Vacation Post! **Warning, warm weather pics ahead**

I was fortunate enough this year to take a nice LONG family vacation to warm and sunny (ish) Florida! It was a nice break from the arctic tundra that is CT at the moment. I don't mean to brag... but I'm gonna. All over this post!
I went with my dad and stepmom. I ALWAYS try to accept any invite for a family vacation. They generally don't cost me a dime ;) Plus my family is pretty awesome. Juno came too!

Juno the family dog

Sunny FL was rather cloudy when we arrived, but it was MUCH warmer than New England. I'll take it! We arrived really late, around 11 PM so our first day was a short one. I was lazy and slept in the next day, but decided not to be a complete sloth. I went for a VERY SHORT run (1 mile) with Andrea. We had a 5K the next day so really just wanted to stretch our legs and get used to the warmth and humidity.
After that there was lunch and a movie. Ahhh vacation. Nothing but relaxing things to do!
And that brings us to the 5K. It was the South Florida Fair 5K. I had discovered the event prior to heading south and decided it would be a good way to keep me exercising on vacation. I also figured if I could talk Andrea into joining me, my dad would drive :) (And maybe pay our entries too...) (Totally worked.) This was Andrea's first 5K ever. Not only that, but she said she really hasn't run much since last year. And you know what? She kicked my butt! I was super happy for her, and proud too! I struggled a bit, not being used to the heat and humidity, nor the extra 8 lbs I had collected during the holidays...

Not only was this a great event (only in its third year!) but they had decent swag too! We got t-shirts AND medals! Also free tickets to the fair, but it doesn't start for a few more weeks so I don't get to go. Sad face. I think the actual medals didn't come in time though, as they said they would be mailing the real ones to us? We did get medals though... Kinda confusing. But hey, two medals for one race? Sure!

Juno, Andrea, and I after the race

My dad and I

Sprint to the finish!

Skids wanted to try on my medal

I was actually super glad to have the race out of the way so my slothfullness could take over. It IS vacation after all! The rest of my trip was spent eating, occasionally running, a little boating, shopping (that's for another post) and some pampering.

New Year's Dinner

New Year's Dessert, don't worry we shared!

A very slow humid run

Captain and First Mate

Mani

The view from my dad's backyard in FL is pretty impressive, I sat out every morning enjoying it while drinking my coffee and some evenings too:

My last FL run was a longish one. I knew wasn't fit enough for it, but there's a 6 mile loop I was dying to explore. I decided to run/walk it which seemed like a fair compromise. I wound up running about 4.5 miles of it. It was lovely! Here are some photos:

Got a new running outfit... I only brought enough clothes for 3 runs, but actually ran FOUR times! Good girl!

Traffic Circle

Random archway...

Our Driveway

View of our house from the road

Not bad for a chubby girl in the humid/hot weather!

Did any of you take a vacation this holiday season? Maybe a staycation? Tell me all about it!

The End.

Of 2013! Hahaha, you thought I was going to quit blogging huh? No, no... don't fret! I'm just playing :)
But as I'm sitting here on New Year's Eve, I thought I should take a few minutes to reflect on my year.
2013 really was great to me. Seriously. So many changes this year, and I think ALL for the better. You can't ask for more than that. Let's recap, shall we?
Last February I received a call while I was shoveling poop in my barn one weekend morning. Long story short, there was a very cute little gray horse in need of a home right in my town. And thus, I welcomed Ducky to Winthrop Corner.

And then there was snow... SO MUCH SNOW:

Thankfully that eventually melted, and the boys all got to work. They really brought their A game this year. I think this was one of the best horse show years I've had in a long while. My boys are the best!

Thanks to some great people in my life, I kept up with my running this year too! I ran 2 half marathons and I don't know how many 5K's, even earning a PR in the 5K distance in the spring time!

4 on the 4th

The Neon Morning Running Crew

Hogsback Half

Run Local Read Local Halloween 5K. Best costume winner!

Turkey Trot 5 miler

The Ugly Sweater Run

South Florida Fair 5K, Andrea's First 5K!

NYC Half Marathon

I was soooo lucky to get a brand new kitchen. Ok, it was kind of by accident. It was only supposed to be a new counter and a new to me stove top but things got a little crazy. I'm a very lucky girl!

Before

before

after!

after!

In August, amidst the renovations, running, and horse showing, I welcomed ANOTHER new family member. You all remember Artie:

He and P are getting along great! I think she's happy to have a buddy.

I also became an Aunty! I don't feel like I should post photos of other people's kids on here, but I can assure you, she's adorable. And very smart. Watch out world!
And that pretty much sums up my 2013! Did you have a good year? Anything special happen this year? Anything you're planning for 2014?
Happy New Year Everyone!

Holidays are the time for... Running?

There's nothing like a good gorge fest to guilt you into getting back out on the road. Seriously. Thanksgiving was not kind to my mid section. Moooo. I did however take some precautions in an effort to counteract the gluttony that is Thanksgiving. (My family had five pies for dessert. Yep. FIVE! And yes, I sampled them all.)
Every year on Thanksgiving there is a 5 mile road race called The Turkey Trot that takes place about 20 minutes from where I live. It was my second race ever a few years back when I started running, and I've been attending every year since. It's not so much that running five miles is super fun. It's not really. Especially this year since it was barely above freezing. But it IS fun to meet up with your friends on a holiday morning and burn off some of that meal that's coming... Plus I love a good chance to wear something ridiculous.

Katie from Running a Ragnor and our friend Vanessa made these awesome ear warmers for our run. They MADE them! How crafty right? I often search the interwebs for cute ridiculous things to wear, but rarely make them myself. Not only were they fashionable (ok, ok, maybe not fashionable) but they were also functional in keeping the ears warm in the cold and wind.
We started out running all together since it was very crowded, but gradually the faster ones went on ahead. I didn't mind at all though, as I was somewhat undertrained and definitely overdressed. (It takes a few cold runs to remember how to properly layer for these things!) Overall though, it was a great race, and I was pleased with my performance despite the lack of training.

I tried to stay motivated after the Turkey Trot, and did manage to go out for a 3 mile run the following weekend. Good girl! But then alas, the cold, dark mornings got the best of me, and I didn't make it out again during the week. Vanessa and I had signed up for the Ugly Sweater Run this past weekend, but with it being only a 5K I figured I'd make it through without much training in between. If there's an Ugly Sweater Run in your area, I suggest you attend. Seriously. It was so much fun! And I've never in my life seen SO MANY ugly sweaters.
Instead of making hideous sweaters which was our first plan, we decided to do some good and ordered ugly long sleeved t-shirts from Stand Up to Cancer. I like the idea of making my outfits charitable. As it turns out the shirts are really cute, so we decided to take the outfit too far with matching leggings, skirts, and socks. We topped the whole thing off with some snowman antennae and the hat they gave out at the race.

Amazing right?

The race itself was very nice. They released us in waves of about 500 so it was never too crowded. I think that was great planning. I hate dodging flying runner elbows. There were a lot of walkers in the early stages that were a little tricky to maneuver around, but not awful. The race was untimed and I forgot my watch, so I have no idea how well we did or didn't do. But if I had to venture a guess, I think we probably ran around 28 minutes and change. The course was adorable, with giant inflatable arches striped liked candy canes at each mile. They also had snow blowers and giant inflatables along the course. The water station was equipped with both water and hot chocolate, though we didn't stop for any. They had the same amenities at the end of the course so we didn't miss out. Our FAVORITE part of the race? The photo ops!

Alright that's it for my running stories for now. I don't have any races planned, but I do have a lot of eating in my future, so I do intend to keep up the fitness. We'll see how it goes... Best laid plans and all that.
Have any of you run any fun races recently? Silly race outfits, yay or nay?

More Presents!

Presents for me... I mean, SOMEONE needs to spoil me, might as well just do it myself right?? With the cooler weather, I'm riding less and spending more time spending money... I'll start behaving right after New Year's. Back to the gym and I'll let the credit card hibernate for a little bit.
You all know already that I am semi-addicted to Little Black Bag. You can scroll through the blog to see what it's all about. Let me know if you want to give it a try, and I can give you a link for 25% off. Disclaimer: should you sign up via my link, I get a free item. Just so ya know ;) Alright on to the fun stuff!
I got my box today while I was home at lunch time feeding all the four leggeds. Thus I didn't have time to go through it properly, but I did brag on the LBB chat about the gorgeousness that is my new favorite Deux Lux tote bag. I promised to do a post tonight with photos of my gorgeous new bag... Meet Luna:

Forgive the tissue wrap on the handle hardware,  forgot to remove it before photos.

She's enormous, and purple, and sparkly... And I love her. I don't really know when exactly I will have a use for her. But I love her none the less. And we will be best friends. The photos don't really do her the justice she deserves, as it's night time and indoors. But I think you can get an idea of her brilliance.
I really like when things match. All of my horses wear identical blankets. Seriously. And thus, I felt Luna needed some accessories of her own. I may or may not have a few more en route in my next box... Try not to judge. But I DID ship a couple items with the bag. First was a Deux Lux card case in grape. It's the same material as the bottom of Luna. I often use these instead of a wallet if I don't want to carry a huge bag.

I also shipped a cosmetic case. Not so much to keep makeup in, but it's nice to keep your smaller items in something like that so it's not lost in a giant bag like Luna. I have this in another color as well. They're nice little bags, with a zipper across the full length on top. This one isn't a perfect match to Luna, but it does match the sparkly strip on the card case perfectly. I forgot to get a photo from above, but you get the idea of what it looks like:

Here are some family photos:

I shipped several other items in this bag as well, but I'm having a terrible time getting my photos to upload. If there's interest I can do another post with the jewelry items, Steve Madden beret and the shoes I received in my box (yep, more shoes. I may be a shoe hoarder. But they were having an amazing sale!). Leave a note in the comments if you'd like to see more!
Have any of you found a bag you love recently? I know it's horribly materialistic, but you know, if it makes you happy (and you have the means), DO IT!