Woah! How is it 6 days into the new year already? Let’s catch up! How did you ring in the new year? Anything new and exciting planned for 2016?

So the good news is I have managed to break my 10-cookie-a-day-habit but I have been satisfying my sweet tooth with these candy canes I got on the half price rack after Christmas 🙂

IMG_0211Let’s face it—I have no expectation that my sweet tooth will just disappear for 2016 so I’ll do what I can to keep it under control.

I got a new couch and it comes with a classic Sally story. So last Tuesday I met some of my high school alumni at a local bar for our annual holiday get together. It’s always fun to catch up although we keep in touch on Facebook too. I spent 4+ hours there and it was after midnight when I got home. I was expecting my new sofa to be delivered between 6:30-9:30am the following day and knew I needed to get my existing furniture out to the curb. I couldn’t exactly call someone in the middle of the night. Mr. SOTSS’s suggestion was for me to just move my existing furniture into the dining room until he was able to get over to help but I’m stubborn and a little too type A to be able to handle having the old stuff lingering for a day or more. So I just hauled a$$ and got-er-done but I took out chunks of sheetrock, pulled some muscles and bruised myself along the way.

All because I was too stubborn to wait 12 hours!

All because I was too stubborn to wait 12 hours!

But I did it! #stronglikebull #stubbornasamule

But I did it! Down 2 flights of enclosed spiral stairs #stronglikebull #stubbornasamule

There was even a moment that the love seat was literally wedged in the staircase and I couldn’t budge it loose. I almost fell apart and cried but I pulled myself together and slithered under the railing to get beneath and jiggle the love seat free. While I’m still sore and bruised a week later, it was worth it.

And the new sofa? I love it!

IMG_0111It’s big enough for Mr. SOTSS, me and BOTH dogs. This was very important to me since Chester is a big boy and hasn’t been able to fit on the sofa with us without being a “lap” dog =)

we ALL fit!

we ALL fit!

So I thought it would be fun to go month by month and share my most memorable moments of 2015. They won’t all be running related but I’m sure you don’t mind. Gonna go in reverse and start with December first so that I can tell you all about my New Year’s Eve:

DECEMBER 31—New Year’s Eve/Day

Happy New Year

Happy New Year

I spent the afternoon strolling the outlet stores with Mr. SOTSS, his girls and his mom too! We then picked up some groceries at the supermarket for dinner. The girls and I took on the important responsibility of picking out ice cream flavors and before you knew it we had whipped cream, chocolate chips, sprinkles and chocolate syrup! If there’s one thing I know it’s that you need to make ice cream sundae’s to ring in the new year. Mr. SOTSS’ mom cooked an amazing dinner (his aunt and uncle joined us for dinner too!). We then put on our party hats and waited patiently for midnight. The girls played chess and then joined me in working on one of the jigsaw puzzles that I bought them for Christmas.

Matching shirts!

Matching shirts!

The finished puzzle. All glued together and ready for hanging.

The finished puzzle. All glued together and ready for hanging.

Party animal!

Party animal!

Siblings! Always a competition =)

Siblings! Always a competition =)

More »

Hope you’ve all had a wonderful weekend. I have looming deadlines for some freelance work that I must get to but I wanted to at least give you a little recap of my weekend, including my slowest training run ever!

I spent Saturday and Sunday on Long Island, NY with Mr. SOTSS visiting with some of his family. Saturday morning we walked with his mom and of course the pooches in a beautiful park by her home. After that Mr. SOTSS and I drove out to Shelter Island which is an island in between the north and south forks of Long Island to spend time with his dad and his dad’s wife on their sailboat.

Waiting for Mr. SOTSS' dad to come out to get us with the dingy and take us to the sailboat.

Waiting for Mr. SOTSS’ dad to come out to get us with the dingy and take us to the sailboat.

sand, water, boardwalks, blue skies, and my honey

sand, water, boardwalks, blue skies, and my honey

We left the pooches at Mr. SOTSS' mom's when we drove out to Shelter Island. This is how they spent the day

We left the pooches at Mr. SOTSS’ mom’s when we drove out to Shelter Island. This is how they spent the day

It was so peaceful to just sit out on the boat in the marina. We caught up a bit, walked all around the island and then had dinner at a restaurant nearby.

Enjoying the day

Enjoying the day

Of course a glorious sunset on the water.

Of course a glorious sunset on the water.

At night we drove back to Mr. SOTSS’ mom’s house. Sunday was spent with his mom and her husband. First Mr. SOTSS and I walked the dogs for an hour and then his mom and her husband joined the fun. We took a ride out to Robert Moses State Park where you can walk to the Fire Island Lighthouse and then continue to the National Park section which connects to a small town called Kismet.

I swear I didn't use any filters. The sky was that blue

I swear I didn’t use any filters. The sky was that blue

IMG_7960There are no cars in Kismet, only walking/bike paths to get around and they have 2 restaurants. The Kismet Inn and Surf’s Out. We chose Surf’s Out.

IMG_7975

The weather was phenominal both days. I enjoy being by the water/beach so much. I’ve always lived on the East Coast and it’s just part of my life. Mr. SOTSS not only has the same love of the water but he also was quite the sailor. He got his Captain’s license and piloted a ferry from the main part of Long Island out to Fire Island. We took a fun drive through his old neighborhood and he showed me his childhood home, schools and where the ferry that he worked on was. Pretty cool!

fire-isl-map

a little map for context…

We covered about 10 miles of walking each day. Good food, good company, great views. It was a superb weekend. Mr. SOTSS dropped me off about 11 pm last night and I took a shower and jumped right into bed.

This morning I was up and out the door at 7:20am and somehow covered 15 miles but it wasn’t pretty.

15 miles DONE!

15 miles DONE!

I walked a lot and just tried to keep it together. I had a side stitch that lasted the entire time. I can’t remember the last time that happened. I stopped at a playground for a few minutes hoping this rainbow might give me some positive vibes…

I think I was delerious!

I think I was delerious!

But 3 hours and 15 minutes on my feet is what I really need to take away from this run. It’s priming me for race day. And it’s ok to have a crappy long run. I’d rather have this happen now than on race day right? While I was in nostalgia mode I decided I’d run past my old elementary school. I also ran through my favorite park.

my favorite spot in my favorite park

my favorite spot in my favorite park

My elementary school

My elementary school

Oh and how sweet is this note? It was at the register at the Dunkin Donuts by my house.

IMG_7894OK better get cracking on those deadlines….I’ll pop in toward the end of the week. Have a great one!

Have you ever just just stalled out while running? Hit the wall? Felt like your legs just couldn’t go one more step?

Do anything fun this weekend?