Holidaze at a Glance.

Hope your holiday has been filled with joy and the cheer of the season.

My Christmas weekend at a glance…

…greeting the sunrise…

joy in my cup…

pink fuzzy socks on my feet…

gifts under the tree…

twinkling Christmas lights…

homemade ornaments…

sharing some happy miles on a Christmas Eve run with my dearest running buddies…

…and best of all, good times with mama and daddy. Makes me feel like a kid again.

From my family to yours…Happy Holidaze and Merry Christmas!

Thursday Things.

Photo from this morning’s run with my girl Elyse…sunrise in the city. 5 mile jaunt in the ‘hood.

 

So since these next few days ahead will be cray cray and packed with wrapping gifts, subbing spin classes, cleaning my apartment, and getting ready for my dad to arrive, I figured we would do TGIFriday Faves a day early…let’s just call it Thursday Things. You good with that? I figured you would be.

-Coworkers have been placing sweet little goodies on my desk so last night I decided to whip up a nice batch of this yummy stuff. Can you say party in your mouth. This stuff is seriously addictive but so easy to make. Recipe here. Mix in some M&Ms to make it all festive.

 

-Things to do before the world ends. Read this last week and it made me smile. So even if the world doesn’t end tomorrow…yes, do them all.

-How cute is this little boy…rockin’ it out…I sure could learn some smooth moves from him.

 

-I kind of want to make this fondue and bathe in it…don’t tell anyone.

-This quote…oh so true. In running and in everything else.

 

-WANT these running shoes…how hot is that color?

-Love these JibJab elf cards…of course I would pick the one of us with the afros.

-Lastly I just want to reach thru the screen and give you all a big hug and wish you all a Merry Christmas! I hope you get to spend the holidays with the ones you love.

Stolen and Some Speedy Songs.

This morning’s workout – burning off some holiday goodies on the treadmill. I didn’t have much time for this one but somehow managed to sleep in until about 6:30 a.m. (yes that is sleeping in to me) got up and got it in.

 

Last night I went to the annual holiday purse exchange party that my boss puts on every year…it was so much fun! Everyone brings a purse wrapped in a gift bag and you all have the option to pick out a wrapped purse from under the tree or steal a bag from someone who’s bag you like. Once the purse is stolen twice it is considered DEAD…and no one can steal it from you so it’s yours! Thankfully I was one of the last to go so I had a lot of bags to choose from…so I ended up with this adorable Kenneth Cole bag which was the bag I wanted. Win.

The house across the street had ALL these red Christmas lights, it was so pretty. I am wondering how long it took them to light this baby up.

 

For my run this morning I ran on an incline and did some high intensity intervals. I really wasn’t planning on running that long this morning but my body was just feeling it….so I went with it.

Music is a huge motivator for me. I can honestly run with or without it but some days I just need to tune into some jams and zone out. I figured I would share with you some of my favorite songs right now to get speedy with…they all have supercharged choruses so you can crank it up and go to town.

Pitbull- Don’t Stop the Party

Steve Aoki & Laidback Luke feat. Lil Jon- Turbulence 

Rihanna – Right Now 

Nicki Minaj- Pound the Alarm 

Michael Jackson feat. Pitbull- Bad Remix

What are some of your favorite songs for speedwork/high intensity workouts?

Do you have any Christmas lights up?

Jogging for Egg Nog and Other Wknd Stuff.

Well hello there! How was the weekend? It’s never long enough…thankfully this work week for me is rather short and then on to Christmas break!

This weekend was filled with some fun things, including the Jog’r Egg Nog’r 5K! The night before the race I went out and had a little fun with the girls…this girl also teaches a rockin’ cycle class and is super duper awesome. Good times.

I was up the next morning bright and early for the race which took place at White Rock Lake. This was the third time in a row I’ve done this series, and the last 2 years I ran the 15K. This year I wanted to play with speed a little bit so I decided to rock out the 5K! I entered the Athena division…that is women over 150 lbs…and no I am not ashamed to say I am in that category, thankyouverymuch. I figured there was a great chance I would place if I rocked the Athena!

I am woman, hear me roar…or something like that.

 

The race started off right at 9 am and we were off! I did not wear my Garmin for this race…actually forgot to charge it but I was glad I left it at home! I just ran by feel and enjoyed the pretty views of the lake. It was over before I knew it! I finished solid at 24:00. 1st place in my category! Woot!! I was excited to place in this race for the 3rd year in a row. Still got it, baby.

I just couldn’t do the egg nog this year…I know, awful…too much vino from the night before didn’t quite mix, bahaha.

The rest of Saturday was fairly low key, I met up with a friend for lunch and then took it easy the rest of the day. Enjoying having the down time from running lots of miles before gearing up to coach another training season over at Luke’s Locker! I hope to be coaching the speed/track session along with teaching my spin classes at the gym. It should be fun.

Sunday I went to a friend’s holiday brunch! Brought these fancy cupcakes.

Good times chatting with these ladies

She had a nice little spread at her house too. Yummy treats galore. I worked off a few of them this morning in my cycle class. Now I’m ready to attack this short work week.

Have a great week…and remember to keep on praying for the families and those affected by that tragic incident on Friday. Hug your family members and friends a little tighter today and tell them how much you love them.

How was your weekend? Are you done with your Christmas shopping yet?

Finished mine last night

Shots.

Just some shots from today…

Awesome take from this morning’s run…had to share.

Love running with my breakfast club ladies…they make my day.

Sweet potato for lunch…wondering why I don’t eat these more often? They are so tasty. Especially with a little bit ‘o honey.

Random proof of me at the finish line of the Dallas Half Marathon…looking like a goober. Whysoserious?

Gorgeous Christmas lights from outside of my job…they like to do it up for the holidaze.

Sparkly nails…all festive…just cuz.

 

Black Santa in my office…actually my boss loved it so much it’s sitting in his office now. Did you know Santa was a brotha? Well you know now.

Ladies, do you paint your own nails or get them done? What color are your nails right now? 

What is making your day today? 

Slackin’ and a Christmas Survey.

Alright alright, so it is getting down to that time of year again. Can you believe we only have 2 weeks left til Christmas? I have yet to do my Christmas shopping or even send out my cards. I’m definitely slackin’. This weekend…definitely this weekend. But I am getting into the Christmas spirit for sure, listening to holiday music in the car and at work. So I figured ’tis the season…for a survey! Thanks Janae for the idea!

1.  Favorite Christmas Album/CD/Song?

I really love the Christmas classics…but one of my faves right now has to be this song…it’s been re-done a thousand times but this original will be an all time fave.

2.  Run on Christmas morning or take the day off?

I usually don’t on the actual day but I LOVE running on Christmas EVE! Last year I did a group run with my amazing running buddies, we ran for miles and miles crazy early in the morning around the town of Frisco and then warmed up with yummy Starbucks drinks. Always a good time.

3.  What do you usually eat on Christmas morning?

My mom always makes a yummy breakfast consisting of grits, eggs, turkey sausage. Basically the works. Lots of kisses to the mama.

4.  Favorite holiday or Christmas tradition?

Watching this Christmas movie. Never gets old.

5.  Real tree, fake tree or no tree?

I am a faker. Not even gonna lie. I love me some fake trees. Easy maintenance, no mess. And you can play with all sorts of fun colors. My white Christmas tree has been going strong for 2 long years.

6.  Christmas pajamas… yay or nay?

I would say more Christmas SOCKS…definitely a YAY. You can never have enough cozy Christmas socks.

7.  Where do you spend the holidays?  Your own house, your parents’ house, extended family, in-laws, friends?

Mama’s house usually…my dad is coming up from Houston this year so I will be looking fwd to spending lots of QT with my papa. Love my crazy fam.

8.  Food that you always have during the holiday season?  Favorite Christmas food/treat?

I usually always make some kind of yummy treat…and I have a feeling this recipe may be my go to this year…I made a batch last night and I foresee this being made into lots of coworker Christmas gifts. I like to call it the crack snack. Yummy yum yumm.

9. Open presents all at once or take turns?  Stockings… yes or no?

Definitely take turns. Oh and I bought these stockings last year for me and the boo, red for the girls and blue for the boys.

10.  Favorite Christmas(ish) movie?

Elf…for sure! Or Love Actually…yes that definitely tops the list. Love.

What are your favorite Christmas/holiday traditions? Have you run any fun holiday races yet? What’s your favorite Christmas song? 

Answer 1, a few or all!!!   Feel free to do it on your blog and link back too!

 

Medals Make Great Ornaments, 13.1 and Holiday Fun…Wknd Recap.

Happy Monday! My morning started at 5:45 with some spin cycle action…I taught my early bird party class. We rocked it out to some new tracks.

Then of course I got my coffee on. Java in a Starbucks mug makes it feel like you are drinking $8 coffee even though it’s just from the office breakroom. For free. Win win.

Recapping the weekend…Saturday bright & early I ran 9 miles with my Luke’s crew. We still caught some Christmas lights before the sun came up.

We are 1 week away from Dallas Marathon domination! I am running the half marathon and a bunch of my Luke’s friends have been training for months for the full marathon. I can’t wait to cheer them on! Hoping for lots of PR action for them. I am going to race the 13.1 miles too so it will be fun! Another medal on the rack…actually I may be needing another rack soon cuz the one I have is reaching capacity. Maybe I should get another Christmas tree and just hang them there. They make great ornaments, yes?

 

(Source)

After Saturday’s run I had lunch with my mom and an old friend over at my favorite spot Penne Pomodoro. Temps were in the 70s all weekend so we parlayed on the patio. I had an arugula salad w/ shrimp & lots of feta…nom nom.

That same night my sweetest friend Ann hosted a wine tasting party over at her house! I made this sangria after my Jen told me how tasty it was I put it to the test. Great party holiday drink! Especially tasty with fresh cut up apples and pears. I had forgotten how much I loved pears…I will be putting them in every drink from now on.

Of course we took 36582 photos by the Christmas tree…and danced the night away with some of my favorite girls.

Me and Ann – hostess w/ the mostess.

Crazy girls.

Sunday I took advantage of a much needed rest day. I went to church and brought gifts for my angel tree girls. My church is doing a gift giveaway for all of the single parent families. Got them lots of goodies.

After church was brunch on the patio catching up with these hot tamales. Fun fun.

This week I am going to focus on teaching classes, a little bit of running, and getting the legs ready for my upcoming race!

How was your weekend? Do you have a medal rack or something where you hang your race medals? 

What is your favorite adult holiday drink? 

12 Miles, Brunch and a Little Festive…Wknd Recap.

Hope you had a great weekend! Mine was filled with some naughty and a little bit of nice. Let’s recap…

Saturday morning I was up early for a 12 mile run with some of my running buddies. Love running at Arbor Hills. This was the most mileage I’ve done since the marathon! I enjoyed getting outside again for some double digit miles.

After the run my friend Natalie and I went to brunch at Frankie’s. This joint has the tastiest brisket tacos! And of course mimosas.

Natalie and I also ventured over to a boutique next door to do some Christmas shopping. We tried on these Santa hats…

And also stocked up on some Christmas décor.

I even bought a Starbucks ornament to go on my Christmas tree! All hail the little red cup.

The rest of the weekend was fairly low key with the boyfriend. We made salmon on the cedar plank. Can I just say that this is my most favorite way EVER to make salmon now. I will be doing this now on quite often.

For dessert I got festive with this recipe and made some peppermint popcorn bark. Gooey and messy but very tasty!

I was going to put up the tree this weekend too but decided I would wait a few more days for that…probably right after Thanksgiving! Instead I decided putting up my holiday wreath would suffice.

How was your weekend? Have you put up any holiday decorations yet? Do you have any tried and true holiday dessert recipes? If so share them! 

Christmas Wknd Wrap Up.

This has been such a lovely weekend! I am so blessed to be surrounded by so many great friends and family. Saturday’s frosty run was a good time…we linked up with some friends from the Frisco Running Club and had some coffee afterwards to warm up. I logged about 16 miles that morning, not 18 as planned, but I felt like it was just what my body needed.

Christmas Eve night was filled with eating, drinking, and being merry with some more good friends.

Today Eric and I went to my mother’s house, and had a delicious Christmas dinner. Mama threw down in the kitchen…

Mama happily slicing the turkey

E is gettin' down on the home cooking

After dinner we opened up gifts…Santa was really good to me this year…

Mama got me and E matching mugs...sweet.

Now I am relaxing with a warm cup of lemon ginger tea! I am so happy to have a day off from work tomorrow!

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

Jingle Bell 5K Run Recap.

Cheers to the Christmas weekend…I’ll drink to that!

Good morning beautiful people! I hope everyone’s day is kicking off just nicely…whether you are plugging away at work or in your pajamas with your coffee. Today is my Friday here at work, Hallelujah for that!

Last night was the Jingle Bell 5K Run at the Anatole Hotel in downtown Dallas. What a great event to burn off a few cookies and make room for more cookies! The event was sponsored by Luke’s Locker, who always puts on a stellar event, not that I’m bias or anything.

Traffic was a total beast, so I made sure to get off of work plenty early to have time to sit in traffic a bit. I arrived to the event about 45 minutes early, and went to grab my race number. The race itself was actually right outside of the hotel, and the post race party/registration stuff was all inside. The hotel was beautifully decorated for the holidays.

I met up with my Luke’s buddy Jessica, who was there with a few of her friends. I was glad to see some familiar faces out there at the race, because often times I do a lot of these holiday races solo. Believe it or not it’s REAL hard to get people to commit to running during the holidays. Really, you don’t say? So I just run whether anyone joins me or not. Thankfully, there were a few people there that I knew so that made me happy. Anyway, Jess and I took a photo by the big Christmas tree in the lobby.

After waiting around a bit, it was time to line up at the start line. The event is mostly family oriented, so a lot of people bring their doggies and dress them up, which I think is totally adorable. Lots of people also wear Christmas lights (like wrap themselves up in lights…how they run this way, I do not know) but it was totally cute. I wanted to wear more Christmas garb but honestly, I was there to RUN, and run fast and I didn’t need those things weighing me down. Besides I figured the faster I ran, the quicker I can get to the post race pizza and adult beverages right? Right.

So I lined up with all of the fasties in the front as to avoid all of the families and dogs. Up at the start line I ran into my friend Adrianna, who takes Danceaton class with me at 24 Hour Fitness. It was so nice to see a dancing buddy there! She brought her beautiful collie dog Chloe, who apparently is a very speedy runner as well. We all got the “GO” signal and were off on our way. The course takes you through a little bit of downtown Dallas, in an area with a few nice shops. It was hard to see everything since by the 7pm start time it was very dark. But they did have a water station and the mile markers which was nice, even for a 5K race. I was running fast, and just trying to maintain a pace where I was slightly uncomfortable the entire time. Mile one, just under 7 minute per mile pace. Just flying along. Then one of my legwarmers started sliding off. Really, legwarmers? Oh well, keep running, I thought to myself. But legwarmers, unless they are as tight as compression sleeves, seriously, NEVER again. I digress.

Made it to the finish. 23 minutes. 7:32 pace. Finito.

Not a PR, nearly a minute off from that. But it’s all good. I still placed 6th in my age division out of 105 girls. Not bad for my first night time 5K race.

I went back into the Hilton Anatole where the post race party was bring held. Found Adrianna and took some photos with her and Chloe.

Bossing around Adriana's brother on how to take a photo. He thought it would be funny to capture me in mid 'TUDE.

Ahh yes. Much better.

Met up with Jessica at the Luke’s tent and enjoyed a Corona or three. Danced to the live band. Good times. Went home.

So overall, it was a FUN holiday race and totally a MUST DO next year. I love me some festive races.

Next race is the NY Double next weekend! Stay tuned!

Oh and if you’re wondering, the RW Holiday Run Streak…still going strong.

Have a very Merry Christmas!