Thanks for the memories, Vermont

Ahhhh, Vermont. It’s hard to know where to begin. I guess it would be an injustice not to mention just how much fun Sarah and I can have while driving 7 hours in a car. It really should be illegal. I have never met someone who I could be confined with that long and not want to push out of the car while yelling “Tuck and roll, Bitch!” We laughed and gossiped and laughed some more, and before I knew it, 5 hours had gone by. I would love to break it down and tell you what we were talking about and whose deaths we were plotting, but you know what they say – what happens in the Subaru, stays in the Subaru. Now onto the trip….

Sarah on the lake, with "a little captain in her"

First off, it was a beautiful weekend filled with beautiful people and beautiful scenary and Mother Nature was down with the sunshine. We kicked off our trip with a stop in Lake George for some Outlet Mall shopping which ended in me getting a dress half the size of what I was wearing 2 months ago! Yay me!! After we spent too much money, we moved onto Sarah’s grandmothers house on Lake Champlain. Yes, I said ON Lake Champlain. As in, the entire one side of the house consisted of floor to ceiling windows that overlooked a gorgeous lake. My ADD kicked in big time. I couldn’t stop staring at the beauty of it. I couldn’t get past the sandy shores and the calmness of the water. I wanted to whittle an Adirondack chair out of driftwood, park it in front of the lake, dip my toes in the water, sip wine and vegetate all day. After a lovely dinner outside, a delicious cup of peach and ginger tea, and great conversation we headed to bed. Overlooking the lake. Yessir.

Just me, row, row, rowing my boat...on land.

The next morning I felt renewed and full of ambition so we did some yoga out on the back deck and then took a 3 mile walk along the lake while gazing at the beautiful houses and plotted ways to get rich quick so we could buy ourselves a little cottage on that road and live happily ever after. Truly a little slice of heaven to be had. Then it was onto Vermont.

Me and the Ninja wife

Another two hours in the car singing too loudly, laughing too hard and enjoying being away from it all. We got to spend time with Sarah’s family – who I have deemed my adopted family – got pedi’s, and then vegged out until we passed out. Sunday we got to see my adopted sista from another mista, Corrie, run a marathon. Not even kidding. She ran 26.2 miles. Without stopping. Or dying. It was really something and it inspired me twofold. First, it inspired me never to be insane enough to run 26.2 miles. Seriously, I think I would die. Second, it DID inspire me to start training to run a 5k next year. Eventually I would like to work my way to a half marathon. Does that make me half as insane as she was? They might have to put a shoe sale or a credit card or some ice cream at the finish line as incentive. But the goal has been set, the challenge has been made, and there is no backing out now.

Corrie (the one in black) crossing the finish line. After 26.2 miles. She. Is. Awesome!

Let me say this about Sunday. I may not have ran a marathon, but DAMN MY LEGS WERE TIRED!! Two mere months ago I was a fat, lazy couch whore who couldn’t walk half a block without getting leg cramps and having an asthma attack. By the time we were to embark on this trip, I was feeling pretty confident about being able to walk and keep up with everyone. I had not, however, remembered that the hills in Vermont were created by Satan. The hills were alive, with the sound of me dying. After hiking our way down to the marathon, then hiking our way to the finish line, and then standing around for a couple of hours, I was not at all ready for what the hike back to the car UPHILL was going to do to me. And these were not steady, happy hills. These were hills that made you have to launch your body forward to keep from falling backward. Like 45 degree angle hills of death. My hips were screaming, my feet were on fire and all I wanted to do was lay down and take a nap. But instead, I kept repeating to myself the same thing I say whenever I feel like I can’t do something…..I can do ANYTHING for ___________(fill in the blank). So that day, I repeated, “I can do anything for another block” and when that block was up I would say “I can do anything for 100 more steps” and so forth and so on until we were back to the car and I could collapse into the front seat. I am pretty sure there was smoke coming off of my feet but at that point all I could think was “I DID IT!!”. And I was proud. And exhausted.

So, I am not sure what made me decide we should go WALK around the mall an hour later. But we did. And we were pathetic. Neither Sarah nor I had the heart to shop, which in our world is sacriligious, so we went home. And my adopted mother cooked us the most fantastic steaks on the grill I have ever had. It was juicy, and cooked just right, and accompanied by fresh made balsamic, apples, pears, mango, broccoli and mashed potatoes. With happy, full bellies and tired feet we retired to the living room where we watched Mama Mia and had great conversation.

Truly and honestly, an amazing trip. I left sad to be going but happy to be heading home to my family with my mind clear and my batteries fully charged. The ride home was almost as eventful as the ride there with lots of laughs, lots of singing, and some road travel dancing.

And after all of that….after all the eating and vacationing and walking and shopping and total and complete bodily exhaustion, I came home to find out that I had LOST FIVE POUNDS!!!! Could life get any better than that?? I am in a complete state of mental exhiliration and physical exhaustion, and I am grateful for the opportunity to have had the chance to renew myself.

Me getting my renewal on

There is so much more to tell but it will have to wait for another day because real life and the treadmill are calling my name. Enjoy your day!