Recent Faux Pas
Ah, you know those weeks where everything goes super smoothly? This has not been one of them. It’s only Wednesday and I’ve had several mishaps. Let’s start with Sunday… Well, let’s go back several weeks. I was rushing through Target one day and I grabbed this cute Christmas shirt: I love how cheerful it looks, so I’ve been wearing it even though the shape is a little boxy. On Sunday I wore it to the store, to the mall, and then at night we had a work meeting (I know, work on Sunday night??? It’s the only time that we’re closed and everyone can attend.) I decided to wear my Joyful shirt, because meetings after-hours are very casual. As soon as I walked in, one of my coworkers said, “Oh, I have that same top! My entire family is wearing them for our “Christmas pajamas” picture this year.” Wait. What? Where EXACTLY in Target did I get this shirt? I cast my mind back… yes, it was right in the front, with the… pajamas. When I got home I looked at the tag to confirm, and yep- it says “Women’s sleepwear.” I especially love how I was AT WORK when I realized I was wearing a pajama top. Oops. Moving right along! On Monday, the tire pressure light in my car was on. My husband usually puts air in my tires, but he’s been extremely busy lately so I didn’t want to bother him. I don’t do it often, so I’m a little insecure about this task, but once I got started it all came back to me. Just as I was finishing, a woman asked for my help. She was trying to put air in her tires using another machine and it wasn’t working. I have to admit I felt a little smug- not only did I get the air in my tires but someone was actually asking me for advice! I suggested that she use my machine instead, as I was done. I got in my car and started to pull away… when I realized I had forgotten to put all the caps back on the tire stems. I was slightly less smug as I went back to retrieve them and put them on, while the other woman was now waiting impatiently to use my air machine. Ha ha, wouldn’t it have been funny if I forgot all about them? I asked my husband how long it would take for all the air to run out of my tires, and he said it doesn’t work like that. They’re not actually holding the air in, they’re just there to protect the stem. Well, darn. That’s not quite as dramatic as me coming out of work to find four completely flat tires. Anyway, the next mishap involves cookie baking, and I want to make it clear that this was my fault, and not the fault of the recipe- because I don’t want to throw anyone’s grandmother under the bus. Earlier this week, Nicole shared her recipe for Grandma’s Gingersnap Cookies. They sounded so delicious that I had to make some! I followed the recipe, making my usual substitutions to make them vegan. The recipe calls for two eggs, which made me hesitate a little. I usually have a “one egg limit” on recipes, because it gets a little iffy if you’re trying to substitute for too many eggs. But I forged ahead, using a flax egg substitute (one tablespoon ground flaxseed and three tablespoons water per egg) and refrigerated the dough as directed. When it was time to bake, the batter seemed a little soft…. but I decided to try one batch. The cookies smelled DELICIOUS, but came out very, very flat. ARG! I must have gotten too much water in the batter… so I added more flour. The second batch was better but still too flat, so I added a little more flour, and voila! The last batch came out “chewy, addictive and magical” as promised. In case you’re wondering what’s going to happen to all the flat cookies… don’t worry. My daughter and husband see nothing wrong with them and are eating them happily. But I’m glad I got one batch that taste AND look good, in case I want to give some as gifts. Thank you, Nicole! Am I going to have one of those weeks with one snafu after another? Or will I be able to turn it around? More importantly, now that I’ve been wearing pajamas in public, will I just say “screw it!” and continue to wear the Joyful shirt? It’s possible. Very, very possible.
Weekly Rundown- Runs and Fun
ACK!!! Do you realize Christmas is in TWO WEEKS? I’m not ready! I’m still buying gifts, I haven’t wrapped a single thing, and I haven’t made any cookies yet. Slow down, time! I often think, “I would have the perfect amount of time to do everything I need to do, if only I didn’t have to go to work.” Know what I mean? Luckily there was time for workouts. Thanks as always to Kim and Deborah for hosting. Let’s do the Weekly Rundown! Sunday Long run! I ran to the trail, ran on the trail, and then ran home for 12 miles total. I took this “amazing” picture… But here’s a better picture of the trail. I love my trail! Except… at one point I pulled over to the side for a pit stop… and saw this “little” guy… On second thought, I don’t really need to go that badly after all. In the afternoon, I got the outdoor Christmas lights put up, Major victory! Every year I think “Maybe we just shouldn’t have lights this year” and then I get them up and am so happy I did. Monday Caroline Girvan Iron Series Day #25- shoulders. When I’m done with this series, I never want to do an entire workout dedicated to shoulders again- but I will say it was a good choice for the day after a long run. Tuesday Uneventful 4 mile run. Wednesday I started the morning with a 3 mile run, and then after I dropped my daughter off, I hit the gym! I did squats and was able to add 5 lb plates to the bar. Leg curls, one leg at a time to really focus on hamstrings. Romanian deadlifts with dumbbells… Marcia had an amazing suggestion, which is that when I’m ready for the bar, to put it on the lowest setting on the squat rack and lift from there. I ended with Bulgarian split squats with bodyweight only because my legs were literally SHAKING by that point. Of course, I saw the annoying trainer, who I’m sure I’ll see every time I go to the gym now. But he called me “Sarah” so obviously he doesn’t really remember me, ha ha. That’s good. Thursday Day #26 in the Iron Series was a leg workout, so I skipped that for now (obviously.) Instead I did Day #27 which was upper body. I’ll go back to Day #26 next week. Friday 4 mile run! Saturday Day off, and slept in till 7:30 before going to work. Later in the day I had one more piece of decorating to do… we’ve gotten enough Christmas cards by now that it was time to start my Christmas card display! Like all my decorating schemes, I like to describe the style as “basic, yet effective.”. When my husband saw it, he said “Oh, that looks nice… who the hell is that?” Hahahahaha… yes, my card from Engie is prominently featured, and of course my husband has no idea who that is. Another fun fact- the card on the upper right corner is from Zenaida, who was my Secret Santa in the mug swap this year. I’m loving that I have a “blogger” Christmas card display! Sunday On tap- long run on the trail! And in the afternoon… cookie baking. MUST GET STARTED ON THAT. Did you notice I didn’t complain once about the heat? I discovered that complaining doesn’t change anything (did you know that?) so I needed to just shut up. BUT, I will say that there’s a real cold front predicted for next weekend… I’m trying not to get my hopes up in case that changes. We’ll see! How was your week? Are you ready for the holidays?
December Fun
I know December is always crazy busy, but I’m trying to make sure there’s also plenty of fun- because that’s what holidays are all about, right? To begin with, what could be more fun than receiving a MYSTERIOUS PACKAGE in the mail??? As soon as I saw that it was from Zenaida, I realized that she was my Secret Santa- AND, I had a pretty good idea what the mug was… I was right! Zenaida shared it on her blog about a month ago, saying that she saw this beautiful mug and regretted not buying it. At the time I thought, “I hope I’m Zenaida’s Secret Santa, so I can get her that mug.” How funny is it that she ended up sending it to ME? This is my second year participating in San’s Secret Santa mug swap, and both times my husband has been jealous of the amazing mugs I’ve received. But, good news! Zenaida also sent me a box of “tea drops,” which has an assortment of flavors, so I can share with my husband. And the final gift in this package is this ornament. which has a prominent place on our tree: THANK YOU ZENAIDA! And thank you once again to San for organizing this event. #SecretSantaMugSwap2022 Next order of business- I’m very proud (and relieved) to say that I got the outdoor lights up on Sunday! This is a job I do entirely by myself. My husband just doesn’t care about outdoor decorations that much, and if it were up to him we probably wouldn’t have any. So, if I want lights it’s up to me. I’m not going to complain about the heat because I’m pretty sure it’s getting annoying. I’ll just mention that it was 82 and humid on Sunday afternoon, and I had done a hot 12 mile trail run in the morning. The last thing I felt like doing was getting back outside and putting up lights… BUT I DID IT! I like to call my decorating style “old school.” I don’t have anything that moves, inflates, or projects images. Lights around the top of the house, in the bushes, and on the palm trees is the extent of my abilities. But now that they’re up, they look festive and cheerful! I’m glad I got it done. Next! The other day I was shopping and saw THIS SHIRT: I’ve decided we should all identify our “Christmas character soulmates.” It’s not that I WANT the Heat Miser to be my soulmate, but I think he is. Let’s take a look… Yep- bright red face, the hair… there’s a distinct resemblance. I did buy the shirt, but haven’t worn it yet. I will soon though. (Wait- you DO know the Heat Miser, right? If not, you must watch The Year Without a Santa Clause immediately!) Well, that’s enough fun for now. Do you like Secret Santa gift exchanges? – I love them! Who’s your Christmas character soulmate?
Holiday Wish List
One thing I love about this time of year is gift guides! However, I’m calling this a “wish list” instead of “gift guide” because I have a feeling that what I want for Christmas may not be what everyone else wants. But you never know- here’s what’s on my list this year: This is the #1 item on my list. I have the single bottle version, and I love it SO MUCH. It doesn’t bounce or make my back hot (two things I was concerned about before I got it.) When I first started using it I had an issue with chafing, but now I have no problems even if I’m wearing it with just a sports bra. The single bottle version comes with a 24 oz, bottle, which is perfect… for a ten mile run on a warm day. But if I’m going farther, I need more water. I really need this ASAP, but I’ll settle for Christmas Day. Next up… I don’t have a massage gun at home (I use one at work) and I have my eye on this one.. What can I say- I’m a cheapskate. It’s only $28 but got some great reviews. I got the idea for this from Caroline Girvan- she uses push up bars in one of her Iron Series workouts. I have an issue with my right wrist, which is that I can’t put my hand down flat and put pressure on it. I’m not sure if I hurt it doing pushups, yoga, at work, or a combination of the three, but it’s very sensitive. I have to be careful because I need my wrists for work, so I haven’t done yoga in months, and if a workout calls for pushups, I attempt to do them up on my fists. Did you know that’s VERY HARD? I’m thinking these pushup bars would allow me to do more normal pushups and take the pressure off my wrists. And here’s another piece of exercise equipment that looks pretty cool: How many times have you thought, “If only there were a way to attach dumbbells to my feet!” No? Just me? Honestly, now that I’m going to the gym I probably don’t need these, but Monkey Feet would allow you to do leg curls and leg extensions at home. Born to Run 2 is a sequel to Born to Run, written by Christopher McDougall and his coach, Eric Orton. Unlike Born to Run, which told the story of the Tarahumaras and ultrarunning, Born to Run 2 is a more practical training guide. Included in the book are recipes, form drills, and a training plan. I want it!!! I’m linking up with Kim and Zenaida for their Tuesday topics. Check them out for more holiday gift guide fun! What’s on your holiday wishlist? Do you own any of these items? Any of them look interesting to you?