Training

I have to admit something, I need to get it off of my chest once and for all.  Training everyday for this bike ride is killing me!!!!
Honestly I feel like I am a broken record that has a lot of skips.  I get up in the morning at 5:40, I let the dog out, I leg the dog in, I feed the dog, I fold the laundry, I get dressed, throw on some extra deodorant and brush my teeth.  I drive to the gym, turn on Pandora, turn on the kindle and I bike till even my wrists are sweating.  I don't go anywhere except where ever my books take me, and those places have been some very scary  lately.  I go home, shower, fix the kids breakfast and maybe pack a lunch, rush mathew to band practice, take john to school an hour later and then go to work.  Here is where the skipping comes into place, I do it all again five days a week and on the sixth day I just add an extra twenty minutes to the bike ride.
I am sooooo sick of the snow that I think I am going to scream in frustration soon.  All I want is to buy a new bike, go out and ride all over the country side.  I don't think I can survive much more of gym riding.  I want to feel the wind on my face and the adrenaline of riding faster as a dog comes out and chases after me.  I want to dodge the post winter pot holes and maybe feel a bug splat against my arm, note I did not say the face.  I need fresh air and I need a change of view, I am desperate.


As the song goes by the Byrds:
To everything, turn, turn, turn
There is a season, turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven

Well its time for spring to come and for me to turn my wheels on the ride with my bike. So if anyone out there has a direct line to mother nature could you please call her and let her know we are done with winter and it is time for spring to come for a visit. 

On the bright side I was finally able to wear two sneakers to the gym this week,  woo hoo after three weeks I am so glad to finally be able to wear two sneakers.  This week is already looking better, now if only the snow would stop falling.

Back to the beginning

Last month I was very fortunate to travel out to Staten Island and visit with my family.  It has been over 20 years since I last drove out to see them, and this time I did not get lost, woohooo.  Alright we got a little lost but nothing that was too scary.  I was blessed to meet Sandy's future husband, he is very talented artist by the way, and to have dinner with the entire family.  I don't know what it is about the City but they have some of the greatest diners in the country, and thankfully they took us to one. :)  Over dinner Sandy preceded to tell me about our family history and how she traced us back to the first Hebner to settle in the New World.  This is where it got interesting.  Come to find out the first Hebner settle, are you ready, just north of Toronto Ontario in a small town called Markham.  He was a blacksmith and he lived a very full life and had many children. 
Now you ask where am I going with this little history lesson?  Well  I have considered my bike ride this summer not only to be a mid-life crisis event but also a pilgrimage.  A pilgrimage to help me get focused on myself, my strengths, my weaknesses and my growth spiritually.  Even as I get up everyday to go to the gym, kindle and iphone in hand it is a journey for me to escape the busy schedule I have with the boys and to just focus on me and my weaknesses.  I am finding I can pedal faster, stronger and longer each week and I am confident that at the end of the ride I will raise my hands up and shout and triumph.  And now knowing my family history I can raise my hands up and say I am home, I am back where it all started and just like the first Hebner I fought my weaknesses and my challenges and I made it. 
After the ride is over, after the workshops I hope to attend, and a few beers have been consumed, I will be traveling up to Markham.  I look forward to finding the first Hebner's stone in the cemetery and saying to him, " Thank you for making it against the odds, for facing your fears.  I hope the determination you showed in the beginning is still being seen today through my journey."

Words of wisdom

Lately I have been having alot of trouble sleeping at night.  I lay awake for hours on end thinking, and thinking, and worrying and then back to thinking.  A few weeks ago I signed up to ride 590 miles around Lake Ontario all for the love of Tree Research.  I thought long and hard about signing up.  Then I overheard my dad mention to his brother that I was training to do a big bike ride.  Oh boy, that was one step closer to signing up, I am not about to disappoint my dad, the person that taught me through example that if you work hard enough you can achieve anything.  I have watched him work long and hard and now that he is retired he can enjoy the fruits of his labor.  Such as enjoying time with his four grandchildren, buying  a big tractor, buying  a big red truck and completing lots of wood projects.  When he was my age he was taking me for bike rides on the weekends and competing in the Cummins Bike Race on top of working full time.  So this ride should be manageable, right? 
The  final reason for sending in the application, Walt Disney himself.  I am a long time admirer of Walt Disney and all things Disney, so it should not surprise me he would be there when I needed him most.  As I was ready to hit the send button on the bike ride application, I had some second doubts, and decided to stop and make sure this is what I wanted to do.  I went over to Facebook and what is the first thing I see?   A quote by Walt Disney himself, " Stop thinking about it, and do it."  That did it, my decision was made, this had to be a message sent right from Walt himself at the exact moment I needed him. 
Now that I have committed to completing the ride,  the realization has set in.  Hold on, I don't even have a bike to do the ride, what am I thinking?  I have to raise how much money?  How many miles is it a day?  These and many more realizations keep me awake all night long for many nights.  But if all I did was think about doing something, then nothing would get done.  I can't remember where I heard it but another quote has been on my mind lately, " if it was easy, then everyone would do it."  Well the ride may not be easy but I am sure it won't break me, at least I hope it won't break me.  I ask my boys to give their best all the time, and now its time for me to practice what I preach.
So this weekend I went shopping for a new bike, or at least new to me.  WOW have bikes changed in the last twenty years.  I am truly getting an education on gears, wheels, brakes, handle bars, seats, shorts, helmets and so much more.  Bikes are made out of aluminum, carbon something or other and other material that I am not remembering at the moment.  Thank goodness we have  a local dealer who can help  me a long the way and lead me down the right path.  Then apparently they measure you and have the bike made to your size, am I buying a bike or a dress?  I am truly overwhelmed by all this information.
In the meantime while I sort through all this information I will just have to continue using the bike at the gym .  But soon, and I am hopeful it will be soon, the snow will melt and I will be in possession of a new bike and I will be praising its perfect fit and how fast it moves.  Then before I know it, the end of July will be here and I will be riding with a smile on my face and saying to myself," what was I so worried about, this is a piece of cake, and I raised more than my goal for tree research. "  I  look forward to the adventure ahead of me.  I don't know what will happen or where I will go; then again its not about the destination, but about the journey. 

The End of the Year Travels

I was truly blessed this year with many places to see and experience.  In October I was able to go to Illinois, a place that I don't believe I have ever visited in the past.  On the way I sat next to a very nice elderly gentlemen that served our country in WW II as a Navy man.  He mentioned upon sitting down that his wife was sitting towards the front of the plane, I asked if he would like me to switch with her so they could be together, his reaction was priceless.  " Are you kidding me, I just got a free upgrade by sitting next to you.  I have been married to her for so long that a little time apart will do us good."  I cracked up over that and we preceded to talk the entire trip and he shared with me his long career as an accountant and also his long marriage to his wife, a very very long marriage.  Come to find out, his wife's dad worked with Walt Disney at the very beginning of Walt's career in making cartoons.  How cool is that, somehow Disney is always part of my conversations :)
After we landed he introduced me to his wife and asked for my contact information, I have not heard from him yet but I do not doubt that in the future I will.  It just goes to show you how reaching out to your fellow man and talking to them you can take a long plane flight into a eye opening experience.
While in Illinois I made so many friends from all over the world.  My biggest lesson of that week was.....we may live in a big world but its only as big as you make it.  I shared beers with people from Texas, Denmark, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and many others.  I learned so much that my outlook towards all these countries really has changed to be more positive.  Besides when a person from the Netherlands takes one look at me and says I must be Scandinavian it makes my heart skip a beat.  I can not tell you how often I am told I am Irish, which I don't recall seeing any Irishmen in my genealogy. 

The last big trip of the year was to......DISNEY WORLD.  In case you do not know it, I love Disney and all that it represents.  Hope, Make believe, dreams and an escape from reality.   I am very fortunate to have a friend who works at Disney and is willing to share her Pixie Dust with me and my boys.  Lisa is truly the definition of a true friend to me and to my boys, without her there is no way I could take the boys as often as I do.   This year we were there to see the grand opening of the new Fantasy Land, and wow is it incredible.  My favorite ride was Dumbo.  On our first trip to Disney six years ago that was John's favorite ride and in years past the line was always so long it was near impossible to get on it again.  This year though, the line was non existent and I was honored to ride it again with him.  He may be nine now, but to me it was going back to when he was three and it was our first time.  And for Mathew, this was the first year that I gave him more independence.  He wanted to do a ride there is no way I could do, Mission to Space, the orange card style, puke-o- rama if I rode it.   He road it two times all on his own and he felt like such a grown up when he walked off the ride and it made me proud knowing I could trust him to be responsible and to behave.  Oh and one more thing, I got to meet my princess, Merida from Brave.  It just goes to show you can never be too old to act like a child and be soooo happy to just meet a princess.

So as the year comes to a close I look back and think about all the wonderful places and people I have met and I wonder how can I top it?  I don't know yet,  but I am sure the man upstairs still has some great trips for me to go on and even more people to meet.  I hope you will come back and enjoy them along with me.

Vermont

Ahh the hills were alive and they looked beautiful as I traveled through Vermont.  I traveled from the Southwest corner to the Northeast corner in the matter of four days.  It was a whirlwind tour but it was so worth it.  Along the way though, I stopped to eat....alot.   So I am proud to say I ate and drank my way across the state. 

My favorite stop was the farmers market in Manchester.  What a great variety, I only wish I had a stove and refrigerator because there was so much fresh meat there that I could have gotten very creative.  But alas I did not so instead I purchased fresh apples, morning glory muffins, fresh fruit and wheat bread, and a funky new drink called switchel.  Switchel is a drink the farmers use to take out with them to the fields, it is made with vinegar, ginger, water and maple syrup.  Would you expect anything less for a Vermonter?  It took me a few days to get the bravery to try it, and once I did, I loved it.   It is the most thirst quenching, refreshing drink I have ever had, the soda companies should learn how to bottle this stuff. 
Another really yummy stop was The Pantry in Londonderry.  If you are ever in this small little town go to The Pantry.  They have a variety of sandwiches and pasta to choose from so you can not be disappointed.  I personally choose the Maisy.  Which is a breaded zucchini sandwich with tons of mozzarella, asparagus,  basil and roasted red peppers.   It took me two days to eat this sandwich, due to its size and wanting to elongate the enjoyment.  Plus I was able to pick up a local brew, a very soft and yummy peanut butter cookie and a cadbury egg, can life get any better?  I think not.
Now while your traveling through Vermont try and stop in Shrewsbury at the little country store there.  It is not very big in size but it is big in character.  To me it was like stepping into the store on the Waltons.  They have two chairs set up so you can sit and chat with the shop keeper, the glass cases are still there and being used.  You can pick up a little treasure for a gift or some homemade scones.  I choose the scones, apricot to be specific.  This is the second time I have stopped there and it has been worth it every time.  Although this time was more memorable, with all of my graces I decided that I would make a grand entrance.  I do really hate stairs, or should I say they hate me.  Anyhow, I fell face first, or knee first right on the old wooden stairs, and somehow I bounced.  Not only did I have one nasty gouge, but I ended up with two.  How this happened I don't know nor do I want to replicate it to find out. Needless to say it was a grand entrance and got everyones attention.

Along the way though I did get to see some beautiful churches.  There is nothing more peaceful then seeing an old church in the middle of nowhere and taking a moment to enjoy it.  Plus they have some of the coolest cemeteries. I have seen everything from dragons to pyramids and the burial site of a lady originally from England with a long title.  I am sure I would enjoy her story of how she ended up in a country cemetery surrounded by woods when she traveled so far from her native home.

I hope you have enjoyed my adventure in Vermont.  I did this go around, but I am also glad to be home.  It has been a long summer and now I am ready to travel only through my books for a while.  Who am I kidding, I only get a four week reprieve and then I am off to Illinois.  I can't wait to see what adventure awaits me there. 

Who is Big Brother

My goal lately has been to read all of the books on the BBC list of 100 books everyone should read,  http://www.librarything.com/topic/61828.  So far I have read or listened to .......drum roll please.......16 books.  That does not seem like alot but it really has changed my genres and point of view.  I must comment though, I wish they would add "The Grapes of Wrath" to the list, how is it this book did not end up on the list?  This book has turned into one of my top 5 books ever, it really opens your mind and heart to those that were affected by the dust bowl and those who may be affected again if the crops keep failing.
One of the recent books I listened to while traveling through Vermont was "1984".  Now that is a thought provoking book if I must say so, it really left me with many deep thoughts.  Although the world is not as predicted it would be by 1984, you have to ask yourself is it too far off the mark though?  One of the main themes throughout the book is that Big Brother is always watching.  Is he watching you right now?  Think not, try again.  As I was traveling I noticed the billboards for reporting underage drinking, who do you think that is?  Big Brother.  I noticed a billboard for you to report insurance fraud, who do you think that is?  Big Brother.  We are taught as a society to watch each other and encouraged to report on those we feel are not conforming to society or trying to get ahead by cheating.  That sounds alot like Big Brother to me.  In the book Big Brother does not really exist, he is a fictional figure to bring peace to everyone.   On all of those billboards not one has a picture of who to report to, but yet if we call in on someone it will bring us peace of mind to know we did a good service.  Big Brother once again is here and yet we don't recognize him. 
I also drove through Saratoga Springs while listening to the part where they are giving our main character an insight into what society will be like in the future.  As I drove through town, I noticed how everyone was dressed the same, everyone walked the same, and when they got in their cars, they were all the same.  The most disturbing item though was how in "1984" they mention that no one will care about anyone else, there will be no love.  Observing those walking on the street, I saw very little touching of the partners and many people went out of their way to walk around another person.  Have we really as a society started to make "1984" true or was this a one day observation? 
As I traveled all over this summer I have met alot of great people, and a few that were not so great, but overall it was a fulfilling adventure.  I would hope the events and feeling of "1984" do not come to fruition but I still wonder what kind of world my boys will grow up in and will they too conform to society to the point they loose their identity.  I hope not.  All along I have taught the boys one mantra, " its okay to be different" .  I hope it sticks with them forever and in the future they will not have to worry about Big Brother nor lack of love and feelings as predicted in "1984".  May their world be filled with love, adventure and joy; on their terms and not by someone else.

So how many books have you read from the list?  Maybe by this time next year I can say I have completed the list, or maybe closing in on the finish line :)  

Another Birthday

Alright I will admit that I am now 40 years old, where the 30's went I am not sure.  Every year I try and do something fun for my birthday.  I will go to chucke cheeses with the boys, go on a hike, or go to Canada.  This year I went to two places, work and the football field.  I was a mom this year, don't get me wrong I am not complaining.  Actually it was a very nice birthday and I spent it doing what I like most, just being a mom.  My travels may take me from here to there, but ultimately I do so love and enjoy just being a mom and spending time with my boys. 

I received a dozen yellow roses at work from Jeff.  For those of you that are not acquainted with my favorites, these are them.  They smell very yummy still four days later.  I also had a nice surprise waiting for me on my front porch in between running from work and the football field.  Jenn Runge made me the most yummy and beautiful Mickey Mouse cake.

I will admit that it took me two days to cut into it.  Pathetic yes, but it was so pretty that I just did not know where to start.  Which after two days we decided that we would start with the feet.  And then Jack decided that he needed to try some as well, so Jack took care of that awkward place at the top of the legs. 
Now I did make a birthday wish.  And that wish would be, I wish to be blessed by the enjoyment of my two boys for many years to come and may all my birthdays be filled with joy and love forever.  I don't need things to make me happy, just my two boys being with me is enough for this old girl. 
By the way by the time I turn 50, I will not only have another mickey mouse cake, but I will also enjoy it while I am working in Disney World.  And if I am lucky Mickey Mouse will have a piece of cake with me. :)