Last Friday, I closed out the work week with an awesome 6 mile run along a tow path near my office. I enjoyed it so much I decided to do it again last night. 7 miles of the most beautiful and fragrant scenery…
you know me and my honeysuckles….
My favorite view of the eve
I stopped a ton to take pics and kept it fairly slow and easy. As usual, it really boosted my mood.
The ivy and “fuzzy” looking stuff on this tree made me feel like I was in a fairy tale jungle
cutest little cottage near the rose garden
Ironically I stopped at these flowers that are called “carefree spirit” 🙂
I almost don’t want to ever run on the streets of my neighborhood anymore because it just doesn’t compare.
tried to get a running shadow.
seriously…the reflection of the trees in the water….so beautiful.
That’s me….always a little off-centered
Boom, long run done and stress sweated out.
I stopped at Dunkin Donuts for a refreshing iced coffee to re-hydrate and then I relaxed the rest of the night with my boy staring at me.
You were gone so long i’m just gonna stare at you so you won’t have the heart to leave me again
This morning I took the doodle to the vet for some regularly shots and checkup and he got a clean bill of health. Now he’s “reclining”.
Well look at that, it’s already Thursday! How’s your week going?
I had a super full day Tuesday. It started with a walk around the ‘hood with Duncan at sunrise.
Only in these summer months do I get up at 5:30am when I don’t have a race planned. It’s so bright out already at that time. I love it! (Like Monday night at 8pm when we went to Petco.) After the walk, I went for a run.
Then I sat in traffic driving to work so my commute felt like a full-day in and of itself. After work I drove home, had a quick bite and packed up the doodle and an overnight bag and headed over to Mr. SOTSS’.
The reason I was heading back to New Jersey was because earlier in the day I had purchased (on a total whim) tickets to see the Dave Matthews Band in concert at a venue close to his house. The venue is an outdoor one and it was 70 degrees and just perfect for a concert under the stars.
It was hard to see the actual band on the stage so we enjoyed the big ole monitors above for our viewing pleasure. (Well, yeah, Mr. SOTSS doesn’t care too much about that. Although he was fascinated with the way Dave raises his eyebrows individually when he sings. 🙂
We got there a little late and missed about 4 songs but I took a look at the set list the next morning and I didn’t really miss much. Actually I was pretty bummed because he didn’t play any of the songs I was hoping to hear. (The next night he played in Dallas and the set list got better. Oh well) The tickets I got were just general admission and it was super crowded so we pretty much hung out in a quiet open area by the concessions and sipped our $15 beverages! I just cannot believe that they charge so much more when you go to concerts, sports events, amusement parks etc.
It was still such a lovely night though.
It almost felt like we were watching the crowd and the concert from another planet we were so far.
Yesterday morning I had to do some freelance work before making the drive to my 9-5 job and then I had to swing back over to Mr. SOTSS’ after work to pick up Duncan. It worked out well though because his daughter needed help with a cover design for her poem project for school. I had to get some more freelance work done anyway so I sat on the sofa and worked a bit as well after we got her cover design printed. I love being needed. Next thing I knew it was 8pm so Duncan and I got in the car and headed home.
This morning was a repeat of Tuesday. 5:30am walk with doodles and then another quick run.
More early morning sun!
what he does…. on.every.single.shrub!
run done
And a long shadow to go with the longest days of the year
perfect running weather
I’m tired and so happy tomorrow is Friday although I’ve got a lot happening. After work tomorrow I’m going to do a long run and then Saturday I’m taking my niece into the city to finally celebrate her 16th birthday. Sunday I’m having brunch with a dear friend who is moving to North Carolina in a few weeks. (#indenial) and then I’m going to see Mr. SOTSS’s daughter’s dance recital. Plus Duncan has a vet appointment and I have to clean and cook or something like that…..
So what are your weekend plans?
How do you maximize your time on these long daylight days?
Anyone live in Alaska where it’s light out for a large part of the year?
I spent Saturday being pretty lazy at first. Eventually I started to get my usual chores done. Laundry, vacuum, tidy etc. Then I caught up with a few friends on the phone for some good girl talk before heading over to Mr. SOTSS’ in the early evening. We rode our bikes 10 miles out to the beach and just took a few minutes to enjoy the sights and sounds before stopping for a quick bite and then riding our bikes back home.
Riding out to the beach
Me and my shadow
Ah….dusk…i love pleasing light.
So long sun. See ya tomorrow
The trip back was after the sun had set which was quite interesting. We had to keep our mouths closed so we wouldn’t eat any bugs! A firefly hit me on the forehead and then fell onto my arm. I saw the fluorescent streak flash before my eyes. It was also scary (for me because I’m afraid of the dark and a walking calamity) because I couldn’t see the path and wasn’t sure if there were bumps I needed to avoid. And I freaked out because I thought I saw people walking to the right of us but when I finally could see I realized it was a cemetery…..Um…if there were people walking I’d venture they were zombies then.
By the time we got home I needed some ice cream to collect myself. HA!
Yesterday I went for a run in the morning.
Wearing one of my favorite Brooks shirts and Under Armour bike shorts. I hardly wear shorts but when I do I swear I feel like I run faster. LOL.
Always with the sad face when I leave him. Kills me.
When I came back I was really hungry but knew we were going to a birthday party in the afternoon so I just grabbed some cheese and crackers and had some company patiently waiting for crumbs.
After work today I hit up the grocery store for some ingredients to cook. I made a huge batch of taco meat, sauteed peppers and onions and some greek chicken cutlets in the slow cooker. I want to control what I eat a bit more carefully and possibly try and lose a few pounds. We’ll see. I’ve said this a gazillion times before.
At 8pm it was still daylight so I figured I’d take Duncan to Petco.
Oh and I discovered these awesome lollipops at CVS. This one’s root beer float flavored!
And in other randomness I saw this lil ladybug the other day while out on a walk with the doodle…
Enjoyed watching my boy sleep soundly after chasing a boatload of squirrels in Mr. SOTSS’ yard…
Noticed these “craberries” at the grocery store…
And now Duncan is chilling out with me while I complete this post and watch Ellen which I’ve been DVR’ing daily.
I’m actually struggling to stay awake. It’s 10:30pm but it feels like midnight. I think I better hit the hay.
Sweating out the small stuff and solitude with the ‘suckles
Happy Saturday!
I had a week with a whole lotta ups and downs. I knew all week that I was going to run after work on Friday at that park (Colonial Park) near my office that I discovered the first week I worked. But I didn’t expect to run more than 3 miles. I ended up running 10K because I was enjoying the solitude and those honeysuckles so much.
Honeysuckles!
I wanted to run on the DnR (Delaware and Raritan) Canal Tow Path that both Mr. SOTSS and Meesh mentioned. I didn’t find the entrance right away so I ended up running along a couple of roads with absolutely no sidewalk or shoulder. It was stressful and I had to stop and literally jump into the woods to avoid getting hit by a car a few times. Then I ended up on a quiet block when all of a sudden a dog ran out to the front of his yard and then toward me. He was not on a leash. Holy F! I was scared out of my mind. I just turned in the opposite direction and ran super fast and sure enough after a few minutes I stumbled upon one of the entrances to the tow path! Thank god.
Finally found an entrance
Hi!
It was smooth sailing after that and about 3 miles in is where I saw that there was a connection to the park via a cute little bridge. SO MUCH SAFER! HA! I cannot wait to run a bunch more times along this tow path every Friday.
When self timer shots go wrong
I cannot tell you how much I needed that hour + of time alone. I’ve been struggling to be heard lately and It’s been making me feel pretty crappy. And sometimes, because I’m so super open and honest with how I feel it makes people uncomfortable and defensive. I’ll just keep it at that. 😉 I loved the tow path because other than maybe a couple of bike riders and one or two other runners it was literally all mine! I could hear the birds chirping and the sound of my feet striking the ground.
With each stride I felt more and more Zen. I saw a few chipmunks and a deer too. I think I could have run 10 or more miles but I had to get home to Duncan.
There are over 70 miles to cover
When my run was over I celebrated with my free donut that I got earlier in the day.
#NationalDonutDay
Dunkin Donuts was giving out a free donut with beverage purchase because yesterday was National Donut Day. And then I returned my beloved running car magnets to “Forest” now that he’s back from the autobody shop.
I came home to my doodles and just chilled out for the rest of the night.
Did you say it’s Friday?!
His before and after from his latest grooming. I love his versatile looks 🙂
Random doodling during a meeting at work
OK I better go be productive now. It’s already after 10am and I’ve been up since 7am doing nothing but watching TV and blogging….
Recent Comments