In which a snowman tries to eat her...

We are finally back home after a loooooong drive...

We only got an inch or so of snow in VA this weekend, but back home got about 6" - we started to see snow about 40 miles outside of the city.

My girl loves snow so you can imagine how psyched she was to find several inches still on the ground. Unfortunately for her, I didn't think to put her booties on since we were out for such a short time, but when we got inside I noticed some blood on her paw and then realized that all four of her paws were inflamed and bleeding. I feel horrible... poor Bells.

The neighbors made a really cute little snowman, but Nola wouldn't get within about 3 feet of it. She was convinced it would eat her whole.

Hope everyone had a fabulous Valentine's Day!

Alone. Peace. Solitude.

Before Nola came into my life, I used to have scheduled alone time at the beach. I would go at the beginning of spring and beginning of fall. To me, those are the most beautiful beach days. I would sit on the beach with my camera and journal and watch the sun rise, walk along the boardwalk during the day, and return to the beach to watch the sun set in the evenings. I tried to maintain silence as much as possible. The spring and fall beach is perfect because few people are on the shore and nature is as perfect as it was made to be. Chandler and I will be married at the beginning of spring. It's no coincidence.

I was going through my old journal and found something I'd written a few years ago during a fall trip.

Sitting on the beach. Alone.
Watching the sun set.
Beauty.
Tranquility.
Peace.
Time stops.
My world stands still.
I am alone.
The wind blows my hair.
Is it God?
One lone boat still at sea.
Birds fly above.
Fish jump.
Three dolphins swim.
The sky is purple.
Orange.
Pink.
Blue.
Clouds disappear.
Crashing waves become silent.
The tide is low.
Slowly down, the sun falls.
Where is the moon?
Will camera catch the peace that surrounds such beauty?
Can it capture the serenity?
Create warmth on cool sand?

Reflection.
Looking over the ocean.
Comfort.

Trail Dog Extraordinaire

The Blue Ridge Parkway is gorgeous, most especially during the spring and summer when the flora is in bloom, but I love it in the winter months because you can really see how its beauty gives it its name.

We drove out to Graveyard Fields (sounds creepy, I know... a fire burned the area years ago and the trees looked like grave markers so that's how it got its name) earlier today and hiked several miles. It was a perfect day to be outside. I think the high was 50 but with the wind it was more like 45 or a little below that. Above is D at the upper falls. We finally made our way there after a few horse trail side hikes.

Nola is the trail dog extraordinaire -- right! Actually, she was great. The trail was moderate, definitely not easy but not too strenuous either. Although there were parts that I would consider a little more difficult than others. I had to carry her across a few of the stream areas because I didn't want the water to get in her booties and keep her paws wet. Trust me, she would have LOVED to run through these little areas. I did let her go through some but only when the water was low enough not to wet the top of her paws.

We were done with the trail and thought we were also done with inclines... then we remembered the stairs we had to climb to get to the car. Ugh. We were tired. My legs burned from having to carry little Miss Sunshine over some of the rocks. There weren't enough spaces for her feet without a slick surface. Why don't dog booties come with vibram soles?!

Back on the road to the cabin, we decided to stop at an overlook to take a picture of Looking Glass Rock. This would have been a great hike but not something for our little trailblazer. I think it would have been way too difficult for her if not just down right impossible. The trail is pretty rough from what I understand, but the view is worth it. I actually liked looking at the rock from the parkway myself... but then, I'm pretty easy to please.

We're heading home tomorrow, but not before stopping by Waggers to get Sunshine Trailblazer a marrow filled cow bone (gross) for the ride home.

Cabin fever

Is this not the cutest little cabin you've ever seen?! Last year some girlfriends and I rented a cabin in Shenandoah and it was similar but bigger. Ours is small and perfect for the three of us. The heater is surprisingly warm and the kitchen is well equipped! I'll spare you the bathroom plunging story... just know that because men are dirty, messy manfolk, I ended up using Dawn dish detergent to scrub the floors after an unfortunate plunging incident that left puddles on the floor. If anyone needs a laugh let me know and I'll save that story for a rainy day! ;)

We got in trouble at this park... apparently you're supposed to have a "dog walking permit" to take your dog on the trail. It's $50/year! Silly. The warden stopped us and asked for our permit. I acted like I thought it was a rabies vaccination certificate and said we had it (I did, it was in my Nola-dog-pack in the car) but he informed us otherwise (duh). He even flashed his badge as if we needed to know he was truly the lake warden. It was funny. He was nice enough to allow us to finish our walk but was clear it was "only for today." It was a beautiful lake... the houses were gorgeous! We liked almost all of them.

Since it rained this morning we're saving our longer day hike for tomorrow. We spent today at a few shops around town. We drove out to some outdoor shops then hit up some dog stores for Nola. She ended up with a few treats that are impossible to find back home, and a few that are find-able at home but are more than twice the price. Needless to say, we stocked up. But I blame D for that since he started the trend with antlers (plural).

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Mountain Get-away

How silly are we?! We came to the mountains to get away from everything and this is what we did within about 15 minutes of getting our stuff in from the car. We had to plug the computers up in the kitchen because the cabin was built in the 1930s and has two-prong outlets... we needed three prong outlets. The only three prongs are in the bathroom above the sink and in the kitchen by the fuse box. So... here we are.



We found a great trail off the Parkway, the weather has been perfect!!! It was a little warm on the way up the trail but by the time we came back we were glad we'd brought our heavier jackets.

This picture makes me laugh...D was trying to be all serious and model-like but he was really about to crack up laughing.

Nola got antlers!!! D drove all the way to Roslindale (suburb right outside of Boston) to get Nola more antlers! She just finished the one we bought her in November. It lasted three months! She is in pure heaven. What you don't know is that I have about 14 other pictures of her in action on the new antler. Needless to say, she LOVES it. Happy Valentine's Day Belly!

I'm sure we'll post more pictures, we're internet addicts so expect nothing less than full updates periodically! :P

(OH MY! Guess what?! D likes to smell books too!!!! Amazing! Do you like the way books smell?)

Happy (early) Valentine's Day!

My shirt is SO famous!

So I'm watching HGTV the other night and they're advertising a new show, Generation Renovation... then... I see it! My shirt! It's MY SHIRT! I totally have the same one! Well, mine is light blue, but holy cow! How cool?!

I tried to find a clip of the exact scene I saw but I'm trying to get some work done today (okay, I pretend to work sometimes and am really reading blogs but... I think about working a lot).

Anyway, here's a picture from Gloucester that's on another blog of mine. And...here's the place where I got my shirt! The movie A Perfect Storm was filmed in Gloucester (MA) and the entire town (it's small) thrives around fishing. Since there is so much fishing, they have to have lots of ice to keep the fish fresh until they're back to shore. It was a neat place. They have statues to honor the fishermen who have lost their lives working on boats. The beaches pebble shores are small and have lots of huge rocks. It's really pretty.

If you visit Cape Pond Ice's website, you too can have a famous shirt!

Highlights of 2008

2008 was a great year! We went on lots of trips, met new friends, and had a wonderful time in between all of the crazy dances life's music decided to play.

In February, the girlfriends decided to rent a cabin in Shenandoah. It was a great weekend filled with all sorts of crazy fun! The ice was simply beautiful on the trees.

Luray Caverns had the coolest piano that plays from the stalactites!

I was so excited my friend Katie was able to come for the day!

I made everyone a scarf since I'd recently learned to knit. We had a great vacation and hated to leave but we decided to make it an annual event. I can't wait til this year's trip is planned!

In February, both Nola and I were attacked by another dog at the dog park. She had awful bite wounds on her back legs and I had a puncture on my left hand. We have nasty scars on us today from this. It was a traumatic event and one I'm sure we'd both like to forget! She was so pitiful afterwards. I felt horrible for her.

I'd been thinking about fostering a dog through our local animal shelter so when a new friend mentioned needing a foster home for a recently rescued australian shepherd, I offered to be the foster home...

... but that didn't last long.

We enjoyed a summer filled with all sorts of short outdoor adventures.

We went to the beach and walked along the docks watching the boats come in...

... and we got wet in the ocean!

We brought ALL of the dogs and owned the beach that day!

We went to the Canine Crawl downtown to help raise money for the Humane Society.

We tried to learn how to swim... poor little Nola panicked and didn't enjoy water nearly as much as I'd hoped. She was a sport and although I was covered in scratches afterwards, I think she is a more well rounded puppy for the experience (haha).

We had our "first annual" (for the record, there is no such thing as "first annual," it's first then second annual, third annual, fourth annual, etc...) GOAC picnic.

We went to Ocracoke and officially became "The Bird People" while feeding seagulls from the ferry. We were the only people the birds would take food from so it was a little funny. You probably had to be there, but we think it's pretty funny.

We saw the Blue Man Group in Boston...

... and had fun jumping through the water spouts.

We went to Gloucester where the movie Perfect Storm was filmed. It was beautiful! The rocks were amazing and the houses on the coast were unbelieveably huge! They were like mini castles in Massachusettes.

D branded me with a Sox cap, but it was okay because the "B" was pink and the blue was a little faded... just my style!

Some of us turned 30!

We went to the pond and had a good time running through the woods... and empty corn fields on the property!

My sister got married in October!!!

We had some time to enjoy with family.

We spent more time in Boston!

Then went to VERMONT! This was taken at the Ben & Jerry's factory! We got there around 3:00 in the afternoon ready and excited for a tour but the line was out the wazoo so we opted to have a quick potty break, browse the shoppe, and head back out to explore the state!

It just so happened that D booked our trip at the PEAK foliage week in VT so we had an amazing hike in Stowe. This was taken after we'd riden the lift up to another trail. There were Christmas trees that lined the paths so it was probably the best hike I've ever been on! The air was cool and crisp, it was breezy, and it smelled like Christmastime... in October! We had a wonderful time in that Vermont!

Back in NC, we started taking pictures for the Christmas card.

This is one from that set of shots.

In November, Nola and I packed up and headed to Boston for Thanksgiving. My sweet D is the BEST ever and didn't mind when we altered the trip due to some ahem, slight changes in plans... He's amazing! This is Nola in her new sweater all ready to see her first snow... in Cape Cod! We drove up for the day and the beach was freezing! Nola got a great stick from one of the driftwood pieces. We forgot it when we left but D brought it with him when he was here for Christmas and New Year's.

Oh it was so cold!

If 2009 is anything like 2008, I will be blessed beyond measure. I forgot to mention that in March (10th), we celebrated Nola's 1st birthday. I have so much enjoyed having her. I thought about getting a dog for over a year before I started searching for her. Perhaps I'll post about her story later this week. Speaking of my furry child, she just hopped in my lap so the computer must go. If I haven't said it enough already, hope you and yours are having a wonderful 2009!