Hi there. Happy Monday!

Last week seems like a distant memory. Monday and Tuesday it poured rain. Tuesday evening Mr. SOTSS and I saw the movie The Founder, the story of how McDonalds came to be. the-founderIt was very important that I saw it because my cousin wrote the movie! Isn’t that cool? He also wrote The Wrestler, Big Fan and Turbo. robert-siegelAnd then Wednesday I had jury duty….hard to believe I stressed so much about it. jury-dutyI lucked out and only had to serve for a whopping hour and a half! I was home in the afternoon and took Duncan out to the park to celebrate that the rain had passed and we could finally enjoy some sunshine.

Yay for sunshine and no more jury duty

Yay for sunshine and no more jury duty

I also went on another night hike which I’m really becoming addicted to.

Thursday I worked a ton but got out for my once-a-week run (still trying to rest the darn hamstrings!). A short run that felt hard thanks to the super high winds.windy-run

And then Friday began my super fun weekend getaway with Mr. SOTSS. He booked our 3rd annual ski weekend in Vermont as a Christmas gift for me. And this year was just as fun.

Two years ago was when I had that little snowmobile “incident”. Last year we stayed at the same B&B as this year and let’s face it, the best part of the trip might have just been the amazing homemade breakfast options they served. Spiced apple waffles that were the perfect texture….soft and doughy on the inside and crispy and flakey on the outside. There were also homemade cinnamon rolls and coffee cake.

cinnamon-roll

Cinnamon roll!

Yes, I took a 2-day break from the whole healthy eating thing. But I’m back on the wagon today.

We drove up Friday morning with a stop at my friend’s house to drop off Duncan. He is very lucky to get that extra hour and a half with me before drop-off.

Wait? Am I going with you to Vermont?

Wait? Am I going with you to Vermont?

Road trips are my favorite. I'm such a traditionalist. A little hand holding and some good tunes.

Road trips are my favorite. I’m such a traditionalist. A little hand holding and some good tunes.

After grabbing dinner we just settled in for the night.

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Hi there

I started questioning this morning whether social media has enhanced my desire to talk about the weather or whether I’d just be rotary dialing my friends and family more often and still talking about the weather. I can’t believe I broke out my down jacket already.img_6967

This morning I ran an easy 3 miles and it was in the 40s and raining.

3 easy miles

3 easy miles

thumbhole shirt

why do we get so excited for thumb holes?

I broke out the thicker long sleeve running shirt with thumbholes! Before you know it I’ll have gloves and a wool or fleece hat too. I’m not complaining just yet. It is so nice to finally be done with 80+ temps and 80% humidity.

It's raining it's pouring....

It’s raining it’s pouring….

I had a lovely birthday that started out with brunch at my sister-in-law’s house. She made french toast casserole and candied bacon.

Candied Bacon and French Toast Casserole

Candied Bacon and French Toast Casserole

It was so delicious. Probably caused my arteries to clog but so worth it. Candied bacon is my new favorite sweet and salty combo. Sharon, my SIL also got me a few gifts including this plush faux fur dark purple throw that Duncan has already approved of.

Real fur on Faux fur

Real fur on Faux fur

Mr. SOTSS had flowers sent to my house and I almost missed the delivery.

Pretty flowers!

Pretty flowers!

I was in the bathroom coloring my hair when the doorbell rang. But I managed to not scare the delivery guy away when I answered the door.

The dogs just hung out right outside the bathroom watching me color my hair

The dogs just hung out right outside the bathroom watching me color my hair

I worked the rest of the afternoon with the dogs hovering.

Oh it's 5:00pm. Someone is letting me know it's dinnertime

Oh it’s 5:00pm. Someone is letting me know it’s dinnertime

In the eve when Mr. SOTSS got back from work we went to the local diner. He said I could pick the restaurant and I just wanted something simple. I’m not a fancy meal kinda gal AT ALL. I was excited to get the dinner special that includes Jello, ice cream or pudding for dessert. I went with the rice pudding…..my fave.

Happy Birthday to me!

Happy Birthday to me!

My birthday gift from him was the Train concert tickets last month when we were in at the Washington State Fair but he picked up a few additional things for me including a mirror and headlight for my bicycle and the solar windshield doo-hickey that helps shade the car cabin in the summer when it’s parked so it isn’t a million degrees when you get back to it. YAY!

I’m excited already for my birthday next year because 44 happens to be my lucky number. I don’t know why. It’s just been my lucky number since I was a kid.

So this weekend Duncan needs a costume to wear because we’ll be trick-or-treating. I am a little embarrased to say he has a lot of costumes to choose from.

dog costumes

Dog costumes galore rain,

The groom and line”barker” costumes haven’t been worn yet but I think we’re going simple this year with this goofy hat and tie.

Keepin' it simple

Keepin’ it simple

Although he did look adorable in some of those other costumes…

Argh it's a Pirate Doodle

Argh it’s a Pirate Doodle

The Sherif in Town

The Sherif in Town

Rufferee complete with whistle around his neck

Rufferee complete with whistle around his neck

Turtle

Turtle

Are you into Halloween? Do you dress up? Dress your dog or kids up?

What’s your fave? Sweet and salty, just sweet or just salty?

Hi there.

We finally got snow! It might be just an inch but enough to make things look pretty. Duncan couldn’t believe it….white flakes finally arrived.

Finally!

Finally!

Pretty soon he’ll be wearing his ridiculous snowsuit.

I came home from work on Friday and had some freelance work to do. Good thing my Girl Scout cookie order arrived. I paired it with a nice Cabernet and hit the ground running.

Time to start the weekend.....

Time to start the weekend…..

Saturday morning I ran a local 5k trail run literally 10 minutes from my house. It was held at Duncan’s and my favorite park.

trail-run

Pink ribbons marked the trail. Photo: King of the Mountain Events

resolution-run I really enjoyed it. I will be running these trails more for sure.

On Saturday evening, I packed up my nice little portable life (cookies, wine, my laptop and the doodle) and headed over to Mr. SOTSS’ house for the remainder of this nice long weekend.

Cookies, Wine, Duncan....ok let's go!

Cookies, wine, laptop and Duncan….ok let’s go!

We saw the movie Sisters. OMG so funny! Not PG, but SO FUNNY!

best theater ever...recliners

best theater ever…recliners

Yesterday we took the dogs on a really muddy 3 hour hike. Hiking is one of our favorite things to do. The dogs agree. =) I always laugh how the first 2 hours I’m fine and then my legs get tired and I start tripping over every single tree route and then I get cranky. Mr. SOTSS knows when the wheels start to fall off the bus but somehow he gets me to continue a little farther without me realizing it.

Chester!

Chester!

I have this strange obsession with moss. I'm fascinated by it.

I have this strange obsession with moss. I’m fascinated by it.

I'm coming ma!

I’m coming ma!

There were lots of mountain bikers in the park so they must use this ramp. Notice duncan's muddy dipped feet

There were lots of mountain bikers in the park so they must use this ramp. Notice duncan’s muddy dipped feet

My secret selfie. LOL!

My secret selfie. LOL!

The boys

The boys

After hiking we grabbed a bite to eat and then ran a few errands. Mr. SOTSS has been renovating his bathroom so we made a pit stop to The Home Depot for a few things. He’s up to the electrical….

I don't know why but I love the way Home Depot smells.

I don’t know why but I love the way Home Depot smells.

And then we picked up the ingredients to make toffee doodle cookies. I had one at Starbucks the other day and it was so good I decided I needed to find a similar recipe and bake them.

Toffee Doodles!

Toffee Doodles!

Fresh outta the oven

Fresh outta the oven

If you’re interested, here’s the recipe.

The dogs relaxed after their hike.

sleepy-pups

This morning started with coffee, freelance work and two dogs for company while Mr. SOTSS fixed his door lock and then went to work on his bathroom.

working

Working at my house and working at Mr. SOTSS' house are pretty much the same only I have two dogs cuddled on the couch next to me

Working at my house and working at Mr. SOTSS’ house are pretty much the same only I have two dogs cuddled on the couch next to me

door-fix

Mr. Fixit!

After a few hours of working I went for a short run. It was COLD and WINDY!

mlk-run

must have ears covered when it's windy and in the 20s

must have ears covered when it’s windy and in the 20s

The exposed skin was only an issue for the first 1/2 mile and then I warmed up enough that it didn't bother me

The exposed skin was only an issue for the first 1/2 mile and then I warmed up enough that it didn’t bother me

Now I’m back home and I realized that I forgot to take some of those toffee doodle cookies home with me! So Mr. SOTSS scored at least a dozen all for himself. Good thing I still have plenty of Girl Scout cookies to get me through the week 🙂

What is your favorite type of cookie? Do you like soft or crunchy cookies?

 

Hi!

How’s it going in your neck-o-the-woods? I’m doing ok. Some good stuff…some not so good stuff but I just tried this Snickerdoodle Croissant Donut from Dunkin Donuts which falls under the good stuff category.

Snickerdoodle Croissant Donut

Snickerdoodle Croissant Donut

Boy was it sweet! Good thing I’m a fan of sweet =)

Let’s backtrack for a minute. I woke up Monday morning and was so excited to see I was chosen in the lottery for the Cherry Blossom 10 miler.

Cherry Blossom 10-Miler here I come!

Cherry Blossom 10-Miler here I come!

We registered as a team. The “we” is me, Jane and Jane’s friend Amy.

That's Jane, Amy and me sandwiched between Jane's hubby Alex and Mr. SOTSS to my right. (Like the smiley face didn't give it away. LOL!)

That’s Jane, Amy and me sandwiched between Jane’s hubby Alex and Mr. SOTSS to my right. (Like the smiley face didn’t give it away. LOL!)

I’m already excited about the trip down to DC for this. First of all I LOVE the Cherry Blossoms. I was so lucky to see them at the height of their peak this past April when Mr. SOTSS and I went for a weekend getaway.

Peaking Cherry Blossoms

Peaking Cherry Blossoms

And I’m thoroughly stoked to run my first offficial 10 miler! I just have a hunch it’s going to be my new favorite distance. Then of course what could make this better? Yup, a running road trip with friends of course!

I discovered a new photo editing app with this cool oil painting filter that works well with Duncan’s fur.

IMG_9860

And while we’re talking about Duncan…

best foot warmer

best foot warmer

Nothing better than a view of my dog and my Christmas tree to make me feel all warm and fuzzy.

Add in a fresh cup of coffee and Mr. SOTSS into that view and I call that perfection!

Add in a fresh cup of coffee and Mr. SOTSS into that view and I call that perfection!

I was off today. Well, off from one job but I did about 6 hours of freelance work until about 3pm when I set out for a run.

speedy (for me) miles

speedy (for me) miles

It's just a windbreaker....doesn't repel water in the least bit.

It’s just a windbreaker….doesn’t repel water in the least bit.

Unfortunately it was pouring! I didn’t want to waste the extra time to drive to the gym to use the treadmill and it was fairly mild (in the mid 50s) so I figured I’d just go get soaked. I really don’t mind running in the rain. I just hate the way my clothes get so heavy and stick to me. And I discovered I don’t own a single item of waterproof running gear. I should have just run naked. My skin is waterproof right? Oh wait, that would get me arrested I suppose….#STREAKING

I guess it’s too late to ask Santa for some rain gear for Christmas.

Do you run in the rain? What kind of rain gear do you use?
Do you like sweet things?