Lacrosse

April Coffee Talk

April 5, 2019 by Michelle 22 Comments

Happy Friday!

Who’s ready for the weekend?! I know that I am. So how about we start things off by catching up over coffee. Grab a mug and let’s join Coco and Deborah for this month’s coffee date.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you that with our spring break now in the rearview mirror, I’m already trying to figure out the next family vacation! I don’t think I realized just how fried I was until I hit the cruise ship. While there probably won’t be another big trip this summer, I’m looking forward to some day trips, long weekends, and some quiet “staycation” days hanging on the patio.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you that April means lacrosse season is in full swing in my house! My mudroom once again looks like an equipment supply closet and I’m looking forward to traveling around New England to watch both of my boys play.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you that, while I do love lacrosse season, it wreaks havoc with my ability to schedule a spring race as there always seems to be a conflict. Case in point, it looks like I’m going to have to take a pass on the Portland 10 Miler at the end of this month thanks to a combination of a lax tournament and J traveling for work. Thankfully, the race offers bib transfers! (Why don’t more races provide this option?!)

If we were having coffee, I would tell you that the other thing I love about April is getting back into my gardens! I love how creative gardening can be and it just gives me another reason to spend time outdoors. I’ve been perusing gardening catalogs for ideas and am looking forward to my first trip to the local nurseries.

Source: Getty Images

What would you tell me over coffee? What are you looking to this month?

Filed Under: gardening, Lacrosse, Ultimate coffee date

It’s time for April coffee

April 7, 2018 by Michelle 13 Comments

As we ease into a new month, this is the perfect time to settle in and catch up over coffee. I’m linking up with Coco and Deborah for the Ultimate Coffee Date, so grab a mug of your fave hot beverage and let’s chat.

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that it’s deja vu all over again. Just like March’s coffee date I cannot believe that I’m still dealing with snow. We got hit with a freak storm yesterday that made visibility on the roads tough and more is expected on Tuesday. I can’t whine about this winter anymore so I’ll just move on…

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that once the weather does settle down I cannot wait to get out in my garden and get planting. I have two gardens around my house (one sun and one shade) and they are both in need of some redesign – removing old plants that are past their blooming prime and relocating others that have gotten too big. I’ve been pouring over garden catalogs and sketching out some new layouts, and I’m itching to get started!

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that I’ve just finished reading The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod (Affiliate link) and my curiosity is peaked. Elrod’s premise is that by intentionally managing your routine during the first hour of the day you can set the stage for success across many areas of your life. He provides guides on how to do this and elements he recommends be part of your routine. I’m going to try his 30 day challenge, and have wrangled my husband into joining me.

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that lacrosse season officially kicks off in my house this weekend as both boys have their first games! With both boys playing across 3 teams, we’ve got a lot of games on the calendar over the next couple of months. This is always a crazy hectic time of year for us, but I love that this is a sport our whole family enjoys!

What would you tell me over coffee?

Filed Under: gardening, general musings, Lacrosse, Ultimate coffee date

Weekly Wrap – All lacrosse all the time

May 22, 2016 by Michelle 20 Comments

It’s Sunday evening and I am t-i-r-e-d y’all. But it’s a good kind of tired – the kind that comes from a fun whirlwind weekend.

Before I get to the weekend activities, a quick re-cap of the week’s workouts (and, yes, the daily planking continues!):

Monday: Strength day.
Tuesday: 3.25 mile run.
Wednesday: Strength with Trainer Stacy.
Thursday: Migraine = no run.
Friday: Yoga. I had wanted to make up Thursday’s run, but my head wasn’t having it.
Saturday: My hubby J ran with me again – 4.25 miles done. I have to admit it makes me crazy that he takes the hills with such ease, but it pushes me to keep up.
Sunday: Yard and garden work.

So the big question of this week was how much lacrosse can you fit into 7 days? Well, we started with 3 games for my oldest son with his school’s team during the week. I really don’t know why the Athletic Director allowed 3 games in one week, but we were there to cheer him on.

That’s my kiddo in the black jersey

One could say that was plenty of lacrosse right there – especially when you add in that my youngest son had practice twice this week. But the big doings came this weekend, when we made the trip down to Providence to see my alma mater take on Navy in the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Quarter Finals. Our tickets covered two games so we first got to see Maryland vs. Syracuse – a great match up, though we were rooting for Syracuse. Then it was on to Brown vs. Navy! We withstood some rowdy Navy fans and cheered our hearts out through a nail-bitter to see Brown move on to the semi-finals!

Source: Brown Lacrosse Instagram

You’d think we’d be all-lacrossed out by this point right? Nope. Both boys played for our town teams this morning (with J coaching), and then watched the other two quarter final games on ESPN this afternoon. Yeah…it’s a bit of an obsession in my house.

This week should be the usual mix of work, school, runs/workouts, and yes more lax…oh and I’ve got the Run to Remember 5-miler next weekend. I haven’t figure out what, if any, my goals are for this race…more on that later.

How was your week? Does your family have a sport obsession?

I’m linking up again with Holly & Tricia for the #WeeklyWrap — thanks to them for hosting!

Filed Under: Lacrosse, Weekly Wrap

Believe it or not it’s Spring!

March 20, 2015 by Michelle 20 Comments

I saw this pic on Pinterest and it just cracked me up! Yes folks believe it or not today is the first day of Spring! And “spring” is the theme behind this week’s #FridayFive link-up with Courtney, Mar and Cynthia.

I know Spring will get here…eventually and when it does, here are just a few things I’m looking forward to:

Five Things for Spring!

Outdoor runs — Of course this goes without saying! The thought of running without worrying about snow mounds or icy roads sounds like heaven!

Less Layers — Oh to step outside without looking like I’m a participant in the Iditarod 🙂

Gardening — I cannot wait to get back into my gardens. Spring always means multiple trips to my favorite nursery with my mom – seriously, we can spend hours there! And, something tells me I may have many plants to replace after this winter.

Lacrosse games — You all know how big lax is in the RWA household. Some of us cannot wait as you can see.

Grilling – As much as I have enjoyed making the most of my crockpot for the past few months, I cannot wait to fire up the grill.

OK your turn…what are you looking forward to?

Filed Under: Friday Five, gardening, Lacrosse, Spring fever

Coffee Date – May edition

May 3, 2014 by Michelle 17 Comments

It’s the first Saturday of the month so it’s time once again for the Ultimate Coffee Date link-up!

I’m back from this morning’s run, so pull up a mug and join me….

If we were having coffee together, I would tell you how excited I am for the month of May! While the schedule will definitely get a little crazy at times, there’s a lot of fun stuff planned – and the weather’s finally starting to feel like spring!

If we were having coffee together, I would tell you I started Shaun T’s Focus T25 this week and it is challenging for sure as I adjust to adding it in with my running and Pilates classes — but I’m loving it and think I’ll be stronger for doing it.

If we were having coffee together, I would tell you I spent a fun morning with my mom yesterday at my favorite nursery and I cannot wait to get to work in my garden.

A sample of the plants I picked up!

If we were having coffee together, I would tell you that a lacrosse obsession has firmly taken hold in my house! My oldest is playing on two teams and my youngest son is playing for the first time. My husband is coaching plus playing in his own league. And every weekend, I feel like my television is permanently tuned to ESPNU which always has the best college match-ups. The MML season has just gotten underway and my boys have been begging for us to get some Boston Cannons’ tickets — Yes it’s a full-on obsession around here!

If we were having coffee together, I’d tell you I’d tell you I’ve got 34 days until our family vacation 🙂

If we were having coffee together, what would you tell me?

Filed Under: gardening, general musings, Lacrosse, Ultimate coffee date

Friday Ramblings

August 9, 2013 by Michelle 3 Comments

Sitting here in a quiet house with the dog at my feet and coffee cup in hand…

There has been at least one, if not both, boys home sick since Tuesday! I was happy to see both smiling faces heading off to camp this morning – I swear there’s nothing worst than seeing your children not feel well 🙁

Between the sick kids and my cranky left hip, running has been a bit challenging this week. I am trying very hard to not get hung up in the miles I’ve missed, knowing that the cross-training will help and getting this hip happy is priority one!

Changes in family plans means I’ve needed to change up my fall racing schedule – I won’t be running ZOOMA in September so I’ve been on the hunt for another race to use as a “tune up” before I get to the B.A.A. Half in October. Though I think I’ve now found the source of my recent GI issues, Coach Bennett thinks it will be helpful to put my body through “race conditions” and see how I respond. So I think I’ll be adding this to my schedule:

It’s run on a beautiful course through Salem & Marblehead – Can. Not. Wait!

Seriously, how is it Friday again already? I feel like I just finished coming down from last weekend’s birthday fun and here we are again. Don’t get me wrong – I love seeing Friday arrive, but this summer is flying by way too fast! We still have a number of things left on our family summer bucket list!

We’ll get one more item checked off tomorrow as we’ll be catching a Boston Cannons’ game! My hubs J was elected to his lacrosse league’s all-star game (so proud of him!) and they’ll be playing their game before the Cannons. So the boys and I are going to go cheer on our All-Star and then we’re all hanging out for the Cannons’ game afterwards!

How are you doing with your Summer Bucket list?

Do you run tune-up races?

Filed Under: #13in2013, BAA, crazy week, fall racing, Friday Five, kids, Lacrosse, race calendar, running coach, Wicked Half Marathon

Weekend wrap up

June 17, 2013 by Michelle 6 Comments

You know it’s been a l-o-n-g weekend when you are actually happy to see Monday morning come so you can slow down!

It was a weekend of….

….6 – yes 6 lacrosse games! Unfortunately our guys came in second at the tournament, but played their hearts out!

….the final baseball game of the season

….collecting more trophies

…..manning the concession stand and other various tournament duties

…..wrapping up yet another school project (seriously teachers…just let it go!)

…..a relaxing Father’s Day dinner

…..and yes, just over seven and a half miles run.

Looking forward to a quiet week! 🙂

How was your weekend?

Filed Under: Crazy weekend, kids, Lacrosse

Friday Five

March 30, 2012 by Michelle 12 Comments

Hit the track yesterday for the first of what will be many more speed workouts. It was a good ego-boosting session of consistent splits despite crazy cold winds.

My household is officially consumed by all things Lacrosse. My oldest son’s season has started and the first game is Sunday. J is the head coach for my son’s team as well as oversees the whole U11 program. J also announced that pick up games for his (~~old man’s~~) league will be starting soon. This means in short order there will be lacrosse equipment strewn all over my house (replacing the hockey stuff), my son and J will spend endless hours debating practice drills, and college lax games on ESPNU will become a permanent fixture.

I was thrilled to have my son ask me to run with him as he eyes his first mile race at his school’s upcoming fun run! (Where we going to fit it in among all things lacrosse I’m not sure yet, but I’m sure we’ll figure it out.) I’m trying to convince my youngest to do the half mile kids’ run, but in typical fashion he’s taking a wait and see approach. He’s agreed to go to the track and see just how far a half mile is, but is making no commitments beyond that!

The PureFlows, replacements for the PureConnects, did arrive and I will say that even after only a couple of runs in them that they are a big improvement for me over the Connects.

Looking forward to a “date night” with J on Saturday. We may try to catch “The Hunger Games” – I really liked the books and from what I’ve heard this movie actually lives up to the hype!

Have a Great Weekend!