I got wireless headphones!

A couple weeks ago I was getting frustrated because my headphones kept breaking! On a run, the wire would freeze and then if it bent, it would break. One pair I had was brand new and broke within the first mile of using them! I was so annoyed. 

For a couple weeks, I have been listening to my podcasts with the volume turned up on my phone. (I only did this on mornings it was cold enough for the wires to freeze. If I ran in the afternoon and it was warmer, no need.)

You all had great tips to help me avoid the freezing headphones. The first tip was to run the wire under my clothes so it stayed warm. The second tip was wireless headphones. I went on Amazon and was scared about the price of the headphones! I don't like having nice things, especially for running, because I'm scared they will break! Also, I am VERY picky about how headphones feel. I didn't want to invest a lot of money and then just hate them.

On Cyber Monday I hopped on Amazon and found a great deal on a good pair of wireless headphones! They were normally $59.99, marked down to $21.99, and then there was a lightening deal for $15.40. Unfortunately, by the time I read the reviews (which were great), the lightening deal was gone, so I ended up paying the $21.99 price. Still awesome, though! I added on the insurance/protection for $3.99, so for about $25, I'd have a good pair of wireless headphones delivered in about two days!

My headphones arrived yesterday. I tried them on quickly and didn't like the way they felt, but I know I have to sit down and do it while I have time to mess with them. I just didn't have time last night so I will experiment with them this weekend. I'll let you know what I think of my new headphones as soon as I try them out!

Side note... why do my wireless headphones have a WIRE!?

What kind of headphones do you use?

Thanksgiving Break Wrap Up (Part 2)

Hola, Turkey peeps! Here is part two of my big Thanksgiving Break Recap!
If you missed part one, check it out here.

~Saturday~

The cats woke me up relatively early even though I would have loved to sleep in! I did a little bit of blogging and whatnot in the morning, but I didn't dilly dally for too long. I was headed out and about!

First I checked on Bitty Bot, Randy and Michael's cutie kitty. She wasn't too excited about me being there, but I fed her, threw some treats, and took a pic.

The Queen of Penn Street!

Then I headed to Carlisle to an craft fair. My mom was there so I wanted to see her booth, and just wander around. I ended up getting a couple soaps for Christmas gifts.

Here is my mom's cool set up...

Before I left the craft show, Kristina sent me a picture of some cute cat pajamas she got at Old Navy. That sort of put me in the mood to go to the mall.... I went to Old Navy and JC Penny. I loved the pjs but ultimately decided I didn't need them! I ended up not buying anything, which was good because I didn't need anything.

Then I did some grocery shopping and picked up a few more Christmas presents. I even wrapped them as soon as I got home. It was a very productive day!

Later on that night, I went out again to do one more check on The Botster. She was really lovey this time!

When I got home, Paul and I drank wine, played cards, and had a hearty dinner while watching Colbert. I went to bed relatively early... race in the morning!

 Two pieces of chicken breast with melted cheese and a ton of cauliflower. In the red bowl is leftover stuffing and mac and cheese from Thanksgiving.

~Sunday~

I ran the Dirty Bird 30k this morning at French Creek State Park. The course was beautiful and I surprised myself with second place in my age group! I wrote a race recap here.

After my race I didn't want to do anything too crazy. Paul was watching football, so I played with my new SPIRALIZER. Debby made some awesome spiralized sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving and I wanted to do the same. I was surprised at how easy it was to use!

Then I cracked open a bottle of Sweet Sue from Buddy Boy and got deep into some Jodi Arias trial footage and a Wysocki puzzle!

~Monday~

Even though I had nothing planned for the day, I got up at 5:15. I poured some coffee and blogged and blogged and blogged. I love my SILENT morning blogging time!

Then... I'm not lying when I tell you this... I did puzzles ALL DAY. I took a break to eat dinner but that's it!!!

I call this dinner: "I'm wearing leggings to work tomorrow!"

And that was my long Thanksgiving Break!

What else can I spiralize besides sweet potatoes?

Guess how many times I watched Jodi Arias' interrogation tapes!!!

Do you like to go to craft shows?

Dirty Bird 30k Race Recap

On Sunday I ran the Dirty Bird 30k at French Creek State Park. I didn't train for it, I just went out to have fun. Registrants could choose between 1 loop (15k), 2 loops (30k) or 3 loops and some change (50k). The price on race day w/ a shirt was $39 for any distance. I chose the "no shirt" price and only paid $33. Quite the steal! This race was put on by Pretzel City Sports.

I laid out all of my food/hydration the night before so I could leave at 7:00 on the dot!

There were five water stops so I didn't need to carry water but I did take a small bottle anyway. Before the race I drank a lot of water and coffee. I ate a protein bar and a banana. During the race I drank water, Gatorade, and had three fig newtons.

It was quite cold at the start, but by the time the race was in full swing, I realized I was a little overdressed. It was one of those days I could've worn tights or shorts, a long sleeve or a long sleeve and a jacket, gloves or no gloves.

Here's a recap of each section of the race. Remember, it was a 9.2 mile loop I did twice.

Miles 1-2: Sucked BALLS. I did not line up at the right spot. I didn't want to be up front because I wanted to run at a leisurely pace, but there were so many bottlenecks in the beginning and a lot of people running at a much slower pace than me. I tried to get past them, which required some speeding up and slowing down. I think I got stuck with people who weren't used to trail running. If they came upon a little rock, they'd stop running and walk over it, and then start running again. What!?

Miles 3-6: Still not enjoyable as I continued to work hard to pass people so I could run my happy pace. I was running up all the hills and basically doing fartleks trying to get past everyone. There was a section that went downhill for awhile and it was ROCKY. It was really dangerous because there were leaves covering the rocks. A woman had slit her knee open really deep but there were people helping her. They didn't need me so I kept going. After seeing her, I decided I shouldn't be so willy nilly on the downhills.

Miles 6-9: These miles were the first part of the race I was actually able to just run comfortably without getting stuck behind people. This section had a loooooong climb. This was the first time I walked at all. My race plan was to walk all the hills, but I already mentioned why I didn't do that. I really enjoyed the last two miles back to the start as they were mostly downhill and it was nice knowing I was almost halfway done! When we got back to the parking lot, it was a little confusing about where to go, but luckily there were people in front of me so I didn't make a wrong turn. My first loop was completed in 1:48:00.

Miles 9-13: The second loop! I walked up a lot of inclines that I should've walked up the first time around. I was getting tired and had a pain in my right butt cheek that I sometimes get when I run for a long time. I turned on a podcast and was excited to just zone out and finally enjoy a peaceful run in the woods! At one point a saw a girl who fell and banged her knee pretty bad. She was a little shaken. I gave her water and we ran off together. I'm glad she was able to keep going!

Miles 12-15: I met a buddy! She and I chatted and paced each other during this tough section of the race. Her name was Stephanie, and she was pretty bubbly and carefree- a good person to have keep you company. We definitely kept each other chugging along, but then she took off after we did the big climb for the second time.

Miles 15-18: I took it up a notch since there were lots of downhills and it was SOON OVER! I stopped for a picture but other than that, I just kept going. 

Mile 17 selfie!

I caught up to Stephanie but I knew I could run a little bit faster so I went by her. I didn't want to push too hard though because I didn't want to be one of those people that have a heart attack at the end of a race! I started to wonder if I could make it in under three and a half hours. When I got to the parking lot I TOOK A WRONG TURN!!! I was annoyed that it either wasn't marked well or I was too delirious it see it. I got back on course and was still in front of Stephanie. My last mile clocked in at an 8:05! Not bad for the end of an 18 mile trail race!

Somehow I finished in 3:24. How did I run the second loop faster than the first? I only walked once during the first loop and I walked several times during the second. Not only that, but I was TIRED on the second loop! Being stuck at the back of the pack for the first 5 miles rally must have slowed me down.

As soon as I finished, I was informed I won 2nd in my AG. I saw Stephanie finish and she got 3rd, so I figured we were in the same AG. Before the awards ceremony, we both thanked each other for the pacing we provided each other during a tough part of the race. This was her longest run ever so I was really proud of her! She said her feet were crampy and asked what she should do. I told her to go home, open a bottle of wine, and lay on the couch! (I also told her to stretch them!)

I was so hungry after the race. I ate: 2 hot dogs, a mocha frappaccino and chocolate croissant, and sweet potato fries (made fresh with my spiralizer!). And that was just my lunch!

I'm so glad I went out and ran the Dirty Bird! I think a 30k is the longest distance I can run for "fun" without any purposeful training.

Have you ever done a 30k?
Ever get stuck behind slower people for miles and miles?
Have you made a wrong turn on a race course?

Thanksgiving Break Wrap Up (Part 1)

Instead of a Weekend Wrap Up, I figured I'd do a Thanksgiving Break Recap in two parts... because I can!

~Wednesday~

We don't normally have off the day before Thanksgiving, so I was extremely excited to have an extra day this year! It gives me a day to do last minute errands and honestly just relax. But the biggest thing it does is allow me to not be so stressed leading up to the holiday. Knowing that I have that FULL day off to do ANYTHING I failed to get done just eases my mind completely!

This is what I woke up to... a Jelly boy sitting on my legs, staring me down...

Surprisingly, my hair looked like it was still "done" even after sleeping on it all night. My hair glue works like magic!

I had a lot on my agenda today! First, I wanted to fiddle around on the internet, drink coffee, and watch Morning Joe while I woke up. Then, the following items needed done:

1. Rake leaves.

2. Clean the house.

3. Go to the post office.

4. Make ornaments.

5. Wrap Christmas presents.

6. Do some blogging.

7. Workout.

8. Make a pineapple casserole and fingers.

I actually did everything on the list except go to the post office! What a productive first day of vacation! Now I can lay on my ass the rest of my Thanksgiving break.

That evening, we headed to Millersburg and listened to Christmas songs the whole way there! We found a Bing Crosby mix on Youtube and just let the good sounds flow!

First, we stopped in to see my Grandma. She was very happy for visitors.

Then we went to Emily and Jake's house for their annual Thanksgiving Eve gathering. Emily has been my friend since grade school. She invites mainly her family and just a couple close friends. We are very honored to be included every year! I love catching up with Emily and chatting with her aunts about Survivor.

Somehow, we got on the topic of how vinegar is good for you, so we all did apple cider vinegar shots. EW!!!! That's the last time I'll be peer pressured into doing that!

I barely saw Paul all night. He was downstairs in the man cave with all the dudes. We stayed until after 1am! On the way home, we had to be very careful and on the lookout for deer. We saw a whole family of them in the field. Beautiful. It made me feel guilty for eating deer bologna at the party...

~Thursday~

Look who cuddled me this morning!

Chrissy in my face, Jelly on my feet, story of my life!

Every Thanksgiving morning I make green bean casserole and go for a run.

At noon, headed over to Cousin Steph & Ken's house where they host my dad's side of the family all day. We ate around 1pm and it was delicious! Then we just spent time together and played games.

Me and my brother, Tyler

Me and Cousin Stephanie

Cousin Brian, Cousin Alex, and Tyler playing Code Names

Clark wrestling Grandpa

Paul and I left at 5:00 so we could head to his parent's house for their Thanksgiving meal. I wasn't that hungry by the time we got there (even though all I ate at Steph's was one plate, no dessert, and no "grazing") but I manned up and had a plate of the most delicious food.

Round 2? If I have to!

You can check out more pics and stories from our Thanksgiving day here!

We didn't get home until after 9pm. I had a lot of stuff to put away because my mom sent home some Christmas decorations for me!

She also sent these cool salt and pepper shakers. They are the ones we used all growing up. I know it sounds silly, but I love that I have these salt and pepper shakers now!

My dad sent some books home for me. I have read A Walk in the Woods but I may read it again. The Gift of Fear is one of my favorite books. I'm going to read that for the third time, I think! Actually, maybe I should see if Gavin de Becker has anything new out... And as for the one about the 100 year old man, well, my dad just read it and highly recommends it!

After I showered and put everything away, we finally watched Survivor! I was so tired but I couldn't go another day without watching it.

~Friday~

I was beyond excited to sleep in! I made it until nearly 8:00! Then I did what I love doing on days I have no plans... I drink lots of coffee, catch up on blog reading, and wrote some blogs of my own. Then I had a hearty breakfast of dippy eggs, toast, and orange juice!

Using the scratch pad for a pillow!?

After a substantial amount of laying around, Paul and I headed to Duncannon to hit up the Appalachian Trail. He hiked and I ran up to Hawk Rock and beyond. We were out for about an hour and a half. It was great to be out there in the fresh air instead of stuck in traffic or shopping crowds.

On the way home, we stopped at Buddy Boy Winery. We did a tasting at their shop in Gettysburg but were never at their vineyard. It was definitely an interesting place. Everyone was nice, but the only part of the winery that was inside was the tasting room and the small room where you buy the wines. They did have sort of a pavilion but we were cold in our running/hiking clothes!

Since it was their anniversary weekend, it was $7 for seven tastings and a free glass, so that's what we did. We tasted so many we loved and ended up getting 9 bottles! There was a Black Friday discount, though.

There was a kitty cat in the tasting room!

We opened one of the bottles and enjoyed it in the pavilion where there was a band playing. We didn't catch their name, but they were very good.

Soon, we were too cold and hungry and needed some food. There was a tent making lots of yummy stuff, so we got a hot sausage, fries, and chicken corn soup. It was divine! We ate in the car with the heat blasting!

 When we got home, we just relaxed. Oh, if only Jelly knew how to relax...

I guess my first three days of break could be summed up in four words: family, friends, food, and felines!

Do you do anything special on Thanksgiving Eve?
Have you read any of those books?
Have you ever taken a shot of vinegar?