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.