Howdy people,

Hope you’ve had a great weekend. I’ve had a 4-day weekend and it STILL flew by. Friday was July 4th and I was looking forward to just laying low but soon low turned to lonely…then I got a text from my friend Z that she was having a BBQ and Duncan and I should come by. Perfect timing.

Duncan had prepared all morning:

preparingforday

Good thing the doodle rested up because his pal Chance was waiting patiently for his arrival. These dogs are buddies that go way back…They met in 2010.

duncan-chance

They kept an eye on the grill. I kept an eye indulged on the canolis.

bbq cannoli

It rained for a bit so we stayed indoors but as soon as the rain passed we sprawled out on the deck.

bbq lounge

just chillin on auntie Z’s lap

chance-face

you gonna share that burger?

IMG_0004

no worries! i’ve got the grill under control!

IMG_0006

i can’t believe nobody dropped a single crumb!

Duncan and I headed home before sunset because he isn’t a fan of the fireworks. I’m grateful he isn’t a total disaster but the noise keeps him alert and unsure. His tail goes down and his ears go up and he can’t relax.  So we blasted the television and shut the lights and by 10:30pm he finally fell asleep.

Yesterday morning was perfection! The temps dropped after the rain and I woke up to 63 degrees and really low humidity. And it was nice a breezy too. It almost felt like October. I headed out to the beach with a smile on my face and set out for my first post-injury long run. After being silly for the camera phone I eventually cranked out 8 miles!

so happy I could fly

so happy I could fly

foot is strong and balance is coming back

foot is strong and balance is coming back

beachpath

there’s something so awesome about this view.

feet in the sand

loving my Asics Cumulus 16s!

gateway

8miles

still slow but i’m totally ok with that!

I managed to be a couch potato for most of the afternoon and then in the evening Duncan and I met a friend and his dog Chester for a walk on the beach. I have no pictures and trust me I’m saving you! Let’s just say dead fish and ticks were involved as were dog baths later on. EEEWWWW!

This morning I did some more couch potato channel surfing (ooh sorta sounds like cross training!) and then cleaned out my garage. Caught up on the ole telephone with a few friends and then I made a last minute decision to squeeze in a bike ride before heading to the grocery store.

the Norwegian Breakaway cruiseship settin' sail

the Norwegian Breakaway cruiseship settin’ sail under the Verrazano Bridge

Ride Sally Ride!

Ride Sally Ride!

sun shining thru the boardwalk

sun shining thru the boardwalk

why not take a selfie under the boardwalk

why not take a selfie under the boardwalk

under the boardwalk

notice the plastic tie straps holding the water bottle holder in place? That’s what we call “MacGuyvering”

sundaybikeI also took the doodle for a last quick walk in the woods to close out the weekend.

photo 4And appropriately we saw this:

Happy Birthday America

Happy Birthday America

So now it’s time to prepare for the week ahead. I leave you with this video of the doodle just chillin’ shot gun…

How was your weekend? 

 

 

 

I meant to get this post up yesterday but started to watch that movie One Fine Day (George Clooney and Michelle Pfeiffer) and that was that. Anyhoo, hope everyone had an enjoyable Father’s Day or just Sunday or whatever you chose to celebrate yesterday. I didn’t do the Father’s Day thing today. My parents are out of town so we’re going to celebrate next weekend. It’s going to be a hodge podge celebration as we’ll also be celebrating my nephew’s 16th birthday and my niece’s graduation from middle school!

I had originally been planning a 30ish mile bike ride in NJ yesterday morning at a new (to me) route in Sandy Hook, New Jersey which is about a half hour-ish away from me, but after such a busy day on Saturday with the race and the picnic and some big brown puppy dog eyes staring at me longingly at 6am when my alarm went off, I scratched that plan opted to stay in bed a bit longer with the pooch. The guilt of going to Central Park (A.K.A. “Dog Mecca”) not once, but twice on Saturday without him continued, so I decided to start the day taking the pooch on a li’l outting to relieve myself of some of that guilt. (He’s got me wrapped around his little paw).

Where ya gonna take me?

So where ya gonna take me this morning?

I started our Sunday Funday at one of my favorite hiking/walking spots by ocean. I love the open meadows and how they catch the early morning sunlight. And the honeysuckles are just everywhere meaning every single inhale is filled with the most fragrant perfection!

sundayfunday

 

Doodlebug

Doodlebug

In case you were curious...

In case you were curious…

morning selfie

morning selfie…sunglasses to hide the puffy morning eyes.

 

The doodle was pooped when we got back. So while I did some paper work in my office he passed out.

pooped

And then I did some blogging while he supervised (although he kept falling asleep on the job)

blogging

 

I tried to change my cell phone data plan online but was only partially successful. I could feel myself getting irritated as the prompts on their website took me for a loop and kept bringing back to the wrong page. GRRR!

That was it! I needed to go get a good sweaty workout….and so at 5pm I loaded the bike and drove to the beach.

eveningbike

I sat for a few minutes by the marina and just enjoyed the sun glistening on the water and the smell of those honeysuckles again!

It’s fairly flat so I kept it in high gear and pedaled the entire time. No coasting! My legs are definitely feeling the burn.

So how was your weekend? Did you do anything for Father’s Day? Run any races? BBQ? Anyone have a planned vacation coming up? My trip to San Francisco is in 6 weeks!!!!

 

 

Hello there.

This morning I took Duncan to the vet. He had a few routine shots that he was due for but the real reason was that I felt a growth on his cheek and upon inspection I thought it looked serious. Well how embarrased was I when I expressed my deepest concern to the vet thinking he’d tell me he thought it might be cancerous and he says: “Sally, it’s a wart! Your boy has a wart. He’s 5 1/2 which is basically like a 40 something year old middle aged man. He’s fine. Leave it be.” I felt like an idiot! But a very happy idiot.

It's just a wart ma!

It’s just a wart ma!

We made a quick pitstop at the pet store and stocked up on the necessities….food, cookies, bones and poop bags…and then when we cam home I fought the jungle in my garage to get the bike out for a ride.

Welcome to the Jungle. We've got fun and games.

Welcome to the Jungle. We’ve got fun and games. (and boxes and shovels and broken vacuums)

Kinda sad. I remember exactly one year ago cleaning out the garage and making it workout-friendly.

pre-jungle

pre-jungle!

I was a little pressed for time today so I only got 6.2 miles in.

10kride

 

 

Then it was time for a little bulk shopping at Sam’s Club. I focused on all my favorite P’s.

photo 1Popcorn, Peppermint Patties and Produce!

And while we’re talking about the letter P….this was my Perfect Park…

photo 3I have no idea why I parked like that. For a minute I thought maybe the car wasn’t in park and rolled forward. But no, I just misjudged a bit. =)

Well, I’m off to go strength train a bit. Catch ya later!

So what are your favorite arm moves? Weights? Resistance bands? Kettle bells? I’m going to do some tricep dips on my stairs and some planks and push-ups and then who knows.

 

 

Ah man! With National Running Day, then National Donut Day, now I want to celebrate more!!! Let’s just celebrate that I made it in to work today 😉

It’s Monday and it’s raining and I got to bed really late (we’re talking 3am!) after going out with friends to a concert last night.

Sevendust @ the Starland Ballroom Photo @ C. Cerzosie

Sevendust @ the Starland Ballroom — Photo @ C. Cerzosie

But I had my coffee so I’ll live 🙂

TLC-mug

Ironically it’s the travel mug I got when I “graduated” from physical therapy last time I had ankle tendonitis. I need to go back! Hoping foot doc says I can when I see her on Wednesday. I remember this stage all too well. The foot is like 80 percent better but it needs some deep massage, ultrasound treatment and strengthening now more than ever. And I hope they still give these mugs as graduation gifts because it’s the only one that never leaks on me. I’d love to get a second. 

Duncan wasn’t thrilled with this rainy Monday either.

lazydoodle

Yesterday I got in another 8.5 miles on the bike. Apparently i was on a peaceful bike route 🙂

Bike path for peace!

Bike path for peace!

While I was riding I passed this parked car:

eyelashes on the headlights. LOL!

eyelashes on the headlights. LOL!

Yes, those are eyelashes on the headlights of this car. Hysterical!

It was a real summer day yesterday with temps in the 80s so after my bike ride I decided to wash the car. It was so dirty I was embarrassed to take it to a car wash.

carwash

Duncan was just chillin’ in the shade enjoying the mist from the hose as it floated his way.

carwash-rainbow

Ah! Life IS good!

Not to mention since I didn’t get all the dead bees off from that crazy experience a couple of weeks ago I had to pull out the big guns to remove them buggers from the headlights and grill.

bugandtarWell today makes 30 days without running. I go back to the foot doc on Wednesday. I’m hoping she lets me ease back into running. I’m in the bargaining stage. Just let me run 1X per week for the next 2 weeks so I can complete the two 10Ks I’ve registered for! =)

Did you have coffee yet today? Are you a coffee drinker?

Anyone else only get 4 hours of sleep last night?

Any National Holiday that we can celebrate today?