Hi. I’m back from a 4-day weekend getaway in the Adirondacks.

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Mr SOTSS and I (and Duncan and Chester too!) took a road trip.

my lap-mate

my lap-mate

Chester napping in the back

Chester napping in the back

Since we had the dogs (and since I get hangry if I don’t stop to eat during any drive more than 3 hours) we stopped in Kingston, NY on the drive up for a little lunch. We spotted this great spot with outdoor seating which was perfect since we had the dogs in tow.stone-soup

We arrived at the Trout House Village Resort in the late afternoon. It’s on the northern part of Lake George in Hague, NY and offers many individual log cabins, as well as a more traditional inn. Pet friendly too! We stayed in one of the log cabins called the “Ethan Allen Patio”.trout-house-village-resort

Our digs

Our digs

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at the park adjacent to the resort

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Being silly at the park 🙂

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Duncan loves benches

After getting the car unpacked and walking the dogs, we headed up to Ticonderoga (about 15 min away) to the WalMart for some groceries to stock the cabin which had a full kitchen. And we saw not one but 2 different rainbows!

One of our favorite walking destinations was this little park on the lake

One of our favorite walking destinations was this little park on the lake

Rainbow 2

Rainbow 1

Rainbow 1

Rainbow 2

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Hi there and Happy Wednesday.

Things are moving along and my Subaru is being repaired. They said it might even be ready to be picked up before the week is out! In the meantime I’ve rented a car to get to and from work and life carries on.

My new morning ritual. Turn on computer, sip coffee and have a few handfuls of Peanut M&Ms. Clearly not the healthiest choice

My new morning ritual. Turn on computer, sip coffee and have a few handfuls of Peanut M&Ms. Clearly not the healthiest choice

I went for a run on Monday night just after sunset and about a mile and a half into the run Mr. SOTSS called. I normally don’t run with my phone for short runs but since it was going to be dark I took it with me just to be safe. I’ve never answered a phone call while running before but I knew I had to answer because Monday was a special day. It marked 2 years to the day that Mr. SOTSS and I had our first date in a Starbucks in Manhattan. I got a side stitch at one point, so I walked a few blocks. But once it subsided I picked it up again.

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Yesterday was my first stressful day at the office so after work, since I had to pick up a few items at the store, I randomly grabbed People magazine. I figured that between some playtime with Duncan and perusing a mindless magazine I’d be able to #let-it-go.

mindless reading and a little "tug"

mindless reading and a little “tug”

There's just no way to remain stressed when this static electricity eared doodle gives you that face

There’s just no way to remain stressed when this static electricity eared doodle gives you that face

Ok now on to the serious stuff.

This morning I ran a few miles in honor of a very special little girl.

IMG_2902If you read this post about my meaningful miles at the NYC Marathon you know the story. Abbie, the daughter of my former High School friend was struck by a car and killed tragically while crossing the street a year ago today. His family continues to keep her memory alive through random acts of kindness. So with Abbie’s favorite color being purple, I decided to bring these Hershey Kisses to the office this morning and place a couple on each of my team’s desks. #RandomActsofKindness4Abbie #never4getAbbieZ

For Abbie

For Abbie

Feel free to visit this beautiful memorial page on Facebook

So if you’re reading this today, maybe there’s some way for you to act kindly, randomly, to someone? 

Have a great day!

 

 

Oh boy! So much has happened since my last post.

On Thursday evening after a great day at the office I was rear-ended on the Interstate when traffic started to slow down and the guy behind me….well he didn’t slow down. He crashed right into the back of my poor little Subaru.

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It really looked so minor at first. But after further inspection most of the imact was under my car. His car went under my bumper and pushed my spare tire from under the car up into the trunk and also knocked my muffler loose.

This is the other car. his car went underneath my car so my damage was mostly to the undercarriage. It pushed my spare tire up into my trunk. And my muffler got knocked loose

This is the other car. He had to be towed.

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Poor Forest!

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just waiting for the police to come. From this far away you can barely see any damage. When I first got hit it was so loud I really thought the damage would be worse

This car is not even 2 years old and this will be the second time it’s gotta go into the body shop. (It got hit while parked last October). Thankfully nobody was hurt and the man was apologetic. My hands were shaking immediately after the accident. It’s the same adrenaline response that I get when having to speak in front of a crowd. But I calmed down quickly, made a few calls to the boyfriend and my friend who is a retired police officer and then called the State Police to file a report and my insurance company to start the claim process. It’s the perfect example of why I named my blog Sweat Out the Small Stuff. Before running I would have been so much more stressed over the entire situation. And especially now, where I rely on the vehicle to get to and from work. But running has been the main source of release to let those stressful things just ease up and become less gripping over me.

So I’m dropping the car off on Monday to get repaired and I’ll rent a car so I can get to and from work. I’ll be out about $600 for my deductible and car rental but hopefully my insurance company can recover the costs. It’s not guaranteed.

And now some random doodle pics:

He loves to sleep with his feet in my face.

He loves to sleep with his feet in my face.

The look I got when i told him I liked my new job and I'll be continuing to work out of the house full time. Poor doodle!

The look I got when i told him I liked my new job and I’ll be continuing to work out of the house full time. Poor doodle!

Yesterday morning I packed a bag with my running gear. There’s a park just 2 miles from the office and I wanted to check it out. Mr. SOTSS came over Thursday evening so I hadn’t had a chance to run my post-accident anxiety away yet (although Mr. SOTSS was wonderful and keeping my spirits up when he arrived.) It rained most of the afternoon but at 5pm it had eased up to just a drizzle. So I changed out of my work clothes into my running clothes and drove over to the park for a nice 3 miles.

no running car magnets were harmed during the fender bender

no running car magnets were harmed during the fender bender

lush vistas everywhere

lush vistas everywhere

I had the park to myself.

I had the park to myself.

I have a feeling I'll be running here a lot of summer evenings

I have a feeling I’ll be running here a lot of summer evenings

Meanwhile apparently Fridays at the office are “dress down” days. Everyone was wearing jeans!  I can’t wait for next Friday now that i’ve got the memo 🙂

Today I’m just so ecstatic it’s the weekend. I woke up at 7am and took Duncan to the park. He hadn’t been for a ride in the car in a week! He was happy. And I wore jeans. I was happy too!

He's been waiting all week for a walk in the park!

He’s been waiting all week for a walk in the park!

I've been waiting all week to wear jeans!

I’ve been waiting all week to wear jeans!

I’m going to squeeze in a run either later today or tomorrow morning and then it’s all about relaxation.

Hope you have a great weekend.

Ever been in a car accident?

Are you calm in those type of situations?

Hi. Happy Thursday!

I’m getting into a bit of a routine now with the new job. Dressing business casual has been an adjustment to my normal jeans and hoodie sneaker ensemble but I’m more comfortable that I expected and I’m looking forward to the coming months when I can wear flowy tunic tops, capris and sandals.

Business casual wet hair.

Business casual wet hair.

Driving in has some pros and some cons. I started listening to podcasts while I drive and it’s so much better than listening to the radio play the same 2 songs over and over again. (Sorry Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift!) After being his guest on one of his recent podcasts I’ve been listening to some of the latest episodes from Denny at DizRuns including one with Jessica from rUnladylike. My commute has been anywhere from 40 minutes to about an hour and 15 minutes and the podcasts are usually about 55 minutes which is just perfect.

Last night was the longest drive home.

IMG_2821The distance from my office to my house is 23 miles. It took 1 hour and 15 minutes. Hmmm, Meb could probably have made it about 15 miles in that time.

I am still struggling to get my 10,000 steps in. I haven’t been taking much of a lunch because on Day 2 I was assigned a large project to work on. We just presented it last night and it was well received. Makes me feel good that I’m already feeling comfortable with the work load and learning curve.

I was able to go for a 3 mile run on Tuesday evening but other than that just some evening walks with the dog.

7:30PM Tuesday night 5k

7:30PM Tuesday night 5k

I’m definitely going to have to put in at least 30 minutes more of walking or a quick run each morning if I want to keep get anywhere near 10,000 steps on weekdays. And this is VERY important to me. So let’s see how next week goes.

I’ve been trying to eat healthy-ish so I packed my lunch today. A nice little turkey sandwich and some pretzel crisps. (and a 2 clementines that were camera shy)

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So excited tomorrow is Friday. I’m really looking forward to the weekend.

Do you pack your lunch or are you a big lunch purchaser?