Martha's So-Called Life

fall adventures: the rest of cape cod and then vermont

On Saturday we went to the Province Lands Visitors Center.  There was a small display about dune ecology and a few videos that you could watch.  There is also an observation deck where you can see the dunes, the nearby beach, and a 360 degree view of the area.  

You can see the Pilgrim Monument in Provincetown as well.  We learned that Provincetown was actually the first place the Pilgrims set foot in the New World (not Plymouth).  They signed the Mayflower Compact there (which is what the monument commemorates).  

After the visitors center, we drove down to the beach...

And then went to find some lunch.  

On Sunday we packed up and headed back to John's dad's house in Vermont.  We decided to play tourist and stop in Plymouth on the way (despite learning that it was not the place where the pilgrims originally landed).  We saw Plymouth rock.

A sign with false information.

And a mock-up of the Mayflower.

On Monday, we went on a hike in Molly Stark State Park.  We climbed Mt. Olga...all 2,000+ feet of it (except I'm pretty sure we started at 1,000+ feet, so it wasn't really that big of a climb).

On Tuesday I stayed in my pajamas all day while John and his brother helped their dad do some work around the house (it involved playing with the tractor, so it was only kind of work).  Then on Wednesday we got up super early (3am East Coast time), drove for 2.5 hours, and then sat on a plane for 9+ hours.  

Despite the 4,000+ miles of travel in each direction, it was a lovely trip.  It's nice to go somewhere that has real fall, and we even got some sunshine and warm weather.

Next up: Hawaii in three weeks!!

 

catch up + what we're eating

I'm home!  We got home on Wednesday afternoon...and then I worked all weekend, so I haven't had a chance to catch up around here.  

I am working on getting the remainder of my photos edited so I can post about the rest of our trip.  

I was hoping to come home to winter, but it appears as though I am going to be forced to endure 40 degrees and raining for at least the next few days.  We sure could use a bit of snow around here to brighten things up!

Kiva has been unimpressed by the weather too.  

In other news, one of my BFFs and I have started a new website!

At the moment we are just blogging, but we have big future plans for our little corner of the internet. 

Don't worry, not much will be changing here.  I still plan on posting here as per usual (i.e. sometimes a lot and sometimes not).  My focus over at fit + flourish will be more food and fitness related and I'll keep the personal stuff over here.  

Speaking of food...here's what we are having for dinner this week!

Monday:
Lemon Chicken with rice and roast broccoli 

Tuesday:
Cauliflower and Lentil Soup

Wednesday:
Spaghetti Squash Noodle Bowl

Thursday: 
Salmon with Mustard and Dill Sauce with zucchini noodles

Friday:
Homemade Pizza 

Saturday:
Sweet Potato and Caramelized Onion Frittata

Sunday:
Leftovers 

fall adventures: cape cod - day 3

Today we went on a hike.  We headed to the Great Island trail, but did not plan well as most of the trail is underwater at high tide...and we were there right at high tide.  So instead of our epic hike (7ish miles roundtrip), we walked on the beach with John's dad for a bit and planned to go get lunch and head back to the trail when the tide had gone out a bit.  

After our walk and lunch (Wellfleet Town Pizza...quite good), we dropped John's dad off at the house and headed back for our hike.  

Rather than describing every detail...I'll leave you with some photos.  

fall adventures: cape cod - day 2

Today we visited the Salt Pond Visitors Center, part of the Cape Cod National Seashore.  The good news...is that today it was open!  

After a trip through the bookstore (which was having a 25% off "welcome back" sale!) and the museum, it was time for lunch.  This was easier said than done considering this is a very seasonal area, and the season ended Oct. 14.  

We finally found a place that was open and had lobster rolls (the desired object of lunch).  

What's not to love about giant hunks of lobster and butter in a sandwich (we all opted for the hot option)?

After lunch we set out to the White Cedar Swam trail at Marconi Beach.  

We walked the mile to the swamp and back to the car, and were slightly underwhelmed by the lack of swampiness in the swamp, but it was a perfect day for a walk, and it was pretty, so that made up for the lack of wow factor. 

John's dad walked the whole thing with us, which was a long way for him.  He was tired by the end, but made it up the half mile hill at the end!

After our walk, we refueled with homemade spaghetti for dinner.  Now there's another rousing game of cribbage going on.  I'm avoiding playing since the three other cribbage players present here have a combined 100+ years of experience on me.  Not exactly what I would call fair.  

Good night!

fall adventures: cape cod - day 1

Yesterday we arrived in Boston after a long day of traveling.  I got up to go to work at 4:30am Alaska time on Monday and arrived in Boston at 4pm Tuesday (noon Alaska time).  That's a lot of hours to go without really sleeping (but not my record).  

We ate dinner at the airport to avoid rush hour traffic, then picked up our rental car and headed out to the Cape.  We arrived at the house in Wellfleet around 8:30pm.  We visited with John's dad and his wife for a bit and then headed to bed.

This morning I woke up to this view.

We had some breakfast and then headed down to the beach for a walk.  

While this might at first look like just a photo of John, his brother, and his dad walking on the beach...it's really quite a bit more than that.  John and I were here almost exactly a year ago and his dad could barely sit up on his own.  He was walking, but relied heavily on a walker and required a spotter.  Today he's pretty much walking on his own.  It's wonderful to see.

After our walk we headed to lunch, and then up to Provincetown to explore.  

We found a coffee shop called Wired Puppy. In my opinion it wins the prize for the best name/logo and best coffee blend names (Bitches Brew and Hair of the Dog were my two favorites).  

After exploring Provincetown, we headed back to Wellfleet for some relaxation and dinner.  At the moment John, his dad, and his brother are having a cribbage tournament.  John is trying to stay awake to call into a meeting that's happening at 6:30pm Alaska time (10:30pm here).  We will see how well that goes...

2013 zombie half marathon

Yesterday I ran the Zombie Half Marathon in Anchorage for the second year in a row.  It was not the PR I was hoping for, but it did make me realize that I need a new PR plan.  Not that I need to change my goal, but maybe I need to change something about my training (although I have changed that and I am definitely running faster overall than I ever have).  

My last half marathon, it was, without a doubt, the heat that held me back.  Today, I'm not really sure.  My knee starting hurting very very badly around mile 8, but I'm not sure that was my problem.  I know for sure that I had an excellent long run last week, maybe I peaked too soon.  Was it mental?  Probably part of it was.  I started slowing down, and never really got back into the grove I had been in for the first 8 miles.  

I realize it's not typical training strategy to treat your long runs like races, but maybe I need to do that.  I know I definitely need to work on building strength and being nice to my muscles, because I think if my legs were stronger and I had spent more time stretching/foam rolling, my knee might not have hurt, or I might have been able to gut through the hard parts better.

I think that two races that were significantly slower than I have been running all summer means something is not working come race day.  I guess my job now is to figure out what exactly that is!

I do know that I don't think I could have run any faster/harder and I was pretty much dead by the time that I was done (maybe it was the mile long hill up to the finish that did it?).  That's good, because it means that I was trying...there's nothing like finishing a race and thinking you definitely could have run faster.  

As has become a tradition...I enjoyed my favorite post race snack when I got home...

Those pickles, how good my cup of coffee tasted after, and the fact that I am going to eat a ginormous dinner, made the whole race worthwhile!

Now I'm looking forward to a winter of minimal running.  In fact right now, I don't ever want to go running again...but I'm sure I'll feel differently in a few days.  

fall

Fall is my favorite season, which is really unfortunate considering I live in a place where it lasts for a very short time.

I love the cooler temperatures, the crunchy yellow leaves, and the snow creeping down the mountains (I don't currently love the rain we've been getting though).  

Even though I despise Starbucks (mediocre coffee, high prices, and located everywhere), one of my favorite parts of fall is the return of the pumpkin spice latte.  I've tried very hard to recreate their deliciousness at home, but it's just not the same.  I've also tried them elsewhere, and they are never as good as Starbucks.  It truly pains me to say that.  

I have, however, found a (hopefully) slightly healthier way to cure the craving for a PSL...

I found these at Costco last week.  They are seriously amazing.  They smell and taste almost exactly like pumpkin pie...and they're almonds...so they're healthy, right?

If you have any issues with self control, I do not recommend allowing these within the walls of your house.  Buy them for a friend and eat them when you go to visit...if they last that long.

puerperium

A finished sweater!

I made this for a co-worker.  I can't remember exactly what the yarn is, but I think it's Malabrigo sock yarn.  The pattern is called Beyond Puerprium.  It was hard to choose a color since they didn't know the gender of the baby before HE was born! 

I love how this turned out!  I have had several requests for this in an adult size...I'm not sure if I'm ready to take that on yet...

winter and holiday cards

I just listed a couple of new card sets in the shop. Both are the same hand drawn pattern, but one is winter inspired colors and the other is holiday inspired. 

The winter herringbone cards can be purchased here, and the holiday herringbone cards can be purchased here.

Both come in sets of 8, but as always I can make sets of more or less, just let me know!  

an exhausting weekend

This weekend was a whirlwind of activity and has left me completely exhausted!

Friday was errand day.  I was out and about almost all day running errands for the Arctic Valley auction.  I made pizza for dinner and headed up to Arctic Valley (where John was working on stuff) with it.  Kiva and I took a walk while everyone else finished working on the lift.  

When they were done, we headed inside to eat and get started setting things up for the auction.  Around 9pm I headed back down the hill and was in bed around 10pm.  

Saturday I got up early and went for a long run with my aunt.  It was lovely.  The weather was perfect fall weather (which is always good for running).  We had an excellent 11 mile run on the bike path at Kincaid Park.  

Mile 4.5 to the top of the hill is the end of the race we are running this upcoming weekend.  Nothing like a giant hill at the end of a half marathon to make you feel good about yourself...

After I finished running, I went home, showered, and went to meet my dad for coffee.  After coffee I hurried home to pack my stuff and head up to Arctic Valley to help set up for the auction.  

People started showing up just before 5pm and after that it was work, work, work.  I did manage to find 10 minutes to shove some delicious dinner into my mouth though.  

Most people were gone around 10pm, but then we had to clean up...and of course hang out after a wildly successful evening.  I was having a very hard time staying awake, and was rather uncomfortable from standing all day (running 11 miles and then standing/walking for another 8+ hours is not a good plan)

I think I finally went to bed around 1am (we slept in a friends camper in the parking lot).  

Sunday morning we woke up around 9am, made breakfast, and then started sorting through all the paperwork from the night before.  After organizing multiple stacks of paper, I headed home around 1pm.  When I left, it was snowing!

I stopped by home to drop of Kiva, and then left again to have coffee with my dad.  When I finally got home to stay it was about 3pm.  I had a short nap, ate some dinner, and then went to bed!  What an exhausting (but fun) weekend!!