A blog about my life, fitness and fun! (...and maybe a few cat pictures...)

A blog about my life, fitness and fun! (...and maybe a few cat pictures...)

Monday, November 30, 2015

Our Thanksgiving!

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I hope you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving! This is what we were up to...

I woke up to Christmas laying on top of me... purring... his cheek on my cheek. I definitely thought about how extremely thankful I was to have him and his unconditional love!

Then I geared up for some speed work. I definitely didn't feel like doing it, but once i was out there in the warm sun and crisp fall air, I felt alive! Oh, and it didn't suck too bad, which probably means I didn't push myself hard enough!


I was in front of the television stretching just in time to see the end of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and the arrival of Santa!

Then it was time to shower and get ready to go to Paul's parent's house. We stayed all day and had a blast!


Swiper is a very sweet little kitty! I gave him a lot of attention.


Paul chilling and watching football.


Paul's parents- wonderful people and GREAT cooks!


All this for six people. Typical Thanksgiving!


My favorite bite includes: turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, and some cran sauce.
I only took a little mac and cheese because it was gluten free and I have a gluten free intolerance.




I was the only person who wore stretchy pants! I know how to do Thanksgiving
I love this meme. But seriously, I didn't stuff myself, yet enjoyed every bite!


We played games, then things got crazy and Bob got out his banjo!

We got home around 9pm and settled down with leftovers to watch the double episode of Survivor from the night before. Oh my word, they were the two best episodes of the season!

And that was our Thanksgiving! It was a lot more low key due to skipping my family's festivities. I really missed them.
How was your Thanksgiving? Or are you sick of talking about Thanksgiving!?

Sunday, November 29, 2015

Thanksgiving Eve!

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The day before Thanksgiving always seems to be a whirlwind for me, but that is okay. I wouldn't have it any other way! Here is what went down on Wednesday!

I woke up dark and early for 3 easy miles around my neighborhood. Then I lifted back at home while watching a couple episodes of Ellen that have been saved on my DVR forever.

Work was horrible. I had two tasks to complete. One was completed already and the other took 40 minutes. Ho-hum. It is rare I am bored at work... usually I am way too busy!


Hey, I colored my December calendar. That's productive, right!?

Luckily the work day was broken up by a quick pop in at my friend JK-L's house for lunch. She made me a triple decker peanut butter and jelly sandwich and we talked Scrabble strategy. She told me I play "ghetto Scrabble" hahaha! No, I play to WIN!


She plays nice.

After work, I quickly freshened up and then we hit the road to drive to my mom's house. Without holiday traffic, it takes 40 minutes. With holiday traffic, it took an hour and ten minutes. I'm not going to lie, Paul and I were getting pretty hangry, hannoyed, hirritated, husterated, and humpy.

All was good when we arrived at my parent's house! Food and family (yes, in that order- we were pretty hungry!) was what we needed! We got to see our cousins and their daughter, whom we don't see very often since they live on the West Coast.

Next, we visited my grandmother because we wouldn't see her on Thanksgiving. She is so sweet, and every time we leave, she says, "Stop by and see me again."

Then we went to Emily & Jake's annual Thanksgiving Eve party. This is one of my favorite nights of the year because I love Emily's family. I also get to catch up with high school friends I don't see very often.


We got home a little after 11:00 and then I stayed up past 1:00am watching old Jodi Arias trial coverage while playing Minesweeper. I have problems!

And that was my Thanksgiving Eve!
What did you do this Thanksgiving Eve?
Do you have any traditions?

Saturday, November 28, 2015

Weekly Workout Recap!

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Hey all! I hope you are enjoying a long weekend. Here is my training log for the past week.

Saturday- Race pace run you can read about here! 13.1 miles!

Sunday- Chest at home. Hey look, I actually documented a lifting workout and made it into an image... like I used to do!



Jelly likes to lay on my laptop while I workout and activate toggle keys.

Monday- 5 very easy going neighborhood miles. I was feeling pokey and boy did it show in my splits. It was freezing. This was the first really cold run we have had. I had on two pairs of gloves and my fingers were still frozen. Splits: 8:24, 8:35, 8:26, 8:31, 8:30




Tuesday- 5 more neighborhood miles. I was feeling much better than the day before and my splits showed it! It was cold but I wore shorts because I was too lazy to go down in the basement and dig out my warm pair of running tights. Splits: 7:49, 7:54, 8:04, 7:54, 7:25


Wednesday- 3 easy miles and then back at home.



15lb of Jelly (pure fluff) and 25lb of dumbbell (pure metal).


Christmas says: You'll do band assisted pull ups over my furry body!

Thursday- Thanksgiving speed work. Don't even ask about my intervals. Those decisions were made by lengths of neighborhood loop dee doops and straightaways!


 

Friday- I did an easy 5 miler around my neighborhood. My splits were almost exactly even. Weird!

What were you up to this week?

Friday, November 27, 2015

Runfessions!

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Marcia @ Marcia's Healthy Slice hosts a Runfessions link up on the last Friday of every month. Be sure to check out Marcia's blog and some of the other wonderful blogs that do the Runfessions link up!

**Note: I have no idea why some of this is highlighted and some isn't... Blogfession #1 I don't know a whole lot about the technicalities of html!**

Runfession #1: On Tuesday, it was about 35 degrees for my morning run. I was too lazy to go down to the basement and get my running tights, so I ran in shorts. For some reason, going down to the basement seemed like more of an effort than running 5 miles with cold legs. That's runner logic for ya!

Runfession #2: During that cold run, I noticed I still have a running shorts tan from last summer! I tried to take a picture but the coloration is not accurately reflected in the photo.

Runfession #3: In preparation for my half marathon in Florida (which is in a few weeks!) I had vowed to do some treadmill runs at Planet Fitness to get used to running in high temperatures. Guess how many treadmill runs I have done? Zero. If I bonk due to the temperatures, I have no one to blame but myself. You heard it here first.

Runfession #4: In normal runner "second-guess-yourself-right-before-a-race" fashion, I have started to fear I didn't do enough long runs to train for this half. Looking over my training log, I did three 10 milers, one 12 miler, one 13.1 miler, and several 8 milers. Tomorrow I plan to do 10 miles since the race will be two weeks away and I don't want to do anything crazy. I just have to trust that my endurance is there! Obviously, now isn't the time to squeeze in long runs. If I was going to do longer runs, I should have done them by now.

Runfession #5: I haven't been to Planet Fitness since July 3rd. Ever since I bought my big girl weights, I have been more motivated to lift at home. But after rereading Runfession #3. I think a trip to the gym is in order...

That was the most money I ever spent on hunks of metal.
Tell me one of your Runfessions... or Blogfessions!

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Happy Thanksgiving my dearest blog readers! I hope your day is filled with family, fun, and FOOD! This year we are headed to Paul's parent's house for the day. I look forward to lots of laughter and probably eating a little too much food. If we are lucky, we will get sent home with some leftovers! Paul is looking forward to football, but I couldn't care less about that... In fact, I think I am going to bring a puzzle to work on while the football fanatics do their thing!

Have a WONDERFUL day! Hug your loved ones tight and let the small stuff go. Life is too short to be a Grumpy McGrumperson today!

I couldn't help myself, this meme is hilarious!
Who are you celebrating with today?

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Randomy Random Updates!

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Hey all! I figured I’d give you an update on many of the things I have mentioned on my blog in the last couple months. I know sometimes I ask questions, complain, or otherwise share a problem I have but then I leave it open ended. It is time to either update you or give you some closure on things that have been happening in my life! Because obviously I know it has been keeping you up at night… (I jest.)


1. After suffering from the Big D (diarrhea) for about two months straight, I am finally experiencing some relief! Also, those “find a toilet within the next 3 seconds or poop your pants” moments have not happened in a little over two months. Yay! I bet you are wondering how this problem got resolved? Well, a blog reader mentioned that melatonin ended up giving her diarrhea, so she thought it was possible that could be my problem as well. I stopped melatonin and a couple weeks later I was Big D Free. I’m not sure if the melatonin was the cause or not but whatever it was, I’m not complaining!



2. So how am I sleeping since I can’t take melatonin anymore!? Well, I started reading, which really helps me fall asleep. A good book has essentially taken over melatonin’s job. I still take diphenhydramine, which helps me stay asleep. So far this school year I have only had a couple nights where I couldn’t fall asleep.



3. Some of you have been asking how my knee has been fairing during my half training. I know I call it my knee, because sometimes it IS my knee, but the real culprit is my IT Band. I do hip/glute exercises to help as well as stretching every single day for 15-20 minutes. My IT band and knee rarely bother me during a run. The time my IT band starts acting up is when I am driving or sitting for too long. If it is instigated by a long run or speed session, it always feels better the next morning. The times it bothers me the most is on days I don't run. Being active helps it feel better. I know that doesn't make sense but it is the truth. It's just something I have to deal with an I am tired of holding myself back from my goals. Right now I am trying to reach my goals as well as manage this "pesky" problem.

4. Paul is over halfway done with his radiation and chemo treatments. They told us the side effects would be cumulative, and over the past week, we have really started to notice them. I could go into all of them but Paul is a pretty private person, so I will not! Just imagine the normal side effects one my have due to radiation treatments, and he has them. He rarely ever complains. Every day I tell him he is a stronger and better person than I am because I would be complaining ever second of every day if I had to go through what he goes through.



5. After the whole feline acne debacle with Christmas, I have been putting his topical antibiotic ointment on him for about a week now. He still has the spot of acne. It doesn't appear to be getting worse, but it is still there. I am wondering if it is just little scabs stuck in his hair that need wiped off or if the antibiotic isn't working. His little spot of acne does not seem to be bothering him at all. Man, this is such a "Rich Housecat" problem to have. Only Rich Housecats would "suffer" from something as minor as feline acne! 



6. Remember how I lost my wedding ring? I still haven't found it. I have been putting off ordering a new one because I am secretly hoping it turns up somewhere... Like on my finger!
Is there something I missed? I'll be glad to update you in the comments!

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

I'm loving...

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After a not so great week "mentally", this past weekend was an AWESOME chance to relax and recharge and get myself centered. I thought it would be nice to talk about some of the things I am loving lately...

I'm loving... this video of Jelly and Chrissy fighting! C'mon, you can watch it... it's 9 seconds long!



I'm loving... that three of my students got adopted on Friday! How wonderful for them!

I'm loving... how Christmas is always hungry. Sometimes he just gives up and lays on the kitchen counter in front of the fridge so he is there the second it is time to eat.




I'm loving... baking pumpkin cookies first thing on a cold, November morning. (Paul's radiation nurses are going to be happy!)


I'm loving... Leroy Stolzfus, a young Amish man who ran the Harrisburg Marathon in 3:05! Read about him here!




I'm loving... Your kind comments after my post on Friday. I learn so much from you guys!

What are you loving lately!?