gettin some advertising

Checking stats again today, I noticed an unusually high visitor count and it turns out that not only did the adirondack almanack feature my black mountain post in the weekly adirondack blogging roundup, but so did huletts landing blog. Thanks blogger friends!

good stuff

This video was emailed to me by my father. Thanks for the heads up.
That is an Angel posing as a basketball coach.

flight tracker

Reagan was off to Florida today for a special trip with her Dad to see her Grandpa and Grandma. She was so excited when she found out she was going and counted down the days until their departure. Last night, after she was all packed and it was time to go to bed, she started getting nervous. Butterflies. Reagan wrote out each hour she had left before take off and crossed each hour as they ticked off the clock. She did finally get to sleep after about an hour of talking, tossing, turning and more talking. She reminded me of this commercial. Who wouldn't be excited. She is off an extra week of school because her Dad doesn't have enough seniority to get school vacation weeks off from his job. And She gets to go to Disneyworld. It should be noted that the first time I went to Disney it was with her grandfather and grandmother. My in-laws took me during my trip down to see their place after they first bought it 15 years ago. I think it is pretty appropriate that they are now taking her. Reagan was even more nervous (read: almost crying) this morning. She got dressed quickly and scanned her bedroom for any other momentos she might want to take on the plane. The whole carry on bag contained stuff to keep her busy and snacks. Before they left for the airport at 4:30 am, Reagan crossed off the last hour and wrote, "I am leaving" on the paper. It was pretty hard to see her go. I hugged her extra tight, as she did me. Thank goodness for Dan's brother in law, as he saved me the early morning trip to Albany. I managed to get back to sleep for a couple of hours, brought Greg to school and got back in front of the computer to watch take off.

It is somewhat nerve wracking to sit and watch the little green airplane move further south on the map after each refresh of the screen. Flight Tracker also tells you in the margin how fast the plane is going (over 400 miles per hour) and how high the plane is (mostly cruising at 40,000 feet). I had to leave for work when they were about halfway there. I have flown with Reagan the one other time she has flown. I must say it is different to have your baby 40,000 feet in the air and NOT be with her. Interestingly, toward the end of the flight, the tracker showed that they had 10 miles to go and then listed the flight as tentatively landed. Tentatively is a strange choice of wording. The plane has either landed or it hasn't. Right? At the next refresh it showed that they landed 7 minutes before. I began calling Dan's cell phone and actually was able to make contact about 15 minutes after they landed. Phewwwww.

She proceeded to call me 2 times in 4 hours. I am happy that she wants to keep me in the loop. I asked her to journal her activities each night and if she was lucky, maybe grandpa would let her do her blogging from his laptop. Sure enough, she already wrote her first post.

Greg and I are enjoying some peace and quiet here at home. No fighting over who gets the couch or the TV and he hasn't fought me for the computer (yet). We ate dinner at his (our) friend's house and laughed hysterically together. We are now pigging out on cake and doritos. So what if we are wearing fleece and reagan is wearing shorts and a tank top. 75 degrees in Venice Florida today.

the searchers

I am not usually interested in statistics. Although even after being really horrible at math in high school, I earned an A- in my college statistics course. I am however, interested in who reads my postings so I checked out the stats counter on the blog today just to see what type of searches lands random people at my site. Street and Nye are the entered search words in 5 of the last ten listed hits. Interestingly, someone from Lexington KY spent 1 minute and 42 seconds after searching for blackflies in the adirondacks- which was the main topic in the post about none other than Street and Nye mountains. Someone actually entered corins walk in the park blogspot for a search and someone else was looking for... like a walk in the park... searching for another meaning for easy? Random person looking for Tempanada and someone in the UK searching for Orijen Mountain found Orijen dog food. I curiously did a search for Orijen Mountain and found nothing..maybe that was a typo.

Why am I talking stats? Not much going on? Just a "laid back" day.

• haircuts for me and reagan
• a little shopping for her florida trip. Dan even got a couple things.
• Cool Beans Coffee Shop for Sandwiches
• which we brought to Jen and Mark's house
• returned books to the library
• dropped off money for dance recital costumes
• Home to make Mac and Cheese for dinner
• Packing and laundry for the lucky travelers

Now I can worry about the incoming snowstorm...I have one traveling back from the Empire Games in Lake Placid on Sunday and the others flying out on Monday morning.

I need my wonder woman underoos

This is me as a superhero, courtesy of renee. Real Superhero powers would have been extremely appreciated today. Helping to fight the evil of painful human emotions like LOSS and GRIEF would have been easier had I not been human myself. And had it not added salt to my own loss and grief wound. However, in the difficulties of the day I was presented with the gift of being front and center to something really special; the wonders of "letting go and letting god" take care of business. I witnessed him working in what appears to be a mysterious way but giving proof that there are no coincidences. People really are put in the right place at the right time for us. I am humbled and grateful to be reminded of this so blatently from time to time. There was a whole team activated today...not just the wondertwins.

Push Play:

my clif bar was recalled

I ate a crunchy peanut butter clif bar at the top of black mountain on Sunday. This was a bar that had been in my pack since at least January 1st and I failed to give it ANY thought before I inhaled it to fuel myself for the rest of the hike. Because it was OLDER, even when I realized I had eaten a PB bar, I figured it was fine and I would be fine. BUT, tonight I sat down and clicked on the food politics site to see if there was any news on the Peanut Corp. and low and behold saw that the very bar I ate was on the recalled list. WITHIN the date range of voluntarily recalled product. The hypochondriac reaction was to instantly feel ill. The incubation period is up to 72 hours (which was 4:00pm today). Of course I read all of the extraordinary issues one can have in addition to regular intestinal difficulties. Now I am wondering if there is salmonella hiding in my intestine, NOT making me ill but managing to pass to my bloodstream where it will cause nervous system infection. Why doesn't it comfort me to know that the recalled product tested by the Clif bar company has not tested positive for the bacteria? I need some antibiotics.... or some xanax....

paying peanuts for criminal acts

I am drawn to news stories that highlight the workings of the criminal justice system and especially to the stories that show the glitches in that system. Drug dealers go to prison for years and child molesters usually get months in local jails. Tonight as I was perusing the net, I read one local story about an online up and coming pedophile who was caught by one of our county's investigators BEFORE he committed an act that would have involved a 14 year old if the perpetrator had been successful in his planned hookup. It happened to be a federal crime and the bozo will now serve 233 months in a federal prison with post release supervision (parole) for the rest of his life. Because he never physically met his prey, his defense lawyer was quoted as saying something very defense lawyer-esque (read asinine) like we can't treat these guys like murderers. I don't think child predators are the population with which we want to start minimizing the need for severe punishments. They should be treated as potential murders. Speaking of Murder, who would have thought that the elderly people who survived cancer or the Korean war would be killed by eating peanut butter. Harsher penalties are needed for food companies that knowingly and recklessly send out salmonella tainted ANYTHING....Turns out CEO Parnell IS a MURDERER and now the American Peanut Corporation has filed bankruptcy and shut down to avoid having to pay wrongful death suits and class action lawsuits. Most alarming is that the charge against the corporation currently rises to the misdemeanor level. My point- We don't need to lessen penalties for sickos whose intent is to molest children and if sending out a product that has the potential to kill people who consume it can be disposed of as a misdemeanor we seriously need to look at the enforcement of Food and Drug Administration regulations. Federal Jail time and life on parole is fitting for both of these unconscionable people. I think our food source depends on it.

Pesto Pizza Night

An update on my intention of eating less meat. I had a meat eating relapse on Super Bowl Sunday when before I knew it I had popped a dough wrapped cocktail frank smothered with mustard in my mouth. As if that wasn't enough, I said what the heck and ate some pepperoni with my cheese and crackers. Really going all out, I could not stop myself from eating one cocktail frank wrapped in bacon. Luckily, one was too many but 3 cocktail franks were ENOUGH. In the 15 days since superbowl, I have had bacon twice and each time it was bacon bits. Other than my weakness for bacon, I have not touched another piece of meat. I am eating the foods that I REALLY like and varying what I eat quite nicely. Tonight we were having homemade pizza and I decided that I would make a personal size pizza for myself using pesto, monteray jack cheese, sudried tomatos, black olives and artichokes. I sprinkled some garlic powder and cayenne pepper on the top. For the crust I used a box of Jiffy Pizza Crust mix. We usually use fresh wheat dough from the market, but the mix was good. The included picture is actually NOT my pizza, but was the closest representation I could find. (sister took camera home and my other one doesn't communicate with my computer) My pizza actually looked better than this one, but you get the idea. I have one quarter of it left which I will eat for lunch (or breakfast) tomorrow. In addition to being a good pizza, it will make an awesome appetizer for a party. My meat eating prevention plan is going to have to involve bringing this to the next function. Maybe I won't be as apt to recklessly grab mini hot dogs. OF ALL meat, hot dogs are definitely a top priority to stay away from!

black mountain again

My father was fresh off of a somewhat failed attempt at a solo snowshoe to Wilcox Lake from the Northville trailhead last weekend. With the warm weather the crust had given way and he was post holing even with snowshoes on. There hadn't been anyone in there and there was no trail broken so he turned around at about halfway to where he was aiming for. So, he was raring to go today, but we sat and drank our usual coffee and ate donuts with the family until about 12:30 this afternoon. We were trying to interest my mother in coming with us. With such a beautiful day brewing I had wanted to take her to Deer Leap, which is on the Tongue Mountain range overlooking Lake George. It is a gentle up and down and quite short in length. However, my aunt and her grandaughter have just purchased snowshoes, so my mother volunteered to watch Reagan and take them all for a spin around the field behind our house. We all took off to get ready, and it was then that I thought I would suggest Black Mountain to my father. Another fire tower mountain for our unofficial fire tower challenge. Although I have climbed Black Mountain two other times, my father had not been with me either time, so this was perfect. My Husband and Golden Retriever actually did Black with me back in September 2007 and my mother, son and cousin had climbed it with me in June of 2008. Both of those times we did the pond loop, but getting such a late *2:00pm* start at the trailhead, I figured it would be best to go straight up to the summit and back. We started with our snowshoes on but the trail was firmly packed thanks to the snowmobiles that are allowed on portions of the trail. When we reached the junction to either take the trail to the summit or to the ponds, we removed the snowshoes and ditched them behind a log, taking the chance that barebooting would be quicker. Except for a few very icy spots this worked to our advantage. Where the ice was very thick and not manageable we stepped to the side of the trail and only post holed a handful of times. We made it to the summit by 3:45. It was very picturesque. Lake George is frozen which adds a quietness to the view (no boats humming around down there) and the day was clear enough to see several of the high peaks off in the northern distance. There was no wind whatsoever when we were first standing at the top and at the observer's cabin spot just below the summit. Very peaceful. There is a new windmill at the top. This too was still for about 10 minutes. I comfortably enjoyed my cliff bar, although as I just wrote that I realized it was a peanut butter one (not good!) Just as we were about to start descending, the wind picked up and the windmill began to turn. Even with a slight wind this made alot of noise and it was easy to imagine that it must generate quite a bit of power.

I hope our President does get people back to work by having wind turbines built. It did not take away from any part of being on the mountain. It actually felt more natural and sensible. We started down at 4:00pm with a little concern for the slippery conditions, but it turned out that only one of us had to give in and perform a tuck and roll to avoid a bigger type of slip and slide and possible injury. And it wasn't me. I did have a chuckle over this sight since he wasn't hurt and he too was laughing. I am just glad it wasn't me with my sister's camera. We made it to the car by 5:10. Round trip distance was 3.6 miles and the time was just over 3 hours. We didnt see any deer tracks, just a set of very large turkey tracks. The only motorized vehicle we ran into despite the packed down trail was a golf cart looking thing with a track rather than wheels. We noticed that adirondack artist Lynn Benevento had signed in to do the loop. When she signed out she left us a message in the registry. Maybe she will paint the view we saw today? This hike was pretty strenuous since 1.) I am not doing enough to keep myself in hiking shape, 2.) the straight trail to the summit is a steeper ascent and 3.) leaving so late made it so we needed to keep a quick pace to make it back to the car before sunset. It was a great time though and we were definitely due for an outing. We got coffee on the way out of Whitehall. When I arrived home, I got busy and made a quick vegetable soup for myself with chick peas, black beans, orzo, lots of veggies and turmeric, paprika and sage. Mmmm.

I Feel Lucky Today....

Wednesday the 11th is the new Friday the 13th. That was the day that my lunch break ended in a break down. Pay close attention to the Wednesday fiasco part of the link.


It's all good though...after reading a few other blogger's posts about the superstition of the 13th, I pondered what happened in my day that could be related to unlucky-ness......NOPE, NOTHING. As a result of working some OT last night, I was able to get out of work at 2:00pm today. Although- after working through my lunch I felt ENTITLED to leave at ten minutes of 2:00pm. Ask my husband, I never seem to get out on time when my plan involves taking personal/comp time. I am usually on the losing end of about 10-15 minutes. But today, I was picking my 8th grader up from school on a rare occasion that he had no after school activity or practice. The normally late, speeding to get everywhere, crazy person that I am actually pulled up in front of the school with 5 minutes to spare. Should I mention that after the overtime that I worked, I was in the supermarket at 1:00am buying fruit and valentine cards for my daughter's party today? Anyway getting to the school early allowed me to sit quietly and catch a glimpse of my TALL, getting wicked old and incredibly cute, maturing son in the sideview mirror as he strolled down the sidewalk to the car. He was in a good mood instead of in a mood, said hello and began to converse about his day and his plans for the evening. For a brief moment all was perfect. I told him later how excited I was to be the one to pick him up today.....he said "yeah mom, don't start crying over it". Ahhh. Teenagers. I can't live with him and I definitely can't live without him. That was my LUCKY DAY.

*Happy Valentine's Day*...the more probable reason Greg was in a good mood. He gave his girlfriend a pink carnation today. She gave him two. <3

happy dogs, happy girl

Friends

Kisses

Playing

Hudson

waiting for hudson

We are picking up our little munchkin Saturday. Until then, when we will have a full blown photo shoot...these will have to do.

He's so tiny....it's like we are getting a kitten, only greg won't be allergic to him.

Meet "Hudson"

The little guy at the top left corner of this picture is our new puppy. He will be joining us in our home on Saturday. He weighs 8 ounces and is 7 weeks old. He is a Yorkshire terrier. My daughter is beside herself with joy. She has visited the home of the family who breeds these little munchkins through at least 4 litters and has dreamed of having one of her own for about 3 years. It has always been a joke for the people to tease Reagan and us when another litter is due. The thing is I made it known that I would never ever pay their asking price for a dog. Reagan understood this and was always very realistic about her heart's desire. Well, with the economy, the human puppy mother made Reagan an offer she (we) could not resist and is charging us 1/3 of her normal asking price AND encouraged us to take the absolute cutest male they had. I am so excited for Reagan, she very much deserves to have this little guy. she spends A LOT of time watching her brother play baseball and traveling to do so. I am sure little Hudson will provide her with spectacular companionship and diversion from the hours of baseball she will take in over the next four years. Reagan agreed from the git go with naming the dog after one of the Adirondack high peaks. After making a list of possible Peak names, we had first agreed on Carson, but at some point in the negotiations Greg and I remembered a dog we had met on the trails one day named Hudson. Both of the kids liked it and agreed on it (only by divine intervention). So, this is still a relation to the Adirondack park, in that lake tear of the clouds, at the base of Mt. Marcy, is the highest pond source of the Hudson River and therefore, it is the river's beginning point. Greg, my Dad and I visited lake tear on our first backpacking trip. So, Hudson it is. Many more pictures to follow. Stay tuned. Meanwhile, coming off of Shadow's recent surgery and that emotional mess, I am not sure what has gotten into me. It was definitely love at first sight. Dan is excited too, he has wanted a second dog for a couple of years.