I love a challenge. I was ready and waiting when  Concept2 launched its annual Holiday Challenge. Every year Concept 2, the makers of the rowing machines we all walk past on our way to the treadmill, challenges anyone to row 100,000 meters between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is free and you log  your meters online at your own pace. When you complete it, you get a dopey certificate or a print out to iron on your own t-shirt. The challenge is more to get you moving in the season of feasting. I have done it a couple of times and have really liked it. It forces me to get up early and get in my basement before the rest of the house has a chance to derail my workout plans.

This year they added a bonus. After you row 100,ooo, they donate money to one of four charities. I sighed up for my donations to go towards Slow Food. Talk about a win-win. I continue to keep off a bit of holiday pudge, while Concept2 sends money to starving people.

What about you? Are you taking part in a holiday challenge? Or are you going large in 2010?

I’m smitten. I’ve named him Mr. Bluebird because if his blue eyes and his happiness.

In the morning, Mr. Brown worked from home and watched Manly. The Rebels and I trekked over to Westmoreland Park to meet up with a fellow Hardy Crew member. I lugged the girls up and down the hill a few times before they grew tired. Then we headed over to our JC’s house for food and warmth and dolls. It was very hard to leave their warmth and put on our boots and hike home.

What I learned from Halloween:

• Never underestimate the importance of a glue gun.
• Carmel Apples do not travel well. My new wool coat made its first trip to the dry cleaner the day after Halloween.

We bought the house in April of 2006 it looked like this:It was a fixer-upper on a corner lot. It was in a great neighborhood, close to schools, a library, the bike path. Then we birthed twins, painted the house, pulled out the overgrown  bushes, replaced some windows, built a fence, built a patio, had another kid, read Michael Pollan , read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, read Edible Estates: Attack on the Front Lawn , read Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer, rode Bike the Barns (twice), got tired of kohlrabi in our CSA box, stopped subscribing to a CSA, went to the farmer’s market so often that the farmers know Mr. Brown on a first name basis, built a raised bed in the front yard, cut down the crab(Crap) apple trees, installed rain-barrels, wanted to get chickens, looked into getting chickens, decided chickens were not for us, hired Madison Groundworks, brewed beer, made chili, invited our friends and their favorite shovel over and turned this:into this.The kids showed amazing stamina and played in cold, drizzly weather for 8 hours. They came in briefly to use the bathroom and eat, but they tirelessly rescued worms from the old raised bed and relocated them to their new, bigger home.

It’s a bit unsatisfying to build a garden and then immediately put it to bed. But now we have all winter to inventory our seeds and perfect our plant wish list , find black current bushes, asparagus, and quince trees.We will spend the coldest nights debating about which heirloom tomatoes are sweeter. We have all winter to dream of green things to come.

This project is our 10th anniversary present to each other. Tin is the traditional gift….think tin watering can. Happy Anniversary, Farmer Brown. I love you more than dirt.

After opening her presents, Coco comes up to me and in all earnestness asks,” Mom, can I take off my clothes now?”

On Monday the Rebels #1 and #2 turned 3 years old. On Tuesday, Rebel #3 turned 4 months. I have scaled back all goals to the short list of 1. sleep, 2. make dinner without exploding in frustration 3. drink more water. I cannot commit to running in the morning or weekend workouts or shopping or making art or craft or losing weight. I must get sleep to function, and until that happens, everything else is extra credit.

I feel like a little squirrel, frantically hording nuts for winter. So many events coming up. Last week the girls started pre-school. This week is the celebration of our 10th wedding anniversary, the QuilExpo, Bike the Barns, and the Sheep and Wool Festival. And then great grandpa announced that he is moving to Madison this week, so Manly and I will be driving to Milwaukee to bring him to his new apartment on Thursday. And I signed up to be the school newsletter editor. And Mr. Brown returned to night-school for his MBA.

I am collecting thoughts, ideas, yarn and fabric for the cold winter ahead. I am hoping to have enough inspiration to carry me through to April.

Collecting the time to do them is another matter.

I must go, Manly needs me.

How can someone so small be so wonderful?