Good Times!

The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of visiting family and friends and eating, with a little running thrown in. This week is my Taper Week, which means that my miles are lowered because the Marathon is only a week away. It is a recovery period before the big day. This means I am running less, but eating more! However, it is all worth it. Here is (inspired by Kim) what I've been up to for the last week or so! **disclaimer: if you are a vegetarian, you may want to look away, as there are pork pieces below**

I found these at Target! I did not think I could get them anywhere but MN! I must have eaten 30 of them this week!

 I went shopping for rugs. I found the perfect one for in front of the fireplace.

I hung out with some pigs at the Annual Pig Roast. Sorry guys, you are going to be dinner soon. 

There's dinner. Pay no attention to the man with the huge beard. He is participating in MoVember. Or MO-BE-mber. Whatever. 

We drove miles in search of this. When we found it, it was good. 

I ran here. Cape Cod Canal. 

And here. Bristol Rail Trail.

Finally got the big camera out. 

I ate ice cream (among other things) with these girls.

I have not downloaded my Turkey Day photos yet, but good times were had by all!

How was your week? Did you have to work on Friday? What did you do for Thanksgiving?

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Since We've No Place to Go

Hello and Happy Sunday! What a fun week, but a cold one. It seems that winter has arrived. As you have seen, I have been busy during my time off doing lots of things that I wanted to do before but didn't have the time...or the oven...to do. So I've been doing some catching up on the enjoyable things in life. So, grab a pumpkin spiced latte (inspired by Kim) or whatever warm cozy drink you can think of and check out what I've been up to during my time off!

I ran a half marathon

I've been using THIS a lot. 

To make lots of THESE. And other things! Now, who is going to help me eat them!? 

We got our first good snow! 

Remember that mountain I climbed? I'm glad I did it last week becuase it would be a lot colder this week! 

 I've been drinking a lot of this. Pots of it. That's coffee by the way. In my favorite mug.

Best coffee mix: 

Coffee

Splash of cream (approx 1/2 inch)

1 Splenda

I finished this series. Not bad! If you haven't already jumped on that bandwagon, I suggest you go ahead and get on!

He and I have been having much quality time together. 

I've been working on my Christmas cards. Yes, it's almost THAT time folks! Here is a sneak peek. Very sneaky. 

What did you do this week? What are your plans for this weekend? What's your favorite Fall (Winter) drink? How do you take your coffee?

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Environmentally Friendly Salad Dressing

Today, instead of a beer (inspired by Kim), I encourage you to grab a bottle of salad dressing, get comfy on the couch and look what I did this week. Did you know that this Vinaigrette is now made with 20% LESS plastic? Did you know that it was made with plastic at all? Me neither. But apparently it still has the same delicious flavor.

On Tuesday, I hiked to the top of this mountain. See the flag? I put that there when I got to the top (approx 6500 ft elevation.)

Here we are, trying to get to the top. Can you see the tiny people? Where's Waldo?

I picked, ate and cooked a lot of these. In fact, I am starting a series tomorrow called An Apple a Day. Check back to see what it's all about!

Dog Rock. I like to look at the comparisons in different times of year. Kind of fun, isn't it?

I went hunting for fall foliage with my Mom. We are surrounded by Evergreens, but we do have some little pockets of yellow.

Remember the canvas I made everyone vote on? I got it in the mail and it turned out good!

I went for an 18 mile run. It was hard. It started off nice, like this. La Di Da.

And then I found myself here. I think I took a wrong turn at Albuquerque. I had to backtrack to try to find a more level ground. I think it added another half mile (uphill) to my run. NOT FUN.

As I mentioned before, I did a ton of cooking. Thank you, Joy of Cooking. Can you tell this one is well used? I think that's a bit of banana bread batter there.

How was your week? Did you do anything exciting? Are you getting all "nesty" like I am now that it's getting colder and darker?

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Mayhem in The Airport

Instead of grabbing a beer (inspired by Kim) and checking out my week, I am going to interrupt this regularly scheduled program with a little something different. You may know already that I spend a lot of time in airports. This week was an especially airport / airplane filled one! So, instead of looking what I did this week, we are going to do List Sunday, where I let you in on a few of my Travelers Peeves, Airport Style.

Air Force One - in SFO on Tuesday!

- People in the waiting area who sit in one seat, have a bag in another and their feet (or purse or food or...) in another. Especially when the airport is really busy. There is no need to take up more than one seat. The ones who lie down on the seats are equally as annoying. Common courtesy people!

- That guy who talks back to the flight attendant when she tells him that he cannot have three carry-on bags.

- People who have three carry on bags. Or people who, since you can only have two, have two of the biggest bags ever. And when the bags don't fit into the overhead, the people try over and over and over (while holding up the whole plane) to stuff the too big bag into the bin.

- People who take up a whole bin to themselves, whether or not they have three bags. They put their coat, their hat, their purse, shopping bag, suitcase and travel pillow into the bin so that it fills up the entire thing. Or they put their roller-board sideways, even though the attendants keep telling them, "wheels facing out!"

- That guy (and there always is one) at security who forgets to take his laptop out of the case (a no-no), who puts his case on top of the laptop (a no-no), who forgets to take his change out of his pockets, forgets to take his watch off, forgets that he has to take his coat and shoes off (annoying). I ALWAYS get behind that guy. Is this his first time flying? If it is, I forgive him. If it's not, get with the program. We are all trying to go someplace. Literally.

- The people in zone 4 who stand up right in front of the podium as soon as the flight crew says, "we are going to begin by boarding people with small children..." and then continue to stand there throughout the boarding process, even though they are NOT people with small children, nor are they in Zone 1, 2 or 3.

- The people who are in Zone 4 who get IN LINE when Zone 1 is called. Then when the attendant says, "sir, we are only boarding zone 1 now", he looks at her stupidly, and stands there for a while before finally getting out of line (and then getting back in once Zone 2 is called).

- The lady behind me when boarding who keeps touching (pushing) me / my back, as if by doing that, the ENTIRE LINE will move faster.

- The guy who keeps talking on the phone after the flight attendants say to turn the phones off. And then once they ask him again to please get off the phone, he looks at them disgustingly and keeps talking. (I love the campy gay attendants who give them attitude and say - Get Off The Phone, "SIR"!)

- People who stand two abreast on the moving walkway. "WALK-way" people! One of you needs to walk or both of you need to stand aside.

- People who are sitting behind me who put their feet on my armrest. It has happened!

- People sitting beside me who are kind of oozing over into my seat. I even had one guy snuggle up to me with his back towards me and his butt over the line. Too close for comfort.

- People who try to talk to you when you clearly (earphones, book, flat black stare) don't feel like talking.

- People at baggage claim who stand right up next to the conveyor, so then I can't see my bag and when I do see it at the last minute I have to lunge in and try to get it. I admit to "accidentally" knocking my bag into these people if they are inconveniently in the way of my bag extraction. (I like the places where they put the yellow line around the conveyor and you have to stand behind it and then you can step in and get your bag once you see it heading your way.)

- People who make out on the plane. Right next to me. Really? Are we 12?

Well, that was fun. I am sure there are many more, and maybe next time I should stop being so negative and make a list of things I LIKE about airports and airplanes. But this is more fun.

What are your airport and airplane pet peeves? If you don't travel a lot, what are your "crowded places" pet peeves (bar / restaurant / train station / elevator)??

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Sam I Am

This week's beer is... Sam Adams. I have to admit, I am not a fan of their Summer Ale. However, I may have to try one of their fall or winter brews this weekend, while I am at...guess, guess....

You guessed it, I am in Massachusetts this weekend, racing in the Newburyport Green Stride Half Marathon. I am probably running right now, as you are drinking your coffee and reading this post. So, you know the drill, put down the coffee, grab a beer, and look what happened to me this week! (Inspired by Kim) (photo credit)

It was another busy week, but in a different sort of way this time. On Monday I finished up with my last client in Cape Girardeau and headed to Columbia to check out of the office. Now I am once again jobless! Back to the old drawing board. But first, let's start at the beginning...

Last weekend one of my very dearest friends came to visit me! She and I have been friends since...well probably about 20 years. We played little league together. Her nickname is Red.

We decided to do some hiking at the Trail of Tears State Park. Along the way, we found....More Ponies! These ones let us touch them! 

Then we went hiking! It was great! Except I told Red that the trail had "a few hills". I didn't remember that it was quite strenuous! We took her dog Lucy and poor Lucy was tuckered out afterwards (and so were we!)

Even though she was tuckered out, she was happy to dress in this banana split costume and pose for the camera. Can't you tell how happy she was? 

The foliage, or as my family likes to jokingly call it, FOILAGE, is beautiful right now!

After Red left, I took at 16 mile run, my last run in Cape. It was 90 degrees. It was brutal. This is the Cape LaCroix Creek trail, where I have been running for the last 4 months. 

And then it was time for me to leave Cape. A departing shot of my "home", the Candlewood Suites.The drive to Columbia is about 4 hours. It rained the entire time.

I had to check out all my equipment and I said goodbye to my friends in the office in Columbia. More importantly though, I checked the color of my urine against this chart in the bathroom. My favorite? The second one from the top...in case you can't read it, it says, "You're just fine. You could stand to drink a little water now, maybe a small glass of water." Who writes these? And who has pee the color of the bottom one? If you do, you better get to the doc ASAP! (or maybe you ate beets?)

And then? One last run in Missouri. This time the weather was in the 40s. 

Total miles this week: 30.

And now? 

Wish me luck. Hopefully I get a beer when I am done!

What did you do this week? Do you live close to your best friends? What friend have you had the longest? Have you ever dressed up your dog in a costume?

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Autumn Brown

Time to grab a beer!! This one is a new one for me. I live close to Chico, where the Sierra Nevada Brewery is, but have never tried this Autumn Brown Ale (photo credit). I think I would like it, as it looks dark enough for my tastes. Hmmm..

You know the drill. This is the point where we grab a beverage, make yourself comfortable and enjoy a recap of the week (a la Kim's Look What I Did Last Week).

This week was a busy one. I had the day off on Monday, so the (short) work week was more hectic than normal. Plus we are trying to finish up work in the area we are in and will be moving to a new area on Monday. So of course this week has consisted of tying up a bunch of loose ends and finding out at the last minute what the issues with certain projects are. Monday will be the last meeting and then we are out of here!

On top of that, I have been training for the marathon and so have spent most of my evenings running, running, showering, driving to running and....washing running clothes. But...in between all that, here is what else I did this week.

I got more books from the library. My stack is growing.

Beware of the Evil Gost.

The running shorts get funkier and funkier! 

I went to New York. I love New York. Really, not just the I heart kind but REALLY. 

We went to Le Parisien for dinner. Yum.

I couldn't resist. Pluck U too buddy. 

We met a friend at Zabars for some cheese shopping. I love cheese. 

Almost as much as I love New York. 

We went to see the Freedom Tower. Expected to be done in...2021.

And of course, no trip to NYC is complete without a trip to Central Park. 

Goodbye New York. I will miss you.

Or should I say...Until Next Time. 

You can read about some of my other trips to NYC HERE. 

What is your favorite place to visit in the Fall? Do you have a place you keep going back to over and over? Do YOU heart NY? What did you do this week?

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