Homemade Crap...I Mean Crafts

The kids and grand kids headed to visit mom today. We had chili for lunch and then moved downstairs for ornament decorating. With glitter, glue, paint and anything and everything else you can purchase from Hobby Lobby, everyone digs in to paint nutcrackers, trains, planes, Christmas trees and glass balls.

I was given a nutcracker to paint. When I say given, I mean I was told I was going to paint a nutcracker. I was content with watching the kids have a ball. But I guess my mom wanted to watch her kid have a ball, so I indulged her.With steady hand, I turned my nutcracker into Mr. Diva Nutcracker. He had green glitter pants and was looking mighty cute. With my prized possession in hand, I turned it over to mom, as mom should have the best handmade crap...I mean crafts, right?

We did make some cool painted glass ornaments that actually turned out halfway cool...
Of course, after a Bailey's, anything looks like a masterpiece. And leave it to the adults to be the last sitting at the table decorating their balls...errr...trains.

If you're looking for a reason to get the family together, this is a great idea for the kids and kids at heart. It really was a ton of fun, even for those of us that don't have any artistic ability.

*New* Gratitude Journal

I visited RunToFinish and she has a great Gratitude Journal she posts to everyday. I love the idea so much I am going to 'borrow' her idea.

I'm going to post it to the sidebar of my posts so I'm able to see it everyday. I think it'll be easier for me.

Thanks for the idea!

Beep Beep

Was the name of the game this morning.

Doug and I decided to sleep in this morning, not even setting the alarm to wake. It was 8:30 when we rolled outta bed. That is some nice sleeping in.

Doug looked outside and said it looked wet. Uggg...I should be covering 8 miles today. Then he said it was a mix of rain and snow. Snow?? I love snow. And I love running in the snow.

It turned out at that time it was more rain than snow. Not as exciting as I was hoping. So...Doug went downstairs, started the fire back up, I made coffee and we lounged.

Then Doug got a hair up his booty and decided he needed to test out his ankle to see how it was doing. It's still swelling after runs and we need to get it taken care of before we leave for Kiawah Island this week. So as he heads out to the YMCA, he leaves me sitting on the couch with my coffee, the fire and my blanket. Very nice and cozy.

Damn him. Now I'm feeling guilty. I know I should be out running. So I open up the blinds on the window and the snow is falling. It's mostly snow now-not rain. So I run upstairs, get my running gear on and head out for a run. I've decided I'm not going to do 8 as I don't even take water with me. I'm just going to do the 4 mile loop.

As I step outside, it's beautiful. The temperature is pretty mild for it to be snowing and the snow is falling pretty heavily. It's heaven.

My run went well. I felt very light on my feet and averaged my 4 miles in the lower 10's. Even with my tongue hanging out of my mouth to catch a snowflake or two.

For some reason today I had 4 (no joke) different cars honk at me. On a usual day in the summer, I get 1. Today...4. Sometimes it can annoy me but today it was fun. I would smile and wave. It musta been my cute pink hat, gloves, shirt and jacket. Or the fact that I was totally jamming out to Michael Jackson's Rock With You over and over again.

As I hit my 4 miles, I stopped to walk the rest of the way in. With my iPod still blasting, I could suddenly feel something coming up behind me. It was Doug going 'like 3 miles an hour' behind me in the street. I looked over my shoulder to see him laughing. He rolled down his window and I told him Michael and I were having a party and he was like, "I guess so! You're butt is going from side to side. You're having a good time." Yes I was!

Whatever the reason for the honks today...my cute pink outfit, the smile on my face, people thinking I was crazy for running in the snow, my tongue hanging out catching snowflakes or even my butt swaying to and fro to the music, it was a great winter wonderland fun run.

Now it's time for some coffee and chocolate peanut butter chip cookies Doug made!

Full Circle

The alarm went off this morning for Doug to do some Black Friday shopping. I decided to stay snuggled in bed. The sky was just starting to become light and you could actually hear a bird chirping. It was a nice surprise and made me smile as I rolled over.

If the birds (or bird) was chirping, then it must be a nice day already, eh? So thinking ahead about the weather and how it is supposed to turn over the next couple days, I thought I would get in a run today instead of Sunday. So I head out on our 4 mile loop.

I get dressed and head out the door. Standing in the driveway, obtaining a signal for my Garmin, it starts sleeting. Already dressed and out the door, I wasn't turning back. I was going to run. I'm glad I didn't check outside first or turn on the news beforehand.

About a quarter mile in the sleeting stops. The birds start chirping again. It feels like a spring morning and I'm feeling a bit overdressed.

Mile 2 and 3 go well. Nice and steady.

As I hit mile 3, the sleet starts again. And not just a tad. It's coming down hard. Ice pelleting off my face. I just laugh. It's fun. Especially the looks I get from all the drivers in their nice, warm cars.

As I round the corner for my way home, the birds are still chirping...in the sleet.

Finished strong. Averaged in the 10's for my 4 miles. Feel great.

Okay...can't say full circle as I didn't end up back in bed. But it will be a day of relaxing and just hanging out. Love Love Love extended holidays.

Thanksgiving Day 5K Run and Family Stroll

What a fabulous day for a 5K. The sun was shining. The skies were blue. The temperature... perfect.

I met Karen and her family about 10 minutes before the start. The boys (ages 3 and 4)...oh how they were so excited. They had on their 'race shirts' and had their race numbers pinned on. They were racing today. Fric said he was running 18. 18 miles he said. Think he's been listening to his mother? Frac knew exactly how far he was going...5. I asked, "a 5K, right?" "Yep!" They were ready to go. We were in the back as Karen's husband had the stroller with the boys in tow. And when I say the back. I mean the back. There were over 1000 people ahead of us.

We walked to the start line with the boys and then Karen and I took off. I say took off but not so fast. There were walkers from one side of the street to the other. Hundreds of them. For miles. 3.1 miles. So we decided to run in the median to dodge the majority of the walkers. It was packed the whole way. There was not one point where we weren't dodging someone. It was fun to see so many people out on Thanksgiving morning burning some calories before the big feast. It seemed that everyone was really enjoying themselves.

We even had water stops. Yes...for real. Ha! At the end of mile 1 and 2. It cracks me up every year to see people stopping to get some hydration. Needless to say-we didn't stop.

I pushed Karen hard today. As hard as I could trying to run in and out of runners, walkers, kids and strollers. I really think she was ready to kick me in the butt. More than once. But after we crossed the finish line, I did get a thank you.

Then we waited for the boys to finish. They had a good time. But their race was coming up soon and we headed to the field to get them ready. Frac's race number was wrinkled and he needed it to be straight before he could run. Before you could blink, there they went. Probably 30 kids 4 and under racing. It was so funny to see those little legs running as fast as they could go. They had the best time and had such a feeling of accomplishment and excitement. That was the best part of the whole morning.

Can't wait for next year.

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving.

I am thankful for everything I have in life. I have everything I need and just about everything I want. I couldn't ask for anything more than what I already do. I am very fortunate and thankful.

A few things I'm thankful for:

• Family and Friends
• A Warm Bed to Sleep In
• Puppy Kisses
• Having a Job
• Those Serving for Our Freedom
• Good Health and Happiness
• Having Money to Blow on Running Shoes and Travels

That Felt Good

Went for a pre-lunch bike ride on the trainer. It has been since Sunday that I have had any form of physical activity. It has felt like a lot longer than just 2 days and I was feeling a little slothy. Now that I got my heart pumping, I feel great!

Met Doug for lunch. We had a huge lunch and I stuffed myself to the gills. Ran by packet pickup for my run tomorrow and bought a new pair of running tights. Then back home to take Mols for a 3 mile walk/run. I think I wore the little fart out.

Tonight we're off to have dinner with my sister and the new baby niece-can't wait!

Enjoy your Thanksgiving Eve.

Time for a Rest...Kinda

After a marathon on the 16th
And a half marathon yesterday
I'm going to bring it down a notch and run our local Thanksgiving 5K on Thursday morning
There will be no chip time
I don't even know if they post times
I'm going out to have a good time and enjoy a nice morning run with a couple thousand of my closest friends

I'll run back to back days on Saturday and Sunday. Thinking 8 Saturday and 4 Sunday. These legs are feeling tired from all the running we've been doing across the country. Need to take it nice and easy this weekend to be ready for my birthday marathon Dec 6th.