Flamingos Frogs and Florida weather

12. December 2015 · 3 comments · Categories: holiday decorations, running, Uncategorized · Tags: , , ,

I worked from home again today and went for literally the exact run as yesterday only this time I stopped to take a picture of that Flamingo I told you about.

Santa and a flock of flamingos.

Santa and a flock of flamingos.

And then I passed a SECOND house with the same flamingo!

solo bird

solo bird

How did I miss this yesterday? Oh, and I also spotted a frog.

IMG_9763It was 61 degrees today which was even warmer than yesterday so I went with short sleeves. It’s almost like Florida.

A right to bare arms in December

A right to bare arms in December

Apparently last year on this day it was 38 degrees. Why is it that we runners are so obsessed with weather?

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After my run I took a ride to Target and Bed Bath and Beyond for a few things. I ended up getting this 50 piece ornament box for $15. You can never have enough Christmas balls right? =)

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I also colored my hair today and for the first time ever I opted for chocolate brown instead of red. I kinda dig it. =)FullSizeRender-1

no more orangey ends!

no more orangey ends!

Duncan digs it too!

doggie kisses!

doggie kisses!

Well I have a wild and crazy Friday night ahead of me….time to fill out, address and stamp my holiday cards.

Have a super weekend!

Related posts:

  1. I had myself a merry little Christmas and the Luna Bar Giveaway winner
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  3. testing out new shoes and a twisted knee in my sleep

5 things to keep me happy

07. December 2015 · 6 comments · Categories: holiday decorations, recreational fun, running, Uncategorized · Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

I’m just enjoying life as best as I can lately. I have a lot on my plate these days and my goal is just to try and keep my mindset in a Zen, happy place. Nobody wants a Scrooge around right? Here are 5 things to keep me happy lately:

  1. Running: Of course! I ran on Friday around the neighborhood for an easy 3 miles. fri-statsSaturday was a special run. It was the Big Chill 5k held on the campus of Rutgers University. Over 8,000 runners and walkers donate toys as their registration fee and then run. I got to see Jane and Mr. SOTSS ran as well.
    Me and Jane

    Me and Jane

    The entire back wall eventually is totally filled with donated toys

    The entire back wall eventually is totally filled with donated toys

    Me and Mr. SOTSS....It was super sunny and I was squinting just a tad.

    Me and Mr. SOTSS….It was super sunny and I was squinting just a tad.

    While I didn’t pay the extra fee for a timing chip, my Garmin let me know that I ran a 9:26 pace and finished in 29 minutes! That’s pretty unbelievable considering A. I’ve been so slow lately and B. there were so many walkers to dodge and weave that I for sure wasn’t able to run freely leaving me to believe that my time would be much slower.big-chill-statsIn addition to running I also registered for the Cherry Blossom 10-miler lottery. It’s a very popular race held in Washington D.C. in April. After the Big Chill, Mr. SOTSS and I joined Jane and her posse for breakfast and we made the decision to enter the lottery. I’m looking forward to it if I get in. I want 2016 to be the year I run lots of shorter distances and 10 miles has always been a favorite distance of mine yet I’ve never run an actual 10 mile race.

  2. Getting in the Holiday Spirit: Yup, I put up my tree and decorated a little outside while Duncan napped. That’s about right.
    Woke up for the picture

    Woke up for the picture

    Boy do I enjoy revealing all my ornaments each year that have been in hibernation for a year. And I had a new ornament to put up. The one I bought as a souvenir from my trip to Jamaica this past summer.jamaica-ornamentEach ornament brings back warm fuzzy feelings. Totally made me happy.

    Why yes! May ALL your miles be merry =)

    Why yes! May ALL your miles be merry =)

    Running chick!

    Running chick!

    marathon ornament

    marathon ornament

    Doodle ornament

    Doodle ornament

    outside-2

    My cute lil snowman

    outside-1

  3. Spending quality time with my honey: We spent lots of quality time this weekend which culminated in a lovely hike today with the dogs.
    The boys in my life

    The boys in my life

    Even though it's December it is still officially Autumn. 50s and sunny.

    Even though it’s December it is still officially Autumn. 50s and sunny.

    And speaking of doggies….

  4. Cute doggies!: I’ve had to do a large amount of freelance work today and seeing them cuddled so cute around me makes me happy.napping-doggies
  5. Family dinner: This past Thursday my mom and dad had me over for dinner and homemade apple crisp. apple-crispIt felt really good to tell them all of the things in my life lately….the good, the bad and the ugly. They are so supportive and just want me to be happy….so….I’ll try as hard as I can to keep this mindset that way.

So how was your weekend? Can you tell me 5 things that have made you happy lately?

 

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A few small glimmers in an otherwise craptastic day

17. December 2013 · 2 comments · Categories: holiday decorations, small stuff · Tags: ,

I won’t dump because this blog isn’t about that. Let’s just say today was craptastic in the crappiest of crappy (we’re talking New York City Marathon 50,000 runners used a porta-potty crappy (That actually just made me giggle). And how dumb I felt tonight when I posted on Facebook about feeling defeated and I get words of encouragement from one friend who’s battling ovarian cancer and another who’d dad was shot and killed this year and found out today the gunman pleaded not guilty. Yeah, my crap isn’t really that crappy.

When I came home from work, there was a package at my door. It was the running ornaments (I mentioned in this post) that I ordered for my tree.

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The sneakers are a little Richard Simmons looking but it’s a cute lil’ ornament. And it gets the point across no?

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This cracks me up. I’ll have to try and re-create the look one day.

So there was the glimmer. And I had a good laugh too watching Duncan shred the paper that the gifts were wrapped in. He even had a couple of pieces stuck to his mouth.

photo 1

He goes from playing in white stuff outside to playing with white stuff inside.

photo 2

guilty

I’m working on a new section for the blog for 2014 that will have a collection of “Running 101” type posts. I’ll give some tips for outdoor running topics like running surfaces, safety, how to dress for the weather, fueling tips, stretches to help common runner ailments and other things like that. If you have any suggestions for topics you’d like me to feature just leave in the comments below. I’m also planning on a section that will be filled with inspirational mantras for both running and life in general. And I’ll be updating my races page as I’ve already got a handful of 2014 races on the agenda.

Well it’s after midnight….I better catch a few winks. Night all!

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