You’ll have to keep reading to see what I killed this time. No, it wasn’t a furkid or Mr. Judy, although there have definitely been a few times when all of them have tempted me . . .
Pull up chair and mug with Coco and Deborah and me for the ultimate coffee tea date.
If we were enjoying high tea . . .
I’d tell you that while Bandit was a pain during our anniversary getaway, he’s been doing fairly well at home (except for the whole food boycott thing) and we have started to let him sleep in the bed.
Now we’re just trying to figure out logistics: as in, sometimes Mr. Judy lets him out of the bedroom, but not outside, while I’m making my breakfast — and can’t really let him out right then. Or that he doesn’t seem to be able to go as long overnight as Lola can, which is odd, considering she’s almost half his size. What is it about boy dogs?
And are booking another getaway to hopefully make up for the very unsatisfactory anniversary getaway. This time without the dogs. Although the weekend before Thanksgiving. Which is, of course, at my house. I see a lot of baking during the week in my future.
If we were enjoying high tea . . .
I’d tell you I still have pretty much no clue what halfs/states I’m doing in 2018. I mean, I get it: it’s November of 2017, for crying out loud. But I feel sort of at loose ends without a goal race on the horizon.
On the other hand, it’s also nice to not have to run. To get in more yoga, more cross training. I’d like to say more hiking, too, but with the shorter, colder days, I suspect my hiking days have just about come to a close for 2017. I am grateful that my trip to Utah rekindled my love affair with hiking!
You never know the places running will take you, literally and figuratively.
If we were enjoying high tea . . .
I’d say that I want to say a big thank you to Coach Rachel @ Runningonhappy. Would I have had as great a running year without her? We’ll never know, of course, but I’m so glad that I decided to work with her. Here’s to an even better 2018.
Who knew I could take another 4 minutes off my half marathon PR — when that PR was an 8 minute PR? I’m pretty sure Coach Rachel did, but I sure didn’t.
Although seriously, when it comes to running, this was truly the best year of my running career, and some of the races that are in the “running” for 2018 will be challenging and unlikely to be PRs. But I’m always up for a challenge — well, sort of.
If we were enjoying high tea . . .
I killed another one, as the title says. Magic Bullet-type blender, that is. There was the original Magic Bullet, which died, and then several years later came back, only to die in another year or so.
Luckily I happened to have a different one waiting in the wings. It was a final sale, so not returnable. Only I never really liked that particular one. I made sure to not work it too hard, because the little ones aren’t quite as strong as my Vitamix, but my Vitamix doesn’t always do a great job on small amounts — so I use both the Vitamix and a personal blender all the time.
Except that this one died, too. I have a new one coming . . . we’ll see how long it takes me to kill this one.
If we were enjoying high tea . . .
I’d tell you that I try not to be a Debbie Downer, but sometimes I feel as though I am. So when I sat down to write this post I tried to think of positive stuff.
I’m sticking in one rant though: I’m so tired of people who just seem to target my little Honda Civic. It’s like I’m not even there. Like the guy sitting in the right turn only lane that literally tried to drive right through my car because he decided he didn’t want to turn right after all and obviously I could read his mind and was just going to let him go in front of me (or through me, as he seemed to want to do).
How hard is it to turn around, guys?
Ok, that’s off my chest . . . for now.
Tea? Iced Tea? Coffee? Decaf? Or something else?
Don’t you hate town driving (which is what I mostly do)?
Do you have a personal blender you love? That isn’t easy to kill?
Are you satisfied with 2017 or look for redemption in 2018?
Today I am also joining up with the Friday Five 2.0 from Fairytales & Fitness and Rachel @ Running on Happy.
Chocolaterunsjudy 
It’s ok, Judy. I drive a Jeep Grand Cherokee and the same exact thing happens to me. What’s even worse is that it is RED. It’s as if I have an invisibility cloak over my car. I think people are just in a hurry and don’t care.
My Ninja blender started smoking (not cigarettes) and even tho it was 1 1/2years old and I didn’t have the original receipt, I took a chance and called Ninja. Guess what? They sent me a brand new blender! That is some good customer service.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ok, so it’s not just me who feels invisible (or vulnerable) in my car.
Your comment reminds me I actually had 2 Magic Bullets. The first I bought at Marshalls & it dies quickly. Because they send older models to Marshalls, they really didn’t want to send me a new one (and I did have the receipt, which for me is kind of a miracle).
I talked them into it but it definitely left me with a bad taste for the Magic Bullet company.
LikeLike
I have the original Magic bullet as well and it sounds like it’s on its last leg. It’s just a matter of time..haha. I do have another blender type thing waiting in the wings tho. Shortly after we started blogging I recieved this baby food food processor thing in the mail. I assumed I was suppose to review it or something but I never signed up for it and I never knew who sent it. It was so weird! It’s nice tho!
I hope you have a great 2018 wherever you decide to run and hike! I was very happy with my 2017 year of running!
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s kind of cool that a blender just showed up — too bad you don’t know who sent it!
This present blender just stopped one day. I hadn’t used it that long and I didn’t work it hard. But it was a good deal (and final sale) so not much I could do about it.
LikeLike
Congrats on the great running year! That is impressive. It’s crazy to me that it’s already November. 2017 really flew by.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, they do say that if you feel like time is flying by you’re having a good time!
LikeLike
You have been so strong this year getting faster and faster! It is great you have a shiny new PR 🙂
I’m like a magnet for bad drivers…it is annoying.
My Ninja has been good to me so far.
I can’t wait to see where you go next year!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hey, PRing your marathon isn’t exactly weak! 😉
I have had a stream of the smaller blenders. 😦 My Vitamix, OTOH, has lasted a good long while.
LikeLike
I can totally relate to the driving situation. People just really do not care and think that they own the road. It’s quite annoying!
Congrats on an awesome running year and for getting a huge PR this year! I also don’t have too many races on my schedule for next year, but I’ll probably spend some time this month trying to figure out my 2018 racing schedule.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanksgiving keeps me busy (I host it), and there are lots of little things in this month like Lola’s rescheduled dental (the week of Thanksgiving, no less) and a weekend away — still zero idea what I’m doing in 2018 but no doubt it’ll come together at some point.
LikeLike
I totally killed a couple of those blenders too. I don’t think the motors are made to last too long!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know the smaller ones don’t have really strong motors, so I’m relatively careful how I use them — but the Vitamix doesn’t really do well on small amounts so I really need a smaller one, too!
LikeLike
I have a Black and Decker blender. I don’t use it often, but it works pretty well when I need it. It’ll get worked over Thanksgiving because I need to grind up pecans for the dessert I make.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Luckily grinding nuts doesn’t tax them too much! It’s the frozen fruit that seems to send them over the edge, I think (for smoothies).
LikeLike
So my Bmw has been hit from behind three times!!!!!
2017 hasn’t been a great running year due to work stress. At least I had one PR. 2014-15 was my year. Maybe it’s the age thing.
But I happily running.
I still use my 30 year old blender. But then again, I only use it to blend squash soup in the fall.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thankfully I’ve only had one accident in the 17+ years I’ve had my car, but there have been a LOT of near misses.
I had lots of stress this year, too. But running is one of the ways I destress.
Blending squash doesn’t overtax a mixer (planning to make some butternut soup this weekend, actually, to stick in the freezer for Thanksgiving).
LikeLike
Sometimes I feel like I have a sign on the back that says hit me. Lol.
LikeLike
I’ve had at least two of those stick blenders and broke them all. Now I just use an Oster blender or my Ninja. I keep meaning to buy another stick but now when I think about how quickly they break, maybe I won’t.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Funny, my stick blender works just fine, but I rarely use that one.
LikeLike
That’s true. You should spend more time not just running but also other things like cross training and yoga. Those activities does sound pretty fun.
Have a great weekend!
The Fitness Bro
LikeLiked by 1 person
The other things are what keep me running!
LikeLike
I have to laugh at your antics with Bandit, but I know you’re probably not laughing with me. I’d just love to know what goes on in those little dog brains.Max pretty much is on our bed all night now. He stays down by our feet most of the time, though. He only venture towards the pillows when one of us gets up for he day.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, getting Bandit to eat is what I imagine getting an infant/toddler to eat is like — there’s a reason I didn’t have kids!
Lola sleeps between us at the top of the bed. Bandit tends to sleep between us underneath the covers towards the bottom of the bed, but he moves around a lot. Luckily that doesn’t bother me.
LikeLike
Hey Judy! I have a little bright red Chevy Cobalt, so people do see me. But my biggest driving rant is people that RIDE MY ASS. It scares me, especially on the big highways! I think this may be a PA thing or even a NE thing because when we go out west, it doesn’t happen.
Oh I had a magic bullet back in the day! About 13 years ago! I would use it to crush up frozen fruit and put it on my toast. I was weird lol. I will never forget how easy and mess free the commercials made the magic bullet look. Whenever I used it, I always made a mess!
Now we have a blender that is pretty sturdy but nothing compared to the Vitamix or those ones that cost hundreds of dollars. All we make are protein shakes and the most work it has to do is crush up frozen fruit or ice cubes.
Have a great weekend!
LikeLiked by 1 person
My magic bullet didn’t make a mess, but I did have to baby it.
I make protein shakes, I puree soups in my Vitamix — it gets a lot of use. Yes, it was expensive but I’ve had it for roughly 12 years (maybe more). Was definitely worth the investment to me.
LikeLike
I don’t use a blender much. I have a low -power one that works for simple protein shakes and crushed ice. but I don’t think it’s up for anything more challenging.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I drink a lot of smoothies, sometimes I make avocado pudding, and in the winter I do a lot of soups.
Oh, and the smaller one I do a lot of salad dressings. I’m still waiting on the new one . . .
LikeLike
I have killed not one but 2 magic blenders! I swear I don’t abuse it, but i do use it a lot. Im a coffee guy all the way. I used to own a coffee shop so im a little biased.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I definitely didn’t abuse this last one. I’m hoping the next one lasts longer (and would get here already).
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have a big blender that the college kid uses for smoothies when he is home for. Other than that, I blend my protein shakes in a blender bottle. I have wanted to try a handheld one. You had a great year! I hope my 2018 is more of a redemption year. And, I know all about those boy dogs!!!f
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, I use my Vitamix to blend soup, too (just did that today!).
I’m looking at some challenging races next year (not that mine weren’t this year!) so it could be a PR-less year, but that’ll be okay. Sort of. 🙂
No decision have been made yet, and even when they are, as you know, you never know what’s going to happen.
LikeLike
Sounds like you had a great running year! That’s so great. Love that medal pic over the pools of water. Which race was that? I’m sure that 2018 races will come together for you soon. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
That was Watkins Glen that we visited after Wineglass a month ago.
We’re looking at 2018 races — it’s always a negotiation! I wish I could’ve come out to Vegas this year, but we’d already done so much travel & I’ve already done RnR Vegas, too.
LikeLike
When Bill and I were in college we were making daiquiris in a regular blender and suddenly noticed that we had a black swirl coming up through the mix. It ended up being oil leaking from the motor and getting into the drink through a tiny hole. Ha! Hope your new one comes soon and works without fail!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ewww! Well, thankfully I’ve never had that happen. I’m waiting impatiently for the new one! I read that the ones shipped via Amazon weren’t the best & that it was better to order directly from the company, which I did, but man, I miss that 2 day shipping!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hate driving in town! I try to stay home on Saturdays and Sundays because it frustrates me! I am thinking 2018 is a redemption year! 2016 was horrible, 2017 wasn’t what I hoped so I am hoping to make 2018 my year!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope you have a great 2018! On the personal front 2017 wasn’t great, but running-wise it really was. I am under no delusions of grandeur for 2018.
Luckily I can usually do my shopping during the week since I don’t work — that helps a lot!
LikeLike
I hope you find out what races you want to run soon! That waterfall photo is so gorgeous! *-*
I’ve been wanting to get a Magic Bullet since my current blender is hanging onto its last few threads of life right now. I got it for $15 back in 2012, so I really can’t complain, but sigh! I’d love to have a Vitamix someday!
LikeLiked by 1 person
The good thing about Vitamixes is that even though it’s an investment, they last forever, Or at least they did 12 or so years ago. Mine struggles a bit more now, but it’s still working!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m also trying to figure out my game plan for 2018! I am definitely doing a marathon, but it would be amazing if I could continue to chip away at my half marathon PR. You had a great year of running, congrats!
And hey, we all have our Debbie Downer moments. Nothing wrong with venting once in awhile..that driver was a jerk!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, we’re circling around some races at the moment. No doubt there will be less halfs next year. I’d love to do at least three, but I also enjoy taking the time to really explore, too, so I’m suspecting it might just be two.
Only time will tell. 🙂
LikeLike