Change is Good

Nothing stays the same forever. Change is inevitable. So, you might as well make it worth while.
I made a big change this week. I cut my hair short. This is something I have been thinking about for a little while now. And if I was going to make such a big change I figured I would make it worth while. So I donated my hair to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths. My cut hair, usually swept up as trash at the salon, will now go towards making a wig for a cancer patient.
It will take some time to get use to this but so far I like it.

Climb For Air

We did it! We climbed 32 flights of stairs in gear! 

The Climb for Air is a fundraiser for American Lung Association's research, education and advocacy. Our team raised nearly $2,500. The event raised about $25,000. 

It was originally scheduled for Saturday Feb. 9 but it was postponed due to the weather. Remember the snowstorm? Well, it was rescheduled for Saturday Feb. 23. Steven finished in 7 minutes and I finished in 8:30. Those times were OK. I was amazed at other people's times. The fastest time went to a 52 year old gentleman (NOT in gear) who finished in 2:30! WOW! It was a great event for a great cause. We are looking forward to doing it again next year and hoping to do beat our times. 

The Team 

Standing: Brenden Noonan, Kevin Donovan, Steven Schoeck, Joe Amento

Kneeling: Cristina Schoeck, Al Barns

Once we caught our breath and rehydrate with water we went over to O'Tooles for the after party and the awards ceremony. I won fastest female firefighter.

Our Team Page

End Of Another Season

We had a fantastic sugaring season! Best we ever had!

The sap flowed freely. So much so that after we made six gallons of maple syrup we decided we didn't need to make anymore and pulled the taps. 

"Only take what you need"

Every year we learn a little bit more. Last year we marked the Sugar Maple Trees just before the leaves fell with ribbons that didn't last through the winter very well. This year we marked the trees that we tapped with more permanent markers. We got this idea from a trail we walk on with the Anderson Family at Welch Island, NH. 

And now onto our next hobby adventure. Stay tuned.

More Syrup Is A Good Thing

It has been an incredible year of sap. So much so that we recruited the help of these two young strong men, Jonathan and Christopher.










Of course, it was a beautiful warm sunny day. They would have preferred to have a snowball fight. In fact they were teaming up against their cousin Noah.

Meanwhile back inside the Schoeck Sugar Shack (AKA Cristina's Garden Shed) Steven was instructing them on the art and science of sugaring.

 The newcomers were very interested.

Supervising.

Once the majority of the water has boiled off we move the operation indoors where we keep a very close eye on the process. This is where it can get tricky.









As the water content decreases and the sugar content increases the rate of boiling off the water goes faster. We have to test it often with the hydrometer to check for the right consistency. 

 And in the end we have MORE maple syrup. And more maple syrup is always a good thing.

Music to My Ears...Kind of

Somewhere between school, scouts, sports, band, jazz band and hang out with friends Noah has decided to learn to play the Ukulele. There is a Ukulele Club at school.

Tap Tap Tap

It's that time of year again. Cold nights below freezing and warm days. The sap is starting to flow and we are ready too.












So we invited a few friends to help us tap the trees. Of course our experienced tapper Kevin was back this year.


















New to our team this year is James.














Sugaring is often more about the fun with friends than just the end product. Everything is better when shared with friends.

Walk in the Park

What's better than a walk in the park on a warm sunny winter day?

Spending the day with family you have not seen in a while. 

We have come together under sad circumstances we are 

enjoying our time together. 

 The Schoeck Family

Is that Don Schoeck or James Bond?

Playing in the snow  making a snowman.

Eating the snow??

          

Mother and daughter

Sharing memories.

Yummy Chocolate

 Happy Valentine Day!

Chocolate is a favorite treat in our house and Valentine's Day is a perfect excuse to buy chocolate.

Or if you are lucky, a good friend will send you chocolate covered strawberries for no other reason than "just because."

Photo Book

Click here to view this photo book larger

Turn your favorite photos into a photo book at Shutterfly.com.

Mini Home Gym Progress

It's all coming together now.

First we sectioned off a small area of the unfinished basement to convert into what would be the mini home gym. Steven framed it out and the father and son team put up the Sheetrock. There was several days of taping, applying joint compound and sanding, applying joint compound and sanding...before I could prime the walls. But then things starting coming together fast and it really started to look like a room.





The walls were painted. The room was wired for electricity. The ceiling went up and the lighting installed. After the floor went down we moved treadmill in and installed the TV and DVD player. So much progress!

It is exciting to see it start to look like what we had envisioned. We created our vision of the gym based on pictures of other home gyms we found on the Internet and in magazines. It is not done yet but it is close. Next week we will install the molding and add the last of the finishing touches.

View From the Kitchen

We have dogs.
We have a cat.
We have birds.

Well, they are not exactly our birds. They are the birds that visit the bird feeder right outside the sliding glass doors in our kitchen. We placed the feeder there so we can enjoy the continuous flow of activity while we gather in the kitchen. Winter can be harsh for our local wildlife so we help them out by providing them with a free meal. Speaking of free, we fill the feeder with seeds harvested from the sunflowers we grew in our garden during the summer.




The other day there was such a flutter of activity during breakfast that I decided to grab the camera and capture the moment. It was not easy to snap a decent shot. These little guys fly in and out faster than I can focus on them. The few pictures I did get unfortunately had an unsightly glare from the glass doors. Although I did get one nice picture of a Dark eyed Junco sitting still on our deck and a chickadee landing on the feeder.


Feeding and watching our winged visitors helps us  remember to slow down, look around and enjoy the simple things in life. It reminds us that there is beauty all around us.  The only thing left to do is convince Skippyjon that we did NOT set up the feeder as a bait station for his hunting pleasure.

Win-Win

I love these wireless headsets. It was Steven's idea to let Noah use them to play Xbox. While Noah "plays" basketball for the Miami Heat, I am in blissful peace sitting in my red chair reading with Sierra snuggled up on my lap.

Growing Boy

Despite a hearty breakfast before his early morning basketball game Noah came home with a big appetite. Post game snack included fresh coconut water, blueberry protein shake, and half a bagel with peanut butter.

Home Improvements and Updates

There is always something going on at the Schoeck house. Especially when Steven's hobby is working on projects and my hobby is to organize and reorganize everything.





Noah's room is undergoing some minor updating. He is growing up and all evidence of kiddie stuff has to go. After purging his room of unused and unwanted toys, we moved around furniture to make room for a new desk. Noah did a great job building it.

Does anyone have any advice on how to get a teen to keep their desk neat and orderly?



















Downstairs in the kitchen, I had my own minor project. A new kitchen cart is converted to a beverage station. I was calling it the coffee corner but Noah reminded me that we also make tea and hot chocolate as well, not just coffee. So he renamed it "The Beverage Station."

As for Steven, he likes to take on bigger projects. He is building us a cozy little home gym in the basement. Stay tuned for gym updates. Pictures to follow.

Carving Out Time

Busy. Busy. Busy. We are all so busy!

Weekends are always full. Someone is working a shift, has a meeting or has a game scheduled. What sport depends on the season. Soccer is in the fall; basketball in the winter; lacrosse in the spring.
Whatever is going on, we always carve time to have meals together. As many as we can. It may be a quiet family dinner around the dinner table or nourishing breakfast to fuel us for what lies ahead.
Today, Noah and I went out for breakfast. We were there so early we beat the morning rush. It was nice quiet time just the two of us.

Back to Normal

Christmas Vacation is over. We are back to our regularly scheduled life. During prayers tonight Noah was thankful for going back to school. As much as I would love to say it is because he can't wait to dive into those books, it's because he gets to see his friends. Although, truth be told, we didn't have to remind him to do his homework. He jumped right in on his own.
Life

Goodbye 2012

What better way to end the 

year than a lazy day at 

home playing in the snow?

Noah decided he wanted to build a fort. Steven helped of course.

Once the fort was built Steven attacked Noah.

I went for a walk. Later Steven pushed me on the tire swing.