Tag Archives: Maine

May21

A blissful weekend…in pictures.

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A blissful weekend…in pictures.

As I trot off to California for the next four days, I will sear into memory a blissful weekend that I truly believe was even MORE blissful because of shifting my focus and not going into this trip with any sort of ‘dread’ (except for the goodbye to M, which is always, always so hard), but with perspective that it’ll be a fantastic experience, filled with growth.

Without further ado…

Another ‘happy miles’ run with M, even if a bee did chase me and I ran like the wind ;-)

got my sushi fix on Friday night, with a glass of wine on the patio

Impromptu trip to the lake on Saturday…check out that glisten.

got to dip my toes into the lake, not as chilly as I thought, either ;-)

a sister cookout at Jess and Scott’s, never complete without a photo bomb ;)

I <3 my sisters!

Complete with dinner on the deck and a crisp rose, and the weekend rounds out to a beautiful close…

And on a weekend that has marked the passing of my Nonna (May 20, 2009), I couldn’t help but think that this picture perfect weekend is her, smiling down, happy to see the happiness and love in my life, and in my sister’s lives too. I hugged my niece a little tighter, with her namesake (Isabel) and just smiled, my heart happy.

She climbed right up into my lap…and though it was just briefly, it’s captured.

~~~

Sep6

“Celebrate summer, sun-drenched days, starlit nights’ – of summer bucket lists.

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“Celebrate summer, sun-drenched days, starlit nights’ – of summer bucket lists.

While summer’s still alive and kickin’, as Labor Day has now come and gone, I find myself reflecting (again!) on summer and of course, my summer bucket list. How did I do? And what were my favorite moments? Things I still wished I’d done?

Well, let’s start with where I stand vs. my summer bucket list. Of course, there’s still time to do some of these things, right?

  1. Go to an outdoor concert. Sadly, I didn’t accomplish this. I haven’t found a concert in the area that I want to go to, but hey, there’s still time, maybe, right?!
  2. Maine, Maine and more Maine. Check, check, check, check, check and check (the last one also takes the cake as my most favorite moment of the summer)!
  3. Dine ‘al fresco’ as often as possible. I definitely did a lot of this over the summer. At my old place, at M’s old place and most recently, at our new digs. There’s just nothing better than eating a meal outside. I have no idea why, but it is utterly euphoric.
  4. Go to the Cape. Fail. This didn’t happen. Almost, but did not. On my list for 2012!
  5. Run a half marathon. Check, though not as happy with the result of the race, I absolutely LOVED half marathon training during the summer months. That summer run by the beach? Yeah, that will forever be in my memory. Getting lost? Bunnies? Yep, loved that too! And I am still planning that 13.1 redo, I just may need to change the timeframe a bit. Stay tuned on that, friends.
  6. Go to the beach…at least 15 times. I actually didn’t keep track. Fail on my part. I would say I probably hit the beach at least 10 times. So I will give myself a B+ on this one ;-) (hey, it’s my blog, my award system!)
  7. Stomp grapes. Fail. Did NOT do this. HOWEVER, wine country vacation? Snuck up on me…it’s less than three weeks away! 9/21 baby! So maybe I can stomp grapes in Healdsburg? My second love affair to show M? ;-)
  8. Take a walk. A+!! I did this! Quite a bit actually, and I plan to keep at it. Walks have been awesome for me, especially this one.
  9. Go blueberry picking Fail. I was thisclose to picking a few weeks ago but the farm closed early in Maine due to a bad season this year. But I plan to apple pick AND I strawberry picked. That counts, right?
  10.  Roll down a hill. Without fear of spiders, tickets or, yes, getting dirty (this one courtesy of my sis, hehe). Oh, to be 12, again. <– fail,fail,fail. I’m a wuss. Spiders scare me. But I do have a lovely golf course I am staring out at as we speak that is screaming to be rolled down. Perhaps I’ll still do it ;-)

So, as far as my summer bucket list went? I think I fared pretty well.

Things that I wished I had a chance to do?

Take a full week off to go to Maine. Schedule-wise and work-wise, it just didn’t happen this year. But I spent as much time as I could in Maine and would say that I went to Maine more often this summer than previous summers, but didn’t get to stay as long. I would also say that I appreciated the time I was able to spend there, with family, M, friends, realizing that not many get this kind of home-away-from-home. I do. And I appreciate it every single time.

As the summer wore on and M and I took the plunge into finding our new digs, I started to feel in limbo. Half packed, staying at my place, and then at M’s and just in this in-between, can’t-we-be-living-together-already feeling that I felt unorganized and anxious. It put a damper on my mood sometimes, but the move was worth it. Worth every frustration and meltdown. Worth IT!

I’ve lived a full summer. And while I am feeling a little down today as the weather shifts into fall-mode (rainy and chilly vs. hot and humid all weekend…what’s up with that?!), I am going to enjoy each and every summer day that’s left and carry that enjoy-the-season feeling into fall – and yes, winter too – as much as possible. Because it’s not what’s around you that’s important, it’s how you embrace it and live it.

How did you fare on your own summer bucket lists of sorts? Was it kick-ass?

Jul26

What I did on my mini-lakation.

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What I did on my mini-lakation.

Maine never fails to amaze me in how much it can relax, soothe, and rejuvinate the soul. This weekend’s ‘lakation’ as @amber4miles dubbed it on Twitter (great moniker!) came through in spades, as usual.

So, what did I do on my mini-lakation?

…I sunned. As much as I possibly could dockside and floating in the lake on the best ‘floaties’ ever.

…(however), I lost my sunglasses. Sad face. They flipped off the back of my head and down they went, too fast for me to grab. Marc Jacobs no less…but fear not, they were a bargain a la Nordstrom Rack, so I can just get another pair, right? ;-)

…I ran 9 miles! My longest yet. I’m not gonna lie, it was wicked hahd, and I pushed and pushed but there were times I had to walk. And that’s okay. This felt like a very difficult run from mile one. (in hindsight, if the first mile sucks already, perhaps not the greatest idea to keep going on the 9 mile planned run, but with M’s support and pushing, we got it done together.

…We napped like zombies. See aforementioned 9 mile run. We were spent after that. Completely. It was actually good it ended up being cloudy, as we napped on the couch on and off, we read, relaxed and stretched our aching legs. Best place to recover post-run though, I must say.

…Drank lots of wine…and still fit it into my food log to boot (without starving myself!). Score for me?

…niece time at the lake! Isabel was adorable and she rocked the new one-shouldered jumper I got her from Old Navy. SO frickin cute.

…Got my ass kicked at monopoly (and um, finally realized why it’s called monopoly. Yes, I’m slow, folks. Srsly.)

…Played a mean game of dominoes with my grandparents, indoctrinating M into the tradition. And he kicked ass! My grandparents were questioning whether he really never played before and call rematch. Game on, grandparents, game on ;-)

…Drank a delicious Bloody Mary with Jess while Scott and M made it their mission to drink many, many beers. On the dock.

…became engrossed in ‘Mercy’ by Jodi Piccoult and vow never ever ever to be in a relationship or marriage that is 70/30 or even 60/40. It takes two to make it work, not one (if you read the book, you’ll understand what I’m talking about, a sidestory about a marriage that is definitely one-sided).

…enjoyed some loving, quiet, beautiful moments with M, as he became as relaxed as I’ve ever seen him, and seeing him settle into a place I love so much made my heart happy.

…didn’t wear a lick of makeup or do my hair at all. Um hello, lake hair is sexy, right? (as M said, when he called me beautiful and I scoffed – since I clearly cannot take compliments well – and said ‘the true test of a woman’s beauty is when they are most natural. you are beautiful’ *um, blush* I love this man).

…took some funny pictures...which I’ll actually post here too, because well, we know I’m not really that anonyomous anymore, right? And they are hysterical, some of them.

That’s about it. It was phenomenal. Can’t wait to go back in three days :-)

...the lake on Saturday evening, effects courtesy of Instagram

Saturday morning, I do believe, as we began 8 hours dockside...

the biggest Bloody Mary. Ever. Yum.

the cutest niece e-ver. She is such a water baby!

faux-halk!

'Normal' shot rocking the lake hair...

...and the pictures get funnier. This is hysterical!

and the funniest picture I think we've taken yet (was a hit on Facebook - LOL)

happy feet in the lake on Saturday evening...ahh bliss.

mini ghetto champagne bottles and monopoly? heck yes.

 

Jul22

A sunrise summer run…in pictures.

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A sunrise summer run…in pictures.

It’s going to be 100 degrees here today in New England, so what better way to squeeze in a 5-miler than at sunrise, near the beach (where it’s cooler)? I captured some gorgeous shots of the run I did with my friend Steph (doing the half with us again this year! woohoo!) this morning and to me, they echo what I absolutely love about summer.

And almost the best part? This route was relatively hilly and I did it!! I wasn’t scared, I motored through the hills and just stopped when we took some pictures, for the most part. I feel as though the weight has lifted and I can call myself a runner again. It’s beautiful, isn’t it?

Without further ado…enjoy…a sunrise summer run…in pictures.

mid-run, just had to stop and capture this serene view.

 

Beautiful cove area that was just glowing this morning.

 

This looks earlier in the run than the others, but I just used a different camera, absolutely love how this came out!

 

We made it! The beach we walked across as our reward for conquering the heat, humidity and well, early morning ;-)

Looking back at where we walked from...love the water lapping at the shore.

Hipstamatic print of the beach, such a cool effect!

our shadows cast on the beach as the sun rises. bliss.

Happy weekend friends…I am off for a four-day weekend upta camp in Maine and I.cannot.wait. In dire need of some unplugging, relaxation and time with M, my family, and about four books ;-)

Jul10

Of learning patience, lobster rolls, major tannage, and thunder, like whoa.

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Of learning patience, lobster rolls, major tannage, and thunder, like whoa.

Maine was utter bliss this weekend. The weather was absolutely fan-frickin-tastic and it was wonderful to share Maine in all of its glory with M. Finally.

Sure, we didn’t get there at 5 like I wanted. Sure, M was running late at work and as hard as I tried not to get frustrated that we weren’t on the road until 5, it still showed.  I couldn’t mask it, nor did I want to or feel I should. I just said ‘yes, I am frustrated that you are here later than I thought. But it’s not your fault, nothing you could have done to change that, your job is your job and sometimes you end up running late.’

We drove in silence for a bit, as I shook off the annoyance (as did M, who was just as annoyed at the circuitous day he had, though hoping for a simpler one). Then M mentioned that he diagnosed a patient with leukemia this afternoon. Wow. All that frustration I was carrying over his being late? Melted away into me feeling like a complete ass. (not his intention for sharing that detail with me, but to share that his boss gave him kudos for the work he did diagnosing it). This is an area I continue to work on – patience – with his job and knowing that sometimes, it just has to take precedence.

Anyway.

Despite that rough start? The rest of the 24 hours in Maine was filled with the best lobster roll ever (at least since last summer! Heh. And of course I found a way to fit that sucker into my food log!), surprising my grandparents with the visit (the look on their faces was wonderful, so happy to see us), a quiet evening drinking a glass of wine with my sister and brother in law – complete with the loudest thunderclap I have ever heard. Swear to God, I had a minor heart attack), and major lake time on Saturday.

Tannage, like whoa.

…makes me happy, like whoa.

Unfortunately, we had to drive back Saturday afternoon for a wedding (another one!) and didn’t get to spend the entire weekend up there. However, the next two weekends? Maine. Completely. (with one being a four day weekend for M and me, mini vaca style!).

The best part about Maine? How slow time goes. That 24 hours felt like 48. Another great thing about Maine? Stress, worry, and the day-to-day mundane melt away into utter summer bliss.

Cheers friends…off to enjoy the rest of a beautiful, top 10 weather weekend with one hot man. ;-)