Free Spirit

This is one of my favorite Rachel The Dog photographs of all time.  My friend Joan took the photo on one of our longer runs this December, but the photo could've been from any river run I've ever shared with my willful beast.  Without hesitation, whenever we pass a wall on a run, she leaps up and runs along it with a huge dog smile on her face.  At these moments, I know that Rachel and I are kindred spirits.

New Years Resolutions 2012

This list mostly speaks for itself.  I tried to keep this list short and focused on a few small changes and goals that will hopefully make a big impact.  Quality over quantity, folks.  I am going to adopt that as my 2012 motto. 

Some of you, dear readers, may be alarmed that I included buying matching underwear on my blog, but everyone wears underwear, right?  So, it might as well be cute.  My thinking is that if one buys a set a month, one would have nearly two weeks worth of matching underwear by the end of the year!  That's just fabulous.  Now, I'll be honest; I was apprehensive about mentioning this resolution on Duly Noted, BUT after sharing this resolution with several female friends and all of whom except ONE immediately decided that they too would make this a resolution, I felt confident that my readership would understand that this goal is not about being seductive...it's about self-love. 

(Duly note: the ONE friend who did not immediately jump on board already knows and enjoys the pleasures of several underwear sets as was revealed as our conversation continued).

1st Run of 2012

Joan, Anne and I rendezvoused at Minneapolis's Chain of Lakes on a bright but windy January 2, 2012.  We decided that we were getting soft due to the abnormally mild temperatures.  As is our custom, we discussed every manner of things: dinner parties with dear friends, our loyal pets, weddings we plan on attending, drinking too much wine on New Years, relocating to different neighborhoods, the joys of spin class, how long the ferry takes between Croatia and Italy, the dilemma of unused gym memberships, the plight to finish grad school on time, when we can run together again...

So understandably, even when the fierce wind hit our faces as we headed north around Lake Calhoun and our threesome became quiet in determination, we all agreed that running in the wintertime is totally worth it.  The camaraderie required to simply get out of our cozy houses keeps us smiling and warm through the run and, at least for me, invigorated for hours later.