Hi there.

I can’t believe it’s Monday already. I had a super fun weekend which I’ll tell you about and then I’ll tell you about a few decisions I made.

Friday night after work I went to my new favorite tow path by the office for a run. I was feeling really sluggish and sore (have I mentioned that my SI joints have been stiff the last few runs?) and took it super slow.

I actually did get a focused selfie but this one just captured the moment better

I actually did get a focused selfie but this one just captured the moment better

I even walked a lot during the last couple of miles. It was the first time I listened to a podcast while running instead of tunes. I started listening to podcasts in the car when I’m commuting and figured I’d try it out while running. It was kinda cool so I will definitely do that again.

6 miles...done and done

6 miles…done and done

Couldn't imagine running to either of these destinations but it's cool to think you could theoretically :)

Couldn’t imagine running to either of these destinations but it’s cool to think you could theoretically 🙂

Saturday, I did my usual stuff: took Duncan to the park early, did some house cleaning, shopping and then I drove to meet up with Mr. SOTSS and his girls. We saw Finding Dory which was adorable.

Good morning!

Good morning!

There was popcorn and candy but i didn't snap a picture. Half of my Reese's Pieces fell on the floor which I'm still grieving over...

There was popcorn and candy but i didn’t snap a picture. Half of my Reese’s Pieces fell on the floor which I’m still grieving over…

Sunday morning, we all ran the Girls on the Run 5k.

corral sneaker selfie

corral sneaker selfie

IMG_3805I love, love love spending time with Mr. SOTSS’ and his girls but when the fun is a 5k it makes things even better! It was super hot so we took it easy. I enjoyed the one-on-one time I had with J, Mr. SOTSS’ newly crowned teenager.

She ran through every sprinkler! It was HOT out.

She ran through every sprinkler! It was HOT out.

I have only known her for a little over a year and a half but it’s amazing how much she’s grown in that short time (in height and in maturity). I enjoyed listening to her 7th grade life stories as we ran the miles. We finished in about 41 minutes and then met up with the other half. Mr. SOTSS and his other daughter K finished in about 35 or 36 minutes I think.

IMG_3818Then it was home to shower quick and head over to my brother’s house for a Father’s day BBQ/birthday celebration for my newphew who turned 18!

Duncan loves him.

Duncan loves him.

IMG_3793

With no races until October, I’ve made a few decisions for the summer. I’ve gained a few pounds in the last few months and I’m feeling physically and emotionally weighed down by it lately. So I’m going to try super hard to clean up my eating habits and try and lose 7-10 pounds by Labor Day and I’m also going to scale back a bit on my running and try and do more non running things. My body needs a change for a bit. I’m hoping that I’ll do some more biking and walking. And I’m going to try and find some way to stick with a strength workout each week too. Yesterday I did a baseline on planks and pushups. Well I could only do 1 pushup and hold a plank for 30 seconds. Hard to remember the days when I could hold a plank for 2 minutes or bust out 10 pushups. So now that I’ve put this out there I’m hoping it’ll help me stick to it. I’ll report back maybe at the halfway point or maybe just at the beginning of September.

Well, my lunch hour is almost up so I’ve gotta wrap this up.

Hope you all had a great weekend and that your week is off to a good start!

Do you like to tell the world when you make plans to try and change a bad habit or lose weight or shoot for a PR or do you like to keep it to yourself?

Hi there.

We finally got snow! It might be just an inch but enough to make things look pretty. Duncan couldn’t believe it….white flakes finally arrived.

Finally!

Finally!

Pretty soon he’ll be wearing his ridiculous snowsuit.

I came home from work on Friday and had some freelance work to do. Good thing my Girl Scout cookie order arrived. I paired it with a nice Cabernet and hit the ground running.

Time to start the weekend.....

Time to start the weekend…..

Saturday morning I ran a local 5k trail run literally 10 minutes from my house. It was held at Duncan’s and my favorite park.

trail-run

Pink ribbons marked the trail. Photo: King of the Mountain Events

resolution-run I really enjoyed it. I will be running these trails more for sure.

On Saturday evening, I packed up my nice little portable life (cookies, wine, my laptop and the doodle) and headed over to Mr. SOTSS’ house for the remainder of this nice long weekend.

Cookies, Wine, Duncan....ok let's go!

Cookies, wine, laptop and Duncan….ok let’s go!

We saw the movie Sisters. OMG so funny! Not PG, but SO FUNNY!

best theater ever...recliners

best theater ever…recliners

Yesterday we took the dogs on a really muddy 3 hour hike. Hiking is one of our favorite things to do. The dogs agree. =) I always laugh how the first 2 hours I’m fine and then my legs get tired and I start tripping over every single tree route and then I get cranky. Mr. SOTSS knows when the wheels start to fall off the bus but somehow he gets me to continue a little farther without me realizing it.

Chester!

Chester!

I have this strange obsession with moss. I'm fascinated by it.

I have this strange obsession with moss. I’m fascinated by it.

I'm coming ma!

I’m coming ma!

There were lots of mountain bikers in the park so they must use this ramp. Notice duncan's muddy dipped feet

There were lots of mountain bikers in the park so they must use this ramp. Notice duncan’s muddy dipped feet

My secret selfie. LOL!

My secret selfie. LOL!

The boys

The boys

After hiking we grabbed a bite to eat and then ran a few errands. Mr. SOTSS has been renovating his bathroom so we made a pit stop to The Home Depot for a few things. He’s up to the electrical….

I don't know why but I love the way Home Depot smells.

I don’t know why but I love the way Home Depot smells.

And then we picked up the ingredients to make toffee doodle cookies. I had one at Starbucks the other day and it was so good I decided I needed to find a similar recipe and bake them.

Toffee Doodles!

Toffee Doodles!

Fresh outta the oven

Fresh outta the oven

If you’re interested, here’s the recipe.

The dogs relaxed after their hike.

sleepy-pups

This morning started with coffee, freelance work and two dogs for company while Mr. SOTSS fixed his door lock and then went to work on his bathroom.

working

Working at my house and working at Mr. SOTSS' house are pretty much the same only I have two dogs cuddled on the couch next to me

Working at my house and working at Mr. SOTSS’ house are pretty much the same only I have two dogs cuddled on the couch next to me

door-fix

Mr. Fixit!

After a few hours of working I went for a short run. It was COLD and WINDY!

mlk-run

must have ears covered when it's windy and in the 20s

must have ears covered when it’s windy and in the 20s

The exposed skin was only an issue for the first 1/2 mile and then I warmed up enough that it didn't bother me

The exposed skin was only an issue for the first 1/2 mile and then I warmed up enough that it didn’t bother me

Now I’m back home and I realized that I forgot to take some of those toffee doodle cookies home with me! So Mr. SOTSS scored at least a dozen all for himself. Good thing I still have plenty of Girl Scout cookies to get me through the week 🙂

What is your favorite type of cookie? Do you like soft or crunchy cookies?