For those who missed the car debacle... I wrecked the civic and bought a new car. I guess there really is more to the story, but who wants to hear it? No one, so I will move on to the good stuff. I bought a shiny new 2010 Subaru Forester. It's black with black interior and it's pretty. I love it. I miss the civic, but green was not ever a great color choice for a car. Pardon me, anyone who thinks forest green is the bomb, I just tend to disagree. Mike and I decided to take a road trip to meet our newest niece in New Hampshire. With the new car it sounded like a grand idea. And really... it was!
Last week we left for New Hampshire approximately 9pm on Tuesday and arrived Wednesday morning. It was a beautiful drive across the boring part of New York in the dark and then the sun came up somewhere in the Catskills. Gorgeous! We drove through the Green Mountains in Vermont and down to Manchester. When we arrived the precious Helena was catching some beauty sleep, so we took a little nap as well. We all woke up later to give hugs hello to Doug and Helena and to eat some excellent Indian take out. Vegetable Vindaloo = yummy.
Thursday with Doug at work it was the best day for Mike and I to scoot up to the White Mountains and go hiking. Christy and Doug recommended some hikes and we settled on Mt. Peirce and Mt. Eisenhower in the Crawford Notch. Mt Pierce was our main uphill and we summited the 4310 ft in time for some lunch. We met a nice couple from CT that had a huge camera and a nice dog named Juno. I really liked Juno. Mike did not like our other visitors for lunch. Little black flies that ate the living crap out of us. Still itching some of those bites as I type, ugh. We continued onto the Mt Eisenhower Loop and summited the 4761 ft mountain. It had some amazing views all the way to the top and we took some fantastic pictures. After a small snack... leftover candy from Nate & Tara's wedding (heh)... we headed back down to re-summit Pierce and then take the Mizpah Hut cutoff down for some different scenery. The 10 mile hike was a little bit challenging and lots of fun. Doug made an amazing stir fry that night with Thai Basil. Still can smell the basil. So yummy.
Friday Mike and Doug were on a mission and so were Christy and I. Mike and Doug dug a drain field for the sump pump in 96 degree weather. Boy did they smell awful and Christy and I got pedicures. Sounds fair right? I thought so. We also went to dinner at this fantastic kitchy tex-mex place in Milford for an an adult night out. Christy re-aquinted herself with Jose. They missed each other terribly. Delicious food, a gluten free menu, local beer and great company.
Saturday Mike and I took a very hilly bike ride and we played with Helena since we were leaving soon. Christy and I also made a ton of food for dinner. I mean a ton of food! Delicious but I kinda ate way too much. Then we took off at 3am to head back home. Will definitely miss Christy, Doug and Helena. Helena is beautiful and I whispered all kinds of things in her ear about the exciting Auntie Niece trips we will go on one day. But, the good news is that we will get to visit them again in a handful of weeks in Columbus. Hooray!
Tonight, has been a nice relaxing evening, we got the bikes over to D & K to get them tuned up for our big ride. I cannot believe it's only 2 weeks until we'll be headed to the Mackinaw Bridge on bikes! I stopped by to see all of the Sageman's tonight as they were all gathered at Charlie and Sarah's. Was nice to see all three of the little cousins together. Very cute and very rowdy. During chores I also have been trying to do a few extra things each night and Pepsi got a pedicure tonight. She wasn't that enthused, but then she was glad once she began to walk about and her feet were shorter. Guinness was doing pretty well, but awful shy still. Mike and I banded him last night and gave him his pedicure. I'm pretty sure he wasn't a fan of the whole banding process. (Note. Banding for those non-farm friends is the process of poor Guinness losing his sperm producers.) Tomorrow night hopefully I can get Bell's front feet done and maybe some garden work. I want to get some more garlic in and maybe some late onions?? We shall see. I better get to the checkbook reconciling that I've been avoiding by blogging instead.
2009 is pretty miserable so far. At least it's half over. June and July have turned out to be a couple of the worst months yet. On top of totaling my car, we've had a number of other family tragedies and it's been very stressful and sad.
Luckily God has a way of inserting bright spots along with the very awful to make you feel like continuing on. This weekend was no exception. Becky came up to visit us and we spent an awesome time hiking the Manistee River Trail. We had perfect weather and a fantastic trip. Becky came out of the woods with a slightly tweaked ankle, but was feeling better after rest and relaxation on Sunday.
I was also very lucky to become an Auntie once again!! Christy and Doug brought beautiful Helena Rose Smart into this world Saturday, July 18, 2009. Auntie Bunny and Auntie Lindsey were there to see our new bundle right away! I cannot wait for the weeks to tick by so Mike and I can drive out to see our new niece. She is so beautiful and I can't wait to whisper to her all the fun things we will do together as she grows up.
The garden is screaming for help and tonight we are taking a break from DAL MAC training. So, my plan is to head out to save it from the weeds! Maybe some pics tomorrow of the garden, homestead, goats, chickens...
Well, unfortunately last night we found out who the culprit was in the duck massacre 2009. The neighbor has a Siberian husky that got loose and he was kind enough to come over last night and offer to pay for our loss. I thought that was very nice and responsible of him, but it still sucks. To date we only really have one survivor. For the time being I'm going to call him/her Lucky Ducky. Anybody have an idea of a better name???
We had an awards night at the high school last night where Felipe was recognized for being an exchange student and for being a part of the Forensics team. He was the first exchange student ever to participate in Forensics and I am very proud of him.
I got some more things done for the garden last night. I got some tomatoes into the cold frame and also planted some bulbs I had forced indoors. Also the cilantro and dill I had started in the cold frame went out into the herb box. It's so nice to get some things done!! Mike went into town last night and bought a new hose. One of the ones we had was leaking so bad we had to toss it. I was hoping that it was going to rain yesterday as predicted so that I wouldn't have to water the garden, but it didn't. So I stayed up till 11pm so that I could get everything good and soaked. Then, of course, it rained last night or early this morning. That's how it always goes.
Two weekends ago Felipe and I trekked north so that he could see more of what Michigan was like. We went to Jordan Valley pathway where we had a gorgeous hike and then by pure luck we scooted over to stay with Ken and Janet Swanson on Mission Point in Traverse City and had an amazing fun visit with them. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom and it was so pretty!! Lastly we made a banzai trip to the Mackinac Bridge so that Felipe could visit the UP (if only for a few minutes). Pictures below...
Well, it took me a bit to update on the detox. But here it is. All went well until Friday evening. I tried to do the saltwater flush Friday evening and again Saturday morning. I achieved bloating and feeling awfully sick and not much "flushing". I made through the rest of Saturday, but by Sunday morning I was barely functioning and I caved. I switched over to a different detox program and I feel better to say the least! I'm back to real food again and I'm still feeling good. I have analysed what happened and I have the perfect mix of detox programs for my body for the next go 'round.
I don't know if the lack of food gave me a cooking buzz or what, but I have been going nuts lately. For many of my creations, I was very proud of the results. Felipe was excited for my first pudim. I think it turned out pretty well. I'm going to try a different recipe next time. I've attached some pictures.
Saturday, Mike got us some tickets to a Saginaw Spirits game and it was really fun. Felipe got to see a hockey game for the first time, even though the Spirit lost. Felipe has just about covered the sport spectrum now since he's been here. He's gone to a MSU football game, a Tiger's game, a Piston's game and a hockey game. Hooray for sports!
Sunday, once I got feeling better I wanted to head outdoors. Mike, Felipe and I decided to explore the Maple Rapids State Game area a bit. We headed into Section A of the flooding zone and had a lot of fun scooting across ice and trying to find which way to go. We didn't make it too far on our chosen path, but we have plans for our next exploring trip there.
