but i just got used to writing "2010" on my rent checks.

can you believe it? it's almost 2011. we are n e a r i n g the end of two-thousand and ten and are less than 4 weeks away from a new year. justaquickquestion for a second, WHEN THE FRENCH TOAST DID THAT HAPPEN!?!?

so my blog has sucked. in fact the last few entires have been weak and then i totally abandoned ship and was MIA. i have been a busy girl up in the air and stomping my feet over various terrain in the continent of North America. the details aren't important. but i have been busy. and working hard. and having fun. and being thankful for all that is the life of CW, as i have a lot to sit with myself and my thoughts and put in the "i really appreciate this" column. if only life were columns... it'd be so much easier. but, tis life, and that goes against human nature my dear, dear, readers. So, in-my-blog-has-sucked-as-of-late fashion, i'll recap via photos what i've been doing the last 4 weeks with a few lazy explanations. i am thinking ill start off 2011 right with the blogosphere, a recommitment perhaps.

twin b and myself in nyc day 6 of my 7 there. i escaped running industry
duties to share a meal w/ the wombmate and i was in bed by 11. now that is love.

Post New York, where i spent nearly 7 days doing all things a la running shoe related, i arrived back in the bean only to spend 3 nights in my bed prior to jet-setting off to the islands with some girlfriends, (thanks to a total hook-up). Even though i had a 5:30 am flight to St. Thomas i couldn't pass up seeing the magnificence that is Mumford & Sons the night prior. because i started this blog tired and having re-read some of it, will not butcher the justice these men deserved but still steer you to my dear, dear, bestest in boston, miss twelveohsixam to read all about it  here.  she says it perfectly if i may say so myself.

 my heart was so full hearing these men live and i was utterly and completely happy.
i snapped no pics, but here's their album cover. get it. got it? cool.

post concert i would leave the bean to head off to St. Thomas. twas my first time to the caribbean and i went with 3 fine felines and we had a true blast. we shared the sun by the infiniti pool, had the sand in our toes as we entered the clearest water i've ever been in, kayaked, paddle boarded and told many-a-story. we had drinks, i even (sort of) smoked a cigar (sorry dad), and we had unlimited access to the Ritz Carlton clubhouse for snacks, sweets and any beverage of our liking. i can say that a new friend became a closer friend as i got to know her better, and while thankful for newfound friendships with these chicks, i smiled to myself in quiet moments, proud and appreciative of the unmatched bunch i've got as my net as i've navigated the tightrope of life thus far these [almost-gasp] twenty-nine years. 

sunset cruise w/ the ladies.

the executive clubhouse i had access to for this small blip in my life. (likely to never happen again).

Post the islands i'd jet set to Austin, Texas for a biz trip via a stop in Tampa Florida to stay with the one and only magoo, my lifelong and one of my most bestest friends who used to be wee little 3 year old meggie with orange tic tac stains on her lips. i got to see a little bit of her life in Tampa, hang with her man, her dog, go on a walk the next morning and a run in a part of the USofA i have never experienced. i got to see the amazing job she did decorating and bringing life to their pad, and i saw a happy megs relishing in a life that she loves with some very important souls. a slice of coconut creme pie and a good cup of coffee the next morning made this stop-over not only extremely convenient, but just what i needed to head onto the work part of this week in Texas.

view from the stairs in their loft apartment. loved the openness of this place.

Post Texas, where i'd enjoy guacamole, margaritas, but officially wear myself down, lose my voice, and get pummeled with a massive head cold, i returned back to boston at 2:30am one friday morning. while the St. Thomas trip wasn't ' work ', it did contribute to my exhaustion and smack dab in the middle of two trips. despite feeling grosser than i have in years, myself, my headcold and a boy headed on the nyc train to enjoy our tickets to the west point, notre dame football game being played at the new yankee stadium. with dayquil, a celebrity gossip magazine, and a nice sized shoulder to nap and drip unstoppable snot on, i made it in one piece and we had a great time. i sent my dad pics of yankee stadium and enjoyed the cold air and hot chocolate while everyone else enjoyed beer. we snuggled back into the Ace Hotel before SNL was even halfway through... and while it may have seemed a waste of a new york city weekend.... it was actually exactly what i needed.

as a giant sidebar i am too tired to write about, (and seriously realizing how bad this blog is), the Ace hotel might've been the coolest hotel i've ever stayed in. i have stayed in uber unique hotels all over the globe - be it barcelona, amsterdam, or hong kong. but this hotel had such an endearing romance about itself. it was as if fun + hope + life painted itself on the walls, wrapped into the robes and was built into the tiles. please, please, PUHLEAZZE, read about it here: http://remodelista.com/posts/holiday-lodging-ace-hotel-in-new-york

need i say more? loved.this.place.

I capped off November with a trip home to Virginia where i had my dear, dear fox mill girls + the fam for a solid four days. add to that meeting the newest baby boy (of my dearest running friend dorothy), and i was a happy girl to hold an 8 pound sleepy baby and sit with one of my most favorite friends. on the last of a few runs through my old stomping grounds as i ran on the paths behind the store i used to work at and past the track i used to be fit as a fiddle doing summer college workouts.... i had a relaxed nostalgia about the whole thing. life is good. [ knock on wood of course ] :)

colton river.  love this little guy!

All of my travels and being at home with the majority of my net still had me so happy to be back in boston. i capped off november with a charles river run with the footsteps of twelveohsixam beside me. we shared stories, exchanged hardships, i complained about my pain in the butt (piriformis), and we dropped each other off at our usual spots. 

i was telling my boss one day at work this week about how when i used to go on trips and land back in seattle, where my apartment, my circle, and i my life was.... that i never really felt home. i told him when i land here in boston, i feel just the opposite. it's an incredible feeling to realize there are parts of that security you've known since you were three, parts you know through selling shoes and telling stories for years in a running store, and parts that grow out of where life takes us; be in rainy seattle or its-getting-cold-as-heck boston. i am so thankful to have such a strong net as i travel this tightrope. i am so, so pumped i have that. 

i shall leave this forever-babbling-not-really-a-point blog with one last photo that made me laugh.

monday morning i find my car, miss jasmine jetta, having her space totally invaded. 
i will mention this car had at least 8 feet behind it.

ahh city living. i love this place. i really do.

xo,

cw