Big Bear

About a month ago (yes, I’m that behind) we went skiing with friends for the weekend at Big Bear, California.  We were able to go on VBRO (yes, another plug, but I love them) and find a cabin for a big group and our dogs.  It was a quick weekend trip, but such a good time.  It had everything that a ski weekend getaway needed – good friends, good food, good drinks, a warm fireplace, old games, and heated blankets.

 

Here is our Big Bear weekend…

Getting comfortable

The boys and our very old version of Trivial Pursuit

Crackling fire

The girls

Pre-slopes

We were hit by a snowstorm - made for interesting skiing

Cheers

Comfy clothes, good beer, good friends

Cards and drinks - great way to end the night!

Life according to

Instagram.  We have been busy lately.  And here is what we have been doing...

 paper hearts.

reading. coronado ferry.

birthday starbucks. ferry ride.

wine. more wine.

chocolate cake. almond champagne.

birthday cake. celebration.

valentine's day.

bottlecraft. my loves.

sadie. beer.

date night. the neighborhood.

Carlsbad 1/2 Marathon

Since I'm on a jogging blog kick, I'm going to run with it (that only made me laugh, I know!).  A couple of weeks back I actually ran the Carlsbad 1/2 marathon.  I was pretty quiet about it here on the blog, because up until crossing the start line, I wasn't sure I was going to go through with it.  Matt and Sadie were good sports and actually went on all of my long training runs with me.  This dominated the majority of our Sunday mornings.  Don’t worry - I rewarded them with homemade blueberry muffins and Milkbones. 

I have run a couple of 1/2 marathons before and this was one of my favorites (mostly because I got to hear the waves almost the entire time.)  I never know what kind of running day it is going to be until the first couple of steps.  Sometimes my legs feel light and my body just wants to run; sometimes my legs feel heavy and my body just wants to head to the local coffee shop and eat bagels and drink chocolate milk.  Luckily, race day was a good running day.  I came within one minute of my personal best - 2:00:50 (my personal best is 1:59).  During the run, I had no idea that I was getting close to breaking my PR.  If I had known, I would have pushed myself just a little harder (just 51 seconds harder).  But considering that I had no intention of even coming close to that time, I was still pretty happy with my time.  I give all the credit to Britney Spears for providing me with awesome running music that kept me pumped the entire time.

So the next question is - to train for a full marathon or not?  We shall see...

Don't we just look ecstatic to be up and running so early!

The view from my run 

Maybe the reason that I didn't make my PR was because I was busy taking pictures instead of running...hmmmm....

We did it!

My nurse

My rewards for running

Run, Casey, Run

For as long as I can remember, running has been an important part of my life.  It started with travel soccer.  I wasn’t the best soccer player, but I could run.  I basically relied on kicking the ball as far down the field as possible and chasing after it.  Fast forward to high school where the majority of my time was spent training for indoor and outdoor track meets.  If I wasn’t training for them then I was selling Krispy Kreme donuts to raise money for the track team.  I hit a minor running snag freshman year of college when I decided to forego running and instead dedicated myself to eating those Krispy Kreme donuts that I had previously been selling.  Twenty pounds later and I decided that it might be a good time to put back on the running shoes.

I remember that when I was in college and would call my parents with my latest crisis (car problems, boy problems, money problems, etc) and my dad would answer the phone and listen to me cry, he would quickly say, “Go for a run.  You will feel better.”  And I would (not so sweetly) say back, “You don’t know what you are talking about, Dad!  How is running supposed to make me feel better?!  Put Mom on the phone!”  Now that I am older and much wiser (right, Dad) I would have to say that he actually did know what he was talking about the entire time.  Don’t they always.  I realize now that one of the first things that I do when I have a problem, or am stressed, or need a break from everything, is to go for a run.  I calm down and think clearer; I listen to good music and remind myself that life is short and I would be crazy not to enjoy every moment; I feel good about myself and the fact that while I can’t always fix everything – I can run. 

With everything that has happened over the past couple of years in my life, running has helped me.  I have run on the city streets of Arlington, Virginia and Washington DC, the beaches of Corpus Christi, Texas, the suburban neighborhoods of Milton, Florida, and now on the harbor in San Diego, California.  I have discovered that while I am excited to run with a running partner, I prefer to run alone.  I cherish that time to myself.  I have discovered that my ultimate favorite time to run is the early morning.  I get up before the sun has risen and join my other morning running friends.  Or at least that is what I have come to think of the early risers that I see each morning, feeling an immediate bond with anyone else that is out exercising with the moon. 

I take my time.  I stop and look around and wonder what the day will bring.  I smile.

And since this is such an important part of my life, I wanted to share it with you.  Here are some pictures that I took on one of my runs last week.

(True confession: These were taken on an evening run.  Sometimes I enjoy sleeping in!)

Ready to hit the road...

 

This is the hardest part of the run.  What a tease...

Love the helicopter in this pic!

My favorite statue

USS Midway

February...FINALLY!

So as I mentioned, we've really been hunkered down here in NJ. Lots of work, dinner, tv...the daily grind.  January has seemed so long to me...maybe it's been the up and down weather, "do I wear my down sleeping bag like jacket or a light khaki trench coat?" or maybe just so much happened in January that I couldn't wait things to settle down and for the month to be over.  One January event that's cringe-worthy is that we had to fire our dog walker!  I couldn't believe it.  I found out (b/c i was working from home) that he only took Cole out for 10 mins and charged us for 30...which is more than our NYC dog walker charged us for a 30 min walk.  All he was doing was letting him pee...probably just once!  It's like finding out your babysitter just watches tv while your kids do whatever...frustrating.

I'm working on some on going projects currently...shopping for pillows for our new couch, trying to keep our dog off the new couch, finding different sized but same color baskets for a storage shelf, and getting our wedding pictures made into an album.  None are going great and all are a lot of trouble...haha.  Thought I'd write a little bit since these random projects are a nice reprieve from my job which has become very busy again. 

Shopping for new pillows for our couch...looking for brighter, blues and greens with diamond or damask pattern...I am always in fear of being too neutral.  I'll probably going to go with 3 different patterns pillow types of different sizes to mix it up.

our couch...



inspiration...

Trying to keep Cole off the new couch...he's a genius dog, I swear.  He knows exactly how to get around any barricade and quitely sleep on the couch...then he slinks off and lays on his bed in the morning so that it doesn't look like he was never there...too bad his hair is some serious evidence!  We have been using baby gates, computers, chairs (yes kitchen table chairs), work bags, the ottoman as a blocking device, anything!  Yet he still finds a tiny space to squeeze his large body into.  So guess what...I bought a alarm system!  Nick didn't agree, but I convinced him that it has gone on too long and I'm tired of setting up the fort every night.  I bought "Tattle Tale" motion alarms.  We stuck them in between the cushions and when he gets up on them they let out a loud squealing beeeeeeeeep.  Apparently last night it worked, because Nick heard him jump up, the alarm went off, then he jumped down.  This morning there was minimal hair evidence...so far so good!  Keep your fingers crossed that this conditions him that the couch is an evil, beeping thing.

Cole...sneaky dog in the 6 inches of snow we got 2 weeks ago.

The storage shelf baskets are a big undertaking...I have looked at a lot of stores (online) and even though they might have 3, 4, or 5 baskets that all look the same and come in different sizes, they aren't the right sizes for my cubby holes. I'm starting to think that I may have to get custom baskets made??  Any advice or ideas?!

the goal...

the piece we have to work with...

The wedding album is a story I'll spare you from...I'm just having a hard time narrowing down 1300 pictures to 150 for an album...

Little bit of a pick-me-up...we headed into the city last weekend to shop around, eat at some favorite spots, and meet up with our old neighbors for dinner.  Very fun and the weather was great for walking around thecity.  I'll leave you with a picture of the pizza we ate....I swear there's nothing better than NY pizza.