Stay away from Perfume Poofs!

You know who they are... The ones that think they need so much perfume they make the nose hairs want to curl and die, making the lungs scream out for fresh air.. It was so bad, I actually stopped working out to move far away. That's right, I'd rather start over where I can breath then have that perfume poof take over my space.. 

I've read some running (fools/people) trying to rack up the miles they run in the month of November. I'm guessing this is a trend to challenge ourselves? Just because it's that time of month where running seems to get hard for everyone. The darker days, colder outside, holidays and change of seasons all brings on a lack of wanting to do much of any running. This run more miles in November challenge is suppose to bring you out of that no-motivation, giving you a purpose and goal to keep it going. I've for one, never added up how much I run in a month. I have my daily and weekly totals, but I never really figure out how many miles I run in one month. So here is goes... 

My grand total of miles I've run for the month of November with taking just 1 full day of rest (no exercise) is 201.6 miles in 29 days. Not too bad that's 20,000 calories I burned! 

I know all my miles are possible because Steve comes with me to the gym 5 days a week. He also bikes next to me while I run.. I know I'm super lucky to have him! 

Yesterday, I was actually thinking of skipping a workout. Hard to believe yes, I know! I had going to breakfast on the brain. After we did some early morning Black Friday shopping..  all the crazies left the stores by this time and we did get a few good deals. Shopping kind of makes me hungry. Thankfully, Steve was driving and we made a good decision to go workout! 

Go figure.. all the Cross ramps were taken at the gym and I didn't have my toes prepped to run on the treadmill so that was out.. We lifted weights then after 15 minutes and no one getting off the cross ramps we decided to try out the Elliptical once again. I have to stay we really had fun. It was different and we all know how important it is to mix things up! Use other muscles to burn more calories and keep our bodies guessing to work it harder. 

We never did go out to breakfast, but because it was Saturday night and happy Hour at Chili's, we had 2 for 1 margaritas, plus chips with salsa. Much better then breakfast! 

Weekends I go it alone at the gym. I am back to building up miles to some day run a marathon..right now.. 12 miles is a good goal to have for my long run. 6 miles on the treadmill at 6mph.. random hills to 1.0 incline.. then 30 minutes or 3 miles on the elliptical random hills and resistance, the last 30 minutes or 3.0 miles on the cross ramp, random hills. I even go to lift weights and do my usual squats, plank and super woman for the day! Feels good and I feel great! 

I should be sleeping!

I have zero idea of why I can't sleep at 4am? 
Is it because I hear snoring? 
Or maybe I'm sad over finishing the last of the Hunger Games books, Mocking-jay before I went to bed?

 For whatever reason here I am up at 4:45am.. and no, not going out shopping in the wee hours on Black Friday. Tempting as it does sound, I can't think of anything I really need to buy. 
Too early for the gym.. but I do want to run 2 hours again this morning! I'm trying hard to exhaust myself with another 12 miles. 

I should have been extremely full from the Turkey dinner.

Yes, we had 5 pies for the 10 of us. We had a pumpkin-orange pie (I didn't try that one), sweet potato, pumpkin, chocolate and pecan. My favorites: Chocolate and Pecan. I'm sure sweet potato would have been my favorite if not for the other 2 pies. After spending $12.99 on that pecan pie from Bakers Square, you bet it had to be my favorite! I'm controlling myself and not going to eat a slice this very second!

 

Steve carved up the Turkey.. For some reason it became the entertainment.. I can see everyone salivating.. wait to eat that bird

My favorite is my fathers recipe. He made the best stuffing. Steve makes 3 different stuffing versions so everyone is happy. I like mine with wild rice, and Steve added the cranberries which is really good. He makes an all veggie on for those that don't eat meat, and a plain stuffing for his brother and mother. I usually love sweet potatoes, but marshmallow on top makes it too sweet. A scoop of mashed potatoes that are always good with gravy and a thick slice of turkey. I could skip the roll, but it's one of those flaky/doughy butter rolls.. Eating all this and pie.. 

The only thing you can do after eating all that.. is to put your feet up, read the paper and try not to fall asleep. 

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What's your favorite kind of pie? 

How was your T-day? 

Who carves up the bird? 

Happy Thanksgiving because I have so much to be Thankful for!

Be thankful on Thanksgiving...

I can not wait to dig into delicious turkey, stuffing, gravy and potatoes. How could I forget all the pies I will have to sample? 

I "Goggled", How many calories does the average person consume on a Thanksgiving meal? 
I was shocked to see 4,500 calories! 

I knew running 12 miles today was going to be a smart way to start my day! I burned 1400 calories just running, then did 10 minutes of abs and called it a day at the gym. I still have yet to do my squats, planks and Superman.. but I will be doing these 3 exercises right after I finish my breakfast..

Our neighbor made me a loaf of her Pumpkin bread. It's nice how we swap food and try each others to come up with the best recipe. The bread was super moist and had a really nice spice flavor. It went really good with my Barley Veggie soup. Even thought I burned a ton of calories, I wasn't feeling super hungry but knew I needed to eat something. This was light enough enough on my stomach and really tasty. 

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving Day.

Now... Get out and Burn some of those T-day meal calories!!!

Tripping into waiting arms.

There is nothing like completely making a fool out of yourself for everyone's pleasure. This morning my feet tripped on a workout bench sending me flying across the gym head first into the dumb bells but luckily, Steve was right there to catch me. I was super glad Steve was there to fall right into his arms. It made us laugh really hard, because now I was really awake. Everyone around seemed to enjoy the show too. Glad my tripping made everyone smile. 

I hope these feet keep up with me the rest of the day.. No more tripping please! The last few days, I've been misjudging my footings a lot!!! I've tipped over a water bucket and spilled water on carpet, bumped into a bed with my hip and dumped over some cleaning powder all over the floor. A very clumsy week!

Logan and I have been sharing the couch each morning.. We are super busy on our computers. We sit there until he goes to school. 

I'm going to be busy reading up on good things to come.. Turkey, stuffing, potatoes, gravy and pies! My mouth is watering just thinking about tomorrows T-day feast!

It's a good thing Steve and his mother really like to cook. They make the entire meal. I just get clean up.. Which is fine by me! 

I'll be spending the entire morning at the gym doing my long run of the week. I am looking forward to running on the treadmill (believe it or not). I'll be burning at least 1200 calories just as many calories as I will be eating for dinner. Good thing I am running or I'd be packing on the pounds!

I thought about going to Hastings and running the Turkey Trot 5K but its a lot of effort to drive there, be nervous and stand around freezing just to run 3 miles. Not enough miles to make a dent in the calorie intake. This is why I'm looking forward to the treadmill, indoors, no pressure and many miles to burn! 

My little project!

I'm super excited to work on my RUNNER project. I purchased the letters yesterday. 99 cents each. I was going to purchase a board with hooks already on it but now I'm wanting to make my own. 

I'll have to dig around in our garage in search of a piece of wood I think will work. My next purchase is hooks.. that will go into the bottom of the board. I also want the board to be white. I'll be painting too.. then to hang it up and put all my running metals and ribbons on the hooks! This is my project for today! 

While running 6 miles today, I was dreaming about being in Florida again. It's super cold out today so no wonder I was wishing for 80*F and sunny Florida Beach! Wouldn't it be nice to go back in time..

I had an awful day of eating non-healthy meals and snacks yesterday. I did eat veggie soup for lunch but with the 2 caramel rolls then some Cheetos's so much for eating soup! At least the caramel rolls are gone, and I can get back some self control. I know that's a big trigger food that I can not resist. Reason I didn't make them forever and gave most away! 

I was still hungry after breakfast so instead of a chocolate bar, I had some pudding instead. I promised myself to get back on track the rest of the day. Soup for lunch, edamomie and popcorn for snacks. Lots of veggies and leftovers for dinner once again! 

Dark and Cold.. That's winter for you!

This is how our mornings start out.. in the car, its dark and cold. It's going to look like this for the next mmmm.... 5 months! We will survive!

It seriously felt like I was just at the gym. Kind of like I never left after yesterdays 12 mile run. It was not easy starting up today. I thought about running on the treadmill, but it takes up more time then I'd like to tape up my toes and we just don't have extra time to spare in the mornings. I have to stretch, eat a little something, and take time to actually wake up before we head out the door. 30 minutes goes by way too fast and we are always taking an extra 5 or 10 minutes that cuts into the weight lifting time. 

Its a good thing we have tons of leftovers from last night Family dinner. We'll be having pork, potatoes and squash tonight again.. which I am really looking forward to eating! 

It was a tough 60 minutes on the cross ramp this morning. I took it a little easier the last 15 minutes and dropped the resistance down from 12 to 11. My heart rate stayed around 137 instead of 140.. which to me is a lot easier. 

(this is my I'm not awake at 5am.. look)

What are my plans for the day? 
Work for a few hours, go look for some Running Wood letters to make my sign for my race metals.. clean my house and maybe work on getting the car fixed. Seems Progressive saves people money by ignoring them.. hoping they will go away and not have to pay for the damages! 

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What are your plans for today? 

How do you celebrate T-day? 

All Good things..

I completely skipped workout 100% yesterday and took a rest day to relax and recover from the wine tasting. I really had zero time to fit in that workout or get in a run... I worked till noon, then the kids and I went to see the Hunger Games, Catching Fire. Excellent movie! 

This morning I felt great.. slept in until a decent hour, got up and drove myself to the gym. I was super lucky and everyone must have been taking a Sunday rest day. Hardly anyone! I like this... I pictured it crazy busy especially since I was there much later. I ran on the treadmill.. I decided to try out my duck tape and band-aid the toes to see if that helps??

Don't laugh, It might look really odd... but it really did work. I was able to run 6 miles at 5.7 for 60 minutes with zero toe nail pain. That's a winner in my books! 

I was at the gym for 2-1/2 hours total. After I was done running 6 miles on the treadmill I took a short water break and went to run for another hour on the Cross Ramp. 12 miles total in 2 hours. I could have called it a day but I really wanted to get in some abs and arm toning so off to do my usual.. Came home and found the kids starving.. waiting for crepes! Still in sweat soaked clothes, I whipped up crepes for the family. It was just what I needed because with only having 1 slice of wheat bread with Peanut butter I too was starved! 

 We really should make crepes every weekend. They are so good with Grape and Raspberry jelly. Delicious!!!

 The kids like apple jelly too but I just stick to my favorites..

 The whole crepe making goes really fast if I use 2 pans so I'm able to make 2 at a time. Everyone is super picky and likes crispy, crispy crepes. 

I have also been wanting to make Caramel rolls. I make a double recipe so I have plenty to share. I was able to make three pans so I'll give away 2 and keep the rest for breakfast tomorrow. 

I had to sample a small taste, just to make sure it was really good. Yum.. Can't wait to eat this tomorrow. 

I made Bread..Just one big round loaf for Sunday night family dinner. I really do like making bread. 

Which reminds me, I must make honey butter to eat with it. super yummy! 

I never got a chance to sit down after my morning run.. off to indoor soccer with Logan. They call it fusbul or something like that. Fast paced soccer and really fun to watch. Logan has the ball.. 

Sunday night family dinner...my favorite day of the week.. 

Headaches are a run stopper!

I really thought I'd feel okay to get up and run this morning after last nights wine tasting. Guess my head had other plans.. 

We did have a really good time with friends. My plan was to try all the sweet white wines. 

I pretty much just let the guys hang out and drink together. This was the holiday party of wine, hard liquor and beer and while they sampled a little of everything, I just stuck to my wine. 

We were the first to arrive and the last to leave. The nice thing is that all the suppliers leave bottles of unfinished wine and beer. We had our own big taste test after.. 

 It's also fun to hit up the cheese and cracker table. This one didn't have as good of spread for food as the last wine tasting but it was still pretty good to go with the wine. Who am I to complain about free food. 

I completely forgot to take a photo at dinner. Before the tasting we went to dinner with Kendra and Paul at Doolittles. Steve and I shared wings and a salad. Both were really good but not enough food and my head sure did pay for it in the morning by not eating enough and not having enough water. Live and learn.. over and over.. 

Steve said I should not even eat this for lunch.. but I love Kraft Mac and Cheese. Knowing I'd be not eating much for dinner.. why not? 

Cheers... and off to run later on in the afternoon.. I'll be inside staying warm.. first day of freezing temps. It might look all nice and sunny out there but looks are deceiving!