Monday, December 30, 2013

Day 140: Mon Dec 30th - Feet First

Day One Hundred Forty:  Feet First


Outta bed on my day off.  I "should've" sleep in, but my brain said no.  Too many things I want to accomplish, but first things first and that is all about my feet.  My feet take me down the stairs and out the door.  Jax and I hit the road and soar past the crunchy salt, un-shoveled sidewalks and through snow.  It's a brilliant morning, so pretty and not too cold.  My right hamstring is protesting a bit since my long run yesterday, but I ignore it by running gently and avoiding crazy hills. 




Luckily I don't have to run on the sidewalks very often...   because so many of them look like this :(



Sunday, December 29, 2013

Day 139: Sun Dec 29th - My Church

One Hundred Thirty-nine:   My Sunday Long Run.



This is my church. 
                                                                                             

This is the steeple.


   and the wilderness outside..............................


These are my people. 




well... technically they are horses and they aren't mine, but you get the point.

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Day 138: Sat Dec 28th - Should-ing on Regrets

Day One Hundred Thirty-eight: 
Should-ing on Regrets
 
 
It's not easy to let go of 'should've and 'regrets'.  They creep into my mind now and again.   I try to remind myself that I cannot hold onto what I think I should've done and regret what I didn't do.
For example, some thoughts that break my present moment...."I should have gone to a less expensive school." Westminster was a great experience and education, however that experience is not paying off in a monetary or timely manner.  Another should've that I do to myself at times is not having stayed with the dispatch job in Seattle. I really enjoyed the manner of work and my personality was a good fit for that type of job, plus the pay and the benefits were awesome. However, for a variety of reason I didn't.  Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy my job now in property management, but it is not always easy when you can't leave your job when you go home at night. It's always something and I'm constantly on-call.
"Should've stayed in Washington State...." that's a big one that flies in my face from time to time.  I miss it's beauty, diversity and most of all the trees, air and water.
 
SSCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!
(That is the sound my brain makes as I halt this type of nonsense thinking.)
 
Then I repeat and remember this......


 
 
 
 
 

Life is Beautiful and I am very fortunate. So once again I remind myself:.

"SHUT UP BRAIN!!!"

 Just enjoy, laugh and love. That is all it's about anyway.
Life is too short for regrets.
Namaste 
(((giggle)))
 



Day 137: Fri Dec 27th - Furby Deactivated

Day One Hundred Thirty-seven:  Furby Deactivated

The Furby has been deactivated.  By that I mean we took the batteries out. It seems incapable of staying off when we lay it down or hide it somewhere quiet. As cute as the little devil can be, it sure gets annoying fast and kind of freaky.

Went running after work today..... big mistake.  Not only were there a zillion cars zooming home from work, but the roads were icing up again since the sun was going down. Also I think I will need to invest in a gas mask for the growing inversion.

Didn't take a photo as it was too dark.  So I will leave you with this:






Thursday, December 26, 2013

Day 136: Thus Dec 26th - Furby Boom Bullshit

Day One Hundred Thirty-six:  
Boxing Day and Furby Boom Bullshit

Happy Boxing Day everyone!!!    ((googling boxing day))   Thank you Wikipedia. I learned something new today. If you are interested in boxing day and were uncertain, like myself... feel free to read this link.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxing_Day

Sweet Furby
As for Furby Booms.... if you are unfamiliar with what they are, consider yourself lucky. Don't even google the little monsters. They make gremlins seem like tame colorful sweet kittens.

It all started out with the damn fat man that came down the chimney (that we don't have) on Christmas Eve and granted my daughters wish for not one but TWO Furby Booms... one for each.  Opening them on Christmas morning they seemed tame enough. The girls were ecstatic.  We opened the fur balls from their coffin like box, inserted 4 AA batteries each and magically the little fuckers came to life.

First they chirped, chattered and burped, making funny sweet voices that had Siena and Izzy oohing and ahhing at their innocent darling personalities.  
15 minutes later, that innocent darling little voice(s) quickly exhausted my patience. The terms "little fuckers" was born when we realized they wouldn't stop talking furbish bullshit.   There is NO off button. After troubleshooting via Google again we learned that you can carefully put them to sleep if you lay them down in a quiet room where they will start to snore, eventually falling asleep. BUT if you accidentally make noise or start talking in the general vicinity of the little dears, their eyes open, they wake up and continue with their incessant loud chatter, singing, farting, talking, demanding.....

To make things worse... a short time later, Izzy dropped her furball and it went tumbling down the stairs. Suddenly it started speaking in a manly drunken voice, totally tripping out my youngest daughter.  We tried playing with it, taking it's batteries out and pushing the reset button.  Once alive again, the man voice was gone but the replacement was worse. The little furby fucker started speaking in a sassy, snotty, valley girl, God-damn-I-HATE-this-toy voice.  Izzy burst into tears saying she "I DON'T LIKE  THIS MEAN FURBY!!! WHY IS MY CUTE FURBY TALKING LIKE A DEVIL MEAN GIRL!!!!". 

Meanwhile, Siena's little bundle of joy continued to speak in soft little Furby chatter with sweet little sayings, giggles and hearts in her eyes. Her little Furby said "HI"  "Clouds look like bunny rabbits" "You're so funnnee" and sings in a little bird song voice. Almost seeming to act adorable.

Devil Furby, on the other hand, started to mutter sentences like " OH NO YOU DI..ENT..!!!."
in the sassiest voice possible and what I would assume to hear from a 3 year old Kardashian instead. At one point, we even thought we heard the little princess toy say "Ahhh shiiiiit..." in furbish and we all looked at each other, eyes wide in terror and amazement. 

After spending another half hour on Bing.com (screw Google... they weren't helping) we were able to figure out how to pet, hug, sing and calm the little shit back into a 'somewhat' sweeter version, however Izzy's Furby continues to be much louder and hyper than it's previous self. 

Who knew these little 'sweethearts' were actually bi-polar, multiple personality, unmedicated little shits.
Thanks Hasbro for helping Santa bring joy and peace to our little home. 

True Story.
Happy Boxing Day. 
Had a good run :)
DEVIL FURBY




Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Day 135: Wed Dec 25th Christmas Day

Day One Hundred Thirty-five:
Christmas Day

Beautiful day!  Bright blue skies, clean air and a great run w/ Jax after waking up at the crack of dawn, downing some coffee and watching the girls unwrap their Christmas presents.   I can honestly say I really wasn't in the mood to change out of my cozy pajamas, nor step away from the cookies for breakfast, but once I was outside it was well worth it.  Jax and I cruised along the quiet roads.  The trail was too crunchy with ice and snow so it was a road running kind of morning.  People were friendly waving as we ran by,  talking about the beautiful day and some saying Merry Christmas. 

                                                                                                         Merry Christmas!  

Day 134: Tues Dec 24th - Christmas Eve

Day One Hundred Thirty-four:  
Christmas Eve


Twas the day before Christmas...

I was too busy to blog today. 
But had a great run. 

Peace and Merry Christmas Eve.

Monday, December 23, 2013

Day 133: Mon Dec 23rd - Winter Wonderland

Day One Hundred Thirty-three:   
Winter Wonderland part 2.



Gorgeous views

As challenging as the snow pack can be to run on (at times), the beauty  is remarkable and well worth the effort and wobbly ankles.

Being that it was much warmer outside today, the roads on the way back were a bit on the slushy side, but overall a wonderful long run on my day off.

However, I need to find a better way to dry out my shoes.............. they are soaked! 

 





 







Day 132: Sun Dec 22nd - Recovery Day

Day On Hundred Thirty-two:  
Recovery day after a busy night.

------------------------------------------------------->
Yep.... that's me last night after a 'few' brown ales.   

Celebrated the evening at my employers company party.   Ate a bit (not enough), drank a bit (too much) and danced a bit.  The theme was casino night. I learned how to somewhat play roulette, though still quickly lost my chips.  It was a fun night.

Didn't fall asleep until 2:30am and woke up early. Needless to say, today's run was short and to the point. No pizazz. 


 

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Day 131: Sat Dec 21st - HOLY ICICLE

Day One Hundred Thirty-one: 
HOLY ICICLE!!
 
Another mushy road run, but it was lightly snowing and peaceful.
I took some panoramic shots, but I didn't save them correctly.
Came back then shoveled and salted my property complex. 
Now I'm defrosting and sipping coffee thinking of all the Christmas shopping we still have left to do.
 
"It's the most wonderful time of the year...."

Friday, December 20, 2013

Day 130: Fri Dec 20th - Snow, Snow, Snow, Snow and more Snow

Day One Hundred Thirty:  
Snow, snow, snow, snow, snow, snow, snow.

Another quick run. Only a couple miles today as the roads were challenging. My ankles were wobbling in the pressed snow that would give under my feet slightly, making the roadway unstable. It was like running in frozen slushy hard packed thick sand. So after a couple miles, I decided to call it a day.

It was pretty outside however, and not overly cold. The roads were empty for the most part, perhaps people decided to chill out at home today or go into work late.

Good news!  The air is clean and clear! Love it!


Day 129: Thurs Dec 19th - Freezing Rain and Snow Bombs

Snapped a photo of the
mini snow bombs
Day One Hundred Twenty-nine: 
A single snowflake. Wish
I had a good close up. The detail
was beautiful.
Freezing rain, snow pellet bombs and 15 hour power outage...


Fun couple miles despite being pelted with mini snow bombs. They were coming down fast for several minutes, stinging my face and hands before slowing letting up and turning into heavy snow flakes. Traffic was crawling and the roads were in bad shape.
Unfortunately I was not able to post this yesterday. There was a pole fire down the road that knocked off power for the next 15 hours. It was restored late last night.
It's amazing how much we rely on electricity. Makes me thankful and appreciate the luxury we have with lights, heat, etc... and the power company who worked their butts off yesterday to fix the damaged areas affected by the big storm. Thank you!




Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Day 128: Wed Dec18th - Forgotten Photo

Day One Hundred Twenty-eight: 
Forgotten Photo
 
I forgot to take a photo this morning.  I found this funny post and decided to use it instead.

 
Running!!

So true!

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Day 127: Tues Dec 17th - Icicles

One Hundred Twenty-seven (million) Icicles....
 
They are everywhere. Hanging from trees, fenceposts, car pipes, bushes, mailboxes, telephone poles, houses, barns, windows and even noses (especially if you have a drippy one when you are outside in the bitter cold).  Funny enough,  these two particular icicles waved to me this morning as I was going by. The sunlight cresting over the mountains hit them just right sending a shimmer of light that bounced off my sunglasses and I quickly took notice. How they sparkled as they started melting. Which got me to thinking.... Icicles are another great reminder of impermanence. They grow, drip away, grow again and one day are gone.  All life and things around us are impermanent. Therefore we must remind ourselves to stop, take a deep breath and notice.

 
Listen. Smell. See. Taste. Appreciate. Enjoy. Love.
 
 
To do these things is to carry it with you, even when they are gone.
Like my icicle friends.

Monday, December 16, 2013

Day 126: Mon Dec 16th - Busy Day

One Hundred Twenty-six:  
Quick and easy morning.... busy day.




Christmas is coming too soon!  I'm sure that sentiment is shared by many people who are bustling around getting ready, baking, wrapping and a million other things while also trying to enjoy the holidays and focus on the beauty of the season.
Was a little stiff from my long run yesterday, so kept it short and sweet, taking it easy this morning.
Muscles were a little tight but otherwise felt good. 
Now back from errands I think I will throw on a holiday movie and start making my homemade mini-meatballs and other goodies to freeze.  I think I love cooking more than running! If only I had a magic fairy to clean my kitchen when I'm finished. I'm a messy cook!
Yum. 

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Day 125: Sun Dec 15th - A Perfect Sunday Long Run

One Hundred Twenty-five: 
A perfect Sunday long run.

 

Frosty the snowman would have enjoyed this beautiful, sunny and cold day. The inversion, at least on the south end of the valley, let up a bit and the blue skies were nice to run under. The snow sparkled like millions of little diamonds. The solitude was peaceful. My fox friend scampered slowly across the snowy fields checking here and there, pouncing around and paying me no mind.  I started off  planning on my usual route, but nearly two hours later I found myself not wanting to stop running.  What better way to start off a Sunday morning. The sun, cool air, beautiful snow, fox, horses, a few dogs running around and quiet.  Afterwards a good breakfast, hot coffee and making homemade fudge with Siena and Izzy. I know I've said this before, but I love Sundays.

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Day 124: Sat Dec 14th A Sweet Day

Day One Hundred Twenty-four: A Sweet Day

yuck.

Air quality is extremely poor. Run was good, though I think that the air is the reason the back of my throat is irritated.  Afterwards took Siena for her annual Christmas shopping w/Mama day. We first stopped at Starbucks to use the gift card I won at my work meeting / craft day yesterday.  Siena tried her first Gouda cheese, bacon and egg Starbucks breakfast sandwich. To say she loved it is an understatement. After a strong cup of Christmas brew black coffee we headed back to our favorite bakery and indulged in some yummy treats. Of course we didn't eat them all, just couldn't decide - hence the diverse selection.  Found ourselves lost in time at the neatest little antique / vintage shop with excellent prices called Needful Things. We had so much fun exploring the shop and came away with several fun necklaces, bracelets for Izzy, vintage colorful glass candy bowl and glasses that I love and other treasures. It was a fun day! 

Friday, December 13, 2013

Day 123: Fri Dec 13th - A Wheezy Day

Day One Hundred Twenty-three:

Friday the 13th
A Wheezy Day.

What a beautiful sight. The mountains so majestic..... Errrrrrrrr wait. You can't SEE the mountains.

There are mountains somewhere behind this photo as well.  Foggy, mucky.... Inversion

On a good note. I only have to work 1/2 a day and get to have some Holiday fun with co-workers. 

I thought this was funny. Though I am not the least bit superstitious.



Thursday, December 12, 2013

Day 122: Thurs Dec 12th - My Peace and Therapy

Day One Hundred Twenty-two: 
My peace and therapy.
 
This is my peace, my quiet and my therapy. This is where my thoughts and feelings are filtered, processed and either discarded or put into action while my feet make an automatic rhythmic sound running below me on the frozen ground. 
This place is where my heart cries or sings with joy, without worry about appearing foolish or pitiful. 
When I start out in search of this place each morning, there are times I feel unsure, unwilling and sometimes fragile or lost. Sometimes I am just merely tired or have feelings of doubt or frustration. And yet other times I am neutral enjoying the solitude of the moment and excited to experience what is before me. 
But no matter how I start off when I come to this place,  I always leave feeling confident, sure, strong and happy.
 
This place is magic.
It is mine and with me always. 
I just need to remember.
 
 
 
 

 



Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Day 121: Wed Dec 11th - 1/3 Way There!

Day One Hundred Twenty-One:
1/3 Completed and finding the positive in the air.
 
Today marks 1/3 of the way toward my goal, not that I'm counting (yeah...right :) However, time feels like it's gone by pretty fast. Especially with the holidays and staying busy.  Not quite as cold this morning. Jax had fun and was bounds of energy.  He nearly knocked me flat in the snow once we got to the top of the hill where the snow was pretty deep. I'm pretty sure he thought the deeper snow meant it was play time and he bounced up and down trying to wrestle and chase me.  His head butted behind my knee and when I yelped in surprise and a twinge of pain, he settled back down with head held low, standing behind me with a pitiful look of sorry on his face.  Luckily I was fine and told him so, then we headed off running again. Silly dog.
 
Trying to find the bright side of the winter air is not easy, especially today.  I could literally taste the air when I first headed out. It tasted a mixture of burnt toast and exhaust. Once I got higher, it wasn't as bad.  
 
Positive:  ------------------------------>
 
The mucky air makes for pretty sunsets. This was taken last night.
 
 
 
 
 <-------------------------- Negative.
The bad air killed one of Santa's baby reindeer while she was out practicing her flying last night, and the wild dogs hiding in the trees carted off the body for dinner, 
Okay, not really. But from far away, this branch looked like an antler and that is the story my sleep deprived brain imagined as I was running.
 
Time for coffee.
 
 
 
 

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Day 120: Tues Dec 10th - What the fox DOESN'T say.

Day One Hundred-twenty:  
Rebel am I and what the fox doesn't say.

I will not continue to bitch about the cold, it serves no purpose to do so. But yep, it was cold again.
The fox(es) in the forest - who I still haven't heard say a word - obviously love the cold weather. I see them scurrying about, red bushy tails trailing behind them. Occasionally they will glance my way as if to say "what the hell are you doing here lady.."  At least that is what I imagine they are saying to themselves when I humanize them.  They are beautiful though. Much easier to see in contrast to the snow, still not easy to take a photo of however.  Funny enough, even their poop is a reddish / yellow and littered all around the path / trails.  I can hardly get mad at them for not picking up after themselves however. So to answer the question from my standpoint. The fox say absolutely nothing, but their thoughts are interesting and somewhat surprising to listen to.

I'm pretty sure this doesn't apply to me :)
 
 

Monday, December 9, 2013

Day 119: Mon Dec 9th - a letter to my Fairy Godmother

Day One Hundred-nineteen: 
 a short letter to my Fairy Godmother & fun day with Izzy

Dear Fairy Godmother, 
If you could help me out a bit, I would very much appreciate it.
Please sprinkle me with magic calming dust to help through life chaos, 
 and this dang bitter weather.
Also, if you wouldn't mind, could you turn one of my problems into a treadmill.
Nothing fancy, just something that will help
me avoid some morning runs in the frost biting cold.  
My nose and toes will thank you. 
xoxo

     
Winter is beautiful.
 


Izzy and I kicked off our annual Christmas shopping w/ mama day
 with a healthy nutritious breakfast from our favorite bakery - yum!!

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Day 118: Sun Dec 8th - Shoveling, salting, sledding and homemade spaghetti sauce.

Day One Hundred-eighteen:  
Shoveling, salting, sledding, running, shopping, 
& homemade spaghetti sauce and meatballs.  

Endless bags of salt.
Simmering for hours and smells so good!



















STAY WARM!!

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Day 117: Sat Dec 7th - Mr. Sandman... you're doing it wrong.

Day One Hundred-seventeen: 
Mr. Sandman.... you're doing it wrong.
 
It appears the Sandman was confused last night.  Instead of helping with sweet dreams and good sleep (of which I had zero), he spread sand throughout the streets.  Now while this was helpful for the roads this morning as they weren't near as slippery, it didn't help that I felt like a stumbling zombie. Bleary eyed, zoned out and oh so tired.
I am working on maybe 1-2 hours of sleep. If I can call it that. 
Not sure where my restlessness came from. We've all been there of course. So I won't grumble too much.
 
On a good note, it was not as cold this morning (20 degrees as opposed to 7). I'll take that. Much better than the past couple of days.  More snow on the way today however, so it looks like I will have a day of shoveling the property I manage. Fun! ((groan))
 
So now I'm amped up on coffee and kale smoothie. 
Should be an interesting day.    


Friday, December 6, 2013

Day 116: Fri Dec 6th - 11 Commandments

Day One Hundred-sixteen:   
 
 
11 Commandments (for Celeste) 
Running on Ice and Frozen Mornings

 
 


1.   Thou shalt not take thy Lords name in vain or use obscene profanity (OUT LOUD) when you venture outside in 7 degree weather. Especially in front of your neighbors. 

2.  Thou shall tie thy shoes:  Please make sure your shoes are tied well and not just pulled on and loose.  Oh and for Christ's sake... wear warm running socks and not those flimsy things that are cute, fluorescent with St. Patricks Day designs. Unless you like endless frozen toes.

3.  Thou shalt not leave your scarf at home...... again. This, my dear Celeste, is helpful to bind around your face / neck as needed. You may want to invest in a ski mask to help your face from freezing off. Scratch that. You run the risk of looking like a feeling criminal.So just use the scarf and continue wearing your hat. Don't worry, the numbness on your face will wear off.

4.  Thou shalt not fall, slip or trip. Stay on the crunchy road, but not the large chunks of plowed snow boulders on the side of the road  - with their jagged peaks and deep crevices - unless you'd like a good ankle sprain. Stay on parts of the road that were previously flattened  by trucks with good treads and that are now frozen stiff. This will provide decent traction and is much less slippery than the slushy, salty areas and it sounds pretty cool to run on.


5.  Thou shalt not trust shiny blacktop roads. STAY CLEAR! 
The devil put them there. 
<-----------------------------------------------------------------


6. Thou shall run on Sunday (and everyday) regardless of cold.  This is your church I giveth to you.


7. Thou shalt not envision a mishap to befall those who drive past you as fast as possible, spraying you with fine particles of ice and snow, despite the fact that you are hugging the edge of the street to give them plenty of clearance.  Bastards!


8. Thou shalt not accidently pitch yourself off the trail head cliff by going too fast or slipping. -------------->
BE CAREFUL!
                                                 I'm not ready for you here.



9. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbors warm house as you shiver running by.  Ignore the smell of the fireplace and the warm glow of lights. Damned be to those who cook bacon the moment you are passing by, that is just cruel.


10. Thou shalt not shower in HOT water while you are defrosting.
It will sting.

11. Thou shalt not complain when you get up and do it all again tomorrow. It was your idea. Dummy.






Thursday, December 5, 2013

Day 115: Thurs Dec 5th - "It's a marshmallow world..."

Day One Hundred-fifteen:    "It's a marshmallow world..." 


As silly as it may sound, listening to Dean Martin Christmas album on my mp3 while running in 9 degree temperatures, helps me forgot how bitter cold it is.  I find it impossible to be in a bad mood listening to him sing Marshmellow World.  It lightens my (careful) footfalls across the frozen ice and snow carpeting the roads and feels like dancing.
I can't resist branching off and sinking again in the snow path above the usual rocky trail, it's so pretty and peaceful.  No cars, no people.... just me, the snow, footprints of numerous animals who live in this little forest hideaway scurrying about and Marshmellow World. 
I challenge you.
Try listening to this song and not feel happy
      (or crave some sort of warming cocktail). 
 Happy frosty holidays :)

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Day 114: Wed Dec 4th - Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Day One Hundred-fourteen:

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Pretty, icy and cold.  It was 11 degrees (according to my phone app) this morning. 
Running is a funny thing. It's somewhat like a box of unmarked chocolates that you eat a piece from each morning....you don't know exactly what you're gonna get.
I never know when I am going to feel like a warrior or when I am going to feel like a weenie.
I'm happy to report that today was a warrior kind of morning. I ran by myself, making Jax stay home as there were too many sharp ice fragments on the road along with loads of salt. Running by myself was a nice change however. I received a few funny looks from people scraping ice and snow off their cars, or driving to work. A couple waved and smiled.  The trail, which had disappeared into a sea of white fluff, was like running through frozen snow quicksand, but it worked my butt off even harder than normal and that felt great!   Stay warm!

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Day 113: Tues Dec 3rd - "Oh the weather outside is frightful..."

Day One Hundred-thirteen -
"Oh the weather outside is frightful...."
 
 
Beautiful run, but a bit on the chilly side. ;)   
Jax was psyched!  I let him take off on the trail and he pranced and jumped around in the snow like a puppy seeing it for the first time. Sprinting ahead, burying his nose in the fresh snow, shaking off his fur, sliding around the icy spots and sprinting ahead once again. So fun!  I love fresh snow.  Not only is it peaceful and pretty to look at, fresh snow has good traction to run on.  Certainly a lot less slippery than the slush, ice or parts on the road.  Though I might need to waterproof my shoes... they were soaked by the time we made it back home. I wonder if they make Ugg running shoes??!  They should!  
 
 
Jax looking down the trail. I wonder what he is thinking?