Well it’s now eight nine eighteen because I kept getting distracted yesterday when I started writing this post! But let’s just pretend:

I just love today’s date 080818. I felt it deserved a blog post title and so I’m writing this post just to make it happen 🙂

I’m making such progress in clearing out my house before the closing. Tossing, donating, packing….

bubble wrap is my life right now

Said goodbye to the late hubby’s skiis (and most of his other stuff too)…I can vividly remember watching him ski out of the trees up in Vermont. I never felt comfortable enough to attempt skiing through the trees. Donated 3 car loads of stuff so far.

who saves drawers from a dresser they haven’t owned in 20 years?

Shredding years of paper

My attic is now officially empty and I’ve shredded almost 20 years of important docs. Seriously what was I doing? Clearly I didn’t need tax docs from 1997! I did save this one page from my 1999 taxes.

As of now it looks like I’ll be closing at the end of this month. But this weekend I’m going to officially move into Mr. SOTSS’ house. I want Duncan settled and out of this house before I really start dismantling stuff. He’s definitely starting to wonder what the deal is.

Yesterday my piano went. I donated it to a nonprofit called The Society of the Unique Artists.

I had to explain to Duncan they are only taking the piano and not him. He was confused for a second.

Other than packing and purging I’ve been doing the usual. Walking, working, a little running and a whole lot of Duncan cuddling. We have just 2 more nights to share a queen sized bed just the two of us! It’s a luxury I’m going to miss as we double that count….And Chester is an 85 pound lab which basically means he’s like another human.

A 3 miler the week before last

And a 4 miler last week! Yep, I went an extra mile because i was having such a good run. And then I took what will probably be the last sweaty selfie post-run at this door. I was reminded on this run that I can always count on 2 things: How i feel about running and how Duncan feels about me 🙂

Last weekend Mr SOTSS and I went to a hot air balloon festival.

I was being such a pain about getting a good selfie that we ran the potential of the balloons leaving the frame before we snapped the pic. Sometimes you just can’t dilly dally.

Well, we actually just sat in the parking lot with our picnic dinner and drinks to watch them all take flight.

French fry face!

rosé

Last year we paid the $35 entry fee each (and we had his two daughters with us too) and realized there wasn’t much to do and really we just wanted to see the balloons at the end of the night. We noticed people in the parking lot with lawn chairs and thought that was genius. And last year was too windy so they balloons never left the ground. It was a bit depressing. But this year was quite spectacular. A beautiful sight.

Oh yeah, and I got stung by a bee! I hadn’t been stung in about 35 years and apparently I am allergic. My ankle swelled up and was painful for about a week. Thankfully my breathing was not affected.

While I’ve spent many a day and night at Mr. SOTSS’ place, I’ve never been there more than 4 days consecutively. So everyone will be needing some time to get adjusted to the full time “roomies” situation.

Mr. SOTSS built me this awesome room last summer and it’s supposed to be my private oasis kinda thing….like a she-shed. But apparently everyone just flocks to me. We’re all squeezed into the 7×7 room. HAHA!

Chester will love that I can feed him at 5pm sharp now so he doesn’t have to wait for his dad to get home for dinner.

I’ve gotta drop the doodles off at the groomer. Hope you’re all having a good month.

What’s new with you? Do you have a date like eight eight eighteen that you like? I remember 9-10-11, 10-11-12, 11-12-13 and 12-13-14 like they were yesterday 🙂

I was thinking today how normal it is for me now to NOT run like a crazy person. I used to run so much but since returning from injury this time around I’m basically down to one run a week. After the Fall Flat 5k two weekends ago I waited a week and ran 4 miles the day after Thanksgiving. It was an AWESOME run. Just felt so happy and appreciative. Great fall weather and a quiet day since most of my clients weren’t around.

A beautiful Fall day  run

A beautiful Fall day run…my Black Friday… #optoutside

My feet took a beating though over the next two days.

Saturday Mr. SOTSS and I took his two daughters and my niece into the city to check out some of the department store holiday windows and see the big old tree at Rockafeller Center (unlit since the tree lighting doesn’t happen until tomorrow). Of course it ended up being more about shopping, SnapChat and selfies as my niece is 17 and his girls are 12 and 14. #teenagers 🙂

Taking their SnapChat selfies

Taking their SnapChat selfies

They were SO excited because there was a special “pop-up” store of Kylie Cosmetics and they waited on a huge line to get in and buy some makeup. It was fun though.

waiting for the girls

just two kids skipping ;)

just two kids skipping 😉 And those french braids are one of my braid masterpieces of the weekend.

These ornaments are displayed every year for what feels like forever. I feel like they've repainted them to be extra sparkly this year.

These ornaments are displayed every year for what feels like forever. I feel like they’ve repainted them to be extra sparkly this year.

My niece is such a hoot. And a great role model for the girls too. I love to see them hang together. We walked a ton and then, the next day we went back into the city with Mr. SOTSS’ parents and the girls to see Wicked, the broadway musical.

3rd row!

3rd row!

She wanted a french braid to the side. Mission accomplished.....and I did it while standing on the train.

She wanted a french braid to the side. Mission accomplished…..and I did it while standing on the train. 

Needless to say after another full day of strolling the city my feet were achy yesterday. I did manage to go to yoga but today I tried to rest my dogs as much as possible today. The old me would have run today because I had the time and the weather was great. But I just don’t want to risk injury. I’ve got a 5k on Saturday and I’d like my feet to be happy so I can run happy.

I can’t even wrap my head around ever getting back to a training schedule. I’m just going to continue to listen to my body. I haven’t signed up for any races in 2018 yet. I’d like to gradually build back up to 3 runs a week but who knows when that will be.

November is almost over and so are my Thanksgiving leftovers.

Last  of the TG leftovers

Last of the TG leftovers

IMG_4024

I’m almost done designing my holiday card. I’ve even done some Christmas shopping. Hoping I can stay ahead of the game this year.

If I get stressed I'll just hit the bottle....not the wine...the whipped cream! LOL!

If I get stressed I’ll just hit the bottle….not the wine…the whipped cream! LOL!

Duncan's dropping the hint about what he wants for Christmas....he needs more tennis balls.

Duncan’s dropping the hint about what he wants for Christmas….he needs more tennis balls.

What’s new with you? Are you a fan of the holidays? Are you the type who gets more stressed or more spirited?

I’m a little of both. I do get stressed trying to get it all done but I LOVE when my tree is up and decorated and I’m wrapping gifts and listening to some holiday music.

For all my injured readers give me an update and let me know how you’re doing.

running shoes for wide feet and a rustic country wedding

I returned to running about 3 weeks ago and am still trying to figure out the best running shoe situation for my feet post-injury. #thestruggleisreal

8 successful runs! On target to reach my 5k distance at the end of the month

8 successful runs! On target to reach my 5k distance at the end of the month

Before injuring my toe I was running in the Asics Cumulus 18s.

Cumulus 18s

Cumulus 18s (photo from March 2017 the day before I started limping)

I wore a size 8 regular width and they felt great. I’ve also run in the Brooks Ghost (size 8) back when they were only up to the 6s (now they’re up to the 10s).

Brooks Ghost 6s saw me to my marathon PR

I have a wider forefoot but when I was analyzed and fitted by both Jackrabbit and Road Runner Sports both said I could wear a regular width. But now after this dang toe injury I find that I’m happiest with more room for my toes to splay. I also find that the two widest bones don’t like to feel squeezed in the slightest (where the base of the pinky toe connects on the outside of the foot and where the base of the big toe connects in the inside of the foot). Back in April I discovered the brand Altra—with their “foot shaped toe box”  and “zero drop” and purchased the Escalante. They have been amazingly comfortable walking and I have also run a few of my short recent runs in them.

Wore the Escalante yesterday as I took a stroll through the neighborhood

Wore the Escalante yesterday as I took a stroll through the neighborhood

ran 22 minutes last week in the Escalante

ran 22 minutes last week in the Escalante

More »

It’s been almost 10 days since I wrote my post about being mostly uninspired and ironically that inspired me to write a post about 10 awesome things that have happened since that post. (I re-read this sentence 10 times and swear it doesn’t sound like it’s grammatically correct but I think my point came across)

 

Number 1: I picked fresh veggies from my parents’ garden

fresh-veggies

Number 2: I’ve been swimming, biking, hiking and practicing yoga on the regular.

Seen on my hike this week

Seen on my hike this week

Today's ride

Today’s ride

20 laps a la doggie paddle and apparently KT Tape isn't waterproof when cholorine is involved

20 laps a la doggie paddle and apparently KT Tape isn’t waterproof when cholorine is involved

Last Sunday's ride

Last Sunday’s ride

Number 3: I got 2 new projects that will secure my income goals for the next couple of months

werk-werk-werk

werk-werk-werk

Number 4: I’ve been able to add “walk briskly” back to my life. This is awesome because it’s the next step in my running comeback.

 

Number 5: To go along with my happier feet I re-discovered this 40th birthday “gag” gift in my closet that is now my latest favorite thing. Why didn’t I take this thing seriously before? LOVE!

It's a shiatsu foot massager with heat!

It’s a shiatsu foot massager with heat!

Number 6: I saw the eclipse sort of. I took a pic with my phone but at first saw nothing. Then I saw this adorable crescent shaped reflection/lens flare thingy on the photo

IMG_2525

Number 7: I had the best chocolate chip ice cream of my life and of all places right here on Staten Island. Egger’s has been around since 1932.

Reese's Pieces instead of sprinkles for the win

Reese’s Pieces instead of sprinkles for the win

Number 8: I had my first beer of 2017…I know that sounds crazy but i have been drinking wine, hard ciders and frozen daiquiris and margaritas and only had my first beer of the year a week ago. It was at a local brewery here on staten island. I was at a fundraiser for some runners who are running the NYC Marathon this year. They’re fundraising for the Greenbelt Conservancy which is the non-profit that organizes the hikes i go on. They’re also my client! I designed their annual report and some invitations and posters too.IMG_2475

Number 9: Duncan’s eye is all healed and he’s off all the meds and with his fresh haircut is looking as cute as ever.

dreaming that I'll finish working soon so we can go for a w-a-l-k!!!!

dreaming that I’ll finish working soon so we can go for a w-a-l-k!!!!

The best thing I learned in my college photography class was to shoot from different angles

The best thing I learned in my college photography class was to shoot from different angles

Fozzie Bear!

Fozzie Bear!

Number 10: Facebook memories reminded me this week of the time Mr. SOTSS and I saw a shooting star when we were in Jamaica for his cousin’s wedding! It was a magical evening and I couldn’t have asked for a better partner to share that experience with. memories

So there ya have it. From mostly uninspired to 10 awesome things!!!!

Tell me something awesome that happened to you this week.