RRMRTT Lucky Charms CIM Relay team ran five miles together in training for our relay. We ended with a yummy breakfast and mimosa tasting a the fabulous Early Toast!
CIM 2015 Relay Team Training
Jan 1st, 2016 by leigharev2
Happy Thanksgiving 2015!
Jan 1st, 2016 by leigharev2
A run in the morning, then fabulous dinner at my cousin Katy’s house! I can’t believe we did not get more family photos!
Our running club put together a fun Turkey Trot. We even saw turkeys!
My beautiful aunt and cousin!
MandaRun 2015
Jan 1st, 2016 by leigharev2
5K or Half Marathon. I ran the 5K. For a run that was not supposed to have hills, this one kind of did!
Me and my friend, Shanti! I ate her dust right off the bat…
My awesome friend, next door neighbor, and running partner. She slows down for me on our daily runs, but during the races, she is Ms. Fastie, and meets me at the finish line!
Terrific mother-runners in our running club…(Moms Run This Town)
Operation Christmas Child
Jan 1st, 2016 by leigharev2
A special tradition for our homeschool group, and our family. We gathered and packaged items to send overseas through Operation Christmas Child.
‘R’s Patronus 5K
Jan 1st, 2016 by leigharev2
‘A’ and I had ran this virtual run already, but ‘R’ was healing an injured foot. We were able to run his 5K to earn his medal on a perfect Autumn day on our golf course. It was hard work, but he persevered and did great!
Dry Soup Mix Workshop
Jan 1st, 2016 by leigharev2
I met a lovely woman with a large family. She is a wise home manager with meal planning and budgeting. Once a year, she hosts a dry soup mix workshop. She created a cookbook ($10) with around 20 recipes. All of the recipes are vegan, and gluten free, although you can easily add meat to them.
We were able to pick whatever recipes we wanted and make as many mixes as we wanted (at 5.95 per mix). I made one mix of each. They all go into the crockpot and make enough to feed a family of four for about four meals! Seriously! I end up freezing half! All the recipes have been great so far (we have eaten five of them), and have added different meat as desired.
We brought our own containers (I bought Ziplock bags). Some people brought mason jars with the intention to give away as gifts.
It was a nice day and she had everything set up on her patio.
This table had the recipe cards. You picked the recipe you wanted to build. Once complete, you return the card.
This is the row of dried beans. Inside each container is a measuring cup.
This is the table of herbs and spices. Some were even from her own garden!
I left with a huge bag full of soups!
Morning run w/ Goats
Jan 1st, 2016 by leigharev2
I never encountered anything like this until I moved to our area. The city hires goatherds to maintain the public greenspaces. While running along a local trail/park, we got to see the goats doing their thing!
Michelle’s First Napa Trip
Nov 7th, 2015 by leigharev2
I love, love, love taking friends to Napa for their first time! I get to share with them places that I enjoy. for first timers, I like to take them to ‘wow’ factor properties. This day trip was amazing. It was on a weekday after harvest, so we practically had the whole valley to ourselves! The weather was rainy where we live, but it was lovely when we arrived in Napa.
First stop…Inglenook. formerly known as Rubicon Estates, and owned by Hollywood director Francis Ford Coppola, it is almost always the first place we go to when we go to Napa. We actually go there for their mocha. It’s fantastic!
Next stop, a trip up to Calistoga! This is a fun property because they have a tram that takes you up to their facility. You take a self guided tour throughout the property, with wine tastings at different stations. Sterling Vineyards.
It was getting close to lunch time. I have an app on my phone that filters our Napa wineries based on what you are looking for. I looked up properties with picnic tables, as Chateau Montelena came up. I have tasted at this property before and have walked their gorgeous garden. It seemed a perfect place to have a tasting, pick up a bottle, and enjoy a picnic lunch. This is a famous property known for winning a blind tasting in Paris. The movie, Bottle Shock, is about this winery.
We went into the tasting room and asked about picnicking. The young woman went and spoke to her manager and we were then told that the tables were only for club members. Then, nothing…..no invite to taste. No offer to picnic for a fee. No offer to join the wine club. Nothing. I kind of felt like Julia Roberts in ‘Pretty Woman’ when she went clothes shopping and no one would sell to her. (It’s one thing if it’s a busy weekend day, or during harvest, I get that. But it’s another when hardly anyone is in the whole valley, let alone your own property…)
So, while walking their grounds, I called another nearby property that I knew had picnic tables. Bennett Lane winery. This is a small, boutique winery that makes 8000 cases of delicious wine a year. I asked if we could have a picnic there, and the guy said, ‘Absolutely! Come have a taste and your picnic!’
We arrived shortly thereafter is it started HAILING! Big chunks of hail! We waited in the car a few minutes, then went in. They have a lovely tasting room and Pascal guided us to tasting a few reds before settling on a cabernet sauvignon for our lunch. One of the wine guys, Peter, helped David pick a spot that was not too wet. We had a nice conversation with Pascal and Peter, and appreciated their attention and appreciation for us being there. We ended up picking up a case of wine for some of David’s clients.
They have, what I think, one of the loveliest views of the vineyards and hills. This is a picture of me, Michelle, and Pascal. You can see the weather starting to shift to overcast..
We enjoyed a wonderful picnic, with amazing wine, and ended up watching a lightning storm in the distance. It was pretty impressive. Pascal kept bringing additional tastes of their reserve wines, enhancing the experience. Peter came out and visited us some more and watched the storm with us.
Then, Pascal invited us to go to the back to see the operation and meet the Cellar Master, Mike. They were so friendly and open to sharing with us what they do. They let us taste a ‘very young’ Syrah that was aging in the tank. It was what Mike termed ‘fuzzy’. That’s exactly the experience on the tongue; also a flavor mix of a grape juice/wine. It was special to taste something that was ‘in process.’ Mike then invited us to go to the top of one of the vats and see the wine skins that rise to the top of the vat, forming a cap/seal at the top. He had us breathe in and smell that aroma. It was one of the most incredible sensory experiences I have had. There was a life to that smell. It was amazing! He said that you have to be careful when your head is over the vat because occasionally CO2 will escape and force your head back. The group shot includes Mike…
After the impromptu tour, Pascal invited us to try their dessert wine, a port. After all that time and attention with this great group of people, and great wine, David and I decided to sign up for their wine club.
So, on a quiet, off season Monday…we walked away with a case of wine, a bottle at lunch, and a wine club membership. All because Pascal said ‘yes’ to our request for a picnic.
In the words of Julia Roberts in ‘Pretty Woman’, I say to Chateau Montelena, “big mistake”…
Our (almost) last stop was Castello di Amorosa. It was getting late, and we were not interested in tasting, so we just walked the exterior grounds a little before heading home.
This stop was not planned, but our bladders said otherwise. What a nice surprise. We did not taste, but stayed and walked the grounds a little. I definitely want to check this place out next time I come for a visit…Hall Wines
Apple Hill Harvest Run
Nov 7th, 2015 by leigharev2
This run was hard. Hard. It was only 3.5 miles, but half of it was hill. Hill and altitude. hard. But, we did it! My friend, Elyse, ran with me. Michelle was our cheerleader!
Some other women from my running group ran as well. Some ran with double strollers and some ran the 8.5 mile!
Celebratory wine tasting at Boeger winery after.
Apple doughnuts and cider at High Hill Ranch!
Pre-run shot at ParaVi vineyards, where the run began/ended.
Although I am not a big fan of this photo of me, (what’s up with my Bondi band?! Who says they don’t slide back…), I love this capture of friendship and encouragement from the run’s photographer. My sweet friend and crazy awesome triathlete, Elyse, ran with me. It begins and ends on a hill, and I was beat at the end! That was hard! She has her arm around me and letting me know how good my time was (for me). So positive and encouraging. We finished in 46:01, a 13:09 pace!
Halloween 2015
Nov 7th, 2015 by leigharev2
Our friends, Steve and Mary, live in a rural area in Auburn. They joined us in our neighborhood for some trick or treating. We had 104 kids come to our door this year!
The boys are characters from Minecraft.
This is a photo of our next door neighbors. Keri is my friend and running partner. She has been a big reason why I have been able to sustain running again, and getting up at 4am to run at 5am!!!
