Woah! How is it 6 days into the new year already? Let’s catch up! How did you ring in the new year? Anything new and exciting planned for 2016?

So the good news is I have managed to break my 10-cookie-a-day-habit but I have been satisfying my sweet tooth with these candy canes I got on the half price rack after Christmas 🙂

IMG_0211Let’s face it—I have no expectation that my sweet tooth will just disappear for 2016 so I’ll do what I can to keep it under control.

I got a new couch and it comes with a classic Sally story. So last Tuesday I met some of my high school alumni at a local bar for our annual holiday get together. It’s always fun to catch up although we keep in touch on Facebook too. I spent 4+ hours there and it was after midnight when I got home. I was expecting my new sofa to be delivered between 6:30-9:30am the following day and knew I needed to get my existing furniture out to the curb. I couldn’t exactly call someone in the middle of the night. Mr. SOTSS’s suggestion was for me to just move my existing furniture into the dining room until he was able to get over to help but I’m stubborn and a little too type A to be able to handle having the old stuff lingering for a day or more. So I just hauled a$$ and got-er-done but I took out chunks of sheetrock, pulled some muscles and bruised myself along the way.

All because I was too stubborn to wait 12 hours!

All because I was too stubborn to wait 12 hours!

But I did it! #stronglikebull #stubbornasamule

But I did it! Down 2 flights of enclosed spiral stairs #stronglikebull #stubbornasamule

There was even a moment that the love seat was literally wedged in the staircase and I couldn’t budge it loose. I almost fell apart and cried but I pulled myself together and slithered under the railing to get beneath and jiggle the love seat free. While I’m still sore and bruised a week later, it was worth it.

And the new sofa? I love it!

IMG_0111It’s big enough for Mr. SOTSS, me and BOTH dogs. This was very important to me since Chester is a big boy and hasn’t been able to fit on the sofa with us without being a “lap” dog =)

we ALL fit!

we ALL fit!

So I thought it would be fun to go month by month and share my most memorable moments of 2015. They won’t all be running related but I’m sure you don’t mind. Gonna go in reverse and start with December first so that I can tell you all about my New Year’s Eve:

DECEMBER 31—New Year’s Eve/Day

Happy New Year

Happy New Year

I spent the afternoon strolling the outlet stores with Mr. SOTSS, his girls and his mom too! We then picked up some groceries at the supermarket for dinner. The girls and I took on the important responsibility of picking out ice cream flavors and before you knew it we had whipped cream, chocolate chips, sprinkles and chocolate syrup! If there’s one thing I know it’s that you need to make ice cream sundae’s to ring in the new year. Mr. SOTSS’ mom cooked an amazing dinner (his aunt and uncle joined us for dinner too!). We then put on our party hats and waited patiently for midnight. The girls played chess and then joined me in working on one of the jigsaw puzzles that I bought them for Christmas.

Matching shirts!

Matching shirts!

The finished puzzle. All glued together and ready for hanging.

The finished puzzle. All glued together and ready for hanging.

Party animal!

Party animal!

Siblings! Always a competition =)

Siblings! Always a competition =)

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Hey there blog family.

Thank you so much for the birthday wishes for Duncan. He had a stellar birthday and Christmas. Lots of homemade cookie gifts from friends and more toys.

Speaking of cookies….I’m still emerging from my holiday cookie coma. I’m really lucky that I have great baking friends and family but man, it’s going to be hard to break this new 10-cookie a day habit.

So Christmas came and went just like that. I got a quick run in on the morning of Christmas eve before heading upstate to my friend Susan’s.

Short sleeves on Christmas eve because it was 70 degrees out!

Short sleeves on Christmas eve because it was 70 degrees out!

eve-stats We had a nice low-key holiday dinner….just Susan, her hubby and me, along with Duncan and Susan’s pup Lucy.

Post meal nap

Lucy having a post-meal nap

Enjoying a pre-recorded U2 concert on TV.

Duncan enjoying a pre-recorded U2 concert on TV.

I spent Christmas Day with Mr. SOTSS. First we exchanged gifts and then we went to spend the day with his family. Again, another nice, low-key day.

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I’m just enjoying life as best as I can lately. I have a lot on my plate these days and my goal is just to try and keep my mindset in a Zen, happy place. Nobody wants a Scrooge around right? Here are 5 things to keep me happy lately:

  1. Running: Of course! I ran on Friday around the neighborhood for an easy 3 miles. fri-statsSaturday was a special run. It was the Big Chill 5k held on the campus of Rutgers University. Over 8,000 runners and walkers donate toys as their registration fee and then run. I got to see Jane and Mr. SOTSS ran as well.
    Me and Jane

    Me and Jane

    The entire back wall eventually is totally filled with donated toys

    The entire back wall eventually is totally filled with donated toys

    Me and Mr. SOTSS....It was super sunny and I was squinting just a tad.

    Me and Mr. SOTSS….It was super sunny and I was squinting just a tad.

    While I didn’t pay the extra fee for a timing chip, my Garmin let me know that I ran a 9:26 pace and finished in 29 minutes! That’s pretty unbelievable considering A. I’ve been so slow lately and B. there were so many walkers to dodge and weave that I for sure wasn’t able to run freely leaving me to believe that my time would be much slower.big-chill-statsIn addition to running I also registered for the Cherry Blossom 10-miler lottery. It’s a very popular race held in Washington D.C. in April. After the Big Chill, Mr. SOTSS and I joined Jane and her posse for breakfast and we made the decision to enter the lottery. I’m looking forward to it if I get in. I want 2016 to be the year I run lots of shorter distances and 10 miles has always been a favorite distance of mine yet I’ve never run an actual 10 mile race.

  2. Getting in the Holiday Spirit: Yup, I put up my tree and decorated a little outside while Duncan napped. That’s about right.
    Woke up for the picture

    Woke up for the picture

    Boy do I enjoy revealing all my ornaments each year that have been in hibernation for a year. And I had a new ornament to put up. The one I bought as a souvenir from my trip to Jamaica this past summer.jamaica-ornamentEach ornament brings back warm fuzzy feelings. Totally made me happy.

    Why yes! May ALL your miles be merry =)

    Why yes! May ALL your miles be merry =)

    Running chick!

    Running chick!

    marathon ornament

    marathon ornament

    Doodle ornament

    Doodle ornament

    outside-2

    My cute lil snowman

    outside-1

  3. Spending quality time with my honey: We spent lots of quality time this weekend which culminated in a lovely hike today with the dogs.
    The boys in my life

    The boys in my life

    Even though it's December it is still officially Autumn. 50s and sunny.

    Even though it’s December it is still officially Autumn. 50s and sunny.

    And speaking of doggies….

  4. Cute doggies!: I’ve had to do a large amount of freelance work today and seeing them cuddled so cute around me makes me happy.napping-doggies
  5. Family dinner: This past Thursday my mom and dad had me over for dinner and homemade apple crisp. apple-crispIt felt really good to tell them all of the things in my life lately….the good, the bad and the ugly. They are so supportive and just want me to be happy….so….I’ll try as hard as I can to keep this mindset that way.

So how was your weekend? Can you tell me 5 things that have made you happy lately?

 

Overwhelmed lately. I feel like a broken record. I literally complained to Mr. SOTSS for an hour (or more) last night and feel like a terrible girlfriend for doing so. He’s so good at listening to me vent but I truly felt like I was just bringing him down. I’m not a New Year’s resolution kind of person but I do think I need to work on the complaining thing. It’s not fair. He’s got his own ish to deal with. Every year it happens. The holidays feel like they are being squished into a super busy month and I have to work hard to find the time to get it (whatever it stands for) all done and enjoy the process.

This happened tonight! Duncan and Chester made snow in my living room.

This happened during Mr. SOTSS’ visit! Duncan and Chester made snow in my living room. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas….

So anyway, here it is Wednesday already (it just turned midnight and yes, I changed my post title from “Weekend Wrap-Up on Tuesday” to “Weekend Wrap-up on Wednesday” literally moments ago) and I’m just getting some time to catch you up on the rest of my Thanksgiving weekend.

After spending my Black Friday outdoors and enjoying some fresh air with Duncan, Saturday morning Duncan and I were on the road before 6am to drive down to Princeton, NJ for the Run around Princeton Running Festival. Run Around Princeton ((RAP)) was holding this event to raise money for a local Girls on the Run organization that one of the RAP runners is a coach for. 

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A 5k loop was mapped out from one of the runner’s houses through the neighborhood and back. You could run just one loop or multiple loops to complete any distance from 5k up to 50k! There were about 35 runners who participated and in total we raised almost $2,000.

12314068_10153123906732121_2579198420794089800_nDuncan and I ran just one 5k but 4 of the runners completed the full 50k! And may I say how proud I am of Duncan. He kept an 11 min pace! 

Doodle's first 5k (I forgot to start my watch until about 1/10 of a mile in.

Doodle’s first 5k (I forgot to start my watch until about 1/10 of a mile in.

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The ladies in the black shirts were two of the 50k-ers!

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There were so many squirrels in the neighborhood which gave Duncan the push to keep going.

And I even got a Girls on the Run car magnet which of course I was giddy over. Never knew I’d be so excited about car magnets.

FullSizeRender 2I left there around 9am and headed straight to Mr SOTSS’ house. I was joining him and his family for a Rutgers University football game. I’d never been to a college football game before. It was a bit drizzly out and the game sure was a roller coaster ride. They had a huge lead that eventually got smaller and smaller and in the end they lost 46/41. Oh well. Can’t win em all 🙂

IMG_9543Next up was Mr. SOTSS’ oldest daughter’s swim meet where she did a 400 meter freestyle event and then we grabbed a bite for dinner before I finally pooped out had to say goodbye. It was a long day!

Duncan and I had another busy day on Sunday. We took a road trip Upstate New York to visit my friend Nicole who recently moved there. It was nice to catch up and lounge around for the afternoon sipping wine, playing with her daughter, visiting with some other mutual friends, and enjoying the relaxation. And the gods were with me because I didn’t hit any traffic in either direction!

Sunday funday

Sunday funday and that’s homemade wine!

Duncan and Cody napping

Duncan and Cody napping

Lots of dog loving people!

Lots of dog loving people!

Nicole and I met through Duncan when he was just 6 months old. She owns the pet sitting company that walks Duncan when I'm at work.

Nicole and I met through Duncan when he was just 6 months old. She owns the pet sitting company that walks Duncan when I’m at work. Funny that Nicole and Duncan have their more serious model pose =)

Brunette curlies X3

Brunette curlies X3

So now you’re caught up. And before you know it I’ll be recapping my next weekend. Dear universe: please can we slow things down! I want to relish a bit in the holiday season. I want to feel excited to decorate my tree and listen to some warm fuzzy music. Mmmkay thanks for listening.

Are you in the holiday spirit?

Are you feeling rushed these days?

How do yo make sure you give proper time and attention to the spirit of the holidays season?

Any traditions?

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