I just wanted to pop in and wish you all a Happy Holiday season. I probably won’t be posting again until the new year. Thank you so much for coming here to visit.

I design my holiday card every year. It’s a creative outlet I look forward to and dread each year but somehow I figure it out. Duncan was the star of the card again this year.

a little sarcasm this year

a little sarcasm this year

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This blog is another creative outlet for me and it’s really awesome when I hear from you and feel like I’ve got a little bonus world of friends.

Not much has happened since I told you about the Big Chill 5K earlier this month. Well Richard the elf and Jingles, his reindeer sidekick have been busy…

baking

baking

Crossword time

Crossword time

As a matter of fact I haven’t run a single mile since. I’m still nursing my poor feet. Bursitis, tendinitis….whatever I have, it’s so frustrating. But I do a bit of improvement in the last day or two so maybe by 2018 I’ll be ready to run? One good thing about all my injuries this year is that I don’t even think I fee sad anymore. My expectations have plummeted and I’ll just be happy to run at all next year.

I haven’t even been to yoga in over a week. And the last hike I went on was 3 weeks ago.

Duncan is still keeping up with his downward dog though

Duncan is still keeping up with his downward dog though

The seasons sure have changed as we officially enter Winter today…

Just a little side-by-side from a couple of weeks apart

Just a little side-by-side from a couple of weeks apart

I love the color contrast and pattern of the snow on the green shrub

I love the color contrast and pattern of the snow on the green shrub

snowface

snowface

it's getting cold

it’s getting cold

Since I’m on a running hiatus I thought I’d share some of my silly neighborhood holiday decorations runs with you.

There was the Candy Cane EditionIMG_7942

And a Walk in 2014 thanks to a sprained ankle.

And my innaugural holiday decorations run in 2013 where I discovered the square snowman…iceman

Well, I’ve got a client call in 22 minutes and then it’s work.work.work. I’m thrilled to be so busy in Q4 but it’s hard to find the time to enjoy the spirit of the season.

Here’s to a happy and healthy new year! I wish you all strong bodies and minds and less stress.

Happy Happy Holidays!

What is your most favorite part of the holiday season? Least favorite?

Do you make New Year’s Resolutions?

Happy New Year! Are you ready to attack 2017? It’s going to be full of change for me but more on that in another post.

I finished out 2016 with a couple of fun activities.

Night Hike: Last Wednesday I decided to join a local group for a night hike. We hiked over 6 miles and it was really fun. I thought I’d be scared of tripping and falling but our headlamps gave plenty of light and the trails are really well maintained. They meet every week and they also have a group of trail runners out there too. Maybe I’ll get the courage to try the running at some point this year.

Headlamps and smiles

Headlamps and smiles

Holiday City Run: Saturday morning (New Year’s Eve morning) I went into the city to meet some running friends—Lisa, Gary and Mike—for our holiday windows run.

We started here

We started here

We didn’t run past as many department store windows as usual but still stopped to see the tree at Rockafeller Center, Bryant Park and we discovered another really beautiful tree at a random hotel on Madison Ave.

Barneys

Barneys

Saks 5th Ave

Saks 5th Ave

hotel-tree

Bryant Park

Bryant Park

Another shot from Bryant Park

Another shot from Bryant Park

Rockafeller tree and the gang

Rockafeller tree and the gang

I take this  exact shot every year.

I take this exact shot every year.

We made a quick stop into St. Patrick's Cathedral to say a prayer/light a candle

We made a quick stop into St. Patrick’s Cathedral to say a prayer/light a candle

These oversized ornaments are a classic over the years

These oversized ornaments are a classic over the years

We also ran into Times Square as they were preparing for the big New Year’s Eve ball drop shenannigans. There were already people who had gone through security and were “in position” at 9am! This is crazy to me. They basically were going to be spending 15 more hours just standing there until midnight. And no opportunity to exit. No bathrooms. It was really cold. I just think that’s nuts. They did however have bags with snacks. #priorities

All ready for the insanity

All ready for the insanity

Roads closed. You NEVER see Times Square without cars.

Roads closed. You NEVER see Times Square without cars.

New Year’s Eve: I had a quiet evening at Mr. SOTSS’s on New Year’s eve with Duncan, Casey (it was my last night of dog-sitting her) and Chester. I almost didn’t make it until midnight.

Mr. SOTSS, Casey, me, Duncan and Chester....

Mr. SOTSS, Casey, me, Duncan and Chester….

Not at all interested in staying up until the ball drops

Not at all interested in staying up until the ball drops

I leaned over the couch to reach for something on the sofa table and Duncan jumped up to get comfy. He's a riot and a half

I leaned over the couch to reach for something on the sofa table and Duncan jumped up to get comfy. He’s a riot and a half

New Year’s Day: After dropping Casey off, we took Duncan and Chester to our favorite park so they could get some exercise.

Duncan decided to roll around in some sort of animal poo and I had to give him a bath when we got home. I really don’t understand why dogs like to roll in stinky things.

Hey ma! I'm having a blast and I even rolled in something really stinky!

Hey ma! I’m having a blast and I even rolled in something really stinky!

Hoping 2017 is filled with lots of this

Hoping 2017 is filled with lots of this

We also painted Mr. SOTSS’ bathroom. He started remodeling his bathroom 2 years ago. It’s been a slow process because he hardly gets free time but the tiling is all done and now it’s painted.

I volunteered to do all the edging

I volunteered to do all the edging

Classic subway tile and "country house" blue

Classic subway tile and “country house” blue

It’s been really rainy here the last two days. I got some work done while Duncan kept me company. Not much different from 2016 🙂 I finally went to the mall to power-walk just to get my 10,000 steps.

my "office"

my “office”

 

I’m always optimistic at the beginning of a new year. So far I’m on day 2 of trying to drink more water and track my food. I’m not ready to say I’m on a diet but I just want to start being aware of what I’m eating each day.

Are you a resolutions person?

Have you ever hiked at night? I had run at night during my Ragnar Relay events but never hiking on trails before.

Have you ever wanted to or been to Times Square on New Year’s Eve?

Hi there,

How goes it? It’s finally starting to feel like December now. It was cold and windy on today’s run. A real feel temp of 27 degrees. I bundled up.

hat, buff and hoodie over a long sleeve shirt

hat, buff and hoodie over a long sleeve shirt

and I even wore leggings instead of capris

and I even wore leggings instead of capris

I’ve run a lot around the neighborhood in the last couple of weeks and kept thinking I should do another edition of holiday decorations. In 2013 I felt the need to analyze a whole lot, especially the square snowman. In 2014 I was injured but walked the hood and couldn’t get over the amount of non-holiday holiday decorations. An eiffel tower and a crown? What?

This year I noticed a large amount of candy canes. Fuzzy, ones, tall ones, short ones….even blue striped ones!

Fuzzy candy canes

Fuzzy candy canes

2 sizes of candy canes but can we talk about these adorable pigs too?

2 sizes of candy canes but can we talk about these adorable pigs too?

Blueberry candy canes?

Blueberry candy canes?

It was a rather slow 3.5 miles as I stopped frequently to snap pics but I’m happy I got the miles in. img_7957

In other news Duncan has been as cute as ever lately and I’ve had to document his cuteness with these pics…

The ready to play look

The ready to play look

The lazy look

The lazy look

the "take the pic already so i can have that cookie you're dangling to get the perfect shot" look

the “take the pic already so i can have that cookie you’re dangling to get the perfect shot” look

the cute and bored look

the cute and bored look

I had a weird experience the other day. As I was driving across a bridge this huge blob of paint landed on my windshield. At first I assumed it was bird poop so I used the wipers and smeared it. Once I realized it was paint I freaked out. But after a solid 30 minutes of scraping with my finger nail and a rough old towel I got most of it off.

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I love my very short conversations with Mr. SOTSS today.

morning-convo evening-convo

We just saw each other yesterday so we’re all caught up. Tonight I’m hanging with the pooch and filling out my holiday cards (although I keep getting distracted with Facebook and Words With Friends).

So what’s new with you all?

Anyone see any good movies lately?

Any exciting weekend plans? 

Hi there and Happy Halloween!

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I ran the Trenton Half Marathon on Saturday! The abbreviated recap can be summed up into 4 sentences. No rain—yay! Seeing running friends—yay! img_9144Running a strong race—yay! Refueling with hard cider and salty/greasy food—yay!img_7015

I’ll have the full recap up later this week.

After getting home from the race I hung out with Mr. SOTSS and his kids for the rest of the day/night. We went out to dinner at Joe’s Crab Shack (I’d never been before).img_7025

Then we went to a Jack-O-Lantern “experience” nearby where we got to watch a very talented pumpkin carver and then see some cool Jack-O-Lanterns.

Say hello to my little pumpkin friends. They are all named Jack. LOL

Say hello to my little pumpkin friends. They are all named Jack. LOL

Cool right?

Cool right?

I was turning into a pumpkin myself by 9pm since I had been up at 4:45 to get to the race, so I headed back home to get a good night’s sleep.

Yesterday afternoon I met back up with them and we took the dogs for a walk and then went Trick-or-Treating where Mr. SOTSS’ mom lives. We had double the usual amount of pooches. The girls’ dogs Panda and Quincy came with.

Quincy borrowed Duncan's Pirate costume and I must say he looked awesome.

Quincy borrowed Duncan’s Pirate costume and I must say he looked awesome.

Panda borrowing Duncan's Sherif costume....but she looks like she's in jail so maybe the wrong costume?

Panda borrowing Duncan’s Sherif costume….but she looks like she’s in jail so maybe the wrong costume?

Chester looking "smashing" in his Pumpkin getup (anyone remember the band Smashing Pumpkins or am I showing my age?)

Chester looking “smashing” in his Pumpkin getup (anyone remember the band Smashing Pumpkins or am I showing my age?)

And Duncan got off the hook since it was so hot out (yes, unseasonably warm 80 degrees yesterday!) So I only put on the tie around his neck.

Keepin' it simple

Keepin’ it simple

I really do love October and I must say I’ve enjoyed it down to the bitter end. I’ve got lots of exciting stuff happening in November beginning with next weekend’s NYC Marathon. I’ll be spectating again like I did in 2014. I can’t wait! I’ve got friends coming from all over the country as well as a slew of local friends running and I just hope I get to see everyone! Crossing my fingers they’ll have perfect weather.

Hope your week is off to a good start.

BOO!

How was your weekend? Do anything fun?