A poem, not by me, from another lifetime.

The distance between us is only of the body

Reaching from snow to sand, our bond has surpassed

Our chance connection has proven itself built to last

Through your inner strength you've won another of life's battles

In my heart I was at your side…even though it wasn't needed

Never lose sight of what you have, your success, your mettle

As we each go on with our lives, our futures will unfold

One way or another, we will share in our victories and in our defeats

Each learning from the other, as the great story is told

Fate has been our strongest ally; aided by destiny our lives will remain joined

Be it as friends or beyond, our bond is true

So no matter when, if you ever feel lost, I will help find you

Your ever-tested patience must hold out the time

For the time will come, you'll hear my knock at your door

How will your heart answer?  I hope the same as mine

(c) sometimes old things find their way back. Credit: AP

 

 

July 10 years ago.

"Lady, morning's just a moment away 

And I'm without you once again 

You laughed at me 

So many words we didn't say 

Two people lost in a storm 

Where did we go? 

Where'd we go? 

We lost what we both had found 

You know we let each other down 

But then most of all 

I do love you still 

We played the games that people play 

We made our mistakes along the way 

Sometimes I know deep in my heart 

You needed me 

Because I needed you so desperately 

We were too blind to see 

But then most of all 

I do love you still"

L Richie

'god winks'

little signs that tell you, you're on the right path.

Post 1/2 marathon dinner.

I cooked. Mike and Carmen snuggled on the couch. I cleaned some boneless chicken thighs and baked them in the oven on 425 with a little olive oil, a pad of butter and some panko crumbs on top. Turned the broiler on after about 1/2 hour. They came out tender and delicious. Separately I sauteed some mushrooms and spinach and served a salad. He was happy.

Race day, the United Airlines NYC 1/2 Marathon- Sunday March 15th, 2015

Race day.
Saturday night after our incredible meal, we strolled for a bit, then grabbed a cab and headed back to the market near the hotel to stock up on bottled water. We headed back to the room, brewed our mushroom tea and were asleep by 9:30. The sleep was pretty good surprisingly, we had some waking moments of nervousness that started around 3:00am but all in all we were very well-rested.
5:30am and we were up.
The entrance to central park could only be accessed from army plaza or 6th avenue because they close the roads. Our hotel was prime location as it was only a 5 minute walk and we lined up with the rest of the 20,000 runners. I wasn't allowed into the park so I headed back to the hotel to start packing while Mike waited for his start time.
8:25am was his official start. I waited for him at the 10K (6 mile marker) which was feet from our hotel. I got to steal a quick kiss and then I hit the subway down to Wall street. I got off a few stops early due to a crazy guy on the train so I had a bit of running myself to the finish line to be able to see him cross. In just the nick of time I made it. How awesome. The energy of the crowds, the joy & deep breaths of all the runners as they passed through. Wow. Some incredible energy.

I was only surprised by one thing. I didn't think the media emphasized enough how many runners were running for charity...the race alone raised over 2.2 million dollars to a variety of different charities. To me, that was more important than the olympian runners and who would take 1st place on the men & woman's teams. But eh, that's the media for you.

Here are some pics from the day. Afterwards we celebrated with some burgers before we headed home to pick up the little girl.

 Shortly after 7:00am

7:30am (He starts @ 8:25am)

10:33am he finishes! (2 hours & 7 minutes later)

11:00am heading back towards 57th with a coffee

A bloody mary & a burger with a fried egg on top! Well-deserved! I went with bacon & guacamole. We've been on such a health kick for months. This tasted so good!

Home to Daddy's little girl.

NYC Saturday night, pre- NYC 1/2 Marathon

Wow. What a weekend. I think we are both still in a state of shock that this moment has come and gone. It was only months ago we first had a conversation with the PKD Foundation about getting the 10th position on the team to run the NYC 1/2 marathon. (See the New York Road Runners allow certain charities to run but they limit the # of runners.) We got the last spot. By we, I mean my husband who has never run a race before in his life. He started training right after Christmas and before we knew it, it was race day. We have been so blessed by the support of our family and friends that we were able to raise over $3,500 for the foundation thus helping the team raise just under $14,000 in total. Pretty awesome.

So the moment was finally upon us. We headed to the city during the foggy rainy saturday to pick up his bib # at the Expo, we checked into our hotel (a bit old school) The Salisbury, but it turned out to be PRIME location. Just two blocks south of the race entrance and only feet away from the 10K marker.

I had written Sal (my old college acting professor) last week for his best recommendation for the perfect italian dinner before race day. He said he knew the place. Pepolino's. & for me to call, ask for Enzo and tell him Salvatore sent me. We were in for 6:30pm reservations that night. It was all of that and more. The atmosphere of this quaint and adorable little restaurant on the corner of canal and broadway was exceptional. The service was terrific. The food, out of this world. We started with a pear & endive salad and a smoked cheese and eggplant melanzane. I had to ferrotto special of the day with homemade italian sausage and plum tomato and Mike had the braised rabbit fettucini. We finished with the homemade ricotta cheesecake that does literally melt in your mouth and is by far the best dessert I have ever tasted in my life. (& yes...that is MY martini.) Delicious.

Green juice.

My favorite of all juicing is green juice. Kale, collard, green's you name it as long as it comes out green. My least favorite is orange juice, the acidity reeks havoc on my insides.
Add some chia seeds to this green beast with carrots, ginger, apple & tumeric and you've just totally made my morning.

Bartending.

It's been nice having some weekend's off. See how much shit I get done??? All that baking, cooking, cleaning, rearranging, crafting, painting, photographing?
Well, it's official... My last night is this coming Saturday, March 7th and then I get weekend's off from here on out with some of the other population. I'm a bit excited about this.

Yes, I made dinner again.

But this time it was pork. The other white meat.
Did you know to make the most tender pork chops you must create a brine? Well, I didn't have time for that, but I did have time to preheat my oven to 400 throw them in some olive oil, cook them super fast in the cast iron for about 3 minutes on one side, flip them and place into the over for another 6 minutes with some added...what? mushrooms. of course.Served with some bow ties and sautéed carrots with onion. Pretty exceptional if I do say so myself.

Baking again.

As you can see, I've found an enjoyment also for baking. So on Sunday when I had an excess of brown banana's. again. why not whip up something? You can see the ingredients, flax seed, oatmeal, coconut oil, raisins, banana's, vanilla extract & peanut butter.

Carm was responsible for the handfuls of raisins. One handful into the mixing bowl.

One handful into her mouth. & so it goes.

One tray of make believe muffins for her friends upstairs.

Delicious cookies.

Well, at least I thought so. Carmen on the other hand. She thought I needed to add some sugar. Go figure.

Fish taco friday.

Corn tortilla, cod fish with lime & cilantro, fresh local tomato, baby bella mushrooms, romaine lettuce, avocado and pinto beans. Again, Mike's cooking.

Her expression here.

Reminds me of her auntie Kathleen. Kathleen, I hope you're reading! We miss you!

Local, fresh tomatoes in winter.

Were they out of this world? Yes. Delivered to me from the Stonington weekend winter farmer's market. Heirloom, yellow, purple & red cherries. Carm devoured them. But how much do you think these puppies cost? $6...maybe $8...nope. $12. 

$12 dollar tomatoes.

More chicken. & more mushrooms.

By the end of this particular week I would have been happy never having chicken again. These are boneless thighs. Natural/ organic/ of course/ whatever you name it.

The tomatoes came from a local farm in Lyme. Quite a pretty penny but fresh tomatoes in winter...you get what you pay for. More on those next.

I cook also.

I do truly get some enjoyment in the kitchen. These are chicken quarters. Mom picked them up for us from the Higganum Market and they were delicious. Quite a bit to prep and perhaps next time I will cook them in one piece, however, this dish came out terrific and as usual, Mike says it was the best chicken he's ever had. So tender.