Weekend Getaway to Virginia’s Eastern Shore

Posted in Trips by Annie T

This morning it snowed (AGAIN!!) but as I type this huddled next to our propane stove I am thinking of the warm, sunny, amazing weekend that Matt and I just spent with our friends in the quaint seaside town of Cape Charles on Virginia’s Eastern Shore.

We drove down to Cape Charles on Friday afternoon and checked into Cape Charles Blue, a cool boutique hotel with exposed brick walls and super high ceilings. Then we walked down the little main street to Kelly’s Gingernut Pub, a great restaurant/bar in a converted bank that dates back to 1907. We ate in the old bank vault and the food was delicious… I had bangers and mash (yum!!!) and Matt had a rich shepherd’s pie with lamb and beef. In addition to excellent food Kelly’s also had 10+ beers on tap which made it the perfect place to hang out with our friends the next day.

That’s where Cape Charles is

Cape Charles Blue hotel

Matt is happy after a great dinner

Our room at Cape Charles Blue

Eastern Shore sunset on our drive down

On Saturday we woke up to perfect blue skies and amazing temperatures in the mid-60s. After the insanely cold winter we’ve been having in Pennsylvania it felt like we had traveled to an exotic tropical island! I went for a run that I had intended to be around 4 miles, but I felt invigorated by the great weather (and the total lack of hills) so I kept on running until I hit 6 miles. I paused a few times to take photos of the beach and fishing pier. What a beautiful day!!!

Saturday morning run

Cape Charles Pier

After my run we joined our friends at Kelly’s for drinks before hopping on a chartered minibus and heading up to nearby Machipongo, Virginia for the weekend’s main event – the Barrier Island Center’s Annual Oyster Roast. The Oyster Roast is an all-you-can-eat oyster and clam fest that benefits the Center’s mission of protecting and preserving the history of Virginia’s barrier islands. And when I say all you can eat, I mean it! There were huge metal counter-height tables set up on a grassy lawn and the caterers continuously delivered perfectly roasted, steaming hot oysters and clams to the tables by the bushel-full (or maybe by the half-bushel-full… either way it was a lot of mollusks!) We crowded around the tables with little containers of melted butter and cocktail sauce and ate oysters as fast as we could. They were delicious!

That’s Matt shucking an oyster in the photo above. I was a little hesitant about using the oyster knife so Matt opened my oysters for me. Luckily the clams were already steamed open so I could eat those while I waited. 🙂

After a late post-Oyster-Fest night at Kelly’s we woke up to another unseasonably warm day on Sunday. Matt and I went on an easy 3 mile run around town before joining a few of our friends for breakfast and saying our goodbyes. 5 hours of driving later we returned home to our snow-covered yard and cold temperatures which was a bummer, but at least we got to enjoy two days of spring-like bliss in Virginia!

18Feb2014

Easy Shrimp Scampi with Linguine

Posted in Recipes by Annie T

Every once in a while a recipe comes along that is so delicious and so easy to make that I know that I must blog about it the moment the meal is done. Recipes that made it onto this blog the night of their consumption include my Mexican Pizza, Trader Joe’s style Eggplant Parm, and our Las Vegas-inspired Guacamole-Chiptole Burgers… I just couldn’t wait until the next day to share them! Well, after tonight’s dinner a new recipe is joining that elite list: Ina Garten’s 25-minute Shrimp Scampi with Linguine. Doesn’t it look fantastic??

The concept is simple: Sauté garlic in melted butter and stir in a pound of shrimp until just cooked through. Then mix in freshly squeezed lemon juice, lemon zest, and fresh chopped parsley. Toss with a generous portion of linguine, serve with crusty garlic bread and Voila! the perfect simple-yet-sophisticated weeknight meal is born.

The Food Network advertises this Shrimp Scampi as the perfect “Make-It-Together” meal for Valentine’s Day, but it’s totally possible to throw it together on any old weeknight like we did. Oh, and you’ll even have time to blog about it afterwards if you want! 🙂

Shrimp Scampi with Linguine (from the Food Network’s Ina Garten; serves 3)

You will need…
Olive Oil
1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons Salt
1 pound Linguine
3 tablespoons Butter
4-5 cloves Garlic, minced
1 lb. Shrimp (we used ‘large’ shrimp, about 31/lb.), peeled and deveined
1/4 teaspoons Ground Black Pepper
1/3 cup chopped Parsley
Zest from 1/2 large Lemon
1/4 cup Lemon Juice (approx. 1/2 large Lemon)
1/2 Lemon, sliced into 1/8″ half-rounds
1/4 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
Crusty Garlic Bread Crisps, Optional (drizzle olive oil on garlic bread slices and broil for 5 minutes)

Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil then add in about a tablespoon of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of the salt and the linguine. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Meanwhile, melt the butter and 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pan over medium-low heat. Add the minced garlic and saute for one minute or until the smallest garlic bits are just starting to brown. Add the shrimp, remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and black pepper and saute for about 5 minutes until the shrimp have just turned pink. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the parsley, zest, lemon juice, lemon slices and crushed red pepper.

Drain the cooked pasta, then return to the pasta pot and gently stir in the shrimp mixture. (I’d recommend using a spatula to scoop every last bit of flavorful garlic and parsley out of the shrimp pan!). We served our shrimp scampi with crusty, crispy garlic bread. Enjoy!

10Feb2014

February’s Icy Start

Posted in Adventures at Home by Annie T

On December 1st Matt and I bought a charming little decorative sign that cheerfully proclaimed “LET IT SNOW!” We hung the sign in our kitchen and since then our town has received over 3 1/2 feet of snow, resulting in 5 snow days and 2 late openings and early closings at work. Coincidence? I think not.

Last Wednesday’s ice storm was the season’s most disruptive storm by far (as of today, at least!). After a snow storm on Monday weighed down our trees with 7-8″ of heavy, wet snow, a wintry mix arrived late Tuesday night and coated everything in a thick layer of ice. We lost power in the middle of the night (along with 620,000 other PECO customers!) and the only sounds we could hear when we woke up were the violent cracks of tree branches snapping under the weight of snow and ice. Look at our sad, sad pine trees…

Healthy, happy pine trees

Pine Tree damage in the ice storm

SAD ice-covered trees!

In addition to the extensive pine tree damage we also lost half a tree in our front yard as well as several large branches. My mom’s yard fared even worse… Matt and I had to remove a tree from her driveway (before / after) in order to get to her house and upon our arrival we discovered her once-beautiful weeping willow tree had uprooted under the weight of the ice and was keeled over on its side in the snow.

It wasn’t all bad, though. My mom and stepfather have a generator so our whole family ended up at their house for the day. We spent our ice storm day chatting, drinking coffee, and completing a huge 1000 piece puzzle before enjoying a yummy dinner together. On Wednesday night Matt and I received word from our neighbors that our power was back on (woohoo!!!) so after our day of fun we were able to go home and gratefully enjoy heat, running water, and internet. 🙂

Here are some photos that I took on Wednesday during the ice storm. Brr…

Goose in flight

Goose across the ice

Canadian Goose

I disturbed this goose in my mom’s pond

Matt and I contemplated taking down our Let It Snow sign today but decided to leave it up a little longer. We’ll see if it’s still hanging in the kitchen after the storm that’s forecasted to hit us on Thursday… 8-12″ of snow!!! What a winter!

3Feb2014

Athlete’s Closet Run for Love 5K

Posted in Race Recaps by Annie T

Matt and I ran the third race in the Athlete’s Closet Winter Series on Saturday. Following the loss of our beautiful pup, Bailey, on Thursday night, we decided that we still wanted to race but we were also feeling completely emotionally and physically drained. As a result, the race didn’t feel particularly good, but it was definitely good for us to get outside and run.

My brother Billy (or “Bill” as he likes to be called now that he’s an adult!!) wasn’t planning on running with us but he decided last minute that he’d come and run with me for support. We all wore our “The Little GSP” t-shirts in memory of Bailey and, true to his word, Billy kept pace with me throughout the entire race. I told him at the start that he should tell me to go faster when I was plodding up the (many) hills on the course, so he did and I think it made me go a little faster.

Despite Billy’s best efforts, this was not a stellar race for Matt and me. We both finished within seconds of each other in the 26:02-ish range which is 2+ minutes off of Matt’s target time and at least 45 seconds slower than I was aiming for. At least I was able to finish strong AND I have photographic proof of it! With a few hundred feet to go I started sprinting and my step-father captured this photo. I think this may be the first photo of me in a 5K where I look like I’m actually running! (Usually I’m mid-stride with a painful expression on my face!)

Here are my RunKeeper stats for the race. Again, nothing too impressive but, considering the circumstances, not terrible either. The weather was beautiful (35° and sunny) and we had a great cheering section in the form of my brother’s girlfriend Suzanne, my mom, and my step-father. It was really nice of them all to come out to support us… thanks guys!!!

Our next race will be the Pickle Run in Ridley Creek State Park on February 15th. I’ve heard great things about the Pickle Run Series (they’re super fun AND they’re predictive, meaning that the winner is the one who most accurately predicts their time in advance!) and it should be really neat to finally run a race on our “home” course at the park. I’m looking forward to it!

Miles since last post: 75.3
Days since last post: 15
Avg. Daily Miles since 7/18/13: 4.87
2014 TOTAL MILES: 166.9

Related Posts:
• Athlete’s Closet January 5K (1/4/14)
• New Year’s Eve 5K at the YMCA (12/31/13)
• Athlete’s Closet December 5K (12/14/13)
• Turkey Trot 5K (11/28/13)
• Let’s Go Streaking! (11/21/13)
• Trinity Presbyterian 5K (11/2/13)
• Oy Vey 5K (10/27/13)
• Fueled Up & Fired Up 5K (10/19/13)
• Run-A-Muck 5K (9/22/13)
• The Challenge Begins: 100 Mile iPad Mini Challenge (7/23/13)

31Jan2014

In Loving Memory of Bailey, our Little GSP

Posted in Bailey by Annie T

Matt and I lost our best friend last night. Our beautiful, energetic, vibrant, happy pup Bailey passed away very suddenly and we are heartbroken.

We first met Bailey when she was just a tiny 4 week old puppy. When we brought Bailey home at 7 weeks we quickly learned that in addition to being cute as a button she seemed possessed with never-ending energy. She kept us very busy that first year… I don’t think she ever let us sleep in past 8AM!

As Bailey matured we found ourselves adapting our lifestyle around her boundless energy and intelligence. We hiked with Bailey on a regular basis, did agility and nosework training with her, and bought a house with a big yard for her to enjoy.

In 2009 Bailey started competing in DockDogs. This opened up a whole new world for us – exciting new places, people, and experiences – and also gave us the chance to develop an even closer bond with our dog. We traveled thousands of miles and spent countless weekends with Bailey by our sides and I know that she loved every minute of it.

We told Bailey that we loved her every day and we meant it. The night before she died I remember going into the bedroom to get ready for bed and finding Matt kneeling down on the floor, snuggling Bailey’s soft ears with his face and whispering good night to her. We had no idea that that would be her last night with us but it comforts me to know that she clearly knew she was deeply loved by us.

We don’t know exactly what happened to Bailey last night. She was out in the yard before dinner as is her usual routine. She generally comes to the door when she is done hunting/playing/patrolling the yard but she hadn’t shown up yet so I started calling her. She didn’t come when called (which is also quite usual if she’s still absorbed in her squirrel-stalking!) but after calling for her a few times I got worried and turned on the back lights. Then I saw her, collapsed in the middle of the yard, a dark figure in the snow with the lights reflecting off of her jacket. I ran out in the yard and carried her limp form inside. We rushed her to the vet but she was gone.

Bailey lived an action-packed life and threw herself wholeheartedly in everything she did with 110% enthusiasm. She was only six years old and she brought joy to Matt and me for every single minute of her time with us. We loved her unconditionally and we miss her terribly.

In loving memory of Bailey
May 11, 2007 – January 30, 2014

Puppy Bailey

Bailey on her first car ride

Such a goofball

Leaping over the jump!

Bailey let me kiss her mid-hike

Bailey was such a funny puppy

Looking thoughtful

Matt and Bailey hiking

DockDogs at Lilypons

I was so happy to be holding baby Bailey!

Bailey with her world qualifier ribbon

Running with her frisbee

Wild ears at the dog park

Staring me down in the hallway

Pup profile

Making good eye contact

All tuckered out

Bailey

Such a happy pup!

Streching out of her house

Chewing that tennis ball SO HARD!

Bailey and Matt watching the rain

Now that’s one happy dog

Flying through the back yard

Bailey wan kenobi

Bailey at Harford County Fair

Bailey and her buddy, Hershey

Beautiful Bailey

Wild eared pup

“MY mulch pile!”

26Jan2014

White Bean Chili with Sausage and Chicken

Posted in Recipes by Annie T

It has been bitterly cold here in southeastern PA. We haven’t seen above-freezing temperatures in a week and the 14 inches of snow that fell last Tuesday still look fresh and powdery… no melting whatsoever! I’m not complaining, though. I’ll take extreme winter weather with lots of snow and cold over a mediocre, unexciting winter any year!

The cold weather means that Matt and I have been making soups, stews, and chilis almost every week. Right now we have a beef chili simmering on the stove that’s made with “real” dried beans that we had to soak overnight… first time I’ve ever done that! Tonight’s chili still has another hour or so to cook before it will be ready so I thought I’d use that time to post about another stew that we made a few weeks ago… white bean chili with hot sausage, chicken, bacon, and five types of peppers… yum!!

This white bean chili comes together really quickly… just under an hour from start to finish. That’s much faster than tonight’s beef chili which has been simmering for nearly 7 hours! (Can you tell that I am impatiently waiting for it to be done? I’m starving!!) Getting back to the white bean chili, I found that the “white” cannellini beans and navy beans were a nice change from the basic kidney beans and black beans that my chilis usually include and I definitely liked the combination of bell peppers, jalapeño, green chiles, and chipotles en adobo. Oh, and of course I thoroughly enjoyed the bacon and hot sausage… how could you not like that winning combination? 🙂

White Bean Chili with Sausage and Chicken (adapted from this recipe at Food52)

Chili Ingredients:
Olive Oil
5 slices Bacon, chopped
1 lb. Chicken Breast, cut into 1″ cubes
1 lb. Hot Italian Sausage, ground (or removed from casing)
2 Yellow Onions, diced
1 Green Bell Pepper, diced
1 Red Bell Pepper, diced
1 Jalapeño Pepper, minced
2 – 4 oz. cans Diced Green Chiles
2 Chipotles en Adobo, minced
3 cloves Garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Black Pepper
1 teaspoon Ground Coriander
3 tablespoons Cumin
1 1/2 tablespoons Chili Powder
3 tablespoons Mexican Oregano
3 tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
6 cups Chicken Stock
1 – 15 oz. can Cannellinni Beans, partially drained
1 – 15 oz. can Navy Beans, partially drained

Garnishes:
Your choice of Sour Cream, Grated Cheddar Cheese, Fresh Cilantro, Lime Wedges, Avocado, and/or Tortilla Strips

Directions:
Heat a large (7-8 qt) stock pot over medium-high heat. Add a few tablespoons of olive oil and brown the chopped bacon until it is just starting to get crispy. Add in the chicken and sausage. Brown the meat, stirring frequently, for approx. 12 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the sausage is well crumbled.

Stir in the next seven ingredients (onion thru garlic) and saute until the onions are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the spices (black pepper thru Mexican oregano), stir well, and continue to cook for another 3 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture, stir, and cook for 3 more minutes. Next, add the chicken stock 1 cup at a time, stirring and scraping the browned bits off of bottom of the pot between each cup. Bring the chili to a boil then add the beans and stir well to combine. Reduce the heat and simmer the chili for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve the white bean chili in large bowls and top with your choice of garnish. We enjoyed our chili with sour cream, cheddar cheese, and cilantro and it was delicious!

Here are some of the other Chilis and Stews that we’ve been making lately. Enjoy and stay warm!
• Pozole Verde
• Pork and Green Chile Stew
• Butternut Squash and Turkey Chili

19Jan2014

Viva Las Vegas!

Posted in Race Recaps, Trips by Annie T

As I mentioned earlier today, Matt and I just returned from a week-long trip to Las Vegas, Nevada. Despite the fact that we were in Vegas for work (we go every January), we still managed to squeeze in lots of good meals and fun. We even went running! Here are some photos from the trip.

It was too sunny for Matt to open his eyes

Excalibur Castle

Me after our 3 mile run on Monday

Luxor Pyramid

Matt after our 3 mile run

Venetian Bell Tower

New York, New York!

Venetian Bell Tower

My brother and I ran nearly 7 miles to get a photo in front of this sign!

The most epic run of the trip (or actually maybe the most epic run of my adult running career?) was on Friday when my brother and I ran nearly 7 miles to see the famous Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign. The length of this run shows you how HUGE the Las Vegas Strip is. We were staying on the Northern end of the strip at the Palazzo and the sign is located at the southern end of the strip near McCarren Airport and Mandalay Bay. So the run to the sign involved us running on the sidewalk past several casinos… easy, right? Nope!! Not only did we run by casinos for 3 1/2 solid miles (that’s a LOT of casinos!), we also crossed 8 or 9 pedestrian bridges (3+ flights of stairs up and down for each) and got waylaid as we wove around construction sites (Vegas is always changing!).

It was totally worth the crazy journey once we got to the sign though. We were the only people there who had made the pilgrimage on foot and a group of friendly tourists took our photo for us in exchange for us taking theirs. We also saw Elvis and a taxicab full of reallllly drunk guys who told us that they had been awake for 48 hours (for the record it was about 8:15am at that point). Fun times!

All in all we had a great time in Vegas. Matt and I will be heading back in April for another work trip and I’m already looking forward to it!

Miles since last post: 75.3
Days since last post: 15
Avg. Daily Miles since July 18th: 4.86
2014 TOTAL MILES: 91.6
_____________________________

Have you ever been to Vegas? What was your favorite attraction or activity?
Any running recommendations for when Matt and I return to Sin City in April?

19Jan2014

Pork and Green Chile Stew

Posted in Recipes by Annie T

Hello there, blog world! It’s been a while since I’ve posted but that’s because Matt and I have been in Las Vegas! We were there all of last week and just got home late last night. Being home after a long work trip is definitely nice but I do have to admit that I’m already missing Nevada’s weather. Every afternoon the temps climbed into the mid-sixties and the sky was always perfectly clear and sunny. Here in Pennsylvania, on the other hand, we’re about to get hit with another “Polar Vortex.” Once that icy blast of cold air arrives tomorrow it’s going to stay below freezing for four days straight. Brrr!

Pennsylvania’s winter weather does have its benefits, however. Take for instance winter comfort food. I’ll bet a hearty slow-cooked stew tastes WAY better in 20° Pennsylvania than it would in 60° Las Vegas, right? 😉 I could actually really go for a nice stew tonight for dinner. We don’t have the ingredients on hand though so I’ll satisfy my craving by posting about this Pork and Green Chile Stew that I made last month. Doesn’t it look yummy?

I found this Slow Cooker Pork and Green Chile Stew recipe at Skinny Taste. It was extremely easy to make – just cube and brown the pork and simmer all of the ingredients together in a crock pot for 4-5 hours – and the cooked pork was tender and moist. Matt and I garnished our plates with cilantro, avocado and sour cream and these Mexican flavors added a really nice, bright finishing touch to the stew. For anyone looking for a good Polar Vortex meal, I highly recommend this!

Slow-Cooked Pork and Green Chile Stew (Recipe from Skinny Taste)

Stew Ingredients…
2 lbs. Pork Loin roast, trimmed of fat and cut into 2″ cubes
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil
2 tablespoons All-Purpose Flour (or use a gluten-free flour for G-Free preparation)
1 medium Yellow Onion, diced
2 – 4 oz. cans Diced Green Chiles, drained
1-2 Jalapeño Peppers, diced with seeds and stems removed
1 – 10 oz. can Ro*Tel Tomatoes & Diced Green Chiles (not drained)
1/2 cup Low Sodium Chicken Broth
1 tablespoon Cumin
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder

Other Ingredients/Garnishes…
Cooked White or Brown Rice
Sour Cream (omit for Lactose-Free)
Sliced Avocado
Chopped Cilantro

Directions:
Season the cubed pork liberally with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and add the cubed pork. Cook the pork for approximately 4 minutes or until browned on all sides. Gradually stir in the flour and allow the pork to continue browning for another 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Transfer the browned pork to a crock pot. Add in the remaining stew ingredients (onion thru garlic powder) and stir gently to combine. Cover and cook on high power for 4-5 hours or on low power for 8 hours. When done, stir the mixture and, if needed, add salt and pepper to taste. Serve the stew over rice and garnish with sour cream, avocado and cilantro.

4Jan2014

Athlete’s Closet January 5K

Posted in Race Recaps by Annie T

Matt and I ran the second 5K in the Athlete’s Closet Winter Series this morning. This race was special for two reasons… we had our first-ever spectators/cheering squad (my mom and stepfather) AND both of our brothers ran the race with us!!! Here we are at the finish… my brother Billy (#167), Matt’s brother Dylan (#145), me, and Matt. Yay for family running together!

Billy was the first finisher of our group (15th overall) with Dylan (17th), Matt (20th) and me (23rd) close behind. Matt’s time was 25:45 and mine was 26:19… much slower than usual but we had a good excuse… the roads were partially covered in snow and it was really, really cold out. It was a mere 1°F when we arrived at the event. ONE DEGREE!!! By the time the race actually started it had probably warmed up to around 10° but that’s still pretty chilly!

I knew it was going to be cold so I tried to plan my clothing accordingly. I was wearing SmartWool compression socks, Athleta’s Relay Tights, a thin Under Armour Twisted Tech T-shirt, Athleta’s Queen’s Luscious super-soft long-sleeve half zip, the Sugoi Firewall 180 Jacket, a head band, lightweight gloves, and a neck warmer from my mom that was made out of some sort of super-breathable tech material. All of that layering paid off because I felt good at the start line and got just hot enough during the race to unzip my jacket and long-sleeved shirt and put my gloves in my pockets. Oddly my toes went numb for the first mile or so but I’m not sure if that was from the cold or from my compression socks… I’ve never run in these socks before so I’ll have to do some investigating to figure out what was going on!

Today’s 3.1 mile course took us on the same route as the Athlete’s Closet December 5K. It was fairly hilly with a few big, slippery uphills towards the end of the race. I tracked the run on my iPhone with Runkeeper as usual but unfortunately I couldn’t get the “start” button to work at the beginning of the race. I ended up running the first several hundred yards looking at my armband trying in vain to push the stupid button with my “iPhone friendly” gloves (which, for the record, had been working fine up to that point!). I finally got it to work about .1 into the race after taking one glove off and licking my finger before tapping the phone screen Jeez! Maybe it was too cold out? All of this excitement resulted in my splits being a little messed up since I had to manually edit the course distance in Runkeeper afterwards. Oh well!

Overall today was chilly and not quite as fast as I was hoping for, but it was really fun to have our brothers running with us and to have our very own spectators. I figure if our family was able to survive today’s frigid temperatures they can survive anything! Hopefully they will join us again for the next 5K of the Winter Series on February 1st! 🙂

Miles since last post: 16.3
Days since last post: 4
Avg. Daily Miles since July 18th: 4.84
2014 TOTAL MILES: 16.3

Related Posts:
• New Year’s Eve 5K at the YMCA (12/31/13)
• Athlete’s Closet December 5K (12/14/13)
• Turkey Trot 5K (11/28/13)
• Let’s Go Streaking! (11/21/13)
• Trinity Presbyterian 5K (11/2/13)
• Oy Vey 5K (10/27/13)
• Fueled Up & Fired Up 5K (10/19/13)
• Run-A-Muck 5K (9/22/13)
• The Challenge Begins: 100 Mile iPad Mini Challenge (7/23/13)

31Dec2013

A (Long) Look Back at 2013

Posted in Bailey, Race Recaps, Trips by Annie T

As 2014 rapidly approaches I am happily reflecting on the wonderful year that I had in 2013. Most importantly, I married my best friend and the love of my life (and had a blast doing so!). I also started running again after a six year hiatus, I spent time with Bailey, and I cooked lots of yummy foods. All in all a good year. Here’s my official recap!

Matt and I got married!

On June 8th Matt and I got married at Sweetwater Farm in Glen Mills, PA. The celebration started Friday night with a laid back barbecue ‘rehearsal dinner’ during Tropical Storm Andrea (luckily we were under a covered patio!). Then the sun came out on Saturday and we got married outside at the edge of the woods before partying the night away with our guests in a renovated 18th century red bank barn that doubles as a winery. After our wedding Matt and I honeymooned in beautiful St. Lucia.

St. Lucia’s Piton Mountain

Sugar Beach

Paradise!

I ran! (a lot)

When Matt and I returned from our honeymoon I decided it was time to get back in shape. I started streaking on July 1st and we bought a treadmill on July 18th. Spurred on by a goal that I set for myself (100 miles in 42 days), I started walking, jogging, and then running like crazy. I hit 100 miles in 21 days, 200 in 37 days, and 300 in 54 days. Then I nervously entered and triumphantly finished the Run-A-Muck, my first 5K race since freshman year in high school.

Matt at the Trinity 5K

My 8 mile run!

After a run in Ridley Creek State Park

Working hard on the treadmill!

After Run-A-Muck I was completely hooked on running. So much so that I overdid my training and injured my foot to the point where I could hardly walk. I didn’t want to break my streak, so I switched my training over to the elliptical trainer in our garage. With time my peroneal tendonitis healed and I was ready for more 5Ks. Matt and I ran three races on consecutive weekends in late October/early November (Fueled Up, Oy Vey, and Trinity) and then enjoyed a crowded Turkey Trot on a chilly 29° Thanksgiving morning. Matt hurt his back so he cheered me on from the sidelines at the Athlete’s Closet 5K in mid-December, then I finished off the year with a new personal best (25:13) at the New Year’s Eve 5K at the Upper Main Line YMCA.

I started tracking my mileage on July 18th and I’m finishing off 2013 with exactly 812 miles. That’s an average of 4.86 miles a day since mid-July, whew! My best month was August with 180.2 miles, followed by a strong December with 161 miles. My longest run was an 8 mile jaunt in Wallingford, PA on December 22nd (I didn’t mean for it to be that long… I got lost!). I’ve been streaking for 184 consecutive days and I don’t plan on stopping any time soon!

Bailey played!

Little mud puppy

Seeing Double… GSPs!

SNOW!

Bailey the little GSP

I can’t write a year end recap without mentioning our cuddly, energetic, “petite” German Shorthair, Bailey. Bailey turned 6 in May, competed at the DockDogs Regional Championships in June, had a GSP house guest in July, wallowed in the mud in August, and frolicked in the snow in December. When she wasn’t outside patrolling the yard for squirrels, Bailey snuggled with us on the couch (she’s only allowed on the furniture if we invite her up) and snoozed in her doggie den bed. She also started K9 Nosework classes in January and she’s working on hunting for birch scent now. (That reminds me that I really need to do a post about NW one of these days… maybe next year!) 🙂

We cooked!

When we weren’t busy planning a wedding or running, Matt and I spent time in the kitchen making lots of yummy meals. Here are a few of our favorites from 2013:

I blogged!

And, finally… in 2013 I blogged! WordPress sent me a stats summary for the year so I thought I’d share a few quick factoids. My blog had over 58,000 views in 2013 and my visitors came from 150 different countries! Thank you very much for visiting, everyone!!!

My most popular post by far was this recipe for Candied Yams (it had over 1300 hits on Thanksgiving day alone!). Other popular posts were my DIY Tutorial on making your own “vintage” blue ball jars and my Rotisserie Chicken Burritos. I’ve really enjoyed blogging in 2013 and I can’t wait to continue next year!

OK, I’m off to get ready for a New Year’s Eve party. Have a wonderful last few hours of 2013 and happy new year!!!