I never posted my January 2010 miles ~ I’m going to back dating this to end of January just for future reference.
1/1 – 2.00
1/3 – 3.16
1/4 – 2.00
1/6 – 5.02
1/9 – 9.12
1/11 – 3.48
1/14 – 5.44
1/16 – 10.72
1/17 – 2.00
1/18 – 3.00
1/19 – 3.48
1/21 – 4.75
1/23 – 10.63
1/24 – 2.06
1/26 – 2.66
1/27 – 2.64
1/28 – 4.89
1/30 – 1.89
Total = 78.94 *highest mileage month EVER
Is the weekend over again already?!?
Monday – Cheese & Black Bean Enchiladas
Tuesday – Tofu Stirfry
Wednesday – Chicken Pot Pie
Thursday – leftover Chicken Pot Pie
Friday – Minestrone Soup
Saturday – leftover soup
Sunday – Turkey Burgers
I made 4 new recipes last week, and I highly suggest all of them. Go to last weeks Meal Plan and check out the links.
What are you having this week?
Total weekly mileage: 23.92
Total yearly mileage to date: 66.86
{on my way to 1000+++ for 2010}
1/18 – 3.00 @ the gym {walking}
1/19 – 3.48 @ the gym {treadmill run}
Oh how I loathe running on the treadmill. Every once in a while its a nice change, but after not running on it in weeks it was HARD. I was bored. I kept watching my time. My legs felt tired. I just wanted it to be over and I was so happy once it was. Its raining like crazy here this week so we’ve been heading to the gym for every workout {walk or run} so maybe I’ll start to get use to the dreadmill once again.
1/21 – 4.75 @ the gym {treadmill run}
Warm-up walk: 0.25
4 mile run
Cool down walk: 0.50
Total daily mileage: 4.75
Today was better than the 19th. My legs felt better and I was able to run more and walk less. I even did some speed training! Woohoo. I bet I’ll be paying for that tomorrow.
1/23 – 10.00 / 2:14:36 / 13:27 avg pace
The sun made an appearance today and brighten up our run! We drove over to the Pocket/Greenhaven area of Sacramento today for our run. We parked near the Sacramento River by Riverside Blvd in the area where Jon’s grandmother lived. We ran all over the place. Along a path that goes from Riverside Blvd to Florin that has three overpasses. We ran along the river. We ran down Riverside Blvd. We crossed over I-5. It was definitely an interesting route. My legs felt pretty good overall and I discovered that if I let Jon run just a little bit in front of me and set the pace I have an easier time keeping a steady pace. We’ll see how that goes for me on future runs. Maybe it will help decrease my overall average paces. The overpasses really did me in. I did pretty good for the first few but they quickly made me feel tired and I started walking up them and jogging down the other side. When we got home I did a lot of stretching then another ice bath. Brrr.
Warm-up walk: 0.25
Run: 10.00 {no mileage splits to record as I hit the lap button around mile 6 and screwed up all my splits}
Cool down walk: 0.38
Total daily mileage: 10.63
1/24 – 2.06 / 38:12 {walk around the neighborhood}
It felt good to go for a walk this afternoon after our 10 miler yesterday. My legs felt good and loose after the walk, which is great.
Total weekly mileage: 21.64
Total yearly mileage to date: 42.94
{on my way to 1000+++ for 2010}
1/11 - 3.26 / 51:03 / 15:39 avg pace
I felt SOOO good after my 8 miler on Saturday and I was looking forward to this {planned} 5 miler BUT once we got going it was pretty evident that my shin was not feeling as good as I was. In fact, not only was my left shin hurting {the one that always hurts} but my right shin decided to get in on the action and was giving me some major grief. The first mile was okay. The pain started to get worse and eventually we had to just stop running and walk towards home. It was very upsetting. I’m still not over it.
Warm-up walk: 0.22 {around our court}
Total daily mileage: 3.48
1/14 – 5.0 / 1:07:50 / 13:34 avg pace
I got a migraine the night of the 13th, and ended up spending all day in bed. Around 5pm we decided to go for a run, the migraine pain was not too bad and I was hoping that some exercise would help shake me out of it. I was wrong. I had my migraine pain the majority of the run and all the rest of the night and all day the next day. AND my legs were still giving me lots of grief. I’m worried about our long run on Saturday.
Warm-up walk: 0.22 {around our court}
- 1 – 11:31
- 2 – 13:11
- 3 – 15:44
- 4 – 13:41
- 5 – 13:41
Cool down: 0.22 {around our court again}
Total daily mileage = 5.44
1/16 – 9.0 / 1:59:21 / 13:15 avg pace
After worrying all week about if I was going to be able to even do this training run, once we got started I felt pretty good – no major aches or pains and my legs didn’t really bother me at all on this run. We only had 8 miles planned for today but around mile 6.5 I was feeling pretty good and suggested that we do 9 miles, SO we did. We ran along the American River Bike Trail near Sac State. There were some rolling hills and we got to run on different terrains including the paved bike trail, gravel, and a dirt trail. Overall it was a pretty good run. Afterwards we headed to Home Depot and bought a 5 gallon bucket and then when we got home I did my first ice bath! I hope it helped my legs.
Warm-up walk: 0.75 {from our car parked near Elvas through Sac State campus to the bike trail}
- 1 – 12:18
- 2 – 13:06
- 3 – 13:56
- 4 – 13:28
- 5 – 14:28
- 6 – 12:37
- 7 – 13:22
- 8 – 13:01
- 9 – 12:59
Cool down: 0.97 {back to the car}
Total daily mileage = 10.72
1/17 – 2.0 @ the gym {walking}
We are trying to run/walk 1000+++ miles this year so we have decided to incorporate some walking days into our training. I’m also hoping that it will help my legs get stronger so they will stop giving me so much pain and grief.
Today is the anniversary of the day we got engaged! AND tonight is our first Date Night of 2010. One of my 2010 goals is a Date Night once a month with my husband. I’ll be back with details soon!
Until then, enjoy some of our engagement photos!
Lasagna is undoubtedly one of my favorite foods. It’s really simple to make {which I forget all the time} and very versatile. I made the Lasagna in the photo below as a celebration dinner for my mom’s birthday last time I was in town to visit her. It turned out so good I just had to post about it and share my tips and cooking style for this popular dish!
Vegetable Lasagna
Ingredients:
Directions:
Enjoy!
What are your favorite Lasagna ingredients?
You’ll notice I did not use ricotta cheese. My husband does not like it so I forgo it when I make lasagna. Next time I make this, I plan to add my spinach to my sauce.
What tips/tricks/techniques do you want to share about your favorite lasagna?
Yesterday was a really long day at work … I was playing catch-up for being off last Thursday & Friday with the worst migraine ever. After work we went straight to the gym. After the gym, it was hard to even find the motivation to make dinner … let alone anything else. I spent the evening on the couch watching TV and drinking hot chocolate. Yum, comfort food :)
Monday {last night} – Tofu Fried Rice
Tuesday – Apple Cheddar Panini’s
Wednesday – Italian Baked Chicken Pastina
Thursday – Black Bean Burritos
Friday – Chilaquiles Casserole
Saturday – Chicken & Mushroom Brown Rice Bake
Sunday – leftovers
We are trying lots of new recipes this week!
Are you trying anything new this week?
Last weekend, while out of town to celebrate family birthdays, we did an 8 mile run along the river in my home town. I had my camera stowed in my Camel Pak on our run, but that afternoon I posted from my mom’s house and was not able to get the photos from my camera to her computer.
It was a great run. We did 8 miles. Successfully. Pain free. And with an average pace of 12:24 {my anticipated pace for the 1/2 marathon is around 14:00 with an anticipated finishing time of around 3 hours} so to complete 8 miles with an average pace of under 13 minutes felt AMAZING. Another reason with was a great run = the weather. It was cool but not too cold {while running, but towards the end the fog had really settled back in and some wind had picked up so we got super chilly during our cool down} and there was fog {I really enjoy running in the fog for some reason}. Lucky for us, it did not rain. We have yet to do a training run in the rain. But with the anticipated storms approaching Northern California in the next week, it looks like that might be changing.
Anyways, I grew up in a small town north of Sacramento. The path we ran on runs along the Feather River so we had great views the whole time. I definitely took advantage of this and snapped some photos to share! Enjoy :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Other events of the weekend included:
I made lasagna for dinner to celebrate my mom’s upcoming birthday {a recipe post will follow soon}
We played a some double nine’s dominos after dinner
And then we enjoyed some chocolate chip ice cream between two chocolate chip cookies for dessert
On Sunday we celebrated my niece’s 7th birthday at Chuck E Cheese!
My sweet honey girl had a wonderful birthday! She is too adorable ~ you’ll notice her sticking her tongue in between her teeth in some of her photos ~ she had just lost her first tooth the day before her birthday! She is getting so big and growing up so fast. I’m so happy we were able to be there {even if it was just for a little while} to celebrate with her. We don’t get to see her much or spend much time with her because we live so far away so it’s always nice to spend time with her. Of course we spoiled her rotten {again} and got her the 2nd controllers for her Wii {that we all pitched in and got her for Christmas} along with some clothes & a jacket from Old Navy and super cute Tinkerbell shirt & Minnie Mouse necklace we picked up for her at Disneyland last month. She got some other really great gifts and when we said our goodbye’s to head home she was busy having a blast running around playing with her friends :)
Today is Jon’s mom’s birthday!
Jon & his mom on our wedding day!
Happy birthday Billie! We hope you have a wonderful day!
xoxo
Today is my mom’s birthday!
Me & my mom on my wedding day!
MOM ~ I hope you have a wonderful birthday! I’m sorry I’m not there to celebrate with you today ~ but I had such a great time with you last weekend & I can’t wait to spend more time with you soon! I love you!!!
Here’s to many more happy years to come!
xoxo
Now that I’m all caught up on my “week in running” posts for the past few weeks {see the few previous posts, if you’re interested}, I thought I would post about “my year in RUNNING” for 2009.
In 2009 I logged 279.42 miles. More often than not I did not include any warm-up’s or cool down’s {sometimes I did} so this is a close to accurate as possible based on the mileage I tracked all year – starting in 2010 I plan to start tracking my warm-up and cool down mileage too.
I ran six 5k’s {which was on of my 2009 New Years Resolutions}
I started off 2009 with the lofty goal of running 50 miles a month. During January & February I really made an effort to keep up with my running. Then March came around {our wedding month} and everything went by the way side. April was much of the same. Then I just got lazy from May till August {even though I was still able to squeeze in two 5k’s, one in May and one in July}. In mid-August I started running again using the Couch to 5k training plan and in early October we decided to run a 1/2 marathon in early 2010 {its actually one week before our 1st wedding anniversary}.
I guess back in the beginning of 2009 I had planned on running a total of 600 miles for the year. Not too bad of a goal, but it just didn’t work out that way. Life got in the way, I lost some motivation. But, I ended the year back on track and progressing as a runner and training for my first 1/2 marathon.
When I wrote out my 2010 Goals I did not have a “mileage goal” in mind. Since then I have decided to attempt to run 1000+++ miles {thanks to Tall Mom on the Run}. I’m pretty excited to have such a great goal. I’m totally scared that there is no way I will get even close, but anything possible {right???}. To run {or walk or crawl, as Tall Mom stated} 1000+++ miles in a year that means 83.33 miles in a month, or 19.23 miles in a week, or 2.74 miles in a day. When you break it down like that {thanks for doing the math Tall Mom – y’all know how MUCH I love math} the goal is a lot less intimidating. We’ll just have to wait and see how I do {and if my shins/legs will cooperate}. So far, 14 days into the new year, I’ve logged 21.30 miles. Behind already … I guess I better get MOVING.
Here’s to a great year & happy running :)
December Total = 66.93
12/2 - 1.75
12/5 - 4.93
12/7 - 5.0 / 1:09:14
12/9 - 3.5 / 45:07
12/12 - 6.0 / 1:13:37
12/15 - 3.5
12/17 - 3.0
12/19 - 6.25 / 1:19:33
12/20 - 5.0 (walking)
12/21 - 5.0 (walking)
12/23 - 4.0
12/25 - 7.0 / 1:29:56
12/26 - 1.0 (walk with my mommy)
12/28 - 4.0
12/30 - 7.0 / 1:30:47
*various days of cross training @ the gym & Wii Fit @ home
(I did not do very good at tracking non-run days this month)
*most mileages above do not include warm-up/cool down miles (something I plan to start including starting in Jan)
Total weekly mileage: 16.14
Total HBBC this week: 11
Total overall HBBC to date (Nov 23 – Jan 8): 143.48
HBBC Rules
1 Point per mile (run/walk/snowshoe)
1 Point per 3 miles biked
1 Point per 30 minutes of weight lifting, Pilates, yoga, stretching or abs
1 Point per 15 minutes of another form of cardio (i.e. kick boxing, aerobics elliptical)
1 Per day where you reach a minimum of 7 servings of fruits and veggies
1/4 – 2.0 / 27:08 / avg pace 13:33
Shin pain galore. Boo. A very craptastic run overall.
Total HBBC = 3 (2 miles, fruit/veggies)
1/5 – resting the legs
Total HBBC = 1 (fruit/veggies)
1/6 - 4.5 / 1:01:10 / 13:36
Slow and steady. Legs feeling better.
Total mileage = 5.02
Total HBBC = 5
1/7 – rest
Total HBBC = 1 (fruit/veggies)
1/8 – rest / traveling again
Total HBBC = 1 (fruit/veggies)
Last day of HBBC 2009
1/9 – 8.0 / 1:39:15 / avg pace 12:24
Total mileage = 9.12
10/10 – rest / traveling
Total weekly mileage: 16.16
Total Holiday POTM this week: 13
Total overall Holiday POTM (Nov 27 – Jan 1): 80
Total HBBC this week: 21.6
Total overall HBBC to date (Nov 23 – Jan 8): 132.48
HBBC Rules
1 Point per mile (run/walk/snowshoe)
1 Point per 3 miles biked
1 Point per 30 minutes of weight lifting, Pilates, yoga, stretching or abs
1 Point per 15 minutes of another form of cardio (i.e. kick boxing, aerobics elliptical)
1 Per day where you reach a minimum of 7 servings of fruits and veggies
12/28 – 4.0 / 52:49 / avg pace 13:12
HBBC pts = 6 (4 miles, Wii Fit, fruit/veggies)
12/29 – rest
HBBC pts= 1 (fruit/veggies)
12/30 – 7.0 / 1:30:49 / avg pace 12:58
HBBC pts = 8 (7 miles & fruit/veggies)
12/31 – rest/travel
HBBC pts = 1 (fruit/veggies)
1/1 – 2.0 / 25:56 / avg pace 12:57
HBBC pts = 2
1/3 – My First 5k of 2010 – 3.16 (Garmin) / 34:34 / avg pace 10:56
HBBC pts = 3.16
Total weekly mileage: 17.44
Total Holiday POTM this week: 17.44
Total overall Holiday POTM (Nov 27 – Jan 1): 67
Total HBBC this week: 21.44
Total overall HBBC to date (Nov 23 – Jan 8): 110.88
HBBC Rules
1 Point per mile (run/walk/snowshoe)
1 Point per 3 miles biked
1 Point per 30 minutes of weight lifting, Pilates, yoga, stretching or abs
1 Point per 15 minutes of another form of cardio (i.e. kick boxing, aerobics elliptical)
1 Per day where you reach a minimum of 7 servings of fruits and veggies
12/21 – more walking at and around Disneyland & California Adventure, still estimating around 5 miles again
HBBC pts = 5
12/22 – travel day
HBBC pts = 0
12/23 – 4.0 / 53:01 / avg pace 13:16
Warm up & cool down = 0.22 each (around our court)
HBBC pts = 5.44 {4.44 miles, veggies/fruit}
12/24 – rest day
HBBC pts = 1 {veggies/fruit}
12/25 – 7.0 / 1:29:56 / avg pace 12:50
1 – 12:17 2 – 12:31 3 – 12:50 4 – 13:16 5 – 13:41 6 – 13:38 7 – 11:39
HBBC pts = 7
12/26 – 1.0 walk with my mom / 25:01
HBBC pts = 1
12/27 – 1 hour Wii Fit
HBBC pts = 2 pts
This will be the first week we are not traveling since mid-December. I’m pretty excited about that. Even though I love my family and spending time with them is very important to me, sometimes a girl just wants to be at home :)
Monday – Mexican Pizza on Boboli Crust
Tuesday – Tofu Stir Fry
Wednesday – Mediterranean Pasta {loosely based on a recipe I saw in a magazine over the weekend}
Thursday – Black Bean Burritos
Friday – Mediterranean Chicken Packets {first time I’m trying these, I’ve been wanting to try them since they popped up in my Google Reader in mid December}
Saturday – Shrimp & Crab Feed
Sunday – Corn & Cheese Quesadilla’s
This week I’m looking forward to putting my laundry away for the first time in weeks {when you’re constantly traveling every single weekend, what’s the point} and working on some 2010 Goals. And, RUNNING :)
Last Sunday, three days into the new year, we ran “The My First 5k” run which benefited the Wellness Taskforce. It was a fun race and each participant that ran their first 5k on that day received a special medal. Since this was not our first 5k ever we did not get a medal for running BUT Jon received a different medal ~ the medal for placing 2nd in his age division!!!
We have just recently started running our races separately {up until the fun run we did in December in Elk Grove, Jon had always run with me} and he as able to finish in 22:32 {that’s around a 7 min mile ~ can you say speedy? It must be the tall legs} to earn this award! It was a very exciting day for us and a great way to start the new year!
Overall the race was good. I did not set a new PR but I did run a very good race with an average pace of 10:56 {according to my Garmin} and a chip time of 34:40 {only 1 minute slower than my current PR from the Run to Feed the Hungry back in November}. The course wove it way through downtown Sacramento around The Capital Building & Capital Park {a course I’ve now run three different times for three different races} and afterwards there was a sparkling cider toast and then the awards ceremony where Jon received his medal! It was a well organized race with around 800 participants and very exciting to watch my husband receive his first medal!
3.16 {Garmin} / 34:40 / avg pace 10:56
Jon with his age division medal!
Hello new decade, Hello new aspirations, Hello new possibilities, Hello Twenty Ten
I saw this on Facebook and it pretty much sums up how I feel about the start of the new year and the new decade. Bring it on 2010, let’s see what you’ve got!
Last year I posted my 2009 New Year’s Resolutions. The list was short, sweet and to the point. Most of the “goals” were reasonable and attainable. I stated that I am horrible at keeping resolutions but I did pretty good overall. For 2010, I’ve got a list of goals instead of “resolutions”. There’s not a lot I want to change about my life, but I’ve got grand plans for 2010 and our future. I love to make lists and I love to have my goals laid out in front of me so I can refer back to them to help me reach my lofty aspirations. I’ve got a long list of goals for 2010, and I plan to make the most of this year!
For My Health & Fitness
For Fun
Crafts & Things
For Our Home
For Our Future
Other
For our Marriage / Relationship
Ambitious? Maybe. Attainable? Definitely!
Happy 2010
Edited to add: I’ll be updating the list as I complete items. I’ll try to post a blog about any items that are blog worthy. I also reserve the right to make any changes at any time {a year is a LONG time and a lot can change during those 365 days}.
MOST RECENLTY EDITED ON 01.03.2011
One of my 2010 goals is to continue to make our weekly meal plans! Yesterday, as I was putting together this week’s plan, I tried to think back to what life was like before I started meal planning. In college it was so simple, I usually just ate at work or out ALL THE TIME. When Jon & I moved to Elk Grove, before we made any lifestyle changes, we continued to eat out all the time and grocery shopping was much more a chore because we didn’t have a “plan” and just bought what ever we felt like buying. Having our weekly meal plan and grocery list makes grocery shopping so much easier and much less a chore that we don’t want to do. Therefore, I am happy to continue our meal planning!
Monday – Tofu Rice Bowls
Tuesday – Black Bean Burritos
Wednesday – Chicken Tortilla Soup {never made it last week, we ended up using some gift cards and eating out}
Thursday – leftover soup
Friday – Spaghetti
Saturday – Lasagna {I’ll be making this at my mom’s house to celebrate her birthday}
Sunday – Soup {either more leftover Chicken Tortilla or leftover frozen Baked Potato Soup that’s in the freezer}
Also, with the start of the new year, we were able to start a Costco budget and we went over the weekend. It was nice to stock up on more than just toilet paper for once. I’m looking forward to buying some of our “staple” items in bulk more often this year {salsa, apples, frozen fruit & frozen stir-fry veggies, GUM}. We also started a Trader Joe’s budget and I am excited to start purchasing some of their items more often for variety and new meals plans!
At the end of 2008 I wrote that it had been a year of new beginnings for me and Jon. That carried over into 2009 as well. While 2008 was a good year --- we had a lot to look forward to in 2009 and it was a GREAT year. Of course we had our ups and downs but overall it was pretty darn great and we are really looking forward to 2010.
In January I was knee deep in wedding planning. We celebrated New Years in Santa Maria with my cousin & her boyfriend. We also celebrated my niece's birthday at the beginning of the month. We also celebrated our 1 year anniversary of when we got engaged.
February was jammed packed with more wedding planning. I also had my wonderful bridal shower and we spent Valentine’s Day wine tasting in Lodi. It had been one year since I quit drinking soda.
March was AMAZING. I had spent a memorable night with some of my girlfriends for my bachelorette party on the same night Jon had his bachelor party and played poker with the boys. We got married on the first day of spring, a beautiful spring like day with sun & rain and we were surrounded by our amazing family and friends. We anticipated our honeymoon in April.
In April we spent a few glorious days in Maui for our honeymoon and started our first garden in our new home. We celebrated Easter and looked forward to the spring time and summer. We enjoyed being newlyweds!
In May we ran our 1st 5k of 2009. We also purchased a California King bed and enjoyed great time with friends & family as summer time approached. I spent a weekend in Tahoe for my friends bachelorette party & anticipated her upcoming wedding! We also attended the wedding of a good friend from my restaurant working days and went color pin bowling for my friend Valerie’s birthday in Dublin!
June was jammed packed with events and traveling. We attended a couples shower for our friends Valerie & Steve that got married this month. I also attended a bridal shower in Dublin for Valerie and their amazing beautiful wedding. We also celebrated the one year mark of our healthy eating lifestyle change. We took a road trip to Lake Tahoe for a night and enjoyed some much needed alone time AND we got tattoos. We also saw The Lion King in downtown Sacramento. We celebrated our third monthiversary!
We ran another 5k in July and my blog celebrated its first blogiversary! We paid off a credit card. Jon spent a few days over Fourth of July weekend camping at his favorite music festival. I finished the Twilight series in 10 days. I jumped on, then back off, the 30 Day Shred bandwagon.
In August we celebrated Jon’s 29th birthday with a BBQ at our house. We also painted our office and I started really running again. I also attended two bridal shower’s for my sister-in-law. Jon went to Tahoe for his sister’s husband’s bachelor party.
We ran our 3rd 5k of 2009 in September. We also had a wonderful three day weekend spending some quality time together and rode our bikes 15 miles on the American River Bike Trail. My sister-in-law hosted a sushi making night at her house. I spent a night jumping on a huge trampoline and dancing my butt off for my sister-in-law’s bachelorette party. Jon’s sister got married! We celebrated the one year anniversary of when we bought our house! We also celebrated our six monthiversary! Lucky the kitty turned 11 and I celebrated 4 years cigarette free!
October was a pretty big month of us too. We got fitted for and purchased new running shoes and decided to train to run our first 1/2 marathon. I set a new PR at the Cowtown 5k and I finished the race without walking {first time ever}. We took a road trip to Santa Maria for my 29th birthday to go wine tasting and spend time with my cousin, her boyfriend, and her daughter. I received a Garmin from my husband for my birthday present. We spent Halloween in my hometown with my family for a birthday celebration for me and to spend some time with my grandma who was visiting!
I set another PR at the Run to Feed the Hungry in late November. We continued with our 1/2 marathon training and I ran over 50 miles this month. We spent Thanksgiving at home where I cooked a huge meal and made homemade apple pie. My mom went in the hospital the day after Thanksgiving {scary as hell and I was so thankful to have Jon by my side during this time}, she recovered slowly and went home after a week AND quit smoking!
In December we celebrated our nine monthiversary and our first married Christmas at Disneyland. We had 7 Christmas Celebrations. I ran over 60 miles this month! We did a fun run in Elk Grove which helped me reach my 2009 goal of six 5k’s. We spent New Years Eve in Dublin with great friends! My nephew turned 20 years old!
Like I said, 2009 was a great year. We got married, we
traveled, we enjoyed being newlyweds, and we created lots of
great memories as we continued to build our life together and
look forward to our future. I can’t wait to see what 2010
brings.
Checking in on my 2009 New Year’s Resolutions:
~Reach my goal weight This didn’t happen. I yo-yo’d between 155 and 145 the whole year without any real weight loss. At one point I had reached the 20 lb weight loss milestone, but I’ve just been yo-yo’ing since
~Run at least 3 days a week, preferably 4 or 5 I started out the year doing great, but lost motivation and got lazy around the middle of the year, but I picked it back up in August and finished the year strong with over 60 miles in December!
~Limit my candy consumption, and all sugar consumption in general Sometimes I did good; sometimes I did very very bad
~Pay off at least one credit card DONE – we actually paid off two major credit cards along with some other debt!
~Save $1000 in our emergency fund DONE!!!
~Reduce our eating out habit to 6 or less times a month I have no idea how often we ate out, some months it was more than others but overall this has drastically declined and we stick to our meal plans pretty well and avoid eating out as much as possible
~Start doing toning exercises at least 3 days a week I started this when I started training for the 1/2 marathon, which wasn’t until October and I’m still working on making it a regular part of my routine – as far as I’m concerned this was an EPIC FAIL
~Drink at least 64 ounces of water every. single. day This pretty much 2nd nature to me now and I carry my water bottle with me every where I go
~Cut (and hopefully donate my hair) DONE!!!
Overall I think I did pretty good. Look for my 2010 Goals to be posted soon!
7.
That’s the number of “celebrations” we had this past Christmas. Yep, 7.
It all started on Dec 12th with a holiday dinner and gift exchange with Jon’s sister & her husband at her husband’s family home. His sister and her new husband were going to be spending Christmas in Kauai on their honeymoon! Our brother-in-law’s parents made a wonderful Turkey dinner and we enjoyed great company, good food, and exchanging gifts. We were excited to gift Jon’s sister & her husband with a digital photo frame for their new home and Jon’s mom with a digital camera. We received some great gifts, too {photos and frames from their wedding, bike lights, and Jon got a ticket to his favorite music festival}. Christmas #1.
Fast forward to Dec 23rd. We had Jon’s mom over for a BBQ chicken dinner, movies, and gift exchanging. We had a great time hanging out and we were able to finally show Jon’s mom our wedding DVD and we watched Four Christmases. We were excited to gift to his mom a photo book I created using My Publisher of photos from our wedding along with an 8x10 print in a frame! Christmas #2.
On December 24th, Christmas Eve, we had Jon’s dad and his girlfriend over for a pizza dinner followed by a gift exchange and then church at Jon’s grandma’s church in Sacramento. We were excited to open a big box from them --- a DVD and home theatre with surround sound! What a great and generous gift. We love it. After the church service we headed into the church hall for hot chocolate and cookies before we headed into East Sac to tour the Christmas lights in the Fab Forties. Christmas #3.
We woke up on Christmas Day in our home on our first married Christmas and did a 7 mile training run before hitting the road for celebrations #4-#6.
We arrived in Oroville around noon to join in on a Christmas celebration luncheon of prime rib at my brother’s house {which was jammed packed with his girlfriend’s family along with my mom and step-dad and us}. It was a great afternoon and we enjoyed watching my niece open her Wii from all of us. Christmas #4.
After leaving my brother’s house we headed over to my mom’s house to exchange gifts, make Christmas Dinner and watch movies. I was super excited to give my mom a recipe binder that I had been working on for a couple of weeks along with a photo album I designed using My Publisher of photos from our wedding and an 8x10 print in a frame. This year, on my mom’s side, we drew names for gift exchanging. My mom drew my name! She gifted me with an amazing sewing machine and I can’t wait to set it up and get started making homemade goodies {I’m a sucker for crafts and craft projects}. We made Chicken Enchiladas for dinner and watched Public Enemies, ate my mom’s homemade fudge and had a wonderful Christmas evening & night. Christmas #5.
The day after Christmas we drove up to my dad and step-mom’s house where we met up with my brother & his family for lunch, games and gift exchanges. We had a Wii Bowling tournament and a great ham sandwich lunch. We gifted my dad and step-mom an 8x10 print from our wedding along with some other little gifts {my dad ALWAYS requested GOLF BALLS from everyone so he got a box from us, a box from my brother and a box from my nephew. Jon received the video game he has been wanting and I received some much needed workout gear {a yoga block and new sports bras} along with some PJ’s and kitchen towels {also much needed}. Christmas #6.
On the Sunday after Christmas we drove back home and got here just in time to tidy up and get ready for our final celebration/get-to-gether of the holiday season. My dad and step-mom drove down also along with my cousin’s from Sunnyvale and Esparto and my aunt was here from New York {one of the reasons for the get-to-gether, along with just spending time with family}. I served White Bean Chili and homemade corn bread muffins and we all enjoyed some great company. Christmas #7.
From Dec 19-22 we were in LA at Disneyland for our Christmas together, I don’t count this as on of our celebrations, but I guess I should. We celebrated our first married Christmas at The Happiest Place on Earth and it was our nine monthiversary.
We are very blessed to have such amazing families that help make Christmas Time that much more special and unique. It’s a lot of traveling and coordinating but in the end, its all worth it. Each one of our separate celebrations is wonderful and I enjoy looking back on the photos and remembering how special it is to spend this special time with our families.
