Our First Snowfall

Over the last seven days I went from trying to get very fine sand out of everything to getting snow and ice of of everything.

Honestly though, the snow does make things much prettier than sand.

The park ... a winter wonderland

Ice then snow does make a tree look nice

Our rosemary plant

Happy Thanksgiving ... and a more timely Happy Birthday

For that have never heard I do like Nashville. Some may find that strange given my frequent rapid changing of the radio if I find a country music channel but Nashville is so much more than country music. Nashville for me is about family, good food, lots of stories and the roots of music here in the US. And those roots have touched places all over the world.

It is in Studio B in Nashville where Elvis recorded over half his recorded music. You had Chet Atkins, the Everly Brothers, Johnny Cash and so many more that to even think I could make a dent in the list here is ridiculous. This trip allowed me to see a lot of that. We took a tour of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Studio B (you can see some pictures here). The best thing about it is we had a tour guide who had recorded in Studio B as a individual recording artist as well as a backup singer but also had performed in Nashville at the King of the Road hotel for many years and knew a lot of the artists personally. Now I get to call her Momma as she is Laura's mother, Kaye.

Kaye knew Chet Atkins so well that she got Jim, Chet's older brother, who first taught Chet to play guitar, to try and teach Laura to play guitar. It was not a success but Laura did enjoy the times Jim bought her candy. Kay also knew Dolly Parton well along with countless others like Brenda Lee. As we walked through the CMHoF she had stories for just about everyone and when we looked at the Hall of Fame plaque wall she knew about 2/3 of them.

Studio B was just as amazing. She was telling us how things worked in there, where people would stand for best effect and where and why she would stand as a backup singer. It was so much fun ... and we took a few pictures that you can see in the other link.

But the weekend was not just about touring musical history. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with all the Bell ladies as well as a wonderful evening after sitting at Laura's sister's house eating pizza and looking through boxes of old pictures and even found a copy of one of Kaye's albums. The boxes were from Laura's Dad and had lots of pictures both old and more recent. Pictures from his days as personal body guard for General Eisenhower. Again the stories about the family shed a whole new light on them but showed that no matter how challenging things become that you can overcome and if you persevere you can be whomever you want. Now there are three beautiful Bell women who each have their own success and successful families. While early days may have been challenging they still can come together on special holidays and celebrate who they are and what they have achieved.

I left Nashville with a new sense of my wife and her past. I have always been proud of her and now I see how she got to be who she was.

My wife is not the only one I am proud of ... my little sister has a birthday today. She has had her own challenges but she also perseveres. She has been taking care of my Mom and Dad, and they have been taking care of her when needed. But without each of them I know neither would have been able to be happy. I hope today she remembers all the good times and she looks forward to the good times that are left to have. We will make sure she has some of them when her and Mom come up for Christmas.

Happy Birthday Michelle - we love you!

Family

The last few months for me have taught me a lot about family.  I don't want to imply anything negative because in fact the last few months have taught me that family is so much more than just the people who share the same genes.

This really hit home after October 11th.  My father had just celebrated his 89th birthday,  my Mom's birthday was that weekend.  Dad was waking into the kitchen when he fell.  This was nothing like a call he had a few months back but the effects certainly were much worse.  The ambulance came and took him to the hospital where they determined he had broken his hip and would need replacement surgery.  My Dad has been a strong man over his 89 years battling breathing challenges,  cancer and the call earlier the year but this was a lot.  My mom was worried as was I. That weekend they did the surgery and the first few days were very much touch and go.

My mom cannot drive and my sister has not been able to drive for the last few months so they relied on others to get them to and from the hospital. Mom never had a problem there as family stood up to help.  And not just our blood relatives.  Her neighbors,  her church family and everyone in between stood up to help.  Whether mom need a ride to the hospital or home or my sister a ride to a doctor's appointment someone was there for them.  Mom had people offering to take her out to eat so they did not have to worry about coming and had lots of people bring all kinds of home cooked food to make sure they ate well.  These same people made sure to stop by the hospital to see how dad was doing and to make sure mom and my sister were comfortable and had someone to talk to. 

For four weeks our very extended family,  friends, neighbors and church family looked after things. On November 7th a new level of even greater caring began when my father passed away.

The next few days were hectic but also reaffirmed my belief that family is so much more than blood.  There were a lot of dad's and mom's family that were looking age things including my mom and sister but also a lot of family friends picking us up at the airport,  making dinner for mom and coming to celebrate dad's life.  There were people from his church,  old family friends and people that had worked with dad starting 50 years ago.  The stories are great to hear and just reaffirmed my belief that my dad was a very strong man with great values.  He taught others, as well as myself,  the idea that hard honest work is a great thing and that song the right thing is always important.  Those ideas so be with me forever ...

As well as the memories of my father.  I know my mom and sister will miss him and I know I will as well.

I love you Dad and I hope right now you are resting well

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Ok, I do know Halloween is not until Thursday but I carved the pumpkins yesterday while Sam was baking cupcakes with some of her friends from school and Kris worked on her class work. 

Sam wanted Jack Skeleton from Nightmare Before Christmas. After carving that we were trying to decide on what to do with the second when we came up with the idea of a zombie pumpkin.

So here you have The Walking Dead meets, our should I say eats, The Nightmare Before Christmas

Determination

People have always said I am stubborn - I always said that I was"determined". I now know that my determination comes from my parents. 

For those that do not know my Dad has had a challenging few years.  Many years ago he had angina.  That has largely been handled.  8 years ago though he was diagnosed with colon cancer.  He was 80. A major surgery and a hospital stay resulted in double pneumonia.  We were sure he would not make it.  I was preparing to head to the National Karate Championships and then to Japan for the World Cup so I had heard back home to Newfoundland in case I would not get to see him again.  5 years after that my Dad was at Laura' s and my wedding.  That made my heart soar.

This spring my Dad went to go out and left their apartment and fell down a flight of stairs,. Thankfully he did not break anything but a fall like that takes its toll on a now 88 year old man.  We visited him late in July/early August.  We spent time cooking and eating,  going for a drive and a beer.  We talked and laughed.  Myself and Laura left Newfoundland happy.

A little over a week ago Dad went to go to the kitchen.  He fell.  This time he broke his hip.  This hospital trip was now going to include a trip to surgery.  At 89 years of age I guess it was time that the suspension got updated.  But at 89 any surgery is tough and when you have breathing problems like COPD, even more so.  The doctors were not confident he would make it after the surgery and the frantic calls were made.

The evidence of stubbornness is that I talked to him yesterday and today he is feeling great (his words). Now I am not one to live in a fantasy world.  You can face challenge after challenge but at some point the odds are against you.  In this case the odds are not just the hip and the breathing problems but also a new discovery of cancer in the lungs,  liver and spine.  I do not know if this is a case of "odds against you" being true but as both my Mom and Dad have said - he has lived a good life.  I know I have learned a lot from him - especially about treating people right.

All along my Mom has looked after him.  50 years in.  Putting up with the type of stuff that Laura now puts up with - which astounds me after 3 years let alone 50. She is a rock and so is my sister who is still in Newfoundland with them.

We will wait to see what happens with Dad,   hoping for the best all along, but I will always be proud to call Donald Thomas Moore MY Dad - no matter what happens.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my Mom's birthday. I think she said she was 29. 29 what I am not sure but I know she has the liveliness of 29.

I know today was not the easiest of birthdays for her - and in fact the last few months have been challenging but today is also Thanksgiving Sunday in Canada and I know she will say she is thankful. I know she will say she is thankful for her health and the fact that she can help others. She would say she is thankful for the fact that my sister's surgery went well and she is improving. I know she will say she is thankful for the fact that her loving husband of 50 years was able to give her a birthday kiss today. And I know she will say she is thankful for her friends and family that have helped her through things over the past few years.

I know one thing - I am thankful that she is my Mom. Thankful that she was there to teach me, even when she tried not to show it, and that she was there to sit and talk with me for days when I had my own problems to face.

I love you Mom. Thank you for being there for us. I promise we will be there for you.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary Sweetheart!

Us in NFLD

It has been an interesting third year. There have been lots of adventures ... some good and some, well
less than ideal. But the wonderful thing that has been through each adventure you have been there ... right beside me and I would not want it any other way. Maybe this coming year we can do more of the "less challenging" though ;-)

I know we have had some bumps in our third year ... job changes, starting the new company and the occasional, well slightly more than occasional, need to help out our kids. The wonderful part has been that you have been there to support us throughout every moment - the easy and the challenging. You have been a wonderful mother and a partner that anyone would be proud to have beside them.

This year also saw us go to Newfoundland to see my parents. Now I want to meet their record and hit the 50 year mark and I would only want to do it with you. Of course that means I will be 96 and maybe I will not be running like I do today but I will promise to show you I love you each and every day.

Thank you for the last 3 years and I look forward to the next 47. I love you today even more than that day 3 years ago when I said "I do".

Happy Anniversary!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!

Today is my Dad's birthday. I won't divulge his age but he was almost 40 when I was born.

Eventhough the last few years have had bumps in the road I am very thankful that when I call he is there to talk to and very thankful that when we are in Newfoundland we can go out and have a beer. He has always been there to help guide us, whether through what he said (or yelled) or through what he did. I learned a lot from my dad ... things that have helped me be successful as well as things that I have passed on to my children so that they may be successful. I hope they pass those things onto their kids.

We love you Dad and we are all glad you are around to celebrate another milestone.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Race Weekend #2

This past weekend was the second of my half Marathons over the last 8 days. The Canada Army Run
is a big event - about 8500 half-marathoners and over 10,000 5k runners. I would expect that there was likely more registered for the 5K but it was wet and cold early so maybe a few stayed away.

The race was great - I ran the half marathon and Tika ran the 5k. It was crowded, a bit windy, very cool and I did get wet from the occasional shower but I still managed a good run finishing just 2 minutes off the weekend before at 1:46:41. Tika also had a great run - consistent throughout her entire race and finishing in 30:30.

What made the weekend even better was getting to spend time with Tika while staying with our friends Malcolm and Lynne. Myself and Tika spent Sunday at the race, then she had us go to a great little restaurant on Gladstone called Pressed, where we had lunch with a couple of friends of friends, Nadia and Dennis. After lunch we did some shopping and then headed back to Malcolm and Lynne's so I could cook dinner. We had some great meals with the Browns and always great conversations.

There are a few pictures from the weekend - some of the official race photos and then some taken by my friend Tracy who also ran the half Marathon. You can see the pictures here.

If you need more than pictures there were raise videos at the finish.

Check out 34:55 in the video. I was wearing a yellow/orange long sleeve, black hat and had a red coat on my right hip.

And in this one you can just get a glimpse of Tika at 33:03 you will see a girl in a black top and pink tights all the way to the right on the screen - she is coming up to the finish and she crosses a couple of seconds later next to a guy in a yellow shirt

I may do one or two more races before the year ends but likely will be shorter ones just to have some fun.

Happy Anniversary!!!!

I wanted to do a very special post today. September 20th is my parent's 50th wedding anniversary and I first wanted to say how much I love them both but I also wanted to say CONGRATULATIONS! 

The happy couple

Anyone who gets to celebrate 50 years of being with someone is lucky. I know they will both say that there are times when doing that seemed unlikely but I know that you love each other and will always be there to support each other. It has not always been easy ... and having myself there to challenge you all through high school and college did not make it any easier but you persevered as a team and made it through that. 

I know I would not be the person I am today without the guidance each of you provided and the support you gave me together.

We all love you and hope you have a wonderful celebration today

First of Back-to-back Weekend Races

Yesterday was the second running of the Navy-Air Force Half Marathon and my second running of it. It was a great day for a run - in the 50s and a bit cloudy to start and then clearing off.

This is not a big race - not sure why. It is in a great running town, a few weeks before Marine Corps, so a good training race, a flat course and through the memorials and into Rock Creek park. I guess I should not complain as I do not have to dodge people but this should be an 8-10 thousand person race. Now they do also have a 5 miler that seems to have done greater attendance.

For me this is a great run. Now this year we basically did a reverse of last year, which I personally did not like as much but it is like saying I don't like milk chocolate as much as dark chocolate - it is all chocolate and yummy. Like the chocolate this was still a great run. I had lots of great people to pace against and setting the wounded warriors racing and running is fantastic.

I did end up with another PR, both for the course and for the distance, which is always a bonus - so the getting older and faster is still holding up :-). Official time 1:44:10. I cannot wait to run it again next year. But before I look to 2014 - next week it's the Canadian Army Half in Ottawa. I hope the weather is as good as it was yesterday.

A Real Hockey Fan ....

For those that did not know, Martika is a big hockey fan. We actually did a trip just so she could visit the stadiums for different hockey teams and also to visit the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Last week she was walking down the street in Ottawa when she was approached by a guy for SensTV to see if she do a short interview. The video is about 5 minutes and she is at about the 3 minute mark but it is worth watching the entire things.

Click HERE to go to SensTV to see the video

One More Week

Next week is the Air Force-Navy Half Marathon. The first of back to back weekend races. Next weekend's race is Saturday and then I will head to Ottawa the following weekend for the Canadian Army Half. That will be a fun weekend since Martika will also be running a race that weekend, a 5k. It will be a challenge to do back to back weekend half marathon races but I am liking forward to it and I plan to have fun.

A Great Birthday Long Weekend ...

Now everyone in my family may not agree with that opening title as I was sick with a stomach bug for 4 of the past 5 days BUT none the less I had a great birthday as I leap into my last year of the decade.

The week itself started out great with Kris getting her citizenship finalized .... FINALLY. But that also may have been the day when I contracted whatever it was I had. We had lunch at a sandwich shop that we have been to many times but by my birthday Wednesday I was not feeling great. I did wake up to some beautiful sunflowers and a gift of a great bottle of port. Not that I would have the port for breakfast but .... no I did not.

Since I was not feeling great the girls waited until Thursday to cook me a great meal. And they really did all the cooking. Grilled lamb chops, some with fresh rosemary and others jerked; fresh asparagus and; sweet potato fries. It was delicious. Laura topped it all off with a nice carrot cake - always my favourite. They also treated me to some new hot sauces, I am well stocked now, some of my favourite chocolates and Kris and Sam found me some plates that I just love. It was a great evening but not the end of my birthday celebrations .... according to my wife.

On Friday morning I was told to have an overnight bag packed. Laura came home early and we grabbed our bags and got in the car and she said we were heading to Paris! Ok, what she really said was head towards Upperville and we ended up in Paris, Va. In Paris there is a little inn called the Ashby Inn. It is somewhere Laura and I have been reading about for a couple of years and wanted to try so she booked us a night at the Schoolhouse there and reserved a table at their famous restaurant. It was good fortune to that she did it for this birthday as their chef, who has really revived the restaurant, is leaving shortly. We had a great meal, nice cocktails, good food and good wine, on the outdoor patio overlooking the rolling Blue Ridge Mountains.

The next morning, a nice sleep and a great breakfast at the restaurant. Everything was great.

A big thank you to my girls for cooking a great meal, and cleaning up after, and of course to my wonderful wife who helped them out with organizing things and with cleaning up and of course with
setting up another wonderful birthday trip to a fantastic local inn with great local chefs.

Happy 49 Honey!!!!

I hope that this year brings the many successes that you deserve. It seems that no matter what happens you are always there smiling with arms open, cooking pans ready, and encouraging words giving comfort to all of us that everything will be okay. I truly believe that you can fix anything (even crashing curtains in NFLD), BBQ a rock and make it taste good, build a Jeep in closet space blindfolded while smoking cigars and and drinking bourbon............and most importantly make us smile, make us feel loved, makes us feel important, make us family. I love you and I want this to be your year ! Laura

Citizen Kris

Today Kristen had her formal naturalization ceremony. She, along with 48 others, officially became US Citizens. It is always interesting to attend these ceremonies. Along with the Canadian Kris there were people from Afghanistan, Albania, Burma, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Germany, Iran, Korea, Mexico, Morocco, Nicaragua. Nigeria, Pakistan. Russia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Thailand, Turkey, The United Kingdom, Vietnam and Yemen.

It was great to see all the exited people and parents.

One of the nicest ...

This is one of the nicest recent pictures of Mom & Dad. They were celebrating an early 50th anniversary with some of Dad's sisters who came back home to visit

Sending lots of love

Some pictures from our trip to Newfoundland ...

Click on the text below the picture and it should take you to the full album

 

Full Newfoundland Album

July 4th Weekend

We extended ourJuly 4th weekend a little bit.

We started the weekend with our new neighbours and a smoked leg of lamb on Wednesday evening.

On the 4th the girls were over and we grilled some burgers and hot dogs and I made a cake for everyone. Friday we were both off and we spent the day relaxing - a great picnic at Barrel Oak Winery for lunch and a nice quiet afternoon.

Saturday we went out for a nice relaxing afternoon kayak on the Occoquan Reservoir and finished off the weekend with some homemade pizza - including homemade pizza sauce. It was a great long weekend and we have a few pictures to share.

Smoked Lamb Pizza

Laura in Old Town Mannassas

From the Folklife Festival

 

The Girls trying to stilt-walk

Happy Canada Day!!!!!

Today is Canada Day. Woo hoo!

Today is also the 97th anniversary of the Battle of Beaumont-Hamel which was fought on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. Beaumont-Hamel is an important piece of history for the Province of Newfoundland & Labrador. In 1916, Newfoundland was officially the Dominion of Newfoundland, and while no longer a British colony its ties to the Commonwealth and to the Crown were strong and contributed greatly to the First World War. Beaumont Hamel was the Royal Newfoundland Regiment's first major battle. Under the direction of British officers the RNR were the first troops over the top at Beaumont Hamel when it was believed that a prior attack had breached the German lines. The lines were not breached and when the RNR went over the top they were the only attacking troops on the field of battle and faced the full force of the German defensive positions. 22 Regimental Officers and 758 other men went over the top. The following mornings roll call had 0 RNR officers and 68 men in line. Only one other British regiment faced greater losses than the RNR.

For the men who served in the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, for all Canadian Armed Forces members, past and present, I want to thank you for your service and on Canada's 146th birthday I want to wish you a ...

HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!!

Morning Paddle

Took this panoramic shot this morning while out kayaking

A fantastic Fathers Day

I had a great day yesterday ... thanks to all my girls. An early message from my beautiful daughter in Ottawa, and an afternoon with Laura, Kris and Sam made for a great day. Some BBQ for a picnic before we kayaked at Fountainhead Park was a great way to start the afternoon and an ice cream in Clifton a great way to end it.

Thank you all. Here are a few pics of the day

All loaded up

Sam ready yo go

Kris seems excited ... even though exercise is not her thing

The rewards of an afternoon kayaking

Happy Fathers Day Dad!!!!

I think Mom sent me this picture a couple of years back. I just love it. It is no wonder I still like old

cars and still do my best to look after them it was obvious you did and I think I learned my best from seeing your example.

I want to thank you for all you have done for me by living that example ... working hard, being strong and firm but also letting us make our decisions, not being afraid to get your hands dirty and do do the things that needed to get done. You taught me to be able to do things myself and to do things for others as well. You were always willing to help others with whatever they needed and I know that I learn a lot from other people by doing that as well.

Thank you for always being there and thank you for being such a wonderful father.

Happy Father's Day. Love you

The Brutal Race Weekend

So it may have been the new kind of race, it being my first trail race; it may have been that the temperatures were in the high 70s to low 80s with high humidity; or it may have been that this was my 3rd weekend in a row racing but it was a looooooong day Sunday morning.

If you have been reading you will see that this is the 3rd weekend in a row that I have raced - a hilly half in Fredericksburg two weeks ago and, a nice flat 10K in Ottawa - but both I did personal bests in - Fredericksburg for the race and Ottawa for the distance. Yesterday was the North Face Endurance Half Marathon. Well it was called a half but everyone I spoke with had it at over 14 miles - but we all ran the same course so all the runners were even.

The weekend started out well - I stopped by North Face in Georgetown between meetings and picked
up my race packet - including a nice new shirt and some SmartWool running socks. It was actually really good since with the new clearance on the Jeep street parking is more critical in Georgetown and I found some right away. Saturday was an easy day and Sunday I woke at 5:30 to make sure I was all fueled with protein and carbs - Canadian Bacon, Waffles and banana for breakfast and snacks as I headed to the race start.

The race seemed very well organized until the announcer stated that we would pick up a water bottle at the first aid stop at about 2.5 miles but it would not have water until we filled it at the second stop which was supposed to be at mile 8.5. REALLY - 8.5 miles without water other than what we carried - and most people planned based on the aid stations being equipped. Well after some quick work they rectified that and we had water in our water bottles at the first stop.

The course itself was a good course - very scenic. Well not that you saw that since if you looked anywhere but down and two feet in front of you you were face planting after hitting a root or rock - I know - I did it when I looked up to see if I could find a place to pass. I had to look for places to pass as we had about 2-1/2 to 3 miles of anything but single track - and it was truly single track. Thankfully the start was mostly on wider trails so I moved ahead a bit over the first 2.5 - 3 miles but even in those first 3 miles we hit single track where it became obvious that this race would be dictated by how big a crowd was in front of you.

The Course and Elevation Profile

Once we got into the continuous single track there were lots of obstacles - some small that would catch feet and some very large that require clambering, jumping, wading or scrambling up muddy embankments. Of course that plus the inability to pass made it near impossible to get and set a pace. At mile 5 I was thinking about that - how to set a pace - but after 10 miles of climbing, jumping, falling, scrambling and sprinting where I could I realized that this was called Endurance for a reason.

When I finally hit Algonkian Park I knew the finish and a glass of beer were not far away so I kept the pace and crossed at 2:24:21. I was a little disappointed at that point as I knew it was a solid 40 minutes slower than my best half and 36 minutes slower than just two weeks ago but now that I look back at it adding 36 minutes based on the extra mileage, the heat and humidity, and the course is nothing to be disappointed about. It turns out I placed 7th in my division of 35 runners and 130th overall in a field of 773 - a good day.

Now I will take a few weeks off from racing and maybe a week or two off from running at all - just to get recover a bit - my legs are advising me of that and my nipples are screaming for it. The next planned race is the Tely10 in Newfoundland at the end of July and I want to be ready to nail that!

Memorial Day Weekend

Looking up at the East Block Parliament Building

Memorial Day Weekend meant road trip for us. We had been invited to a reunion in Ottawa - basically a gathering of people that had worked together at Nortel. It happened to fall on Memorial Day weekend so we decided to make it a longer weekend and head to Ottawa for the event and to get to see Tika.

The drive up was interesting as it was the Friday before Memorial Day and we drove through sleet as we entered New York State from Pennsylvania. The weather in Ottawa was similar to DC so it meant for a cool couple of days but started to warm up by Memorial Day.

We spent the weekend at a condo that we had rented. It was very convenient being right downtown and the fact that it had a well equipped kitchen meant that we could also relax a bit about where to eat and do some of our own cooking if we wanted - which we did.

The weekend was also Race Weekend in Ottawa with a full slate of 2k, 5k, 10k, half- and full marathons being run. A friend had registered for the 10k but was not able to run it so I joined 3 friends and ran in his place. Running in Ottawa is great - everything was green - the weather was not too warm and the views are fantastic. On top of that it seemed that the entire city was out supporting the runners. Even though it had not been a week since my half-marathon in Fredricksburg I ran a pretty good race, bettering my best 10k by over 2 minutes finishing in 47:56 - good for well within the top 10% of finishers.

After the race we went straight to the re-union and got to see some old friends. Some we keep in touch with regularly, others I had not seen in almost 20 years, but you would have thought it had been 20 weeks. We had a great time.

We also got to spend a good bit of time with Tika. We had brought some stuff up for her which meant she had to go through her place and do some culling of clothes etc, which she donated to a local charity. We also brought her up a new bike for her birthday. We went to ZenKitchen for lunch on Sunday, a birthday lunch, and did some shopping together. It was a great way to spend the day.

Monday was a beautiful day and Laura and I spent it relaxing and walking around Ottawa. Of course we did some shopping as well but it was just great to have a sunny, warm Memorial Day with no need to hurry to do anything.

It turned into a great weekend and I hope we will find time to go back soon - I now September I will be back as I have a race in Ottawa which I am looking forward to :-)

2013 Marine Corps Half Marathon

Yesterday was the running of the 6th annual MC Half - and my second running of the race. It is a great race. Lots of Marines supporting the runners and lots of other volunteers. The people of Fredericksburg go all out, lining the streets and playing music from their houses that line the course. Last year I was a tiny bit disappointed as I wanted to finish under 1:50 but was 32 seconds shy of that goal. This year I had two great races under my belt, a strong Van Metre 5 miler and a strong Cherry Blossom, both where I set personal bests in those races so my goal was to get the 1:50.

For those that follow me you will know that my Personal Best for a half-marathon is just over 1:44. The Marine Corps Half is very different though. It is a hilly course. There are rolling hills all throughout and though they may be small there are lots of ups and downs and they are taxing. Then of course you have Hospital Hill, which everyone hears about and dreads, but those of us that have run it before know that Hospital Hill is followed by a short flat piece and then a climb up and over the highway that is even more taxing.

I woke early and had a good breakfast, Canadian bacon, toast and fruit and headed down to Fredericksburg. I arrived at the start line with about 10 minutes to spare after taking care of all my pre-race stuff - so I was set. I started fairly close to the front of the almost 6300 runners - I think it only took 38 seconds to get across the start line after the gun start. Oh I should clarify - the Marine version of a gun start is a Howitzer. I had planned to start hard and then relax a bit mid-race so I could be ready for the big hills near the end. My 10K split was under 50 minutes - about 8 min/mile. The next 5 K I ran at about 8:15 so I could relax a bit and fuel up for the hill. The next 5K covered the big hills and I kept that at under an 8:40 and finished the last mile plus at the 8:15 pace before I started the hills. It felt really good. The final finish time - 1:48:00 - a solid 2 minutes ahead of my goal.

Next up - NorthFace Trail half-marathon - in two weeks.

Happy Mothers Day

This weekend is a great weekend. As a family we use this weekend to celebrate all the Moms in our lives. For us that means the kids spend Saturday celebrating Stepmom Saturday and then celebrating Mothers Day with their Mom on Sunday.

For Stepmom Saturday we grilled and then the girls took Laura to see The Great Gatsby at the Alamo. A great theatre to see that movie in.

For me Sunday means thinking about my Mom and being thankful that she is still as healthy and strong as ever and that she is still willing to talk to me after all I have put her through. The piles of pancakes and bacon she had to cook to feed me. The gallons of milk. The wondering where I was, as a small kid exploring our as a teenager out "with friends". My willingness to jump first and think later - usually as she is bandanging something up.

Thanks for tolerating me and thank you for setting an example of how to be the supportive parent. I love you.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

Happy Birthday .... eh!

Today is Tika's birthday ... and now is legally able to do anything anywhere.

Not quite current ... but I love this picture

OK that is not a "Get out of jail free" card but she has hit that point in her life where her age going forward will not be the "I can't wait til I'm 15 so I can get my permit" "I can't wait until I am 18 so I can vote" "I can't wait until I am 21 so I can go to bars". From here on it will be - I can't believe I am ....

But we do wish her a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY. We are so proud of you. You have created a life for yourself that seems to make you happy. It has challenges, we know that, but you live up to those. You do know that no matter what we will always be there to help you out as well ... and I know your friends all feel the same way.

For today we do not want you worrying about things. Have a fun day and we will celebrate again when we see you in a couple of weeks.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

The Upgraded Grill

Added a smoker to my grill which already had a charcoal and gas side. I cannot wait to smoke a lamb leg

A Day in Atlanta

Last evening I returned from a quick 24 hours in Atlanta. It was a work related trip and not actually a full 24 hours in Atlanta - a 5 PM flight from Washington to Atlanta and a 5 PM flight back - but I did make the most of it.

The hotel was a great hotel. A new building with suite style rooms that are very nice. New appliances etc and a large bathroom. The room was actually larger than my first apartment. It was also located right downtown near Centennial Park which meant it was easy to find a place to grab dinner the first night. We found a nice brew pub that served very good casual fare. Their lamb sliders though were FANTASTIC.

The next morning we headed to our meeting in the northeast part of Atlanta and grabbed breakfast at The Original Pancake House. I think everyone knows I love pancakes and this place had GREAT pancakes. I did get a bit ambitious and had their full stack - 6 large blueberry pancakes - and of course I left a few bites (literally on the plate was 4 small bites).

After our meeting I wanted to have lunch at a place I have been trying to get to for about 5 years - Gladys Knight's and Ron Winan's Chicken and Waffles. Chicken and waffles is a southern thing but done right it is great. Jeff, who I was traveling with, was up for it but wondered how hungry I was after the breakfast I had - but I am never one to disappoint when it comes to eating. We got to Gladys's place at a good time - not too busy and I ordered up their original waffles, a southern fried chicken breast and some house potatoes (shredded potatoes with peppers, onions and cajun seasoning). I can safely say I was not disappointed in having to wait 5 years to final eat there.

So when someone asks what I do in Atlanta for a day I can safely say I eat a lot of good food :-)

A busy weekend ....

We had a great weekend. Grant it was a bit cool for mid April but it was sunny and there was lots to do.

Saturday started with our normal walk over for coffee and then I did some garden work to make sure I had all the stuff out of the way as I was going to spend the afternoon doing the final upgrade to the Jeep - putting on a new rear bumper and tire carrier. Over the last few weeks I had upgraded the suspension system, put on new wheels and tires, a new front bumper and a new winch along with upgrading the battery system. I had been able to do all the other work myself but this rear bumper was heavy so I enlisted Dave and Jukka, a couple of my old Canadian friends to help out.

We spent the better part of 3 hours doing the install. I say the better part as breaks for beer interrupted and the actual elapsed time was like 4 hours but that include the congratulatory bourbon and cigars. The install itself is not tricky but there is some precision needed to make sure the tire weight is carried right on the carrier and I had to drill a couple of extra holes in the frame to add some extra bolt points. That meant putting on and taking off the bumper 2 times before the final install. But it does look good.

Sunday myself and Laura had an afternoon event, we will get to that, so I picked up Sam and Kris after my morning run (a nice 6-3/4 mile run - legs were a bit sore from the lifting the day before) and we headed out for breakfast. Silver Diner was Sam's choice and I actually loved the idea. We ended up at the Silver diner where Laura and I first had a breakfast date and I, of course, had pancakes. The girls seemed to love having breakfast and I think I will need to do that more. A quick trip to the mall as we drove Kris back to GMU and we headed home so myself and Laura could get ready to head out.

Our Sunday afternoon was to join the other barrel owners at Barrel Oak Winery for a spring tasting. We were hosted in the barrel room and they had snacks and, of course, lots of wine. The crowd was a mix of people and dogs. One couple had two beautiful Newfoundlands, another a wonderful greyhound and of course many more. We had some great wines and met some great people. Brain Roeder, the owner of the winery was there to greet us and we got to meet some of the other staff that we have only emailed with. The highlight was finding Laura's barrel with her plaque on it. She was very excited. They have not used our barrel yet so we are anxious to see what they will put in it.

We will be doing our custom case this fall so the spring tasting was a great time to see if any of the new varietals would be of interest to us. Maybe we will need a couple of more trips back to make that final decision :-)

2013 Cherry Blossom Sunday

Yesterday was the annual Cherry Blossom 10 Miler. This was my 4th running for this race and it is one race I always enjoy running and yesterday was no different.  It was a bit cold at the start although it was forecast to warm up so when I got ready to head down I threw on just some shorts and a long sleeve technical shirt to run in.  I grabbed an old fleece to keep me warm at the start line which turned out to be a good idea as a bit of a breeze made it a bit cool.

I started the race in the red wave,  the first wave behind the elite runners, and I managed to be in the front part of the wave so fewer people to have to run around.  The start was nice and fast and I quickly got into a pace that was comfortable. I did end up having to run around a few people who did not seed themselves properly - if you are an elite runner why are you plodding along at a 11 min/mile pace before mile two?  In general I was running with a great crowd,  friendly, polite and keeping a great pace.  When we hit mile 6 at the top of Hains Point Park we did hit a strong winds right in our faces.  It made it cold and was creating some chop on the Potomac but did not show us down.

The last few hundred meters, up and over the rise by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, was great as I had left a bit in the tank so I kicked it a bit to cross the finish at the Washington Monument. I had two guys come up to me after - one saying how my kick motivated him and a second to say how he had been spotting me all through the race,  due to my orange shirt,  and how great a race I ran.  It is always nice to get some compliments on the course.  Finish time was 1:17:33 - more than 10 minutes faster than my first Cherry Blossom in 2009 and another personal best for the course by 1:42. It was a great race.

The race was not the best thing about the day though.  After grilling some burgers and squash for the girls for lunch the 4 of us headed to the Mason Centre forthe Arts to see the Russian National Ballet Company perform Swan Lake.  Kris had wanted to see a ballet after I told her about Alice in Wonderland that Laura and I had seen at the Kennedy Center, so I got her 4 tickets to Swan Lake for her birthday.

The performance was wonderful. The company has some wonderful artists,  both dancers and set designers.  The lady dancing Odette impressed all of us.  We all thoroughly enjoyed the performance and it made a great end to a great day.

Happy Easter!

I had a great Easter today. I picked up Kris so we could do a lunch with her today - some homemade pizzas and an Easter basket for her .... all the good stuff picked out by Laura. Afterwards we watched some classic cartoons that we used to watch together when she was a little kid ... not a college freshman.

After we dropped Kris off back at Mason I cooked Laura a full 18 oz of porterhouse, some baked potatoes and Brussels sprouts. Add to that a nice bottle of Molly Dooker and some homemade cake for dessert and she was comatose by 9:30. I think she enjoyed Easter.

I hope all had a wonderful weekend.

Race Results

So yesterday was my first race of the year. The local 5 miler is one I have done for the last 4 years and I do enjoy. Every year I have gotten faster and faster. This year the improvement was not as great as past years but I still managed to improve.

The official results are in and I placed 3rd in my division with a time of 37:56 which was a new personal record for me.

It was a fun run - a bit cold to start with it below freezing - but the crowd keeps you warm and all the volunteers do make a difference.

Next up - Cherry Blossom 10 miler and then the Marine Half in May.

First Race of the Year

Picked up my race packet for the Van Metre 5 miler. I have always enjoyed this race as it is run around a neighbourhood that I regularly run through. It has some challenges with the biggest hill at about mile 1 and then the only other at about mile 2. The rest is fairly flat so I have always enjoyed powering through the hills and then keep a good pace after that.

Tomorrow will be a cold morning though - below freezing to start - welcome to spring. I get to decide do I dress as I normally do for a race - shorts and a technical shirt or will this wind keep up and I have to go to running tights. Hopefully I can get away with shorts so I can get a good fast run in.

I will let you know tomorrow how it goes.

Kris's Birthday Cake

I think Laura said it first so when I was making Kris's cake it seemed like the perfect way to decorate it :-)

Happy Birthday Kris!!!!!

I am not going to say how old she is - protect her privacy type thing - but suffice to say there is part of me that cannot believe that this is "that" birthday for her.

Kris is a lot like me, maybe it is the middle child thing, but she has her uniqueness and I think that is why everyone who gets to know her likes her so much. She is always there to help but is very cautious at the same time. She can be a tough nut to crack at times but that is not a bad thing.

I am not sure what she will want to do tomorrow but I know she will enjoy the day - she always seems to. I know every day is not perfect for someone in college but I also know when she looks at the, her friends, her family, her love, that she knows she has a lot to be happy about.

And we hope today is especially happy because ......

IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

The Start of a Birthday Weekend

Reflection of Toki sign

This weekend is Kris's Birthday and we started it off last night by going out to dinner at a restaurant in Northeast DC that she has been wanting to try, Toki Underground.

We had a great dinner - pan-fried and steamed dumplings to start, big bowls of ramen with pork, and finishing off with hot out of the oven cookies. The girls enjoyed some apple soda and Japanese soda, Ramune, while I enjoyed some Sake.

We had a great time - lots of laughs and great food.