Go Hard, responsibly.

I would call that a pretty accurate description of what I look like when signing up for a race.

And signing up I have been.

But I'm being smart about it and I am taking into account how much time I will need to properly train for the races that I choose.

I'm upping my distance but not at a speed that will kill or even injure me.

I've decided to stick with the Hal Higdon plans because I have had success with them and so it is based on those time tables that I have made my race decisions.

This means that my 10k race in September just became part of my half marathon training program for the race I have signed up for on halloween.  Connecticuts flattest half marathon sounds like a good place to start.

Halloween is probably the only time you could get me to run in a costume so it just made sense to me. I'm even pretty sure I know what it will be but I'll get to that at a later time.

After the half it looks like pickins are slim for races up here in new england but we shall see how it goes.

Heaven knows I love a good double fist pump at my laptop.

This is Halloween

Ready or not, Halloween is coming, and fast! We've already decorated the homestead for our own amusement since no one ever comes trick or treating in our neck of the woods. I'm happy to know the neighbors appreciate it though. I thought I would share what we've done with the place. 

We decided to go a little fancy with the pumpkins this year and found 2 ways go about it. 1) Top hand and monocle skeleton. 2) Glossy black and artsy drilled holes. 

Greetings!! I love this because since we are the first house on the road he waves at everyone who drives by.

Nothing like some arm bone garland to brighten you day. 

Boo! *jazz hands*

The reaper scares me whenever I go outside because the wind ALWAYS kicks up and I see him moving out of the corner of my eye. I think the skull in the birdcage is a nice touch.

Paper lanterns, severed foot in the flower pot and some pumpkin friends.

It's ok if your arm falls off, just hold on to it for a while. 

Well hello there. This guy stares me down as I'm fumbling with my keys to unlock the front door. 

No seriously, the house is in complete disarray.

So what about you?
Any Halloween decorations?
Do you get people begging for candy at your house?

A year in review pt. 4

So this is it, the grand finale! I'm really glad that I did this because I genuinely forgot how awesome my year really has been. If you don't know what I'm talking about go check out parts one, two and three to catch up. Anyway, lets bring on the final quarter of 2012.

October

So I don't know if you're familiar with this video:

It's completely fake but I still get a really big kick out of it. So back in October I was all bummed about thinking about how it'd been a year since we put my beloved dog down and someone posted a really sad video and I just couldn't take it so in order to combat the sadness I posted the above one and then was inspired by the line "I want them in a basket and I want little bow ties and I them to be on a rainbow..." to make the most glorious picture because I just love The Beef so much and I want him in a basket, in a bow tie on a rainbow. 

Needless to say I perked right up. 

In October Connecticut becomes the land of fests. Apple fest, garlic fest, etc. Really it's just an excuse to walk around a big field that has a bunch of tents set up where you can buy fair food and tons of homemade things. It's like pinterest but outside. We went to several and I noticed how The Beef and I react to these differently, he eats everything until he feels sick and I suddenly become very passionate about flavors and want to buy all the sauces, ever. I also got really obsessed with making Pumpkin Risotto.

We also took a day trip up to the Fly Creek Cider Mill which is one of my favorite places in the world. The store their is amazing and the cider is to die for. It's also about 10 minutes from the baseball hall of fame, we don't go this year though because we went last year. We did go exploring at Howe Caverns though which is always fun. 

You're probably wondering what the hell is in that bottom left picture. Well, I'm not ashamed to admit that that's the blank/pillow fort that I stayed in during Hurricane Sandy because The Beef was stranded at work. 

And finally, we were able to decorate our house for Halloween for the first time which was really fun if you ignore the fact that we didn't get a single person at the house on Halloween night.

November

I got really into collages in November.

I also took a solo road trip to MD to hang out with the fanciest pregnant lady that I know. 

Burnt out from all the risotto I made the month before I lost the will to cook, leading us to explore the world of pre-made food at the grocery store which always turned into a mini thanksgiving complete with all the trimmings. Pair it with hot chocolate or pumpkin egg nog and you're completely festive. 

We got together with friends for a poker game and I was a little rusty and unlucky so I got to sit on the sidelines from early on and watch The Beef rake in the chips. 

We decorated the house for Christmas as is our November custom and spent lots of time snuggling by the fire in our wood stove. 

December

One night I forgot to bring food to work and I was really hungry, the beef wasn't up to anything so he stopped by with an entire chicken and we at it in his truck. He had piano Christmas music playing because he is adorable, romantic and festive.

We also took the 7 hour road trip to visit his mother & step father out in Pennsylvania. It seems to  work the best for "everyone" if we leave at 11pm when I get out of work and I drive while the Beef sleeps. 

I baked so many things in december I've officially lost count. Cookies, cake pops, peanbut butter balls, it was a never ending fury in my kitchen. Dear Button of December 2013, I really hope you find this note. I know you're looking back fondly at the memories of last December where everyone loved your baked goods but honestly, you were traumatized, it was awful, and you swore to never do it again. So do yourself a favor and go easy this year. Love, December 2012 Button.

And finally December ment Christmas, with all the driving around and delivering presents and general awesomeness that the Holiday season brings. 

So there you have it my 2012 all packaged up for you.  How was your year? Do you like looking back? I think it's a nice reminder. Can't wait to see what the next year has in store for me though. 

Halloween Recap

So I wasn't around these blog parts for Halloween but I thought I would share my Halloween experiences with you just the same. A few days before I raided my mothers basement for whatever halloween decorations my father had left behind and then hit up the dollar store to supplement the spooky stuff.

Growing up we always decorated the front lawn much to the delight of the trick-or-treaters and this is something I've always wanted to continue but until now I haven't lived in a place where that was possible. I'd heard about the approaching storm and figured Halloween would probably be cancelled for the 2nd year in a row but I didn't care. I also knew that I do not live on a road that is going to see a single child begging for candy but I didn't care. I finally had some outside space and I was going to make use of it. Here are the results:

A front view of our pumpkins, The Beef opting for Batman face while I went with a modified Jack Skellington. 

Pumpkins all lit up.

Due to storm damage tick or treating was cancelled on local road with our town opting to hold it on the town green instead. The facility where I work also hosted trick or treating and all of the different units had a theme that they decorated for. My unit was "under the sea" and it was really great looking with pictures of sea life everywhere, streamers, stuffed animals, etc. They really went all out and did a great  job. 

For the first time ever I didn't have a halloween costume for work, so during the course of the night I ended up decorating myself so I would fit into the theme.

Streamers on the pig tails, foam sea horses in the hair, fishy stick on for the ear.

I even decorated the hair streamers with more foam sea life for extra fun.

My residents got a big kick out of it and I know the staff did too because I was encouraged to do it again the following evening. It's Halloween, there is no room to take yourself seriously.

So, how was your Halloween?