Sisterhood46

We just had our first blizzard of the winter and it's been wonderful. The key ingredient of course is this magical white powder called snow! Snow makes everything better. Snow makes the scenery all around sparkle. It brings kids of all ages together whether it's for sleighing or a snow ball fight. It turns grandparents into little, giggling kids. Neighbors come out and help each other. Even the grocery store is magically transformed. Let me explain. After our neighbor kindly came to clear our driveway with his snowblower we decided to bake him cookies to say thank you (bad idea for my paleo diet I write this on a massive sugar overdose!) Anyway I drove to my Trader Joe's to get some chocolate chips and after risking my life, realized that I had left my wallet at home. I kindly asked the manager if I could possibly pay for my choco chips the following day to save me another scary drive and guess what? He said yes! Not only that, when I tried to give him my contact i...

The hardest part of spending a week in Europe with your hubbie, is re-entry into the real world. After a week of strolling for hours, going to art expositions, enjoying delicious meals, in-depth conversations, candle lit wine bars and lazy mornings it's reality time..... Making school lunches, Getting copied on email from fellow mothers who are not satisfied with the way the teacher's gift was handled (!) Getting Hubbie's car fixed because it won't start, Calling the plumber because the bathroom sink is leaking Participating in the shopping frenzy because we don't want our kids to be the only one's with no presents under the Christmas tree. Oh and son #2 having a head full of lice.... But the worse part has to be being back behind the wheel. After walking six hours a day, spending those same six hours behind a wheel is torture for my body and soul. Having to deal with morons who still think they can text and drive is just sooooo hard. Having to deal with drive...

Hubby and I are escaping the burbs this week. That's right just the two of us, no cherubs in tow. I personally believe that the only way our marriage can survive the burbs is if we make frequent visits to the outside world be it NY or Europe. Otherwise chances are we'll end up like that couple in "Revolutionary Road." How are we managing this escape? With the kind and generous help of our friends, neighbors and family. I have to say that I am so grateful for my suburban network. While we get a break the kids will still do karate and gym class, they won't miss their basketball games, they'll go to their friend's birthday party, stay on track at school...all that because friends have volunteered. They'll get spoilt by their grandparents, enjoy their Yaya's delicious cooking. My in-laws will have a support team with neighbors who are willing to step in at anytime. And we will get a carefree week to reconnect and get ready to face winter...

My favorite part of the holidays is getting the perfect tree. In the city, the family would head out to the corner vendor and bring our tree back on the baby stroller. Out here in the burbs we've started a new tradition. How to pick the perfect tree in the burbs: Walk around the farm to find THE tree. Cut it down with your bare hands! Drag it down the hill Take it home Admire our very own tower of Pisa! Decorate!

As you know I recently started a new workout called Crossfit. It basically kicks your butt everytime you go but this week, it literally did! On Monday I wacked my nose with a 33lbs steel training bar. It bled, my eyes teared up and when I woke up the next morning my nose still hurt! Oh and did I mention that I did that with 15 people looking at me? Today I did dips on a double bar with an elastic around my knees....well I let go of the elastic and got whipped twice across the chest. I have the welts to prove it. I to top it off I tried (and succeeded after many tries) to do double entendre with the jump rope. When I didn't succeed I whipped my bum with the jump rope! I thought I'd make this public so that hubby doesn't get suspicious about my day activities out here in the burbs!

Coconut is a delicious treat that's allowed on the Paleo diet I'm doing so I recently bought a fresh one in an effort to have a nice healthy snack around. Let me tell you how much pleasure one coconut brought us this morning. My youngest son and I headed to the garage, took out a nail and a hammer from hubbie's tool box and proceeded to have a really exciting and fun smashing session. (No fingers were smashed in the process!) Once the nut was broken we had a delicious, yummy and unusual snack to munch on. Then my son used the broken pieces to reconstruct the nut as a puzzle and decided it made a fun house to play with. To top it all off it was an opportunity to pass on a family memory...my dad used to smash coconuts when we were little and I still remember the fun to this day. One nut in suburbia went a long way!

Over the last two years I've received invitations for Trunk Shows. I never went because: 1. It sounded like a fancy version of a tupperware party which just freaked me out 2. I didn't want to go and be forced to buy something. 3. The idea of going alone to into the friend's of a friend's house wasn't appealing! Anyway today I got over these hurdles (prejudices) and attended my first trunk show. What changed my mind? Well first off a good friend of mine was hosting. Secondly I love the house in which it took place and I found a buddy to go with me. It turned out to be nothing like a tupperware party. It's what we city girls call a sample sale! As my friend said, I sooo miss those fabulous city sample sales where you find amazing things. Well today, out here in the suburbs of CT I got two great side rugs, by Rosemary Hallgarten http://www.rosemaryhallgarten.com ) for a ridiculously low price and a cube/seat that I would normal covet in a design magazin...

5:30 AM Workout 50 (assisted) pull-ups 15 split squats (54lbs) 50 push ups 100 sit-ups After two years of searching, almost to the day, I've finally found my perfect gym! I can't tell you how excited I am. It's been a long struggle. I've tried at least four gyms and as many trainers. None of them fit the bill for a city girl. The main problem was that most of the gyms out here cater to women who don't really want to work out hard. They cater to people who whine about working out! It drove me crazy. Thanks to my pal Richard I discovered Crossfit ( http://www.crossfitperformance.com ). It's a competitive cross training workout that gets you as fit as you'll ever be. There is no fuzziness here, it's about pushing yourself and expecting the best of yourself. The trainers help you only if you're ready to help yourself. There's a great team spirit but everyone on the team is super competitive.  If you're a city girl who's moving to ...