Fridays With Ellie: One Month In West New York

This week has felt very, very long. Nothing remarkable came my way, just the usual work work work work work (TM Rihanna) and lots of writing with some conference calls and events thrown in.

I don’t know why I’m so tired lately. Brian says it’s allergies. I say it’s because I’ve been eating too much sugar. Either way, I’m having a hard time getting up every morning, and am ready to pass out hard by 3:30 PM most days. (If you’re looking for motivation or inspiration, I’m available for hourly pep texts. LMK.)

This weekend will include a long run at some point (gunning for 12 miles since we’re three weeks out from the Brooklyn Half), the Red Hook Crit in Brooklyn Saturday night (date night!), and a full day of work on Sunday. So pretty low key, which is nice because I’ll be traveling the next two weekends in a row (going back to Washington, D.C., for my cousin’s wedding, then going to New Hampshire to see Tyler and Abby for the first time since Christmas!).

But despite being tired and kind of complain-y and a little out of it, I’m never too sleepy to blast the internet with pictures of Ellie. Welcome to another edition of Fridays With Ellie!

At almost eight months old (whaaat?!), Ellie is loving life more than ever. She continues to make herself feel at home here in West New York, and loves exploring the neighborhood and making as many human and animal friends as possible.

Her best friend is the man who vacuums the hallways and lobby of our building. Ellie will be sound asleep, but when she hears the hum of the vacuum in the hallway, she’ll wake up, run to the door, and start wagging her tail and shaking her butt like crazy. They’re the cutest pals ever, and he’ll always stop what he’s doing to play with her. It’s her favorite part of the day.

The second favorite part of Ellie’s day is our nightly walk to the ferry terminal. The ferry is just .2 miles from our apartment, so Brian will text me to let me know which ferry he’ll be on, and then I’ll walk Ellie to meet him at the end of the gangway (what a strange word!). People at the terminal recognize Ellie now, and everyone’s very nice and happy to see her during their homeward-bound commutes. (Picture the opposite of Penn Station or Port Authority. Here, people smile and are nice and it’s clean and the commute is kind of awesome and no one elbows you in the ribs for sort of being in their way.)

The Monday/Wednesday/Friday/Sunday security guard is Ellie’s second best friend. He likes to post videos of her on SnapChat, and I always bring Ellie to the terminal a few minutes before Brian’s boat arrives so she can visit Mr. Security before she spots Brian coming off the boat.

Then, when Brian arrives, she runs toward him and we’re all a happy, reunited family after the long day. We walk Ellie to the dog park on the way home (it’s between the ferry and the apartment), throw some tennis balls around for a while, and then come home for dinner.

Ellie has gone on a few exciting field trips lately. We’ve been to South Mountain Reservation, Brookdale Dog Park, and Tallman Mountain State Park.

She also went on her first ferry boat ride to visit Brian at work. She was thrilled by the ferry. Her life is very glamorous and exciting, and I swear every day is the best day of her life.

When she’s not taking a road trip or boat ride, Ellie enjoys the local dog parks and peeing and pooping on the grass and the mulch.

All this traveling makes her sleepy sometimes, though!

And lest you think the underbite has faded with age…it hasn’t.

Have a great weekend, everyone!