Happy Halloween

Halloween is so fun for children and adults, right?! I am so happy it's a Saturday this year!
Pat bought his Tigger costume in college. I think he is so cute in it. It's made quite the circuit among his friends, even with a recent stint at James Madison University. (with Warren's little brother) I've only ever bought one costume, a pirate, but in 2007 I was a Ninja Turtle. Going with the theme of Ninja Turtles, we made our shells out of pizza boxes.

Suz, Sarah, Michelle, Andrea

Happy Halloween!

Tonight Show

Michelle and I are about to go to the taping of Conan O'Brien.

LA Bound

I am off to California to stay a long weekend with my friend Meredith. I have never been to LA and I am reeeally excited. Meredith has visited NYC many times over the years and it's about time I went out to see her! Meredith and I were roommates our Junior year of college, so it is going to be so fun to be roomies again.  And the cherry on top of my weekend...It's Michelle!  She moved to San Diego over the summer, but she'll be coming to LA for a couple days.  Girl's Weekend!

Pat and I have very different weekends planned, but luckily we both share the same flights. He will be going to a 3 day Phish music festival with his friend Chris.

Sarah, Michelle, Andrea, me, Meredith

Meredith and me - Doesn't she have the best smile!?

Planned for the weekend:

• 
  
  Taping of Conan show (Meredith works for NBC!)
  
• 
  
  Running 10 miles in Venice Beach - Meredith is a group pace leader
  
• 
  
  Halloween party -the pirate costume with make another appearance
  
• 
  
  Hike to Hollywood sign
  
• Hang out with Meredith's family in Palos Verdes
  
Chris and Pat ~ March '09

Official Marathon Photos

If you want to see shots of us running the course, click below...

Pat

Suz

Newlyweds!

Lacie and Neil pulled a fast one on me!  They got married 10/16/09! All along I thought they were planning a wedding for Memorial Day weekend of 2010.  Truly happy for them and so glad their wedding day came together just as they wanted, even if it was planned very quickly.  And sounds like they are still having a wedding with friends at a later date, oh boy!  Pat and I got together with Lacie and Neil last night and they agreed to pose for a few photos. :o)

MCM

Success!!  Well, thankfully the weather worked out and we had great race conditions.  The race starts near The Pentagon in Arlington and takes you through parts of Virginia and DC, passing Georgetown, Watergate, Jefferson Memorial, Washington Monument, The Capitol, The Mall, The Holocaust Museum, and finishes at The Iwo Gima Memorial (I am surely missing a few mentionable spots).  There was roughly 14 water/Powerade stops on the course and at each one a Marine in uniform politely gives you what you want.  I was even called Mam!  Your finishing medal is put around your neck by a Marine.  They cheered for you and looked good in their uniforms (of course)!  It was a beautiful course and I really enjoyed it, especially on my walking breaks! Those started around mile 14...

Pre-Race, waiting to load the shuttle bus to the start area

Official Times:

Suz 4:58:35

Pat 4:01:26

Slower than our NY times last year, but that's ok!

26.2 Miles ~ PIECE OF CAKE!

And now I have earned some time on the couch...

Pre-Race Meal

Nathalie and Yakov hosted us for a great carb load meal on Saturday evening. They live in a gorgeous and spacious light-filled unit (in a really nice building) in McLean, Virginia. Nathalie has cooking SKILLZ. We had pasta, grilled chicken, peas, bread, pineapple, and chocolate chip cookies. I also got to meet their adorable and puppy-soft dog Sasha, an English Cocker Spaniel. As you can see by the photos she's in a cone - I think a broken toe is healing.

Awww

A Marathon blog post is up next!

Marine Corp

Pat and I will be attempting our 3rd marathon tomorrow. Not to jinx it, but looks like the rain will get out of the way today and we'll have sun and about 50-60 degrees tomorrow.  Fingers are crossed! It's the Marine Corp Marathon in DC. I am excited to see the sites and I hope I can manage. For my knee's sake, this is my last marathon (though I would do a Half). My high school friend Nathalie is running too!  We are looking forward to a Carb Load dinner with Nathalie and her husband Yakov tonight. =) After the New York marathon ~ November 2008

After the San Diego Marathon ~ June 2008


Also, congrats to my friend Sarah for completing the Chicago marathon a couple weeks ago.  And good luck to my friend Andrea who will be guiding a visually impaired athlete in New York next weekend (as long as her foot is ok).  I have lots of amazing and crazy athletic friends!  :o)

Flags are Flying

It has been such a gorgeous couple of days here in New York.  It was in the 70s today!  (Picture at Rockefeller Center) 

Decorations

Thanks to my mother in law and her endless basement supply of holiday decorations (Christmas, Valentine's, St. Patrick's, Halloween, Thanksgiving, etc) our house is now ready for Halloween!

Public Service Announcement

American Saturday Night

You might be thinking it's Wednesday, unfortunately not Saturday. 

Tonight- Pat, Dave, Dia, and I are hitting up Madison Square Garden for the American Saturday Night Tour with Brad Paisley and Dierks Bentley.  Last week they had a 24 hour 2-for-1 ticket sale.  Glad I took advantage of that; I am sure it will be a great show.  I ran into Dierks Bentley in Nashville one time, but I've never seen either of them in concert.

Here is a question for you:  What was your first ever concert?

As I am sure you know, I love live shows!!  I have been to tons of concerts over the years.  My first one was Brooks and Dunn in 3rd grade.  :o)

Miss Lauris

Fast friends since freshman year of college.

Happy birthday to the lovely Laurisa! XOXO


A few memories to make her smile:

Drinking in the fort

The "Bomb Shelter" Spring Break
Instant Messaging in the same room
Fishy
Panda Wish Bear
Baby Dragon

Three Amigos
Bro and Sis
#1 Fan

Corn on 4th of July :)

Cutie!

 The Three Amigos in Indianapolis for Kate's Bachelorette

1 Year Ago Today

Kate and Scotty were married in Dearborn, Michigan. They had AMFs at their wedding. I love them.
Happy Anniversary to a great couple!

And just for Kate - I still have the post it note.

Pizza Perfect

Andrea and Sarah. :)

Avett Brothers

Great show so far.

Weekend Ahead

It's been a great work week; I wish every one was just 4 days. 

My highlight of the week (other than not working Colubmus Day) was Wednesday.  I went for Happy Hour wine with Laurisa, Simone and Meredith, who was in town from LA for work.  It got me very excited for my upcoming LA trip!  Then, Simone and I went to the last preview of Bye Bye Birdie.  It opened last night.  We both had a great time at the show!  About 15 minutes in they had a set problem, so they had to stop the show for about 15 minutes to fix it.  John Stamos entertained us during the break, even pulling Bob Saget from the audience to the stage.  I love live theatre, you never know what will happen! 

Weekend Plans:

• Hang out with In Laws while they are in town
• The Avett Brothers concert on Saturday with friends.  A big thank you to Andrea for introducing me to them.  And smooches to Pat for getting me their new CD, I And Love And You.  I think anyone would enjoy them, have a listen!
• Short Run - the Marine Corp Marathon is just 9 DAYS away!!

Hope you have a great weekend!

PS. On my commute this morning I saw a car with snow all over it.  Let's hope things warm up...

Stairs vs. Escalator

I hope this makes you smile!

Pretty neat video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lXh2n0aPyw
I usually opt for the fastest option - take the escalator AND walk up it at the same time.

And I love a good running love story: Marry Me at Mile 26 (thanks Laurisa!) My fingers swell when I run so don't think I could put a ring on at mile 26.

Woles Belated Bday

Dearest Whitney,
Will you ever forgive me that I didn't log into Facebook on your birthday and wish you a happy birthday on your Facebook wall??  If I had remembered and gotten you a birthday present, surely I would have gotten you some colored contacts (because I know they are your favorite).  Or maybe a hat (also a favorite).

So THUMBS UP to the birthday girl!! And thumbs down to me for letting your special day pass unmentioned.

I hope you come to visit us in New York again soon, and I hope to make it down to Atlanta sometime too. Love ya!

Suzy homemaker

Since I didn't work today, Pat got a yummy dinner. Chicken with cous cous and green beans (with almonds). I spent forever at the grocery and used tons of coupons. =)  Oh and I also made blueberry muffins!

Palisades Hike

It was a beautiful day for a hike!  Our friends Sean and Mary Clare took a train out to Oradell, so we picked them up and headed to our trail head.  We parked right by the Palisades Parkway and made our way towards the Hudson River. 

We hiked a little over 5 miles which doesn't sound like much, but afterwards my feet were very ready to be freed from my boots.

A little history for you.

We passed a group of about 10 or 15 teenagers and all the girls were in full length skirts.  Impressive (weird) for camping & hiking!

So nice to be outside with our friends and fall weather.

Gutter Cleaning

Pat has been doing this chore for years.  I think he secretly enjoys it.  I was the official ladder holder. :)

3 Day Weekend

I have Columbus Day off, so I have a 3 day weekend approaching.  Oh boy!  As with many holidays, Pat has to work.  I am sorry if any of you have to work. 

And if you are wondering what my long weekend will hold...

• Dinner at Rosa Mexicano (guacamole made tableside, pomegranate margarita...)
• Long Run (shooting for 10 miles)
• Help Hubby clean gutters
• Catch up on DVR and movies
• Scrapbook (picking up new batch of photos at Walgreens later today)
• Finish reading Eclipse, the 3rd Twilight book (Shhhh)
• Hiking with Pat and our friends Sean and Mary Clare
• Laundry and general cleaning

Sounds good to me!  Hope you all have fun-filled weekends!

Now, can we all agree this costume picture is a little bit creepy?

Image from www.costumecraze.com

White furniture

I found Holly's blog In the Fun Lane yesterday and I am very impressed with her white furniture.  She takes old craiglist or goodwill finds of real hardwood pieces and updates them, basically with a coat of white paint and new hardware.  Check out her amazing work- her before and after pictures are sure to impress.  It has me tempted to paint our bedroom furniture (if I could convince my hubby and In Laws- technically it's their furniture)

Isn't it fun to see the lovely results but skip the hard work?!