New View, New You.

(This picture is of my amazing brother, Matt, who has climbed many mountains in his life)

Yesterday I blogged about how each of us have a "view" just waiting for us.  After conquering our individual "mountains,"we earn time to pause and rest enjoying our view. However, are there other mountains to climb, another vista to view, an opportunity to reach new heights?

Oh yes, indeed.

The question each of us needs to ask ourselves is this, "Are we willing to leave our current plateau...our place of peace, comfort and beauty...and begin climbing again?"

It is up to us. 

It is always up to us...the perfect plan set up for each one of us. We have all been given the same chance at experiencing amazing views and yet, many of us choose to be content with our current view. 

Not easy but worth it.

All that is required is our will...

A will...

to take the first step

 to suffer

to plead

to try

to trust

to press onward

to seek

to find

to reach

And then, the new view becomes the new you...

...until your next climb.

The View is Ours For the Taking.

Saturday afternoon, Melanie and I climbed Bull Run Mountain.  I am actually quite shocked I have never been on this hike before now (I have lived here for 10 years).  It is no more than a 3 mile drive from my house, easy parking and a quick 2.5 mile hike up...followed by the most amazing view.  What more could you ask for in a hike?

I have decided to make this trek a weekly workout. I will run up, take in the view, and run down.  Who knows, I may even do it twice so I can be as cool as my brother and sister-in-law, Tiffanie (their big race is on July 4...Mt. Marathon...talk about a challenge).

As we were making our way to the top of the mountain, we did encounter rocky sections and large roots that impeded our way.  It was necessary to keep our eyes on the trail at all times.  I know from experience what happens if your eyes wander off the path, even for a moment, you risk a nasty fall.

The steady climb wasn't easy. And I can only imagine the serious burn that will occur when I run the same trail later this week.  A few times, we were forced to stop to catch our breath.  The moments of rest, allowed us to continue onward to our goal, reaching the top. Here we would reap our reward, the most amazing view of the valley down below.

A quick analogy was shared after we reached the top. I told Melanie this hike was like life.  A path full of rocky unstable sections, irritating gnats flitting around our faces throughout our climb, scary rustling of unseen animals in the brush, roots waiting to tangle our step and steep inclines taking our breath...

Such is life.  Rocky times, unstable sections, irritating obstacles flitting right before us, the scary unknown, hills to climb, all of which require our eyes on the path at all times...

Tough stuff.

And our goal is to reach the top...obstacles and all.  And the view will be amazing.  We just have to complete our climb and the view will be ours for the taking.

Say What You Mean, But Don't Say it Mean

See, watching the Real Housewives of New York isn't totally lacking in wisdom.  Just this week, the viewers learned an important lesson from one of the ladies,

"Say what you mean, but don't say it mean."

I can do that.

And let me now tell you how I came to watch the Real Housewives since we are on this subject and too many, it may rank a quite low on the "quality show" spectrum...which quite frankly it does.

Years ago I came across, the original show, "Real Housewives of Orange County." While watching, one gentleman looked rather familiar. A few episodes went by until I finally realized why...Slade Smiley went to my High School...and actually dated my sister (shhh...I won't tell which of my sisters he dated).

I remember one time he was at my house. I offered him a piece of gum to which he replied, "No thanks, I stay away from that stuff, it makes your breathe stale."

See, more free advice.

And I need to make it clear (now that I have come out of the "closet"), I only watch Real Housewives of NY, Orange County and Beverly Hills.

Wait, is that all of them?! 

Don't judge.  If you do, just don't say it mean :)

Camp a Little, Beach A Lot

Tradition states the Porter family joins the Whitesides family for a weekend of camping and beaching.  It all began when the Whitesides began reserving an entire circle of camping lots in a  HUGE campground at Virginia Beach.

What one family started years ago has developed into a huge gathering of friends, creating an incredibly fun weekend for all ages (including the adults...YAY!)

 By day we are at the beach.  Sand, sun and surf allow for fun for everyone.  

 The ladies relaxed, chatted and read.

 The little boys, filled their bellies with sand, creating masterpieces out of sand.

 Speaking of masterpieces, Alexandra Whitesides, was the creator of all things braids. Even Calvin, with his obnoxiously long hair joined in the fun.

 Tate spent most of his time riding the waves...and there were some wild ones!

 Relaxing was a plenty.

 Are these two seriously the cutest couple ever?!

 Last year, Rae and I clenched the coveted paddle ball championship. This year, Jason and Melanie attempted to win it back...not a chance!

 Ashton loves to "dabble" in the waves.

 When Tate isn't in the water, he is actively working on a sand hole.

 Cole and Cal decided to burn some calories burying little Brett.

 Ethan and Jake were right there, working on their own sand hole...they even drew a crowd.

By night we  hung around the campsite, roasting marshmallows, playing games and letting the kids wander the campground (it had myriads of pools and nightly activities).

Each year, Melanie makes her famous dutch oven lasagna...to die for.

This tradition seriously creates the most amazing memories for our family. We are grateful to be a part of the fun!

Finding the Win

I really thought I would open the package of M&M's last night and find a bag filled with brown M&M's.  You see, M&M's introduced their newest candy mascot during the Super Bowl earlier this year. Mrs. Brown is making a cameo appearance on the packages. If you find a bag full of brown M&M's you could win a lot of money...

$100,000 to be exact!

I figured I had a pretty good chance of winning. I mean, someone has to win right?!  Why couldn't it be me?  I eat a lot of candy and I need money, therefore, I should win! I decided that this bag of candy would contain the brown M&M's.

So...

I visualized the contents, thinking only brown thoughts.

As I reached into the bag, I grabbed one piece of candy and slowly pulled it out of the small hole I had created for the big "reveal."

Before pulling out the piece of candy, I paused, reflecting on the joy I would find in having this large sum of money.  I was already grateful in so many ways...

My eyes met my fingers as the candy reached the top of the opening.

Dang it...it was orange.

Who wins these things?!

My sadness quickly turned to joy when I realized I had won second place...a bag of m&ms were ALL mine for the eating.

And eat I did.

Start Spreading the News!

Sommer and I headed to NYC a few weeks ago for an amazing adventure.  Not only did we accomplish seeing so many things...we were able to do it on the CHEAP!

2 round trip tickets on the Bus: $40

Marriott Points donated for hotel from In-Laws

Winning Lottery Tickets for Newsies: $60

Sommer finally using all of her birthday gift cards for shopping

Free Breakfast at Hotel (due to construction)

Walking EVERYWHERE

It was simply a blast and even better that it didn't cost a fortune.

I love living so close to such wonderful sites!

Here we are on day one taking a walk through Bryant Park. The weather was amazingly warm...the entire city was there...basking in the sun! Behind Sommer is NYC Public Library.

Here we are posing outside the library!

The architecture was beautiful with verandas, paintings and arches.

After leaving such a beautiful spot, we headed to Time's Square. There we found out Mario was simply a man (who needed some fresh air).

We so wanted to get lottery tickets to Wicked...but so did 300 other people. Only 13 were chosen for the $26 dollar tickets. This was the one thing we absolutely HAD to do on our trip so I had subbed an extra few days. After losing the lottery, we quickly went to the ticket window and ended up getting FAB seats at a FAB price (much better than the many searches I did online).

Here we are in front of the theatre.

Our view from our front row mezzanine. The seats were amazing minus the bar in front of us (you can see the bars on the bottom right)

Saturday morning, I ran from our hotel to Central Park. I have been wanting to take a run in the park forever...

I LOVED IT!

There were some amazing views of the city!

Sommer and I couldn't wait to shop! And shop we did! Here Sommer is at Forever 21 with all 5 floors of  fun!

Our hotel was closed to Newsies...so Saturday morning we tried their lottery. Lucky us, Sommer's name was drawn second!  We ended up getting seats right up front. We loved being so close to the action (including the actor that was spitting as he attempted to speak with a New York accent).

We also made the long trek to Dylan's Candy Bar.  Three floors of every type of candy one could ever want.  The only problem I had with this store (and I LOVE candy) was the price! I mean, seriously...$12.99 a lb?!  As I placed fun sweets into little bags, I kept thinking, "I have seen this same candy at Target!"  But it was a must do, must see, and decidedly a must purchase...and the boys loved it!

This picture is taken of the stairs...yep...all real candy.

Here we are on the billboard of Time Square...on the bottom left you will see a red umbrella. Sommer is directly to the right of its bottom.

We had a blast at the Stardust Cafe!  Future Broadway stars, wait on tables as well as entertain the guests with amazing musical numbers performed on the tables!  We loved it!

On our last day, we stopped at Junior's bakery for the highly talked about Cheesecake.  Boy howdy was it good! We both decided on Red Velvet...

On our trek to Dylan's, we stopped by Abercrombie  to give Sommer the opportunity to check out their summer collection...okay not really.  We went into the front doors, took picture with this lovely gentleman modeling their "summer" wear (?), and left.

Thanks Sommer for a GREAT time!

A Spicy Tale

It happened about two years ago, the little boys were sound asleep and the older children were together with dad in the basement watching a movie.  Although it was a bit late, it still seemed like a perfect night to put together our favorite spicy salsa (thanks Cris), open a fresh bag of chips and munch away.

I began to chop the onions which immediately caused my eyes to tear.  Wiping my eyes a few times, I moved to the spicy (and most favorite ingredient in the recipe) peppers. My eyes continued to burn from the fresh juicy onions. Without thinking, I took my hand and casually wiped my eyes.  It didn't take but a moment to realize I had just added insult to injury, combining the already onion filled eyes to the new enemy, HOT CHILI PEPPERS!

I ran to the sink in an attempt to flush out the painful juices that invaded my eyes, causing redness not only in my eyes but around my eyes...I truly looked and felt like a hot mess.

That was when I heard the doorbell ring...at 9:00 pm!

I quickly thought, "Who could be at our door at this late hour?"

I hesitated for a moment, hoping someone else would answer but I realized everyone else was in the basement.

I opened the door and was surprised to see a policeman.

"Everything okay ma'am?" he asked.

I quickly said, "Of course.  We are just fine."

But he looked at me with concern, adverting his eyes behind my door and asked again, "Are you sure?"

It was then I remembered my sad state.  Eyes almost swollen shut, tears streaming down my cheeks...a KNIFE in my hand!

HE THINKS THIS IS A DOMESTIC CALL AND MY HUSBAND IS MOST LIKELY HIDING BEHIND THE DOOR WITH HIS FINGER TRACING A LINE ACROSS HIS NECK THREATENING TO SLICE MINE IF I "SAY A WORD."

Well, obviously this wasn't the case.

He then said, "Did someone in your house called 9-1-1?"

Seriously?  I am thinking...I have only older, more responsible children up...who, what, why?

I then said to the officer, "You see, I have been making fresh salsa. I cut some onions, wiped my eyes with peppers which caused a series of unfortunate events...no cause for alarm.  Let me run downstairs and see if there is a chance one of my kids gave you a ring."

I wave him in and say, "I will be right back."

As I turned away, I am totally freaking out.  I quickly get down the stairs and whisper loudly, "Did one of you call 9-1-1!!!!?"

They all turn and look at me, mainly my eyes and say, "HOLY MOLY Mom! What happened to YOU?!"

And then the little BIG 12 year old culprit confesses, "Um, I did. But I hung right up!"

We both marched upstairs to the policeman.  I reply to the cop, "I found the criminal...go ahead and cuff him!"

Actually, he gives this child a little lecture on calling when there is NO emergency and that indeed, calling 9-1-1 actually works.

I have him apologize for taking the police officers time.

By then, my eyes have cleared.

It is finally time to eat our special salsa.  Not only was the salsa out of this world and spiced to perfection but it came with its very own spicy tale...which will live on through generations.