Very Grateful

We don't often spend our weekend evenings at home.  We frequently have family gatherings or other social engagements to attend, but this weekend we ended up spending both Saturday night and Sunday night at home.  Our neighbors helped us move a new desk upstairs on Saturday, so we invited them over for a little impromptu bbq on Saturday night.  Tonight was just a quiet night at home.  We spent the day touring the VT research center, had lunch with an old friend, and put off the chores for a bit to hit the driving range together. We watched "60 Minutes" together during dinner, and saw a heartbreaking story on the number of impoverished children in America today, and the lives they and their families lead.  As I look around our new home, wine and dinner on the table, I feel a mix of both gratitude and guilt.  We are so blessed to have a roof over our heads and food on the table.  While we might wonder what we are going to do for dinner, we have never known what it was like to wonder if we could afford dinner. 

The less eventful weekend has given me time to realize that we have so much to be thankful for, and how we need to be careful not to take it for granted.  As my wise mother says "the phrase 'this too shall pass' applies to all things- both good and bad, and it is important is to appreciate it all for what it is." 

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend, and for those who didn't, I wish you the serenity to know that "this too shall pass." 

Assaulted

Today I was assaulted.  I was caught off guard and beaten. I went to yoga. 

My workout routines have primarily been based around running, but a nagging injury to my hip has me sidelined from that for a while, so I decided to give the Monday evening yoga class a try.  I was all prepped for a class of soft chimes, a hippie lady spraying the room with scented oils while telling me about my shakra (or something like that), and getting in some nice stretches for my hip...Wrong!

What I got was a lovely Indian woman- prepared for battle.  I was bended and stretched into all kinds of wacky positions, and there were some points where I was sure I would never emerge.  I heard something pop.  I knew it was one of my limbs, but I couldn't tell which one, or if it was still attached.  I grabbed a foam block at the beginning of class along with a long strap- because that's what everyone else did.  I later learned the block was the yoga version of training wheels, which I needed...and then fell off of.  The strap was used for the bondage portion of the class. Then she said something about going to the Himalayas, which sounded great until I realized that was "yoga" for push ups.  What?!?  What about the hippie with nice music and a gong?  I left exhausted and about 3.5" taller than I was when I started.  Now I know why my sisters-in-law have such awesome bodies.  That crap is hard!

Looking forward to next week!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all of you wonderful fathers and fathers-to-be over there!  Here is a day to celebrate the men that change diapers; attend little girl's dance recitals on a Sunday while their favorite team is playing; coach little league regardless of whether their child is the best on the team (Blair) or the worst (yours truly); let their daughters go on dates with "punks" because deep down they know it is an important part of growing up; stay up late to make sure that "punk" doesn't try any risky business is his driveway; teach their kids how to drive manuals even though they are fairly certain the clutch has been killed and the transmission is about a half mile behind them; walk their daughters down the aisle; toast their sons; and work far harder than any man ever should so their wife and their children have more than they did. 

Here is to a very special Father's Day to my Daddy, Yo Pops, and our grandfather's- those with us and those we keep in our hearts!  I love you all more than you will ever know!

Baby Love

We had a great family weekend that started off with our "extended" family- Kevin, Krista, and baby Liam :)

Saturday we had a family lamb feast with the Blair's Uncle and his family, his cousin and her two great kids, his parents, Kyle and Marisa and baby Connor, and Cristina and Chris. What a delicious way to spend a Saturday evening! 

Sunday was an early Father's Day for Blair's dad (aka GPops).  Here are a few pics of my "absolutely adorable-make you think parenthood is easy and all babies are this cute" nephew Connor :) 

Do I still get to eat lamb later?

Very sophisticated

White or Red??  Oh, and someone PLEASE teach Aunt Ashley how to rotate pictures in her blog...geeze, how much wine has she had??

Race for the Cure and Weekend of Fun!

The best part about Monday is that it's over!  Monday's after wonderful weekends are always harder.  We had a very busy, but great weekend!  Julie and I successfully completed the Race for the Cure.  I was able to make it through the entire race without crying this year, which is another major victory.  After the race, I played golf with Blair, and then it was off to a family dinner with both sets of parents.  I appreciate both sets of parents even more when I see them together.  We are so blessed to have one big new family instead of our two seperate families. 

Sunday was a great day because we got to meet little Braden Magee!!!  I love having all of these babies to spoil!

A second blog

I have decided to start a second blog to help spread publicity for the local businesses, organizations and events that have helped make our new life so great.  Here is the link in case you would like to follow this one too!  Thanks!

http://localloves.blogspot.com/2011/06/welcome-to-local-loves.html