Cake Decorating 101

In my never-ending quest to limit whatever freetime I may have, I signed up recently for a cake decorating class. Wilton, the ubiquitous supplier of professional cake decorating products, offers small classes at both Michael's and AC Moore. My mother took a class when I was a child and I remember her bringing home amazing cakes. I've been dying to take a class for years, so when I ran across a class at AC Moore, I jumped on it. $22 for the class, plus supplies.

Well, the supplies could run you considerably more, if you don't watch out! At first I thought I could borrow most things from my mother -- at least the frosting tips. Most of the other supplies don't age well, so it was off to the races to buy pastry bags, couplers, icing colors, etc. Tom accomplanied me on one trip and quickly calculated that it's cheaper in the long run for me to buy an entire kit, using those wonderful 40-50% off coupons that are in the paper, than it is to purchase items individually.

Tonight was the first class -- an introduction to making the frosting, how to level a cake, how to put together a pastry bag with the frosting tip. Good thing I watched my mother as a child do all these things!

For each of the next three classes, we bring in a plain, small frosted cake to decorate with whatever skills we've learned from that class. Stay tuned!

Treking the hills of Breakheart Reservation

Today Tom and I took a trip up to Saugus to visit Breakheart Reservation, the potential site for a 5K race we're planning for one of NEEM's clients. What a beautiful oasis outside of Boston -- I had no idea this was out here!

Breakheart offers two paved loops (1.9 miles and 2.9 miles) and miles of wooded trails. The Visitor's Center in Saugus is just off of Route 1, and quite impressive -- areas for cooking (gas only), childrens' playground, a workout center. You can hike about a mile in to a beautiful beach. Warning: it's quite hilly!

We're very excited about the possibilities here and looking forward to sharing the details with our client.

Revisiting a favorite childhood activity: Boston Harbor Islands

Tom and I were recently approached by an organization interested in hosting a race on one of islands in Boston Harbor. We bailed out of both of our football games this weekend, citing loads of laundry and general fatigue, and took a trip out this morning to Spectacle and Georges Islands to scope things out and enjoy a day off in the sun.

When I was growing up, my father would take me, my uncle and his then-girlfriend (now wife) out boating on the weekends. We would drop the Midido (name leftover from the previous owners down in Florida) into the Charles River at the public boat launch in Watertown, travel down the river into the Harbor and out to Georges Island. I have very fond memories of tooling around the Harbor and running around the island.

It's been easily 20, maybe even 25 years since I last went to Georges Island, and Tom's never visited any of the islands, so this was a great treat. Spectacle was very cool -- open, untamed land covering a landfill. Beautiful vistas of the city and the other islands. The trail along the perimeter is just over 1.5 miles, so there are great possibilities for a fun road race here. Great investments have been made in amenities like a visitor's center, a modest eatery, and plenty of tables and benches. We had the good fortune to meet one of the Park Rangers while we were out measuring, and she gave us incredible insight as to all the island offers. A caretakers lives there year-round, and the rangers live in temporary dwellings called yurts.

To the right is Tom just ahead of me on the path walking with our measuring wheel. We got a lot of strange looks from folks on the T that morning, and quite a few inquiries as to what we were doing when we reached the island. :)

Georges Island is home to Fort Warren, a civil war era fort that has been incredibly well maintained. We stopped at the Information Center for a quick bite to eat (note to self: this late in the season, 'tis wise to bring one's own picnic lunch!), then headed inside. We couldn't resist putting Tom behind bars at our first stop!

It amazes me how accessible the fort is -- there were a few nooks and crannies that definitely gave me the creeps, and a few precarious stairwells and edges overlooking deeps wells that would make me think twice about letting a child run around on their own. Yet, this is exactly what I was doing as a child!

Our trip to the islands brought back great memories for me, and Tom couldn't help but note how he has lived his entire life near the city, yet never took advantage of the harbor islands. The ferry rate is a fair price, and you can bring your own food, games, and other beach gear and enjoy a great day out of the city.

Add this to your to-do list next summer!

We came, we directed, we got soaked....

This weekend, Tom and I directed the 9th Annual Flutie 5K road race. I haven't posted much, if anything, on this blog about our side-business directing road races. For years, we both directed races for our respective favorite causes and received quite a bit of really positive feedback, encouraging us to make this a paying gig. So much so that on a whim, Tom grabbed the url, www.racedirectors.com, and we hung on to it, even while we were busy getting married and my four years at BC working on that MBA. Once I finished, we found that the interest in actually hiring us to direct niche road races was still there, and we've been in the fortunate enough to earn contracts to direct a handful of events over the past 1-2 years.

The Flutie race is a great experience for us, and we enjoyed working with the Foundation's staff immensely. Pre-reg numbers were on track all the way until the close of online registration Friday night to easily break 800-1000 on race day, but sadly, the weather gods were not with us today. I have to say: even we were caught completely off-guard. When we got up at 4am today (yes, 4am), forecasters were still calling for scattered showers. As Tom reflected tonight, were all the showers scattered over Natick, MA? Nevertheless, we had a terrific team of volunteers and really wonderful -- and more importantly, good natured! -- runners that made for a great fundraiser for the Foundation.

Now, to dry out.....

It's that time of year again -- DFMC 2009!

Just received the special invitation to join the DFMC 2009 team, made available only to current team members, and filled it out immediately.

One of the application questions asked you to tell something about yourself. My answer made me smile: we're back in Boston, I'm traveling less and not in school, and I'm stepping down from one or two more volunteer activities. Could it be...do I really...have more time to TRAIN with the gang???

Heartbreak Hill, here I come!

PS: If you didn't get a chance to support my 2008 Boston Marathon run yet, this is my not-so-subtle hint that it's not too late! I just learned I can accept donations through the end of September, so if you can make room for a wonderful cause in your budget this month, please consider supporting me!

Now this is how a concert should be: Coldplay

Tom and I went to the Boston Garden...er, Fleet Center.....er, TD BankNorth Garden or whatever they're calling the building on Causeway, to see Coldplay.

The show itself was fantastic -- I love the emphasis on piano in their music. Their light/visual effects were incredible -- really very cool. Toward the end of the show, the band hopped into the crowd, went across the venue and picked back up on a very small stage in the middle of the crowd to play one or two songs. Very, very cool! My only complaint -- they should play longer shows (played for one hour, then a 2-3 song encore).

Our seats were the bonus for the evening. We bought into a luxury box through one of Tom's friends with 24 other people. Really pricey and not something we're likely to do again, but we had a private box with a great view, free food, a personal bartender, security to keep the riff-raff out, and nice cushy seats, including couches. Very, very comfortable.

Ah, if only we had a money tree in the backyard!

Tom's annual fishing extravaganza

This weekend, Tom and the boys participated in their annual fishing tournament down in Orleans. From what we heard from where us girls were lazing on the beach, the fish weren't biting until nearly the end of the day. All in all, they didn't do too badly -- after all, a bad day fishing is far better than a good day in the office!

Their catch.........

DMB, take two

We went to the second DMB show last night. Tom had researched the parking a bit and thought we could park in the pay lots early, but alas, no parking anywhere now until 4pm. Not to fear, we drove aimlessly in downtown Mansfield to kill an hour or so, then quickly called his friend Hubie, a Mansfield guy, to see if perhaps we had missed something interesting to do in town. His solution: hang out in his backyard, stick our feet in the pool, and raid a beer or two from the fridge in The Barn (what in our house is affectionately referred to as the Man Cave, seeing as how we don't have an actual separate building!). Needless to say, we asked him to call his very good-natured wife, Meg, to make sure it was okay -- she was feeding a friend's dog with the kids and on her way home, but true to self, said "see you in a few." So for an hour, we hung out with his dog, a longtime friend re-doing his roof, and a motley crew of rabbits, hens, a rooster and a few goats. I stuck the requisite toes in the pool, while Tom fished in the beer fridge. What, did we have a concert to attend?

Long story short -- we left Hubie's to pay $30 to park in a private lot. Had a few beers, weren't terrorized by the cops. Walked a bit further to Great Woods, but well worth the state of mind. Were horrified when GW security harassed a husband and wife -- at least ten years older than I -- when the husband offered a sip of his beer to his wife. She must have had a duplicate license -- an absolute no-no -- and the acne scarred pip-squeak tossed the $8 beer in the trash. Oh, did we have a concert?

Yes, the show was great, although we were disappointed to not hear some of our favorites. The encore was bordering on the bizarre -- he played a very low-key, nearly solo song that neither of us knew, then the whole band returned to cover an old 60s song along the lines of "thank you for letting me be who I am" (or something to that effect). Very disappointed until he ripped off his headset and started dancing around the stage. Dancing was an understatement -- he really tore it up! At some point, Tom and I went from disappointed to amused to laughing it up. Still wish he closed with one of his classics, but it was different!

DMB, take one

Last night we went to the first of two Dave Matthews Band shows at Great Woods....er, the Tweeter Center....er, the Comcast Center. The show itself was fantastic -- hearing the crowd jam to Everyday was awesome! Tim Reynolds guest performed on electric guitar, which Tom and I had never heard before. A little strange not having piano (although Dave did play for one song), but it did give some of the songs an interesting sound.

The venue, however, was a bit of a nightmare. If you haven't been to Great Woods recently, you now have to show your tickets when you pull into line to park. No tickets, you get sent to Will Call, a temporary parking area in which you have 20 minutes to produce a set of tickets or you are asked to leave. We had three cars and were immediately split up based on tickets (will call, VIP and our regular issue).

The town of Mansfield is cracking down heavily on public drinking, even those of age. In the past, if you've used plastic Solo cups and were of age, they looked the other way. No more -- the police force and event security must be triple what it has been in the past. Granted, you see a lot of kids running around that look extra young, but they weren't messing around. Coolers taken, cars raided. We eventually closed up our car and headed over to meet our friends in the VIP area where not only was the average age closer to ours, there was less fuss.

We complain every year about how stressful it is to see concerts at Great Woods -- maybe this will be the last of the shows we attend.

Vacation at last!

We're off today for five days in the sun at Islamorada in the Florida Keys. Tom's energy level is up, so we're hoping that he can enjoy some R&R, as well as some fishing, under relatively normal circumstances.

Ready, aim, fire!

Tom and I finished our pistol class tonight and passed our written exam. We're now proud owners of two pieces of paper that says we're qualified to shoot a gun -- next step is to convince the local authorities as such!

Our latest mischief....

So Tom and I are taking a pistol class. Yup, we're going to learn how to shoot guns..hopefully at a bulls-eye, not at each other. :) For those not familiar, MIT has a pistol range on campus and has had a number of students nationally ranked in marksmanship. Tom's wanted to take a class for years now, and it just so happened that the timing was right for both of us. Plus we get a small discount as Wellesley alumna and spouse, part of the greater MIT community.

Wish us luck!

More things to do when I have time....

The list just continues.....

Re-learn how to play the piano. Ah yes, twelve years of piano lessons and I barely remember a damn thing. My teacher and I were constantly at odds. She wanted to teach classical; I wanted to learn current music. She wanted me to learn how to read music; I would write in the note names, memorize, then erase before the next lesson. My mother, who does not play, used to point out to me how my father continued to play as an adult and that I would regret someday not being able to play at a party with friends. At 15, I thought I knew better, but sure enough over the past few years, I've found myself wishing I had paid more attention. Tom bought me an amazing keyboard for my birthday last summer; now I need to make some time to re-teach myself!

Figure out all those bells and whistles on our cameras. I used to love taking pictures and was the back-up photographer for our yearbook in college. One of the first things we did when we got married was to invest in both a digital and regular camera. We've since upgraded to yet a newer digital, and I'm embarrassed to say, I don't know how either works beyond "push here dummy." Tom's much more knowledgeable than I, but we could both use a remedial class.

Garden with success. So when we lived in Somerville, we had what I jokingly referred to as a "city boy garden." Tom bought huge pails, cut holes in the bottom, and planted tomatoes and peppers. Our deck boxes were filled with easy-to-grow flowers and a few herbs. We actually did pretty well. Fast forward to buying a house: one would think that with plenty of land, we'd do even better. Well, our garden last year was a disaster. Tom tried to start plants inside, and we both lost interest fairly quickly. Few survived. Lesson #1: just buy the starter plants, don't bother with growing from seed. Then, we did a half-assed job digging an expansive garden. Result: weeds everywhere. Halfway through the summer, I dug everything up, lost a few less hardy plants in the process, but refilled the plot with garden soil and replanted what I could. Lesson #2: Invest in a timer for your spigot and water daily. The sun was so strong and our days commuting so long, we pretty much lost everything. Sigh.....I think we should revert to container gardening!

If I had all the free time in the world, what would I do?

Free time? Me? You've got to be kidding. If there's one thing I have a hard time with, it's saying no! But what if I had more time? What would I do?

Take golf lessons. Actually this is a little bit like cheating -- we're actively trying to find a local course where we can take semi-private lessons. I haven't played in quite a few years, and Tom really only plays 1-2 times a year. We're receiving more and more invites, however, to play in charity tournaments, so it's time to shake off the cobwebs!

Go hiking. Tom and I spent one summer doing several hikes, most of them in the Presidential Range in New Hampshire. The first time, we had the totally wrong gear and were sent back down because the weather changed. After that, we wised up a bit and came better prepared. There are a few mountains I'd like to try, Mount Washington being at the top (although I just read a rather scary article regarding all the reasons not to!). I'm not terribly interested in really killing myself and going for serious mountains like some of these avid climbers -- I'm much more the hiker. I'm kind of chuckling to myself -- didn't I just write about how Girl Scouting wasn't my cup of tea?

Travel more. Again, kind of a given. But where do I want to go? Back to France for the Tour de France (although not nearly as exciting without Lance). To Scotland, the land of my ancestors. To Nova Scotia - more ancestral searches. To Quebec to stay in the Ice Hotel. Back to Italy to relive Under the Tuscan Sun.

Learn how to cook. Ummm.....nah! I'm so much better at washing dishes!