Fall Activities and Start to the Holidays in November 2017

November was filled with lots of varied adventures. The weather is usually still nice but the days are fairly short. It feels like we cram a lot into the day. Coming off our October travel to New York, it felt like we were back on the road again in November. We took a quick trip to the beach and spent Thanksgiving with my parents in South Carolina.

This was the first year it didn't feel like we visited many farms in the area during the fall season. We visited one during our trip to New York and two in the Raleigh/Cary area. While the month of November was relatively nice, it seemed like we had colder weather during the weekends. On our farm trip, it was a bit damp. We all enjoyed ourselves, just with some warm layers and raincoats on.

Taking a family tractor ride at Phillips Farm in Cary

Hello Kitty face paint at the farm

Zoe displaying her arm painting

Since we usually have a 3-day weekend for Veteran's Day, we made plans to visit Myrtle Beach. While the sun was shining all weekend, the weekend temperatures were the coldest days of the month. I had found a hotel with an indoor water park. The area was enclosed, had heaters and the water was warm, but I thought you could still feel the cold air when you weren't directly under the heater or in the water. There were large water slides where the entrances were partially exposed to the outdoor air. I made one run and that was it for me. I spent most of my time with the girls in the smaller water features and we all enjoyed the outdoor heated pools and hot tubs. There were few people at the beach, which is how we like it. Even though we had to bundle up a bit, we still enjoyed playing in the sand.

Zoe enjoying Myrtle Beach

Rose enjoying Myrtle Beach

Towards the middle of the month we started engaging in holiday festivities. One of the local shopping plazas had a holiday train, Christmas music display on the movie theatre, and visits with Santa. We missed the vist with the big guy, but did ride the train, watch the light/music show, and sip some hot chocolate. With both girls entering into the ages where they understand and enjoy what's happening, it was a fun start to the holiday season.

Riding the holiday train in Morrisville, NC

I've probably mentioned some of the amazing features of the girls' school before. They are fed amazing meals daily, with a lunch prepared daily and two snacks. The menu rotates, but every holiday they have a traditional holiday meal. Their Thanksgiving lunch sounded just as good, if not better, than our own Thanksgiving day meal. Both girls let me help them dress up for their Thanksgiving Day meal day.

Rose and Zoe before school the day before Thanksgiving

Girls are ready for school in their Thanksgiving outfits

For Thanksgiving this year, we made the driving trip west to spend it with my parents in their new house near Greenville, South Carolina. Colin had a bachelor party to go to in New York and found a decent flight deal out of Atlanta, so we did a fair amount of driving that weekend. We basically drove 4-6 hours every other day for 5 days, from Raleigh to Greenville on Wednesday, roundtrip from Greenville to Atlanta on Friday, and back to Raleigh on Sunday. The drive back to Raleigh Sunday evening was the difficult one for me because it was just me, Darwin, and the girls. We picked Colin up at the Raleigh airport around midnight. I had to be careful not to drink too much so I wouldn't have to stop to use the bathroom! The girls slept most of the way, and the last hour of the trip was a struggle for me.

Our Thanksgiving was lovely, with amazing food and weather. The girls enjoyed playing at my parent's house and my mom's cooking is always so delicious.

Zoe enjoying my parent's yard

Rose loves running at my parent's house

To break up the driving to and from Atlanta, we decided to go to the Atlanta Zoo after dropping Colin off for his morning flight. We spent a few hours seeing the animals, having lunch, and playing on the playground. Both girls took a good afternoon nap during our drive back to my parent's house.

Zoe at the Atlanta Zoo.
Our day adventure to split up the driving to the Atlanta airport

Rose at the Atlanta Zoo

Rose and Zoe enjoying the playground before leaving the Atlanta Zoo

During our non-driving and non-holiday day, we explored the area where my parents live. Campbell's Covered Bridge is a tourist attraction as it is South Carolina's only remaining covered bridge. We got there before the crowds (ie- family and/or engagement photographers) took over, and decided to hike/walk around once the bridge filled with the photoshoots. We managed a few cute photos of our own, but my favorites were not of or near the covered bridge.

Rose and Zoe posing at Campbell's Covered Bridge

On Saturday afternoon, we helped my parents cut down their Christmas tree. It was a first for all of us and fun to find the perfect tree. Rose really enjoyed getting to decorate it once it was set up.

We found my parents the perfect Christmas tree at Christmas Hill Tree Farm

Stay tuned for December adventures!

Grateful this Thanksgiving and Cutest Baby Contest

This year, I'm counting my many blessings. I'm grateful for my life partner who has been my best friend and companion for almost 14 years. I'm grateful for a healthy and happy daughter and the endless joy she brings to my life.  I'm grateful for our hard-working, loving, and supportive families who serve as wonderful role models.  I'm grateful that Colin and I are able to work in professional jobs that allow us to live comfortably. I'm grateful for a house that we are making our own. I'm grateful for the nourishing food we are able to purchase and consume from local and organic farmers (both directly and indirectly).

During this Thanksgiving, festivities which lasted all week, I'm grateful we were able to visit our families.  Although Rose was suffering from a head cold/congestion, she was still the life of the party.

Sporting her new outfit from Portugal

Posing with mommy and daddy

Playing with Tupperware

Climbing on mommy and smiling for the camera 

One of her many laps around the house

She loves her meat!

Rose is not thrilled about taking a break from eating for a picture

After dinner fun with daddy

Not feeling great, but managing a smile for the camera

Clemente Family photo

Selfie with Uncle Mark before going out in the cold

Hoping a bath clears away the cold 

 May you all be as fortunate as I am this Thanksgiving!

Also - there are only two days left to vote in the WRAL Cutest Baby Contest. Rose has the 6th most votes!  You can vote daily these last two days using the following link:

Thanksgiving 2012

We had a fairly low-key Thanksgiving, spent in our home with another couple.  When you live far from family, it's difficult to travel for all the birthdays and holidays.  Birthdays are easier, because most in our family don't fall on any holidays.  But during the holidays, traffic can be a bear and flights are usually expensive.  This was certainly not the first Thanksgiving we spent away from our family.  I recall a Thanksgiving in Knoxville, TN during grad school and I'm would guess there have been others. Unfortunately, the blog does not date back that far to help remind me!

Knowing that we planned to indulge in some delicious food and desserts all day, we mapped out an 8 kilometer (5 mile) run in the morning.  As I've posted before, I'm not a fan of races because they start so early!  In addition, most races also do not allow dogs and we wanted to take Darwin with us.  We decided on 5 miles (8K) because Raleigh also had an 8K Turkey Trot race scheduled.

Since the spring, I have not been running regularly.  I injured my foot in June playing soccer and took most of the summer off from activities.  This fall I played a fair amount of soccer, but mostly went for walks instead of runs on the days I didn't play.  When soccer season ended in early November, I decided I needed to do more exercise. I hadn't gained too much weight since June (about 2-4 pounds), but I certainly didn't feel strong or in shape.  One of my teammates had success doing the 2 month Insanity workouts and I had tried a few videos with my roommate when I lived with her, so I decided to start that up.  I've only done one full week of the program and generally do the workouts every other day (on average) instead of planned 6 days a week.  The way it's going, I'll probably do it in 4 months instead of 2. I have been enjoying the workout program and have noticed that I do feel stronger even after just a week.  My performance and energy during the Thanksgiving 8K makes me believe the program has helped me to gain strength and endurance.

Here are my stats for our 8K Turkey Trot:
5.0 miles in 43 minutes, 5 seconds (avg pace 8:37/mi).

Each of the 5 miles was very consistent and I felt strong for the entire run.  It also helped that the weather was near perfect for running - mid-upper 50's and warm in the sun.

Once we finished the run, we started the longer process of preparing our Thanksgiving lunch. On the menu we had turkey, home-made stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, roasted vegetables, black bean brownies, blucherpepple cheesecake, and banana bread.  Our friends brought the cheese and chocolate fondues (and assorted dipping items) for our planned "evening snack."

The thing I find most difficult when cooking so many different items for a meal is trying to plan them all so they finish at the same time.  We did a pretty good job of putting everything out while hot, but didn't have a chance to clean up the kitchen before sitting down to eat.

I must admit that everything came out really good! We were about 30 minutes behind schedule with eating, but no one seemed to mind.  Colin put out some cheese, pepperoni and crackers, a black bean and cheese dip, cranberry salsa from the farmers' market, and mixed nuts to keep people from going hungry.  But, most of us did not indulge in the appetizers because we wanted room for the main courses (entree and dessert!).

Branches from a berry bush in the yard and fallen leaves made up our centerpiece

A few of my bites of turkey were a little dry, but now that we've had some leftovers there are plenty of really moist pieces as well.  Colin found a way to dramatically reduce the cooking time by spatchcocking the bird and cooking it on the grill.  It only took between 1.5-2 hours to fully cook our 17 pound turkey.  And it left the oven available to cook all the side dishes.

Most of our recipes came from the Food Network's Thanksgiving pages.  I thought the stuffing was by far the best I've ever had. It was so flavorful, with the spicy sausage giving it a little kick and the apples, cider, sausage, sage, and walnuts provided a wonderful balance of sweet and savory.  I've been eating the leftovers for breakfast and this weekend we stuffed it in some peppers and an acorn squash and baked them.  The mashed potatoes also came out nice and fluffy. We didn't keep these as healthy as we could have, choosing to add bacon for some added flavor.  We also added bacon to our baked vegetables, comprised of sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts, and green beans.

My plate with turkey, roasted veggies, stuffing, and mashed potatoes

We made our desserts in the days leading up to Thanksgiving.  Colin was so excited to make what he called a blucherpepple cheesecake, a name and idea he created after seeing the cherpumple cake online.  He bought a pie from the store that was made up of 4 parts - blueberry, cherry, peach, and apple.  He then made a cheesecake with pecan crust and added a section of each pie to the cheesecake and voila!, so he created a blucherpepple cheesecake.  He also made his signature black bean brownies, adding chopped mixed nuts to the crust for a new twist and I made a banana bread.  Everything came out very good and completed a delicious meal.

The blucherpepple pie (bottom) and black bean brownies (top)

During the rest of the afternoon, we enjoyed watching football, checking out online deals, chatting, playing some rockband, and indulging in a little more food.  One of our friends is a Cowboys fan and the other is a Patriots fan.  It was exciting that the Cowboys made it close, but it was a bit too late.  The Patriots, on the other hand, had no problem dominating over the Jets.  While I do like the Pats to win, I prefer to watching closer, more exciting games.

During our brief Rockband session between games and and halftime, Colin rocked the vocals, I kept my usual role on the drums and our friends played the guitars.  After a few 2nd attempts on a song or two, we were playing like pros!  The game pretty much sits unused from March until November and then we rock out during the cold, dark winter evenings.

I didn't take a picture of our "evening meal," which included our appetizers from earlier in the day and some chocolate fondue with fruit, marshmallows, and twinkies (the non-Hostess kind called Cloud Cakes).  It was difficult not to over-indulge, and I'll admit that I did eat beyond being full.  I'm glad these holidays are only once in awhile!

Like most Thanksgivings, I was (and continue to be) grateful for the many wonderful blessings I have in my life.  In these times when many are without work, without love, without health, and without dreams for the future, I am blessed to have them all.  To all those who read the blog, may you also share in many of life's greatest gifts.

Fitting it all in at Thanksgiving!

Now that we are in Raleigh, NC, visiting family for the holidays is proving extremely challenging.  I think a lot of it also has to do with having a dog.  Unfortunately, he hates the car and we hate leaving him behind.

So, this year for Thanksgiving, I took the whole week off to try and see all of the family and bring Darwin along.

We started with a 12.5 hour drive from Raleigh to Rhode Island on Sunday before the holiday.  In the usual fashion, Darwin sat behind the seat, resting his head on the center console for the entire ride.  I can't imagine he's comfortable now that he's too big to really fit in that space!

His body is behind the driver's seat and then twists so he can rest his chin on the console.

We made an hour pit stop in New Jersey so Darwin and I could get out and stretch our legs.  It was dusk when we arrived at Jen's family's farm house, but the dogs still ran around chasing each other for awhile.

By the time we arrived in Rhode Island, I was exhausted and Darwin's stomach told me he was not feeling well.  We both needed a good night's sleep, but had a hard time resting that first night after a stressful day.  It took a solid 36 hours of being "home" and a more restful night's sleep before we both felt normal.

On Tuesday afternoon, I made my way up to Worcester (without Darwin) to celebrate with my dear friend, Juliamy, on her 30th birthday.  Since she works in the schools, the party started at 3pm!  Even though it started so early, we still closed the bar down at midnight!!  I'd call that a successful party.

Here is "my best friend Juli" with her birthday cake.

(Apologies for the "fuzzy" look - it was taken with my phone camera)

After a very filling breakfast a the local diner in Spencer, MA, I made my way back to Rhode Island.  I had been trying to get walks in with Darwin each day after the 12 hour drive, but I decided to up the ante and run on the eve of Thanksgiving.  My parents are so fortunate to have a greenway less than 0.5 mile from the house.  At some point it will connect from Worcester, MA to the southern beaches in RI - but for now it is an easily accessible 8-10 miles of well maintained pavement.  Most of this section travels along the Blackstone river and offers an abundance of opportunities to view, and experience, nature.

While I catch my breath after a 5 mile run, Darwin acts like it was no big deal!

 

While traveling, there are 3 main things I need to feel at my best - rest, exercise, and eating right.  Unfortunately, it's difficult to combine all 3 of these things when away from my routine at home.  I'm pretty good about getting a run or walk in on the greenway when visiting my parents.  It helps that they love to go walk/run as well.  Colin and I also frequently run in the neighborhood at his family's house.  The resting part is hit or miss.  When we try to do a lot, I don't rest much.  On this trip, I felt tired the entire week and didn't really get caught up on sleep until the weekend after I came back home.  Eating is also hit or miss.  My mom makes really delicious foods that are mostly healthy.  During the holidays, there are always a few extra desserts that I really don't need.  I always find myself choosing the less healthy options when I am away from home as well.  On this trip, I did pretty good with my eating - until we celebrated our niece's 1st birthday!

My mom's Thanksgiving spread was amazing!!

My fairy healthy portion of turkey, stuffing, corn, potatoes (white and sweet), and veggies.

I wanted to make sure I left room for dessert (which I will not show you).

From RI it was on to the Albany, NY area.  I think Darwin remembered how awful the last car trip was, so he would not get in the car.  Colin threw out his back getting him into the car (I think he just likes picking Darwin up - but this time it backfired).

In upstate NY, we celebrated Snow White's 1st birthday (our niece) 

with lots of food, desserts, and presents.

Darwin was also a big hit, especially with our nephew Brian.  

As Brian says, "I'm Darwin's best friend."

It took Darwin a little time to adjust to his new surroundings, but I think he was just so happy to be out of the car again.  We managed to get a few walks in the neighborhood, but didn't run because of Colin's back and rested only a little because we snuck in some visits with friends.

So after 3 days in Rhode Island, a day in Worcester, and 2 days in upstate New York, it was time to drive back to North Carolina.  Knowing the Sunday after Thanksgiving would be an awful driving day, we decided to leave upstate NY at 6am in the hopes of beating the traffic (although we had low expectations for south of DC).

Halfway to NYC, we saw the first signs of daylight.

Making just one pit stop in Jersey to get gas, take a bathroom break, and stretch our legs, we made it to DC in about 6.5 hours!  Unfortunately, by noon, people were on the roads heading home.  After sitting in N. Virginia traffic for an hour and only going about 20 miles, I needed to take a real break.  A consultation with Google Maps on our phones allowed us to see that we were very close to "Prince William Forest Park" - a national forest near the Quantico Marine Corp base.  Since it was about 70 degrees and sunny, we pulled off the exit, parked the car, and hiked a 2 mile trail.

It was a really pretty trail and the day was fantastic.  The hour break was just what I needed to rejuvenate for the 250 miles we still had left on the drive.

Thankfully, there was only another hour of traffic before we had 3 hours of stress-free driving again.  I could not have been more thrilled to pull into our driveway - 14 hours after leaving NY - safe and sound.  

I think this image of Darwin summarizes how we all felt.

 

It was great to visit family and friends - but oh so exhausting.  That drive up I-95 is brutal!!  I'm looking forward to having family visit us in North Carolina in a few days for Christmas!!

How do you keep your sanity when traveling long distances by car?