It is a Wonderful Life

One of the benefits of living in an our home is that I get to relive Christmas memories from years past including a real, big tree. I tried to explain to Steve that "the house" required a real tree of 8-9 feet. Anything else just didn't seem sufficient. That is part of why we ended up with "Frank".

Granted in the last few years my grandparents celebrated they switched to a slightly smaller fake tree - but most of my memories here include a real tree that took up most of the bay window.

We were also fortunate enough to incorporate some of the older decorations. This included the tree mat which used to be stored under the rug and has Santa Claus on it.

I also found an ornament which my grandmother had bequeathed to me. Her exact words written on the box "My will - Fred blue clown, Katie and Jill pink clowns". Unfortunately one the pink clowns didn't make it, so instead in the box for Jill was her absolute favorite decoration - the glass teddy bear. When I showed this to my sis before she left for her holiday in Costa Rica, the ornament brought tears to her eyes. And the to me is what the holidays are about.

Since I started this post pre-Xmas and it is now 3 days after Christmas- somehow I have lost the nostalgic feeling when I started this. Steve and I did end up watching his favorite holiday movie "It's A Wonderful Life" one night, which will be added to the list of Grosskopf family holiday traditions.

Happy Holidays from 108!

Introducing Frank the Tank

I think the pictures speak for themselves........

Change of Scenery

Since we haven't exactly gotten around to decorating the house for the holidays or being even remotely close to having all of the gifts bought, it seemed entirely appropriate to spend some quality time yesterday updating the look and feel of 108 North.

So here it is...... I am still trying to figure out how to make the picture at the bottom less life-sized.

In other news we bought a giant tree last night (around 9 feet). I guess this is what happens when you have tall ceilings and a bay window.

Frank the tank (as I have just named him) is resting peacefully on the front porch wrapped in a plastic tree bag, which probably looks like a plastic scarf seeing as the bag is made for "normal" trees.

Pictures to come when Frank makes his debut later tonight. In the meantime, I will leave you with the thought Steve and I both had as we drove off the lot with Frank strapped on top of the Jetta, "Since when did we become grown-ups capable of making decisions about buying Christmas trees?"

Making the fat hurt....

I am not one for making new year's resolutions (or having any expectation of keeping them). I also wasn't one of those brides who was fasting or living at the gym the weeks before her wedding. In fact, I distinctly remember thinking that changing my diet or exercising would not allow me to "maintain" the size I was when I was fitted for my dress.

Let's just overlook the fact that during my engagement I had been traveling for work and probably had put on a few pounds. Needless to say, my dress fit perfect.

Post-wedding, since I was going to be in town for at least a few months we made an investment to join the Y which happens to be 2 blocks from our house. I say investment not because of the cost, but the mental commitment to actually....dare I say it....work out.

So we are on our 2nd month and some weeks we do better than others, but I am actually really enjoying it for a few reasons.

1. Steve and I get out of the house together and although talking on the treadmill is somewhat limited - the walk there is usually a nice "catch up on the day" time
2. They have tvs with closed caption where I can watch the shows I would watch at home anyway - but I am not really into (ie Office, Grey's Anatomy and few others must be watched in the comfort of my home).
3. The facility is older and hence does not attract the more serious workout freaks - a few high schoolers and NCC kids but for the most part it is people like us who are definitely not training for the Iron Man or anything. This alone makes it easier to go and feel like less of a sloth.
4. And of course the obvious health benefits of exercising.

The last few weeks I have started pushing myself towards a goal, which I now feel compelled to document as a way of keeping myself on track. The goal is to run 3 miles in 30 minutes and while that may not break any records it is big deal for someone who started walking 3 miles in just under 1 hour.

So Tuesday night I got my time to 38 m 40 s. Unfortunately I am sort of negligent on the whole stretching thing so by the next morning I was very sore - especially my stomach. I expected the legs to hurt - but this was weird.

Last night when I got back on the treadmill, I figured it out. It was from my stomach bouncing when I run....it was official "my fat hurt". Although I was not able to beat my time from the previous night, it solidified my drive to reach my goal.

My hope is that in time there will be less fat to hurt...we shall see.

and the first car stuck on our street...

First Snow Fall

Because I am lazy and I already spent 45 minutes shoveling the drive this morning, pictures of the first snow will all be shot from the comfort of inside the house.

From the little bedroom......
















From the front door.....




















From the back door....