I ran with friends today!

And it was glorious! Well ok, maybe not GLORIOUS. I mean how glorious is a 7 am foggy and somewhat icy run? Not super glorious.

But it was soooo nice to have company. Running on the dreadmill and even outside by myself was getting super lonely.
I'm still working on waking up before 7 as I'm definitely solar powered. My eyeballs don't think they should be open if the sun's not up. Thankfully I got an awesome Nespresso machine for Chanukah from my Dad and Stepmom. Shot of espresso pre-run? Yes please!

I was also really pumped to try out my new LuluLemon running pants. I got them on ebay since they're sold out already. If you have some extra dough, and live in a colder winter climate, get a pair of these! They're called Dogrunners. They are pants with leggings built-in on the inside.

Do to the weather advisory above, despite my comatose state, I was smart enough to use some reflective and light up accessories on my run. I did NOT remember to put on my reflective vest, but thankfully Katie and Vanessa remembered theirs!
These are some fun lights that I got from Stridebox:

I put this one in my hair. It blinks either white or in color and is super fun. You can also wear it as a ring

 

 

This is one of my most favorite Stridebox items. It's a slap wrap that's both reflective AND lights up. It can stay on steady light, or blink at two different speeds. Love it!

We had a nice run, it started out a little tough since we're all not used to the early mornings. And we really couldn't get moving too quickly due to the slick roads, but all in all, it felt great to be back with the morning crew. Hopefully Chelsea can join us next time!

Hope you can all get in a nice workout today!

Lazy Saturday/Busy Sunday

You know, some weekends are sooooo busy you actually look forward to going back to work. Others... well, aren't busy at all. My favorite kind of weekend is a little of both. And that's exactly how this past one went for me.
Saturday was uncharacteristically warm for January, 55 degrees! But also poured rain allll day. So what's one to do on a rainy Saturday? NOTHING! Well mostly nothing. The horses got new shoes, so I spent a good hour or so cleaning up after that. Rubber floor + hoof clippings + 100% humidity = one very hard to sweep barn floor. I also shortened their manes as they were starting to look like retirees. New shoes and new hairdos really made my boys look good! COME ON SPRINGTIME!
I've put a bit of a shopping ban on myself, and am also in need of dropping a few LBS, which really limits ones activities on a rainy Saturday. I spent some time contemplating what to do with the rest of the day, and decided to take the advice of my pooches:

They suggested sitting around and doing nothing. I decided they were very wise. I spent two hours watching Storage Wars and another 2 watching Bad Ink. Very entertaining.
I had a great night's sleep Saturday and was ready for a productive Sunday. It was a gorgeous day, though a bit overcast. Temps in the upper 40's. Not bad for January! I got up and went into town for a breakfast sandwich from my favorite small town eatery The Villager. I got my sandwich to go, and went to the town "beach" to enjoy the view and Acoustic Sunday on the radio.

Once fed, I headed back home to ride. Yes RIDE! You read that right. I haven't been on a horse in at least a month, and it's been driving me BANANAS! It wasn't a long ride since both Jamp and I are severely out of shape. But it felt fantastic to be back in the saddle. I even got to use my new half chaps and boots!

Rio gets to enjoy vacation all the way through winter, so he didn't have to work. I decided stopping and starting Ducky wasn't worth it either, so he just observed while I rode Jamp.
After riding I was feeling super motivated to continue enjoying the nice day (the sun was even coming out!) so I went for a run. I haven't run outside at home in awhile which means I haven't run any sort of hill in forever. (FL is very flat, as is the dreadmill.) The first mile felt a little creaky, but by mile 2, I felt great! I even considered tacking on another mile, but decided since my last many runs have felt so tough, I should quit while I felt great. I was really excited when I looked at my watch and saw my time, and even more excited when I downloaded the run, and saw I actually ran negative splits! That never happens to me, I usually start out fast and peter out.

While I realize I've run much faster in the past, I felt really good about my workout. I've been struggling so much between the weather and my added weight that it was really encouraging to feel good and see some decent results. I guess I'm back on the running wagon!
What a great weekend! Plenty of relaxing and plenty of fun, healthy activities too! I hope you all had a great weekend also!

Two LBB deliveries on the same day!

Whoa! You've all read about my favorite little shopping game Little Black Bag... Well I've been playing pretty regularly and have all kinds of new fun stuff. I had a bag going during Xmas and another around New Years time. Due to some crazy weather in the Northern part of the US the first one was delayed a bit en route. Anyway, they both arrived yesterday! And it's been a little bit since I've done an LBB post, so here we go! (Please excuse my jammies, but it was late when I took photos!)

First up, is the Betsey Johnson Sequin infinity scarf. My photos aren't great, but it's a purpley color and will match my Luna so well!

Next is another scarf. You can tell it's cold here in CT... This one is the Raj chunky scarf. It's super soft, and though they're a little tough to see, it has little gold sequins throughout it. Adorable!

 I haven't blogged about it, but I have both the purple Luna and silver one. (I know, I know, excessive.) The silver one has gray faux leather on the bottom. I thought it would be nice to have a purse to match so I got this Deux Lux Laurel Canyon Messenger bag:

I also got a cosmetic bag to match. I like sets ;)

There was a great promo at New Year's time, and if you opened you got 4 free samples of NYX makeup. I didn't open at the right time, but did manage to trade for all of the items I wanted to try. I haven't tried them out yet, but I'm excited to!

 Clearly I had silver Luna on my mind with these two bags... I also got some boots to go with her made by Pink Sugar. They're so much cuter than I expected, and also very soft:

My last item was a Deux Lux card case in tan. I have three of them now... That's probably enough ;)

So that's it! I think I did pretty well with these two bags. Can't wait to use all my new stuff! If you're interested in trying out Little Black Bag click here for a discount! I will also get a little something extra if you decide to try it out. Win-win!

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!