Baking

I decided to make a cake for my Aunt's birthday!

Chocolate-Raspberry Layer Cake from Bon Appetit June 2010
.
Professional pics -

My cake -

It was very tasty.

I guess opening the bakery might be sooner rather than later.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Wedding update

We have been making lots of progress on the wedding:

Venue booked (that was done awhile ago)
Caterer tasting done (mini sliders for the cocktail hr!!)
Florist found and flowers selected.
Cupcakes selected (no wedding cake, 6 flavors - old fashion yellow, quatro leches, cannoli, peanut butter mousse, ancho chocolate mousse, and dark chocolate mousse)Lego cake topers (yes we are nerdy and I love lego men - as a child we had legos, but my dad would never buy the sets with the men, so now I have my own lego wedding people! - hope the cats don't make them their toys!)
My dress, the bridemaid's dresses, and tuxes are done!
My shoes purchased (reception shoes - hint - I was a converse tween and Ed Hardy makes shoes...)

Invitation are here (plus other paper products for the wedding) from EarthlyAffair - We are keeping the wedding "green" and I really wanted beautiful fall themed recycled paper invitation. The owner Jennifer, was wonderful to work with and I highly recommend her company. She has also been a great resource for other earth friendly ideas for the wedding. She even sent me two tubes of organic chapstick as a thank-you. Another plus, is that her company is located in Georgia, so we helped stimulate the local economy!!


Additionally, all the paper products for the wedding are 100% recycled paper. We are using Nashville Wraps Eco-Friendly Packaging for the cupcake to-go boxes and guest bags.

For the more furgal person, Vistaprint has a new line of eco-friendly paper products.

Keeping the wedding "green"has been easier than I thought!

In keeping with the "green" idea, there will not be programs and we ask all our guests to please recycle any of the wedding paper products after the wedding.

-Enjoy!
ELT





Monday, May 31, 2010

Spring Reading

Besides wedding planning, running, and doing boot camp (did I mention that I lost 5 lbs in May!!) I have been reading.

My recommendations -
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Free ebook for my Kindle #15 from Project Gutenberg) by Arthur Conan Doyle - good book.

Independence Day by Richard Ford - 1996 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction - okay book
Bookends - Jane Green - great summer pool/beach reading.

The 8th Confession - James Patterson - Part of the Women's Murder Club, not as great as the Alex Cross books, but an easy fun read.

The Stone Diaries - Carol Shields - 1995 Pulitzer Prize in Fictions - excellent book!! Loved it.

Dear John - Nicholas Sparks
The Last Song - Nicholas Sparks - 2 girlfriends recommended these books - easy reads - make sure to have lots of kleenex with you!

My summer reading is going to include The Rabbit books (#2, 3, and 4 - Rabbit Redux, Rabbit is Rich, and Rabbit at Rest - #3 and 4 are Pulitzer Prize winners - did I mention that I am reading all the PP fiction books - slow but steady progress. I thought I would read #1 and 2 before reading 3 and 4 to know the characters. #1 was depressing and I didn't like it. #2 is very sexually and graphic and so far not great) and a few books about Frank Llyod Wright - a very interesting person.

If you need any book recommendations, I am your girl.
Have fun summer reading!
-ELT

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Tri Columbia Blossoms of Hope 1/2 Marathon Relay

Mile splits (some missing - mile markers were hard to see):
Today, I completed my 3rd 1/2 marathon. Actually, it was a relay, 6.55miles each. Is was my relay partner's first race, so I ran the first half and then ran with her on the second half as moral support. The course was very hilly and my knees did not like it. The second half hurt, but I had fun!

Splits -
1 - 8:35
2 - 8:11
3 - 8:24
4 - 8:50
5 - missed marker
6 - 16:45
6.55 - 5:11 (relay switch point - 56min) - the last 1/2 mile was uphill :(
7 - missed marker
8 - overall time - 1:01.16
9 - 9:41
10 - 10:37 - 1hr 30 min (knees hurt, switched to 3min run/1min walk)
11 - 10:50
12 - 10:43
13.1 - 10:58, 2hr 3 min

Enjoy!
-ELT

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Book Review - Winter 2010

Books read Jan - March 2010.

Mary Todd Lincoln by Jean Baker - biography of Mary Todd Lincoln, a very interesting misunderstood person. Great book!

Knit Two by Kate Jacobs - second in the Walker and Daughter Knitting store series. Great easy reading.

Tea Time for the Traditionally Built: #10 - Alexander McCall Smith - great book in a light hearted series.

The Forgotten Garden and The Shifting Fog - Kate Morton - I listened to these books on audible and I love them. The reader was wonderful, I could listen all day. Highly recommended!!

The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger - I know I am behind the times just reading this book now (I haven't seen the movie either.) It was a great book and I love how the author developed the story. A friend mentioned that she thought the book was too sexual. It does have many sexual scenes, but I feel they are integral to the story. Highly recommended!!

I, Alex Cross by James Patterson - I read this book on my kindle during the snow of February 2010! Classic Alex Cross book = Great!

Mercy by Jodi Picoult - another thought provoking book about the relationship between a husband and wife. Beautiful writing.

Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult - one of her newest books dealing with a family with an ill child, similiar theme as My Sisiter's Keeper. It was a great book, but I could do without the last few pages. The story was finished, they weren't necessary.

The Choice by Nicholas Sparks - my first Sparks book, it was an easy great weekend reading book. Great beach reading.

Enjoy!
ELT

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

April Food Day!

The issue of hunger in America is still as desperate as ever. People you know - your neighbours, your relatives and your friends – are visiting food banks to help make ends meet. People who never in a million years thought they’d have to get food are visiting food banks. And the food banks are more stretched than they’ve ever been.



Donate to Feeding America - April Food Day



Thank-you for your support for this project.


ELT

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Happy Birthday

March = birthdays!

Today (3-23) is GAH's birthday!! He got some coffee equipment and beans from Baby's coffee and from what I hear it is fantastic! Highly recommended.

Saturday is my Dad's birthday. Happy Birthday Dad! My mom is paying the buy-in for a Poker tournament. Win Big!!

Gussy and Germy also have their unoffical birthdays on Saturday. Gussy will be 9 (old lady cat) and I am growing her some new cat grass! Germy will be 6 and I am sure my mom will give him extra tuna!


Happy Birthday!Happy Birthday!Happy Birthday!Happy Birthday!
-ELT

Sunday, March 21, 2010

DC National Half Marathon

Yesterday, I finished my second 1/2 marathon.
It was a great morning, a little cold at the start (~45F) and a sunny finish.
With all the snow in MD this winter, I have been running on the treadmill, doing faster paces and I started boot camp (Love it!! www.thebootcampgirl.com ), different training than my first 1/2.
Since January, I have lost ~10lbs going to boot camp and running on my own.
My goals for this race were to run as long/far as possible before switching to 3min run/1min walk and beat my Baltimore time (2hr 16min).
The reward - Chick-a-fil!!!

I made my goals and smashed my time. 13.1miles in 1hr 56min!! 8:51/mile! All running, no walking.
I am pretty impressed with myself.
At the 10mile mark, my time was ~1hr 30min, so I updated my goal to try and finish under 2 hrs.
I guess I am an official runner now :)

Mile splits (some missing - mile markers were hard to see):
1 - na
2 - 18:32
3 - 8:59
4 - 8:45
5 - 9:06
6.2 - 11:02 (10k = 56min 26sec)
7 - na
8 - 15:59
9 - 8:47
10 - 8:36 - 1hr 29 min
11 - 8:31
12 - 8:33
13.1 - 9:04, 1hr 56 min

-Enjoy!

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Snow

The snow totals for the 2009 - 2010 are depressing. So much so, that I haven't wanted to blog about them.
The first storm which hit before Christmas, caused my flight to Atlanta for a long weekend to be cancelled and delayed my arrival in NM. Arggg!!

Fortunately, all my co-workers said that the average snow fall is ~18", so the December storm was supposed to be all the snow we got. Needless to say they were wrong!!

The DC/Baltimore area was hit with two more 18"+ storms in the same week!!! The snow piles are so, high we will be lucky if it melts by April.

Check out this blog - written by a lady in Baltimore - Love her blog and she did a fantastic job covering the snow.

http://pigtown-design.blogspot.com/2010/02/snow-updates.html


I will leave you with some pictures I took....
The owner of this car, still hasn't dug it out! It has been almost 2 weeks!!



And to add to the cabin fever brought on by the snow, on another trip to Atlanta to do wedding stuff with my mom, it snowed! 3 to 4"!! Which isn't much by DC/Baltimore standards, but put the greater Atlanta area into panic mode. I wanted a sign on the rental car - "From Maryland, I know how to drive in the snow. Get out of my way!!" The Atlanta snow did cause a few of our appointments to be cancelled, which almost put me over the edge. Fortunately, everything worked out, we did get some of the most important things done, and I got a beautiful necklace for Valentine's Day!

We are going snowboarding next weekend, which I should be excited about!?! More snow ;)With all the snow here, I would rather be at the beach next weekend. Spring, where are you...

-Enjoy!
ELT

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

random thoughts

Just some random thoughts ...

I think I need to join the 20th century and get a smart phone! Missed my second invite to happy hour...

"The Forgotten Garden" by Kate Morton is a fantastic book. One of my top favorites and highly recommended!!

Find a wedding florist is very difficult. Probably should have starting looking for a florist when I booked the venue.

Love JCrew bridesmaid dresses!! We even got them on sale (less then $100!!), because the color is out of season.

Found a day-of-coordinator! I think she will be wonderful.

Love my sample invitation from Earthly Affair. 100% recycled paper and they carbon offset their shipping! Yeah for a green wedding.
www.earthlyaffair.com

I hope this weekends snow doesn't affect air travel...

-ELT

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

mom-blogs

I read a few "mom-blogs" because I enjoy the wit and humor of these women. One of the blogs I read regularly announced today that they are pregnant with their 5th child. Congratulations!! Having a child is a wonderful and amazing thing (the jury is still out on using my womb - I like the idea of being an awesome/super cool Aunt!)

They have been married for ~5 years and have 4 children (the oldest just turned 5 and the youngest is a year old.) What frustrates/angers/annoys me about the announcement is that their youngest child just recovered from a serious heart condition that threaten his life, that she whole-heartedly believes was caused and solved by their unending faith in God.
Not once in any of her posts (and she is very forth coming) is the acknowledgement that maybe it wasn't God who was testing their strength but her body saying "Hello, stop having so many children. Give me a few months of vacation to recover/renew/rebuild/refresh, before trying for baby #4." The mom-blog relates every daily thing back to God. I think that is crap!


From the mom-blog -
"MckMuffin is our 1 year old miracle son Stellan. When I was 22 weeks pregnant with him, he was in heart failure. He had SVT, Hydrops fetalis and heart block. At 24 weeks we were told there was no hope for our son, whose heart would not respond to medication. Stellan would be stillborn. We embarked on a journey of faith like nothing we could have ever imagined.
God blew us away with Stellan's miraculous recovery. He was born alive, healthy and with no sign of SVT! His doctors were sure he had outgrown it and we took him home.
When Stellan was 4 months old, he began to suffer from SVT again. Our faith walk deepened as we clung to God. Stellan was hospitalized for 6 weeks and had a risky, unsuccessful ablation performed in Boston. Between then and when he turned one, Stellan had a hospitalization in the ICU every single month.
When Stellan's SVT got so bad that we nearly lost him a few times, once when he coded on the table mere days after he turned 1, he had another emergency ablation. Although the outlook was grim and the hope for complete success was slim, we put our son in God's hands again.
Why God chose to heal our son on earth is something we cannot fathom. But He did. Stellan's second ablation was a rip roaring success and he has been free from SVT since November 9, 2009 with no permanent damage to his heart.
Stellan is the light of our lives. A dimpled darling, he loves to cuddle, giggle and be doted on by his three older siblings. We have vowed to never stop praising God for the miracle that Stellan is."


I was baptised and raised ELCA Lutheran (Catholic-lite is what GAH calls it). I believe in God and that there is an after life, but I have a difficult time believing that God impacts my daily life.
I abruptly woke up this morning before my alarm, thinking I had forgotten/lost something very important (in fact it was in a safe place - where I always keep it!), did God wake me up or was it just me being neurotic? Mostly likely neurotic!

In the news you read/hear about so many bad things that are happening, I just can't believe that an almighty Lord would allow so many mean, evil, daily things (ex. the pre-teen in Florida who was set on fire by boys his age that were mad about $40. The boys now face murder charges. Fortunately, the burnt boy is doing well and from the reports is make great progress with his recovery.) Would a daily, helping you make decisions God allow those boys to set someone on fire??

On the grand scale of things, yes I believe that God is there and has an impact. I don't believe that God caused the heart defect in the mom-blog's unborn child. I believe it was her body rejecting the forth pregnancy in five years. I do believe that the mom-blog's family found strength in God and allowed her family the ability to deal with and over come the illness. I believe that the mom-blog has listened to her body for her current pregnancy (probably because she was too busy worrying and providing for her ill son,) I just wonder if she listened long enough and what will happen with this newest addition.....I guess I'll have to keep reading:)


-ELT

Monday, January 11, 2010

Happy Birthday!

Today is my sister's 25th birthday!! And a dear family friend just had their second child today at 11am - its a girl!!

Like all siblings, we have had our ups and downs and as we get older our friendship grows. One of my earlest childhood memories is of the birth of my sister.

It was dark out and my dad packed me and my yellow Triaminic couch syrup in the car, heading to a family friend's house to spend the night. They would take me to day care the next day. The next morning, while at day care, I was told I had a phone call in the lobby. How exciting!! A Phone Call!! It was my dad calling to say I had a baby sister. It was all very exciting! I don't remember going to the hospital or seeing her for the first time, but I remember the phone call. Strange what we remember.
Since my mom knew my sister would be born shortly after Christmas, she decided to keep up all the decorations until she was born. We maintain that tradition still. And I even keep all my Christmas stuff up. (I will be taking it down this weekend.)

I love family traditions!
Happy Birthday Sister!!
-ELT

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Happy 2010!

September - December 2010 books read and listened to.

Gourmet Rhapsody by Barbery, Muriel - second book by Barbery, not as good as the first.

My Life in France by Child, Julia - great book! Highly recommended.

The Secret of Lost Things by Hay, Sheridan - strange book. So so on the recommendation.

Mary Mrs. A. Lincoln by Newman, Janis Cooke - historical fiction about Mary Todd Lincoln. Highly recommended - my 2nd book of 2010 is going to be the biography of Mary Todd Lincoln (Mary Todd Lincoln by Baker, Jean H).

Alex Cross Trial by Patterson, James - so so book, written with second author - I think the books written with another author are not as good as the books James Patterson writes alone. This book isn't really about Alex Cross, so it is not a must read.

Keeping Faith by Picoult, Jodi - an older Picoult book. Pretty good.

Bridge of Sighs by Russo, Richard - another long book by Russo, but very good. I listened to this and That Old Cape Magic (read by the same person). Highly recommended.

That Old Cape Magic by Russo, Richard - a short Russo book! Also Highly recommended.

When You Are Engulfed in Flames by Sedaris, David - listened to this on my Thanksgiving drive - terribly funny. Sedaris read the book. Highly recommended!

The Miracle at Speedy Motors:#9 by Smith, Alexander McCall - a continuation in The #1 Ladies Detective Agency series. The series is a very good read.

A Summons to Memphis by Taylor, Peter - Pulitzer Prize fiction winner. Unless you want to read all the PP fiction winners, you can skip this one.

I have a feeling I will be reading lots of books this year... lots of plane trips to do wedding planning!
Enjoy!
ELT