When You Reach Your 30's, It's All About Babies

During our holiday travels along the northeast, we were able to visit with some friends and meet the babies that have been born in the past couple of years.  A few we had met before, but some were brand new.  Since leaving NYC 2.5 years ago, so many of our friends have had babies.  And, I have a few friends from college that live in the Boston area who have also had babies in the past two years. I guess that's what happens when you reach 30 and the biological clock starts ticking louder!  In our mid-late 20's, we went to at least 2 weddings each year, and now those friends are all starting their families.  With a wedding, the celebration brings friends and family together, but it is more difficult to visit a new baby with things like germs, sleep-deprivation, etc. that make it a challenge for new parents.

Here's a recap of the cuteness we experienced!

18 month old Mackenzie is precious - just look at those eyes

We met Mackenzie when she was just 3 months old and had not seen her since.

She had no problem being our buddy and showing us around the house!

1-week-old David was such a little peanut. Holding a newborn is always slightly stressful, 

but he was so light compared to the 18-month-old!

Our 25-month-old niece, Isabella, was infatuated with Darwin.

Thankfully, he didn't mind all the attention!

We were lucky to get a great photo with our niece and nephew

Our nephew was not even 2 when he was the ring bearer at our wedding. He is growing so fast!

20-month-old Riley and 22-month-old Callan instantly became friends.

They had some moments where it was tough to share,

but got over each problem quickly

I caught 1-month-old Lainey (Elaina), Callan's sister, mid sneeze.

As with the 1 week old, she was such a peanut compared to the older kids!

Children have certainly changed the lives of our friends and I loved getting to spend time with our friends and their youngest family members.  Neither Colin nor I have spent a lot of time with kids, and we had a wonderful experience with all of the kids during our visits. There was hardly any crying, and a whole lot of joy.  We spent most of our time with Mackenzie, who was just so sweet and happy. I'm not sure I've ever met a more content child.

Two of our friends also announced that they are expecting their second child. Both Mackenzie and Riley are each going to have a younger sibling in June!

This holiday season, 'twas the year of babies.

Do you seem to meet more happy, or cranky babies?

Christmas With Our Families 2012

This holiday season we decided to take a tour of the northeast, stopping to visit friends and family along the way.  From North Carolina, we drove up the I-95 corridor, with a stop in Baltimore to sleep, before continuing on to NYC, upstate NY (Albany area), Boston, RI, and back through NYC to NC.  We drove about 1800 miles during our 10 day adventure.

The first post from our travels includes details about our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day celebrations.  We spent Christmas Eve with Colin's family in upstate New York.  Being the only family members not living in the area, it's easiest for us to travel to visit the family than for the other 8 members to travel to us!

The Millers beautiful Christmas tree is overwhelmed with presents!

We decided to open presents before dinner, and our 8-year-old nephew Brian distributed the gifts to everyone.

Two-year-old Isabella was one of the main attractions at Christmas!

She loved her tea set, stuffed animals and books.

The living room is filled with people and presents

Brian couldn't wait to put together his legos

Our Italian Christmas Eve dinner (and oyster soup for the fish eaters)

On Christmas Day, we woke to 2" of snow on the ground and stockings filled with gifts from Santa.

The snow is a beautiful backdrop to the Christmas decor

The Millers must have been good this year because Santa filled the stockings!

Colin and I had wanted to do something for others for the holiday, and since most community volunteer opportunities were filled, we opted to cook brunch for the family instead.  On Christmas Eve, we prepared The Food Network's Sourdough Strata and Sausage, Apple, and Walnut Stuffing, so it was ready to be cooked on Christmas morning.  I had made the stuffing at Thanksgiving and found it to be a delicious breakfast item.  The second time I made it, at Christmas, it was not as good as the first time because I used Sourdough bread and non-spicy sausage.  The Sourdough Strata was the highlight for me and most of the family.

The Sourdough Strata (left) and Sausage, Apple, Walnut Stuffing (right)

Before setting out for our 3-hour drive to Rhode Island, we managed to get a few holiday photos of the family.  The toughest, by far, is to get 2 kids and a dog to sit still, look, and smile at the camera at the same time!

The Miller crew, minus one, on Christmas Day

Darwin, Isabella, and Brian almost all looking at the camera

Thankfully, it had snowed the 1-2" overnight and the skies remained mostly clear during the afternoon drive from Albany to RI.  We arrived to dinner in the oven, more presents under another beautiful tree, and the Clemente family ready to welcome us with open arms.

The Clemente tree is also filled with presents

An amazing dinner consisting of lots of vegetables, pork and ham

The Clemente's on Christmas Day

After pictures and dinner, we opened our gifts.  It was funny that my brother, Colin and I all got sneakers!  I guess we all want to help each other stay fit in 2013.  Even my parents received exercise gear (just not sneakers).  I love that my family is motivated to stay as healthy as possible and supports each other to exercise! 

Showing off our exercise gear

To continue with our tradition, we ended the night jamming out to Rock Band! Colin tested his abilities on hard and I managed to save us during a few songs by doing the vocals and the guitar at the same time!

It was wonderful to see all of our family and to spend some time with each other during the holidays. 

Stay tuned for more on our holiday week adventures! I'll warn you that there will be lots of pictures of very adorable children!

What is your favorite holiday memory?

With the Miller family, I love that the family, presents, and wrapping paper fills the living room when we open gifts.

With the Clemente's, I love that we jam to Rock Band.

A Conference at The Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC

Five days after returning from the Pacific Northwest, I had an opportunity to present at a conference in the western part of North Carolina. Our state hosted 8 other states that comprise the Southeastern Associate of Area Agencies on Aging (SE4A).  The conference was held at renowned Grove Park Inn in Asheville.  This hotel has a long list of awards and accolades from Travel + Leisure, Conde Nast, and other popular travel magazines.  It is also listed as a Historic Hotel of America.  People gasped and voiced their surprise and envy that I would be presenting at a conference at the prestigious hotel. After all, I work in state government and we are not known to hold conferences in nice hotels.

Sure enough, to lessen the costs, staff were expected to share rooms (2 people per room). I was very lucky to have a room to myself for the first night since I had to be there early for my presentation.  Sharing a room with my coworker for the other 3 nights was not too bad, but I will admit that it is awkward to sleep in the same room with someone you only know from work.

When I arrived at the hotel, or rather "resort," I was impressed with the enormity of it all. Everything just seemed massive! From the golf course, to the buildings, and even fireplaces on either side of the lobby were enormous.  I was most impressed with the brick facade and stonework inside the building, until I experienced the spa. I'll share more on the spa experience later.

One of the two giant fireplaces in the lobby

The courtyard of The Grove Park Inn from one of the hallways

The outdoor portion of the spa in the foreground, golf course in the background

The view of downtown Asheville (to the left) from the courtyard

on one of the beautiful sunny days

My hotel room was unimpressive. It looked like a room inside any hotel and the double beds were actually very small. I didn't mind since I had the bed to myself, but it would have been very cozy for two people.  I assume they had king beds for couples.  I also had a room without a view. It looked out to a driveway and some bushes.  I did appreciate a K-Cup coffee machine with regular coffee, decaf, and tea. Other than that, there were no exciting amenities in the room.

My hotel room

During the conference, North Carolina had a room that was used as the hospitality suite, which was stocked with snacks and beverages.  The first day of the conference ended with a reception that brought most people to the hospitality suite for an "after party."  The room was packed and there were a few people that definitely had too much to drink!  Other than the first evening, the room was used for people to hang out and relax together.  The theme for the room was the 1950's and the decor was fabulous. It made for a perfect place to get together.  That, and the amazing view of the mountains and downtown Asheville!  My favorite part was the Murphy Bed.  Colin and I talk about getting one someday!

The 1950's room at The Grove Park Inn

The conference itself had some high points and low points. The sessions I attended, and the one I co-lead were all very informative and very good.  It was also nice to see people that I work with from all over the state. There were a few good keynote speakers as well, except for the final speaker at breakfast on the last day.  I did not enjoy the storyteller, Bill Thompson, share his "Front Porch Stories" about traditions in North Carolina and The South.

I could go on a rant about how terrible the food was, but I'll only describe the breakfasts, which were the worst I have ever had at a conference or in a continental breakfast.  On the first morning, the only choices were sausage or ham biscuits. And they put out jelly - for what, I'm not sure. Then there was juice and coffee.  That's it! As a dietitian and someone who strives to eat well, I was appalled.  The second day wasn't much better when they put out 2-3 varieties of pastries. I heard that the food vendor at The Grove Park Inn changed after the conference costs were agreed upon, so the menu had to change and that food was all that could be offered at the approved price.  It angers me that pastries are so much less expensive than real food like fruit!  Thankfully, I did enjoy some good dinners by leaving the hotel and eating downtown.  Asheville is a foodie's paradise with lots of options for local farm-to-fork foods, vegetarian, and vegan options.  You would think that a place like The Grove Park Inn would strive to bring some local foods to it's patrons. But I think that everything about the resort was expensive (to keep with the "enormous" theme).

A conference room in The Grove Park Inn looks just like one in any other hotel

I did take some time for myself to enjoy the highly acclaimed spa one evening.  We had the option to go on a  tour of The Biltmore Estate, but since I have been there twice already, I decided to go to the spa instead.  I debated between the Spa Access Twilight Pass and the 50 minute Classic Massage.  I mainly wanted to spend time in the spa, enjoying the pools, sauna and steam rooms, but I also really wanted a massage.  The pass to the spa for the evening was only $50, while the massage was $129, which included being able to go to the spa all day.  I decided it would be unlikely that I would ever go back to The Grove Park Inn - unless I could convince some girlfriends for a weekend retreat - so I went all out with the massage.  The massage and a couple of hours in the spa was just what I needed after 2 weeks of travel in the Pacific Northwest and 3 days of the conference! I enjoyed the hot and cold contrast pools, steam room, sauna, waterfalls, and swimming pools for an hour before the massage and then went back for another hour after the massage.  I wasn't allowed to take pictures in the spa, but there are a few on the hotel's website.  

In my experience, the hotel is not worth the $300+/night price tag, but the spa is definitely worth a visit.  I know Colin wouldn't enjoy it, and we wouldn't be able to enjoy the steam room or saunas together since they are in female and male-only areas. The spa would be a great experience for a girls getaway.  Maybe I'll convince some ladies to go to Asheville with me some time. We can stay in a less expensive hotel, go to the spa, and eat delicious local food in downtown Asheville!  Any takers??

Have you ever been to a conference where the conference rooms were amazing and the food was delicious? If so, where was it?

In my opinion, conference rooms look the same everywhere I go. They usually have hideous carpets, fluorescent lighting, and dark walls and chairs.

Driving Through The Hunger Games' District 12

Shortly after coming back from the Pacific Northwest, I attended a conference in Asheville.  On the drive to Asheville from Raleigh, my colleague and I decided to check out one of the locations where The Hunger Games movie was filmed.  We are both fans of the books and thought it was so cool that the movie was filmed entirely in North Carolina.  Unfortunately, most sites were too far for us to drive and visit, but "District 12" is literally a mile off the highway.

Halfway between Winston-Salem and Asheville, we got off I-40 and drove the mile south to the deserted town called Henry River Mill Village.  There, we saw the small, run-down houses filmed in the movie and Peeta's home (the bakery).  I took a few pictures of my own, but there are a few websites that show more pictures and provide greater details.

The bakery was the only distinct building I could recall from the movie, but it was cool to be in a place that was likely swarming with film production staff and actors not that long ago.

Peeta's home - the bakery scene

The sign tells people who are on a Hunger Games tour to stay away

I wouldn't really think of North Carolina as being a hub for movies, but I was recently directed to a casting company on Facebook that is constantly looking for extras in the Charlotte, Raleigh, and Wilmington areas.  The group filmed The Hunger Games and Iron Man 3, and films the TV shows Banshee, Homeland, and a new show called The Witches of East End.  I haven't submitted myself to be an extra, but maybe I will one day.  I don't have the patience to wait in line for auditions, but maybe I'll get a big break by submitting a picture during a call for extras.  For those of you that remember, I was the face for United Way of NYC for awhile!  The image below was on the back of UWNYC folders, on the sides of phone booths in the city, and on lots of our brochures.  Someone once told me it was on a billboard, but I never found it.  

Have you ever been an extra in a movie or TV show?

Where have you seen famous actors/actresses?

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.

Mountains From the Air and Salt Lake City

We had some amazing views of the mountains in the Pacific Northwest from the plane on our way back from Portland to Charlotte (via Salt Lake City).  Shortly after take off, Colin pointed out the mountain peaks we could see looking north out the window. We basically flew right over Mt. Hood, which is only 60-65 miles from Portland and we could easily see Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams in Washington.

Mt. Hood in the forefront and Mt St Helens, Mt Rainier, 

and Mt Adams from left to right in the distance

Flying over Mt. Hood

The skies remained clear during the 2 hour flight from Portland to Salt Lake City, so we had more great views of the city and the lake during our arrival into and departure from the city.  Rather than sit in the airport for 4 hours, we decided to go into the city to grab some lunch and explore a bit.  Since it was a holiday (Labor Day), the free shuttles were not running from the airport to downtown, but we were able to share a cab with a traveling musician who also had some time to kill before his show.  

Our view of Salt Lake City from the plane on our way in

One of the things that surprised me was how wide the streets and city blocks were.  All of the streets lined up in perfect squares and the roads were about 6-8 lanes wide.  And, walking 5 city blocks, with a backpack filled with 2 weeks worth of gear, in the middle part of a hot summer day felt very difficult.  The other surprise was seeing the mountains pop out from the end of the roads.  The landscape reminded me of Las Vegas - but oh how different the city is!

Wide city streets and blocks and mountains in the distance

We came across some cute city plazas and parks downtown as we made our way to Temple Square.  Just before arriving there, we stopped to take a break in a very cute outdoor mall.

A plaza in downtown Salt Lake City

I had never seen any pictures or images of Temple Square before our arrival, so I didn't know what to expect.  Thankfully, there were some informational boards in the square that shared information about what we were looking at.  Coming from the south, it was hard to miss the massive, 420ft, 28 story, Church Office Building. This building towered over almost all buildings in Salt Lake City.  As we entered the square we were also surrounded by beautifully manicured lawns, flowers, fountains, and walking paths.  Once in the square, the prominent 222ft Salt Lake Temple took center stage.

The Church Office Building in Temple Square

The perfectly manicured lawn in Temple Square

Salt Lake Temple

We didn't have enough time to do a lot of exploring on the grounds or in the buildings. Being a holiday, I'm not sure if any were open. But, I later found out you can go to an observation deck on the 26th floor of the Church Office Building and see amazing views of the surrounding landscape.  I'm not sure we could have gotten much better views than from a plane though!

Instead of exploring Temple Square, we decided to get lunch. Using our trusted Yelp.com app, we made our way to The Copper Onion, a highly rated "foodie" restaurant with a NYC chef.  Colin ordered the steak salad and I ordered the portobello mushroom salad with the side of chickpeas.  As is our routine, we shared each our our plates and is difficult to say which was better. They were both delicious and well worth leaving the airport to experience.

Steak Salad at The Copper Onion in Salt Lake City

Portobello Mushroom Sandwich and Chickpeas

With an hour and a half until our plane's scheduled departure, we called a cab from the restaurant and made our way back to the airport.  I tried to get a better picture of the mountains "hugging" the city from the cab.  

Looking west at downtown Salt Lake City

We were back in the airport with plenty of time to get back through security to our gate.  In fact, we ended up waiting at the gate for over an hour because our plane left a little late.  I was so glad we didn't sit in the airport for over four hours, breathing that stuffy air and eating over-priced, crappy food.  Going into downtown, walking around (even in the heat), and getting a good meal made the long day of travel so much more bearable.

On our departure from Salt Lake City, we had more clear views of the surrounding landscape and the Great Salt Lake itself. 

 

The Great Salt Lake, Utah

The 3.5 hour flight to Charlotte was mostly smooth and relaxing and we actually arrived in Charlotte 30 minutes early.  Unfortunately, because the Democratic National Convention was getting ready to begin, the airport was crowded and the gate was not ready for us to arrive.  So, we sat on the plane for 45 minutes and ended up arriving 15 minutes late.  Between our long layover in Salt Lake City and flying to eastern standard time, it was after 11pm in Charlotte when we reached our car.  We could have stayed the night and drove back to Raleigh in the morning, but still being on Pacific Time meant we were awake and alert.  The 3 hour drive home wasn't too bad, but it was difficult to get up early for work the rest of the week.

Overall, I would say the trip was a tremendous success.  The highlights for me were Crate Lake, Mt. Rainier, and Napa Valley - all places where we had lots of sun and fairly warm weather.  I was a little disappointed in the cities - the homelessness in Portland and the dreariness of Vancouver especially. For me, Seattle was okay, but I didn't find it to be overly exciting or impressive in any way.  It was actually very funny that Colin and I listened to an NPR podcast on the drive from Charlotte to Raleigh where the discussion centered around moving to, and living in, Seattle. The main speaker shared a comparison between NYC and Seattle. She indicated that both cities contain people that are aloof and like to "do their own thing." The difference however, is that in NYC, people dress up in suits and skirts, while in Seattle, most people wear "grungy" clothes. The podcast was amusing because Colin seems to love Seattle and those that know him know how much he loves NYC. But, he would much rather wear jeans and t-shirt every day instead of having to wear a suit.  Maybe that is why he is so drawn to the city!

I hope you have enjoyed reading about our trip to the Pacific Northwest as much as I've enjoyed recalling the details about it.  Over the past two months, as I've blogged about the trip, we have had additional adventures here in North Carolina.  I can't wait to tell you about staying in the Grove Park Inn for a conference in Asheville, and camping on the beach in Wilmington.  Stay tuned for those posts.

What did we miss out on in Salt Lake City?

What amazing views have you experienced from a plane?