A Holiday Decorations Walk and a Busy Saturday

13. December 2014 · 3 comments · Categories: cross training, holiday decorations, labradoodle, Uncategorized · Tags: , , ,

Hi there. Hope you are all having a great weekend so far. I know there are lots of runners who are in Hawaii this weekend for the Honolulu Marathon. JEALOUS! (well, except for the idea of running in humidity).

Yesterday, I took a nice brisk walk through the neighborhood.

holiday decorations walk

this was definitely a BRISK walk. It was cold out.

I passed a bunch of homes decorated outside for the holidays and it reminded me of the post I wrote last year when I ran past some majorly absurd holiday decorations.

Do you remember the snowman that was square? The Icecube man!

ice cube man

square man

Make sure you go read that post for a good laugh but here are some more decorations I discovered yesterday.

There was the swan. Explain to me why this is related to any winter holiday?

swan decoration

Reindeer: yes, Peppermint candy: yes Santa: yes, Swan: WTF?!

And these pirate looking toy soldiers were so scary looking.

unwelcoming toy soldiers

Scary pirate toy soliders

There was also this Mr. and Mr’s Gingerbread but Mr Gingerbread’s pants were falling down. Scandalous =)

scandalous

Gingerbread couple. It’s hard to see but Mr. Gingerbread’s “pole” is visible because his pants were falling down. ROTFLMAO!

And then I saw these two decorations, the Eiffel Tower and a huge jeweled crown. I’m stumped.

Eiffel Tower and a Crown on the lawn

Eiffel Tower and a Crown on the lawn. Explain please!

So that’s that..

Today is a busy day. First I’m headed to the local dog park to help take photos for their big event: Pictures with Santa.

pictures with santa

pictures with santa

Duncan loves to pose with santa!

dog and santa pic

Duncan and Santa “Paws”

I’m not as much a frequenter of the dog park anymore but I do all their graphic design stuff pro-bono (logo, flyers etc) and last night I helped ice and decorate the cupcakes that will be sold today.

holiday cupcake decorating

holiday cupcake decorating

Then I’m heading over to a Caring Kids event. Caring Kids is an organization my Sister-in-Law is co-executive director of.

 

Caring Kids

Caring Kids

Their mission is to help children grow into compassionate, positive, and empowered members of society through character education, social activities, and parent support. And today is their 4th annual holiday party and charity drive. We all sponsored an underprivileged child and purchased gifts that they requested. Today we’re going to wrap the gifts and get them ready for delivery. It will be a fun, festive and heartwarming afternoon. Just a big reminder what the true meaning of gift giving is all about.

And because that isn’t enough for one day, I’m rushing back from that to head over to my friend Nicole’s holiday party.

So what are you up to this weekend?

And tell me what is the most absurd holiday decoration you’ve ever seen?

 

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Change of scenery and routine

27. November 2014 · Write a comment · Categories: cross training, labradoodle, Uncategorized · Tags: , , ,

I had a nice change of scenery, AND routine today. The weather forecast called for our first snow of the season so I decided to work from home to avoid dealing with the bus later in the day. Our office was only open until 1pm anyway. But instead of working from MY home I drove to my brother’s house early this morning and spent the day here. It just made sense since they are hosting Thanksgiving tomorrow so I’ll just sleep here.

My view from the "office" today

My view from the “office” today

It was Forest's first snow!

It was Forest’s first snow!

Since it was our first snow of the season I could focus on how beautiful everything looked in a blanket of white. Ask me how I feel about snow at the end of February and I’ll probably tell you I’m sick of it!

The dogs (Duncan and his cousin) loved it too!

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doodle butts!

doodle butts!

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#twinners

I spent a few hours working. And then I took advantage of my brother’s lovely finished basement with an elliptical just waiting for me to hop on!

#crosstraining

#crosstraining

cat dog nap

cat dog nap

I busted out a solid 30 minutes and my trusty sidekick sat on the beanbag chair to my right. Such a loyal doodle.

Tomorrow I’ll be heading out bright and early to see the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade from my office. I have never taken advantage of this perk before but our office is moving in March so this was the last year I’d have the opportunity and I figured I should check it out.

Well Happy Thanksgiving to all you wonderful readers. Have a great day with family, friends and loved ones.

And don’t forget, take the meal like a marathon. Don’t start out too fast! You’ve got to get to dessert before you hit the “wall”! =)

Who’s hosting? Who’s just going to be a guest? Are you cooking at all?

 

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was hoping my new kicks would be an instant fix

20. November 2014 · Write a comment · Categories: labradoodle, running · Tags: , , , , ,

I got these lovely kicks as a birthday gift from my sister-in-law last month and had been planning on saving them until the new year but today I thought I’d try them out to see if they had any impact on my knee issue.

Asics Cumulus 16

Asics Cumulus 16s in bright blue. Apparently I’m supporting Prostate Cancer Awareness and had no idea. When I selected this color it was just because I liked it

Well, the verdict is they didn’t help. 🙁 As a matter of fact about 2 1/2 miles into this run I felt that strange sharp knee pain and had to stop and stretch for a bit. But after that I was totally fine again. This knee thing is so strange. It will be totally fine until I make a turn or get to a part of the road that is uneven and then I’ll get that tweak but then it’ll go back to being fine again. I’m curious to get it looked at but honestly the thought of primary care visits and referrals and $50 copays etc just makes me say forget it.

Well, I managed to get in another solid 3 miles.

photo 3

And then I took the doodle in the car to run errands with me…

photo 5He’s been so cute in the car lately. He likes to lean back on the seat and rest his head. Love this boy.

After the errands I took him to the park by the water for a little walk.

photo 4

And now I’m typing this post and Duncan is just staring at me. Not sure what he wants. Maybe just my attention.

photo 1Tomorrow I’m going to work at the Philadelphia Marathon Expo. I’ll be at the New Jersey Marathon booth. We’re raffling off a free race entry so come by if you’re planning on attending. =) I’m loving my part time job working for the New Jersey Marathon! I dropped off some postcards at Jackrabbit Sports’ community bulletin area yesterday =)

photoAfter the expo I’ve got to hightail it home because I’m going to the Blue Gala fundraiser event again this year. It’s to raise money for a fairly large animal rescue. I’ll be back at the expo ALL day on Saturday too. I’m exhausted just thinking about the next 2 days.

Have you ever been to Philadelphia? It’s a great city to visit. I seem to do a lot of running there but someday I’ll go just for the culture and good eats. 

What’s on your weekend agenda?

 

 

 

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Visiting Cape May in November

16. November 2014 · Write a comment · Categories: labradoodle, running, Uncategorized, vacation · Tags: , , , ,
I have been taking an annual road trip with the doodle for one long weekend a year at this rental house in Cape May, New Jersey for the past 5 years (except for last year).
The backyard is one of Duncan's favorite things about the house. I love the porch.

The backyard is one of Duncan’s favorite things about the house. I love the porches.

I found it on Bringfido.com when I was looking for a pet friendly place and road trip destination for me and the doodle back in 2010.

This is how Duncan travels. 2+ hours in this exact position. I'm so lucky!

This is how Duncan travels. 2+ hours in this exact position. I’m so lucky!

I love it here! And especially this time of year. It’s empty. The dogs are allowed almost everywhere and there are lots of scenic options for running too. I also love the colder weather. It’s been colder than normal for this time of year. It even got below freezing last night (31F).

I arrived on Thursday afternoon and settled in while preparing a lovely dinner. The boyfriend and his doodle dog Chester came down in the evening to join Duncan and I.
Every now and again I actually cook!

Shrimp and pasta. Every now and again I actually cook!

And then there was a lot of relaxing.

the boys!

the boys!

Friday morning we took the dogs to the beach. Chester and his person played football with an indestructible destructible Nerf ball and Duncan just enjoyed the fresh, and might I add COLD air.
10302019_10205149167270481_3639786304397551126_n

Touchdown!

10409593_10205148935744693_3040272652462362187_n

Waiting for the ball

10608502_10205148937224730_5704362287967841347_o

Out of bounds!

10629248_10205149167630490_65918548222787129_o

Perfectly Coiffed doodle!

1618561_10205146648407511_8256681525622130306_n

in dessert terms they would be a blondie and a brownie

After a little bit of shopping and a couple more meals, the boyfriend and Chester headed home.
Yesterday was another gorgeous crisp Autumn day. Rather than return to the beach, I took Duncan to the Cold Spring Bike Path for a 3.5 mile walk and we enjoyed the last of the Fall Foliage.
Cold Spring Bike Path

Cold Spring Bike Path

It’s a 3 mile stretch and is just a quarter mile walk from my rental house. After our walk, I dropped him home and set out on the same route for a run. Since I knew it was flat and mainly away from traffic and traffic lights I went out faster than norm.

photo 4I’m still trying to work out some kinks with the knee and a few other tight spots but 3-4 miles seems to be my sweet spot for distance right now. No pain occurs during these shorter runs. So I figure I might as well try and run faster knowing my mileage each week is a lot lighter. Come January I’ll start building back up my base for marathon training.
Later on in the afternoon I took Duncan to a unique spot known as Cox Hall Creek.
Cox Hall Creek WMA

Cox Hall Creek WMA

It is a 253-acre state wildlife management area that used to be a golf course. So all the paved paths that the golf carts used to ride on are still there but there’s just the most majestic jungle of greenery and wildlife all around you. A friend that used to live in the area told me about it and I’m glad I had a chance to spend some time there. Duncan loved it too. Lots of scents to track.

Today we went for a short walk and now I’m packing up the car to head home. It’s been really relaxing and just what I needed. Before you know it Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here and life will be quite hectic.
He loves looking out the french doors.

He loves looking out the french doors.

Do you have a place you go to every year at the same time of year? What season do you go there?

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