A Tiny House

As often happens during this time of year, the office that I work in is turned completely on its head for approximately 4 weeks while colleges and universities across the country welcome their students back onto campus.  Although being away from home for three of those weeks is NO excuse for not posting, I'd like to think it gives a pretty good explanation of where I've been hiding out :)  In a complete turn of miraculous events with all the stars and planets aligning at just the right moment, the schedule opened up in such a way that the J man and I were able to get a full Saturday/Sunday combo of days off--perfect timing for his cousin's wedding and the discovery of a Tiny House open house in NH!  So early on Saturday afternoon, we loaded up the truck and headed to Andover for a night of wedding fun that more than raised the bar for all weddings to come.  Bride and groom were impeccable and the pinkcentric (that means very pink for those of you unfamiliar with that word) color scheme spoke straight to my Barbie girl heart.  The paper accents were absolutely exquisite, and all designed and created BY HAND by J's sister.  If you're a member of that old website known as Facebook, you should totally check out her page for All On Paper because this lady is a master of paper!  The wedding took up all of Saturday plus some of Sunday because we had to get a delicious breakfast at the hotel before heading to Jackson on our Tiny House adventure.  Oh what an adventure it was!  Two and a half hours of driving might not seem like a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon, but for professional drivers such as we are, a scenic drive on a beautiful day with no arrival time looming is heavenly.  Eventually we made it to Jackson, NH, but the Garmin was not being super friendly and we struggled to find the site of the open house.  As we're driving in circles looking for The Lodge at Jackson Village, J suddenly blurts out, "wow...look at THAT tiny house..."  Talk about an AHA moment.  I took my attention away from the road for a few short seconds only to glimpse in person the Tiny House that I'd been admiring online for the past few days!  It was marvelous!  Tiny is certainly the right word for it; I think my current height might slow any plans that were forming in my head to build such a small abode, but it sure was fun to finally get to see what tiny really means.  As we were walking across the parking lot, we bumped into a few folks who were also checking the place out.  They told us they were from Boston (like us) and that they had seen the open house advertised online (also like us) and were really interested in checking it out (again like us).  They were super excited to find out that they weren't the only "crazy" folks who had made the drive up there, and I can assure you that the feeling was mutual.  Crazy as it might have been, the ends most certainly justified the means.  When we went inside the house, we met the owner of The Lodge who explained how she had started following Jay Shafer and his Tumbleweed Tiny Houses, and eventually was lucky enough to have a house built by Jay delivered to her parking lot to live for the next few months.  It's even available to rent for a night so that visitors can get the full Tiny experience.  What a great story, and what a great Tiny house:

Tiny House courtesy of The Lodge at Jackson Village and Jay Shafer

Back at it :)

This week proved to be MUCH busier than I anticipated.  I was hoping to have some great adventures from the road to write about, but with 4 events in 3 days, there was a serious lack of time and sleep on my part.  To make up for my no-writing-mostly-driving-through-the-mountains-of-West-Virginia week, I've decided to go back to one of my favorite weekend trips and reminisce about one of my best days off ever.  The trip started at J's house.  Normally Sundays are Paul's Diner days because they have the most delicious breakfast around and the wait staff there is second to none.  I've never seen so many smiles serving eggs and orange juice, no matter what time of morning you go in.  Unfortunately, we didn't quite make it before they closed at 1:00 so we had to move on to plan B.  We didn't really have a plan B but J was clever and he thought of something right there on the spot.  "Let's just drive," he said.  Just drive?  Driving is what we do for a living.  Why would we voluntarily drive on a day off?  Hmmm...because we don't have to follow a map, or be anywhere on time, or do any work when we get where we're going...genius.  Needless to say, it was only a few minutes before we jumped in the car to go off on our journey.  We started in the direction of New Hampshire since it's only a few minutes to the boarder from Justin's house, but then things changed.  Instead of hitting the highway like we normally do, we stayed on the main road past his house and just kept going.  I had never been down that part of the street before because I always stop at J's, so this was a real treat for me.  We saw things that I never even knew were down there.  And oh, was it worth it.  There were scenic woodland views and swamps and beautiful houses and adorable little shops, and this was all before we finally crossed the state line.  We had planned on stopping to eat right away, but nothing really caught our attention so we just kept driving.  In New Hampshire there was a little river running next to the road and a bunch of places to stop and park.  By that point, we had made it almost 45 minutes without eating breakfast, but the rumbling coming from our tummies was getting a little ridiculous so we stopped for pizza to calm the hunger beasts.  Now, it seemed like a real shame to have driven all that way past a river and a bunch of scenic spots without stopping at any of them.  Nature was right there calling to us and we had just ignored her!  So along came the second brilliant idea of the day, this time from me.  "Let's have a picnic."  Smart, I know.  With high hopes of finding just the right spot, we held out on the pizza a little longer and turned around to start our return trip.  Finally we found a great little place, right on the water and with just enough room for our car to park.  When we first pulled up it looked like we could sit right on the bank on our side of the river, but unfortunately some rather unthoughtful visitors had left a huge bag of trash there so we decided to get adventurous and jump rocks across the river to the other side (no trash).  There was a great big rock for us to sit on and we enjoyed our lunch while sharing a few bits with the minnows in the water.  Man do they like pizza.  Then we played.  There were so many flowers and pools and frogs to explore, we just had to check it all out...

rock hopping

being adventurous

flowers

pools

rocks

Lady Date

So, this posting belongs to last night, but I was so exhausted when I got home that I decided to postpone until tonight.  The reason that I was so tired is because it was Lady Date night!  What is a Lady Date you ask?  Basically it's one of the most fun nights ever because I get to eat and shop and adventure with my friend L.  Every once in a while when the stars align there are nights during the week when we hard working ladies are free to actually spend time together, and when that happens it's a night not to be missed because it's a rare treasure.  Our adventure last night was threefold: 1) construct and devour a homemade pizza 2) find a decent and affordable dress at TJ Maxx and 3) ICE CREAM.  Part 1 of the mission was a complete success.  Linsey has the most creative collection of pizza toppings I have ever seen in a home refrigerator and I was thoroughly impressed with her pizza creation skills.  It was delicious, and we each got 2 slices :)  Part 2 of the mission was a little tougher because of the parameters for the shopping trip.  The main reason we went to TJ Maxx is because I've done such a good job using my TJ Maxx card that they rewarded me with a couple of rewards certificates to tempt me back into the danger zone.  As it turns out I'm going to a wedding in a few weeks and I really needed a nice grown-up lady type dress, so having $20 "free" dollars to spend isn't the worst thing that could have happened.  Thank goodness L was there because I probably would have walked right by the dress that she picked out and ended up empty handed for no reason.  That lady has an eye for style.  The dress is a purple, crepe backed satin with a nice cut and a little stretch (which will be lovely when the dancing starts) and it goes just above the knee which is, as my friend Mark noted today, the perfect length to wear to a wedding.  We didn't quite keep it under the $20 price point, but I only had to pay $9.99 extra so I REALLY can't complain.  It's funny because on the hanger, this dress is so not the kind of thing I would volunteer to try on, but on me it looks totally different.  If you didn't catch this before, I'm very glad L was there, this was too good of a deal to pass up!  Ok, dinner and dress down, now it's on to ICE CREAM.  L is an ice cream expert so she knew exactly where to go and man did we get there in the nick of time!  They closed at 9:00 and we got there at 8:55, but we took our chances and waited for the line outside the door to thin out and eventually we got our 15 seconds of fame in front of the counter.  There is nothing that goes better with pizza and a new dress than mint chocolate chip and chocolate/peanut butter cookie dough.  It was the cherry on top of a perfect Lady Date :)

Math Facts

Tonight's after work adventure was dinner with my aunt, my cousin and my sister.  Normally my uncle and my other cousin would be there too but they are sneaking in one more summer vacation before school starts, so our gathering tonight was just a little more intimate.  In my time as a Trucker Girl, it has been hard to make sure I see my family as much as I ought to so tonight was a real treat, especially with a few out of state tours coming up this month.  One of the coolest things about visiting with my little cousins is the constant amazement I have at just how smart they are.  Example: math facts.  Now see, my cousin is 6 and like most 6 year old kids he has a lot of favorites.  Favorite color: pink, favorite animal: pig, favorite number: 34, favorite part of the news: weather.  His favorite activity (are you ready for this?) happens to be math facts.  A little different than most other 6 year olds I've encountered, yes, but he has a real knack for it.  He can even beat me with his multiplication skills sometimes (not always, but every once in a while...) and I love how much he loves math.  We can literally sit at the kitchen table for hours going back and forth with adding and multiplying double digit numbers without stopping, and it's great.  He is such a smart kid and he never misses a beat.  If I repeat the same number too many times, I know about it right away.  If my addition is off, he makes sure to let me know, and if the problems I'm giving him are too easy well, he'll make sure I know that too.  I know he's only 6, but I have high hopes.  Who knows what's in the future for a 6 year old math lover?  Teacher?  Maybe.  Mathematician?  Perhaps.  But if my cousin has anything to say about it, I can guarantee there will mountains of math facts involved, and I can't wait to see him go!  Hopefully not too quickly though because my long division is a little rusty and I'm going to be in trouble when he gets into that business...

Runner Girl

Although the best part of being a Trucker Girl is constantly being on the go and seeking new adventures, I have found that wheels are not the only means of transportation. Sometimes a Trucker Girl has to strap on her running shoes and take to the streets, and that is just what I did today after months and months of non-running. Needless to say, it was a tough trip. Going from being a dedicated runner in high school with a full twelve seasons under my belt to a lazy bum non-runner once I started college is probably is one of my biggest pet peeves. My memories of running 12 miles every Sunday afternoon are very bittersweet; I loved that time in the woods, but it's hard work running 12 miles and I just don't know whether I'm cut out for it anymore. That whole being cut out for it anymore part is generally what gets me every time I try to rebuild my running regimen, but this time I've concocted a brand new plan of attack, and I think it's working. I started off by running 2.6 miles everyday. 2.6 miles is easy enough, even for a slacker like me, and it seems to have been just the right amount to remind my body what moving really feels like. (2.6 may seem like a strange number, but I use it because it's the distance of a nice loop near my house and I feel like I'm cheating if I call it 3 miles) Let's move on to this week. This week is 4 mile week. The plan is to do 4 miles everyday (or at least every day that I come home right after work) and see how I feel at the end of the week to decide if I stay at 4 miles for a second week or move on to 5 miles. Judging by the way things went today, I'm fairly confident that there will be more than one 4 mile week. As it turns out, today was not only the day that I decided to really challenge myself...it was also the day that EXTREME humidity decided to return to MA. Must have been time for that since the past few days were so nice. In any event, it was hot. Brutally hot. And muggy, thick and muggy. None of these words describe good running weather, I assure you. However, I was determined not to let a little humidity ruin my run, and although it put up a good fight, I made it through and was victorious! Very exciting. I should admit at this point that my sudden urge to get back into running is not entirely of my own doing. One of my co-workers has also begun a running career and is using a program called "Couch to 5K in 90 days" to guide him. I'm so proud of him because I know this is something that he really wants to do and his dedication never wavers. Having been a new runner at one time long long ago, I know how hard it can be to take the trip alone, but I am so excited to see him succeeding in his journey and it's getting me all revved and ready to go along on my way too. The sneakers wont be a permanent fixture (it'd be a long run to work down the highway) but they sure are a good break from the wheels every now and then.

Vacation Recap: A Long Time Coming

The first week back from vacation is a tough one. Always has been, always will be. I won't go so far as to say that my week back was impossible, but the scenery in Vancouver, BC left me begging for more and it certainly would have been nice to get a few more days in. Since vacations only happen once a year, it looks like I'll be living vicariously through my collection of photos for the next 12 months instead. The story of our adventures is long and full of delicious details, so I think the only thing to do in this case is keep the entry short and to the point.

Our very first stop after getting off the plane...


Vancouver at night...


The best place in North Vancouver to get a facial (thanks Moe!)...


The chilly but BEAUTIFUL waters of Lynn Canyon...


Lost Lake up at Whistler...


The view from our hotel room (thanks Mom and Dad!)...


Beautiful, isn't it?

Finally some time with the family :)

This 4th of July, yours truly enjoyed the rare and oh so valuable vacation weekend. I didn't AWAY persay, but I did declare independence from my computer for 3 WHOLE DAYS. It was fantastic. If you've ever had one of those weeks that just feels like it will never end then you can understand how wonderful it feels to pack your bag and lock the front door behind you knowing that you wont be unlocking that door again for a few days. As much as I love being connected at the push of a button, this laptop can sometimes feel like a major ball and chain. Leaving behind all my work files so that I couldn't look even if I wanted to put a big smile on my face. Besides, I knew they'd be there when I got back. Now, on to the good stuff. The mini-vacation consisted of 3 events: a trip to the Cape, a wedding, and a cookout. It really doesn't get more summer than that. One day at the Cape is never quite enough, but we squeezed as much into our day as was humanly possibly. There was beach time, there was grilling time and there was going out to a local bar time and best of all was doing all of this with my boyfriend and his family :) A+ beginning to the weekend. So Cape day was Saturday which means that wedding day was Sunday. The wedding involved a high school friend of mine/my sister and the young lady's fiance. It was gorgeous weather for a wedding, sunny and warm, and it made the air condition in at the reception feel like a major treat! I've never been to a holiday wedding before and was a little wary, but I ended up being pleasantly surprised. With everyone at the beach, we had no problems with traffic and our party was the only one at the reception hall that day which made it seem even more special. A+ for day two. With the wedding on Sunday, the only logical day for our cookout was Monday. Although I know full well that it could have been a touch warmer that day, it certainly felt like we had maxxed out the mercury in the midday sun. It was brutal. I was trying to work on my balloon animals but there was a lot of carnage from all of the unlucky animals who met the sun too soon. So sad. I was able to successfully pursue a second past time of mine with new beer brand sampling. It all started when my sister and I were shopping around for the July 4th staples at the liquor store. Once we had stocked up on the Mike's Hard Limeade for my aunt, we decided to poke around in the other cases and found Elephant Beer!! (Elephants are my favorite animal, I could not turn this opportunity to enjoy a combination of favorite beverage and favorite animal) It was a very good thing we went with the Elephant because it was deeeelicious. There couldn't have been a more perfect drink for that hot hot day. A fun new beer combined with the most fabulous backyard set-up made for the third A+ of the weekend and an absolutely perfect mini-vacation. Great weekends like those make the long trips on the Trucker Girl trail worth all the work.