A weekend with Dave...

Dave Matthews Band that is! Both Friday and Saturday night was spent about 30 miles north of Albany at SPAC (Saratoga Performing Arts Center) where 35,000 people each night (which is a sold-out crowd by the way) rocked out to the music. Kolby and I went with our good friends, Christi and Clint, as well as his boss Rob and his buddies. Between tailgating, grilling up burgers and enjoying two gorgeous summer days we definitely enjoyed the two-day adventure to the fullest. I haven't seen Dave in ten years since my senior year in high school at Red Rocks, which was amazing, and I thought two nights in a row sounded a bit silly but I have to say that no matter how long it has been or how often you see them play, DMB puts on a great show. Thought I would share a few photos of the weekend -- mainly of us with our friends Christi and Clint -- unfortunately, no cameras allowed at SPAC. :(

New love and new project...Going green baby!

When I would visit my sister Kim in San Francisco during college one of my favorite things to do was to stroll the Saturday morning farmer's market, pick up a cup of coffee, munch on a nutella and banana crepe and taste fresh fruit, cheese and treats to my heart's content. Really nothing can compare to that. Although I don't believe any local food market could be as enormous or varied as the SF one, I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised by the market here in Troy, NY -- a suburb of Albany. Every Saturday from May to October it is outside on the edge of the Hudson River offering fantastic fresh produce, flowers, honey, wine, baked goods, cheeses, meats, eggs and homemade soups, spreads and dips. I go religiously every week (at least when I am in town) with my large market tote and cash in hand to pick up my essentials: veggies, fruit, pesto spread or bruschetta topping, a scone for the morning and maybe one new thing I haven't tried yet. The food is so fresh it lasts all week long and the flavor doesn't even compare with grocery store offerings. Here is my latest bounty -- I feel like I should have a cornucopia on the counter and be wearing a bonnet on my head. :)



The other fun "green" thing I have recently taken up is using an outdoor clothesline. I have been thinking about it for a long time and although I don't want to hang my knickers (is that how you spell that?) on the line for the neighbors to inspect I do think workout clothes, towels and linens are ideal for drying in the sun. Hey, if we are going to spend a fortune to cool the house no point in running a dryer too! Saving money and making a small change to benefit Mother Earth is great by me. What supplies do you need? Just a clothesline rope and some clothespins from your local big box or hardware store -- less than $10 for it all. If you don't have a big enough space to do this on your balcony or patio you can get a retractable line for inside your home. Functional but not unsightly. :) (I even used this idea for post-fodder on Green Daily -- check out the post here!). Anyhoo -- here is my first attempt... it seems to going well!

The garden brings color to my desk ... and a new friend to the deck

All the gorgeous flowers I was showing you earlier made for some colorful bouquets on my workspace -- plus, peonies make my kitchen smell so fresh.



Oh! And I have a funny story to tell... the other night Dillon was making these strange low growling noises with little sharp barks out on the deck. Seeing as she is usually very quiet and noise usually means there is an animal in the yard I figured I had better investigate. When I got outside with a flash light I found Dillon cornering a toad (or is it a frog?!) and then she licked its back (which led her to paw at her nose and make awful faces with her tongue out -- apparently toad doesn't taste great raw)! Here's the little guy -- I made Dillon go inside so she wouldn't paw him to death. Too cute!

Short trip to NYC!

A week ago I took the train in from Albany to NYC so I could visit with a good friend from Sioux City who is originally from Long Island and visiting her folks for the week. Jenna, and her adorable little guy Will (who I am so mad I forgot to take a picture of!)and I met at Penn Station late morning, made our way over to Central Park for a leisurely stroll and shared a fantastic lunch at a small cafe on the East Side of the park. (We also shared some uber-tasty cupcakes to go with our perky lemonade on the way to the park). It was so great to see Jenna and have a rare moment of girl-time face-to-face instead of over the phone. :) After just a few short hours I was back on the Amtrak heading north for an evening softball game with Kolby. The trip was certainly worth the train ride, which by the way is fantastic -- views of the Hudson River the entire length of the trip, free WiFi and the perfect spot to catch a few zzz's in the afternoon.

Catching up...

Since my typical photo upload method (arg! Kodak Gallery) is not cooperating, and I really would like to post more photos on my blog, I am catching you up with a myriad of pictures of our yard and a few new projects I have undertaken.



Here are my new herb pots which have creeping thyme, mint, sweet basil, flat leaf parsley, chamomile, lavender and rosemary along with a banana pepper plant, shallots and a couple of geraniums.





The amazing peony bushes in our yard are in full bloom -- the small one has the magenta colored blossoms and the huge bush has pale pink blossoms... they smell incredible.



The irises were short-lived but gorgeous. There were also a few other pretty flowers but I don't know their names.




I can't forget to share with you the Grill Master (Kolby) who is showing off his outdoor cooking prowess. :)

Spring has sprung!

Since our home is finally "in bloom" (and, as usual, we are discovering just exactly what is planted in our new garden) the pictures of the first signs of spring should be shared. So far a few tulips and lots of green stuff we aren't sure of. The two trees covered in white blossoms are actually quite stinky (reminiscent of dead fish if you catch my drift) which was a rather unsettling discovery. But we see the beginnings of lilies, possibly iris and peonies and a lilac tree that is sure to smell better than the two we have blooming currently. Here's to more fragrant and colorful findings! :)

While I am sharing photos...

So, a few weeks ago we went to check out the Maple Houses in Vermont -- yes, this is where maple syrup and all manner of maple treats are born. There is one open house weekend out here that seems to be the height of maple touring and we figured since we never know how long we will be in one place it is best to take advantage of such opportunities as they present themselves. Luckily, we have a couple of friends, Christy and Clint, who also like to try new things. Perfect!

Off to Merck Forest we go -- about 1 1/2 hours away -- to enjoy a blueberry pancake and homemade sausage breakfast smothered in all the fresh maple syrup you can handle. :) (Admittedly, I am not that much of a maple syrup fan but Merck's sticky sensation was heavenly!) After our scrumptious meal we toured the barns where new baby lambs and piglets awaited. Precious really. And they even hand a handful of small draft horses that were beautiful.

Such a gorgeous day too -- we had just been snowed on the night before and had blue skies all day. Couldn't have been more fun.

Piggies and Lammies -- Oh my!

MIA since Sept. '07!?!

Ridiculous! I say, if you have a blog, use it! Well, it doesn't sound like I am using my own advice these days. To be fair, we moved AGAIN. But that was a while ago. Last time I posted was September -- it is now April!! wow. Quick recap -- in October, while still working for Opportunities Unlimited in Sioux City, Iowa, I began working for AOL as a blogger (coolest job EVER!). The two sites I post for are Green Daily and Luxist and although polar opposite in their scope, they are equally rewarding to work on. Then, we got the news we were moving again -- this time to NY! Sounds cool at least. :) Looked at houses in November, moved our stuff beginning of December, and have been living in Albany since.

Still working for AOL and the rest of my time is devoted to my thesis -- yes, still working on that. :) Although now it is considered to be an enjoyable project. Besides that I am working hard to get in shape and looking forward to a LOT of outdoors time here on the east coast.

There you have it -- returned and hopefully better than ever! :)

Cheers!

And it all comes together...

It's amazing to me how when you start to really focus on the truly important things to you and the goals you really want to accomplish, everything just comes together. For instance, the biggest goals I have currently are to finish my thesis and lose a few dress sizes! Instead of trying to do every other little thing I wish I could do (and be Superwoman simultaneously) like keeping up my piano and guitar playing, singing, horse back riding, becoming a tri-athlete... I instead chose to CHOOSE. I CHOSE to separate my "wants" from my "needs" and VOILA! I have control and focus and determination... my long lost friends. :)

Funny how just choosing to do those two main goals (while maintaining my 9-5 job) I have found simplicity, peace, inspiration and a smile.

I hope each of you can find and hold onto this sense of direction I have re-discovered and long-awaited.

Happy Seeking!

Picture courtesy of my friend Sabine - beautiful.

Less is More

This expression is applied a lot and for good reason. Recently I find that so many people, both men and women my age (late 20's, early 30's), are living beyond their means and their years. Let me explain -- I live in Sioux City. Not exactly the Big Apple or San Fran where young professionals seem to be racing to meet fashion, housing and entertainment standards beyond their budgets. Yet even in a midwestern town lovingly nicknamed "Sewer City" I meet people weekly who are my age adorned in Gucci, Coach, and Tiffany's items and they are struggling to pay their water bill! Come on people -- doesn't it make more sense to keep the lights on than wear the newest, goggle-sized sunglasses just because you saw it in a magazine? With winter around the corner I'm thinking my heat sounds better than cold, metal around my neck with some girl's name on it.

So enough of my soap-box -- just wanted to shed some light on the fact that although we may not have EVERYTHING we want (live-in masseuse, anyone?) we at least pay our bills on-time, in full, and don't have debt up to our eyeballs.

Hellooooo!

WOW -- so how long has it been since I last posted? Almost 2 months!! Crazy. I have no real excuses except the fact that my computer did get a nasty virus for a few weeks and that certainly curtailed my blogging efforts. I have also been out visiting or being visited a lot lately too -- to Minneapolis and San Francisco and having Ali come to Sioux City! :) Its been loads of fun but I am back to business and that means I am back to blogging. :) I know, you truly missed me.

So, probably should do a little update on life and then I will post some more on my recent discoveries. First of all, although making good progress on my thesis (YAY! Its about time.) I am not making consistent progress on my healthy lifestyle. I have had some shining moments (followed by Blue Bunny ice cream binges and a week full of pizza!) and have remembered some long lost lessons in healthy eating and habits which has been a relief! But still seem to have a long road ahead. Yet there is some hope for me since I do feel I have been focused on keeping a positive mindset about weightloss and exchanging my current ways for better, happier, more energetic ones. :)

Here's to a new month, a fresh start (again) and back to blogging. Its gonna be a good September. :)

Picture courtesy of www.allposters.com

Great Friends!!!!

I currently have at least three countdowns in progress, even though two of them lead to the same day. One is till this school year is over and I'm done with school, again! Another is till the end of summer school, Friday at approximately 10:30am. This countdown leads to a very exciting countdown of my visit to Laura and Kolby's!! Yes ladies and gentlemen, I'm off to Sioux City, Iowa! As Laura and I made plans for my visiting, I realized how much it means to me to go and visit those that are the most important in my life. Especially since most in that category live at least 4 hours away from me. This realization has just given me a new vigor in my efforts to keep in touch with my friends, because most of them are not know for being good at staying in touch(Laura is not in this group!). I think that staying in touch with those we care about the most helps us to be a better us. They are part of who we are. Sadly often times they are the ones that we neglect first, counting on the hope that they will always be there! So send a friend an email that you haven't sent one to in a while, I know I always like to get actual emails from friends!