running Archives - Page 3 of 102 -

eight eight eighteen

09. August 2018 · 3 comments · Categories: labradoodle, recreational fun, running, Uncategorized · Tags: balloon festival, dates, moving, packing, running

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 🙂

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Short and Sweaty Running

16. July 2018 · 2 comments · Categories: running · Tags: running, short and sweaty, summer running, sweaty

Hi there and welcome to my monthly post! Hope your summer is going well. It’s been really hot and humid here in the Northeast.

My running lately can basically be described as short and sweaty. I could toss slow in there too. But I’m actually loving it.

An evening run with some sprinkler hopping last week

A lovely run by the beach also last week

Mr. SOTSS and I each slogged through 4 miles on the 4th of July and just about died it was so hot.

It’s like my weeks get punctuated with short runs of 3-4 miles a couple of times a week and with no real training schedule, no injuries, no long runs, I’m not so absorbed with it all like I’d be with marathon training—so I’m free to be overly absorbed with packing and moving 🙂

Speaking of, I swear, every single time I think I have a handle on things I open another closet or cabinet door and find myself sorting and sifting through yet more stuff. I have no problem saying goodbye to things like old kitchen blenders or coffee makers and vases and such. But it’s so hard to pare down my coats. I love coats.

Hooray for an empty cabinet!

I’ve already made one trip to Goodwill and will probably end up making about a dozen more trips. They have a drive through lane where you literally have someone to greet you and take your stuff. Easy peasy!

remember these? A stereo from the 90s. Woah! Relic 🙂

Oh, and while we’re talking about relics, I found some old photos too….Here’s a shot of me from about 25 years ago—and yes i have shoulder pads in that dress.

And going even farther back…this one is closer to 30 years ago when I got my first car. Notice the matching scrunchy in my hair. Again, the 90s…

I’ve also been taking advantage of some free yoga here on Staten Island this summer with friends.

Every other Saturday morning I’ve enjoyed some gentle flow and a lovely view of the NYC skyline to my left and the Verrazano bridge to my right.

NYC Skyline

Verrazano Bridge

And now that my work situation is back to a more normal schedule, I’ve been able to join my Wednesday night hiking crew a bit more.

8pm summer sun

Duncan is happy that the 4th of July is now over with and so are the fireworks. He hid under the bed and I could hear him muttering under his breath about how rude people are to set them off. He doesn’t think fireworks are that cool.

The bathroom was another safe haven for him.

But now we’re back strutting around with no worries! (Well sometimes we take little breaks)

How has your summer been going? Do you have dogs with firework issues? Any tips for moving/packing?

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Making a big move and the last 30 days in pictures

16. June 2018 · 8 comments · Categories: running, vacation · Tags: dogs, honeysuckles, running, spring lake 5, walking

Well hello again. I’ve been on vacation this past week (just a staycation) and finally took it down a notch to regroup. Coincidently, it’s been exactly a month since my last post so I figured I share a little from the last 30 days in pictures because honestly that’s how I remember my life these days….I just scroll through my phone’s camera roll :).

Aside from this past staycation week I’ve been doing lots of sign design and production 🙂

Now that the weather has been warmer, Mr. SOTSS and I have resumed our Thursday night walks to get ices. That’s rainbow cookie for me and coconut raspberry for him.

I discovered this amazing combo: Sweet and Salty Kettle Corn AND Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips. So delicious!

I ran a race! Yep, the Spring Lake 5 miler the last weekend in May. It was super hot and I thought I might die. I ran the whole race with my friend Lisa and we had a great time catching up on life. I also got to see my friend Jane. And after the race, I had brunch with Lisa, her cousin and his wife. And if it couldn’t get better than that, I got a medal and a glass. Woot!

Happy feet!

For the 2nd year Mr. SOTSS and I attended a local fundraising event called the Blue Jean Ball. Such a fun night! And with our crazy work schedules it was really nice to get out on a weeknight and relax.

Props for the props.

I picked up Chester and brought him back to my house last week and snapped this pic just before we started driving. So cute.

I also made him pose for a pic just like I do with Duncan.

Speaking of duncan poses here’s one!

and another

oh ok….one more 🙂

On the Friday before my staycation began I came home from working at Fastsigns and passed out for 2 hours. I woke up and felt like running….and so I did…at 8pm! Fresh pavement and honeysuckles…it was awesome!

Speaking of honeysuckles, I walked a whole lot during my staycation just to be around the honeysuckles….they smell soooo good!

I went hiking and these ferns stopped me in my tracks.

Ran 3 slow miles yesterday and then took this selfie. Note to self: I need more running tanks. I only have ONE!

The view on my first walk of the day today

and then a second walk this evening with Duncan

And I made my bed! This is a big deal because I am not a regular bed maker. But I need to get in the habit because tomorrow I’m listing my house for sale! That’s my big news 🙂 I’ll be moving in with Mr. SOTSS for a while before we start house hunting for something together. I’m a bit freaked out as I’ve lived my entire life (44 years) here on Staten Island and I’ll be moving to New Jersey. But considering I basically pack a duffle bag and go there every weekend anyway I guess it won’t be that big a deal. And Mr. SOTSS is a GREAT bed maker so I’ll have that to look forward to 🙂 But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t emotional about this. I bought this house less than a year after my husband died and I have been here for 18 years. It’s been my serenity. I’ll miss it. But I’m looking forward to this next chapter.

So how has your last month been?

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popping in to say hi

15. May 2018 · 3 comments · Categories: running, Uncategorized · Tags: dogs, running, spring blooms, walking, working

I miss blogging! Haven’t been here in a month so I just wanted to pop in and say hi. Hope you are all enjoying your Spring wherever you are located—I love that I have readers as far away as New Zealand!

Real simple, I’ll let you know how my month has been going in about 3 bullets.

I’ve been running 1 or 2 times a week. I’m slow but steady and have adjusted nicely to this new norm of decreased speed, duration and distance. It’s nice to have it back in my life consistently since being sidelined so much in 2017. As for races. They’ll be few and far between. I’ll be running the Spring Lake 5 (miler) in a couple of weeks and couldn’t be more excited for it. Hoping for decent weather.
I’ve been working all day e’ryday. Yup, not lying here. Upwards of 12ish hours daily.
And any remaining hours have been either eating, sleeping—or of course, walking Duncan. There were a few family highlights as well sprinkled throughout. Mr. SOTSS turned 45 and my niece turned 18. She had accepted admission at the University of Pittsburgh but only a week later found out she was also accepted to NYU’s (New York University) Applied Psychology program so she is switching gears and will be attending NYU instead. I’m a very proud aunt.

I’ll leave you with a few highlights of the last month in pictures. Now tell me some of YOUR highlights from the last 30 days!

Running highlights:

This past Saturday I had 59 minutes left to Deena Kastor’s book “Let Your Mind Run” and ran until the book was finished 🙂 I highly recommend the book. As a side note, I heard her on a recent podcast episode say she didn’t run for like 4 months straight while writing the book.