MGR Updates!

Hello! My Weekend Wrap Up will be posted tomorrow. For now, I have a couple updates for you!

1. Not to brag, but I had all of my indoor Christmas decorations put away on Dec 26th and all of my outdoor ones away by Dec 27th. I feel relieved all traces of Christmas are gone from my house, especially since I didn't want to decorate this year in the first place.

Before...

After!

2. My nails are getting so long. I think they are going to need cut soon! I have actually never cut my nails before, I have only ever bitten them. I will have to find a Youtube video showing me how!

3. I made a quiche! I always thought quiche was hard to make but it's actually not. I made it with spinach, feta, and chicken sausage. Paul loved it so much that after we are the whole thing (in less than two days) I made another quiche the exact same way. Next, I will start experimenting with different ingredients. I think bacon, cheddar, and broccoli is up first!

4. We power cleaned our house over winter break. Every closet, cabinet, and drawer is organized and the place is spic and span. I even vacuumed the cobwebs in the space between the window panes and window screens! It feels good. Outer order, inner calm.

Look at that clean fridge! 

5. I FOUND MY KEYS!!!! They were missing for weeks! Guess where they were? In our storage room in the basement mixed in with some outdoor extension cords. 

I know exactly what happened... When I came home from work one day, I must have grabbed the extra extension cords from the carport to put them away in storage. I'm sure I had my keys in my hands too so when I set the cords down, I didn't notice I left my keys there. I can't believe I finally found them! I thought they were gone forever!

(Oh, I also found those sponges I lost on the way home from CVS. They were in a reusable grocery bag. Now I just need to find my jacket and my life will be in order.)

Do you have any quiche ingredient suggestions for me?

Am I overthinking the cutting of my nails?

When was the last time you POWER CLEANED?

2018 Wrap Up!

One of the perks of having a blog is that it makes it super easy to go back and see what I was up to in any given year!

We went on some fun vacations and I ran some beautiful trail races in 2018, but the year overall was nothing spectacular. It wasn't bad, it was just a normal year.

Things got hectic and difficult for me during the last three months of 2018, but I am determined to start 2019 with a new mindset and hopefully that will give me more happiness. (More on that on Tuesday!)

Here's what we were up to in 2018...

~ Vacations & Day Trips~

Charlottesville, VA

Vermont

New York City

Cape Cod

Lizzie Borden House Tour!

Mutter Museum

~ Races ~

I ran 9 races and they were all on trail! Here are some pictures and links to recaps in case you missed any!

Squirrely Tail Twail Run

Naked Bavarian 20 Miler

Safe Harbor Half Marathon

Buck Ridge Burn Half Marathon

Ultra Race of Champions 25k

What an ugly course, right!?

Catamount 25k

Another ugly course.

Chobot 15k

Dam Half

Hex Hollow Half

~ Injuries/Ailments ~

I tweaked my shoulder in February and it took awhile for it to simmer down and get back to normal. That forced me to take it easy on the weights for a couple months.

 My lower back pain really started to ramp up when I went back to work in August. At the end of September, I started going to PT. My PT was awesome and he taught me so much about my body and how to manage my back pain. It was the only good experience at PT I ever had- not because I am 100% cured, but because I feel like I learned what I needed to help me moving forward.

My sleep issues got a lot worse in 2018. I finally made another appointment with my doctor and got a prescription for trazodone. It is a GAME CHANGER for me. I am not one to take medicine, but at this point, it is way more unhealthy for me to be so sleep deprived than it is for me to take medicine.

~ Other Things ~

Paul and I celebrated our 10 Year Anniversary!

I stopped biting my nails! After having the habit for 36 years, I stopped cold turkey on October 31st. I went from this...

to this!!!

I took over the 4th grade instrumental program at my school. It is causing me a lot of stress because it is so time consuming and my schedule really doesn't allow for me to do my "normal" teaching job plus the job of another teacher. However, all in all, it's worth it. But I'm not doing it next year or you'll find me on FMLA leave for a mental breakdown.

One of the best parts of 2018, particularly the last couple months, is that I reconnected with old friends and started cultivating relationships with new friends. I really want to keep up with these relationships in 2019 because my friends are very important to me!

What's a highlight of your 2018?

Weekly Workouts

There was lots of running and workouts this week! I am thoroughly enjoying my Winter Break and having more flexibility with when I workout!

Saturday- Zumba, a deck of cards workout, and 1 neighborhood mile.  I tend to get exercise ADD on days I go to Zumba. While the Zumba class was super fun, I barely broke a sweat! I think all my deck of cards workouts and speed work on the treadmill are getting me in better shape.

Sunday- 3 treadmill miles (speed work), a deck of cards workout and 4 miles on the AT. I know, that all seems a bit random, right!? The speed work and deck of cards was done in the morning.

After a family party, I squeezed in some trail miles before it got dark!I will admit, I did this because I felt "fat". Feeling "fat' is not a good reason to go for a run, but it was my reason that evening.

Monday- 7 treadmill miles. It felt great to feel the burn before a day of eating yummy Christmas Eve food!

Tuesday- 6 Christmas neighborhood miles. At 8 o'clock on the dot, a church in my neighborhood started blasting the Star Spangled Banner. I wonder, do they do that every morning at 8 or only on Christmas!?

Wednesday- 4 treadmill miles and lifting at Planet Fitness. I really hope all these treadmill miles make me faster! Not that I am training for anything, it would just be fun to see my "la la la" pace increase.

Thursday- 8 miles on the AT with Allison. We started at Trindle and just did 4 miles out and back. The miles FLY by when I am with Allison because we just jibber jabber the whole time! I'm so glad I met her through a mutual friend and that our paces/schedules align so that we can run together!

Friday- Lifting at PF. I was super tired from no sleep the night before. I wasn't in the mood to push myself.

How were your workouts this week?

5 Christmas Gifts

Hey all! I am linking up with Fairytales and Fitness for Friday 5!

I know Christmas isn't about gifts. My favorite part of the holiday season is spending time with family. But today I thought I'd share 5 gifts I got for Christmas.

1. Under Armor gym bag from my Mom and Dad. My old gym bag was too small and had a huge hole in it. My parents hooked me up with this new large bag. I'm going to look 20% more in shape when I walk into Planet Fitness with this strung over my shoulder.

2. 15 lb kettle bell from my Mom and Dad. My old one is huge and full of sand. This one is tiny and cast iron. I love it! It's my baby. What should I name it? 

3. Coffee mug from my MIL. Hi-larious!

4. One sentence a day journal from my Mom and Dad. The expectation of writing only one sentence makes keeping a journal seem more manageable, doesn't it? The journal is good for five years, which means there is room to write 5 different sentences for January 1st. So when I go to write on January 1st next year, I can see what I wrote the year before. How cool is that!?

5. Peacock feather hairband from my SIL. I love it! I know it doesn't look as good in the picture because my hair isn't "done", but it is going to look fabulous once I'm all slicked up!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Do you keep a journal?
What should I name my kettle bell?
Tell me your favorite gift!