My best friend & I

Buddy and I had a photo-shoot while I was home.  Here he is giving me a hug.. Isn't he handsome? It was great being home and spending time with the family and with my pups!  From Buddy and I- a very Happy New Year!

Karyl & Katie take NYC 2011

The weekend before Christmas, Mom came down for the long weekend to experience Christmas in New York City.  There is nothing like Christmas in the city- just like everything New York, it's over the top and over-decorated, but thankfully, seeing as Christmas is my favorite time of the year, it really gets you in the mood.  We went a different route this year trying out new things and seeing New York in a non-touristy sense.  I mean you can only take crowds of people for so long- I think we actually only spent about 10 minutes total in Rockefeller Center, we just had bigger and better things to do!  Here is a recap in pictures of our weekend!

On Friday, Mom arrived early afternoon and we decided to get all of the really touristy things over that day seeing as it wasn't the weekend.  We started off at Columbus Circle and checked out the Christmas Market, trekked over to the Plaza Hotel and down 5th Avenue to get a glimpse of all the decorated stores.  After that we went to go see the tree and then headed down to Bryant Park and the NY Public Library.  From there we went through Times Square, got dinner in Hell's Kitchen at Southern Hospitality and then on a whim we ended up going to see Mamma Mia! It was an action packed and fun day!

The hanging stars in the Shops at Columbus Circle.  They are actually really big and change colors- at night they do a light show.  They are really pretty!

Tiffany's giant wreath on 5th Avenue!  This year the Tiffany windows had  a carousel theme to them! It was gorgeous!

Us with our giant shopping bags at Rockefeller Center!

In front of the Tree!

Gigantic Lights on 6th Ave

Us with the lights!!!

Hanging out at Bryant Park.  They have the Christmas shops here and the skating rink and the tree, but this year, there was an outdoor lounge with fireplace and heat lamps.  I pretended like I was far from the city in an exotic location like Aspen.  If you tried really hard you could almost not hear the sirens and the honking of horns!

Enjoying a brew at the lounge in Bryant Park!

Had to take a break from the walking and the shopping and sitting under the heat lamps gave us a chance to warm up! Cheers!

The tree in Bryant Park- in my opinion, this one is way prettier than the Rockefeller Center tree.  The blue lights are really pretty, in my opinion.

Time Square at night!

On Saturday, we woke up early and headed down to Union Square.  Before that we walked down 5th Ave and got some Christmas Shopping done.  We ate a quick lunch and then went to check out the Farmer's Market, Christmas shops outdoors and The Strand (a huge bookstore known for it's "miles and miles" of books!"  After that, we hopped on the L train, rode a few stops and "POOF," we were in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.  We went to check out the Brooklyn Brewery- went on a quick tour of their new huge facility and had a beer!  After that we went back to Manhattan, trekked down to the West Village and I took Mom for dessert at Rocco's.  We had chocolate peppermint lattes- Mom had a fruit tart and I had a sfogliatella (a traditional Italian pastry stuffed with ricotta cheese.) On the way home we picked up a bottle of wine, ordered a pizza, changed into our pajamas and watched Christmas Movies all night!

Fresh Cranberries in Union Square

Brand New Mural outside of the new Brooklyn Brewery space

Enjoying my Winter Ale! Brooklyn Brewery is my absolute favorite!

Inside the Brewery

Outside of Rocco's Bakery!

Mom left on Sunday afternoon after we relaxed all morning and had lunch.  We had a great weekend- it's always a ton of fun when Mom comes to visit!

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas from the Spencer Family!

The Ladies on Christmas Eve!

The Guys on Christmas Eve

This year for Christmas Eve, we decided to do an ugly Christmas sweater theme!  As you can see, everyone participated! My cousin Matt ended up winning- his sweater had lights, sang Feliz Navidad and was decked out in ornaments and pictures.  Can't wait to see what everyone comes up with next year!!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!! Happy New Year to everyone! 

It's beginning to feel a lot like winter...

As the weather gets a little bit colder in NYC, it's starting to feel more and more like winter!  With only two more weeks until Christmas, I've been packing as much as possible into an already busy schedule!

This past Friday, the girls from work and I traveled up to Rockefeller Center.  This year over by the Nintendo Store and the studio for the Today Show, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has a window display set up!  Below is the picture of all of us outside of the window!  We hung out there for a little while to check it out and then grabbed some hot chocolate and yummy cookies!  It's a great way to promote our wonderful organization, so if you are in the city for the holidays, be sure to check it out!

On Sunday evening, after a weekend filled with running, fundraisers and holiday parties, 19 of us from the winter season Miami/Manhattan team went to the New York Rangers game!  They played the Florida Panthers and won 6-1! I have never been to a hockey game at Madison Square Garden so it was a great way to see a different side of New York. And since the Rangers are the only New York team I will root for, we definitely made the most of it and had a blast! The other great thing is that since we were a big group, we started off wayyyyy up in the nosebleed section with a horrible view of the ice.  One of our friends actually had a connection so we moved down to seats about 25-30 rows from the ice! It was awesome!!

Me, Erin & Erica at the game!

The view from the food balcony at the top of the garden.

Us in our new seats!!! Go Rangers!

Getting ready for the Rangers to come back on the ice

Rangers vs. Panthers

It was a great weekend!  Mom comes this upcoming weekend- you know what that means!!! Lots of pictures featuring Christmas in NYC.  Stay tuned for more fun and exciting updates!!!  Now if you don't mind, it's back to my hot chocolate (with extra marshmallows of course) and watching The Grinch!

Turkey Trot

I know it's a little late, but better late than never. I was able to come home for Thanksgiving and spend time with my family and participate in a 5k Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving! Had a ton of fun and it was a great way to get some training in for the marathon!

Willow Tree Turkey Trot!

Katz's Deli

Once upon a time, back in 1888, on New York's Lower East Side, a Russian immigrant established a deli.  Today, they are known for their massive pastrami sandwiches, old school European eats, oh and that famous scene in When Harry Met Sally.

I trekked to the Lower East Side with my roommate and literally ate an entire pastrami sandwich by myself.  I mean it was about a pound of pastrami, all to myself, but who's counting right?

Katz's Deli

Inside the famous deli!

Arielle, myself, and the sandwich... yum!

Outside the famous deli

We were looking around for the famous table from the movie, to of course see Where Harry Met Sally... we figured out we were right underneath it. 

Known as the best

I am definitely my father's daughter... between the picture taking and the pastrami eating, I made Dad proud.  I ate every last bite of that sandwich... and then some.  I mean what's a pastrami sandwich without homemade pickles?!

Team in Training Update!!!

A few weeks ago, I held a fundraising event at a bar on the Upper West Side called the Gin Mill. I was able to raise some money and I was surrounded by great friends all night! Thank you to all of those who came and to those who have donated! I really appreciate all of the help and continued support!

Markian, Me & Will- North Scituate High School Reunited!

Me and my awesome roomie Arielle- so much support from you.  Whether it's waking up at 5am to watch me jump in the Hudson or whether it's drinking beer all night to save lives for cancer.  She is here through it all and I love her for it!

Me and my TNT girls! 

Me & Meagan!  Love you girl, thanks so much for coming!!!

The following weekend, the team went up to New Paltz, New York to train and bond.  We left on a Saturday morning, went running through the Shawagunk Mountains had an amazing cookout and camp fire, attended a kick-butt bootcamp and I was even able to capture some amazing photos.  The view was amazing, the weather was perfect, and it felt like we were running in a totally different world.  It was a perfect way to get to know my team, bond over the campfire, get a great workout in during long runs and boot camp and say goodbye to a beautiful fall! 

The view from our long run on Saturday

My running group on top of the world! 

Beautiful fall foliage

such a successful long run!

Was so amazing to get out of NYC and be able to have a weekend away from it all.  This is exactly what I needed.

Saturday night we had a campfire at my coach's house and we got to hang out, make s'mores and enjoy a few drinks around the fire.  Campfires are one of my favorite things, so this was definitely the highlight of the weekend for me!

Carolyn, Erica, me & Alison

Working it at boot camp!

Our awesome van crew to New Paltz.  We had such a blast- so much fun all weekend with you!!!

Our amazing team in New Paltz!

The training is going great as is the fundraising- ran a half marathon just because this past Saturday and this week I am running a turkey trot in Providence, RI while I am home for Thanksgiving! NEVER STOP RUNNING!

If you would all like to check out my fundraising page to see how I'm doing: click here!

Thank you for your constant support, your advice, your help, your donations, and your love.  You are all amazing and for that I thank you!

NYC Marathon 2011

So let me tell you about a little race I'd like to call the NYC Marathon.  Yesterday, Marathon Sunday, the entire city of New York shut down.  Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx and Manhattan; completely at a stand still.  40,000 runners took the streets of NYC to be baptized by the five boroughs.  26.2 miles of city, 26.2 miles of heart, 26.2 miles was only just the beginning.  And let me tell you, for every runner, there must have been at least five people cheering them on.  The streets were packed, jam packed.  I was posted at mile 22.5- all day long.  From 11 am until about 7pm, I was outside, screaming, decked from head to toe in Team in Training purple, ringing a cowbell and screaming at the top of my lungs for EVERY single person that ran.  

Our TNT team had over 350 runners, they raised over $1.7 million and they were truly an inspiration!  I can honestly say, I have never been one to cheerlead, but with my new job and this organization, I have become the biggest cheerleader out there.  I lost my voice, I braved the chilly weather, I stayed until the last participant walked by... but it was so worth it.  What a truly amazing race, an amazing spectacle for the city of New York.  Congrats to all of my friends who ran it- you were all amazing!    

Mile 22.5!

Me and Melissa and her friend- we ran our cheer station! We must have had over 30 people there screaming for the runners!

A very cute sign! 

Runners from all over the world took the streets of NYC.

Stole this from a website, but just so you have an idea of what we're dealing with....

Subway Station

Marathon Expo in the Asics Store

The marathon was amazing... I can honestly say it was one of the greatest days of my life, to be out there cheering on people for such a great cause.  Besides all of the runners who were running by thanking us for cheering, we had one man come up to us and say "I have myeloma, I want to thank you guys because you are saving my life."  This is exactly why I do what I do everyday... 

Go Team!