Monday, December 28, 2015

Christmas

I can't believe Christmas has come & gone. Life has been busy & the time is flying by. At some point since my last post I had a cookie baking day at my house. We made 2 cookies & a bark. Cookies were good, bark was so-so. We only had one incident & that was when my oven mitt caught on fire. No biggie, we didn't even need the fire extinguisher.
 
Later that night our friends that live next door had their annual Christmas Cocktail Party.
 




Cliff has a thing for tuxes. We brought him the very large bottle of Chianti. He loves wine & anything Italian.
 
 
The weather was actually cold that night.
 
I had a couple of days off, did some running, did more shopping & started planning an engagement party that's happening in 3 weeks. Good times.
 
Christmas Eve morning was spent a little differently than normal for me. I had a hair appointment. It was a great way to relax after a crazy busy week.
 
We went to 4:00 Mass which means leaving before 3:00 so that we can get a seat & don't have to stand. After Mass we went with friends to Ruffino's. We've done this for several years.
 
 
 


Starting at 10:00 we have our annual pajama party at our other neighbors house with the rest of the group. We have to re-evaluate that time next year. Some of us (me) are falling asleep well before the party starts.

 
We play the white elephant game & this was one of the gifts. It's called the Beer Beard?? I think? You can see the clear plastic tube. From what I could tell there's a place under all of that hair to put a can of bear & the tube goes into it & you can drink from it. Weird. I was lucky enough to get away with a Canes gift card!
 
This year we went all out with t-shirts.
 
 
They've got all the family names & the dates. It was cute.

 
Christmas Day was spent with our families at our house.
 
 
Logan's first stop is to find his name under the tree.
 
We ate a lot and then opened presents.
 
 
He was soooo excited with everything. He loves Hot Wheels so much & he got plenty!
 
 
Dean's mom, my mom & my uncle Donnie
 
 
My cousins & Godchildren Dylan  & Brooke
 

We played a few games of Jenga. My hands shake way too much for this.

 
Dylan, Brendan, me, Dean, Brooke & Logan  - all of these kiddos are my Godchildren
 

Dean bought me a Garmin Vivofit 2 activity tracker. It's showing me just how little I move on non running days. My average deep sleep during the night is 2.5 hours. That explains a lot. He also got me a gift card for a day at the spa. I can't wait to use that!

Allison sent me this pic of her little girl. I bought her this outfit for Christmas.


Seriously, the cutest outfit ever!!!
 
Saturday we spent the day in Bayou Pigeon at Dean's parents. His brother & fiancé & kids were there so we had Christmas with them.
 
I gave Dean's mom this Christmas cactus last year. It was so small.
 

Mine is still alive but hasn't grown like this.

 
Our cute gift to hang on the patio!
 


Sunday morning I got up early & went for a run. My Half Marathon is on Jan. 17th so it'll be here in no time.



I ran 10 miles then did a 1 mile "cool down" walk. I use the term "cool down" loosely. It was close to 80 degrees when I finished the run. The humidity was at 80% when I started. The weather is CRAZY. Shorts on Christmas Day, 80 on Christmas Day, horribly muggy & humid on Christmas Day, raining on Christmas Eve. AWFUL, AWFUL, AWFUL!
 
Can you tell I haven't been happy with the weather??
 
So today's Monday & I'm back at work. Yay. (That's sarcasm). At least it's only a 4 day week.
 
How was your Christmas?
 
Toodles!

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Here, There & Yonder

I can't believe Christmas is almost here. It's ridiculous how fast time goes when you get older. I hate it. I still have gifts to buy, gifts to wrap, decorations to put up, Christmas cards to be mailed. Let's face it, the chances of it all happening is slim & that makes me sad but it's my own fault. I just haven't been in the mood. 

Dean & I were both off Friday so we did some shopping & had lunch at VooDoo BBQ. We also found out that Dean's brother got engaged so that was exciting. 

Friday night we had Christmas with Dean's cousins. I ate way too much! 



These cookies were so good. 

The kids sang a lot of Christmas carols & then it was time to Whip & Nae Nae.


Notice that Cody is wearing shorts. That's because it was 80 degrees Friday. Ridiculous. 






Saturday morning we were up bright & early to book our next vacation. 


This picture cracks me up. They're so serious. We're going to an all inclusive resort in Cancun in June. So far it will be us & 2 other couples but there's always a chance more of the group will join us. 

After the vacation stuff was handled I went for a run. It was hot. 


I was really slow too. Slower than I've been in awhile. I'm sure the fact that I had 2 Dr. Peppers, a Coke Zero, 3 glasses of wine & very little water on Friday had something to do with it. I know better. I was so hot that I actually got in the pool. It was cold but it wasn't unbearable. 

Dean & I were off again yesterday & the plan was to finish the shopping. It didn't happen. We got a lot done but not everything. We  had breakfast at Another Broken Egg. 


I had the Crab Cake Cavallo. It was delicious.

My plan was to run when we got home yesterday but it was hot, I was annoyed & I took a nap instead. Ugh. 

I got up early this morning & ran before work like normal. It was 44 so that was nice but I was still really slow. I didn't feel bad so I don't know what the deal was. I'm trying to improve my time for my half in January. At least I got out there & did it.  


Tonight I have dinner with some friends that I haven't seen in awhile & then tomorrow night is a birthday dinner. Such a busy time of year. 

Toodles!

Monday, December 7, 2015

Thanksgiving


Last week was crazy busy so I'm playing catch up. I feel like that's all I do these days. The day before Thanksgiving I went to Trader Joe's to get some flowers.




Tulips are my favorite!


They didn't live very long which was a bummer. 

Our typical Thanksgiving is to eat then watch Logan play football with Scott & Dean.



Yes, it was ridiculously hot & we all had on shorts. 


Notice Logan's mouth is wide open in both pictures. He's got the trash talking down to a science.



The wind was blowing about 150 mph. 


Logan's head is wet from sweat. He's the hottest kid I know. 

I bought this at Sam's.


I loved it. Dean said it was ok.

The most exciting thing of the day was when my neighbor ran in the house to borrow a bottle of champagne because her daughter got engaged. It was all very exciting. The first 3900 Krewe Wedding.

Friday I got up & ran. It had been over a week because in keeping with my Thanksgiving tradition I was sick & had to get a steroid shot. 




I ran 4 miles & then walked 1 mi.

I decorated the house & the tree. 

Monday I ran 5 mi.


It was chilly.

I ran 6.5 mi. on Wednesday to try & run off some of the cheesecake. I got a couple of weight workouts in too. 

Not a lot of excitement is happening around here. 

Toodles!




Wednesday, November 25, 2015

The Weekend

Last weekend was low key but fun. We went with friends to White Light Nights.  A few blocks in one part of Baton Rouge open their stores & have snacks & drinks & shopping. We walked around & bought a few things & had dinner at Doe's. 

If you're not from Baton Rouge you may not have heard about Southern University's band. They're called the Human Jukebox & they're so good!


Part of the band played. They dance while they play. It's impressive. It's always fun to watch their half time show. 

Saturday morning Scott, Lydia & Logan had a run to do. Dean & I went to watch.
It was cold & rainy which is was not supposed to be. Gotta love the weathermen. 


Love Logan's expression. A couple of older kids had just passed him & you could tell he wasn't happy. He still came in 6th overall. 




Clearly, the rain wasn't bothering him.


That's my brother in the red. Speedy starts at the front. Lydia's in the picture somewhere.


This kid is mesmerized by water. 


Scott was 5th overall but was 2nd in his age group. The pic I had of  Lydia finishing was very blurry.

After the race we ran a few errands & then went home to get ready for the LSU game. Good grief it was bad. Really, really bad. Everyone had stuff going on Saturday so it was very low key. Cindy came over & Cliff, Sheri & A-A. 


A-A lost interest in the game. I'm so glad she's so comfortable at our house. 


The game was so bad Cindy made monograms for our cups. 

After the game Dean & I went to Caliente. 

Sunday afternoon Cindy & Sheri came over & we planted paper whites. I hope they bloom. This is the first time any of us have done this. 

The last several years we have what we call the 3900 Krewe Christmas PJ Party on Christmas Eve night after everyone does their own thing. We meet up around 10:00 play the White Elephant game & hang out. This year someone had the idea of making t-shirts.  
Last night our kitchen was the shipping & receiving dept. for the shirts. 


This is only some of the shirts. We may have a problem. LOL!

It's that time of year again - I woke up with a sore throat, started taking Mucinex, it didn't work, woke up with stopped up ears so off to the Dr. I went. It's the usual upper respiratory infection. Against my better judgement I got the dreaded steroid shot & an antibiotic & keep taking Mucinex. That means I'm not sleeping good. I was at Sam's at 7:00 am this morning before work. At least I'm productive. 

We got a glorious email this morning that the office is closing at noon! WOOO HOOO!! 

Happy Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Toodles!


Friday, November 20, 2015

Happenings

Awhile back my neighbor who is like family asked me to be her Confirmation sponsor. Of course I said yes. Tuesday after I got home from Disney was the night of Confirmation. We had a delicious dinner at her house before hand. Gumbo & shrimp & grits! The actual Confirmation was very nice. The Bishop was there & did the Homily. There were 125 Juniors that were confirmed. It was the biggest class in the Diocese.

Afterwards we went back to her house for cookie cake. I used to think all cookie cakes were created equal. I was so wrong. Recently, we've had several occasions where there's been cookie cake from The  Great American Cookie Company & they just can't be beat. When I was a kid & we'd go to the mall we'd get cookies & it they were always so good.
 
 
I really need an eye lift or Botox or something. I look tired in every single picture I take. UGH. Anyway, that's Amelia-Ann. It's so hard to believe she's a junior in high school. We moved into our houses a week apart & she was only 6 at the time.
 


Again with the eyes. Maddy was confirmed too. I first met Maddy & her parents through A-A. Those 2 are the best of friends & have been forever. We've all spent so much time together. It's been so fun being a part of their lives.
 
Last weekend was one of no plans which was awesome because I hadn't been home on a weekend in awhile. I needed to rest.
 
I did get up Saturday morning & run. I went to the lakes & the pelicans are migrating.

 
There are sooooo many!

 
I couldn't get them all in the same picture. They're fun to watch. They would fly real close to the water & when they land it looks like they're water skiing without skis.
 
We're having some cool weather & it was a gorgeous day.
 
 
I did (2) 2 miles at goal pace which was 9:40. I'm not sure that's actually my goal but it seemed like a good place to start. I didn't expect to me under 10:00/mi. average for the entire 8 mi. though. That was a nice surprise.
 
We went to Mass & stopped at Caliente to eat & watch the beginning of the LSU game. That was AWFUL. Seriously. Really bad. Could be more of the same tomorrow & if it is things will be very interesting in Baton Rouge.
 
My speedy run (for me) was probably too much too soon. I was sore Sunday. Really sore. It could've been the 50 squats I did with a 15 lb. kettlebell though. I haven't been sore during my training for months & I was bummed. I wasn't running regularly the last few weeks so hopefully I'll be ok now that I'm getting back to my routine.
 
Sunday was a totally lazy day. I woke up at 5 am with an excruciating headache which certainly didn't make me productive.
 
Monday morning I ran.
 


I decided to ease by into it & only ran 4 miles.
 
Tuesday was upper body with weights. It was a good workout - I'm still sore.
 
Wednesday morning was a wash out. We had 3 inches of rain over night. I did a core workout. I joined a Holiday Sweat Challenge at Amanda's blog, Run to the Finish. She emails tips to stay on track during the holidays & there are prizes each week when you post your workouts on Instagram & Facebook. Anyway, this weeks focus for the challenge was core & planks. A strong core is super important for pretty much everything you do & to keep you from getting injured. I don't like planks but I'm trying to make myself do them.
 
Thursday I ran again.

 
I went 5 miles & I was slow slow slow. It was just one of those mornings when I wasn't feeling right.  I don't know the last time I've had a run that was an 11:30/mile average. I was still sore so maybe that was the problem.
 
Dean's birthday was Tuesday but we didn't do anything since a monsoon was predicted. Instead we went to Roberto's last night with Dennis, Jackie & Allie. As usual the food was delicious!
 
Hope everyone has a great weekend!