Done with Mother’s Day

Yet another benefit of drinking – flower boxes!

Screw Hallmark – as far as I’m concerned, May 5th was my ideal Mother’s Day. No matter what happens next Sunday, I will cherish the day I had, from the scandalously late start to the fortified-with-an-afternoon-nap late ending – perfect! Let me be a little more specific…

Saturday night, I shot a SEEN gallery down at Prime 677.  The occasion was a fundraiser for the Huntington’s Disease Society of America and it was a lovely event.  The food was spectacular and the folks at Empire Wines rallied the troops to put on an extraordinary wine tasting.  It’s been noted by some astute Times Union readers that whenever an event involves wine, I’m usually there.  Guilty as charged.

I got home from the party working at about 10:30 only to find my little guy desperately upset that he had been denied a ‘s’more from the neighbor’s party, a situation I was able to correct with a soothing shower and some ice cream.  Tucking him in at such a late hour gave me the first gift of Sunday – he slept until 10:00, which gave me an incredibly quiet morning.  Soft music, strong coffee and the paper comprise my personal morning bliss trifecta.  So far, so good.

After the boys departed at noon for their Dad’s, I got busy in the front yard with mulch and some annuals.  The sun was glorious, birds were chirping and the simple joy of getting a little dirty made my heart sing.  I had a mid afternoon visit from the person I most love spending time with and the day moved along at a pace that was completely enjoyable.  I accomplished some other chores, including eating a fantastic lunch salad, and punctuated the afternoon with an indulgent nap on clean sheets. But, wait – there’s more.

Caesar salad with shaved Romano and grilled asparagus

As the day cooled down a bit, I tied on my running shoes and hit the streets for a 5-mile lap through the neighborhood.  I had intended to go a bit further, but contented myself with not pushing myself too hard and tried to just enjoy myself.  Done.  A shower, a quick visit with the neighbors for a glass of wine and then home again for finale of the only reality show I would ever want to be on, The Amazing Race, and I was in bed by 10:15, thoroughly relaxed and satisfied with my day.

There weren’t any tulips or handmade crafts, but nonetheless it was a lovely day with a wonderful mix of boys, friends, productivity, relaxation and good food and wine.  Mother’s Day 2013 is a done deal, as far as I am concerned.  Any additional gifts are truly unnecessary, although I do have a fondness for the imperfectly made card along with a hankering for a French lilac bush.  Just saying.

Hope you made it to NY in Bloom!

Can’t you practically smell them?

Here’s what you missed if you didn’t get to the NYS Museum this past weekend.  My photos are preceded by some taken by Times Union staff photographer, Michael P Farrell.  I’m in good company!

Riding the bull

Regrettably, I did not take a turn riding the mechanical bull, but more than 50 people did last Saturday at a super fun event at the City Beer Hall.  Check out the photos here.  The team representing The Standard restaurant stood out in my mind as the ones to beat, if only for their matching t-shirts and lively personalities.  What a terrific fundraiser for The Boys and Girls Clubs of Albany!  Keep your eyes open for this event to be repeated next year and start practicing with that thigh master machine you keep stored under the bed.  It’ll help.

Gala is my 2nd favorite word for “party.”

A close second, I might add.  Just for the record, my most favorite is “fete,” but enough of language.  Here are the pictures which tell a thousand words!  Seeing as how everyone at the fete event looked like a million bucks, let me add a few additional words of the text variety:

• This was a really fun crowd with many familiar faces.  Not one person declined to pose for a picture and I didn’t hear a single complaint while I worked the crowd.
• The staff at the Hilton Crowne Plaza Albany Hotel were all professional and pleasant.
• It was fun shooting pictures of some of the same people from Thursday’s event.  It didn’t feel indulgent or redundant – the faces you see in both photo sets are the faces of the folks who make the restaurant industry happen.
• The Times Union merged my two galleries with another set of photos taken during Friday’s Grand Tasting event – you’ll know mine by the credit in the caption.
• Personal shout out to a former student and his lovely fiancee* ~ It made my night to see you!  And I told you that you weren’t a Republican – thanks for listening.

*two French words in one post – Mon dieu! That’s 3…

Wine and Dine for the Arts weekend begins…

These are the folks, along with the chefs, who make this happen. Bravo!

I’m never prouder to be even an infinitesimal part of the Capital Region dining scene than I am during this (4th) annual event.  Such a terrific group of generous and hardworking – and really fun, folks that we are all lucky to have in our community.  Speaking of scene – check out my SEEN gallery over at the Times Union.  If I caught a good shot of you and you’d like the jpeg, let me know.  I’m happy to send it your way.  Maybe I’ll see you Saturday at the Gala?

Albany’s Last Run

There were fireworks!

Saturday night was the 16th annual Last Run in Albany.  This is absolutely one of my favorite races of the year – festive, fun and filled with friends.  This year, my friend Lisa got herself together and registered before the race reached its 1500 runner capacity and we had a blast!  The course for this run is fantastic – up State Street, across Willett and into and around the park.  It is such a treat to run through the holiday lights display and if the spirit of the season doesn’t touch you, well, it’s time for you to slow down a bit then.  The mayor was there to get things started and I was really pleased by the moment of silence he requested for the Newtown, Connecticut victims.  Well done.

As far as the race went I took 14 seconds off my time from last year, which is fine considering it is impossible to really run until nearly 3/4 of mile into the race.  That being said, I have to admit, I don’t run well with others.  I like to run my own pace, whatever that is, but Lisa and I found each other easily after the run and got up to some of our usual antics.  Trust me, enough said.  Can’t wait until next year!

Fab bourbon sour made by Jonathan at the Wine Bar & Bistro on Lark. Yum, yum!

We were SEEN!!

From jingle bells to a masquerade gala

Yep, just another day in the life.  December dawned with an appropriate and picturesque dusting of snow, pretty to look at, but not necessarily fun to run on.  I thought the Jingle Jog 5K began at 9:00, but since 10:00 was the actual time, I had plenty of time to stretch and mentally prepare to run at a cautious, slow pace.  You know, slow down and enjoy the run, Christmas Pandora and all.  I was wearing my new UnderArmour compression shirt, and I have to say, it really did keep me warm as my base layer.  The crowd was festive, with Santa and the Grinch represented in the pack of participants and I started at a nice even pace.  I came this close to injuring myself when I rolled my ankle in the first 1/2 mile, but pressed on and was able to run fairly comfortably to continue the race.  I finished 141st out of 446, with the not particularly stellar time of 30:08, but the time wasn’t important, especially at a time of the year when time is so precious.  It was a wonderful way to start this month of holidays and festivities.

I didn’t take photos, but here’s a gallery of the event from TU photographer, Michael P. Farrell.

After an afternoon of making cookie dough, doing laundry and running errands, I found myself gussied up and heading to the State Room for Albany Center Gallery’s 35th Anniversary Masquerade Gala.  I was seriously concerned about the parking situation with the huge UAlbany-Sienna basketball game at the TU Center, but did well on State Street only having to mince step for a couple of blocks on my ace-bandage wrapped ankle.  (Thank you, to my friend, for taking care of my war wound.)  The State Room was pleasing to the eye in every direction and the guests were creatively attired – a good looking crowd, I’d say.  Check out those photos here.

Walking back to my car, I captured this shot of the Capitol.  Ah, Albany!