2013 Re-Cap!

2013 sure was an interesting year. A lot of wonderful things happened, a lot of stressful (to say the least) and sad things happened. But here we are on the last day of the year. This morning I awoke happy and healthy with my man and my kitty cats at my side. Any day I wake up next to the love of my is the best day, in my book. So here is a quick re-cap of some of our big events of 2013....

1. We celebrated 5 years of marriage! I can't believe it has been this long already. Looking back at this wedding pic... dang we look so young! I know I married the perfect person for me. Paul makes me laugh every day. I am the luckiest gal in all the land!

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August 9, 2008, Hidden Brook Farm, Carlisle, PA

2. We took a trip to NYC to sit in the studio audience of The View (one of my long time favorite shows!). And then I got to go back and be featured on a segment. What a dream come true!

Yes, we purposefully color coordinated. I wanted to look TV ready!

3. I hit two running PRs- 19:51 5k and 5:41 mile. Then spent the rest of the year injured. What's the song? "There is a season, tuuuuuurn, tuuuuuurn, tuuuuuuuurn...."

Mile Madness!

4. We went on a couple mini vacations, including visiting my alma matar (IUP), Fallingwater, Atlantic City, and Ocean City New Jersey.

Paul organized the Western PA trip to IUP and Fallingwater!

Posing in the Oak Grove at IUP.

5. I gave up fake sugar. I had consumed enough fake sugar to last 5 lifetimes. I was due. Now I drink a ton of water and a ton of milk!

6. My husband had brain surgery to remove a large portion of a brain tumor at Johns Hopkins Hospital and it has helped his symptoms tremendously. The scariest time in our lives, for sure.

7. We lost our Basey Girl. I still can't believe I'll never get to pet her again. I miss her a lot. The day we lost her was one of the saddest days of my life.

Isn't she the prettiest?

8. I decided to become a a certified personal trainer. I have to register for my test soon. Gulp.

9. We booked a Hawaiian Vacation! We didn't go yet, but we booked it and paid for it, which is half the battle!

10. I discovered butternut squash. Yes, butternut squash gets a spot in the re-cap.

So tell me the highlights of your 2013!!! The good, the bad, and the squash!

Weekend Wrap Up - Dang, I'm getting lazy...

Well my friends, I have a confession to make. I have been really lazy over my winter break. I know break is all about relaxing and recharging and coming back in 2014 better than ever, but I took it to a whole new level on Friday. This was basically me all day:

Actually, I did have a pretty tough workout at the gym. But the rest of the day I was in my pjs lounging.

I started watching the movie The Back Up Plan, which was pretty horrible. I plan to finish it in spurts- as I do my PT stretching and foam rolling. Because that's all it's good for- something to watch to pass the time while stretching.

I went out for a beautiful 9 mile run on Saturday afternoon. I didn't realize how gorgeous it was until I got outside. I ended up running around the block and stopping back at my house to take off my vest and change into shorts. That's how warm it was!

Saturday afternoon I suddenly got the urge to purge. I went through all my drawers and closets and threw out stuff that wasn't worth giving away and made piles for people who I thought would enjoy certain clothes and accessories I either don't wear anymore or don't fit anymore. I have a few sweaters that don't fit because my arms are busting out of them!!! Must be from the pull ups!!! (Never thought I'd be happy to "grow out of" clothes!)

We went out for a little date Saturday night. Dinner was at Da Vinci's in Mechanicsburg. It is a delicious little Italian place on the Carlisle Pike just past Wal Mart. Paul got Gnocci and I got Lobster Ravioli. But first we feasted on their delicious bread. It's warm, crispy, buttery... It's pretty much heaven in a basket. The portions were huge, so we took lots of leftovers home.

Gnocci Caprese!

Then we hit up Target! One of my favorite things to do after the holidays is get a bunch of holiday candy on clearance!

Yes, these actually do taste like hot chocolate!

I almost got this scratch pad for the cats, but in the interest of wanting to have spending money in Hawaii, I abstained from purchasing it. How cute is it, though!?!?!?

Candy Cane Scratch Pad

Our date was not yet over. To finish the evening, we watched the movie The Frozen Ground. I didn't realize until the end that it's actually a true story which made it all the more freaky. But it's a good movie about a serial killer in Alaska during the early 1980s.

I woke up super early Sunday morning and spent an hour and a half researching IT Band injuries, rehab, etc. I found a lot of great information and it motivated me to declare that day A REST DAY. That's right folks. I did not exercise on Sunday. Here is what I did do on Sunday...


1. Went out for coffee with my dear friend Ashley and her beautiful daughter Leona.

2. Stretched, iced, foam rolled.

Chrissy hijacked my stretching area.

3. Went to Michael's and practiced self control by not buying anything, even though all Christmas decorations were 80% off. Damn, now I regret it...

4. Got really sad about having to take a rest day.

5. Edited photos for longer than I care to admit... with Jelly on my lap.

6. I watched the movie The Call. It was pretty damn intense. I cried several times. I took several breaks. I don't know why it was so hard to get through this movie! I do know that 2 kidnapping movies in one weekend is too many.

7. Now that Freaks and Geeks is over, we found another show to watch together- East Bound and Down. After watching the first episode, I am both horrified and very excited to watch the rest of the series!!

See any good movies this weekend?
Score any after Christmas deals?

I have another challenge for you! PUSH YOURSELF.

 CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!

True story. I was at the gym the other day working my back, biceps, and legs. I had designed a short HIIT workout comprising of mainly plyometrics to do after I was done lifting. But as the lifting portion of my workout was drawing to an end, the HIIT workout I had planned looked a little more daunting. I was tired and didn't know if I had the energy to do all that jumping and flopping around. It would've be so much easier to just do a quick 2 mile run on the treadmill and call it a day...

But as I stared at the workout I had written down for myself, I decided I was going to do it. Sure, it was going to be a challenge, but that's the point, right? Working out and training isn't always supposed to be easy or comfortable. Running 2 miles would be very comfortable- so what's the point? They would be junk miles. And I have been making an effort not to run junk miles. So I had no other choice. The decision had been made. I was going to do the horrible workout I concocted because it WOULD be a challenge. I needed to PUSH MYSELF!

Here's what I did...

At first it wasn't so bad. I got into a groove. The jump squats and burpees were fine. By the time I got to the bicycles, my legs were almost too tired to push in and out. Doing 45 squats in a row was torture and by the time I started the jumping jacks, my legs and arms felt like jelly!

I thought it would take me 20-22 minutes but it took 32 minutes. I took no breaks except to grab a quick sip of water.

My challenge is not for you to do this exact workout. My challenge for you is to do something that PUSHES you the next time you want to take the easy way out! 

You will never know your limits unless you push yourself to them.

What's the last terrible workout you did?

10 Questions... because I'm a Sunshine Nominee!

My good friend Emily over at House in the Heights has nominated me for a Sunshine Award! What that means is, reading my blog sometimes brightens her day. What an honor! (Especially because reading her blog brightens my day.) I decorate and design my house vicariously through Emily. She is so creative. Maybe if I read her blog enough, I will learn all the tricks of the trade and finally someday make the improvements to my home that I know it needs! But until then, I shall just follow Emily's adventures!

Anyway... being nominated for a Sunshine Award means I must answer 10 questions that Emily gave me and then nominate some other bloggers for the award and give them their questions.

This is starting to sound like the blog version of a chain letter!

Anyway, Ems gave me some pretty juicy questions... so here we go!

1. How long have you been blogging?

I started blogging on June 5th, 2013! I am proud to say I have blogged every day since!

2. What inspired you to start blogging?

My love of running, lifting, and fitness.
I want to share my love and knowledge of (mostly) healthy living with others!

3. If you could travel to any 3 places in the world, where would they be?

Hawaii
Europe (I know that's a lot of places wrapped into one, too bad!)
Australia

4. What's the best concert you've been to?

I would have to say Madonna because at the time,
I LOVED her and it was so cool to see her live- twice- with my best friend!

5. Describe your dream house.

This may sound strange, but I love my house! So I would have to say it's my exact house, except...
- Every room is just a little bit bigger
- It's in the middle of a huge yard, right next to the Appalachian Trail
- The carport is turned into a garage
- There is an annex attached which is a full gym.
- We have a hot tub in the back yard.
- We also have a landscaper and cleaning woman that come with the house.

6. What are some things on your bucket list?

- Travel everywhere.
- Lead a marathon pace group.
- Run all of these races.

7. You MUST change your first name. What do you change it to?

Holly

8. Name 5 of your favorite blogs. (Besides House in the Heights, of course.)

Runner Girl Eats
Better With Sprinkles
Hit The Ground Running
The Great Fitness Experiment
Sweat Like A Pig

9. Name a celebrity you find oddly attractive, someone who wouldn't typically occupy one's 'hot celeb list'.

Seth Myers

10. What is your favorite day of the entire year? Why?

Christmas Eve! Because I love the build up to Christmas Day!

Okay, now it's my turn to nominate some recipients of the Sunshine Award... Let's go with 5 of my favorite blogs!!!

Karen @ Runner Girl Eats

Sam @ Better With Sprinkles

Ali @ Hit The Ground Running

Charotte @ The Great Fitness Experiment

Tara @ Sweat Like A Pig

Your job: Answer the 10 questions below (some I stole!) and nominate others for the award.

 If you don't want to do it, that's fine too! 

You are still a nominee of mine because you bring sunshine to my day!

1. How did you come up with the name for your blog?

2. What would your memoir be called?

3. What is your "day job"?

4. What are 3 of your proudest fitness accomplishments?

5. You HAVE to change your first name. What do you change it to?

6. What is the best concert you've ever been to?

7. Tell me some things on your bucket list.

8. Describe your dream house.

9. Name a celebrity you find oddly attractive, one that wouldn't usually occupy one's 'hottest celeb list'.

10. Tell me 5 of your favorite blogs.

Have a great one!

Our Christmas in Pictures...

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were great! 

I had an awesome time hanging out with my family.

Here is a little taste of our celebration...

Mom's dead Christmas Tree. (On purpose.)

I hope your day was great! Tell me one of the highlights!