MyMaineLife: Lavender Field Forever

It's indeed summer in Maine. The air is warm and comfy. The breeze is refreshing. And the sun is bright and lovely.

The #OronaSquad in Maine - Part 1

WARNING: This is a very very late post.

I know I should have written about this important event last summer but I didn't. I was in vacation-coma for the entire year. But anyway, since this summer is not going to be as exciting as last year, I decided to write about it to relive that special event that took place last summer.

Why I want to RUN to the Lighthouse

The Portland Head Light in Fort Williams Park in Cape Elizabeth is one of Maine's most important landmarks. To Mainers... it is the "beacon of light" that contributed to Maine's rich maritime history. To tourists... it is a must-see place in Maine. And to me... it is all of the above and much more. It is where I pledged my love and devotion to my Sweetest - Mike.

I could have written a more dramatic introduction to this post but I can't think of any other way to put words together to express my joy in achieving my seems-to-be-impossible goal. Summer is definitely doing a lot of tricks to my brain lately. Or maybe it was because I have been slacking in the blogging department for a long time and my blog-hiatus state of mind put my brain on freeze-mode. But this is not my excuse. In fact I have no excuse. I just don't feel like blogging - Period! (And that goes for my 5 other blogs that are suffering from blog-drought, as well.) To say the least, I have nothing to say about the famous lighthouse because this post is not really about the lighthouse. This is about me!

I am a Horrible Fan!

Yes, you read that right... I am a horrible fan!

I stopped watching the Super Bowl right after the halftime show simply because I don't want to experience the pain I experienced during the first 2 Super Bowls where the Patriots lost to the Giants. Trust me I was devastated and bawling when they lost to Giants 2 times in a row.

This time I was quite sure I jinxed the games so I decided to watched Criminal Minds reruns instead. Boy, I was happy to hear it from the 11pm News that the Patriots won. I may not experienced the excitement watching the game but I surely spared myself dying of heart attack last night.

How I rocked and rolled in 2014

Year 2014 was packed with great experiences and happy memories. Too bad I wasn't able to document each important event because I was too busy with a lot of things. Yeah, I know that is an understatement. But would you believe if I tell you that most of the important things I had last year are kept in my heart? Cliche!!!

Anyway, here are the highlights of 2014 in no particular order.

1. Races. I have done only a few. Unlike in the past couple of years where I tried to run 2 races a month, last year I did only 8 races compared to 13 races in 2012. It was 1 race shy of what I did in 2013 though. As I have said I have no time to document some important events so I have not blogged any of those races so no PR comparison. However, I was able to take photos of my bib so I'm sharing them here.

I started the year with a 5K last year. It was my 2nd start-of-the-year-race (with Buffet, wink*)

Filipino Forever

When I left My Philippines in 2007, my connection with my Filipino friends and family have been limited in more ways than one.

Living in Maine for over 7 years now, I somehow learned how to downsize and that includes my circle of friends. I'm not saying this in a bad way. In fact, I love it. Having just a couple of Filipino friends who I can call and visit anytime I'm having serious Filipino food cravings makes my life simple and uncomplicated.

Last Hurrah for Summer 2014

We just got back from another weekend camping. This I presumed is our last for the season. I will be back to work starting this Tuesday. This means fun is over for me. But then maybe not. I will surely find time to have fun even if summer is over, I promise!

 Our luxury accommodation for the weekend. LOL

Camping with Fam Bam

The weather last weekend was really gorgeous so we took advantage of it. We spent it at Byron again. This time B joined us. Though it took a little convincing because B also knows that camping with Daddy means gold panning which means he will be bored all day waiting for him to be done with his thingy in the river. LOL

Our accommodation for the night.

I'm having fun Summer-ing!

This is a late post. I have lots of stories to tell about my summer but I was busy summer-ing, so bear with me. I will post all of them before summer is over. Promise!

I have 2 more weeks left of my summer vacation. In a couple of weeks I will be back to work and fun is over. Well, not really. I will surely have fun working with kids again. But working for 12 hours straight is really tough, so to speak. But it is what it is. I just want to spend the last few weeks of summer with my Sweetest doing some fun things.

The familiar School House in Byron, Maine near the Coos Canyon picnic park.

Rockin' and Rollin' in Maine

My  brother's short visit in Maine is by far the most memorable moment in my life here in Maine. It was memorable in many ways because I was able to do a lot of things for the first time.

Living in Maine for over 7 years now doesn't mean that I know everything about Maine and that I do a lot of things and activities that Mainers do.

Bringing Sunshine on Friday

Friday is my favorite day of the week because every Friday morning at work we have free breakfast.

It's one of the Sunshine Committee's projects to recognize and show appreciation for the staff's hard work.

Japol's Maine Adventure - Day One

After all the trouble that my baby brother caused me, I was still so excited to see him and show him around my "other" home - Maine.

@ Parsonsfield Seminary

He arrived about half an hour before midnight. Since the following day was a Monday and my itinerary for him was already messed up we just went home from the airport instead of driving straight to LL Bean which was the original plan if his flight wasn't cancelled the day before.

The Eagle has landed

After 24 hours of waiting and worrying about my brother in cold Chicago, he finally arrived in Maine. The aircraft touched-down a couple of minutes earlier so it only took me about 5 minutes of waiting in the airport

We left the house a little late actually but got in the airport just in time when a plane flew above us as we traversed the airport road.

Maine Winter Survival Kit

My baby brother is coming to Maine. Yup, this is Japol's first trip to the U.S. and of all seasons he chose to come in the middle of this brutally long and cold winter in New England.

So, as a good sistah, I made preparations. I need to get all the stuff he needs to survive winter in Maine. Oh boy, if only I can write about my whole feeling... it would be too graphic. Well, yes I am exaggerating. Anyway, I gathered all the necessary stuff that he needs and here they are...

I got him a face mask (the Ninja style) to cover his face from the harsh wind. A hat to cover his newly shaved head. (I told him to not shave his head so that he could have some hair to protect him from cold... but did he listen? Of course not!) A pair of gloves for his hands. A fleece scarf. An ear muff. And 3 pairs of wool socks. These are all necessary to keep him warm.

Ice, Ice, Baby!

I supposed to run today. I signed up for another 5K which is scheduled for today. But alas, it was raining ice pellets here in my neck of the woods. So the organizers postponed it for next month. Grrrr!

I can't blame them, the road is icy. Everything is icy.  And just to let you see what we are dealing with, here are some photos I took this week.

Definitely Trying to Start the Year Right!

Happy New Year, Everyone! As usual, I'm late in greeting you all. I have a reason for that. "I want to be the last one to greet you all for greater impact". Wink***

Yup, that was me in gray hat and scarf and aviator sunglasses.

So how was your New Year? Mine was awesome! It was freezingly awesome! It was brutally cold but awesome! And I was totally cool and awesome!

Life in Maine - The Beauty and the Beast

Last night we had another storm. Seriously? We just had an ice storm last week and some Mainers are still in the dark and freezing cold because they haven't gotten their power back since then.

Well, that's what life in Maine is all about. I don't have a choice but to deal with it. And how do I deal with this kind of situation? I fix with with ice cream.

Silvery Trees

I'm a horrible person. Oh, let me re-phrase it. I'm a horrible person! LOL

Well, I have not blogged anything about Christmas. That is why I am horrible. I'm a blogger duh. Why am I not blogging? All bloggers all over the blog-o-sphere have been blogging about the magical season since September (ate least for Pinoy bloggers where Christmas starts on the "Ber months", that is).

Christmas will be over in few hours and I am still not writing about it. And instead I'm writing about the horrible weather we have here in Maine.

1st Day of a long Winter in New England?

I'm not very impressed but someone across the globe is happy to see what I woke up to this morning. It's not even winter yet!

 My car has some frosting already. I wished it was cool whip, though.

Getting Ready for Hunting Season

Last weekend, I was enjoying my regular Saturday breakfast-in-bed while watching Good Morning America while my Sweetest was multi-tasking... eating breakfast, watching TV and searching online. Apparently, we was trying to get a hunting license.

Oh yeah, it's deer hunting season again. It's the most awaited season for almost all men here in Maine. Well, I already anticipate it that's why the last time I went shopping at Sam's Club, I got him a pair of camouflage base layer tops and bottom.  See, I don't usually shop for myself. I love shopping for my loved ones too. wink*

Since it is Fall and Maine's weather is kinda cruel, having the right outfit helps. Well, I'm not really too crazy about hunting but since I cannot do anything about it because it's his favorite sports so I might as well accept it. Besides I want my Saturday breakfast-in-bed so much so I don't want to jeopardize that. wink*

The pair of camo was a steal. I paid $11.95 for the tops and same price for the bottom. It's made of microfiber materials so it is good for moisture absorption and quick drying too. He was happy as a kid in a candy store when I gave them to him.