Christmas Book Flood
In Iceland there’s a tradition called Jolabokaflod, or “Christmas Book Flood.” According to this article, gifts of books are exchanged on Christmas Eve, and everyone spends the rest of the evening reading and sipping hot cocoa. WELL. I like that tradition! We exchange our presents on Christmas Day, not Christmas Eve, but I still want a Christmas Book Flood! My dream is always, after all the presents are unwrapped, to relax on the couch (I’ll have Earl Grey tea instead of cocoa) with a large stack of books. Some years this works out better than others, but it’s what I’m hoping for on Christmas Day. Since I want a Christmas book flood, I have some books on my wishlist! Here’s my list so far: Choose Strong: The Choice That Changes Everything by Sally McRae. “Honest, relatable, and raw, every reader will connect with Sally’s story and see how they too can overcome even the most difficult situations in life and sport. Choose Strong is a story for everyone from every age and walk of life looking to live their strongest life.” Sally has an incredible podcast, and the only reason I haven’t read her book yet is that it’s not available at our library. It’s been on my Christmas list ever since it came out! Knee Ability Zero by Ben Patrick. Ben is the “Knees Over Toes Guy” and I heard him interviewed on a podcast a few months ago. He says the exercises in this book will “bulletproof your knees.” Um… yes, please! Agnostic: A Spirited Manifesto by Lesley Hazleton. I read about this book on Coco’s blog and it sounds interesting! “Inspired and inspiring, Agnostic recasts the question of belief not as a problem to be solved but as an invitation to an ongoing, open-ended adventure of the mind.” Dover One by Joyce Porter. If I get all the books on my list, this will probably be the first one I’ll read. Birchwood Pie describes it as a whodunit on the level of Agatha Christie, but with humor. Yes! I want it now!!! Lastly… My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante. Engie says this is one of her favorite books. She was our fearless leader for the Cool Bloggers Book Club so I think we can all trust her recommendations. Do you have any books on your wishlist? Header photo by Tom Hermans on Unsplash
Still “Between the Holidays” and Black Friday Shopping
Strangely, I can’t seem to fully move on from Thanksgiving. The house is halfway decorated for Christmas, but the Thanksgiving tablecloth is still on the table and pumpkins are scattered here and there. It could be that I’m just lazy- it takes work to de-pumpkin the house, and I just haven’t felt like doing it. But I did find the energy to do some shopping! In stores! On Saturday, I had to drop my daughter off at a band event, and rather than going all the way back home (and then returning to pick her up) I decided to kill time at the mall. I KNOW. The mall on Thanksgiving weekend sounds like a really, really bad idea. It would have been okay if I didn’t go to the most crowded store possible: It was a madhouse, but I got our “Twisted Peppermint” hand soaps for the bathrooms, and a candle. Today (Sunday) started off with a 20 mile run. Well… let’s just say every run can’t be magical. I felt okay until the last three miles, and after that it wasn’t pretty, but I got it done. I think it had something to do with the fact that the “feels like” temperature when I finished was 88 degrees. Ugh. Not okay. My breakfast was truly a “between the holidays” affair… And then in the afternoon I had to drive my daughter to another band event (she’s volunteering for their gift wrap fundraiser) and this time I found myself near an Old Navy. Oh, why not? I got two Christmas t-shirts for myself, and jeans, pajamas, and cozy socks for my daughter. Everything I got was 50% off. I don’t think I’ve ever done this much in-store shopping on Black Friday weekend. When I got home I was ready to sit on the couch and watch football (and light my new candle.) My lunch was the last piece of pumpkin pie: The last thing in the entire world I wanted to do was cook dinner, so we got pizzas. Ah, I love days like this… every once in a while. Tomorrow we’re back to school routine and early wake ups, and I’ll be upset that the house is a wreck. Oh well… it was worth it. If you celebrated Thanksgiving, are you ready for the week to be over? Did you do any shopping this weekend? Header photo by Maëva Vigier on Unsplash
Weekly Rundown- It Was a “Short-Long”
This was one of those weeks that seemed to go by so fast, but when I look back to last Sunday, it feels like a hundred years ago. My son calls these periods “Short-Longs,” short at the time but long in retrospect. I’m linking up as usual with Kim and Deborah for this Weekly Rundown, and of course I’m joining San for NaBLoPoMo. This was a busy week, but workouts happened! Let’s take a look… Sunday To go along with the general theme, this week was a “short long run.” I had 10 miles on my schedule, and I tried to run as much as possible on grass. As I’ve mentioned, my race in February has a lot of grassy stretches so I’m trying to train accordingly. This run felt really good, and then it was home and time for waffles and hanging out with my son! So good to have him home. Monday I did a strength workout at home. Inspired by Suzanne, I decided to try split squats with a barbell. I have a lighter barbell that can only be loaded with 50 pounds- but it was perfect for this workout. I did split squats with the barbell and then Bulgarian split squats with dumbbells. Then I finished up with calf raises and planks. Tuesday 4 mile run! I can’t remember anything about this run- but it looks like it was a beautiful day. Wednesday Well, my son and I had planned to go to the gym together, but he was sick. So I went without him- he said we were going to do squats, deadlifts, benchpress, and lat pulldowns so I followed his instructions! Thursday This was our “Turkey Trot Truant” day, where instead of running a race, my husband and I just went for a run together. 4 fun miles! And then it was a day of cooking and eating! My son rallied. He was sick, but not so sick he couldn’t enjoy the day (unlike Christmas of 2021 when he had Covid and was so sick he couldn’t sit at the table for dinner.) No, this time he was able to eat with the rest of us! Friday 3 mile run… …followed by some bodyweight strength. Runner’s Touch and deadbugs… someone asked last time what “deadbugs” are. Here’s a short video! Saturday Off! My son flew back to Texas early in the morning. Luckily my husband loves going to the airport (for real) so I got up to say goodbye and then went back to bed. I was able to sleep another hour or so before getting up for work. At night, we watched Baylor lose again, this time by a touchdown scored in the last 20 seconds of the game. It’s been a VERY TOUGH YEAR for us Baylor fans. But in the words of Charlie Brown: Just wait till next year. Sunday On tap for today- 20 mile long run! I’m kind of scared. I keep reminding myself how great my 18 miler felt two weeks ago. And I have my Tailwind ready to go! Gulp. So it was a good week. I got a little more sleep because my daughter had no school. In addition to celebrating Thanksgiving, we got our Christmas tree up (how exciting!) Just three weeks till my son comes home again for Christmas break. How was your week? Did it feel extremely long or extremely short?
Between the Holidays (Thanksgiving and Black Friday Recap)
Last year I remember San telling us that the week between Christmas and New Year’s is called “Between the Years.” With Thanksgiving things still out and the Christmas tree up, I’ve decided to call this weekend “Between the Holidays.” Usually I’m a stickler for separating Thanksgiving and Christmas, but this time I’m kind of enjoying the overlap. Let’s rewind to Thanksgiving Day. When we went to bed Wednesday night, my son was sick and I was in despair over the pumpkin pie. After firming up overnight in the fridge, the pie looked FINE??? Keep in mind it was liquid the night before. Then my son got up and said that while he was a little tired and congested, he had plenty of energy to start the day. Two crises averted! I spent most of the day cooking- I made rolls, cauliflower stuffing, marinated tofu, and the salad. My son made stuffing (a traditional bread stuffing with Beyond vegan sausage) and mashed potatoes. It was such a fun day, but when I was putting dinner on the table a wave of sadness came over me, and I thought, “It’s over!” I know- this makes NO SENSE. The whole point of making a Thanksgiving dinner is to eat it, right? But I knew that once we sat down to eat, the meal goes so quickly, and then it would be over. My mind is strange sometimes. Here’s the dinner! Everything was so good! The Gardein roast was the least flavorful thing on the table, but at least we all agreed it was not rubber-y (you can see the bar is set pretty low for these roasts- next year I think we’ll make our own.) My two favorite things were the salad- and the cauliflower. I got the recipe from Suzanne, and YUM. I’ll make this anytime, not just Thanksgiving. Oh, and the rolls were insanely good. Of course. You can’t go wrong with rolls. After dinner we went for a walk, and spotted the first Christmas lights of the season! Then it was home for pie… the moment of truth. The family’s pumpkin pie was FINE. Actually, they said it was great. Now, my sister made this exact same recipe and she said hers came out really dry, but also tasted great. So if you want a recipe for a pumpkin pie that’s apparently indestructible, here it is. My pie was delicious, and the best part is, it’s ALL MINE. No one else will eat it (I make it sugar free and with a coconut oil crust) so that means over the course of four days, I eat an entire pie. Heh heh. After the pie, we watched “Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” while I put the lights and tinsel on the tree. And then the day really was over. Friday my husband was up before me and turned the tree lights on. When I came out of the bedroom I saw this sight: I had to go to work, and all day long I was dreaming of my traditional Black Friday post-work piece of pie. But this year it was extra special, because the Dolphins were playing! I got home and settled happily on the couch with my pie and the football game. Dinner was leftovers (obviously) and then we decorated the tree: The house is still halfway between Thanksgiving and Christmas, but by the end of the weekend it will be all Christmas! My son is heading back to school. He’ll be back in three weeks, but I’m still sad. You’d think saying goodbye would get easier, but it never does. This year I’m wondering how many Thanksgivings like this we have left. My son is almost 21, and who knows what will happen in the next decade. He could be married with his own family, or have a job where he doesn’t have time off to come home. No matter how you look at it, things change. Sigh. Is Black Friday a thing for you? Did you have the day off? Do any shopping? Are there lights up in your neighborhood yet? – I’m not even attempting outdoor decorations this weekend. Hopefully next weekend!