Holidays

Our holiday vacation is coming to a close. Christmas came and went with Sean and I being surrounded by family and friends. Here are some photos from our gatherings.

Christmas 2010

Letter

Festive

It's that time of the year again! The festive time, when everyone is jolly and joyful. I love this time of year. I, of course, jump into the season much faster than Sean. He takes a little time after Thanksgiving to get into the Christmas spirit. But he does humor me and let me drag him along to the tree farm to get our tree. He's a good sport about cutting it down and hauling it to our car and helping me set it up in the stand. After that, he's hands off and I do the decorating. Well, he does put the lights in the outside bushes , for which I'm thankful. Winter even got into the decorating spirit yesterday. At least I think that was what she was doing when I caught her carrying an ornament in her mouth! The house is mostly decorated, the air is brisk, and now I'm going to revel in the celebrations, parties and excitement around me.

Happy festive time to you all!

A Day Off

It's Friday and I'm not at work. Ahh! So refreshing. Parent-teacher conferences were held this week. That means that we teach our normal schedule and then hold conferences in the evenings and before school when we can fit them in. We do get the today off as a trade-off day. I'm so thankful for that. If I had to teach today, there's a pretty good chance it would have been movie day . . . all day. So my plans for my day off are as follows: no plans whatsoever. I am sitting here typing this procrastinating a run with Winter, but after that, nothing. I'm lovin' it!

Follow Up

Since this blog has taken a back seat to Facebook, I rarely ever look at it. But this afternoon, I took a peak and realized that we haven't posted a thing since the summer.

Just 2 posts ago, I wrote about running. I'm glad to report that I am still running and actually finished the "Run the Bridge" race again with my friend Malayna. I also have worked back up to running 10 miles, so I'm on my way to running a half marathon, hopefully by next spring. Winter keeps me motivated too, as she's started running with me. She's a great companion.

The Year of Fun continues. Since the last post, we took a Disney vacation with my parents, sister and her family. Walked miles and miles and sweltered in the heat and humidity, but have a marvelous time. We took another trip out to California to visit Sean's brother's family. As always, we had a ball! Sean purchased a Triumph motorcycle in August, upgrading from the Ninja. He's been on several rides with a group from church. Loving every minute of it. Just 2 weekends ago Sean and I took another weekend trip to NYC and saw "Promises, Promises" and took in the sights of New York. Always a good time.

So, you can see we are still enjoying ourselves. I asked Sean what happens when the Year of Fun ends. He said we just move into version 2.0. :)

Lazy Days

It's hot! It's humid outside. I have this one last week of school ahead of me. We are going into summer mode . . . starting with a Sunday afternoon nap.

Running

I hate to exercise. Really, I do. I'd rather sit on my bum and read a good book. However, I force myself to exercise in the name of Health. Back in college (quite a few years ago now) I had to run regularly for a Life Fitness class we were required to take, and thus began the on again, off again relationship I've had with exercise. I ran throughout college, avoiding the freshmen 15. After college, I didn't run as much but would go for a jog here and there. As time went on, I didn't do much of any kind of exercise and if I did, the exercise was sporadic. I hit my later 20s and realized fitting into those jeans wasn't so easy. The metabolism was starting to change. Hate that switch we women go through in life! So I picked up the running thing again and threw in some Pilates. I started seeing results and stuck with it through my wedding at age 29. But soon after wedded bliss wore off, I got lazy again. About 3 years ago, we joined the gym and with my pal Aimee by my side, I regularly visited the gym, mixing in cardio and weight training. I felt good and although there were times I truly slacked off the work out regimen, I made the effort. Along the line, my other friend Jodi asked me if I wanted to start running with her, to train for a 5k. Sure, why not?! So we began training and I got myself up to running a 5k (that would be 3.1 miles if you weren't so sure of the conversion). But I never did run an actual race. But thanks to Jodi, I was at least running and moving, burning those calories. This fall, my old friend (meaning we have been friends forever, not that she's old) Malayna asked me to run a 10k (again that's 6.2 miles). Not realizing what I was doing, I agreed. So I began training and in November ran the bridge from Camden, NJ to Philly and back again. And I lived to tell about it. Without a goal though, I didn't do much until February when another friend (what is with my friends and the running!?) Erin asked if I wanted to run the Philadelphia Broad Street 10 Miler. Again, I readily agreed to the crazyness and began training. This took some serious effort. I had never run that far EVER! Well, I'm pleased to report that this past Sunday, Erin and I (and that old friend, Malayna, even though this was nothing for her since she's already mastered the half marathon at 13 miles. She rocks!) ran 10 miles! It was 90 degrees and humid. Thankfully the race organizers had arranged to have the fire hydrants turned on as sprinklers. What a relief from the heat! But we did it. We finished well! Now here's the dilemma. I've finished the race. I have no new goal. Will I continue to run?

NYC

Last weekend Sean and I took a break from our busy schedule and headed to New York City. We stayed a block from Times Square, right in Midtown. I love the energy of the city and we felt it as soon as we walked outside. Sean had only been in the city for any length of time once before, so I really enjoyed seeing it through his eyes. He just soaked in the sights and smells and sounds. It does give one an adrenaline rush at first. We started off our weekend by making our way to lunch at Ellen's Stardust Diner, a tourist trap, but fun nonetheless. We meandered up through Central Park and browsed through The Met. Feeling too lazy to walk the distance back, we hopped on the subway to the Empire State Building. Thank goodness I had planned ahead and purchased the express pass. We were able to cut to the front of every line at the Empire State Building. I'm sure we would have waited 4 to 5 hours otherwise. The view was amazing from the top. It helped that the weather for the weekend was perfect. Later Friday evening we dined at a little Irish pub around the corner from Times Square and since the night was still young we moseyed on up to Rockefeller Center and people watched back in Times Square. Saturday morning dawned sunny and bright, so we jumped on the subway and headed down to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Again, purchasing tickets ahead of time pays off and cuts down wait time. As always, Lady Liberty was moving. I believe that Sean really felt the meaning of it all with his own story of moving to a new country and starting over. The Ellis Island experience was just as poignant. We kept telling ourselves that someone's father, mother, brother, sister, etc. once walked the great hall and waited nervously to find out if they would be allowed to stay in America. A wonderful experience. Feeling tired, we went back to the hotel to rest a bit before grabbing a bite to eat and making our way to the theater to see Wicked. And what a show! We loved every minute of it. That was our final hoorah for the weekend and what a fabulous note to end on. We had to head back to reality on Sunday. Thankfully, Sean was taken in by New York too and is already thinking of when we can head back.

Enjoy some snapshots of our weekend . . . Link

Year of Fun

Wow, we've really fallen behind in this blog thing. Yesterday, my cousin asked me if I was still blogging and I thought it might be time to post something.

At the start of the new year, Sean declared this the year of fun. We've had a lot of stress and frustration in our life over the past few years. So he decided that we should let it all go and just have fun. Not a bad idea! And fun we have had.

In January, I spent a weekend with my college roommates in NYC and Sean bought a motorcycle. Too bad it was a bit too cold to ride it. He still managed to get a few icy rides in. He also started playing several gigs at McCleary's Pub with the Matt Goss Band. In February, we spent a lot of time doing things with friends and took a trip out to Chambersburg to spend a weekend with my parents. March brought Spring after a LONG winter, and that in itself was FUN. We made our annual trek to Cove Valley Camp for Maynard and Friends weekend. Great times with old pals. The best news of the month turned out to be that my sister and her family have moved back to PA for good! I'm so glad to have them nearby again. And just last weekend, Sean and I took a mini-vacation to New York. More on that to follow. As you can seen, the year of fun has started off on the right foot. More fun is on it's way as we move into May and the summer.


For those of you who do read this blog, I hope this brings you up to date. Hopefully we can keep up with it in the future.

The Girls

This weekend was the annual roommate reunion weekend (minus one. We missed Kristin this weekend). This year we headed to New York City. Holly and I were looking forward to our first journey on the train from Lancaster to NYC. We all met up at Penn Station and the talking and giggling began. Right away we went to find our hotel and check in. Lunch was on the agenda immediately after that. Following lunch at PJ Clarke's we headed over to The Met (mostly to get warm, the weather was colder than cold). After meandering and warming, we took a stroll through Central Park on our way back to our hotel. There was a bit of complaining about the frigid temperature, but Kelli . . . and the rest of us survived. For dinner, we met up with Jen's friend Heather at 5 Napkin Burger, where we saw a "famous guy," at least that's what we kept calling him until we figured out that it was Victor Garber (played on Alias, Titanic and now has had a few appearances on Glee). Dinner was delicious and the company was, as always, spectacular. We did go to bed fairly early. We're no spring chickens anymore. Sunday dawned icy cold, but clear. Jen ventured out in her PJs to bring us back some hot coffee and cocoa from Starbucks. Thanks, Jen! Then the four of us made our way to the Empire State Building. Tip to travelers: go to all the tourist sites when it's freezing outside. You won't have to wait in line! We took the elevator to the 86th floor observatory. In spite of the wind and cold, the view was spectacular. Crystal clear skies and views. When we could take the cold no longer we checked out the sights from inside. It was time to say goodbye to Kelli after that. She had to go home and we had some more time on our hands. So Jen, Holly and I jumped on the subway and headed over to catch the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. I had never been there and it was beautiful. Though I was wishing for warmer shoes. I had some concern that my toes would be frostbitten. We couldn't go up the Statue on Sunday, so we just took some photos and looked around. After that, it was time to part with Jen and we said goodbye to her at Penn Station before Holly and I made our way to our train. I'm already looking forward to next year's reunion. I love my friends and am so thankful that we just pick up where we last left off. True friends are a beautiful thing! Love you girls!

Photo Link

Christmas in California

This year Christmas was in California for the Steele family. Sean and I flew in late on Christmas Eve and we all met up at Glen and Amy's house in San Jose on Christmas Day. After enjoying some restful family time, Glen, Amy, Sean and I went on a little excursion to Napa Valley. Nana and Grandpa stayed behind with B. We toured and sampled at several wineries, had dinner at Mustard's Grill and stayed over a night at a lovely hotel. The next day, the 7 of us headed into San Francisco to poke around The Presidio, walk along the beach, and eating lunch at the Warming Hut near the base of the Golden Gate Bridge. And we did need to get warm. It was brisk and chilly along the water. On our last day, Sean, Glen and I headed down 17 Mile Drive to end with lunch and a bit of sight-seeing at Carmel-by-the-Sea (where Clint Eastwood was once mayor . . . I found that to be interesting). Of course all vacations must come to an end, so Sean and I headed back to PA on New Year's Eve. At least we got to enjoy a little luxury by upgrading to first class. Now we are home and reunited with Winter, who apparently "had a blast" at the kennel while we were having a great time in California. We are slowly easing into the new year and trying to get our bodies onto eastern standard time. Enjoy these photos of our trip . . . Link

Happy New Year!

Bye Bye, Puppy. Hello, Doggie.

Happy birthday, Winter! One year ago today she was born in the snow. This is what ten months of expensive dog food will do to your puppy.

Winter at 8 weeks.

Winter at 12 months.

Dog Brushing Follow Up

Sean never posted a photo of dog brushing. Well, here's Winter and her new grooming table. She hates it. We love it.

Letter

Dog Brushing

Winter is nearly a year old. We have gone from a small puppy jumping gleefully up and down to a massive polar bear roaming around our house. Grooming her has become a twice weekly event. We need to do this, or her big beautiful coat stars to get matted, so tonight Marci and I assembled a new grooming table that helps a lot.

She has also taken to burying her bones in various places in the yard. Strange since we give her more than enough food. Last night Marci watched as our dog skillfully and carefully tried to bury her rawhide in the couch. Very cute I'm told.

We hope to transition her from the crate soon - just not sure I trust the massive beast alone in our house all day by herself. The fear of coming home to pieces of our furniture is still all to real.

She loves the snow - she romps around outside in the cold loving every minute of it, I guess with that big coat she doesn't feel the cold too much. Winter is still in love with the neighbor dog - "lucky" When she was a pup he used to knock her right off her feet, now at a full gallop towards him from Lucky runs for cover.

If I get home early enough and let her out, her favorite part of the day is to sit on the front lawn and wait for the school bus to drop off the kids. A few of them walk by and give her a nice pat on the head and a hug. She just sits there, and then trots off to the backyard, ready to give Lucky a good stare down.

We love her, she's full of character. Marci tells me all the time that she thinks she's the cutest dog ever. I cant help but agree.

Sean.

Tree Time

It's that time of the year again. Christmas tree and decorating time! I love this part of Christmas. The tradition of getting a tree. When Sean and I first were married, my sister-in-law and I made the men go with us to pick out and cut down a tree. While it was fun for us to do it together, I don't think Sean fully got into the spirit of it all. Having come from South Africa where Christmas is during their summer time and they don't have a Thanksgiving that marks the beginning of the holiday season, he didn't quite understand the importance or tradition of it. For the past several years, we just chose a pre-cut tree from the local nursery. This year I was determined to have the "experience" of going out and cutting our own tree. This was something my family had done many times and I loved it. Instead of braving the shopping foolishness on Black Friday, Sean (a little reluctantly) and I ventured out to Elizabeth Farms, north of Lititz. It was windy and cold, but I think that added some excitement. The farm is fantastic, very old and historic. Sean and I spoke with the owner himself and learned that it had been in his family since the 1750s. There are 3 or 4 farm houses throughout the farm and a huge manor house. For the past few years it has been run as a Christmas tree farm. So, we sipped hot chocolate in the basement of the old barn to brace ourselves against the elements. Next, we hopped onto a large wagon pulled by two very docile mules. We were taken out among the thousands of trees and left to our own devices. Grabbing a saw, we traipsed here and there over the hills and muddy ruts in search of the perfect tree. Not too wide but fairly tall with fragrant branches but not too many dead spots in the center and few holes among the branches. Finally we found it, our 7 foot tall Fraser fur. Lovely. It had a few imperfections, but don't we all!


Then we loaded it back onto the wagon to return to the barn where the tree farm workers would shake off the loose needles and bale it for us. We wandered through the gift shop and Santa's workshop while we waited for our tree. It was much warmer inside. Finally, we carried the tree (it was a bit heavy) and shoved it into the back of the Subaru (which, by the way, is great for hauling Christmas trees) and headed home for some decorating. On the way home, Sean commented that I was right, getting the Christmas tree was fun! I think the pungent smell of pine was going to his head! Or maybe he truly was getting into the spirit of it all.

New Look Take 2

Looks like I fixed the blog look. I have nothing really to blog about but I'm glad I could "pretty it up" again.

Blog Troubles

I'm not sure why, but my pretty new blog design went missing. Hmmm? Until I can come up with something else new and pretty, plain old is what you get.

Organization

For those of you who know me well, know that I'm the queen of organization. I can't help myself. It's the only way I function. So, this weekend I completed a new organization project. My closet. I've been wanting some sort of system since we moved in two years ago. Finally, I found a nice little DIY system at Lowe's. It's nothing fancy, just Rubbermaid. But it had all of the little components that I wanted and a low price tag. Sean helped me hang the hang rails and uprights and I finished it off with the shelving, rods, drawers and bins. I have to say I'm pretty pleased with the final result.

Now if only I could get Sean to let me organize his closet!

Blog's New Look

Notice anything different? I wanted to change the look of our blog for some time and just haven't had time to play and figure out all of that html code and other tech stuff. I found Simply Chic's blog with simple designs and very easy instructions on how to change the background. So, for now, here's our new look. It's different and still not too girlie so that Sean can blog on it too. :) I may have to play some more and see what I come up with.