Running into the New Year!

Wow, I can't believe the year is already 16 days old!  I wish I could say that I've been running at least 16 days, but sadly, getting back to running has been slow going for me.

 
I told myself that I would run on January 1.  We were actually out of town on that day, but I knew that I needed to get some sort of exercise.  My family and I were staying in this cute little town on the Central Coast  - Cambria.  We stayed at a hotel at the top of a hill in the town, and the hotel had a "path" going from the hotel, down the mountain, and into town.  I say "path" because what the hotel called a path, was more like an intermediate mountain climb.  I knew I was in trouble when the walk down had me sore.  So we ate breakfast and my kids and I began the climb back up the hill.  The whole time I keep telling myself, "I run half-marathons, this shouldn't be too difficult".  Yeah, I'm a half marathon runner.

Well, after going up the hill behind two very fast kids, nearly losing my breakfast, warning 2 people in their 60s that they shouldn't try to come back up after the trek down, and sweating like a weight lifter, I came to a very important realization.  I'm only a half-marathon runner when I actually run half-marathons.  The rest of the time I'm either a runner, or not.  And remembering that I had not run at all between Thanksgiving and January 1, I realized on that day that I was in the "not" category.  

Now, I have to make myself a runner again.


So, I'm looking at the next half-marathon that I want to run.  Baby Boy and I are going to try a new half-marathon race in San Luis Obispo in April.  Since my mountain trek, I've run 3 times...in 2 weeks.  Well, it's a start.  

Thanks for stopping by today!  Hope your running is much more regular than mine has been!

Running with Dr. Seuss...

My 2 favorite parts of Christmas are 1:  putting the tree up and 2: taking the tree down.  That sounds weird, but by the end of the Christmas season, I just want my house back - no decorations, no pine needles.  When it's done, it's done. 

Our tree this year was more "Seussical" than anything.  Not only was our star a "tad" askew, but we had creatures inhabiting our tree. 

 

So, here's my take on a little "Green Eggs and Ham" for Christmas!

Cats in the Tree

Cats in the tree, Cats in the tree

What do I see?  There are cats in the tree!

Should there be cats in the tree?

Oh my, oh me, where should they be? 

Cat in the wash, cat in the wash,

Oh my gosh, there's a cat in the wash?

In the wash, he should not be,

Well, at least he's not in the tree!

Cat in the sink, cat in the sink,

I need a drink, there's a cat in my sink.

Not in the wash, not in the tree,

Where oh where should this cat be?

Cat in my bed, cat in my bed,

I'm out of my head, there's a cat in my bed!

Not in the sink, not in the tree,

Let me think, where should he be?

Cat on the loo, cat on the loo,

I don't know who, put the cat on the loo!

In the wash, in the tree

Can someone see where this cat should be?

At last I see, where this cat should be,

Not in the wash, not in the tree,

But, sleeping with

My sweet Baby!

Hope you had a wonderful, blessed Christmas!

Thanks for stopping by today!

P.S.  All of the cat pictures were taken by Baby Boy and Baby Girl and were not discovered by me till I downloaded my photos!  

Running (still) with Gratitude (part 5)

I got a little behind on my gratitude posts so...here's my last one (we'll just pretend it's still November).

I'm eternally thankful for my dear friends the Wine Gurus!  They are, of course, responsible for the more than 40 bottles of red wine sitting in our "wine cellar".  However, they are also responsible for the very grand times we have together at our wine dinners and out of town excursions!  Who else, but the Wine Gurus, would say "Yes" to a dish of fried bone marrow? 
  

 
 Although I must admit that wine was consumed before, during, and after the taste of fried bone marrow, which was actually not bad.  I'm sure that the famous chef from whom I copied the recipe makes it so much better than I, but hey, we ate it and survived!

So, here's to you, my wonderful friends, I love you, I'm thankful for you both (but Hubby is especially thankful for Mr. Wine Guru), and I look forward to many more dinners together!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Running with Gratitude (part 4)

Friends are great!  Some of the best friends I have made through the years are the people I have worked with.  Mason is one of my favorite people.  She is funny, thoughtful, a great cook, and one of the best moms I have ever met (and grandma too)!

Since we no longer work together, we have to find other occasions to catch up.  Our favorite one is pedicures!  Nothing better than having someone make your toes look beautiful!  We have our favorite place for our toes, and we always get seats together.

So, in addition to begin thankful for good looking toes, I'm thankful for my wonderful friend Mason!  Love ya!

Running with Gratitude (part 3)

I'm going to use every last moment of November to be grateful.  To me, the Christmas season doesn't officially begin til December 1st.

I'm very grateful to my dear cousin over at Sweet Bee Cottage.  She is not only a great cousin, she's also a really great friend!  Our Baby Girls are very close in age, and always enjoy their time together, (even though it takes a little time to warm up, and I must remember - no sesame seeds).   Sweet Bee and I share an awful lot in common...we both teach, we both love crafts, we both have outstanding personalities (smile), but what I'm most grateful for (or what I blame her for) is my addiction to both blogging and coffee.  Because of her, I own my own Starbucks espresso maker - which actually has saved me a heck of a lot of money - thank you!  And, because of her, I have a blog - sporadically attended to, but I'm always trying!!

So, dear cousin and friend, I'm thankful for your presence in my life, since birth - wow, can't say that about too many people I know!


We now have something else in common...can you guess?  Yeah, its the iPad!  Thanks cousin!

Running with Gratitude (part 2)...

I am blessed with a wonderful family.  My mother, although she drives me crazy at times, is the best mother, who would honestly do anything for her family.  My dad...he can build anything...and has done some wonderful gifts for my children and me (note to self:  blog about the woodwork Dad has done).  My sister, 100% loyal to her family, and the best aunt my kids could ask for.  For all of my family I am extremely thankful.

On a side note... I made a pie for Thanksgiving.  I'm not a pie baker - mostly I hate rolling out dough for crust - but I tried this recipe for a Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie from Fine Cooking magazine.  Seriously, how can you go wrong with these ingredients?

I used the food processor that my mother "stores" at my house.  I hate cleaning all the attachments, but WOW, it makes the dough so easy to prepare!  So, here's how it turned out...yum!!!

Fine Cooking also had recipes for a Maple Bacon Pecan Pie...hmm...sounds like a dessert for the Wine Gurus!


Thanks for stopping by today!  I hope you had a very blessed Thanksgiving!!

Running with Gratitude!

I read an article today that said gratitude is healthy for you.  Grateful people feel more alert, alive, interested, and enthusiastic.  They also feel more connected to others.  Apparently, being grateful can actually influence your health in a positive way!  Nice... 

So in this week of Thanksgiving I'm working on reconnecting with some people that I've been "too busy" to see.  (Sad...)  I'm grateful for so many people in my life, and for the grace of God who placed each of these wonderful people in my path.

I'm thankful for my wonderful friend Rosie.  Rosie has been a friend for over 14 years.  Her daughter was in my 1st grade class and Rosie eventually ended up being our daycare provider for both my son and daughter.  We've stayed close through the years.  Rosie is truly a daughter of God.  She speaks to God...calls him Dad when she talks to him and about him.  I love that. Rosie is so spiritual and truthful about her beliefs.

Whenever we meet up, the conversation begins with kids, husbands, future plans, and finally moves to God's place in our lives.  Rosie keeps me real...she doesn't sugar coat anything, and I always come away from our times together feeling just so...grateful!  I love you Rosie!  Thank you for being my very special friend!