WordPress! How are you? Hope all is well and you are also experiencing a bought of warm weather like we are up here in MA. I’m in a tube top n jeans, which is a major big deal in November!!
I am doing great – it’s my Dad’s 83 birthday! My favorite guy and best person on this Earth 💙. We will be celebrating him on Saturday. So here I am today..sitting on a mundane conference call, and thought I’d share what I have been up to since my last post.
Continuing on the busy train, we didn’t have much down time all weekend or Monday. Friday night, we had all of our kids’ friends over for a Halloween bash, which was spooky and chilly. We followed Friday with a road trip the next day to Saratoga Springs for a regatta weekend. Our daughter had her race on Sunday late afternoon, so we were on the road late night into Monday. Then Monday we kept it low key w my husband, his sister, and our fifteen year old daughter trick 0’treating.
Friday; October 28
For this Halloween bash, with all the things I had going, I asked to make this more of a potluck, than me hosting a party where I have to kill myself to entertain. It worked out perfectly! I supplied a cocoa station, spooky punch, choc chip cookies, chicken n fries, and a cemetery cake. (I know I want supposed to do anything but that’s not me.) well, I was blown away as each kid brought some thing, and I wish I took a picture of the table with all the food and dessert because I don’t think I have ever seen so many kids participate to bring something to a get together. I’m talking about they made sweets and some grabbed catered food! L O L. I think they really wanted to be here.
The party was a lot of fun. The kids started out their night outside, as the temperatures slowly crept to freezing, we move the party inside our living room. I am not sure how this turned into something, but all of the kids wanted me to be their fortune teller! I don’t understand, seriously, where this came from. So I indulged them with readings and it was so much fun! I spent almost two hours- talking to each kid and enjoying just some of the most interesting conversations.
When I say I love my daughter’s friends, I mean it. What a great group.
Saturday-Sunday;October 29-30
Our weekend was focused on our daughter’s regatta, the Head of the Fish in Saratoga; which was on Sunday afternoon. She crews novice in an 8-boat. She was to arrive on Saturday to attend the teams spaghetti dinner on Saturday night at 7P; with a strict curfew of 9P. (She bunked w her friends as my husband, oldest daughter and I got our own room.). As our daughter told us she wanted to just hang out with her friends at the dinner, we left her there to go have dinner and drinks with our friends, who live in Saratoga Springs.
Before Covid had begun, we got to see our friends in Saratoga, that February. Before lockdowns. And then they haven’t been able to make it home for friendsgiving for one reason or another. So this meet up was long overdue.
And they said they’d be home this friendsgiving!
Sunday, we caught up with our daughter and tried to make the most of the day before her race. With another parent and two kids, we took a stroll through downtown Saratoga springs. Visiting all the shops we have missed on the past two years and enjoying the sights. It was a beautiful day.
We got to Saratoga right on time for our daughter to rig her boat. The area we were in was so beautiful on the water, that I just felt like I was somewhere really special. this time I wanted to watch everything that she had to do to get ready for a race. So we hung back where the trailer was and watched every team that we could get ready and it was pretty fun.
Crew life is crazy btw.
These kids are dealing with boats that are like $30,000-$70,000!! And these boats can weigh anywhere from 400 to 700lbs! The first thing that the coaches try to drill into these kids is how these boats are expensive and they have expectations around these boats, they are never to be abused… They never want to see new scratches. They never want to see them being dropped or anything like that. YET, the kids are responsible to lift, transport, place in the water and race in them. It’s crazy!
But getting a chance to see this behind-the-scenes interaction between the team, the boat, the coaches, it was a beautiful dance of all these components coming together. And when these kids got onto the water …gah what a sight . They glided, seamlessly, in unison, rowing. Tha backdrop, the sounds.. it just was something I never thought I would ever watch. I never thought one of my children would want to do this and yet there I was. (Yes-I cried a lil but that’s not fair since I cry all the time.)
👻 Halloween 👻
We got home late Sunday but were all jazzed up for Monday…it was Halloween!!
One of my favorite Halloween traditions with the family is to make something spooky for dinner. So this year, I gave it a good thought and created my side dish of intestines! 😂 Yes everyone gross out. But it was actually really funny to serve. Basically, it was a calzone (spinach, mushroom, onion, pecorino and mozzarella) that I shaped in the smallest dish that I have, placing it, squiggly enough, to look like intestines. It was eaten in minutes but NO ONE wanted me to call it intestines. Idkw.
As I mentioned, my husband with his sister, niece, and our daughter went out trick-or-treating…I stayed behind to ‘man the fort’, waiting on the big rush of kids. But only six kids came by. Big womp.
So, I, in my giant witches hat, spent the evening drinking ‘witches brew’ with our neighbors on the lawn waiting on kids. We just couldn’t believe how tame the night was. It was super fun talking with everyone but now I am stuck with a ton of candy!
One more thing!!
Let me sneak in one more event!
Last night it was our oldest daughter’s Honor Society induction ceremony! What a beautiful night celebrating these kids. Our daughter is a humble child but I can’t express enough how she surpasses any expectations and how intelligent she is-and always has been.
She has such a bright future ahead and we are so excited to be here for her during this achievement, and her journey. ❤️
Well, as this call I am on is coming to an end, I have to get running to pick up crew kids for their session today. The Fall crew session is coming to an end next week, but they have a special day ahead- they are dry docking. They are helping their boathouse pull the dock and put it away for Winter. Idk what this entails except there’s a crane involved- seems cool but also cumbersome. We shall see. There is a Winter session for crew that my daughter will be signing up for- tomorrow; it’s centered around body/strength training. Which I would like to join! 😂
Oh yah, I start back to pottery on Monday! The Winter session begins and I am so excited. Ok ok. I have to focus.
I am hopping off now. Hope you all have a great weekend ahead! Thanks for swinging by to catch up. I always appreciate your time and support.
till next post! xo
Valeria Out Loud 