Philly-Cape Cod via Princeton: Friday 29th July

We had a very early start, partly so we could see Annie, Parker and the boys in Princeton and partly because we had such a long journey ahead (350miles).

The pause in Princeton for breakfast and a catch up with old friends was great. Last time we visited A and co, they had just moved into their house in Princeton and A and I were talking weaning and bouncers. Six years later and we're now talking extra-curricular activities for the kids and playrooms! It was lovely to see them and the boys before they headed off to camp for the day (although not the littlest, he looked as if he had a busy schedule of cuddles ahead).

Lunchtime saw us stop in Stamford for a break, including a run around for the girls and a trip to Barnes and Noble to buy maps and make use of their wifi.

I took charge of the wheel once we'd refuelled and hit the road. My first proper drive on the US. Speed limits are slower so it's good we had a car with the acceleration of a small elephant - foot down and eventually it speeds up, but not by much. The drive was fine, the girls slept, Mr S was forced to keep me company and therefore was not allowed to sleep!

We had something of a race against time to get to our dinner date but we had a brief stop in Starbucks - refresh the girls and change drivers. After a brief conflab by phone with our hosts for the evening, we decided to head straight for the hotel, unload and quick change before heading into Hyannis where we were meeting our friends.

Girls did very well considering the lateness of the hour so we stayed to listen to Rick and his band while I enjoyed a Mai Tai! Boo discovered a newfound love of Jerk Chicken - well, more like chicken with barbecue sauce.

Back to the hotel and then it was time for bed, punctuated with a couple of fire alarms. Hotel is basic but has everything we need and is a shell's thrown from the beach.




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Beat the Heat: Holiday time!

I'm on holiday this week so this week's BTH comes to you from Cape Cod.

1. What have you done this week to work towards your goals?

I'm on holiday in the US at the moment (Philadelphia, Cape Cod and then onto New York). While I therefore have the perfect excuse to eat over-processed rubbish choc full of high-fructose corn syrup and not do any training, I've actually done OK: visit to the hotel gym in Philly, a run along the beach yesterday and circuit training thanks to Jillian Michaels on my iPad.

The run was hot, I just spent about 18-20 mins running from the beach outside our hotel, where the girls and Mr S were playing. I got them to time how long it would take me to run along the beach and back - around 6-7 minutes.

2. What have you done to make yourself feel fabulous?

I'm on holiday, that's all I need! It's great just switching off from work and spending quality time together as a family.

3. How are you finding your goals? Do you think you can still achieve them?

Once I get back from holiday I really need to get focused on the cycle training and aim for either two spin classes or a spin class and a cycle ride each week. I've got the added challenge of sorting out logistics for the actual day as Mr S will be abroad at a work conference. Finding a willing grandparent shouldn't be too difficult but it's just an extra complication.

4. Freebie! If you want to change one goal, change it.

I'll stick with the Duathlon but if the logistics don't work out then my new goal will be completing a half marathon in 2hrs or less.

5. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Listening to the sounds of the waves from our hotel then it would have to be here in Cape Cod. Really beautiful part of the world. The next stage of our holiday takes us to New York. It's going to be an assault on the senses are this.


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Philadelphia: Thursday 28th July

Thursday morning and another buffet breakfast - a good selection, I've been in US hotels in the past where their idea of breakfast was doughnuts and coffee.

The drawback of only spending a few days in one place where there is so much to see is trying to decide what to go for. We took advantage of our location and went to the Academy of Natural Sciences: the lure of the Dinosaurs was what clinched it for us. A particular highlight was watching people working on the Dinosaur bones from Argentina: an entirely new Dinosaur, not yet named and apparently very large. He will be going back to Argentina but it will be interesting to read more about him.




Another highlight were the summer interns, all school kids desperate to impart their knowledge of the dinosaurs. It only seemed fair to stop and listen.

Next stop was the Butterflies, a particular favourite of mine and I spent quite a bit of time trying to get photos of a spectactular blue one in flight. The pictures weren't quite so spectacular, so I thought I'd share a shot of this giant.




There is a great area upstairs for children: lots to touch and explore. My favourite was looking at the slides under a microscope, especially the ant head. Mr S' favourite was the moose antlers.




After a final visit to the dinosaur area, this time to the big dig, it was lunchtime. We had a voucher (due to the hotel's mess up with our room on the first night) to TGIs. It was ok but not the best TGI I've ever been to. The wedge salad really was just a big wedge of lettuce and I'd forgotten how much dressing they drown it in (note to self: ask for it on the side).

After lunch, we decided to go for a bus tour. The highly detailed tour was probably going to be lost on the girls so we opted for the Philly Phlash and our own commentary, including an account of the store (Wholefoods) where we bought Boo's first foods!

We headed up past the Rodin Museum, the Museum of Art, the Zoo and the Please Touch Museum. It was a shame we didn't make it here as it had moved to a much bigger location and looked quite fab.

We couldn't keep away from Reading Terminal Market so we headed back to the candy store for more Lego sweeties. Once we'd stocked up on gifts, we picked up the remains of our picnic and headed back to Rittenhouse Square for one last visit. Again the girls had a fantastic time, they seemed to spend much of it picked up dried leaves and pretending they were going to the Antartic.

After that it was time to say our farewells and pack up the hotel room in readiness for our long trip to Cape Cod.


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Philadelphia: Wednesday 27July

So here we are, summer holiday time. The first leg of our holiday has seen us revisit Philadelphia, six years after I spent a good 5-6 months of my maternity leave living in Rittenhouse Square while Mr S worked on a project over here.

We arrived late on the Tuesday evening, after a comfortable flight and a less comfortable drive (JFK to Philadelphia during NYC rush hour) to our hotel. We'd booked into a place just on Ben Franklin Parkway so easy to get around.





After breakfast at the hotel we headed out into the City heat - first stop Reading Terminal Market. Visiting it with Boo and Pip meant that the stalls selling sweets were more a prominent feature of our visit than I remembered. We got there during its busiest time, a lot of people must visit there during their lunch hour. I'm trying to think where is comparable in the UK, maybe Borough Market, although Borough Market is not a permanent fixture and is much smaller. We settled on Cajun for lunch. Pip was not that impressed so I tracked down a ham and cheese sandwich, they certainly didn't skimp on the ham!

After this we wandered up to Rittenhouse Square in an attempt to find the Ben and Jerrys we used to visit. Unfortunately it was no longer there but we did find a frozen yoghurt place so stopped there to cool down.

Later in the day, we'd arranged to meet a friend and her daughter who is the same age as Boo and who we used to hang-out with. First stop was Di Brunos, our favourite Deli. It took quite a while trying to decide what to have but we got there in the end. Picnic procured, we headed back to Rittenhouse Square.





It didn't take long for the girls to all warm up and spend the evening running around and chatting with the lady who was hoola hooping in the park. We finally dragged the girls away and tentatively arranged to meet again the next evening.

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Beat the Heat - end of July!

1. What have you done this week towards your goals?

Three circuits sessions! Been a bit manic at work with pre-holiday panic so I'm glad I got those in at the beginning of the week.

2. What did you do to make yourself feel fabulous?

I've guest-posted on Beck's blog which is v cool - a little bit of internet fame - thanks!

Tne weekend saw me at High Voltage in Victoria Park, London - lots of Guiness and some great rock acts: Skin, Thunder, Black Country Communion, Slash and many others. All topped off with Dream Theater headlining.

3. Do you exercise? What is your favourite kind and why?

Yes - running as it's great getting out and enjoying the scenery and also the "mind-wandering" time it gives me. I'm enjoying the challenge of the Jillian Michaels' circuits videos which I've downloaded to the iPad. I thought I had a good level of fitness but doing those makes me realise that there is ALWAYS room for improvement.

Yoga is always good for relaxation and flexibility - I feel an inch or two taller after a stretch and ready to face anything!

4. There are loads of fantastic bloggers here in the Beat the Heat competition, which blog or blogs have you discovered through the challenge that you particularly enjoy? Show that person some love!

I've always been a big fan of Beck's. I also recommend everyone pays a visit to somerandombint. I'm still discovering everyone else's but many thanks to all for sharing!

5. Fun Question: What song makes you want to dance at the moment?

I've two days of rock going round in my head at the moment so I'm probably in more of a moshing space than dancing at the moment!

Beat the Heat week three!

1. What have you done this week to work towards your goals?

This weekend was a bit on the lazy side but during the week saw me doing circuits, session at the gym and session on the cross trainer.

2. What have you done this week to make you feel fabulous?

Saw the final Harry Potter movie! Now re-reading the books!

3. I wrote about gadgets this week (my fav one anyway), do you have any gadgets that help you to your goals or are you a low tech kinda person?

I have cyclemeter on my iPhone. That and the belkin arm strap are essential. I like keeping track of my runs (and cycle rides when they happen). It tracks the route and breaks down the miles in terms of pace etc. Here's a graph showing the elevation of last week's run!

I always talk about getting a heart-rate monitor but somehow never bother.




4. We are half way through the year, what have you achieved so far (in all aspects of life)?

It's been a good year for holidays and family activities. Work also good.

5. Fun Question: Tell me one of your secrets to achieving goals and living a happy life?

Variety. Taking a break from the routine. Trying something new.


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Beat the Heat Week 2

I'm wondering whether this should have an alternative name for us Brits. Beat the Heat (what heat!). Anyway rain and moaning about the weather is about as English as queuing.

1. What progress have you made on your goals this week?

Since Monday I've been doing my circuit training (twice), and a 10k run. The 10k run merits a post of its own. I had hoped to do a spin class on Friday but worked from home so didn't get to gym.

I found the spin classes were an essential part of my training last time round as they operate at a much higher intensity than if I just get on my bike and go for a ride.

2. What did you do to make yourself feel fabulous?

I went to see Emperor and Gallilean at the National Theatre at the Southbank. It's not something I would have thought to go and see myself but some family-friends invited me so I thought "why not". I can thoroughly recommend it!

3. Did you have a moment in your life where everything changed for you, an epiphany moment, or has it happened gradually?

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. I can point to many moments, not just in my life but in other people's lives which I would call "Sliding Doors" moments where things could have taken a different path. Anything which was an epiphany moment probably didn't feel as if it was at the time.

4. What made you get involved with the Beat The Heat challenge?

From following this good lady's inspirational blog. As it coincided with the run up to the Duathlon, I thought it would be a fun way to revive my own blog and keep a training diary, of sorts.

5. What is your favourite TV Show at the moment?

Just watched the last Episode of Luther (brilliant crime drama here in UK), the Apprentice, although this season hasn't grabbed me the way the last one did. CSI is always a favourite (original Vegas rather than Miami or New York) as is House but not seen the latter for eons.

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Steam punk and the art of tea-duelling

A few weekends ago saw us pay a visit to Kew Bridge Steam Museum. We'd seen a link to it via the Londonist website and particularly a feature on things for geeks which somehow resonated, I can't think why...

The Museum is in the old water pumping station and houses number of pumping engines. Over the summer it is hosting an exhibition of Steampunk-obilia, including a Steampunk K9:





The Museum is also hosting tea-duelling heats which we were privileged to see. The basic premise is that you and your opponent sit down armed with a mug of tea and a malted milk biscuit. When the referee says "go" you each dunk your biscuit into the tea for ten seconds. You then withdraw the biscuit and hold. Given its immersion in hot tea, the gamble is on how long before the biscuit disintegrates: the aim is to be the last person holding a structurally sound biscuit.




The museum provided the perfect backdrop for the event. We were amongst true tea-duelling giants.


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Latest on the garden

With the beat the heat challenge I was supposed to post a positive picture. Pictures of the garden always make me happy and I'm trying to experiment with our new camera. So, killing several birds with one stone, here's an update on the garden:




Up on the roof terrace is our cherry tree. The cherries have now been picked as too many were going to the birds.




Roses in the front garden. I probably take too many pictures of our garden but plants tend to keep still and are easier to photograph.




Lavender. Smells gorgeous.




We've picked about a bowlful of blueberries so far. Thinking they're going to become muffins. We've had to put netting round them to stop the birds. Better check it's worked.

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Beat the Heat 10 week challenge

So, welcome to the start of my ten week challenge. More about the challenge can be found here. Here's my take on it. This is the first time I've done anything like this so bear with me.

1. What are your goals for the 10 week challenge?

Goal[s]. Mmm my main goal is to complete the London Duathlon in less than two and a half hours. This will be the third time I've done it. Last year I completed it in 2hr 35 and my first year saw me round in 2hr 45

There's probably other goals I could add, exercising more is the other one which springs to mind. Blogging more regularly is another.

2. Why did you pick those goals? What makes them important right now?

Well, the Duathlon is about ten weeks away so this gives me the perfect focus for my training. The other goal I considered was to exercise more but I think this will follow on from my Duathlon training: if I have a target time in mind then not only will I increase my activity levels but I will also train smarter and not just exercise more for the sake of it. I also mentioned blogging more. Periodically I try and aim for a post a day or a photo a day. I think that participating in the beat the heat challenge, I will increase the frequency of my blogging. "hurray" I hear you shout!

3. What’s your biggest excuse /reason for not doing something and how are you going to stop it getting in the way?

Time. I work full time and have two young children. Fitting in exercise CAN be done however. In the mornings, in the evening, in my lunch hour. It cn be done. I just need to get back in the habit of diariasing my lunchtime exercise, not hitting snooze when the alarm goes off and going straight to my circuits app instead of Facebook when picking up the iPad of an evening.

4. Are you a planner or do you go with the flow?

I like to have a structure if I'm training for an event but it needs to have flexibility too. I don't go for rigid planning.

5. Fun thing Tell us something that will help us get to know you. Like things you like or a silly story or about your family.

I won (correction, my husband won) tickets to the iTunes festival to see the Manic Street Preachers last night. They rocked. We got back after midnight so my mission today is not to let my tiredness be an excuse for eating rubbish and then not exercising when I get back from work.


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Running

Sometime back in March I ran a half marathon around Reading. Start and finish were at the Majeski stadium which meant we had an amazing finish line: in the stadium itself. After nearly 13.1 miles pounding the pavements, a wave at the girls and Mr S as well as a sprint finish over the line provided the perfect boost and backdrop for a sprint finish.

My time? 2hrs 8 mins. A full five minutes slower than my last half marathon: Windsor in 2003 in 2hrs 3 mins.

Reading was great fun, being in the city (sorry, town) centre and round the houses you get loads of spectators cheering you on. Additionally, you get the spectacle of the fancy dress runners as well. Highlights included a chap in a Mankini, a comedy camel and assorted superheroes. Actually, the Mankini wearer overtook me in the first mile (to many cheers from the crowd) and thankfully that was the last I saw of him.

I've come to the conclusion that I prefer trail running, my training tends to be a combination of tarmac and trails and the off-road running is so much easier on the feet over long distances.

I'm definitely going to do Reading half marathon again. I've signed up to do a small half marathon at the end of October. Aim is to do it in less than 2 hours.

I've not done much running since the half marathon. Instead I've been doing a combination of circuits (Courtesy of Jillian Michaels), yoga (Courtesy of Tara Stiles), cross-training (courtesy of our cross trainer) and weights/ circuits based exercise (courtesy of my gym).

This Sunday saw my first run since the half marathon - just over six miles in an hour so pleased with that. Just need to keep it up now.



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The Ayes AV it?

I was working from home yesterday. All in all a productive day (of course). Thursday sees the polls opening for local elections and a referendum on the voting system so Wednesday saw me spending some time reading up on the various options.

I say various options: there's yes to AV. Or no to AV. Two options.

I suspect that the turn-out for the elections will be low. I also suspect that the Nays will have it. The populist media seems anti-AV and has modelled all sorts of "if we had AV" scenarios designed to pander to their audiences' worst fears.

A lot of the material I read yesterday was leading me to think "yes" but the arguments seem to boil down to the simple premise that FPTP is just "not fair". Not fair is a statement made, usually by children, when they can't get something or do something they want but they don't quite know why they should be able to do this.

I think what I don't follow is why someone's second choice vote should carry the same weight as someone else's first choice vote. I think I could understand AV if the second choices counted as half a vote, third choices a third of the vote and so on. Clearly, this would be more complex and cumbersome to administer so the desire to keep things simple will always prevail.

The current system is criticised because parties can be elected to a majority of the seats with a minority of the votes. This leads to voter disenfranchisement and political complacency. The concept of MPs representing a constituency seems outmoded, the world has changed significantly (beyond recognition?) in the last 200 years.

Perhaps the system needs reform. I'm just not sure that AV is the answer.

If the question on the ballot paper asked whether I wanted FPTP to stay, I would say no. Instead, the question will be whether I want AV to be introduced. I don't know that I do.



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Tuesday 3rd May

Despite having the day off work, there are no photos for today. Boo was at school until 4:15 so Pip and I had planned a full day of meet-ups and catch-ups.

Our plan to take the mog to the vet was thwarted by his plan to go outside and enjoy the sunshine. This gave us more time to get to the play barn so we decided to cycle. Carrying pip is easy but I'm sure the locks I bought weigh as much as her.

Our plans to pop over to see another friend were thwarted by her Guinea Pig's unplanned visit to the vet.

Boo enjoyed drama and was positively beaming when we picked her up, she wanted to introduce me to the teachers!

So a very nice break from my usual working routine and a welcome foray into the girls' weekly routine.


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Monday 2nd May

Monday saw us packing up and travelling home. The sun was shining and the tide was out, leaving a long line of flotsam and jetsam above the usual high water mark.




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Some more from the weekend

Sunday was very windy so we decided to head somewhere with indoor and outdoor activities. Having forgotten our national trust passes, we headed for a place called Woodlands Adventure Park - a popular destination for other families but big enough that it didn't feel crowded.

We spent most of the morning in the indoor play area - children under a metre tall had to be accompanied in the big play area, Mr S and I accompanied the girls without too much disappointment at having to run around a three story structure containing slides, ball pits and areas to run amok.

I did manage to sit down and continue "Devil May Care" which is Sebastian Faulks writing as Ian Fleming. I'm not a huge fan of the James Bond movies, having only ever seen Octopussy (as a bored 8 yr old on a family holiday to Dorset) and a more recent one at the cinema. The books however are an enjoyable romp through the same glitzy world of casinos, glamourous destinations, fast cars and villains with dastardly plots and a monologue to tell you about them, all in the name of international espionage.

Our plan to explore outside was scuppered by the rain so we continued with our indoor adventures until it was time to head back to our cottage for tea.

The wind was quite strong, so there were some quite spectacular waves, making for some good photo opportunities. I also managed to find the sepia setting on the camera.




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Bank Holiday celebrations

The weekend was a time for celebration. We spent the Saturday morning lounging in the cottage - girls helped me open my presents and cards and then we played on the wii. We started with DJ Hero and then moved onto Just Dance Junior - a lyrically anodyne version of Just Dance. As you can see, Mr S enjoyed himself.




Having worked up an appetite and with the rain easing, we strolled down to the local pub for lunch. Fish all round, with a burger for me. It was then time to head to the local cinema to see Rio. Very entertaining, the girls both enjoyed it, Pip was particularly taken with the dog's carnival costume: "that doggy's wearing pants!"

The weather had cleared enough for picnic on the beach in the evening.




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A post a...

...day?

Having recently celebrated a birthday, I thought it time to try again with the blog a day, possible a photo a day, we will see. I will start with the 29th April.

We arrived in Devon late on evening of 28th and just about managed to find out holiday cottage with the help of some locals. On asking for directions they responded "oh that must be x's place!" you can't beat a bit o local knowledge.

While most of the world was transfixed on the Royal Wedding, we were getting our bearings in our home for the next few days. The cottage was in a perfect location, a pebble's throw from the beach and with the sound of waves crashing off the cliff-side.

After breakfast at the local cafe, we decided to explore the beach. While the tide was out, we enjoyed clambering over the rocks. Once the tide started to come back in we donned wetsuits and had a small splash around.




Mermaid of the sea?





The girls enjoyed exploring.




The view from our cottage. We have one or two photos like this...

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Experimental veg

We've also decided what to do with the fourth bed in the front. We had some carrot and radish seedlings and weren't sure where to put them. Problem solved! They've gone in the fourth bed.




Here's the carrot seedlings (and sunflowers) before planting out. It's a bit shady because of the Bay tree but we will see how they do.

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Garden update

Thought it was time for an update on what we've been doing in the garden. Actually, what we've mostly been doing is enjoying barbecues with friends and breakfasting on the roof terrace. Most of what you will see are the fruits of our labour earlier in the year or, more likely, the fruits of previous owners labour.





Purple bearded iris. These were here when we moved in and have just started to flower this week. We have a lone iris in the back garden by the pond and a proliferation under the Bay tree in the front.




Bluebells are coming into their own this week as well.





Blueberries are looking promising. We've had a good crop the past few years so we will see how they do.


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Garden (March 27-3-2011)

This weekend saw our first foray into the garden. We first stocked up at the Garden Centre and fortified ourselves with lunch and tea.

Focus was on the front garden. This area is nicely laid out with four beds for herbs, a planter for mint, a bay tree and some flower beds (Peonies looking very promising again this year). However, the beds had been taken over by something lemony and very prolific. Having had them cleared last year, it was time to start planting.




This is one of the beds. On the left we have chives (some already there and some nearly planted garlic thyme). In the middle we have rosemary (a rather tired looking plant that was already there and a more vigorous plant which was liberated from a pot on Sunday afternoon). On the right (eclipsed by the rosemary) a fennel-type plant.





The next bed is being prepared by Mr S in this picture. Some mint is visible and after this picture was taken, two varieties of thyme were planted. There is also some sage in this bed but it's not visible.




After clearing the planter and marvelling over the resident worms, we planted two varieties of Mint. Apple mint...





English Lamb Mint. This one has "Sunday Roast" written all over it.

Finally, I moved some of the Muscari and (I think, Primrose, or a weed with yellow flowers). There's plenty of room in this planter so I might add some more mint varieties.




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