Sorry, no shopping today, no great deals to share. I don’t buy into the whole Black Friday thing. Cyber Monday, on the other hand is totally fine by me =) And today I’d like to call Alka Seltzer Friday. C’mon, don’t tell me you don’t have a smidge of indigestion goin’ on today?

Yesterday included a marathon of eating but it started with a lil’ run. Shocker! I stopped at 4.3 because I wanted it to rhyme with turkey. I’m a nerd. It was windy and cold and Jack Frost was nipping at my nose cheeks.

4.3 for turKEY

4.3 for turKEY

Running outdoors means there are always things to battle. Hard to believe just a few months ago I was worrying about cicadas landing on me.

nasty bugger

nasty bugger

So who ate pie? Me! Who’s in a carb coma today? Me!  Not only did I have mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and stuffing but I also had potato latkes since Chanukah and Thanksgiving overlap this year (Thanksgivukah).

Next stop was driving to my brothers house where I left this guy to hang with his furry cousin and some adult supervision.

not enthusiastic about the taking photos bit

not enthusiastic about the taking photos bit

I then hitched a ride with my brother and his family to my cousin’s house for the main event. Traffic was intense. I got the run-chies. So I did what any one would do and broke into the container of fresh whipped cream that was supposed to go on the cake we brought. It worked. And honestly the cake was delicious even without the topping.

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Caught up on my running reading and took lots of traffic selfies.

Reading does a body good

Reading does a body good

The niece photobombing from the 3rd row

The niece photobombing from the 3rd row

After close to 3 hours we arrived and stuffed our faces while enjoying the company of family, including my cousin’s newest addition, Teddy a sweet little poodle who they rescued just a few days ago. This boy struck gold. And he was so sweet.

pretty apricot curls and a cute poodle

pretty apricot curls and Teddy the poodle =) Seriously is my niece not so beautiful?!

This morning, I convinced the niece to run with me. She ran 1 solid mile with me. I’m pretty darn proud and I know i’ll get her ready and excited to run a 5k with me in 2014.

photo 3We are so alike we both ended up wearing black 1/2 zip long sleeve shirts today.

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photo 2I felt like running a little more so I took Duncan for a mile lap as well. A minute slower because he stopped to pee in a pile of leaves once and at a hydrant once.

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Duncan was pooped after that. Amazing how 11 minutes could tucker him out so much.

tuckered out doodle

tuckered out doodle

I probably should have run a few more miles solo but there was pie being served in the kitchen. The pie won out! After a little more visiting and a little more squirrel watching Duncan and I headed home.

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double doodles

And now it’s Operation Clean! I’m determined to get my house spotless decent before the end of the weekend.

I hope you all enjoyed your Turkey (Tofurkey) day. What fun things do you have planned for the rest of the weekend. Anyone get any great deals today? Anyone want to admit how much pie they ate? 

I did it! I got to the gym today for 30 solid minutes of cross-training on my lunch break. 20 minutes on the rower and 10 minutes on the elliptical. “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery and today is a gift.” (that’s a quote I happen to love). I am so grateful to have had those 30 precious minutes to sweat out the small stuff. It’s been building. =)

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gym selfies and such

Traffic lately has been brutal. It’s part of what comes along with living in a city that has more than 8 million people I suppose. As I was sitting in traffic yesterday morning I started to think about how I could make it seem more appealing. So from now on I’m going to call it Traffique. It just sounds better.

I signed up for one more race this year. I caved! My friends are all running the Ted Corbitt 15K in Central Park on December 14th, and since it was only $23 to register I pulled the trigger. YAY! I’m actually looking forward to it and sorta hope it snows. Central Park is so beautiful with snow.

In other news, say goodbye to my little umbrella friend. She was sparkly silver when I got her and I loved her for being so compact and reliable. But today she broke. And she cut my hand twice! Apparently she likes to remain open and when I try to close her she pops back open again. She almost impaled me! I actually think that if there were a comedian watching me getting on the bus this morning they’d have enough material for an entire show. (I had a travel mug of hot coffee spilling at the same time as I tried to get lil’ silver umbrella to behave all while my bus driver insisted on driving mach 1 through a construction area that was bumpy as sh-t…It wasn’t pretty).

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Just got this email from our office manager. YIPPEE!!!

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Happy Thanksgiving’s EVE! And enjoy your festivities tomorrow. Remember to savor each and every bite. Then come back and tell me what your favorite part of the meal was. And I hope nobody has to get stuck in traffique!

Yesterday, I knew at 7:00am when I was almost home from walking the dog that the day might not be the day I had hoped for. I saw that I had stepped in dog poo (not Duncan’s and don’t get me started on how insane it makes me that people don’t clean up after their dogs). Gratefully I noticed BEFORE I got home so I was able to grab a tree branch and fuss enough to get most of it off before completing the job in my garage.

Perhaps I created my own destiny. A traffic-filled 2-hour commute got me to work late and I spent the day scrambling to get my work done. Needless to say I did not make it to the gym at lunch 🙁

I came home with the idea i’d do a workout DVD or just plain stretch and foam roll. I basically fell asleep on the sofa at 9pm and slept straight through unitl 7am. I think my body is telling me something. I better listen.

I left my gym bag at my desk and I will try again today…

Question: Are you able to roll with the punches when you just can’t make getting to the gym or going for a run happen? Or are you like me and do you get cranky and feel terrible about it for the rest of the day? Stepping in dog poop? Good luck? or is that just when a bird poops on you?

Sparkle: Friday evening I attended the Louie’s Legacy Blue Gala. It’s a fundraising event for a local animal rescue. I sat with the Whiskers and Leo Pet Care folks. (I became close friends with the Nicole, the owner when Duncan and I first started using their dog walking services back in 2009 and also Duncan’s dog walker Pam has become such a close friend too.) It was a fun night! Everyone wore blue. This was my third time wearing my sparkly blue Ralph Lauren dress (which was a steal at $79 at Marshalls earlier this year)…

I got to wear it to my niece’s bat mitzvah in May

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13 years old to the left and 40 to the right but we both look twentysomething =)

and then to a wedding in June.

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But I love it so much and since it’s blue I wore it again for the Gala.

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doodle photo bomb.

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Nicole and me!

Pam, Nicole and me: a.k.a. Duncan's favorite women!

Pam, Nicole and me: a.k.a. Duncan’s favorite women!

The Whiskers and Leo gang

The Whiskers and Leo gang

Sweat: Saturday morning I decided to sweat out the small stuff vodka and tonic and go for a run. Just a nice easy 3 miles.

photo 1Unfortunately my groin strain was starting to bother me toward the end (the hamstring pain is gone though!). I really thought 12 days without running would have been enough but it looks like I better give it some more time. In addition to foam rolling and stretching I’m going to hit the gym for some cross training with the rowing machine on Tuesday and not sure what to do Thursday since it’s Thanksgiving. We all know it’s important to make room for the feast by exercising. If I can’t run I’ll see if the gym is open early at least and if all else fails maybe just a long walk? I wish I had a rowing machine in my house. I wish it could be attached to my sofa. Hmmm…..Invention idea? Oh yeah, and I’m officially registered for my first half marathon of 2014. I’ll be running the NYC Half Marathon on March 16th.

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Sweet Sticky Situation: I had a little party to go to last night and opted to make a fruit salad to bring. I bought all the fruit at BJ’s Wholesale Club. This was the first time in my adult life that I bought a whole pineapple! Crazy right? Good thing they give instructions to show how to cut it. The Mangos came with instructions too (although I already knew how to cut those). Admittedly, even with the instructions I don’t think I cut the pineapple correctly. But it worked out. By the time I was done cutting the entire pineapple, half a watermelon and 3 mangos plus 2 pints of strawberries the entire kitchen was a sticky mess. I’m starting to see why Edible Arrangements are expensive. =) The fruit, however was so deliciously sweet! Redemption!

photo 2This morning I’m relaxing and recovering from my 2 late nights. I thought it was best to start with a nice breakfast. Say hello to my eggs, avocado, tomato, spinach and english muffin (oops muffin didn’t make the picture). (I put salt and pepper on half the eggs and gave most of the non-seasoned portion to the dog because he needs another reason to love me more. LOL. Oh and that water bottle is my watermelon infused water that I made with the leftover juice after cutting up the watermelon for the fruit salad. It’s delicious!

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doodle photo bomb again

I’ve got some odds and ends to catch up with this morning. I’m cleaning out my closets (well, starting this task which will probably take until the end of the year to complete.) I did a top secret photo shoot yesterday and need to edit the pics. I’ll share some of the photos in about a month 😉

Question: Are you a pack rat or do you toss everything? Do you have an easy time parting with clothes when you clean out your closets or do you have a hard time letting go? I’m a pack rat who hates to part with my clothes.