I need a break…

Those are the exact words I stated to my friend Missy regarding my exercise regime. And boy did that come back to bite me in the a$$! I stated that because I felt slightly overwhelmed with work, the holiday and trying to keep my training up for a full marathon (my first).  Well, from my mouth to God’s hears because I got that break. I may not have actually meant it, but I got it. With Christmas and the Snowmagedon the gym was already closed for three days (a lot of time in my training especially given that I took the weekend off previously when visiting Ryan’s family) but to add to that break was what came next. I got SICK! Yup, I got sick as a dog. We’re talking sore throat, coughing, running nose, whole body is achy sick. I was that way since the Monday after Christmas till the first week of January and it wasn't fun. So I did not exercised for SEVEN days and really didn't go full speed for two weeks after that. I told Ryan I have not NOT exercised in seven days since January 2010-after I ran the Disney Half Marathon & was on vacation.

I really am concerned with what this break will do to my training schedule. Running a full marathon was already scary enough, but not that I’ve had three weeks without my long runs plus a fourth week with my Key West vacation... I don’t know what to do! I was on track running 11 miles when I stopped, but that’s still not even half of the 26.2 mile race! Given that I was sick and my desire to not overwork myself, I have been taking it easy on the running (b/c I couldn't breathe) so I'm not sure how much I could run right now!

I’ve already researched other full marathons in the area and I am not sure of another one I can do. I really don’t want to travel too far for a race because it gets quiet expensive. HELP! This whole thing got started with my 30 Before 30 List when I put do a full marathon and ideally I’d like to, I’m just not sure about the huge undertaking it’ll be on my body and my time.

Maybe I should rethink the 30 before 30 goal...thoughts anyone?

Blogation

So in case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been on a bit of a blog vacation. There is really only one reason I can atrribute my absense to…and that would be WORK! It has been so super crazy at work that I haven’t gotten to catch my breath. I think I worked an excess of 7 hours one week because of all the madness!

So here’s the low down for the gap of my posts…

Maryland
Ryan’s dad moved to Maryland! They actually didn’t get the house I posted previously, but they got a nice house on the same stretch of road. Its actually a fairly decent size and I can picture us spending a lot of time there. We went up to help them move in one weekend. Poor Ryan had to lift all sorts of heavy furniture with his dad. Bailey came with us and took up residence in the bay window. Ryan’s mom put a blanket up there for him to have a nice little bed. Wish I took a picture of him sunbathing himself! But we’re totally excited about them being nearby.

Christmas
Absolutely amazing! Had an awesome time. My father-in-law came into town since he’s living in Marlyand now. It has been years since we’ve had a Christmas with him. So it was really nice to spend the holiday with him and my family. We did Christmas Eve and Christmas Day brunch at our house. Had some amazing food that both Ryan and I prepared such as Jimmy Dean sausage roll and a cheesy hashbrown dish. For Christmas dinner I cooked for the first time a sweet potatoe casserole as well as a peppermint cheesecake. Ryan made a delicious lionberry lamb for the main dish (he’s such an awesome chef!). 

Everyone seemed really happy and surprised about the gifts we got them. I created a gift certificate for my dad to play soccer this spring & crinkled cash in the box to surround the gift certificate. My mom got a Color Me Mine gift certificate, which is a place to paint pottery. I thought that’d be a fun experience for her and I to do. I was super excited for Ryan’s gift. I got him a cooking class gift certificate. The wonderful people at Young Chefs Academy allowed me to get him a gift certificate for an adult cooking class next year. Ryan can choose which class to attend and a professional chef will show us how to prepare the meal! J He was pretty excited & surprised about that. And he surprised me as well! I got a pack of 10 pearl braclets in a variety of colors. I absolutely LOVE them!

Snowmagedon
Okay, that word I didn’t actually make up. The weather man called the recent blizzard we had the ‘snowmagedon’ & I just took it from him. But that’s what we had here in Hampton Roads! A crazy snow storm like no other. I cannot believe we got 13+ inches of snow over Christmas weekend. Everything was shut down for two days!! I spent an hour the other morning trying to get the driveway cleared up and snow off of our cars to be able to drive to the store. As my father-in-law left he said ‘you guys should really think about investing in a snow shovel..’ Great advice NOW! LOL. And besides, it’s not like we get this kind of snow EVER! I mean seriously, this was insane.

Personal DIY Ugly Holiday Sweater

Hello there! Here is my DIY story…

I have to be honest; I’ve never done an ugly sweater before. I know several people who have, but have never created one myself. But that’s all about to change!

Do you have an Ugly Holiday Sweater party to go to? If so, you’re in luck! As a newbie, I’ll go through a few steps to help make your Ugly Holiday Sweater hideous this year.

First off, you’re going to need some supplies. Go to your local craft store or even the dollar store and stock up on the necessities such as glue, fabric pens, puff balls, paint, paint brushes, glitter, bells and of course a plain sweater. I bought two sweaters as I was doing this craft with a friend.

Once you get a good supply going, start brainstorming ideas on what you want your sweater to look like. You can have a game plan, such as winter wonderland or you can just go with the flow!

The start of an ugly sweater

Lets add some holiday items

Oh! This is looking good...but what else?

Yup! Plaid. That does it beautifully! :)

As you can see from the photos, I’ve cut out various images for my holiday sweater such as a Christmas tree and gingerbread men. Then I decided to go crazy with bells, caz who wouldn’t LOVE a holiday sweater that jingles! Then to add a little glam to my sweater, I used silver and red paint which really “jazzes” up the tacky vibe! Adds just the right touch…don’t you agree?

So there you have it, a few tips to help you decorate your ugly holiday sweater this season. Remember; if it seems too much…keep going! The point with these parties is to have an atrocious sweater. So the more you do to it, the better!

Here I am ROCKIN' the Ugly Christmas Sweater!!

              

If you attempt a DIY Ugly Holiday Sweater, then enter the competition that Homes.com has going on. You have a chance to win $500!!

EEK! I’m Sabotaging Myself

I read this article yesterday morning, Sabotaging My Own Weight Loss; it’s a part of a series of Ashley Wisneiwski’s journey to weight loss. This particular article highlights the constant battle that I think a lot of women, me included, have: the “ups” and “downs” of our weight loss strategy. There will be days and weeks where I do extremely well on my “diet” (use that term loosely), but then there are times that I just throw caution to the wind and say “screw it!” I know as I’m committing these “diet” sins that it’s bad, I also realize that I’m going to regret it the next day. But somehow I rationalize it with the fact I’ve done so well on my eating plan, or ran 5 miles that day or just flat out had a tough day. Whatever the reason, I take a nose dive into sabotaging my eating plan and hate myself for it the next day.

Friends of mine joke me because after having a treat I feel the need to go exercise it off. Somehow compensating for the fact I’ve been bad. But it never makes me feel better; I just sit in a big pot of stew of regret. In Ashley’s story, her husband was the influence that made her realize she was doing this to herself. I have known all along that my mindset is not conducive, but I’m not sure how to change it. Like I said, I’ll do really well for a couple weeks and then BAM; all at once I’m back on the old eating pattern. Don’t get me wrong, my previous eating habits are not terrible. They don’t consist of eating out daily or anything like that, but they still aren’t ideal.

There are a few vices that I have, I really love Chinese food. I could eat it every day! I also enjoy all treats: cookies, candies, chocolate, pies, cakes, cheesecake, etc. They are every bit of their name TREATS! J I also enjoy wine. Craving these items isn’t necessarily a problem unless you’re diabetic or an alcoholic but my issue is moderation. I’ve told someone this before, I do not have that trigger that’s supposed to alarm you when you are full or have had enough. I just keep enjoying! That is when I need someone to say, ‘hey you’re sabotaging yourself!’

I felt relief when I read Ashley’s post because it made me feel like I wasn’t alone. It’s somewhat comforting to know that. So if there is anyone else out there reading this that identifies with our pain, please know that you too are not alone. I’m not sure the remedy that can fix the sabotage, but maybe the support of knowing others go through it too will help! Especially during the holidays…

25 Reasons Why I LOVE the Grinch

The Grinch is a wonderful classic Christmas movie. It’s one that is near and dear to mine & my husband’s heart. I love the original but think the Jim Carrey version is great as well; whereas, Ryan is an advocate of the original only. We even purchase Grinch ornaments from Hallmark every year in celebration of the story we love so much. Eventually we’ll need to get another tree just for those ornaments (total of 10 so far)!

So here are the 25 reasons why I LOVE the Grinch movie:

1.       The narrator’s, Boris Karloff, voice telling the story.

2.       The rhyme of the story “Every Who Down In Who-Ville Like Christmas a lot... But The Grinch, Who lived just North of Who-ville, Did NOT!”

3.       The fact that when the Grinch is on television means Christmas is right around the corner! My favorite time of year!!

4.       The mischievous smile the Grinch makes (depicted by Jim Carrey beautifully).

5.       The drawings of Dr. Seuss for the original Grinch.

6.       The song You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch-awesome song!

7.       I love Cindy-Lou-Who’s innocence and curiosity of the Grinch.

8.       All the awesome Grinch décor to buy at the holidays, like our beloved ornaments from Hallmark!

9.       The humor and pure outlook of the story. Brings me back to childhood.

10.   I truly do love Faith Hill’s version of Where Are Your Christmas song. I could listen to it over and over again!

11.   The fact that Ryan and I have it in common.

12.   The funny names for everything, like “superfluous,” “Subzero Chillibrator” or “kerbabbled.”

13.   That loyal dog! Who could not LOVE Max!!

14.   The vivid colors used in both movies.

15.   The town of Whoville. Such an imaginative place.

16.   From the Jim Carrey version, the romantic love affair of Martha May Who and the Grinch. Such an interesting pair!

17.   All the Who’s hair styles. They are crazy and cool at the same time! I wonder how much gel and hairspray had to be used to keep it in place.

18.   Cindy Lou Who’s family! They are just too adorable. J

19.   The lovely green color the Grinch is.

20.   It’s one of the few Christmas movies that don’t focus on consumerism.

21.   It’s a delightful fantasy away from the realities of the world.

22.   The lesson of Cindy Lou Who and the Grinch. People can change; you just have to have faith.

23.   The warm feeling that I get when watching it!

24.   The overwhelmingly happy demeanor of the Whos in Whoville. Even after the Grinch took their Christmas presents. We should all aspire to that attitude.

25.   And finally, I just love Dr. Seuss! I think he is totally awesome!