Snowbody knows just how much I love the snow more than me. Really, I don’t know what my fascination with it is. It causes inconvenience in commuting, my back to ache from shoveling and it’s even canceled my flight twice. But I am a snow bunny! I love snow!

Yesterday, I shoveled a bit and then trekked in to the office. I was one of 5 people who made it in. While I waited for the bus, my hair, which was still wet froze. I could turn it upside down and it would still stand straight up.

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fro yo hair!

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ici-curls

I worked like a busy bee and then ran to my bus stop trying to make it back home before dark so the dog could have some snow time. But the bus took a LONG time to arrive. It was 11 degrees and I had on boots that didn’t keep my feet warm at all! (I’ve already started searching for better ones… L.L. Bean Sale anytime soon???)

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NYC sure is the gritty city.

It was dark when I got home but luckily it was so cold Duncan really didn’t want to belabor the “process”. He got straight down to business…

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this pee picture was actually from the night before so just imagine the snow is about 8 inches deeper.

I shoveled some more, had dinner and passed out on the couch. Thank god it was Friday. I was S.P.E.N.T.

Today I waited for the temperature to warm up so I didn’t go for my run until 2pm. (It was 5°F in the morning but warmed up to 25°F by the time I went. So Duncan got a little snow play action around noon…

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a doodle’s nemesis….snowballs! he chews each one off when we get home

And then I opted to drive to a National park by me to do my run figuring the neighborhood streets and sidewalks would be messy. I just assumed they would have plowed the running path. I was wrong! But I ran anyway. 4ish miles total…some in the snow until I realized it was really hard and then I moved out to the road praying my new sneakers wouldn’t get destroyed (thankfully they didn’t….not a dirty sludgy salty mark at all). It was so beautiful though. I only saw 2 other groups of people….an older couple walking and another couple cross-country skiing! (Now there’s a good way to enjoy the non-plowed running paths!)

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just before i started when I looked “fresh” lol!

riskkicks sotss-ecard5I got to wear one of the new Columbia jackets from my shopping spree a few weeks ago today. It was AMAZING! I wasn’t cold at all (even with exposed legs). And to think it was originally $130 and I got it for $49.99 WOWSAH! SCORE!

So now I’m eating chinese food and staying cozy for the rest of the night.

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I was too RUNgry to take a pic of my first serving which included the same + 2 dumplings. lol.

Tomorrow I’m off to the annual Little Christmas party that my friend throws each year. Everyone comes in PJs, brings a contribution toward dinner and we exchange “wrapped crap”. Oh I can’t wait to give you the recap on Monday. It should be a good time. And I’m bringing the S’more’s Crack Dip! I made it once before and it’s definitely worthy of an encore…

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S’mores crack dip

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did i mention i made it just for me? (I WISH!)

Okie Doke, enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Question: What’s your favorite Chinese food dish? I can never eat enough dumplings!

I woke up on New Year’s Day and decided I’d have Harry & David’s Moose Munch for breakfast. It just somehow felt like the right choice. I’ve got 364 more days to choose something healthier right?!

moose munch

breakfast of champions…starting the year off right  on my own terms.

After breakfast I waited for this guy to get up…

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We stayed out late on New Year’s Eve. He and his two pals Angus and Lu went a little overboard with the champagne treats.

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please give us more!

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hey! it’s midnight…give us those treats!

This New Years Eve celebration is for the dogs

This New Years Eve celebration is for the dogs

It was a fun night. Humans had a good time too! We put champagne in shot glasses for some reason. #champagneflutesareoverrated

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So finally when the dog woke up, we went for a walk. We saw Bambi!

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Then I left Duncan at home and headed to my aunt’s house for her annual New Year’s Day party. She’s 86 years old now and I didn’t want to skip out on this as I’ve done in the past (it’s mainly her friends). I got to drive a different way than usual so I took a pic of the Verrazano Bridge from a different angle than I usually do. (I have a weird affinity for the Verrazano Bridge if you didn’t know).

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My aunt had lots of fresh daisies in vases on the table.

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Her mom, my grandmother, Dorothy had been given the nickname “Dashing Daisy” from my grandpa. She always had a ton of energy and zipped around. I love the nickname and since I always felt closest to her as far as grandparents went I like to think I carry on her legacy….”Dashing” is nicely covered by my running, and “Daisy”….well, this is my Jeep spare tire cover…

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The sweetest things that my aunt had at the party were the dessert table…

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homemade italian cheesecake, homemade rum cake and a few other pastries that were delish

And this cardboard “resolutions” sign-in board…

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As I said, my aunt is 86 and many of the guests were seniors. Really? One man wrote that he wanted his wife to regain her sight! I hope everyone’s wishes and dreams do come true.

This morning as I was getting ready to go for a run I realized that I couldn’t find my favorite black running hat that I wore just a few days ago…

favorite black hat

favorite black hat

So I grabbed a substitute that I didn’t love but figured I needed to get out the door and didn’t have all day to continue the search.

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black hat substitute but the same vest lol!

There’s just something about favorites—hats, capris, socks, scarves, jeans….Next time I’ll just buy 7 of each of my favorites! (PS: I found my hat….it was in the dog’s toybox and it wasn’t his fault. I was straightening up before my friend was coming over and scooped up all his toys scattered on the floor and the hat must have been on the floor too and they all ended up getting dumped in the toybox. It was funny because initially I blamed the poor dog. Then I remembered.)

I covered 4.35 miles according to my Garmin….but lately mr. watch has been locking its satellite in the wrong spot. I start at my house and finish at my house yet at looking at the maps of my last few runs, clearly it thinks i’m starting a few blocks from my house.

mystery

I have lots of benchmarks along the route. I know it’s .3 miles to get to the main road and it’s exactly 1 mile when I get to the overpass that crosses the highway. Everytime I looked at my watch at these spots they were .06 off. It’s not the end of the world. I mean what’s the difference between 4.35 or 4.41? But I do wish I can fix it. #OCDwithnumbersrunner.

As for my new Brooks Ghost sneakers…..I still am unsure how I feel. It’s only the 2nd time wearing them. They definitely don’t suck, I just was hoping to feel like I had more spring in my step. I kept a 10 min mile pace which after using this training pace calculator, seems to be what my tempo pace should be as I begin marathon training…

pacesSpeaking of marathon training, mine begins next week!!! AHHHH!! I’m so excited and nervous. I hope my goals aren’t to out there. Meanwhile I found out that I won a special VIP package so I’ll get reserved parking and “upscale fare” in the VIP tent before and after the race. Hey, that’ll be my consolation if I don’t reach my PR goal of 4:40.

OK, off to batten down the hatches….we’re expecting a blizzard here in NYC. Hope your year is off to a great start.

Question: How was your New Year’s Eve? What did you do? Anyone eat something crazier than Moose Munch for their first breakfast of 2014?

Hi!

Last night I met up with a whole bunch of friends from High School at this old German bar near where I live. We had fun catching up on what’s been going on lately and talking about the past too. Then we went to the diner and ate french fries and such. I didn’t get home until after 1am. It was so much fun! Sometimes I wish I could re-do High School. I was so insecure then.

This morning I got up and took it easy on the couch just burying my head and recovering from my late night.

not ready yet!

not ready yet!

Of course my laptop and my credit card were in arms reach, so I signed up for some more races for 2014. I’ll be doing the Fred Lebow Manhattan Half on January 26th, the Love Run in Philadelphia on March 30th and the Trenton Half (again) on November 8th.

I <3 Half Marathons!

I <3 Half Marathons

By 11:30 I was ready to go for a run. Again, no particular distance to cover. It was warm again. In the mid 50s. I ended up with just under 7 1/2 miles total. (watch got screwy and I had to restart around .37 miles in.

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I did the usual neighborhood jaunt and entered into the park for about 1/4 mile for a nice change of scenery (and for a photo op).

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Oh, and I’m starting to change my mind about the new HB Tuneband phone holder strap. I wore it today and found it much easier to remove the phone to take pictures and then put it back in. =)

Since the dog didn’t get much of my attention yesterday I made up for it with a nice long walk.

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We really exhausted ourselves up and down hills through trails, open fields and on the beach.

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I tried really hard to get a good photo of us using the timer camera app on my phone.  I’d say after 3 tries it was a great big #fail…

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We got home a little while ago and now it’s already dark:( But the days are officially getting longer…The doodle is worn out after that long walk.

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And after 10+ miles on my feet I’m worn out too. Time to kick back and relax for a bit. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Question: Have you made any plans for 2014 yet? Vacation booked? Signed up for a race? Getting together with an old friend (or group of friends)?

The last few days have been filled with all good things. First I received a special award at work. Nope not for my diligence in the office. It was for being in the best shape! Apparently if you run 19 races in one year you qualify. 😉

tee-hee!

tee-hee!

I got a pedometer along with the certificate too! Then I came home to more packages in the mail! The missing leg to my trampoline came. So I completed assembly and then tried it out.

Yeah, I think I just learned that jumping in socks is not a stellar idea. I almost wiped out. But the good news is I love it and I’m so excited to use it a whole lot in 2014 as an alternative low impact way to burn calories when I’m not running.

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