Oops.

I'm soooo bad about blogging lately! Summer is just so busy. I'll do my best to play catch up soon!
Right now, I need to tell you about July's Stridebox. I was a little not so excited about June since there were a few things we'd already seen. Well I feel terrible about even mentioning that because July's box was amazing!

Look how much stuff is in there! This month was focused on hydration and it was perfect timing here in New England. We've had I think four heat waves already with temps over 90 and heavy humidity. I'm not gonna lie, I haven't done much running in that.
But before we get to the awesome hydration part, let's look at the other items:

The Guide

A new brand of gel to try! I haven't tried this yet, but I'm sure I will soon!

This is that fancy tape you see the volleyball players wearing in the olympics. I've never tried it, but am super curious about it. 

Um. This is AMAZING. Seriously. See how it says apple pie? Yep, it tastes like that. I may need to buy more of these.

Ok,  here's where it gets fun:

I was excited to see this little easy to carry bottle. But I had no idea how many items were packed inside!

A second guide! Seriously, that's how much stuff was in the bottle.

Look at all of that! I haven't used these yet, but I definitely plan to. Hydration is super important this time of year!

So that's that! Pretty impressive Stridebox this month! I'm definitely keeping this sub going for awhile.

These Mondays keep sneaking up on me...

I'm not sure where this weekend went... It was kind of a split weekend for me, since I had to work Friday. Maybe that's why it went so fast!
Thursday was July 4th. 'Merica's b-day! So most people do things like drink beers, go swimming, BBQ. But we all know I'm nothing like most people. I got up early and ran a 4 mile road race with my friend Katie right in my own little town! (Check out Katie's blog here).
This is us pre-race:

See how happy and not sweaty we look? That didn't last long. It was already over 80 degrees at 8 am and we won't even discuss the humidity. Now I'd like to point out, I am merely discussing the weather, NOT COMPLAINING! I am fully aware that because of how much I HATE WINTER, I cannot ever complain about heat. (Though I think it's fair to complain about humidity. It's awful when it's hot OR cold.) This lovely 4 mile tour through our small town is very pretty, fortunately somewhat shady, and UNfortunately VERY hilly. Ugh. I hate hills almost as much as winter. But not quite. I mean, at least hills are good for me in the long run (get it? See what I did there?) Due to the weather and the hills... This is us after:

(We accumulated some more friends along the way. Well before really, and then they found us again after. Details...) Notice we are soaking wet and the smiles are much smaller. But we finished! I have to give HUGE props to Katie for running with me the whole time. This race was a struggle for me and my old lady legs. I even walked a bunch. Katie was feeling great, but stayed with me anyway. So nice of her! Nothing worse than a rough, lonely run. Definitely helps to have a buddy by your side! Also a huge help are all the neighbors who had hoses and sprinklers going for the runners to cool off with along the route. I love living in my small town and all of the camaraderie you see.
I already mentioned I had to work Friday, so not to much to discuss there. Work, work, work. Fortunately, after a surprisingly busy morning, it did quiet down, and I got to leave at 4 to go ride. Yay!
Saturday was more horse show fun for me! It was still very hot, so I decided that I would just take Jamp to the horse show. Rio is getting up there in years and doesn't do very well in the hot weather so he got a reprieve. Jampy, though, is in his prime; he can handle anything! He was such a super boy Saturday, but I was a little off my game. We ended up with lower ribbons in all of our classes:

For those not in the know... yellow is third, white fourth, and green sixth

I checked the mail when I got back from the horse show and found these photos had arrived from the Saratoga show in June:

Rio being perfect

Jampy also being perfect

They are just the cutest, aren't they? Love them so much.
So after checking the mail, Ducky got a schooling ride from my trainer (which was long overdue!) and he was great! Then I cleaned the stalls and rode Rio... Phew, long day!
And finally... SUNDAY! I've been looking forward to my Sunday off for weeks now. WEEKS! I got up at 7 to feed the horses and clean stalls, and then had the whole rest of the day for ME! Well mostly anyway. After barn chores, I went to the farmer's market in town. Once again, I was reminded how great it is to live in a small town. Fresh grown veggies from local farmers? Yes please! Not only that, but my favorite breadmaker was there, and I even got some fancy cheese! I know it's fancy because it's really expensive. And delicious. Mmmm, cheese.
Post farmer's market, I checked on the ponies and then jumped in my pool for a swim. So nice to finally use it! P joined me for a bit too:

After relaxing poolside for about an hour, I got a call that my vet was nearby and could stop by for a little maintenance Jamp has been needing. What good timing is that?! Perfect! So we did that, and then I tackled laundry and house straightening. All in all, a very productive, yet relaxing Sunday. Ahhhh. So nice!
How did you all spend your weekend? Do anything fun? Relaxing? Crazy? I hope whatever you did was as relaxing yet productive as my weekend!

Still playing catch up!

I bet you were all like what happened to Ophelia's Apothecary this month? Did the amateur unsubscribe?! Fear not, my readers, fear not. I just haven't gotten around to posting. So here goes!
I didn't bother with a before opening photo, but here's a just out of the box photo:

I'm always super excited to see what's inside. Ophelia does a great job of picking things to match your profile and once again, she's spot on!

This is a loose powder eye shadow in a sparkly whitish color. Gorgeous!

This is a rollerball scent called Summer '13. I LOVE it. It smells like summer in a tube. Seriously.

Green scrubby mitt! I use a lot of body wash and am always wanting to replace my scrubby ( I mean you can  only use them for so long before, well... EW) So I loved getting this one. And I love green, all shades. Win-win!

I forget the actual scent of this soap sample, but it smells great. And all of Ophelia's soaps are non greasy feeling. Another love!

Ok so you all probably don't know me that well. But I really think Ophelia knows me very well... I often joke that people invite me to BBQ's and outdoor events simply because they need bug control. Mosquitoes LOVE me. Love. Seriously. I went mini golfing the other night and came home with 11 bites.  11. And they all itch. So Ophelia included BUG SPRAY in the box this month. Yes, that's right, homemade, natural bug spray. I really wish I'd had it with me for the putt putt outing...

And now for my FAVORITE part of the box. You all know of my love of arm candy. So it's not shocking that I LOVE this wrap bracelet. It's hard to tell in the pictures but it has an adorable little butterfly charm on it. Also it's a really nice shade of purple which didn't photograph very well.

 So as per the norm, Ophelia's Apothecary sent an AMAZING high value box. I really love the products, especially that everything is homemade. OH! I nearly forgot, I didn't do an individual pic for some reason, but you can see way back in the beginning of my post there was a bubble ring! Go ahead and scroll back up to see, I'll wait......
See it? Adorable right? How fun for summer! So nostalgic to blow bubbles outside.
As per the norm, I LOVE LOVE LOVE this sub!
Want to try it? You really should. It's 15.00 per month and you get so much for the money. Go visit Ophelia's Apothecary on Facebook to sign up. Tell her Stacie from an Amateur at Large sent you. If four of my lovely readers sign up, I get a free month! Yay! And should you sign up four people you'll get a free one too!

June Stridebox!

Ugh, sorry for being so behind this month! I've already used most of this month's Stridebox and am pretty sure July's will be here soon! Hopefully I'll be more on top of things for July in general. So without further babble, let's see the goods:

I love the logo sticker :)

Info Card front

Info card back

This is a must for long distance!

I actually haven't tried this yet, but I'm kind of excited to. I'm intrigued by these squeezy bottle things.

I was a little disappointed about this one as we've gotten them before. But it is a nice product so no real complaints!

These are GREAT for a quick pick me up mid run. They're easy to eat and taste pretty good!

Another repeat. But it's been super hot, so I was actually really excited to get another one.

ANOTHER repeat. I got yellow laces last time, so i guess they're a little different. But <<confession>>  I haven't actually used the yellow ones yet...

The extras: some stickers and additional info

I saved the best for last! I'm always wanting, no NEEDING a good foot rub after running. But alas, I live alone and have no one to rub my feet. Well welcome home little Foot Rubz! This little ball of awesomeness is probably my most favorite Stridebox product EVER!

Seriously, you should go get one of these. It's happiness in a ball.

So there it is! June's Stridebox. It probably would not have been my favorite box due to all the repeat items. I mean the whole point is to try new things, right? But that little green ball of foot happiness definitely made me happy with June.
Like what you see? Want to try it out? Go visit Stridebox and sign up for next month!

Monday already?!

Happy Monday everyone! I had an exhausting pony filled weekend once again. But it was a great one!
Saturday was spent cleaning stalls, riding, and bathing horses. Because on Sunday, I took Jamp and Rio to a horse show near the farm. I LOVE nearby horse shows! Especially this one because we did really well:

What good boys I have! Fortunately, the classes went first thing, so the horses and I were home by 2 to take care of Ducky and unpack the trailer. I gave the Duckman the day off. I had to get up at 4 to have the other two braided in time for the show, and I was pooped! I think he appreciated it though:

I had all kinds of plans to get a four mile run in this weekend, but that wasn't meant to be. There just don't seem to be enough hours in the day! Tomorrow morning will be a 3 miler with hills though, and Thursday is the Chester Rotary Four on the Fourth! It's a tough race, 4 miles of nonstop hills. Ugh. Sometimes I wonder why I do these things... Then I remember: I love eating.
What did all of you do this weekend? Anything fun? Exciting? Yummy?

I'm Baaa-aaack!

Did you miss me??
I've been all kinds of busy with some home remodeling:

work:

and horse shows:

 Sadly my poor little blog has gone unloved. But I'm back and ready to post away!
This one will be a short shameless post about a website I joined a few months ago. It's called Little Black Bag and it is a black hole for time and money. And yet I cannot step away.
So here's how it works. If you wish to be VIP, you get charged 9.95 a month to be a member. You then get a $10.00 credit to apply to something you'd like to buy. You also get an extra discount and sometimes special deals only for members. Whether or not you become VIP, if you want to open a bag, you pick an item you want to buy that's deeply discounted from the actual retail cost (prices are on par with Marshall's or TJ Maxx). You can buy just that item, or you can choose to bundle. If you bundle it's an extra ten dollars or so (sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less depending on the item) and you get up to 3 "stylist picks" along with the item you chose. Now here's where the addiction comes in. After you open your bag (buy your item) you have up to 7 days to trade away whatever you don't like for something you love. I opened one bag with a purse that cost 29.99 (plus 5.95 shipping) and wound up with 3 purses and a necklace. I haven't always been THAT successful, but still, that's pretty good!
Here are some of the items I've gotten from Little Black Bag:

Cute right?! They are all name brands. So anyway, here's my shameless plug. If you want to try it out for a month use this link: http://lbb.ag/q1XV You'll get 25% off your first purchase, and I'll get a free item in my next bag after you ship yours. Click away my friends, I LOVE free stuff! Plus once you join, you can refer your own friends and get free stuff. Win win! Also important to note, there are items available in all kinds of price ranges, so it doesn't have to be an expensive endeavor. Unless you get addicted like me....

Rainy Friday

 Sorry I haven't posted all week! I've been a little busy at work and the horses, and just didn't have the chance to organize a post. But I have some time now! Sit down, grab a coffee, and enjoy!

 This past weekend I FINALLY got to take Jamp to a small horse show in preparation for our upcoming trip to Saratoga to show. We went to Mystic Valley to show in the Adult Equitation division and the medal classes. Being an unrated horse show, the turnout was small, so the medals didn't have enough people to run the classes. But the regular classes filled. Jampy was PERFECT! He didn't even try to murder me when an entire flock of geese flew up in front of us! Good boy Jampy!
Speaking of fowl... Monday brought some excitement when an enormous crow (or Pterodactyl if you ask Ducky) flew up in front of us while riding in the evening. Ducky ducked left (THAT must be where he got his name!) and bolted, but upon seeing he was running at a jump, proceeded to duck right instead. I was clinging like a champ until the second direction change. Ouch:

Now that I'm old, these unplanned dismounts take a little longer to recover from! Thus, no running for me this week. My legs were SORE from the attempted hanging on, and when I fell, I landed on my large belt buckle, leaving a bit of hematoma on my left love handle... (My riding pants are side-zip, hence my belt buckle is on the side). Wounded warrior for a few days, I was! Thankfully though, back in fighting shape today. If it would only stop raining, I'm ready to go for a run and get a little exercise (other than riding of course).

In other news, I'm ridiculously excited about a new pair of shoes that arrived at my house this week.... I can't remember if I blogged about my amazing handbag I got on ebay... Did I? This one:

 It's an Elliott Luca. I LOVE it. It's like a family member.
Well anyway, I've recently joined the VIP program at Little Black Bag. (It's an addiction, hide your credit cards!) The deal there is, for 9.95 a month you can be a VIP. You get a $10.00 credit and additional discounts on items each month for being VIP. At Little Black Bag, you can buy single items, or you can choose to buy a bundle. If you bundle, you get the item you'd like to buy plus up to three other items. Once you've completed your purchase, you have a week to trade your items with other members. After that week your bag ships to you. It's really pretty fun, and if you play your cards right, you can wind up with some great deals! One caveat though, shipping takes FOREVER! So be prepared to wait awhile to get your stuff. Sorry to ramble. But I found these shoes from Mia Girl on there:

They aren't quite as nice as the handbag as they aren't leather or actually woven, but that's pretty close! And they weren't expensive at all so that's even better. Regardless, they match so well! Highlight of my work week for sure.
Well, that's about it from here... I hope you all have a great weekend! I shall leave you with a photo of these gorgeous flowers blooming outside my bedroom window: