Christmas Whirlwind

thank you all for all the well wishes and congrats on this post.  i really enjoyed reading all the comments! i've also really enjoyed reading all your Christmas posts. It's always fun to see how everyone else celebrates.

This year we had a week long Christmas :). Brad's family came in the weekend before Christmas then my family came the weekend after (and Brad, the pups, and I had our Christmas on the actual day).

It was great to see everyone, but of course now I'm worn out! And I do NOT want to put all these decorations up!

when i finally got the tree up with ALL the lights! 

only sweet when they're asleep :)

 lyla with her fancy poinsettia scarf after her bath.

she was also my wrapping assistant... aka miss try to eat all the bows. 

one of my favorite Christmas traditions.... Christmas eve candlelight service at our church.

lyla "helping" riley with his stocking.

and she's down for the count!

in case you missed it...

i'm so excited to finally share this with y'all! this is something we've been praying about for a long time, and we're beyond pumped that it's actually happening!

Just a reminder...

If you haven't already, please ship out your gifts for the sock swap! Please communicate with me or your partner if there are any complications!

When you all start receiving your packages, please post to social media and send me the link. I'll do my annual round up post when I get the majority of your all's links!

summary sunday and hbbc week 2

sunday:  rest
monday:  2 mile run/2 mile walk (4 miles total)
tuesday:  rest
wednesday:  pure barre
thursday:  3.1 mile run
friday:  pure barre
saturday:  rest

freggies & water:  all 7 days
plus a few FB points

31 points for the week

goal for next week? break 40 points! 

i was very proud that i managed to get my butt out of my warm bed on wednesday morning for pure barre at 6am. 

i love the accountability that i get from being in a group environment. i had also signed up for the class so i knew our instructor would be braving the weather to come out for us and i wasn't going to wimp out on her ;)

ps - i know i promised y'all a pure barre review... it's coming i swear! i'm trying to time it with my 50th class, so it should be in the next 2-3 weeks. 

happy thanksgiving

i hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving! i completed kiley's thanksgiving 5k today to offset a small portion of the calories...

i also tried to start the long process that involves decorating for Christmas. i feel like i should clean before putting the stuff out, but then after i get it out i need to clean again because there's glitter and fake pine needles everywhere. is this just me and my ocd?

i also tried a new (to me) technique for putting lights on the tree. i really like the way it looks, but apparently the 4 strings of lights i usually use (for the past 3 years) just wasn't cutting it. so the tree has looked like this all day:

maybe i should just leave it like that :)

summary sunday and hbbc week 1

sunday:  rest
monday:  pure barre
tuesday:  rest
wednesday:  2 mile run/2 mile walk (4 miles total)
thursday:  rest
friday:  pure barre
saturday:  rest

freggies & water:  all 7 days

so i earned a whopping 25 points.

wow, can you tell i was tired this week? last friday i got hit hard with a virus and i'm still recovering. i've been drinking lots of OJ, eating good, and getting lots of sleep. i'm hoping for a better week this week (and honestly, how could it not be better because i only have to work 3 days AND even better, i get to go home to KY and see my family!).

normally i'd be working monday-thursday but thankfully we're closed on thanksgiving. we'll be planning out our black friday plan of attack, cleaning the house and decorating for Christmas, and i'm going to bake a chocolate pound cake to take home with me. i'm also planning to run a 5k for Kiley's holiday race series, you should definitely check that out if you haven't already.

brad and i have done the local turkey trot for the last two years, but we're passing on it this year. they moved it downtown which means a longer drive, paying for parking, and a not so flat course.

today we got up SUPER early to drive to charlotte to see catching fire in IMAX. yes, we're those people. i love, love, loved the movie and would go see it again tonight if brad wouldn't shame me ;)

have you seen catching fire yet?

what are your plans for thanksgiving?

Third Annual Secret Santa Sock Swap

If you haven't participated before, here's how this works::::

• Sign up by Friday December 6th at midnight.
• Find out who you're shipping to on December 7th (this may or may not be the same person who is shipping to you).
• Buy a fun pair of holiday socks and stuff them with small gifts ($20 limit). Include a card or note introducing yourself.
• Ship the package out by Saturday December 14th.
• Post a picture of all your goodies to thank your secret santa (blog or instagram). 

Other details:::: 

• Fill out this form if you want to participate.
• This is only open to US residents to keep the shipping costs low. 
• I highly encourage you to add tracking to your package. (Seriously, it's usually less than a dollar). It's a busy time of year and the USPS has been known to lose things. It would be awesome if you could at least provide your partner with a tracking number if their gift hasn't shown up. 
• If you're looking for ideas of what to put in the socks, you can check out these posts::::
• 2011 Sock Swap Round Up
• 2012 Sock Swap Round Up

If you all have any questions, post them here. If you have a question it's highly likely someone has the same one! 

summary sunday

november 4-10

monday::  pure barre, walked 4 miles

tuesday::  pure barre

wednesday:: rest

thursday:: rest again, whoops!

friday:: pure barre

saturday:: 2 miles with the dogs

sunday:: 2 miles with the dogs

it's been a lazy week for me. i've felt tired all week, so i decided to just listen to my body and take it easy. i'm hoping to get on the bike later today for some cardio, but i make no promises!

i lost a pound a ww this week, i'm very excited for this thursday, i'm really hoping to hit the 15 pound mark! so i didn't buy my favorite seasonal beer when i saw it at the store ;)

lyla is getting to be so BIG!! she cracks us up when she sleeps on her big bed. she ends up working herself off of it almost every time she lays down. silly girl.

and quick reminder.... friday november 15th is the last day to sign up for the holiday bootie buster challenge!! i REALLY recommend this as a cheap and fun way to stay motivated through the holidays! i'm always so sad when it ends and amanda does a great job keeping everything fun and sharing motivation and tips (and there are some GREAT prizes up for grabs!). 

click here to register!

run, run, run (not the fun kind of running)

do you ever have those days where you feel like you go from the moment you wake up until bed? my friday was like that and so was today.

friday was get up, pure barre, weight watchers, hair appointment, back to house to meet guy who was working on our garage, back out to sherwin williams, grocery store, home, unload groceries, clean kitchen, feed dogs, shower, go out to eat with brad.

today was get up, start cleaning house, pure barre, walmart for more cleaning supplies, lunch with a friend from church, back home to clean, out to take dogs to groomer, back home to finish cleaning downstairs (gotta mop while pups are out), back out to meet my friend to walk, pick up dogs from groomers, get home, feed dogs, cook our dinner.

i swear, sometimes it's like i get more of a break when i'm at work! thank goodness i just have a few things to do tomorrow then i plan on sitting my booty on the couch for a nice little rest!

when you have days off do you shove a bunch of errands in or do you actually let yourself relax?

summary sunday (x2 weeks!)

10.21 - 10.27

monday:  pure barre
tuesday:  pure barre
wednesday:  off
thursday:  ran/walked 3 miles
friday:  pure barre
saturday:  off
sunday:  off

10.28 - 11.3

monday:  pure barre

tuesday:  ran/walked 3 miles

wednesday:  pure barre

thursday:  ran/walked 3 miles

friday:  pure barre

saturday:  pure barre

sunday:  off

in other news, weight watchers is going great! i've lost another 5.2 pounds (for a total of 13.2). i am so grateful for how well the program has been going and i love how i don't feel restricted. i feel like the program helps me to make better decisions when it comes to food and i'm also loving all the new recipes i've found!

riley got to be our only child again last weekend. we had to go to charlotte (more on that later) and we left lyla with a friend who has a puppy around her age. i think he enjoyed all the attention! (ps - if you travel with your pets, you've gotta stay at aloft. they don't charge you anything extra and they loan you a dog bed and bowls, and they give your pup treats and a toy! seriously, they're awesome!)

and i can't have a picture of one without the other. here's picture of lyla sleeping after she'd terrorized us  all day. i say it lovingly, but man, she can be a big pain in the butt sometimes! puppies are cute, but i'm kind of looking forward to when she's six months to a year old!!

cherokee harvest half marathon and 5k

so last year i ran the half marathon, you can read about it here if you'd like. this year i signed up for the half again, but i didn't train properly. soooo, 5k it was.

cherokee is about an hour away, and honestly, there aren't many 5k's that i'd drive that far to run. but this one is well worth the [beautiful] drive. the leaves were all changing and the weather was perfect.

they started the race with a prayer just like they did last year and i really liked that. the course itself was pretty flat, very scenic.

check out all the swag we got:

long sleeved tech shirt, nike N7 tshirt, and a recover brands hoodie that is SO SOFT.

isn't that a pretty medal?

i was pretty happy with my time, all things considered. although i feel like i've been saying that about my running ever since the marathon. which was 7 months ago if you're keeping up. too long ago to still be an excuse! i'm excited to actually prepare for a race and give it my best effort. right now i'm looking ahead to the runthebluegrass half and the flying pig. not sure what race/races i'm doing in Cincinnati, but hopefully i'll get that figured out soon. the last thing i want to do is sign up for too much/too long and do half assed training because my heart's not into it.

so anyways, i HIGHLY recommend this race. either one, they're both great courses and they give out great swag. i always appreciate races that put the racers first and they do everything to make this an A+ event, and a great experience for the racers.

i wore this shirt for the first time and it was bittersweet. i bought it last year when sherri was still with us and planned on wearing it and sending her a picture. i know she's smiling down on me, but man i miss her a lot.

it's almost holiday bootie buster challenge time!!

it's that time again!! it's time to sign up for the holiday bootie buster challenge (HBBC). i've participated in this challenge for the past two years and i can't even begin to tell you about how wonderful it is (but i'm going to try).

Amanda at Run to the Finish hosts this challenge and this will be the 6th year that she's hosted it. If you don't follow her blog, you're seriously missing out. She's fun, informative, down to earth, and just plain nice.

Basically, HBBC is an eight week challenge (right during one of the toughest times of the year). You get points for working out, eating fruits and veggies, drinking water, etc. You're competing against others in the challenge (but you can pick what intensity level you want to join) and it really motivates me to get out there and do something! And you're competing for over $3000 in prizes!! (some prizes are random and some are for points).

Here's a link to Amanda's HBBC post if you want all the details. I hope you'll join me, you will not regret it!

yesterday was quite the roller coaster

so yesterday started off with a bang. i didn't oversleep but was late heading out the door to my 830 am pure barre class. i literally had no time to spare. well as i'm on my way i get a call from brad to say he thinks his keys (car keys, pharmacy keys) are in my car. awwwwwwesome. turn around, missed my class.

best part of it? the keys weren't even in my car. so i decided to kill time at starbucks. the green tea was great, trying to get on the internet was not.

45 minutes later i headed back to pure barre. they kicked my butt all over the place then i headed for my second round of pain... dentist. i figured it'd be fine since i actually had the hard part done two weeks ago (root canal). but no, it couldn't be that easy. apparently my dentist nicked my cheek at some point and a nerve in there got a little mad. it hurt, let's leave it at that.

next stop? appointment at the blood donation center. yes i like to squeeze all my painful things in one day :) it's really not that bad, i think the finger stick is worse than the actual arm stick.  my technician was great and so were the snacks!

the day ended on a great note though. last night i tried a new recipe and it was AMAZING! y'all have to try it! i made skinny taste's butternut squash and spinach lasagna rolls.

tell me something good that happened to you yesterday!

summary sunday [on a monday, no less]

monday:  pure barre
tuesday:  ran 3.5 miles
wednesday:  rest
thursday:  pure barre
friday:  rest
saturday:  cherokee harvest 5k
sunday:  rest

this is after class on thursday with my awesome friend/pb instructor lindsay. Pure Barre is hosting a challenge this month on FB and everyday they give you a prompt for a photo. this was for PBFF.

i picked up an extra shift this week so between working 50 hours and preparing for a visit from the in-laws, i was pooped.

i had a mixed experience at my WW weigh in this week, that i have to share with you all. okay so i go to weigh in and i lost another 4 pounds. of course i was ecstatic but the person weighing me was not. she gave me a very long talk and explained that if i had another week like this i'd have to get a doctor's note. i'm trying to be objective, but i'm not really sure what to think of this. here are some of the thoughts i'm having...

• yes the program is designed for 1/2 to 2 pound weight loss per week but it even says in the getting started book, that it might be more during your first 3 weeks (this was my second week). 
• my first week i did not eat all my extra weekly points (they encourage you to), but the second week i did (anniversary dinner, ate out a couple of times, etc.) so i'm following the program. 
• WW gives 5 pound stickers out for every 5 pounds you lose, she didn't give me my sticker :(
• now i'm scared to death to go weigh in next week. i've OBVIOUSLY still got weight to lose but i don't want to get scolded again. part of me wants to weigh myself during the week to make sure i haven't lost too much. but that's just dumb, i'm following the program and weighing myself everyday is not good for me. 

what do you all think? 

i still went to get a celebratory diet coke afterwards!

why i decided to head back to weight watchers and a bit of background on my weight loss battle

so as i mentioned yesterday, i rejoined weight watchers last week. i put a lot of thought into this decision and i really do think it's the best one for me.

some background... i have fought to control my weight for pretty much my whole life, but seriously after i graduated high school. i did weight watchers the summer before i started pharmacy school and had a lot of success. unfortunately, when i went to school i quit going to meetings (i'd been going with my mom and grandmother at home), so i never got lifetime status, and i gained back the weight. i've done various things between then and now and i'd definitely classify myself as a yo-yo dieter. food is my achilles heel for sure.

as i shared on here last year, i worked with a guy who made a workout plan and an eating plan for me. it helped me to lose a little more than 20 pounds. for reasons that i don't really want to get into right now, i gained pretty much all the weight back.

so here we are again. i did a lot of thinking and spent some time trying to figure out what's important to me. i kept coming back to weight watchers.

here are the major reasons why i chose weight watchers over all the other options:

• it's tried and true. they've been around for 50 years and they're constantly updating the program to incorporate new research. they know what they're doing. i have personally done weight watchers twice before (here's hoping the whole 'third time's a charm' thing rings true here also) and when i work the program, it works for me. 
• i am sick of being so extremely restricted in what i can and cannot eat. while i had great success losing weight with the clean eating approach i followed last year, maintenance was very hard for me. i mean, i couldn't eat a peach for goodness sakes. and unfortunately, i'm very much the type who thinks once i eat one thing that's not on the plan i've messed up the whole day, week, etc. i'm not saying it makes sense or is rational, i'm just saying that because of that, my previous plan was no longer an option. plus the guy who made my plans had no idea how to help me fuel to run. NONE. 
• i like the accountability of weight watchers [weekly weigh ins + going to meetings with friends]. 
• my OCD self loves tracking points and looking at spreadsheets/charts (WW has seriously stepped up their online tool game). 
• i want something that helps me to keep the weight off, instead of abandoning me when i've worked so hard to lose the weight. 
• i want something live-able. 
• i enjoy cooking, and i really like that i can try new dishes and cook some!

anyways, i just wanted to share. i'll keep you all updated!

summary sunday

october 7-13

monday:  pure barre

tuesday:  pure barre

wednesday:  rest day

thursday:  ran 3 miles

friday:  pure barre

saturday:  rest day

sunday:  whoops, another rest day

i'm feeling a little under the weather (just stuffy nose/headache) so i took it easy this weekend. my parents were also able to run over for a quick, last minute visit so i'd obviously rather hang out with them than go run! i also got in touch with the cherokee harvest race director and i'm dropping down to the 5k next weekend. i hate to drive so far for a 5k, and i thought about just deferring. But this race has the best swag, and i do want to show my support because i think it's a great local race. you get a lot of bang for your buck, it's a beautiful course, and they really put on a great race. 

friday was our 5 year anniversary and brad stepped up and spoiled me rotten. we both had to work all day and saturday, but we went downtown to eat a really nice dinner at limone's. we discovered it during our staycation week and wanted to go back (short rib nachos... i die). i have got to start doing posts about all this great food in asheville. it's a small miracle that i don't weigh 300 pounds. 

in related news, i sucked up my pride and re-joined weight watchers last friday. i had my first weigh in this week and i lost 4 pounds. i'll have a post tomorrow discussing more about why i decided to do this. 

i hope you all are having a great weekend, i'm off to do some grocery shopping and food prep!

summary sunday

september 30 - october 6

monday:  AM - pure barre  PM - ran 3 miles

tuesday:  rest

wednesday:  overslept my AM pure barre class, ran 3.5 miles in PM

thursday:  PM - pure barre

friday:  AM - pure barre, PM - walked 4 miles

saturday:  ran 3.5 miles

sunday:  pure barre

so 4 PB classes and 10 miles of running. wow that doesn't seem like a lot of running at all. my knee has been giving me a little bit of trouble (ever since the downhill at dawn half marathon), so at this point i think it would be very unwise to run the half marathon in 2 weeks. achey knee + lack of preparation probably isn't the best formula for a good day. we'll see.

i did start rotating in a new pair of wave riders to see if that helps my knee any. i bought these on sale at the expo for the asheville marathon and have been dying to wear them because i LOVE the colors.

do you buy running shoes in advance? i have had this pair in my closet since march, i won a pair of 16s in july that i have, and i also have a pair of 13s that i bought at tj maxx like a year ago that i haven't used yet. might be a little ridiculous, but i don't like to pay full price for shoes! i know the style works for me, so if i find them on sale i usually buy them!

speaking of buying shoes, the awesome guys over at kindrunner sent me a tech shirt and some new socks to try. i've never tried feetures but they worked really well for me during a short 3 miler. i'll be testing them some more over (hopefully) longer distances and i'll let you all know how they do.

kindrunner has a great feature on their site called the confident runner price... if you know your style and size then you can forfeit free return shipping for a discounted price on your shoes (you still get free shipping to you and free shipping of any shoes you're donating). add that to their kind cash rewards and you've got a pretty sweet deal on your shoes, LOVE THEM!

i am a kindrunner ambassador but all opinions are my own. this is a company that i am happy to stand behind, they're amazing!

summary sunday

the week of september 23-29

monday:  pure barre
tuesday:  pure barre, 3 mile run
wednesday: pure barre
thursday:  rest day
friday:  pure barre
saturday:  ran 3 miles
sunday:  pure barre

hmm, i distinctly remember saying i'd run 10 miles this week. obviously, that didn't happen. i had planned on running 3 on thursday and 4 on saturday, but i decided my body wanted a rest day (and brad wanted to go out to eat when i got home from work).

so i'll shoot for 10 again this next week.

and just because this post is super boring, here are some cute pup pics!

summary sunday

the week of september 16-22

monday:  6am pure barre 

tuesday:  rest day

wednesday:  6am pure barre

thursday:  645pm pure barre

friday:  830am pure barre, 1 hour walk

saturday:  830am pure barre

sunday:  230pm breaking down the barre class

y'all i need to run something fierce. i've obviously come to terms with the fact that i'm going to be walking A LOT at the cherokee half marathon. my goal is to run at least 10 miles next week. nothing to call home about, but that's 10 more miles that i ran this week.

i'm still loving pure barre, and i'm trying to figure out a) if i can justify the cost, and b) how i'm going to shower and get to work (because part of justifying the cost involves me canceling my gym membership).  we'll see.

last night was eventful... brad woke me up at 2am telling me to go sleep in the guest bedroom because he was sick. so loaded him up with medicine, water, and a bucket and told him to holler or call my cell if he needed me. we skipped church so we could sleep and now he's comfy on the couch watching football (WHO DEY!).

i did make something new to me this morning... egg muffins!

i just added some local sausage and some salt and pepper, but next time i think i'll add broccoli. they tasted great but i want to add some veggies. these should be really easy to heat up and eat on the go!

what did you do today?

a day in my life...

a day in the life

you can link up to jill's post or see everyone else's at the above link.

430 am:  alarm goes off, get up to take care of dogs (outside, back in to feed them both, then back out).

500am:  catch up on blogs/emails and let the pups play for awhile

530am:  take pups out, put lyla in her crate until brad wakes up, riley roams the house, grab my bags and  get out the door.

549am:  arrive at pure barre for 6am class

6am:  get my l.t.b. on for 55 minutes, then drive about 2 minutes down the road to the rush.

7am:  run into the gym to shower and get ready for work. i've got to figure out how i'm going to shower after i quit my membership at the rush. i could drive back to my house but i'm afraid i'll end up being about 10-15 minutes late for work. maybe not if i hurry, who knows.

830a-7pm:  work, work, work (as a pharmacist at a local community pharmacy).

i normally get home from work around 730p and i either cook or we'll go get something to eat (brad gets back home earlier than me so he takes care of the pups). then we usually watch TV or work on something here at the house. (if i'm ending my stretch of working days i'll usually go on a tear and semi-clean the house... i clean it when i'm off work and it can get a little cluttered for my taste when i'm working).

today was a straight to couch day! depending on when i'm getting up the next morning, i usually go to bed between 10 and 11. i try to head up 30 minutes early to read my Bible and i'll also pack a bag for the next day if i need to.

back to the daily grind and a little tv randomness

ugh i had to go back to work today. it was fun until about 3pm, then i hit a wall and i just wanted to take a nap :)

lyla is doing really well, she and riley are getting along great. i'm planning on making her a new bed this weekend, she keeps stealing riley's.  and this is what he thinks about that:

did y'all watch breaking bad last night? i swear, i basically had 2 heart attacks and peed my pants in the first 30 minutes. it is ripping my heart out. 

if you don't watch breaking bad (i'm sorry but you really need to get with it!) do you watch sons of anarchy? it's one of the shows that got me through marathon training last year and the new season premiered last week. the whole episode made me sick. i wanted to punch jax (the main character) in his manly parts. what a jerk. 

what's your must watch tv show? there are only 2 episodes of breaking bad left and i'm pretty sure i'm going to cry... and on another note, i watch WAY too much TV. 

summary sunday

one of the main reasons i started this blog was that i wanted some accountability with working out. well, there's not been any of that lately because i haven't been posting regularly! so in an attempt to get back into the groove (blogging and working out), i present summary sunday... where i'll recap my workouts from the previous week.

the week of september 9-15

Monday:  pure barre
Tuesday:  pure barre, 3 trail run/walk (ran 2, walked 1)
Wednesday:  pure barre
Thursday:  pure barre
Friday:  pure barre
Saturday:  pure barre
Sunday:  rest day!!

umm, so i bet you can't guess my new favorite workout! i can't help it, i love it. i have GOT to run some next week though. i have a half marathon in 33 days. yikes.

ps... i kind of got this idea from lisa. would you all be interested in an online workout gear yard sale link up? i'd be happy to host it and it would work something like this... basically you'd compose a post  on your blog listing any and all gear you're interested in getting rid of (including a picture, price you want, size, condition, etc). then i'd start a link up on my blog so we could all check out each others' gear. like an online yard sale of sorts.

let me know if you're interested and i'll set it up for a week or so away, giving us time to get our stuff together!

he and she eat clean's arugula chicken burgers

one of my goals for this week is to find and try some new recipes to work in the mix. we are in a big time food  rut. which leads to eating out every night, which leads to empty pockets in jeans that are way too tight.

i found the site he and she eat clean via pinterest (of course, where else does one find a recipe nowadays?). they have a lot of great looking ideas but the first one to jump out at me was their arugula chicken burgers (the link will actually take you to tosca reno's website where they shared the recipe).

these were super easy to make and SO DELICIOUS! they are filling, flavorful, and a perfect pairing with some roasted sweet potato cubes which we are loving right now too.

lots of fresh ingredients! chop everything up, add to a bowl, and add your ground chicken. 

 i pan fried them with this new coconut oil that i got from swanson health products [for more on them, see below].* it worked pretty much the same as evoo and i couldn't taste any difference in the two. i'm trying to use coconut oil more after reading whole30 and this worked perfectly!

doesn't that look good? it made four patties so we each had one for dinner then warmed up another one for lunch the next day. we put them on ezekiel english muffins the first night, then the second day i went without a bun.

let me know if you all try them!

*swanson health products has a HUGE selection of vitamins, supplements, organic foods, natural bath/beauty products, eco-friendly cleaners, etc.

• they are family owned since 1969
• guaranteed low prices (crazy low prices!)
• i can personally attest to their WONDERFUL customer service and FAST shipping

i was allowed to choose this product from swanson and it was provided to me free of charge in exchange for my honest review of the product. as always, all opinions are my own and i was not required to give a positive review.