Well Trained Collies

How bad is it ...

2012-01-25T21:34:00.000-08:00

Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout
Would not take the garbage out!
She'd scour the pots and scrape the pans,
Candy the yams and spice the hams,
And though her daddy would scream and shout,
She simply would not take the garbage out.
And so it piled up to the ceilings:
Coffee grounds, potato peelings,
Brown bananas, rotten peas,
Chunks of sour cottage cheese.
It filled the can, it covered the floor,
It cracked the window and blocked the door
With bacon rinds and chicken bones,
Drippy ends of ice cream cones,
Prune pits, peach pits, orange peel,
Gloppy glumps of cold oatmeal,
Pizza crusts and withered greens,
Soggy beans and tangerines,
Crusts of black burned buttered toast,
Gristly bits of beefy roasts. . .
The garbage rolled on down the hall,
It raised the roof, it broke the wall. . .
Greasy napkins, cookie crumbs,
Globs of gooey bubble gum,
Cellophane from green baloney,
Rubbery blubbery macaroni,
Peanut butter, caked and dry,
Curdled milk and crusts of pie,
Moldy melons, dried-up mustard,
Eggshells mixed with lemon custard,
Cold french fried and rancid meat,
Yellow lumps of Cream of Wheat.
At last the garbage reached so high
That it finally touched the sky.
And all the neighbors moved away,
And none of her friends would come to play.
And finally Sarah Cynthia Stout said,
"OK, I'll take the garbage out!"
But then, of course, it was too late. . .
The garbage reached across the state,
From New York to the Golden Gate.
And there, in the garbage she did hate,
Poor Sarah met an awful fate,
That I cannot now relate
Because the hour is much too late.
But children, remember Sarah Stout
And always take the garbage out!

Shel Silverstein, 1974

Note to self: try to take garbage and recycling and compost out more often.

m&j&r

Don't Tell Riddle

2012-01-22T22:04:00.000-08:00

We had a full weekend with plenty of good food and laughs. Not going to lie, there was a lot of dog in our house: Riddle, Bodie, and Molly. And what you may not know is that Riddle is fiercely territorial. Like, don't touch my stuff or my people. That is, until she played with Bodie at the beach and schooled him in Queen of the Couch. It was great fun. Kelley snapped this of us on Saturday. We were a little tired from a morning at the beach. As you can see, Bodie is a snuggle bear.

Here's to a rainy week with lots of warm soups and stews. Stay warm and dry wherever you are!
m&j&r

Bathroom renovation complete

2012-01-18T22:47:00.000-08:00

First we bought new towels and then we painted. In all, we spent about $200 and a number of hours of work, but it was totally worth it as our new master bath sanctuary is complete!

The new color is Pewter Ring and we're loving it so far. Jamie was an edging machine! I liked to work with the baby roller. It's made to fit behind the toilet. Just fun to use. Riddle wasn't so hot on the mess we made in the bedroom and around her crate, but now that things have returned to normal she's down with the new color, too. Already excited for our next project.

Friends are coming into town this weekend, so it promises to be a great few days filled with laughter and good food. Jamie has ODP on Sunday, too. That means farmer's market time for me. Maybe a movie. Tough few days ahead ...

Happy happy
m&j&r

When all else fails ...

2012-01-16T22:08:00.000-08:00

... go to the beach with your dog. Seriously, borrow a dog if you don't have one, but get yourself out and about with a dog. It will surely brighten your day. This was our highlight:

Why don't we talk about children like we talk about dogs?
1. Oh, what kind is that?
2. Where'd you get her?
3. How old is she?
4. Did you get him locally?
5. How long have you had him?

Here's to the long, long, long weekend. Who doesn't love an extra day off?!
m&j&r

Happy moments

2012-01-11T22:30:00.000-08:00

1. A morning breakfast date with just the two of us. We got up early, hit up Noah's Bagels, and headed to the office. No one was around. It was like our own little WTC spot. It was perfect.
2. An after school walk in the hills with Riddle. Amazing how daylight stretched to 5:30pm seems like such a gift after the short days of deep winter.
3. Some very loving emails from my brother and Unkie. Perfect way to get through the middle of the week.
4. Downton Abbey. Watch if you don't. It's awesome and you can stream it from Netflix or PBS.
5. Pilates class in the warm and snuggly studio we love.
6. Jamie gaining inspiration from some cool Calculus videos.

We hope your days have been filled with extra love and joy. Maybe it's the warm sunshine of mid-January or the shine of vacation still on our faces, but life is good.

m&j&r

Gratuitous dog shots

2012-01-08T21:51:00.000-08:00

Here's our little Riddle checking out the world. I know, she's adorable. And doesn't she look a lot like a little kid just standing there?

When we work outside she sits on the front porch just surveying the neighborhood. Last weekend she actually got out of the yard (well, not really got out; she walked out of the open gate), explored the neighbor's houses, and then came back to the front porch. We didn't even know she was gone until a neighbor came by. OOOps. Note to self: close the gate.

Had a lovely weekend filled with relaxing evenings, good food, and a day of ODP water polo. Throw in some 65 degree weather and a walk on the ridge with our pup and life was grand!

m&j&r

The end or the beginning?

2012-01-04T22:22:00.000-08:00

Our mini-vacation is over and we step back into teaching life tomorrow. We are refreshed. We are rejuvenated. We are ready. We have been blessed ten times over these past few weeks. We've have time to ourselves, with each other, with Riddle, with friends. We've shared amazing meals, plenty of naps, laughter, late morning sleep-ins, and more. And we've been reminded of just how much we enjoy our work as teachers. So many folks step back into the first few days of school with dread and dismay. Not us. We can't wait to see our students and colleagues, can't wait to get back into the swing of things. Sure the stress levels will rise and the rosy glow of vacation will fade ... but only a bit.

Some highlights from our break:
1. Tasting menu at Michael Mina. One of the best meals we've ever had. Ever.
2. Spending time with Riddle. We've had her for almost six months and she's finally convinced we're her people. We also know how lazy she is and how much sleep she gets. She puts us to shame in the sleep department.
3. Having our first, full-sized tree. It's still up! It still smells glorious.
4. Getting to know our bikes again. This fall took us on trails but by foot. This break brought us back to the road (and trails for Jamie) but on our bikes. It's a good recovery from all those running miles.

The alarm will come a little too early in the morning, but we can't wait!
m&j&r

Project complete!

2012-01-02T15:46:00.000-08:00

We started in early October with the big ivy tear down, and almost three months later we're finally done. Once the ivy came down, other commitments got in the way so the project was put on hold. We did do some powerwashing (ok, the neighbor did that) and some minor cleaning, but today we got the paint on and the project finished. What a difference! It's like a new house!!

Trips to hardware store: 2 (one to Home Depot and one to Ace). Not bad.

m&j&r

Here's to a great 2012!

2012-01-02T12:31:00.000-08:00

We've had a great year with plenty of adventure. We found our new house and are making it our home. We've grown our family with the addition of Riddle. We've settled into work and play even more. 2012 will close out our tenth school year in California. It's crazy to think we both moved to SoCal way back in the summer of 2002. If you had asked either of us to look forward ten years and predict that we'd be 1. in California, 2. married to that other new teacher and co-coach, 3. home owners, and 4. deepening our roots on this side of the country, I'm not sure either of us would have believed it. A decade! Craziness. So here's to another great year (or ten) as we move into 2012.

Lots of love to our readers and friends and family. Plan a visit. You know you want some Cali time in the coming year.

m&j&r

Birthday party fun!

2011-12-28T23:04:00.000-08:00

As the rest of the world was waking up to the day after Christmas, we were waking up to Jamie's birthday!!! And what a big day it was. There was a sign, a dinner party, and lots of good food. More on the food in a moment, but Jamie's big gift was a new iPod Touch. We have an old first generation touch and while it's awesome, Apple has kicked it to the curb. Jamie can no longer get new games as the OS is no longer being updated. What's a guy to do? The new one is faster and shinier and has cameras and all sorts of fun things. It's as close to an iPhone as this family will ever get. Jamie even wrapped it in paper towel until today when his new case arrived. That's how much he loves it! Too funny.

For the celebratory dinner we had a few friends over and made a Jamie inspired feast: pulled pork sandwiches, coleslaw, beans, turtle pie, and pretzels. While everything was delicious and all housemade, the real find was the pretzels. I've since made them again and will surely be making them one more time tomorrow. Maybe even next week. They're that good and so easy. I have a new favorite recipe now!

First you shape the dough. You can also make twists or sticks or bites. It doesn't matter.

Then you prep the baking soda boil and ...

let the pretzels go for a 30 second swim. This is where the magic happens, or so I read.

Follow with a little egg wash and salt sprinkle.

After 12 minutes in a 450 degree oven, this is what comes out. Seriously, get yourself to the kitchen and make these. You will not be disappointed. Apply a light layer of grainy mustard and you'll be in heaven in no time. Pop in the toaster next day, and it's like they're fresh from the oven. Will report on our cinnamon and sugar attempts later this week.

Just because we're on vacation doesn't mean we don't get down to business and work some times. After recently discovering hiking -- who knew it was so much fun and so much fun with your dog -- Riddle was in need of a little haircut. She a master at picking up burrs and ticks. Not good. Now she's back to her puppy cut and ready for the hills.

Here's master groomer Jamie with his grooming rig. Riddle is a very good girl while getting her haircut, but she sure looks sad in this pic.

Here's to a Happy New Year. 2011 has been lovely. See you in 2012, the fifth year of WTC! We'll have a party soon.

m&j&r

Top 10 of Christmas ... songs

2011-12-25T22:53:00.000-08:00

I've been listening to Christmas songs since the day after Thanksgiving. I've snuck in moments of the holiday while grading, while sitting in my office prepping for class, while baking, while prancing around the house. As happens almost every year, once Thanksgiving passes I become hopelessly in love with Christmas. The sights. The sounds. The scents. I don't know what it is, but it just makes me happy. And while this year brought us new traditions and locations, the music of Christmas brought great joy to our days. So here is our Top 10 list of music to make you smile/dance/prance/celebrate. Sure the holiday is over, but a little Christmas spirit year round never hurt anyone. And besides, tomorrow is Jamie's birthday, so there's still time to celebrate!

10. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas — Luther Vandross (A voice like butter. RIP Luther)
9. Santa Claus is Coming to Town — Bruce Springsteen OR Jackson Five (An elementary school staple)
8. Frosty the Snowman — Jimmy Durante (I cried when Frosty melted in the greenhouse)
7. White Christmas — Frank Sinatra (Classic Frank!)
6. Happy Christmas — John Lennon (Nice message)
5. A Wonderful Christmas Time — Paul McCartney (Solid video. Jamie's fave)
4. All I Want for Christmas — Mariah Carey (Love Actually, anyone?)
3. Last Christmas — Wham (Who doesn't love George Michael? This is pre-Faith)
2. This Christmas — Donny Hathaway (dedicated to Kerry & Claudia)
1. Do They Know It's Christmas Time — Band Aid (check out the rockers in this one! And yes, I know all the words)

Lots of love and merriment from here.
m&j&r

ps: Do you have a favorite Christmas song? Come on, you know you do. Share! Share! Share!

Vacation days = glory days

2011-12-21T22:43:00.000-08:00

Big day! Really big day. Where to begin?

1. We finished out bathroom revamp. It all started last week with a trip to Urban Ore. We've had dated mirrors in our bathrooms since we moved in. They're probably from the late 80s when the bathrooms were re-done, and while they were functional they weren't awesome. The first plan was to buy an old window and insert a mirror, but at Urban Ore we found an old dresser framed mirror a la early 1970s. The wood matched our bathroom cabinet perfectly and the price was right: $28. A cut mirror the same size would have run $65. Nice savings! The second step was to flip the light fixture so the lamps shine up and don't block the mirror. This was key for the tall person in the home. The last piece was buying some new towels in colors that matched the flooring. So long greens and blues and pinks from our wedding registry. Hello tan and grey. In all, we spent about $100 to spruce up the bathroom. And it's awesome! Like a spa.

Old mirror and lights facing down.

New mirror and lights facing up. I swear it makes the bathroom ceilings seem higher.

2. Reason #2789 we love our neighborhood: our across the street neighbor's son saw us starting to scrub the ivy off the front of the house and told us he had a far faster and easier method. Hello, pressure washer. He came by today to not only loan us the pressure washer but also complete the pressure washing job. The ivy was gone in less than 15 minutes and now the area around the garage (area where the crazy ivy once lived) is ready for painting. Yah!

3. Reason #2790: Jacques' owners invited Riddle over for a playdate. Jacques is Riddle's favorite dog, so when the two were playing outside, Hannah said we should just leave Riddle in her yard so the two could play. So we did. For 30 minutes they barked and pranced and played. Then Riddle sat by the fence and barked, calling us to come get her. But we know she has fun.

4. Reason #2791: our other across the street neighbor brought over stucco patch after the power washing was over. He knew we had a few holes to patch, and he had exactly what we needed. Seriously, did we move to Mayberry?

5. Went for a good walk/hike with friends (pooped out Riddle so much Jamie had to carry her for the last half mile), ventured to pilates, and otherwise had fun just doing stuff. Tomorrow's our big night out in the city. We have both dinner plans and plans to see a play. Yup, we're big time and we're adults. It's kind of fun.

Ho! Ho! Ho! in just a few days ...
m&j&r

Six days until Christmas!

2011-12-18T22:50:00.000-08:00

It's that time: vacation time. Really. Finally. ODP is behind us, so Jamie can relax. Our holiday parties are long over. Now comes the snuggle time and settling in time, couch time and forget-we-have-jobs time. We usually think we have the best jobs in the world (that's why we've been teaching for so long and can imagine no other occupation), but right now we really truly 100% do.

To help others celebrate the holiday season, I did some baking and decorating with the Cake Club (a small group of students who enjoy baking almost as much as I do). We had a blast! And we delivered 40 cupcakes, two dozen whoopie pies and a pan of brownies to the Family House for their annual holiday party.

Here's the first reindeer I constructed. Ears are molded tootsie rolls, antlers are cut pretzels, nose is an M&M, muzzle is a mini nilla wafer. Pretty crafty, huh.

Here's a group of 12. I know I'm biased, but these were just adorable. The cupcakes were cinnamon and chocolate sour cream. Frosted them with a basic buttercream. Delicious all around.

Now, there were a few decorators who took some liberties with the design and intention. I know the children at the Family House will love these, but I did segregate my reindeer as best I could.

I followed up reindeer making with croissant baking. Took another class in the city and this time I learned all about butter, butter and more butter. And how important it is in croissants. I now know why croissants are so flaky and delicious: butter. Also know the secrets to good ones. Making them on Christmas morning, so I'll post some pics then.

We also enjoyed two holiday parties and an amazing dinner out at El Paseo. We've got a big stash of gift certificates and we're trying to use them over the next few weeks. This was our first outing and it was outstanding. Who doesn't love meat?!

Riddle and I wrapped in the holiday spirit. A student gave us (not me and Riddle, rather me and Jamie) some homemade scarves. They're officially our dog walking scarves.

Happy week
m&j&r

Ho Ho Holidays

2011-12-14T21:12:00.000-08:00

The best part of a Californian Christmas is creating new traditions here. Take a look ...

Stockings have been hung with care. Who knew CVS carried stuff like this? And who knew knit stockings were so costly. Thank goodness for fleece and felt.

Riddle guarding the stockings, especially her own. Yes, we got a stocking for Riddle. It was bone shaped and I couldn't pass it up. She's just so cute and also deserves treats from Santa.

With Jamie away I was able to purchase, wrap and decorate his Christmas presents. There was only one fatal flaw in my plan: Riddle's got a sniffer stronger than expected, so when we came home on Monday she had opened one of Jamie's presents. Well, it wasn't opened, but she had unwrapped a large container of chocolate covered almonds. Luckily she couldn't break through the plastic. That would have been bad.

I proctored my exam this morning and Jamie gives his tomorrow. Once 3pm rolls around, vacation is truly on. Yes we're going to miss seeing our family and friends, but there's something so relaxing and easy about staying here. It's a welcome mid-year break we've never had and one we're quite excited for. Jamie's got a few projects lined up and I've got lots of reading and napping in the mix. There are also some nights out in the city (finally using some gift certificates we've had for ages) and dinners with friends. In all, the holiday break is shaping up to be fabulous and fun.

m&j&r

The ladies in my life

2011-12-11T22:27:00.000-08:00

As previously mentioned, I get a little lazy when Jamie's not home. I revert into a couch loving, RomCom watching, sack of donuts. But more than that I seem to find ways to spend more time with the gals in my life than usual, and it all started on Thursday night. I met with my knitting group and we had an epic 3-hour chat fest. It was awesome and we didn't do any knitting. We swapped stories of the holidays, shared some unwanted yarn, and laughed, laughed, laughed. When I finally got home close to 10pm, I was beaming, giddy with girl time fun in my heart. Saturday and Sunday included some time at the movies, Peet's, the Farmer's Market, the phone, all with some of my nearest and dearest. It's on weekends like this when I think 1. I do not like being away from Jamie for long periods of time but 2. I am so fortunate to have a loving group of women present in my life both near and far. I am constantly reminded of the strength I draw from strong-willed and humorous women who care for me as they would a sister or daughter or niece. At times, I still feel my mother's absence so strongly I am moved to tears, but I am reminded that I see her in each of my friends. Unkie always tells me she's with me, and this weekend was no exception.

Jamie comes home in t-minus one hour. Not a fan of the late night airport run, but I'm pretty pumped to be picking up my guy! What I really can't wait for is the look on his face when he sees all the presents under the tree. The elves were busy this weekend. Really busy.

A week from today we'll have been on vacation for three days. But who's counting ...

A big shout out to my friend Megan all the way in Tennessee. It's her big bad birthday on Monday! First birthday as a mom and a mom of two. It's a big birthday.

m&r (&j)

When the hubby's away ...

2011-12-09T17:39:00.000-08:00

I get very, very lazy. Think soup and sandwiches for dinner. Lots of time on the couch with Christmas music playing, scented candles burning, and L&O on repeat. Throw in a RomCom — maybe When Harry Met Sally or Love Actually or The Holiday — and the picture is complete. Riddle sleeps on the bed, too. It's horrible. All usual activities are suspended.

And, with dwindling amounts of work in the afternoon, there's been plenty of time for baking!!

Peppermint meringues were easy, pretty, and quite fun to make.

Then came the apple pie cookies. So good. Big wow factor with my students. Lots of apples to peel and cut up.

An assembly line works best with theses.

They look like little ravioli before being baked, but throw a little heat on these and ...

Heavenly! Reworked the recipe a bit to enhance the apple taste. The students devoured these in minutes. I'm thinking I might try pumpkin over break.

Jamie is having a blast in Colorado. He's working with some of the best eighth grader water polo players in the country and the women's national team. How cool is that?! He's an insider at the Olympic training center. Says the food is good, the workout facility is pretty sweet, and the other coaches are super duper knowledgeable. He's going to come back filled with new ideas for our players.

My weekend here is chock full: lunar eclipse run Saturday morning, some volunteer work, pilates, coffee with friends, napping, RomCom watching, Nutcracker viewing, and holiday cheer spreading.

Happy happy to you!

m&r (&j from afar)

Viva las Vegas ... and Christmas

2011-12-05T21:32:00.000-08:00

This is what a tired QD runner looks like the day after running. Found this on the camera as we headed to Vegas!

Notice something missing from the Las Vegas trip? Look closely ... traffic! The entire strip from Mandalay Bay to downtown was shut down. It was quite the sight.

A little holiday detail from outside the Venetian. This was our first visit to Vegas around the holiday season. We're used to late February, April or summer, but Vegas surely knows how to celebrate Christmas at every turn.

How does Jamie run? Happy, of course!

Nothing like a little doomsday welcome to the start of the half marathon. I love crazy people.

Yes, this is Mike Tyson's tiger from the Hangover. There was another one on the other side of the starting line who was relaxing and enjoying the sights. This tiger was pacing, ready to pounce.

I'm a budding videographer. Enjoy! If you look close enough you can see Jamie shivering.

And this has nothing to do with Vegas, but we're pretty proud of our very first full sized Christmas tree. Usually we bring in the dwarf pine, but this year we went big and we love it!! Put up our homemade salt-dough ornaments, little balls, santa heads and more. Note of interest: Riddle thinks salt dough ornaments taste great; we've hung those far above her reach. Need to get one more strand of lights and then we'll be set to go. Enjoyed a night of tree trimming, Christmas songs and more. Definitely getting into the spirit. I don't know what it is, but I do love this time of year.

A big shout out to our friends Megan and Anders who welcomed their twins into this world last week. All are doing well. Only problem: they're not close enough for a visit.

Final week of teaching before exams. Jamie heads to Colorado on Thursday for Holiday Cup training with the Olympic Development girls; I've got big plans for the yard and couch.

Enjoy the day!

m&j&r

All Quiet on the Western Front

2011-11-30T22:03:00.000-08:00

The house is silent. Riddle is sad. We can lower the heat to the usual 62. The guests are gone. Happy to have our home back to ourselves, but it sure was nice to have loved ones so near. There's something amazing about just being in the same room with your dad or mom. Watching TV, relaxing on the couch, seeing the Muppets and then Harry Potter is the stuff we miss more than anything else about living on the opposite side of the country from our parents. But, then again, we know we'll all be together again soon. For me I'll see Unkie and Kerry and Claudia in March for my usual Columbia adventure. And we'll see the Collie Clan in May for the next Collie wedding. Spring will be here in no time. And in the interim, we're gearing up and getting excited for our first California Christmas! There's a tree to buy, lights to hang, garland to string up, paperwhites to grow, and sparkling snow candles to burn. We're surely excited.

To get in the spirit, I've been listening to Lite 106.7 almost non-stop ... while grading papers, baking, reading the newspaper. Check it out. It will make you happy.

Week has already flown by. Finally got in a workout today. Took three days off. 100% off. There were naps in place of running. Hoping to get in a run tomorrow and some riding on Friday. Have another half marathon on Sunday. This will close out the fall and winter racing season. Well, until someone talks us into entering the lottery for another ultra. We'll keep you posted.

Happy happy!
m&j&r

Unbroken by the Quad Dipsea

2011-11-27T22:26:00.000-08:00

I am in love with the strength of the human spirit, how we can persevere no matter what, how we can overcome anything even when we think we cannot.

It's funny how reading can perfectly into your life. Two weeks ago I checked out Unbroken from the library (kindle version, of course), and started my way through the book so many people had recommended. In short, it's the story of survival and the story of the human spirit. Each night I slowly clicked my way through the pages in 10 or 15 minute chunks, but it was only during the few days around Thanksgiving when the days were freer and the commitments were absent that I was able to plow through the pages chronicling the story of Louis Zamperini and WWII. And no better time to be inspired by the strong will of a human being than in the few days before the Quad Dipsea because on the Dipsea trail the human spirit was alive and well.

The race was 28.4 miles with over 9,000 ft of climbing. Jamie finished in 5:34.57. I crossed the line at 6:37 flat. Jamie consumed about 20 gels. I stuck with PB&J sandwiches and Coke. The weather was crystal clear, warm but not hot; it was the perfect day for this race. The aid stations were run by the most loving runners you've ever met. They offered you every delicious treat you could imagine, encouraged you with cheers and shouts, and lifted your spirit just when you needed it most. Along the trail the fellow runners also encouraged you each time they passed. The spirit of ultra marathoning is competitive but not cut throat. There's a common bond in the long haul suffering but also a common love for pushing yourself to do crazy and wild and amazing things. Yes the race was tough, but we did it. I even managed to negative split. There was something in my legs and lungs that couldn't get enough of the uphills, so I just kept running.

It was great to have Unkie, Carla, Gee, Jordan and Jen there. Nothing like your own personal cheering squad. Also fun to see friends out racing. A friendly race and a high-5 never meant so much. Here are some photos.

Jamie stocking up on gels and drinks at the half way.

Mary at the half way point.

Jamie coming across the line. Go Jamie!

Jamie post-race.

Mary finishing with a clap of joy!

Jamie, Jon (a physics teacher we work with) and Mary at the finish. I look like I'm doing an Irish jig of some sort.

In all, we had a holiday weekend filled with love and gratitude. We are thankful for our family friends who joined us for our first Thanksgiving in our new house. We are thankful for our health and well-being and the joy we get from testing ourselves. We are thankful for each other and the support we give and receive. We head into the next few weeks refreshed and restored by our time away from the classroom and the time with our family. And let's get serious, December 17th and winter break is right around the corner.

m&j&r

Unkie-ing Unkie

2011-11-20T22:16:00.000-08:00

When we head back east and stay with Unkie, we often laugh at some of the small differences in our routines. One of the items I give Unkie a hard time for most often is how cold the house is. Lucky for us we were not in Cheshire for the big snow storm of October. The house was without power for a number of days and the heat slipped down to 50 degrees at night and a whopping 55 during the day (thanks to the blazing fires Unkie made). When the power is on and the heat is working, if often seems like Unkie keeps the temps hovering around 65, maybe a nudge lower. We're accustomed to packing extra layers just for our time in the house. So it was quite funny when I noticed Unkie sitting on the couch with his jacket on in our house looking a little chilly. I had beat Unkie at his own game. Guess all those years living with New England frugality has really dictated my ways. And I thought I was turning into a Cali girl. Ha!

Outside of Unkie's arrival, we've had a mellow few days. There was a taco dinner with friends, some time at school on Saturday (Open House), some running and biking and baking and cooking and shopping and resting and relaxing. This weekend has felt so long, so luxurious. I feel like I say that all the time, but weekends are truly a gift. A time to rejuvenate and relax and spend time with those you love. Here's to more of them! And here's to a short week.

Looking forward to a full table on Thursday and lots of tasty treats. And, oh yeah, that Quad Dipsea on Saturday.

m&j&r

Belly laughter

2011-11-16T22:07:00.000-08:00

These last few days have been amazing. Truly. We have had more free time than we know what to do with. We've graded papers on the couch, walked Riddle during daylight hours, finished dinner before 8pm. It's amazing what happens when the coaching season and daylight savings ends: night comes more quickly and it lasts forever. We've also enjoyed more energy and lightness to the days. Especially this afternoon as we finished classes at 12:10pm. Our afternoon curriculum meetings were canceled, so we bolted off campus for a little Dim Dum lunch and shopping. It was glorious! Mix in a little massage to help work out some of the kinks in our legs, and we'd love to linger in Wednesday all week long.

Could the day get any better? Yup. I watched Bridesmaids with a friend tonight and laughed my butt off, again. That movie has quickly become one of my favorites, one I'll surely go back to time and again when I need a little pick-me-up. If you haven't seen it, cue it up on Netflix and settling in for some laughter.

Big arrival tomorrow: Unkie! Have a fun dinner with friends on Friday, Open House on Saturday, and a whole lot of nothing the rest of the time. Should be the perfect weekend.

Enjoy where you are,
m&j&r

Taper begins

2011-11-13T22:11:00.000-08:00

We've entered the final two weeks of our QD training. How did that happen? This plan started this summer, beat us up a bit during those longer weeks of water polo, and has brought us to some amazing runs and races. Today we finished up with a familiar half marathon in Clarksburg. It was fun, we raced for free (thanks to our local running crew), and we met some good folks. But, we're tired, we're a bit beat up, and we're ready to dial back the mileage, enjoy our first truly free week post-polo, and otherwise cash in those miles from the last 12 weeks.

We also closed out the water polo season tonight with our final dinner of the season. It's an event we always look forward to with some trepidation. We love the girls and the team, but something happens the minute the season is over: we're fiercely protective of our free time. That said, once we get there we're always excited to share in the joy of the season, especially this season. We really are lucky to have such supportive families and players on the team.

Not much else going on here. Unkie arrives on Thursday and Carla and Gee arrive next week. We've got Thanksgiving on the brain and I've been burning the Christmas tree scented candles nonstop. Tis the season!

m&j&r

Two days. Two marathons.

2011-11-09T22:27:00.000-08:00

It was a big weekend for WTC. Jamie ran a trail marathon here in Cali and I ventured to NYC for the big bad marathon on Sunday. In all, both experiences were pretty awesome. Jamie completed his trail run in 3:49. He ran with some folks doing the 50k event, and enjoyed the rolling and scenic hills of the east bay. Best of all, he was the fourth male to cross the finish line and was fifth overall. Not a bad outing for a guy who signed up day of and has a pretty nasty cold (I gave it to him).

New York was a bit more eventful. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience I shall never forget. To think that we both completed a marathon as part of training still boggles my mind. It was only six years ago that we undertook our first marathon, and now here we are with a few under our belts and running one just because we can. It still amazes me. The trip to NYC was quick. I arrived at Kerry & Claudia's close to midnight on Friday. My bib was in hand on Thursday, so that was a relief. Saturday was spent relaxing, briefly visiting the expo, and enjoying time with Kerry, Claudia, Unkie and Maeve. It was awesome. Sunday morning was early and I didn't sleep super well, but come 5:45 A.M. I was on the Staten Island ferry ready to start my big adventure.

Ferry, anyone?

By 7 A.M. I was at the start. My wave didn't go until 10:10. Yikes. So I snuggled in my space bag and kept warm. I napped, I chatted with folks, I took it all in. The NYC marathon is a well organized and oiled machine. Getting 47,000 runners together and making it all work is impressive. Come 9:30 I dropped off my bag and headed to my corral. I moved to the start at 10.

I cried twice: once at the start and once a few yards from the finish. I still get misty-eyed when I think of the start. Mix "America the Beautiful" with Sinatra's "New York, New York", and I couldn't keep it together. I was there. I was in New York. I had had a pre-race meal with my nearest and dearest. I was actually about to undertake a marathon just because. It was a lot to take in in the moment. But once I slapped myself and talked myself down, I headed out on my own. No pace group. No friends. Just me and my GPS and the city.

I paced 9:21s pretty evenly and came in at 4:04. Not bad. I saw some good friends at the north end of the park (thanks to Sara and Clay and Will for cheering me on and giving me a hug). I saw Unkie and Kerry and Claudia around mile 25 as I was heading to the finish. I saw bands and all sorts of wacky people. Lots of Italians. Plenty of Mexicans. Some Chileans, too. It was the most international field I've ever been a part of, and surely the largest. At times it was packed with people. Running up 1st Ave the sea of bodies in front and behind was energizing. I've never felt so relaxed, so plugged into what's going on around me. I've realized the difference between running and racing, and the former is so rewarding, so exciting I'm ready to become a professional pacer. I loved it.

The only downside was the post-finish experience. It took far too long to get out of the park and get my stuff. I spent some time puking over the park wall as I waited for Kerry. Note to self: yogurt covered raisins do not sit well post-marathon. Ick. Made it back to Kerry & Claudia's with about 50 minutes to sit down, clean up, pack up, and head to the airport. I was back home in Cali, in my bed, by midnight.

We have spent the early parts of this week recovering. Spent some time on the Alter-G. It's a great tool to use to stay fit while recovering. Also did some light crossfit and pilates. Wild thing about this weekend ... we're not sore. Clearly the muscles we're building from crossfit are helping us on those longer runs. Of course, there is a race this Sunday. It's only a half marathon. Piece of cake, right?


Doesn't Jamie look like he's ready for ballet class?

A big shout out to my sponsors for this amazing weekend:

Jamie — the best husband in the world, the guy who says "Go to New York. It is your dream race. It doesn't matter what we have to do to make it work."

Kerry & Claudia — the best brother and sister-in-law, the ones who housed me, fed me, and funded me. Their continuous generosity overwhelms me.

Unkie — the best dad and cheerer and encourager; he walked me to the ferry and reminded me that my mom was cheering me on, too; apparently she'll also be there for the Quad Dipsea.

Here's to a Saturday with no alarms, no cross country flights, no marathons. But here's to reminding ourselves that we are able bodied and capable of greatness no matter the feat.

m&j&r

ps: a very late but very cute shot of Riddle. She was adorable as she greeted our trick-or-treaters.

It's about time

2011-10-30T22:09:00.000-07:00

Seriously!

I've paid my dues (10 years)
Time after time (four years we made it the finals without a win)
I've done my sentence (feeling like a crap coach)
But committed no crime
And bad mistakes
I've made a few (sometimes wanting it more than the girls)
I've had my share of sand kicked in my face (losing in overtime)
But I've come through (suck on that Ukiah!)

It's been a very full weekend. Sunday started with a 5:15am run. Last week, we saw the sunrise over the city four times. FOUR TIMES. And we'll see it again tomorrow, but we're hoping that habit ends once polo is officially over. We then headed north to Ukiah to our league play-offs. Nothing too exciting about the drive save for a broken down van. Lucky for us a parent was close behind with a huge SUV to pick up half the team and one coach. We showed up for our first game with a few moments to spare. Phew. Won the first game. Second came hours later, and while we started off slowly ... really slowly ... ok, there were moments when we were convinced a title wasn't in the cards ... but then the girls rallied. Slowly we chipped away at the lead, and we entered the fourth quarter down by only one goal (7-8). We scored first in the fourth quarter, and never let up. We went up by three with 55 second to go. And in that moment, we finally knew we were going to win. That's when Jamie looked back and said, "It's ours." Yup. Finally.

As I told the team after the game — a championship is not something Jamie would ever ask for. He's too good of a coach to know that that defines his work. But, after ten years of coaching high school girls water polo, we've come up second one too many times. So while I am happy for the team and the girls, I am more excited at what this win means for Jamie. He is an amazing coach. He meets the girls where they are and he helps them see what they can become. He is fair and balanced and thoughtful. He is caring and loving and stern. And now he is the coach of the league champions.

It was a really good weekend.

m&j&r

Running out of gas

2011-10-24T21:30:00.000-07:00

Literally. The gas light came on some 45 miles from home. We could make it. Once we went into the city and back home before getting gas. And we still had about a gallon left. We'd be fine. Well, sort of. Fine in the sense that we made it off the highway and to our hometown. Fine because we called a friend who lived not a mile from where we pulled off and drove us to the gas station. Fine because it couldn't have been worse, right? That was the end to our weekend adventure in Santa Cruz. We headed down there for a 2-day course on wilderness medicine. It was a beautiful, sunny, and warm weekend, and we spent both days, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., in a classroom. Fun times. It's good to have the course behind us, but it surely made the weekend feel like work.

We did mange to get in two beautiful runs along the beach. One was at sunset and the other at sunrise. Not a bad way to end one day and begin the next. Six miles along the beach in SC can surely inspire awe. Reminds us our fabulous state, our functioning legs, and the little joys running brings us.

Full week ahead with our last regular season game on Wednesday. Championship play-offs are on Saturday. The league title is ours for the taking, but seeing as we're going in as the top team, we know everyone else will be looking for ways to take us down. Wish us luck.

m&j&r

The book

2011-10-19T21:53:00.000-07:00

Earlier this fall I started reading "Glass Castle". It's a pretty popular book that seems to be on everyone's must-read list. And after being told one too many times that I just had to read this memoir, I finally downloaded it to my Kindle and started reading. Now, smack in the middle of reading it I took a detour over to "Tolstoy and the Purple Chair" because the author skyped into my writing class, but I quickly returned to "Glass Castle" because, well, it's a way better book.

So it was with excitement that I snuggled into bed each night with my Kindle (and Jamie and Riddle) because I couldn't wait to hear more about Jeannette and her family, their struggles and their stories of survival. Some nights I had anxiety dreams for the children in the family, waking up wondering if they did get enough to eat or were warm enough as they slept. I have not been moved by a story, both for its content and its form, in quite some time. Yes I've read some great books in the last few months and years, but there was something about this book that just made my heart sing. Now that I've finished it and moved on to "The Lacuna", I can't help but reflect on the family and their life and their path.

I by no means think I have had to struggle nearly as much as that family did. I never went hungry. I never slept with all of my clothes on because we didn't have heat. I was afforded an amazing education, parents who loved me, a life with more privilege than many. But I do believe we all have our struggles, and if nothing else, Jeannette Walls reminded me that we can persist, we can rise above and find success and happiness no matter what we've faced (or are about to). Life may be tough, it may be a long-shot, it may be costly, but anything is possible.

That's why I love reading.

m&j&r

20-miler done

2011-10-16T18:59:00.000-07:00

This was the weekend of sport. We had our first 20-miler on Saturday morning and we did a crazy outdoor crossfit thing on Sunday. Both were early, but both were pretty fun. Our Saturday morning run began earlier than any other long run we've probably ever done. We started at 6:30 AM in the city, so the first number on the clock was 5 when the alarm went off. Not good for a Saturday. But we wanted to run with other people, so that's what we had to do. The weather was perfectly cool and overcast, and the folks we had to run with were quite nice. We zigzagged through the city, and felt better than we have after completing 20 miles in quite some time. Phew. I knew I was a bit anxious about the run seeing as I've got 26 coming up in three weeks. But our legs have recovered and we're not hobbling around. Of course, a quick dip in the Bay did wonders for the legs.

This morning's workout was a bit different in nature: a crossfitter we know is trying to put together an outdoor endurance event, and he needed some guinea pigs to test out the course and the workout. So we headed north and west to a farm in rural Petaluma and had ourselves some fun. The course included about nine stations with everything from air squats to burpees to box jumps to kettlebell swings to squat cleans to push-ups and sandbag carries. And you got from station to station with some hilly running. Luckily the weather was cool or else the trial would have been horrible. But it was super fun, and a good workout, too.

When not running or running and crossfitting, we had a great dinner with friends on Saturday. The kind of dinner that makes your belly ache with laughter and you think: good food and good drink and good friends are unbeatable. There's also been some grading and some comment writing. But very, very little. Last minute is how we work.

We're in the final two weeks of water polo. Where did the season go? Where did October go? Have a full week with games on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Will keep the girls primed for league championships on the 29th.

Here's to a great week!
m&j&r

Victory & Madness

2011-10-12T21:37:00.000-07:00

This afternoon we played our league rival for the second time. And for the second time, we beat them. And we beat them by 11 goals. Not bad. The other team was a bit physical, more angry than strong, but our girls played the game we've coached them to play and we looked really good. The juniors also did a great job of celebrating the seniors as this was our final home game. Not a bad way to go out for our seniors! Really was a great afternoon of polo.

Outside of the water, we got a little therapy of the retail kind. Always feels good. We've done a few things in the living room to make it ours: painted a wall (another to come once polo is over), Jamie made new pillows (hollah for a man who can sew!), and we got a new fireplace screen. The latter was the final piece we've been waiting for. Check it out.

Crackling fire keeps the fall chill away.


And here's the new screen in the light. Love it. Replaced the old, brass, totally 1965 screen.

And the most exciting news of the week (and surely the most wacky) ... I've decided to run the New York City marathon in three weeks. No I haven't been training for this specific race, but seeing as I've been running well and feeling pretty solid on our long runs, I thought no better way to train for the Quad Dipsea than with a fun run. Looked for some local marathons, but nothing lined up with my training schedule. Nothing, that is, except for New York! Will be a whirlwind weekend which includes a late night arrival on Friday and a late night departure on Sunday post-race, but this has been my dream marathon for quite some time. Running through New York City. Finishing in Central Park. Heck I even read the book about the race. Will be a great way to celebrate November.

Another long weekend is coming our way. Of course, there are those pesky comments and grades to get done. No worries. It'll still feel like vacation.

m&j&r

Ivy League Yard Work

2011-10-09T22:52:00.000-07:00

Sure this ivy looked hip in the 60s and 70s and 80s and until last March when we bought the place. But I've had a desire, a passion to rip this stuff down since we moved in. No better time to do this than on Columbus Day weekend. Hoorah for long weekends and yard work.

Just to give you a sense of the ivy's thickness, here's Jamie underneath it. It's like the enchanted forest, the secret garden. Or just some pesky outdated greenery.

The real beauty of decades old ivy is that it's pretty solid. Really solid. So a few key cuts with the chainsaw and the ivy peeled away from the house like a wetsuit off a triathlete.

Midway. Jamie's a champion raker.

Finished! There's still work to be done as the paint color under the ivy doesn't match the house because, well, the last time the house was painted the ivy was almost all around the garage. Can you see the white portion on the right side? That's where the ivy growth ended before the last paint job. We also need to scrub the ivy suckers from the stucco, but that's nothing a wire brush can't handle.


And here I am rejoicing after a super fun project. Riddle was a very good girl, hanging out in the front yard with only a few side trips into our neighbor's garages. We also spruced up the rest of the front yard. Thank goodness for hedge trimmers and chainsaws and yard gadgets.

Excited for a relaxed Monday off. We do have practice, but that's easy. Weather should be perfect for some good running and the start of a 4-day work week. It's amazing how a long weekend can soothe the spirit and rejuvenate us both. Here's to the good things in life, and some fun yard work!

m&j&r

Sleeping beauty

2011-10-05T21:35:00.000-07:00

It's 9:30pm on a Wednesday night, and Jamie is fast asleep on the couch. It's been a rough week. Not sure exactly what's in the air or what's keeping us from feeling rested, but after a great dinner, Jamie headed to the couch and drifted off. We do have to get up in the pre-dawn hours for a 6-mile run, but with a 3-day weekend only two days away, we're trying to hold it together. We did score another league win today. Our record moves to 12-4, and we're currently in first place in the league. We're excited, but a bit shy of getting too excited after what happened two years ago: we went into the championship game undefeated and we lost. Not good.

Here's to some heavy and long sleeping in the coming nights. A few mornings with no alarm clocks. The feeling of being rested.

m&j&r

Glory Weekend

2011-10-02T21:42:00.000-07:00

October welcomed our first water polo-free weekend since school began. Hallelujah! And like the good WTC we are, we filled it with everything and anything that makes us smile: fast running, Riddle time at the beach, hanging out with friends, beautiful weather. It was fabulous.

Saturday did start off a bit poorly as I missed my start time for a 3.5 mile club race. Read the wrong website and showed up just as my heat was winding down. Oops. But turned that into a great run along Chrissy Field and some playtime for Riddle. Post-playtime we headed to U2 for a foot massage. No better way to prepare for a half marathon and recover from a long week of work and running. And they lowered the price to $35. That's insane. After our feet were pampered we buzzed down to San Jose and the Rock n Roll half marathon expo. Followed that with a night of fun and laughter, Pho and beer with our friend Madelyn. It was the perfect pre-race evening.

This morning we got to the race start, kissed Riddle good-bye, and took off for what was our fastest half marathon to date. For both of us! Jamie went a 1:28.01 and I ran a 1:46.09. It was glorious. We both felt like we could have run even faster, but seeing as this was a training run we didn't want to blow it out too early. I've now come to realize I need to drive myself into the ground with training to PR. Best half ironman race was in the middle of ironman training. Best half marathon race was in the middle of Quad Dipsea training. Crazy! But clearly longer distances work for me. Anyway, what a treat amid the long, long runs we're been recording. Also so nice to run on a flat course. There was one downer to the day ... someone tried to break into our car. Car is fine (minus some minor door issues) and Riddle survived. Yes, she was in the car. We're thinking our car alarm and our vicious attack dog deterred the assailant.

The rest of our day was spent in the yard, on the couch, and doing stuff. In all, this was the perfect weekend to start the month. And, we have two long weekends coming up, so clearly there's more perfection as the month progresses.

Hope your weekend was fast and fabulous!
m&j&r

Brilliant! Amazing!

2011-09-29T21:58:00.001-07:00

Need we say more? Nope.

Here's to a lovely weekend
m&j&r

Grit and how to get it

2011-09-25T21:46:00.000-07:00

A busy weekend. Lots of time in and around the pool as we headed to a tournament in the East Bay. Two games on Friday and two on Sunday. Came away 3-1, but that record belies the real struggles our team faced to play well and play hard. Basically, we've got no grit.

Jamie and I both read this great article in last week's NYT magazine and it got us talking about how to teach grit and perseverance to a group of high school girls who have never had to struggle for anything. Let alone fail. Failure is not an option with our parent population, so how are we as coaches supposed to fire up a squad of athletes when we're down by one goal if these same athletes have never had to pull themselves up before? At games the parents are so eager to carry our supplies, help clean up the pool post-practice, and manage every want and need of the girls. Great. Super nice. But what are we teaching the girls if they never have to do anything for themselves. So it was during our second game when an athlete was just "too tired to play" that we wondered what the heck we've been doing with our afternoons and weekends of water polo. Too tired. Seriously? Definitely gave us pause as we look into the future and think about the role of coaching in our lives. Me especially. I love it, but sometimes it's like fighting an uphill battle and I'm not sure I want to anymore ...

Off the pool deck we had a few moments to ourselves. Mostly we spent some time on the Dipsea trail getting in a 16-17 mile run. The Dipsea trail is tough. It eats you up and spits you out, and we only did two laps. The race is four. Yikes. We've got some training to do!

A lovely week ahead what with Thursday off for the holiday. You don't have Thursday off? You had no idea it was a holiday? It is. Happy Rosh Hashana to all.

m&j&r

A Victory

2011-09-21T22:04:00.000-07:00

After a 2-hour bus ride in sweltering heat that brought a few girls on our team (and me) to sickness, we beat our league nemesis 9-5. It was our first league game, so there's lots of season left before league championships on October 29, but it was a good win to get in right now. For some reason our team is falling apart right now. Crazy thing is, the girls are falling apart emotionally and outside of the pool. There's the usual stress of classes and life as a teen, but we have a few other girls teetering on the brink of imploding. Not good. We've been trying to tell the girls that the pool is a place to put the school work and stress of life aside and just focus on something fun and physical and unrelated to classes, but that advice seems a bit flat this year.

Outside of the pool, we've been playing catch-up a bit. Some hard runs coupled with not enough sleep have kept us a little drowsier than usual. Never a good thing when our days are 12+ hours long right now. Note to self: go to bed earlier and take better care of yourself.

Here's to a good weekend at the polo tournament!
m&j&r

The Verbal Harangue

2011-09-18T21:55:00.000-07:00

Picture this: it's Saturday night, you're at a fun dinner party with good food and drink and you get cornered by someone you sort of know. This person starts talking about himself endlessly. He's looking for affirmation that this story (that is totally stupid) is actually the most amazing story you've ever heard. You laugh. You smile. You think — dear God, get me out of here. But the story and stories continue. You can't extract yourself. It's a nightmare come true: you're face-to-face with the most egomaniacal person you've ever met. Fortunately, something distracts him and you find a moment to escape. Your loving husband (also a victim of this talker's oppressive speech) grabs you by the arm and whispers the only thing that could save you both, "We have to get the hell out of here." Luckily the night is winding down, so you say good-bye to people and bust out the front door like escaped convicts. Freedom never felt so good.

Note to self: don't talk to people you sort of kind of know but don't really. There's a reason you're not friends.

But the food was good and the night in Sonoma was the perfect ending to a day that started with me huddled under the covers until noon. Yes, noon. Jamie got sick earlier in the week and now I have his cold. We're taking all sorts of medicines and tinctures to stop the cold, cold, but Saturday morning was my low point and I wasn't sure I was going to make it. We had a game at 1:30pm, so I had to get up, and the bright sun and an easy win lifted my spirits.

Today started with a tough 10-mile run (second note to self: running while sick isn't an easy task; running hard while sick is even tougher). The first 5 miles were a race, the second 5 were solo. Then we lounged and cleaned and worked and hung out with friends. In all, this was a glorious Sunday.

We have another tough run tomorrow morning in the pre-dawn hours before most of the area is awake. Should be fun. At least it will be cool. Hoping to rid ourselves of this pesky cold before too long. Extra sleep each night is our goal.

Supposed to be mid to high 80s all week long. Hope it's sunny where you are.

m&j&r

Puppy Steps

2011-09-14T22:22:00.000-07:00

When we go on camping trips or backpacking trips, we usually sleep well the first night. But come the second night, things aren't quite as comfortable as home and we toss and turn. Same goes for a run after a few days off. First run back feels great; second one, not so much. Such were our adventures these last two days with Riddle. We're working on some basic commands: sit and don't run away. The first seems simple, and seeing as she's a 5 1/2 year old dog you would think she had this one down. No such luck. She's a former show dog. Show dogs don't sit, they don't stay, they don't know anything except stand still and look pretty. So it's taken some Boar's Head turkey, heavy pressing down on her backside, and saying the word sit about 30 times before she actually puts her butt down. As for the "don't run away" command, this is a bit more complicated. In all honesty, we could care less if she knows how to sit, but we dream of the day when we can walk her during daylight hours and she stays with us off leash. At the beach she's fine, but when we come home and offer her the neighborhood's garages and front porches and amazing smells, she's deaf to the sound of her name and an independent explorer with a passion for running. That's never good. But last night we did a long, long walk (.7 miles) off leash. She was awesome. Yes it was nighttime, so we think there was lots she couldn't see, but it was a sign that our training has been working. Wrong. Tonight was a different story. She chased down a cat, explored two front porches and otherwise made us think she'd disappeared into the bushes. We're hoping night three is a bit more successful.

Tomorrow's a big day for us: Back to School Night! So much fun! Not really. But those years at boarding school have trained us well. This isn't parent's weekend, so it's not that tough. And, we're quite good at the dog and pony show. We then have a game on Friday night and Saturday afternoon. Friday night also includes our final, maybe, MLB game of the season. Go A's. But they're playing the Tigers who are on a tear right now, so I'm not sure sheepish Oakland can hold up. This will cap off the greatest summer of baseball ever. Some 50+ hours of live baseball viewing, some 24 games, and who knows how many runs, strikes, homeruns, and more. Ok, I know. What kind of baseball fan would I be if I didn't keep stats.

Weather's been awesome. Hope that's the case for you.
m&j&r

Celebration

2011-09-11T22:48:00.000-07:00

Lots of emotion today as our country and the world looked back on September 11, 2001. It's sometimes hard to believe the Twin Towers came down some ten years ago. On one hand it seems more recent, more well remembered. On the other hand, much in our lives has changed in that ten years. We are married. We are home owners. We live in Northern California. And we have a dog. We are minus one more parent. Kerry is married to Claudia and they are homeowners in lower Manhattan. Unkie is a world traveler again. Carla remarried and Jordan is on his way to the altar in 2012. While reading the newspaper and watching television brought waves of sadness to this day, we can't help but see this day as a way to celebrate life. Not only our lives, but the lives of everyone. So in honor of those living and those no longer, we ran a tough four mile race in Golden Gate Park. Lungs burning, legs throbbing, belly lurching, it was a glorious reminder of the gift of being alive and well.

And if this adorable and totally unexpected baked treat doesn't show everyone that there is love and joy and goofiness filling the world each day, I don't know what will. There were 24 mini Frankenstein heads in my classroom this week. A student just "thought she would make something fun." You've got to love ninth graders.

Busy week ahead with three games, our final MLB game of the season, and a bunch of other stuff in-between. But for now we drift off to sleep thinking of our loved ones near and far.

m&j&r

Saved by the dog

2011-09-07T21:27:00.000-07:00

Practice was less than stellar. Our game yesterday came up in the other team's favor. We're a bit tired from early morning workouts and long afternoons on the pool deck. We're still settling into the training routine and how it works with our lives.

But then we come home to the cutest most lovable dog in all the land, and nothing else matters. As Jamie and I walked around the block with Riddle tonight I wondered why we hadn't gotten a dog sooner. The easy answer is that our landlord didn't allow pets (and we didn't have a yard or really any grass nearby to walk a dog), but really and truly we waited for just the right dog. And her name is Riddle. As she bounds on and off and on the couch each evening when we come home and prances around the neighborhood and protects our home from any and all passersby, we're reminded just how much we love having a dog in our lives. I still remember the family adventures with Harmony and Jamie thinks back to his days with Chauncy and Benjy. There's a reason people get dogs: they are joyous and loving and they don't get bogged down in the little things. A good lesson for us right now.

Full few days ahead with a tournament on Friday and Saturday. Here's hoping the girls play well and we retain our sanity.

m&j&r

Wedding and weekend fun

2011-09-05T17:57:00.000-07:00

We headed north for a night to share in the wedding celebration of two good friends. This was our first family trip as a threesome. And we had a blast. As we packed our things to head north, Riddle was sure we were leaving her behind. She hopped in the car and refused to get out. Clearly she doesn't like it when we leave. But having already packed her boat and tote bag and needing only a few things ourselves, we were off for a fun adventure in no time.

Here is the happy couple listening to a great Billy Collins poem. The day was pretty gray, but it was bright and warm, so the bluff was perfectly picturesque.

Bride is a crossfit gal like us, so she got what any badass athlete would ask for: a 44-pound kettlebell. Too funny.

Riddle loves the beach. She romps and plays and races around like a mad woman. And then she sits down and pants like crazy.

Do they make an adorable pair or what?!

The only downfall of the beach is the dirt and sand and crap that Riddle picks up. Sure she looks cute when a little tired and wet, but upon closer look ...

You can see that she's actually bringing the entire beach home in her hair. Our dirty dog became a super dirty dog this weekend.

Have a full week ahead with a polo game tomorrow and a tournament this weekend. We'll see how the girls do. And we'll see how we manage with this new team and some stiff competition. Running schedule is a bit lighter this week with no super long runs. We hammered out 14 on the Dipsea trail on Saturday and felt a little beat up. It was tough, but we recovered quickly. Quickly enough to dance the night away at the wedding. Always a good sign.

m&j&r

Laboring into the weekend

2011-08-31T20:51:00.000-07:00

We're not really laboring into the long weekend, but we are a bit sluggish. Is it school? No. Water polo? No. Training? Yes. Last weekend we ran some 21+ miles in less than 48 hours. Now, some was on trail so the pace was slower than usual and some was flat and fast, but our increased mileage is surely increasing our appetites for food and sleep. Mix in a number of early morning workouts and the days have stretched out well beyond the 14 hour mark. So, it is with a great deal of excitement that we head into the long weekend. Of course, there is that pesky 16-mile Dipsea trail run to get in on Saturday morning, but then it's relaxation city.

Have heard from all loved ones that Irene did no real damage to mind, spirit or structure. Phew! The Northeast surely got hit far worse than imagined with flooding still on the horizon. Here's hoping everyone stays dry.

Off to walk Riddle and fall into bed by 9:30pm. What a perfect end to the day.

m&j&r

It's all coming together

2011-08-29T21:16:00.000-07:00

You know when you have one of those moments or days or weeks when you think, "This is it! This is what I've been longing for." I had a few of those days last week and it was glorious. Now, the moments weren't monumental or record-breaking, but they reminded me of some of the smaller pleasures of life that can't go over-looked.

Picture this ... winter hats, long-sleeved jackets, blustery winds whipping along the beach at Chrissy Fields. It's summer in the city and it's Saturday night. You've just placed an order for your favorite deep-dish pizza and you're playing on the beach with your beloved and your dog. There's running and playing and laughter. Your dog is going crazy what with all the new scents and sounds of the beach, and in that moment you stop to think, this is what we've longed: play time at the beach with a dog, your dog.

You have your first Collie Cakes order of the fall. A colleague's baby is celebrating her first birthday and you've been asked to bake some tasty cupcakes for the events. Recipe in hand, cute cupcake holders purchased, you invite a baking buddy over for an afternoon of fun. Do you really need a wingman for the adventure? No. But isn't baking with your good friend better than baking alone? Yes! So over the course of 2 1/2 hours you chat, mix, portion, chat, bake, whip, chat, and frost. Even though you're tired from an early morning and a long run, the company of your friend keeps you going. Especially when she makes funny cupcakes that look like your dog.

As Sunday evening rolls around and you've realized you've done little to no work for class on Monday, you head into the city for a little dinner with friends. And these aren't just any friends. Rather, it's your brother and his wife. Sure you saw them earlier in the week, but you can't pass up another dinner with this pair. It's not a regular occurrence when you can drive to see them and share a delicious meal. A usual get together usual involves a flight, some subway action, and a day of lost sleep.

A small blooming rose perched on the windowsill of your kitchen reminds you to stop and give a sniff every now and again. Good practice.

Happy week and some extra love to our east coast readers who survived Irene.
m&j&r

Riddle's New Best Friend

2011-08-24T22:20:00.000-07:00

We've had guests these last few days and it's been fabulous. School has been great too, but coming home to hang out with Kerry & Claudia is pretty awesome. Riddle had fun too as they loved her and pet her and made her feel like the super special niece she is. Only thing missing: Unkie. But he'll be here in November!

m&j&r

The best man

2011-08-21T21:47:00.000-07:00

I know it's a spouse's job to sing the praises of her partner, but let's get serious: Jamie is the best. The best of the best. The kind of man my mom married: a guy who does things just because. Jamie doesn't need to be asked, let alone asked twice. Things just get done.

1. Our bedroom had some old, old curtains. When we first moved in, Jamie shortened them so they would fit with my dresser. We didn't love the curtains, but we loved the privacy they created. Wanting something a bit more contemporary to shield our lives from the outside world, Jamie made us new curtains. Amazing! New curtains to come for the spare bedroom, too.

2. The garage was organized, but was in need of a bit more love than we'd given it in the last few months. I mean we park the car in there and store stuff in there, but it wasn't an area we've done much with. No longer. Jamie went to town on the garage today. He moved a shelf that was blocking the side door, swept out the old leaves blown in by March's winds, and put so many things away it's like we got a new garage. It's awesome.

3. When your dog is dirty, give her a bath. And so Jamie went into the shower with Riddle for her first ever at-home cleaning. It was quite funny and totally adorable as Jamie gave our little gal a bath. How dirty can a dog get? Think of all those hours she spends on Riddle's run and then think of all the dirt along there. Add in the fact that Riddle is a 4-legged swiffer, and she's a dirty dog. But Jamie was a groomer extraordinaire and Riddle didn't hate us after her cleaning. Bonus!

We had just an outstanding weekend. We both had great workouts on Saturday and then our longest run to date (9-miles) on the Dipsea trail (race location) started our morning today. Wasn't fast, but we both felt quite good. Work around the house was fun-filled. We thought we were losing a lemon tree to some unknown problem, but after some in-depth testing we realized we were under-watering it. Oops.

Tomorrow is a teacher work day. Practice day, too. Then the real fun begins on Tuesday: Kerry & Claudia arrive! Sure we're excited for the first few days of classes and the triumphant return to the classroom, but we're super duper psyched for some time with K&C. What a way to start the school year.

Happy New Year! Here's to a fabulous year filled with lots of learning, laughter, and fun.
m&j&r

The Cannonball

2011-08-18T09:37:00.000-07:00

It's happened: the full plunge into the start of the school year. Thing is, it's been great. Yes our days have been a bit more full than those lazy summer days, but it's so great to get back onto the pool deck, into the classroom and into the office with friends. We haven't taught a single class just yet; it's more meetings and orientation week. But things are going smoothly. We're heading on a freshman hiking adventure today. Jamie advises freshman this year and I'm his co-leader. Tough draw. Polo seems to be going well and we might, just maybe, even have one more girl than last year. Wow. Typically we replace only those we've lost. But this year, our tenth of coaching together, could be different.

Of course, there is one drawback to our triumphant return to work: Riddle is home alone. We've managed to come home at lunch or go in late to spend some extra time with her, but she's now spending her mornings and afternoons with 98.1 and the Oldies. When we come home, though, she showers us with more love than we ever expected. She goes crazy and it's awesome. She isn't really that agreeable to our early morning workouts, though. Typically she wakes up when the alarm goes off, but when it goes off at 5:40AM and it's still a little dark, she stays in her crate and laughs at us as we head to crossfit.

Looking forward to a full weekend. We have two longer runs, one on the Dipsea trail. Great thing about racing locally is that you can train on the course.

m&j&r

QD 2011

2011-08-14T21:31:00.000-07:00

On December 7, 2009 I sat on the curb not 10 yards from the CIM finish line crying. I was broken. I was beat down. I was devastated. I had trained for 12 weeks to run a 3:40 marathon, and not only did I not run a 3:40, but I came in nearly ten minutes slower than the year before. I was crushed.

As I look back on that day I can see that I put far too much on the race. Not ten months earlier my mom died, and I was hoping that qualifying for Boston would soothe the pain of the previous few months. I really believed I could save 2009 with a great race. Clearly this was not a good idea. I wasn’t running for myself; I was running for everything I had lost. No pressure, right?

So when the race ended and my tears had dried and I found Jamie and Unkie and Krista, I vowed to step away from running for a while. In those moments on the curb I had come to realize that I got so much inspiration and incentive from my mother, from her paralyzed left size and her physical struggles with life. And without her alive, I honestly didn’t know what I was running or training or racing for. I was lost. So I threw myself into crossfit, ditched the running unless a great conversation with a friend was to be had, and I didn’t think about long terms goals. I was no longer training; I was just staying in shape.

Fast forward two years. We have signed up for our first ultra-marathon: the Quad Dipsea is a 28.4 mile race over some of the toughest terrain in Marin. We’ve done the single and the double, and now we’re doing the quad. But I’m finally ready to step back into a training plan and race. This race will surely be harder than a marathon but in some ways much easier. My expectations are simple: complete the race and enjoy the experience. I am no longer running to prove to myself that I am alive, that I can do all those things my mother’s stroke and death took from her and us. I am running simply because I love it. And because I’m crazy enough to go beyond the 26.2 miles that broke me and show that distance who's boss.

..............................

BEFORE: When we moved in, the back yard was filled with hedges and wild bushes.

AFTER: Here are the fruits of our labor in the back yard. Our adirondack patio is near completion. We put in some hydrangea and are waiting for some hosta to really bring it all together. It's a shady spot in the yard to enjoy the morning paper, a book or just some time alone. It's awesome.

A close-up of my man and the pup. You know you want to sip Blue Bottle coffee in the morning out here. Maybe enjoy the Journal or Times. Plan that visit.

Riddle's run. Can you tell she's a pacer? Jacques lives on the other side and boy does Riddle love him.

The former owners left us these cute little seasonal signs for the house. Seeing as tomorrow is the start one of our favorite seasons, Jamie made a new sign. Pretty awesome in my book.

m&j&r

Foodie Fun Continues

2011-08-10T23:31:00.000-07:00

We love Crossfit, but one of the elements of the culture is the Paleo Diet. It's not for us and something we're not really interested in considering my passion for baking and Jamie's burning metabolism. We often joke that we're going to start the Meso Diet (as in the Mesozoic Era). It will include nothing but cheese and bread. And tonight we were repping the Meso Diet in full force: homemade bread and homemade funnel cakes. Oh la la.

Tonight I made my fourth loaf of bread and I think I've got it dialed in. It's whole wheaty, nutty, and super easy to make. Most importantly, Jamie thinks it's good enough to use for sandwich making. I do use the bread maker, but it would be simple to make by hand.

1 C water
1 1/2 C white whole wheat flour
1 1/2 C bread flour
1 tbsp molasses
3 tbsp honey
2 tbsp walnut or olive oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

1/3 C walnuts
1/3 C sunflower seeds
2 tbsp sesame seeds

The second awesome event in the kitchen tonight:

A little bit of oil, a piping bag, and a very easy to make dough recipe.

Let's not forget the sugar dusting. Pretty good for a Wednesday night treat.

Outside of the kitchen, we're finishing up a few yard projects. Photos to come when our adirondack patio is finally complete. Got some new plants, too. We're realizing how much we love plants and flowers around the yard. Just adds some good color to the greenery the former owners were in love with.

A few pics that make me smile ...

Snuggle bears unite!

We wore her out with all the fun today.

Happy day

m&j&r

Foodie Fun

2011-08-08T12:10:00.000-07:00

Every few weeks I have a baking date with my friend Liz. We chat about food, work, play and food. We've dreamed about branching out of baked goods, and Sunday was our big day. It was amazing. The best play date I've ever had in the kitchen. It started with a morning trip to the farmer's market and ended after 11 o'clock, three courses, and plenty of laughter. There was recipe designing and ingredient prepping, food sampling and drink pairing. In all, it was a great food adventure. We're already planning the next one ...

Corn & Avocado Salsa

Delicious brisket for tacos

Shredded to perfection!

We used pea shoots for the grilled watermelon salad.

The salad was the perfect side for the tacos.

We started with pizza. Grilled deliciousness with heirloom tomatoes, figs, and mozzarella. Made the dough from scratch.

First you grill one side of the dough then you brush it with olive oil before topping it. I went a little overboard with pics, but the pizza was amazing. Some of the best we've ever had.

When we ran out of mozzarella, we brought in an old standby: gorgonzola. Heaven!

The secret: a super hot grill. 550 was just the right temp.

And no better way to end the meal than with some homemade buttermilk sorbet. We had grand plans of frying up some peaches, but as the night wore on we lost steam. Next time.

Sunday's fun was the perfect way to start our final week of summer. We have some sporadic plans, but really this week is about soaking up as much fun as possible. I don't think that'll be hard too do.

m&j&r

Giants Shmiants

2011-08-03T22:49:00.000-07:00

Begin rant: The Giants won the World Series last year. Now their ticket prices are so high many of the seats are more expensive than tickets at Yankee Stadium. MORE EXPENSIVE! We can't believe it, and we'll probably never go back to a Giants game again. Ugh. Not to mention that the post-game traffic is so bad it took us nearly an hour to get on the highway. Distance traveled in that hour: 1.5 miles. Ugh again. So we wholeheartedly throw our local support to the A's. End rant.

We did enjoy a miraculously cloudless afternoon in SF with three former students. It was awesome. We bought some super cheap standing room only seats and found some upper upper deck seats without owners. It always works! The Giants won big and the crowd was electric. A great way to spend a Wednesday.

Not wanting to leave Riddle home alone all day (that will come soon enough once school begins), we decided to schedule her first beauty parlor appointment for today. She went in looking like the shaggy, snuggle bear we met almost two weeks ago:

She was all curls, just like us.

We went with the "modified show cut" as was recommended from some other wheaten owners. We want her to look like a wheaten, but a solid trim would be helpful seeing as she's a walking swiffer and brings all sorts of goodies into the house. Now, instead of a little snuggle bear, we have a little snuggle lamb:

We're hoping the curls come back after her blow-out wears off. I know it looks like she still can't see, but we can actually see her eyes more often. We may even trim her face a bit more. Regardless, she is so soft and fluffy right now. We like her hair a bit longer, but we're still learning. Don't all children get a bad parent-induced haircut every now and again?

We're heading into the end of the week feeling so grateful for and happy with our lives. Maybe it's been the addition of Riddle or just the time we've had at home or the long days together, but we're over-flowing with joy right now and we wish we could share it with all of you in person. Here's an idea: plan a visit!

m&j&r

Dog Park Party

2011-07-31T23:12:00.000-07:00

So we had our first dog park date with Riddle's mom Morgan and her grand-neice Logan. Morgan is 13 and Logan is about 1 1/2. Was super fun to see Riddle with other wheatens. Of course, she's the cutest in our book.

Jamie with Riddle, me with Morgan, John & James with Logan.

Jamie and Riddle. Riddle's rocking the Justin Beiber swoosh bangs.

A close-up of our girl. Again with the swoosh bangs. She's so cute.

It's still pretty great to have a dog around. She's so excited to see us when we come home from an errand, a run, or a few hours out. It's like she's been in solitary, devoid of human contact for years. She goes nuts, wants lots of love, and then heads to her crate to relax. She's befriended our neighbor's dog and is quite funny as she sits by the fence waiting for Jacque to come out and play. She's still working on coming when called and not visiting every other neighbor's front porch. But she's so cute everyone's pretty eager to meet her. Did have my first pangs of parenthood when she had to get some blood drawn at the vet. I winced and looked away. She was a brave champion!

Heading to our last, maybe, baseball game of the summer. Should be fun as we're taking a few students (former and current) who have never EVER been to an MLB game. How can you call yourself an American if you've never been to a ballgame?

m&j&r

Pastamania

2011-07-27T23:21:00.000-07:00

For quite some time I've been eyeing the kitchenaid attachment that helps the home chef make pasta. Sure there are sheet rollers out there, but I wanted something a bit more refined. I wanted to make rigatoni and macaroni and spaghetti. So after months and months of waiting, I finally got the pasta maker I'd been looking at. Thanks in part to a house warming/birthday present from my brother and Claudia, the pasta maker made it home with ease. And, in the spirit of trying new things when friends come over, Jamie and I whipped up our first batch of spaghetti on Monday night. Parts of the process were pure comedy, pure mess, pure deliciousness. Pasta making is all about practice and all about technique, so there's lots to learn, but so far so good. Thumbs up from all eaters. Here's what the process looked like just moments before dinner:

Who needs a pasta dryer when you have plastic hangers.

And we learned that hanging the pasta for a few moments before cutting it works best.

Jamie really is a master with dough. I made the actual dough, but he worked some magic getting it into the right shape and length. Seriously, he should think about a job in a bakery.

Our other fun kitchen adventure was bread making. A friend hasn't bought a loaf of bread in over a year. A year! A year of homemade bread. So, I thought to myself -- you can do that. I've had a bread maker for quite some time and used it a lot in SoCal, but it's been collecting dust for the last few years. Well, out it came and I made a tasty whole wheat loaf that got a thumbs of from the house sandwich artist. Not sure about a loaf a week, but it's a good start and so easy.

Outside of the kitchen, we've continued to work on the yard (cleaning this, clipping that). And we saw a hawk take out a blue jay in our very own back yard today. It was scary and amazing all in the same breath. The hawk came out of nowhere and the bluejay's partner was surely sad what with all her squeaking. But it was pretty cool. Tomorrow we have our very first dog park date. Too fun.

Riddle continues to make us laugh and smile. She has protected the property many times (you know how dangerous postal people and skunks can be) and settled into the house even more. We did have to leave her home for the A's game last night, but it's amazing how excited a dog is to see her owners upon arrival. We might go out more often just go get all that love again. She's awesome.

Dinner in the city tomorrow night (yah for gift certificates) and some fun planned for the weekend. Practice retirement gets a big thumbs up!

m&j

Riddle Solved!

2011-07-24T22:11:00.000-07:00

She's here! She's here! After an uneventful flight from Atlanta to Houston to San Fran, Riddle arrived in style on Friday afternoon. She was calm. She was cool. She was collected. What a seasoned traveler she is. Guess all those dog shows really did get her ready for her big bad trip to our home. She hopped out of her crate with ease and into our lives.

She's already met some movers and shakers in our lives (friends over for dinner, over to friends' house for dinner, skype date with Unkie) and that was only the first three days. We've thoroughly pooped her out each night with walks, yard work, and lots of love. So far, two big thumbs up!

New nicknames: The Dribbler (because when she drinks her beard gets wet and she leaves a tiny trail of drops on the floor) and DB (for dirty beard; who needs a broom when you have Riddle sniffing the ground and picking up the leaves?).

Out and about helping with yard work.

Her favorite spot from which to watch the neighborhood action.

Reading the paper with Riddle = awesome.

Did some much needed green waste clean-up in the side yard. Phew! Needed to make room for some other projects coming up, but it was great to be outside in the sun working on the yard.

Went into the city twice today: once for a morning race and once to say farewell to our good friends Megan and Anders. They are heading off on a new adventure in Knoxville. And while we know they will experience all sorts of awesome adventures, we are going to miss them a lot. They were our first non-work friends in the Bay Area. They are our running doppelgangers. They celebrated Thanksgiving with us and we celebrated their amazing wedding with them. Just good people to have in our life. And, oh yeah, they're expecting twins in November. So exciting!

Some of my favorite shots from one fun afternoon ...

Happy week. Stay cool.

m&j

This will make you scratch your head

2011-07-21T12:02:00.000-07:00

Well then, how are we supposed to get inside?

We are almost inside 24 hours of Riddle's arrival. She lands at 1:25pm. We have a few more things to do to tidy up the house before she gets here, but otherwise we are ready. Promise some pics from her first few days in Cali.

Big day here: swim lessons (giving not getting), crossfit, knitting group, and a nap. Wish us luck.

m&j

Things to make you smile

2011-07-18T00:06:00.000-07:00

Inside the biggest bubble ever.

The bubble snake is trying to eat Jamie.

The world's largest elevator. Maybe the size of our old apartment.

Happy week!

m&j

Handy My Man

2011-07-13T11:39:00.000-07:00

In the last ten days Jamie's completed a summer's worth of projects. Amazing in my book. And these are not your garden variety projects. We're talking fence AND dog door AND dog patio.

Jamie in fron of his masterpiece. He reclaimed about 80% of the old wood and even matched the paint color to the old fence. Our next project is clearing out the bushes just to the left of Jamie and create a little adirondack chair patio. Next week.

Here's the back of the fence. Reinforced and so well made.

The first step to installing the dog door. There was a moment when Jamie thought, "I'm drilling a hole in our wall, maybe I shouldn't do this." But, it worked out perfectly.

Riddle has a door right next to ours.

And just so she can easily access the dog door, she has her own little set of stairs. Too cute.

Here's the dog door in action. Starring: Pammy the Panda.

Had to go into the creek to clear out some brush and some old fence parts. It was like a spelunking expedition but much brighter.

Taking a break from major projects right now. There is some trimming and cleaning to do around the yard, but nothing major. No trips to Home Depot. If we're lucky, we'll go to the dump. So fun!

We have some baseball in our future this week. Very excited. Also got tickets for a few more A's games in August and September. We're also going to recover a bit as we started off the week with oodles of exercise. Last night at track Jamie PR'd in the 5k (18:42). I PR'd in the 400 (1:21). I also ran the mile, but it wasn't my best (6:48). But surely not bad after a morning crossfit workout.

Here's to more sunny weather, perfectly warm with a slight breeze.

m&j

Fence is finished!

2011-07-10T22:35:00.000-07:00

Really, that's the biggest news of the week. The fence is finished. I'll post pics on Wednesday as it's too dark right now to take a good shot, but after five trips to Home Depot, a number of hours on Jamie's part and a few on mine, the fence is up, complete, and in better shape than it's been in decades. Honestly, the fence had been slowly falling over since we first saw the house, so it's a bit weird to see an intact fence. There's still a bit of painting needing to be done, but the back yard is secure and for the low, low price of $200. Not bad for 50-feet of fence.

We also took on a slightly smaller and cheaper home improvement project that included our ceiling fan. The ceiling fan was securely in the 1970s. Gold fixture with scalloped light covers. Yikes! But in our efforts to use fans and not the a/c, we use it often. What to do? Step 1: replace the light covers. For the bargain price of $24, we ditched the scalloped edges and welcomed the fan into 2000. It's not quite up to current day fashion, but after Step 2 (painting the entire fixture a matte titanium color) it will be. That's next week.

The big project this week is the dog door. Riddle is coming on July 22, so we have plenty of time to get it done, but we surely want to get it ready to go. Saw two adorable wheatens playing on the beach today and couldn't help but say hello. They were brother and sister Blue and Houdini and they're actually Riddle's cousins. Such a small world.

We also had some time to have fun in the kitchen. With friends coming over two nights in the last few days, cupcakes were in order. A good friend demanded some homemade baked goods, so I went with the ever popular chocolate sour cream cupcakes with vanilla buttercream. I made nine — five for one night and four for the next. Kind of fun to make such a small batch.

The other great recipe we've just discovered is from Mario Batali's Babbo Cookbook. I recently read a book sort of about Batali and am a bit obsessed. It's his homemade pasta and his way with meats, and I can't wait to make more of his stuff. We started with something simple and meatless because our dinner guests haven't come to the dark side of braised short ribs just yet, but this new recipe is surely going to become one of our staples: Charred Sweet Corn Fregola. Get to the store and get on this recipe. It's super easy and quite good. We substituted miso broth for the chicken stock, but when we made it tonight we used chicken. Delicious!

Weather has cooled off, so it's perfect for running. Trying to up our mileage a bit. There's a long race in our future and we need to get ready.

Lovely week to all
m&j

Yard Work Bonanza

2011-07-06T23:05:00.000-07:00

Give the WTC some tools and we'll make stuff. We'll build stuff. We'll fix stuff. OK, I won't. But I am a great assistant to master craftsman Jamie. And what a project we've been working on: a 50-foot section of our back fence. If you recall a few months back, the fence fell over into the creek. It was leaning when we bought the house, and a particularly rainy spring pushed it over the edge, literally. ;-) With Riddle's impending arrival (she's the dog!), we need to get the fence in order. Every dog dreams of a fenced-in yard to romp in, and we wanted to give her just that.

How cute is this man?! Even though we work outside, we still work smart: sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat. This was the start of the second day of work. Day one included putting in the fence posts.

And here's the progress thus far. We got the rails up and the boards up in the back two sections. Jamie, being the crafty man he is, repurposed a lot of the old fence wood. While the tops and bottoms were rotten, the middle sections were perfectly usable. No better way to reduce the cost of the fence and the waste of the old one. More pics to come when the entire project is finished.

The fence project has solidified quite a funny routine for us. It's all about maximizing work and minimizing heat exposure. It's as follows:

1. Wake-up and eat

2. Close up all the windows, draw the shades, and preserve the night's coolness.

3. Head outside and work.

4. Around 3:00pm, retreat indoors.

5. Once the back yard is in full shade, open up the back windows and welcome in the cool air again.

Yes we have air conditioning, but we're dead set on going without it. It's costly and with some well placed fans and the cool evening air, we can surely survive the high temps. Of course, when another heat wave strikes, we'll see how we do.

In our plant world, things are going super duper well. I'm growing the best roses I've ever grown. I secretly think it's the amazing rose spray the Home Depot man suggested. It's 100% NOT organic and actually kills all disease and bugs.

And we've added some hanging baskets to the back patio. For $5 a pop at Home Depot (yes, we've been every day this week), we couldn't say no.

The other, non-yardwork related news of the week is that we met our future dog's mom on Tuesday. Riddle's mom is Morgan and Morgan's human mom is Marcia. We had such a great time and learned a lot about Wheatens and dogs in general. We're getting very excited for Riddle's arrival, and have almost all of the things we need. We're finally bringing home our first dog, and she should be with us in about three weeks.

Marcia, Jamie, Morgan & me

Riddle and her seven puppies.

Here she is again. This was her first litter and apparently she's been a great mom. Those puppies are so cute. And Riddle looks just fabulous. She's a retired champion (yes, she's a former show dog) and her owners think she'll be better off in a home where she's the only dog. Currently she's one of five. In our household, she'll be the one and only.

Hope you're all staying cool and enjoying the summer months. Here's to more yard work and house work and fun times.

m&j

Happy 4th!

2011-07-03T22:33:00.000-07:00

And happy July! June was fabulous and now we're excited to welcome July. Been busy in the garden and yard and with the house. Weather has been hot, hot, hot, but this weekend and the first few days of this month have been fabulous. Take a look:

Nothing like an A's game and some rowdy fans. This is the bleacher crew, maybe the bleacher creatures. They have flags and signs and more. They love the A's.

And this guy was our favorite because every time DH Hideki Matsui (former Yankee!) got up, Godzilla came out. Got to love the baseball stereotypes.

I do love a good usher. Keeps things in order. Keeps the riff raff out.

The most popular concession at the park. And could we resist??

Nope.

Here we are at the post-game show. Yup, the post-game show was really more fabulous than the game itself.

We got to sit on the outfield grass and ...

watch fireworks. It was amazing. The display went on for more than 15 minutes. Patriotic music included. What a night, and it wasn't even the fourth.

We learned we have a plum tree in the yard. So, our orchard is now blooming with plums, lemons, variegated lemons, limes and oranges. How cool. The plum tree is really going nuts, and we're getting about 8-10 a day. So, what's a girl to do?

Make plum cake.

Not bad, but the plums were a bit tart for this tasty cake. Maybe next time I'll peel the plums or I'll just use peaches. It got a thumbs up from our BBQing friends tonight, but it got more laughs when we watched each other eat a piece with a bit too much bitterness.

Big week coming up: fixing the fence, continuing to de-Ivy the big tree, watching more Law & Order, getting ready for the arrival of our dog, and otherwise enjoying the good life of summer. Of course, we'll also attempt to beat the heat. Yikes!

Cheers to our readers and America!

m&j

It's all over!

2011-06-05T21:51:00.000-07:00

We had a great time on our Senior Outing. Honestly, could there be a better way to finish the year? Nope. We spent four days in West Marin hiking and trekking. Sure there was some rain. But the students had a blast and so did we. We came back refreshed and ready to tackle the final few obligations of the school year. We'll surely be doing the trip again next spring!

Outside of the senior outing we've had a fun summer-like few days. There was a dinner out to Sushi Ran, a surprise 60th Birthday party for our good friend Tom, a quick and painful 1-mile race this morning, and a dinner with Carla, Jordan and Jen. All in all summer is already shaping up to be something absolutely fabulous.

In a strange twist of blog life, I've decided to take a month off from posting. Ok, not really a month but a few weeks. I know our loyal readers will be devastated and will wonder why. It's pretty simple: I'm trying to step away from the computer a bit during these first few weeks of summer to focus on some reading, writing, house work, and stuff. But, come July 1 (that's a few days shy of four weeks from today), WTC will be back in action with lots to report, lots of share, lots to celebrate. Hope you'll be back too.

Just so you don't forget our smiling faces:

Until July ....
m&j

100k

2011-05-29T22:22:00.000-07:00

Back when I was in high school and college, I drove my family's old 1989 red Escort hatch back. It was a fabulous car. It had a tape player (huge!), 4-doors, and enough style and grace to make a statement. It was a workhorse, a car that lasted and lasted and lasted until I no longer needed it and it became the old car, too old for anyone to drive. But in its heyday it was my chariot. And on one particular day, I vividly remember stopping at 7-11 with Unkie to get Pina Colada slurpees just so we'd have something to toast when the odometer flipped 100,000 miles. (This was back in the day when the odometer didn't have an extra digit, so it just reset.) I don't remember the details all that well, but when I got home from wherever I was, I noticed that the car was only a few miles short of the big number, so I persuaded Unkie to go for a drive just because. Because I had had so many adventures in the car and I wanted someone else to be there with me. So, slurpees in hand, we headed past our street to the outskirts of Cheshire and we welcomed the red car into history. Today we drove over the 100,000 mile threshold with our car. I know it doesn't seem like a milestone, but it is. We have been cross country a few times, we've been to Canada, up and down California, in and out of cities we've lived in and visited. We've slept in the car, been hit twice, and otherwise enjoyed all the Subaru has to offer. And in an age when people get new cars long before needed, we're proud to say we flipped the odometer and we're still going.

Have had a fun filled few days. Hiked up Mt Tam on Friday, did some yard work on Saturday, had friends over today. Can't complain. Here are some pics from the week:

A great sign because there's nowhere to swim even close to this place.

Jamie on the way up Tam. We were gorillas in the mist.

Such cool trees and shrubs along the trail.

And oodles of wild flowers.

The East Peak in all its glory. The perfect resting spot after our hike.

And no better fuel than Peanut Butter Bon Bons/Buckeyes.

They are quite good. We could eat a lot of these in a short amount of time.

Wish us luck as we head off into the wilderness with students.
m&j

Jim & Judy

2011-05-26T07:53:00.000-07:00

Along with the great new home came some great new neighbors. Particularly the guy across the street, Jim. He used to do all of the yard work at our house, so he knows the house well. He also works a schedule opposite to ours, so he watches the house out of protective instincts and curiosity. So when bees started swarming in one of our trees, he told us about it and asked how he could help. When there was a hole in the sprinkler line, he offered to fix it. When we've been out in the yard, he's come over with tips. He's also noticed when we've had people over, that we get up early a few mornings a week to exercise, and that generally live a pretty mellow life. While we both can think of kind neighbors from our hometown neighborhoods, this is our first experience with a real neighbor of our own, the kind of person who you really could pop over and ask a favor from. We love it!

And then there's Judy — she's the mail person. We met her for the first time on Saturday. She's been with the postal service for 33 years and she's been doing our mail route for 31. What she's seen in the neighborhood: People coming and going, children growing, family's aging. She couldn't have been any nicer when we delivered the mail on Saturday. We went out to say hello and she gave us to the scoop on the area, asked us about anything she could do to help us, and generally welcomed us to one of her favorite places. Again, how did we get this lucky. I've never known the mail person's name let alone been welcomed by him or her. It was just a great reminder of our fortune right here at home.

Heading into the weekend with some fun activities: a hike up Mt Tam with 25 students. We'll walk off campus and head up the mountain tomorrow. There's some time to relax on Saturday and Sunday and then we're out in the wilderness starting Monday morning. A great way to end the school year.

m&j

The Dump

2011-05-22T21:12:00.000-07:00

There is nothing closer to bliss than the moment after a hard workout when I collapse onto the couch with Jamie only to find a Law & Order: SVU marathon on. When this happens, and it does often, I look into Jamie's eyes and say, "This, Jamie, this is heaven." And it is. But this weekend, I added a new element into my heaven: the dump. It's awesome! So, heading to the dump, getting in a hard workout, and then watching more L&O from the couch with Jamie than I could ever dream of is all this girl needs to make her happy.

Weeks ago when we dug out the back hedge, we had a lot of green waste. So much that our green bin was filled quickly as were two we borrowed from our neighbor. So the green waste sat and sat and sat in the side yard. Seeing as we had a party to host on Saturday night, we thought it was high time to get rid of the clippings and roots and bags of stuff. Enter the school's pick-up truck (yah for borrowing!) and a solid hour of hauling stuff from the yard to the truck. This is why we do crossfit: to lift and throw and heave debris into the truck.

Jamie said this looked a little red neck, but we had a lot of stuff. First we loaded up the loose branches and roots and then we topped off the load with the bags of stuff we filled up a few weeks back.

We think we had about a half a ton (yes, 1000 pounds) of yard waste. How cool is that?! And for the low, low cost of $50, we were able to get rid of it in minutes at the dump. The local dump is the size of three football fields. It's a little scary along with being cool, and there were people getting rid of some serious waste (think treadmills and outdoor heaters and old flooring), but it was such a fun day and a great way to clean up the yard.

Along with sprucing up the side yard, we also got a new fun tool: an electric hedge trimmer. It's awesome and my favorite yard tool to date. It goes through hedges like a hot knife through butter. Trimmed up and shaped up some of the many hedges in the yard. Definitely a fun time.

Today we ran in the practice Dipsea. Jamie matched his best time and I ran about 10 minutes faster than last year. Not bad. It was a beautiful day and a great way to start the morning. Spent some time on the couch, and then a few more hours spreading mulch. How much did we buy, you might ask? Two cubic yards. That's a lot of mulch and more than we'll likely ever need. But it was pretty fun to drive the pick-up out into the mulch lot and have a tractor dump mulch into the bed. Note to self: roll up the windows because mulch gets everywhere. Who knew yard improvements would be this adventurous!

We head into this week with only THREE teaching days on the schedule. Thursday and Friday we're on Senior Project, so we'll be out of the classroom and in the great outdoors. What a treat

m&j

Don't Fence Me In, Man

2011-05-18T17:46:00.000-07:00

We've had a strange weather week. Sunday was filled with looming clouds but little rain. Monday looked like it might be nice, but then the darkness moved in and the rain began. And it rained and rained and rained some more. We think the mixture of the rain and the slight to moderate lean in our back fence finally brought the old fence down. Ok, maybe it was the rotten wood and the overgrown honeysuckle, too. Jamie rescued the old wood and fence parts (first trip to the dump is coming this weekend!) and even took a picture just to show me at a meeting we had later that night. Luckily it's not a horrible event. Our roof is ok, so is the furnace. So, in the grand scheme of house things, this is minor. And do we even need a fence separating our yard and the creek? Not right now.

The rain did do some good for us in that the creek was filled with water and Jamie was able to pump out 200 gallons. Yes, 200 gallons are now stored in our water tanks in the backyard. Will make those hot summer months a bit cheaper and our plants a little more vibrant!

Having the knitting crew over on Thursday and then we're throwing an engagement party for friends on Saturday. So, lots of fun at the homestead. Nothing like some happy parties to welcome in the weekend.

m&j

Failure. Really?

2011-05-15T22:01:00.000-07:00

Stepping onto soap box ...

I have students in one of my elective courses who are not happy with their grades. One student is so miserable, she got her mom involved and took the issue to the Academic Dean. Her grade is a B-. I have some other students who are earning B+'s, and even this grade is not acceptable. These students have sent every possible message that anything short of an A is devastating. And so I have to ask myself this: how can we teachers compete with the loud, screaming voices of parents who see anything below an A as failure. When parents include language such as "hopefully she can pick up the pieces and salvage this semester" I have to wonder how the definition of success got so warped. What are some of my students going to do when their parents aren't around to step in or a college prof or a boss tells them that even though they worked hard, the product isn't enough. When parents refuse to let their students experience any type of struggle, the lessons inside the classroom are lost. Isn't it sometimes a good thing to try your best and fall short? Isn't the reward in the work regardless of the outcome? Tonight we had our athletic banquet and one of the student speakers spoke about just that — focusing on the work rather than the outcome. But, if that message isn't conveyed by enough people, by the people living with my students, is it even worth talking about in my classroom? I know I have a very different high school transcript than most of the students I teach, but I am forever thankful that my parents let me fall, let me experience life so I could grow and find my own way. They were always there beside me, cheering me on and helping me up when I needed it, but they let me own both my successes and my failures because somehow they knew it would make me stronger. If only my students got that lesson, too.

Off of soap box.

We had a fabulous weekend with friend time, nap time, running time, and more. And, now we can really see summer peaking its head over the horizon. It's a glorious sight!

m&j

Re*Kindled Affair

2011-05-12T08:26:00.000-07:00

Long, long ago in February, I was given a Kindle for my birthday. Ok, not the actual device itself, but a gift certificate to get one. I was going back and forth about getting one because, well, I love books. I love touching paper and folding down corners and watching my progress as I move through the story. I'm an English teacher, so I should collect books, right? Colleagues poo pooed the idea of the Kindle, "If you don't use books, will the students?" But something has changed in me and I no longer view my own personal collection of books as a reflection of my work as a teacher or reader, so I finally ordered the Kindle. It's awesome! No book to shlep (brought the Kindle to prom), no wait for new books, cheaper prices for those new books, and you can read one-handed. Once I got the device delivered, I promised myself at least 10 minutes of reading a day. I read the newspaper and books for school, but I wanted to get back to reading for pleasure even during the school year. What a treat! I'm about 1/3 of the way through The Uncoupling and enjoying it, but mostly I'm enjoying the practice of reading itself.

We have a relaxing weekend ahead. Some crossfit fun on Saturday and Jamie's got a killer 10 mile trail race on Sunday. Hoping for some rain to fill our water stores. Maybe there'll be some yard work in the mix, too.

m&j

Backyard Makeover

2011-05-08T22:12:00.000-07:00

"I'm not made for this. I have an advanced degree. We need to hire someone to do this." Yes, I said this after swinging the axe only three times. I had clipped and snipped and bushwhacked much of the hedge in part of our yard, but when it came time to dig up the huge stumps and the root layer in the soil, I was a broken woman. Jamie gave it a try, too, for a while, but then we called Julio. Julio is a miracle worker, a gardener who has worked with a number of friends, and a man who can clear out roots and stumps in no time. Thank goodness.

Before the back left portion of the yard was a huge hedge. The former owners LOVED hedges. Loved green. Loved big things. Alongside the hedge we found a struggling orange tree. So why not make it happier and healthier and give it come company.

Farewell, hedge! Hello, citrus grove. We planted our well-loved meyer lemon and varigated lemon, and we bought a lime to add something new to the mix. There's a healthy plum tree at the end of the line. We also have an avocado tree waiting to go in on the right side. Maybe next weekend.

And where did the old hedge go? To the side yard for now until we head to the dump on Tuesday. Talk about a lot of stuff. And the stumps -- yeowers, they were HUGE!

Jamie also started our grey water system. We using the run-off from our washing machine to water the citrus plants. We're hoping to use shower water and dishwasher water, too. What with rising water costs and the overall shortage in the state, we're hoping to keep our plants alive with reclaimed water.

And what's a weekend without some baking. I'm cake catering a party on Friday, so I tested out the recipe this weekend: lime cupcakes with coconut cream frosting. Not bad!

Looking forward to some beautiful weather this week.

m&j

Still recovering

2011-05-04T21:33:00.000-07:00

We have students and colleagues who survive on too few hours of sleep. They stay up late, wake up early, and are in a constant state of sleep deprivation. They think they're fine. "I'm ok with four hours of sleep!" I've heard some say. And, "It's the only way I can get all of the things done I need to get done." Well, from two people who cherish eight hours of sleep a night, we're in the thick of coming back from one lousy night's sleep. Just one. Honestly, how do people do it? Sleep deprivation is a form of torture; why inflict it upon yourself? How do people survive the first few weeks and months with a constantly crying baby? How can people prioritize work over sleep?

Sleep has been the focus of our lives these last few days: When can we nap? When can we go to bed? Can we sleep in late and work out in the afternoon? We've made up some of the lost sleep here and there, but our lethargy and weariness gives us some perspective on the lives of the sleep deprived, the lives of insomniacs, the lives of people in a perpetual state of tiredness. It sucks!

In the spirit of getting back what we lost all those days ago, we're heading to bed early and sleeping in late. Let's hope by weekend's end we're finally caught up.

m&j

Relay highlights!

2011-05-02T22:13:00.000-07:00

Well, this post comes to you a little late because last night when we finally got home, we were exhausted. And I know I may have used that word once or twice before, but last night we truly felt its meaning. Having gotten only 2-3 hours of sleep on Saturday night, we crept into bed at 9:30 PM on Sunday with the hopes of regaining some of the sleep we missed. We're still running on one or two few cylinders, but the fun of the weekend was pretty awesome! Here are some highlights:

200 miles run
194 miles in the actual relay
6 miles run because of poor signage
1 lost runner
1 call to the CHP
1 call to 9-1-1 to file a missing runner report
1 found runner
18 miles covered as the last place team on the course (run between the hours of 12:30 and 3am)
47th place overall (out of 226)
13th in mixed open division
26:50.46 total time
3 hours slept
2 sleeping sessions (one 1-hour and one 2-hour)
8 exhausted students
4 tired teachers
26 gallons of gas poured into the SUV
8:05 my splits for my 7.4 mile leg
6:20 Jamie's splits for his 8+ mile leg

Will we do another relay? For sure! Will we do another relay with students? Not a chance. It was tough being in charge and making sure the students were up and ready to run. The Relay is a hard event for adults to manage, so for some angsty high school seniors, it tested their strength and will in new ways. All in all we all had a super fun time, and we're already looking for ways to jump on a team for a relay this summer.

m&j

5k & the Giants

2011-04-27T21:14:00.000-07:00

On Monday I took my Baseball Lit class to AT&T Park for a little field trip. We got a private tour of the stadium which included the press box, the visiting team locker room, the field and more. It was awesome, and the students had a great time. Here's my motley crew of learners:

After the tour we headed to the house of one of the students. Her dad is a baseball enthusiast and he has quite the collection of signed baseballs and memorabilia. What a treat. It was a great day.

The other big news of the week is a bit more personal: Our scooter flipped 5,000 miles. Yes, we've driven the scooter for 5,000 miles in about 4 1/2 years. Sounds like a lot, but Jamie reminded me that that averages to 3 miles a day. And seeing as our old commute was 2 miles roundtrip, there were some longer scoots in there, some lengthy adventures with wind in our face. We'll surely rack up miles more quickly now that our roundtrip scoot is six miles. We'll be to 10k in no time!

We're pretty excited about The Relay this weekend. It will consume the entirety of Saturday and Sunday and we'll surely be pooped when we're done, but we had so much fun doing Ragnar we know this will be just as awesome. Jamie and I are in separate vans, so we'll have even more stories and pictures to share.

Happy almost May!
m&j

Bunny Day!

2011-04-24T22:19:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter! We had a fabulous weekend filled with home improvement, friends, food, merriment and more. As we're settling in for the evening and getting ready for another week, we feel so rejuvenated from this weekend's activities. We're so fortunate to have the weekends to rest, recover, and play.

The biggest fun of the weekend was some painting, and it didn't even take the whole weekend. We started with the first coat on Friday afternoon (half day!).

Jamie is a master taper and edger. Who knew the shaky hand of the marriage would be so good at the fine details of painting. And from this wood paneled and white walled dining room, we went to this:

What a different a little blue makes. It's like our artwork and table linens were made for Winter Lake. We may need to tweak the color of the Eat sign, but that's another project.

And here's the intersection of Winter Lake and Scotland Road. Our living room now has more color than ever before. There have been a few moments when we just look at the wall and our furniture and think: this is awesome! Yes, we are 100% in love with the house, still.

Spent some time in the kitchen to make a friend his 40th birthday cakes. This is all he wanted: almond cake petit fours.

I made them for his baby shower and he was hooked.

And what are you to do with the space in-between the circles? You make little stars.

They're still delicious no matter the shape.

Bunny Brunch was a huge hit. We had 15 people and one 2-year-old. Lots of tasty food to complement the Collie staple: sausage souffle. Some friends had yet to visit the house; others were here for repeat visits. All in all, just a good day to share with friends. No better way to truly welcome spring.

Jamie did a little 5k this morning, too, and felt super strong even though he hasn't really been training for racing. We also did a crazy hard crossfit workout in this second to last week of competition. We both were a little intimidated by the workout, and I got a little scare when I started it on Friday and thought I was going to pass out. Note to self: when doing a crossfit workout at 1pm, make sure you eat beforehand. So I did it again on Saturday after bulking up on dinner and breakfast.

I have a fab field trip tomorrow for my baseball class, and then the week is really all about preparing for next weekend's Relay. There are four teachers and eight students, and we're bound to have a great time!

m&j

Bunnies are coming

2011-04-20T21:35:00.000-07:00

The pace of last week is long gone, and we're stuck in a slow moving, drawn out slog. How does that happen? No idea. We had a few late nights and a few early mornings, so maybe we're tired. But we've got quite a weekend coming up and we're pumped! Also hopeful it reignites a little spark that has suddenly been extinguished.

Saturday we have another crossfit sectional wod. This one is a bit easier, so we're excited about that. Last week we got worked. Big time! We also have a friend's 40th birthday party. Hello petit fours and fun times. Then there's the Indian Dance Show at night (I'm going solo as Jamie's not into that as much as I am). Sunday there's a 5k in the city and then our first Bunny Brunch. We're having friends over for a little egg hunt, some tasty food, and plenty of good cheer. Looking forward to sharing our new home, too.

Try these for a tasty cookie. Super easy. Made them on Monday with my baking buddy.

Here's to a speedy two days!
m&j

Home Improvements Take 1

2011-04-17T22:35:00.000-07:00

Not wanting to give over every weekend to sprucing up the house, we decided to take on some small projects: paint one wall and replace the thermostat. I know, tricky stuff. We also continued some work on unpacking and cleaning up some areas that looked more chaotic than necessary, but painting was really the focal point of the weekend. And what a difference it makes to 1. cover up some wood paneling and 2. add a splash of color to a room.

Here's before (we painted a swatch directly under a picture we had up; that kept the swatch hidden when people came over).

And green! Actually, this is Scotland Road.

It's pretty handy to have such a handy husband. Thanks to the internet, this project was quite easy. And now we have a daily programmable thermostat. I know, super cool!

Our lemon tree was quite successful this year. There are still some lemons on the tree, but I picked off more than 70!!

And the varigated pink did pretty well, too.

This was my first baking adventure in the new house. I have been baking weekly with a friend, but we always bake at her house because she has two little kids. But I fired up the oven, broke out the pans, and made some chocolate chocolate chip cookies with mocha cream. You take two of these cookies, slather some cream between them, and enjoy.

Friday night was the Choate party. It was a huge success and we had about 25 people here. Great food, good people, thrilled to spend the night on the back patio. Made us fall in love with the house even more. Seriously, when will the love end? Never! Did some serious crossfitting as well and got our butts kicked.

The coming week is filling up quickly, but that just means it will pass in a flash.

m&j

Connected again: First post from the house!

2011-04-13T21:58:00.000-07:00

Over the last few weeks we've come to realize we can go without TV longer than we can go without internet access. Yes, we're products of the digital age and we get so much info, entertainment, and communication from the web. So today was another milestone in the house: we have an internet connection. No more checking email in the McDonald's parking lot. No more wondering what the crossfit workout will be. Life has returned to normal.

We have a big weekend coming up. Friday night we're hosting a Choate Alumni party. We finally have the space, so why not give back to such a great institution. It's a catered event, local vintner will be in the house, too. Of course, we'll have to stay for the entire thing as it's at our house. And Saturday we have a crossfit workout that might kill us. We've been doing these weekly workouts for the Crossfit Games (neither of us are competing for place, rather we're helping our gym get points), and this week's workout is the hardest we've encountered. Last week the weight was heavy, but this week it's a move we cannot do: the muscle-up. Yikes. We can get through the burpees and the overhead squats beforehand, but we'll surely be stalled by such a tricky move. Send good thoughts. Wish us luck.

Conference day tomorrow and half day on Friday. Is this the best post-spring break week or what?!

m&j

The Canyon, the house, the return to work

2011-04-11T14:50:00.000-07:00

Our internet still isn't connected at the house, so the blog has taken a back seat. We can get some free wifi at a local restaurant, but it's a bit awkward sitting in the parking lot late at night. So, our emailing and posting has taken a back seat to trips to Home Depot, some painting, yard work, and watching TV. Yes, for the first time in our lives, we're paying for cable. Don't worry: we've chosen the cheapest DishTV plan possible, but we have the essentials (TNT, USA & ESPN). We can watch Law & Order and Sports Center almost any moment of any day. It's pretty awesome. We are back to work and the first day went smoothly. We only have seven weeks until graduation. SEVEN weeks. Where does the time go? So we're looking forward to a mellow spring as we settle into the house, enjoy the remaining weeks with our classes, and otherwise love life.

Some fun facts from the Canyon

Animals seen: Elk,Deer, Condor, Squirrels, & Raccoon

Close enough to eat you: Squirrel

Close enough to make Unkie call our room and whisper, "It's outside my room!": Elk

National Park saying we love: Plants grow by the inch and die by the foot.

How dark is it in and around the Grand Canyon at night: real dark.

Hiking in and out of the Canyon in one day: NOT recommended

Did we do it anyway: Hell yes!

Miles hiked: 14.8

Total time: 7.5 hours

Elevation lost and gained: 10,000+ feet

Specks of dust on our legs: 1,000,000+

Here we are upon arrival.

Our personal photog and best Unkie in all the land!

The start of our rim to river to rim hike.

It was coolish in the morning.

So we had to wear jackets. We carried pretty light day packs. #1 item to carry: water!

Apparently the Park Service doesn't like people hiking down to the river and back in one day. You might end up like this guy: standing in a lunge with your hand on your head.

Almost to our first stop of the day where we saw a man feeding a squirrel. Big no-no.

If you look closely, this generator is a lot like a person. Read the small sign.

Not a bad office, huh!

Headed up the Bright Angel trail. It was hot, but not nearly as hot as when Jamie came with students in May.

See what happens when you feed squirrels.

And you might think we were just a bit tan from our poolside time in Vegas. Not so.

Dirt, dust and grime cling to the legs in the Canyon.

Our second day was filled with some rim sightseeing. It was fun to explore together.

A good shot of my hot hiker. He's definitely a mountain man!

And another shot of the three muskateers.

This is the Elk mentioned above. He was just having a snack outside of our room. Elk are everywhere and they're HUGE!

We spent the remainder of our break making daily trips to the Home Depot, sprucing up a few things around the house, and otherwise celebrating Christmas morning each and every day. Honestly, we are still in awe of our house, the neighborhood, the kind neighbors, the fact that our patience in home buying paid off. We are lucky, we know, but we are grateful. So plan a trip. I'll say that for months and years to come. We just want to share our space and happiness with everyone!

m&j

Sights from the glittery strip

2011-03-31T22:31:00.000-07:00

The Trump International Hotel has served us well. Five stars all the way (plus a kitchenette for easy breakfasts and lunches). Big thumbs up!

The Bellagio is known for its beautiful decor. One of the side rooms is decorated with parasols. Reminds us of our pilates studio where these are hanging all over the place.

We didn't eat here, but the name was perfectly New England.

And who knew there were lions at the MGM Hotel?! I guess when your logo is a lion, you get some real ones to attract attention. These sleeping cats were adorable. We're ready to get one of our own.

Jamie in the wilds of Africa.

No good vacation is complete without a visit to Crossfit. This place was a little hard to find, but when we saw a few other folks dressed in the usual crossfit gear (inov8 shoes and capris), we knew we were in the right place. Workout was killer!

Even the pale whitey people like us love a good pool. Throw us an umbrella and we can lounge with the best of them.

The view from the lounge chair. Another cloudless sky.

Wanting to see more celebrities than the strip had to offer, we headed to Shadow Creek Golf Course for the Michael Jordan Celebrity Golf Invitational. It was awesome. And the course was pretty nice, too. First time it's ever been opened to the public. Usually it's a $500 greens fee, but for the bargain price of $20k you could golf with a celeb. Want to golf with MJ himself? Throw in $60k and it's a done deal.

You know this guy as Kevin from "The Office".

And that's Paul O'Neill. Go Yankees. Nice win on Opening Day!

Roger Clemens was there. Lots of people wanted to meet him.

This is Chi McBride. He's in the recently canceled Human Target on Fox. We LOVED that show. Think modern day A-Team located in SF.

MJ himself. He had these pimped out carts. The front is a cooler filled with alcohol. The man likes to golf, drink, and smoke cigars.

See, the drink and the cigar. He's pretty good on the links, too.

Dwight Freeney was in the house. He plays for the Colts, so Jamie was pretty excited to meet him. Jamie was only one step away from Peyton. So close. So close.

We haven't spent a single dime in the Casinos, but we've had some amazing meals; we saw Penn & Teller (awesome!) and Blue Man Group (awesome, again!); went on some group runs; and otherwise enjoyed much of the city people never see.

We head to the Canyon tomorrow.

m&j

Viva Las Vegas

2011-03-27T22:56:00.000-07:00

It's here: spring break. And we still can't believe it. We've been running around and going, going, going and now we get to veg out, vacation, and otherwise laze around. No better place to do that than Las Vegas. A lot of colleagues poo-pooed the idea of Vegas. Maybe it's not a very Marin destination, but it meets all of the WTC requirements: cheap, easy to get to, good food, warm, shade by the pool. With temps in the high 70s and maybe even creeping into the low 90s, we're going to lay low, read, and do nothing. Can't complain! Best of all, Unkie is here with us. It's the 2-year anniversary of our Peru trip, so maybe this will be the start of our bi-annual spring break fun.

In other news — and let's get serious, the only other news we really care to speak of is THE HOUSE! I wake up and think: I love this house. I go to bed and think: I love this house. We see people walking their dogs and I love the neighborhood. I see families out playing and I love the neighborhood even more. The pizza place nearby is awesome. There's a little market, too, and they sell whipped cream for Jamie's ice cream. We have room and space for our stuff without our lives being cluttered. We can still take the scooter to school. It's like we're living the dream. Our dream, that is.

There was one thing Jamie couldn't wait for: the closet. I think his geometry minded thinking was excited to design and create some sort of clothing matrix to fit all of our clothes in a rather small space. So he researched and sketched and scoped out exactly what he wanted; Rubbermaid was the winner! The result is amazing.

The master bedroom and closet before. Sorry about the closed doors, but you get the idea that this isn't the biggest closet. There's not walking in in this closet.

We knocked out the small shelf and hanging rod. This was our first demolition and it was exciting. Jamie patched some holes, sanded, and painted the entire closet. It looked good. And then ...

He made a closet fit for the WTC and all of our clothes. Not bad for a 6' closet.

Send thoughts of winning big!
m&j

Running home

2011-03-21T18:30:00.000-07:00

To say we've had a power-packed ten days is an understatement. We might even be able to focus on just seven days and still our lives were crazy: move, conference in NYC, marathon, and then really move our stuff. But, the chaos leading up to the move and the marathon is now behind us! Phew.

Most importantly, the marathon: JAMIE WAS AMAZING! He PR'd under some of the worst running conditions ever. Think high winds, rain, and cold temps. But he came in at 3:11.40. He didn't make the Boston cut, but as our friend (and his running partner) said: if you can run fast in those conditions you can run faster in better ones. And I know he will!!!! Here's the start and finish.

The start ...

The finish ...

And now for the other major event in our lives — THE HOUSE! Here are some before, after and now pictures:

Before

The floors

And now our stuff

The floors, again!

And we have a living room.

Of course there are more things to settle in and unpack, and we figure that will take a while, but for now we have some space in the house that looks normal. It is amazing waking up in the morning and knowing we're in our house, our home, our neighborhood. As my sister-in-law said: it's like Christmas morning. So true!

A much more mellow week this week and then Hello, Vegas! We'll be happy to rest, relax, and otherwise enjoy some much needed vacation.

m&j

Costa Rican state of mind

2011-03-13T18:15:00.000-07:00

In the spring of 2004, we headed to Costa Rica for our two week spring break. Wooed by the colorful ads in the LA Times (the weekend paper of choice at the time), we took advantage of low cost airfare and the promise of cheap hotels, good food, and fun adventures. Costa Rica did not disappoint. The people were so kind to us, even when our Spanish left a lot to be misunderstood. After tooling around the northern part of the country, we headed to Tamarindo for some beach time and relaxation. The beach was amazing and we spent lots of time relaxing oceanside (in the shade, of course), learning to surf, and otherwise having a great time. But, there was one problem: we were carrying over $500 in traveler's checks, and no one, not a single hotel or restaurant, was willing to take them. With our cash running out, we roamed the town for someone to take at least one check so we could catch the bus back to San Jose. Even at the worst possible exchange rate for us, no one would touch the things. We had plenty of money but in fact we're were broke. How was that possible?!

Such is our situation today. We own a house. We've owned it for almost four weeks, but we cannot move in. The floors are taking a little bit longer to dry, but we have to be out of our apartment by Tuesday. The upside: we've moved in the kitchen and we have two awesome guys helping us move the heavy stuff tomorrow. But, for a brief period of time we'll officially be homeless homeowners.

In other news, Jamie's marathon is in one week! He has been working so hard during this training cycle and he's stronger than ever before. So, next Sunday at 7 AM Cali time, send good, speedy thought to Modesto. Will post a full report post race.

No post on Wednesday as I'll be in NYC for a conference. I know, could more stuff happen this week?

m&j

What routines?

2011-03-09T21:54:00.000-08:00

We're solidly in the midst of moving. We moved in and unpacked the kitchen on Monday night, and now we're in moving limbo. Our kitchen table is gone (not to the house but to Jordan — no need in the new place!). Things are packed away. The apartment is in pseudo shambles. We have suspended the newspaper delivery and started our mail forward. It's like we currently don't completely live anywhere. Needless to say, we're ready to move. Ready to settle in. Ready for our routines to return.

But Monday night was amazing. We keyed into the house without knocking and all of the rooms were empty. Not a trace (ok, a teeny trace exists) of life was left by the seller. For that, we thank her. There was no garbage to remove or old furniture to post on Craigslist, there was just the house we're starting to make into a home. We walked from room to room many times, opened closets, talked about where our stuff was going to go and what colors we want to paint the walls. It was as we were creating a baking shelf in the kitchen that this wave of excitement and pride swept over us. We own a home. I can only imagine the feelings new parents feel when they creep into a child's room just to look. So we crept and walked all over the house just because we could. Just because it is ours. There will be adjustments and new routines to learn, but there is something different about moving into a place we own. No more shared walls. No more landlords to fix broken things. No more wishing the walls were anything but white. While this week has been chaotic and it's not over yet, we are floating, loving the idea of what we have accomplished. Sure that sounds a bit boastful, but there is something to the idea behind pride of ownership. It's an amazing feeling we hope lingers for years to come. As we said when we moved up here — let us never forget what life was like before. We worked longer days and our lives outside of work were not as full. Now we hope we can say the same thing for home ownership — let us never forget the joy and excitement that comes from calling something our own.

Pics to come when the floors are done!

m&j

Home Sweet Circus Tent

2011-03-06T22:30:00.000-08:00

It's been a full week. We took off for Tahoe last Sunday and returned on Friday afternoon. We had clear skies on both ends of the trip and the middle was snow-filled, really filled. We got more than a foot of snow while we were there. Lots of fun was had on the sledding hill, cross country ski trails, and up and around the mountain with snow shoes. Here are some highlights:

Day 1: Sledding anyone? So fun. The old saucer was fast and furious.

The only downside of the saucer: you spin around and shoot down the hill backwards. Scary at any age.

Our lodge. It's like we were entering a smurf house or something. The entire place was covered in snow.

Bunks for six people, but it was our own private suite.

The cherubs stayed in here. A bunk room built for 12. Girls on the left; boys on the right. Fun had all around.

The tenth grade Winter Wonderland superstars. Watching some of these students ski was comedy gold. There were oodles of face plants, lots of laughter, and plenty of good times.

Yours truly atop Borreal. It was clear and sunny, but the wind was fierce.

The snow looked a lot like the sands in Death Valley. With so much new snow and so little people around, much of the mountain was untouched.

Our fearless leader tromping through the snow.

On Wednesday the snow was falling and the students were pooped from Tuesday's snow shoeing adventure. So, we took the opportunity to head out and explore. There was no one out, hence only the two sets of tracks on the hill. It really was a Winter Wonderland! And we had such a great time. But ...

There's nothing like a new home to keep you preoccupied (that and a few last minute pseudo emergencies to manage from afar). That's right, the former owner is out and this lovely place, this circus tent covered house, IS ALL OURS! While we were away the carpets were pulled and the termites were given notice. ah ha ha ha. I snapped this shot on Saturday and met some of our new neighbors. The people couldn't be nicer. Every time we're there, people introduce themselves to us. It's becoming more and more evident that we're moving into a fabulous neighborhood. Yah!

Jamie has had a really full weekend and he's not even home yet. He left an hour after we arrived on Friday and he's been coaching all weekend long. Not ideal, but he's loved working with the ODP teams. Amazing how that all fell into place this winter. Who knows what will happen next year.

We have a school-wide conference tomorrow, so that's a nice buffer between minicourse and teaching. More packing is in our future and we move on Sunday. Floors may not really be ready for us, but we'll figure something out. If we think of moving as an adventure rather than a pain, it won't be so bad ... right?

m&j

Whipped

2011-02-23T22:06:00.000-08:00

Butter is a temperamental substance. Too hot and you can't cream it. Too cold and it could break your mixer. They (the super duper chefs I think know a lot of cool stuff) say 68 degrees is the perfect temperature for soft butter. It's still cool to the touch but not too firm. Yet it's not so firm you can't cream it. Who knew butter was such a finicky thing. I did. And today, I felt like butter. At times, I was working too hard. At other times, not hard enough. I was running to stand still. Raise your hand if you hate those kinds of days. Mix in two almost back-to-back workouts (a crossfit doozy with the bear complex and a chair workout at pilates) and I am now firmly above my perfect temperature, above my tired threshold, ready to fall ...

But then I think about this moment in the grocery store last night. The woman in front of me picked up the wrong kind of chicken. The clerk told her to hustle back to the meat section, pick up the correct kind, and hustle back. So off the lady went. I'm not sure the hustle was in place, but she was gone only a minute, maybe two. As she returned, the woman behind me ever so softly yet clearly enough said, "How rude!" Lady in front, "Excuse me?" Lady behind, "You heard me. Rude!" The lady in front was surely flustered and it was clear this moment, this fraction of her day, had ruined the rest of it. As for the woman behind me, I had to wonder about her intention. Was her day so piss poor she had to drag down someone else? Was that extra 60 seconds in line so excruciating she had to share? Why is it that people, at times, are so mean to each other? Of course we see this in the classroom and the hallways, but that's in high school. It's to be expected, but in the real world, at 7:30 p.m. when everyone just wants to get home to eat dinner and relax, what's the point? I felt for the woman in front of me. Scowled at the woman behind me. And reminded myself that forgiveness not anger makes us all better people. When we're forgiving of ourselves and others, we're closer to the temperature needed to be perfect.

We are slowly progressing with the move. Here's where we are: we want to move. We want to be in our house. We want the floors done and the fumigation done and the crazy lady out. But, we must wait. Patience. We are practicing patience. With the kitchen dismantled (see below), we can now move to other rooms and other boxes. There is still a lot to get together, but our excitement will surely carry us all the way to the truck and to our house.

Before: people always said we had lots of kitchen stuff. While I partially agree, I also think it looks like we had a lot of stuff because we have so few cabinets and everything kitchen related was out for all the world to see. But yes, all of this stuff went bye bye ...

After: and now our kitchen is almost empty. It's weird to be in such a white space, but that was a monster job and now it's done! Pretty excited to have cabinets in the house. No more shelves!!

Jamie's got ODP on Saturday. I have a crossfit competition Saturday afternoon. We head to Tahoe on Sunday morning. Nothing like filling the weekend with as much stuff as possible.

m&j

Fond Farewell

2011-02-20T23:29:00.000-08:00

We still have three weeks left in the apartment, but with minicourse coming (we're headed to Tahoe instead of Death Valley) and some full weekends ahead (Jamie's got ODP stuff the next two weekends in a row), it was time to get some work done in terms of packing. So, with a bit of reluctance we tackled the most important room in the home: the kitchen. Yes, the pans are packed, the spices, too. What once was the home to our favorite tools and toys is now in the process of becoming the bare room we first entered in June of 2006. We still have a few more things to put away, but I promise to post a before and after when we're all done. It already looks a bit sad, a bit bare.

While not planned, this weekend was surely a fond farewell to all of the baking and love we've created in the kitchen. We whipped up an angel food cake on Saturday afternoon to bring to some friends' house. And, the real deal came when I made myself a birthday cake for a little celebration today. So, the kitchen surely had a lovely send off.

The sun finally made an appearance, so the kitchen light was near perfect. All of the major ingredients were present: cake stand, clean stand mixer, mini-cakes ready for frosting. A lot of good stuff has been created in this space.

Ah, and you can't forget the butter. I went with chocolate cake and chocolate frosting. Neither recipe is too sweet; the chocolate is the focus.

Here's the finished product. I tried this decorating technique I was a fan of used at a small bakery in Claremont, CA. They made all of these funky designs on their cakes. So I used some green vanilla buttercream and gave it a try. If it turned out poorly, it was my cake. This was a big hit with the girls.

Outside of the kitchen, Jamie had his final 20+ mile run. He did it on the trails with some friends, and he's feeling super duper! There was some fun on Saturday with friends, and I headed to a funky yarn shop with the knitwits, too. All in all, the weekend was, again, super long. And, we have tomorrow off. Awesome! We have five weeks until spring break, three of which are 4-day weeks and one will be spent in Tahoe with the students. We can feel the Vegas sun already.

m&j

Full

2011-02-16T22:17:00.000-08:00

It has been a full day. From wake-up until about 8:30p.m. tonight, Jamie and I were going non-stop. There were classes and meetings and more meetings, and it was only under the cloak of darkness as we drove by our house, the one we own, did it really sink in: we are house owners. We started this journey to our house in August of 2009. Things really began long before when we each separately began our investing and saving careers. "For what?" I would always ask my dad and brother. "The future, short term and long term," they would say. It is only with the amazing financial guidance and inspiration from our families could we have purchased this house. Our parents are in the house even though only two will ever set foot in it. Our parents have guided us on patience, on persistence, on making smart decisions, and for that we are forever grateful. 18 months ago, we couldn't afford the town or the house we wanted. But as prices came down and our savings went us, things fell into place. Not going to lie, there were moments when we thought the world was telling us to Go East! But in those moments we could not see ourselves anywhere but here. So, it is exciting that here is where we are and here is where we'll make our house into our second home together.

As we head into the latter half of our fifth year of marriage, and I can claim 34 as my age, I couldn't imagine a better partner and friend than Jamie. He is a man eager to learn the ways of do-it-yourself homeownership. The man who cooks dinner, every night. "I cook; Mary bakes," he says to friends. The man who is training like a beast to bust through the 3:10 marathon mark not only because he wants to qualify for Boston, but also because he loves the thrill of pushing himself to new heights. A friend posted on her blog a little secret about her wedding day. She said she snuck away from the wedding action and prayed that the love she shared with her husband would flourish no matter what. While I didn't sneak away for a prayer, I do remember a moment before our wedding when my mom said to me, "Jamie will be as good to you as Unkie was to me. You are one of the lucky few." Funny how my mom had a way of knowing things.

So on this awesome and very momentous February 16th of 2011, I feel full of love and joy and gratitude for the best man in the world. The man who gives me my first pair of bright red weightlifting shoes, shares in the join of a new house, and provides us both with a constant love that will carry us no matter what.

Here's to the Home Depot! See ya, Apartment Depot!!
m&j

When Your Tree Gives You Lemons ....

2011-02-13T21:59:00.000-08:00

As Jamie headed out to his second stint as an ODP super coach, I crowned Saturday "Day of Lemon". Our tree has been bearing fruit like a champ, just begging to be harvested, and I knew I had to use the fruit for good rather than evil. There's only one issue: Jamie hates, loathes, despises lemon desserts. I know, I know, he's a weirdo, but that just means more goodies for colleagues, students and me. My Day of Lemon moved, however, because I was packing, procrastinating, getting a hair cut (the stylist told me I had the Justin Beiber swoosh bangs —ack!), and otherwise enjoying the great outdoors. So, D.O.L. moved to today. And it was perfect. Intermingled with the baking was some school work, but when it's sunny and warm and lemon scents are in the air, all is right with the world. I may have gone a little overboard on the photos. It was sunny, the lemons are vibrant; I couldn't stop myself.

These are just a few of the meyer lemons from our tree. So cute. So delicious.

Even when you only need juice, always, always zest the lemons. Portion out the zest into an ice cube tray and use it down the road. My two recipes called for lots of zest (3 tbsps) and lots of juice (2 1/2 cups).

This is meringue mixed with lemon juice, zest, a bit of flour, and some sugar. Portion into small baking tins, and you end up with a meringue-y souffle-like pudding cake. It's pretty good.

Recipe said it made eight portions; I made ten.

And who can pass up lemon bars? Not me.

So we had a good weekend. Jamie got in two 12-mile runs, we had some good meals, and we otherwise did some work for school and the move. Fridge got cleaned off. New house rule: no pictures on the fridge. Not gonna do it. Everything is off the walls of the apartment, too. Holes have been spackled; pictures have been packed. We're getting ready to go.

m&j

Signing not singing day

2011-02-10T22:19:00.000-08:00

Well, we've come through what some friends have told us is one of the worst experiences of house buying: signing the paperwork. Funny thing: it was a piece of cake. We had relatively few papers to sign and we feel so ready for this. As Jamie said, it's kind of like getting into college, getting a job, getting married, moving on with your life in ways your parents and friends and society have set forth for you. We've been saving for this for quite some time, and we've been looking for a house for 1 1/2 years. This was the sixth house we put an offer on, the first one so close to school, the one we love the most. So when it came time to sign the papers, take one step closer to ownership, we felt more ready than ever before. On Wednesday the 16th it will really be our house. In California you sign the paperwork before close of escrow. This makes sense to us as the sellers have papers to sign, banks have money to exchange, and things need to be put in place before we get the keys. So, we celebrate today as a big day, but it's Wednesday when the real closing happens, when we get the call from our agent that according to the county recorder's office, this place is ours ... ok, ours and the bank's.

Here we are in front of the house. Great afternoon light into the living room and our faces. Final walk through was great. Took more pics to document what the place looks like as there is a big change coming pretty quickly: refinished hardwood floors!

There's our small stack of paperwork. Not so bad. No mountain!

Jamie pretending to sign with these pens I got just for the occasion. They're Rollerball Vision Elite, smudge proof, fraud proof, superstars! The only issue: banks like blue ink not blank. Dreaded.

Here we are with our Home Owner pens. Yes, I labeled the aforementioned pens for this occasion. I figure it's a big day, why not make it special. Was going to make t-shirts, but that was a bit too much.

So, yes, it was a fun-filled day. And, to add a little excitement, my good friend and former colleague Sara came to school for our Literary Festival. She's a published writer and a soon-to-be mom, and a former office mate. I've missed her a lot this year because she is a big fan of my baked goods. I figured such a fan needed a little extra love:

Here's the cake mid-decorating. Notice the new cake stand. It was a Christmas present from Carla and it makes a HUGE difference in decorating. Sara K: this was a baby cake. So cute.

Decorated and ready to go!

And the big wow factor after some cutting: four layers. This was a tried and true cupcake recipe split between two 6" pans. I layered each cake and slathered it all with vanilla buttercream. Not bad.

The other big news of the day is that I was awarded one of the summer fellowships from our school. I put together a summer proposal before Christmas break, and the committee made a decision earlier this week. My proposal is pretty badass (ok, I'm biased): three week baseball stadium tour of the midwest (included in the schedule are stops at different museums and grave sites related to MLB, the negro leagues, and the AAGPBL) and then a two week stint either in Cape Cod (to watch the Cape Cod league) or the Dominican Republic (to watch the DR Summer league). This proposal is based on my new English elective: The Literature of Baseball.

Not a bad day ... and tomorrow's Friday.

m&j

National Signing Day

2011-02-09T22:04:00.000-08:00

For some, the National Signing Day is when a senior in high school signs a letter of intent to a college. Well, tomorrow, February 10, 2011 is WTC National Signing Day. That's right: we're signing the papers to buy the house! Woot! Woot! So, pictures to follow. Stories, too. We're pretty excited. Check back tomorrow for a full report.

m&j

Super Bowl of Food!

2011-02-06T21:49:00.000-08:00

While many Americans were excited for the match up of the Packers and the Steelers, we could have cared less about the game. Our focus was food. For the third year in a row we have shared Super Bowl Sunday with our friend Bill. He is a master chef and he loves cooking up ribs and crab cakes. We were on dessert patrol to help round out the meal. We went with a newbie (which I made both on Thursday with a friend and on Saturday with Jamie) and an oldie. Both were well received.

The newbie: Salt Lick Bars or Millionaire's Shortbread. This stuff is awesome. And, so easy. First you make a shortbread layer, then you cover it with caramelized sweetened condensed milk and then ....

You top it off with some chocolate. Easy. But wait, there's more.

Give a little sprinkle of salt and this confection is ready to consume. It's got that sweet savory blend going on.

It's the middle layer that really brings this together. Who knew caramelizing sweetened condensed milk could create such an amazing thing.

And this recipe makes plenty to go around.

And here's the trusty old turtle pie .... with a little pecan football. That's Jamie's doing. He's so crafty.

Outside of the Super Bowl and food fest, we had an amazing weekend. The temps soared into the 80s. Yes, you read that correctly: the 80s! The plants are confused, the birds are confused, today as I sat in the kitchen looking out the window I was confused. What month is it? And where the heck are we? Jamie managed to bang out a 15-miler at marathon pace in the heat. Amazing. All in all, a fab weekend. Good thing we have another one coming in a week.

m&j

Crab King!

2011-02-02T21:36:00.000-08:00

Give a man some extra crab, and he makes crab cakes. Following in the theme of making a new recipe each week, Jamie went for a personal favorite and something I'm slowly coming to enjoy. These were delicious, and, as Jamie said, very gourmet! He is such a fabulous cook!

Like all good things, even crab cakes need a little chill time. Check out Jamie's flowery apron.

And after some time in the pan ... amazing. Not a bad meal to share on a week day.

And, because this was such a big hit last week, I whipped up some more chocolate peanut butter. A student is celebrating her 18th birthday and a friend wanted her own supply. Second batch was better than the first. A little less sugar and a bit more salt. Still divine.

Stay warm if you're in the snow/ice.

m&j

Foodie weekend

2011-01-30T22:15:00.000-08:00

This weekend has been somewhat luxurious. Food-wise, that is. We've been given a number of gift certificates to some pretty shwanky restaurants in the area, and we've yet to use any of them. It's not that we don't like to eat out. It's just that we have routines and favorites, and planning ahead isn't really our thing. But for the sake of lightening what we own (and therefore what we'll surely have to move), we thought we'd use a gift certificate to the Buckeye Roadhouse on Friday night. That was the start of our foodie weekend. Dinner was a 5pm (clearly we're well practiced for our retirement years) and it was amazing. Succulent brick chicken for Jamie, and some delicious fish and maple yams for me. Throw down a s'more pie for dessert. Yikes this was a good meal. Sure we had plans of movies post-dinner, but with bellies full and lids heavy from the week of work, we headed home for some relaxation and an early bedtime.

Saturday night we did make it to the movies (5 pm showings that is!) and then dined on lamb chops, fresh green beans, and some tasty baked potatoes. We're coming up on our final monthly meat delivery this week, so we're trying to eat all of last month's meat to make room for the new stuff. Who knew lamb was so good. OK, we did as we've had ground lamb and rack of lamb in our most recent two deliveries, but Jamie is really becoming a master of grilled meats. Lucky us! And no better way to end a meal than with some tasty brownies a la Bon Appetit.

The ingredients are simple: Cocoa, sugar, vanilla, eggs, flour, and some walnuts.

The result is chocolatey, fudgey, delicious little bites of yum. Mix with a little vanilla ice cream or chocolate sauce or nothing.

Tonight we returned to a seasonal favorite: Dungeness crab. As we've said before -- shame on us for missing four prior crab seasons. Shame on us for not eating this nearly every night. Shame on us for not making it rain crab all day and night. This stuff is so good it hurts. And, it's cheaper than chicken and easier to make.

So why all this decadent food? I think we're pretty excited about the house. We even shared a bottle of wine (over the course of two nights) to celebrate. We're still set to close on the 16th. That means 2 1/2 weeks! It's crazy how quickly this all fell into place. How our 1 1/2 year long search is finally coming to a close. But our move (while totally overwhelming to think of right now) is somewhat bittersweet. We have spent more than 4 1/2 years in our current home (that's longer than any other place besides the houses we grew up in!). This place, this apartment, has been our first home together. We've shared countless meals at our kitchen table. Snuggled on the couch. Had sleepovers in the living room. Rearranged the bedroom instead of buying new furniture. Dreamed about what we would and would not do if we owned a place. We welcomed visitors from near and far. This apartment has been ground zero for WTC. And while we cannot wait to move into a larger space, into a space we can paint, into a space we own, we will certainly miss the crappy carpet and the overly steamy bathroom and the poorly insulated windows and the crazy upstairs neighbors because this is where we grew ourselves, where we started our lives as a married couple. This is where we'll one day drive by to show our kids and say, "See that little brown apartment up there with the porch, that's where we lived when we were first married, when we first moved here."

And just to keep it light:

This is also the place where we learned to love the ice bath. Jamie's Sunday mileage: 22.

m&j

Change your life ...

2011-01-26T21:16:00.000-08:00

It's easy to do, and this will help you do it.

I have no photos of my own expedition into the world of peanutella, but this afternoon I needed to make something. At school, we have been having meetings, meetings, and more meetings. We just finished out accreditation process, and this week was the visit from the accreditation team. Always fun. Throw in more duplicate paper work from the seller's realtor than you could imagine, and life and school have been a bit hectic. No better way to center myself than with a sweet, delicious, spreadable treat. Heaven! So easy! Valentine's Day gifts for everyone! If you have a cuisinart and a love for chocolate and peanuts, this is the treat for you. And, when you share it with friends as I did tonight, you get the warm and happy smile of thanks that makes the stress of the week fade away.

We wish our eastern readers good luck as they manage more snow and cold. Just one more reason to come visit us!

m&j

Good friends

2011-01-23T22:22:00.000-08:00

Both Friday and Saturday night we dined with friends. Friday was more of the lounge on the couch, laugh, and eat good food kind of meal, and Saturday was a bit more formal: we ate at a table. But on both nights after returning home, we felt such a sense of joy. How lucky are we to have people in our lives who we enjoy spending time with, who make us laugh, and who know how to cook up some amazing food!

Like last weekend, this weekend was marked with stellar weather. While New England and the rest of the east is bracing for more snow and more cold temps, the skies here were clear and the thermometer read in the mid-60s. I know what you're thinking ... Is this heaven? No, it's Marin. Jamie took advantage of the great weather both days by running, running, and running some more. He ran 12 miles on Saturday and 10 miles on Sunday, and during both runs he felt fabulous. What great feedback from his body as he continues on his path to the March 20th marathon. I hit up crossfit as usual, and then enjoyed a speedy ride this morning. All in all, the lazy pace of the weekend made it feel somewhat lengthy. Mix in the sunshine and it was near perfect.

We're moving along with the house. We have a few other things to take care of before we remove our contingencies (that just means the point at which we'd lose our deposit if we backed out) and really start the countdown to closing. As it stands, we'll close on my birthday. If that isn't a sign that this place was meant to be, I don't know what is. I promised some pics last week, so here goes:

Here's the living room area, looking out the big front window. Oh, and the carpet will be gone (drapes, too) before we move in. Think maple hardwood floors. Farewell 1950s. Hello 2011!

The other view of the living room. Back is to the window.

The dining area with built in china cabinet. What do we store in this china cabinet if we don't own china? Books! And you can see the kitchen back there. There's a little breakfast bar if we'd like to use that. Gas range, too. Oh la la!

View from the kitchen of the dining space and living room. We really loved the open layout of the common space.

One bedroom.

Another bedroom ... slightly overloaded with furniture right now.

The master bedroom. The real bonus ...

A MASTER BATHROOM! This will be our own sanctuary. There are two bathrooms in this house, and this one is all ours. No guests. Nobody welcome unless named Mary or Jamie. Yippie! And, it's rigged up with a dual shower head. Love it. (check out the carpeted toiler seat!)

More pics to come once we own the place and the carpets are gone and some paint goes up. Can't wait.

m&j

An Alpha and an Omega

2011-01-19T21:40:00.000-08:00

Today marked two big events: one a beginning and one an ending.

We experienced a 4-hour inspection-palooza at the house we'd like to buy. For four hours a home inspector, a pest inspector, a sewer inspector and a floor guy checked out the ins-and-outs of the house to make sure we weren't dumping our life's savings into a sinking ship. And the verdict: the house is in solid shape. Phew. Neither Jamie or I slept very well Tuesday night (I actually woke myself up by getting out of bed because I dreamt I was napping on a faulty roof!). And with a very full post-class day, our time at work was rushed and hurried and chaotic. And only a few times did we see "that face" in the other. All partners know that face in a loved one. The face that says, "Code 10 Black Abort: Get me out of here!" But with a little perspective and a little reminder of how the house will look with our stuff, with refinished floors, with some fun paint, the faces went away. Don't get me wrong, we're not moving into a brand new home with zero issues, but the big hurdle of the roof and furnace and foundation has been cleared.

The other big event of the day was an ending of sorts. An ending of my 50 4 50 Challenge. On December 1, 2010 I challenged myself to do 50 push-ups a day for 50 days. Unkie's response to this challenge was, "Clearly you have too much free time!" My office mate's response was, "Are you crazy?!" The people at crossfit thought it was cool, but they weren't interested. So it was with two co-workers from the business office that I went forward with this challenge. It has been awesome for my strength. I can do push-ups like a machine. I can do push-ups in workouts, rapid fire push-ups, 50 push-ups ten minutes before bed. And I can do all of these push-ups on my toes and with pretty solid form. I couldn't have done that 50 days ago, so clearly there's been some growth. I have a new secret pride during crossfit workouts that contain push-ups or burpees. I will not submit to knee push-ups and I will not let the push-up beat me. The down side of the challenge is I have become a card carrying member of the Push-up Police. It's an elite squad of detectives that investigates the most heinous criminal acts: bad push-ups. I don't actually approach bad push-uppers, but I give them evil looks for making something so beautiful so ugly. I think I may keep up with my push-ups simply because I value the strength I have gained, and I have learned (once again) that doing something every day will make me a lot better over the long haul.

m&j

Yogi in the house!

2011-01-16T22:36:00.000-08:00

It's been a long, long weekend and it's not over yet. We have Monday off!! What a full weekend we've had ...

1. Maeve arrived on Thursday!
2. Put an offer in on a house on Friday .... still waiting ... wish us luck and send good thoughts.
3. Jamie started his ODP coaching career on Saturday. He was awesome (of course) and the girls loved him ... especially his red Brooks shoes.
4. Had some friends over for dinner on Saturday and had a blast cooking and eating and enjoying some fun.
5. Sunday was Jamie's 12-miler, Maeve's second full day of a yoga conference, and I helped a student buy a new road bike from Craigslist. Fun all around.
6. Ended tonight with Jamie-made burgers and some homemade chocolate chip cookies. Heaven on a plate? Yes.

And what does tomorrow hold?? Hopefully a response from the seller, some fun in the hills of Marin, and absolutely no work. Glorious!

m&j (&m)

Storm hits!

2011-01-12T22:00:00.000-08:00

So apparently there are snow storms everywhere we know people except for here. Two feet in CT. Nine inches in Cleveland, TN. How crazy is that? Luckily all of our peeps are safe and sound, but there is a small part of us that wishes we were there to play in the snow, maybe do some sledding, and surely snuggle in for a few days of no school. Then again, with snow comes the super duper cold. Ick. Here it's been cold, but not that cold. We did have some frost (plants are ok), but with the rising sun the frost disappears. Thank goodness.

The week has been extremely full and fast moving. It's Thursday already? Got in some tough workouts at crossfit, Jamie's been running like a champ, and we've stretched out with some pilates. Not a bad week. We've been falling back into the rhythms of school and it feels like we've been back in action for weeks. Always good to get back into the schedule of work and play.

We do have a big weekend ahead: Jamie's starting his ODP coaching career, Maeve is in town!, and we have a long weekend. Fun times all around. Jamie was hired as an assistant coach for the NorCal U-16 girls team. He's going to be awesome. I know I'm biased, but he knows how to work with girls and they love him. Maeve is coming to town for a yoga conference, and lucky for me it's in SF. She'll be bending and meditating with the best yogis in the world, but then she'll be coming back to our homestead to hang out and have fun! fun! fun!

A shout out to Miss Carla! She's 60. Doesn't look a day over 59.

Lots of baking and some good food this weekend. Wishing you the same.

m&j

Weekend of firsts

2011-01-09T22:34:00.000-08:00

We opted out of Tahoe in favor of some house-hunting, some baking, and some running. Good choice on all sides. Being home this weekend was perfect as we ended up with lots to do.

Jamie headed out on his first long run of this training cycle. He had a doozy of a run with 18 miles on the schedule. Funny how easily the man can bang out the mileage and still look cute upon return. He started with some Crossfit friends, and then ran ten on his own, pacing 7:30 per mile for the last stretch. Not bad. Not bad at all.

In honor of some tasty food I had over break, I decided to whip up a new cupcake to see if some favorite flavors worked well together. In NYC, I had some amazing cannolis. They were sweet and smooth, and reminded me of that fact that, yes, I do like cannolis. Note to self: eat them more often. We also had some cupcakes from a local bakery. While Jamie and I are self professed food snobs, we've also come to realize we're baked good snobs too. One of the bonuses of living in the Bay Area is that we can get really food, fresh food year round. Sure some of the prices are a bit higher, but when things taste amazing, it's worth it. Same goes for baked goods. Unkie led us to this little bakery in East Haven that won a Food Network challenge, but when we tasted the treats we knew something wasn't right: shortening in the frosting and strawberry flavoring instead of strawberries. Not good. But the bakery did make a chocolate cupcake filled with cannoli cream. Could I recreate this inventive treat with a bit more quality? You'll have to come to Cali to taste for yourself, but here's the lowdown.

First you have to make some chocolate cupcakes. I used an old recipe from Teacake Bakery. Chocolate is potent and the cupake is moist.

Then your sous chef uses an apple corer to hollow out the cakes. This also allows for some tasting. So good.

Then you whip up some cannoli cream. After reading a bunch of recipes I went with the easiest thing: ricotta cheese, super fine sugar (regular sugar just whipped up in the Cuisinart for a while) and some vanilla extract. I think fresh ricotta would have been best, but I didn't have that on hand.

Take cannoli cream and fill the cupcakes. You could also fill the cupcakes with frosting or any other delicious item you can think of. For me, this was my first adventure with filled cupcakes.

Seeing as filled cupcakes alone don't excite the eye, I thought a little ganache topping would help. Again, simple recipe: chocolate chips, some heavy cream, a dab of butter, melt until shiny.

Then the finishing touch: drizzle the chocolate over the cupcakes.

And, with extra ganache, pretend to black out one of your teeth. He's so funny!

So that was my baking adventure this weekend. The result was pretty good. Jamie said the cupcake was an A+. With the cannoli cream it was an A-/B+. Might fresh sheep's milk ricotta have raised the grade? Maybe. Might buttercream frosting taste better? Might ganache filling with caramel drizzle be best? Yes. That's for next time.

We also filled our time this weekend booking plans for spring break (Vegas and Grand Canyon here we come!). And we'll have a guest traveler with us ... Unkie! We also checked in on a few homes for sale, but nothing said -- Collie Land. So, the search continues.

Over the last few days Unkie has been sending me some old pictures. He's working on digitizing our family photos (and there are thousands of them) and every once in a while he sends a cute one my way. This one below literally brought tears to my eyes. I don't know why as I've seen this photo plenty of times, but maybe it was the thought of Kerry & I as small children. Maybe it was also the thought of my mom and Unkie running around the yard having fun with us. It's funny how I now view my childhood not as a memory of my own experience, but as a mystery of what it was like from my mom and Unkie's perspective.

Happy week
m&j