Something Old...

This year, the tree arrived later than usual. As the U-cut tree farms are only open on weekends and tree cutting is really not a night activity...our options are limited by my husband's schedule. So all we had was the past Saturday.    I brought this tradition with me from childhood and I couldn't imagine it any other way....

 We all Pose

We take only about 100 pictures until someone complains that it is way to cold!



 We all saw a little to make it ours...but this year nobody wants to do it more than 10 seconds so I saw through...wow I thought I just ran a marathon but I am out of breath in 2 minutes!

I am curious to know what traditions others feel they must bring into the relationship of their sig other....some things like tinsel are a deal breaker for me, but my husband keeps pushing for it...we've gone with silver tinsely garland (which I do Not like either but I concede to him).  One tradition that I am so happy to have adopted is the Christmas Eve 7 Fishes!  And the endless dessert and oh just the emphasis on awesome food and plenty of it :) Did I mention Lasagna on Christmas?  I hope there are a ton of leftovers!

A New Christmas Tradition

Luckily I was raised in a house full of holiday traditions. I've come to love them and am disappointed when as an adult one of them (such as cutting down the tree) doesn't fit into our schedules the way it had in the past.

One year my Christmas cards were so time consuming I only finished half the list...now I've got a deadline set by the hubby so as not to alienate the people who might unintentionally be the victim of such a thing.

This year we started a new tradition... touring the neighborhood for the beautiful and sometimes gaudy decorations!! While it was probably annoying to the other drivers as we drove along at a snails pace and maybe somewhat creepy to the homeowners as we pulled up in front of their house, lingered, took photos and then drove off... We thought it was the perfect way to spend an hour!

A few of the special houses... I think the first house is owned by a distant relative of the Griswolds!

Good work on the trees!!! 

My favorite...I bet there is amath whiz in this house! 

Honorable mention!

These are a few of my favorite things!

Sometimes I get excited to go on a run just to use one of my gadgets...is that weird? When I began running I thought there was a beauty in the simplicity of it. Just get your shoes and get out there and run. While I still do believe there is a simplicity to it...I'd be fibbing if I said it was like that for me really.

First thing was finding the right shoes....the journey that never ends! I rotate through 4, yes 4, pair of Asics gel 1160. And yes it has been a journey...and the reason why I have 4 of the same shoe (in different colors of course) is because I have spent money, large money, on shoes that didn't work and thus have adopted a "if it ain't broke" attitude toward my running shoes. I have been to three running stores for assessment, performed the running world water pan trick and spent countless hours filling in feet surveys. This year Asics changed the shoe in a way that my feet didn't like...every year these manufacturers try to improve upon each shoe and tweak it just a bit....so now I'm back on the market...stay tuned for exhaustive shoe review!

(And yes my dog has been taste-testing them also)

Can Not live without my Garmin GPS watch! They make them in all several styles to match the needs of the runner or swimmer/triathlete. I use the Forerunner 205. Its an older version and I bought it on Amazon. Not only does it give me all the stats of pace and distance but a good reason why it is one of my necessary running tools is that it is a great motivator! It doesn't yell in a commando voice but it stores data allowing me to see improvement and encouraging me to work just a little bit harder to beat weekly, monthly totals or times! Some of the other awesome handy features...once I got lost on a trail run so I hit up the "back to start" feature and it told me when to turn to get back to start uh WOW! Before Garmin I tracked the distance by car for a few routes through my neighborhood and ran those routes over and over....very boring! 9 times outta 10 you will run less/slower without knowing your pace and distance...not to mention accountability! When its staring you in the face, a 7 mile run is not a 6.35 ok I feel tired run! Oh and I should mention that I have received wonderful customer service from them...kinda wish they sold dryers! My first watch was having issues charging so I called the company and after having a very patient person walk me through some possible fixes that didn't ultimately work, they sent me a new one! Holla!!!! That was over two years ago and my replacement still going strong!

(4 hrs 25mins...Evidence of having run the Marathon!)

New favorite running gadget...Auria Headphones!!! I am a kitchen sink kind of runner as I mentioned or you may have figured out. I run with tons of crap, fuel, water, band aids, some cash for a phone call(even though I'd be hard pressed to find a pay phone), chapstick, iPhone (kind of makes the cash superfluous..and yes I use that word almost every day), tissues, etc I know its a little obsessive...but mostly I need my Iphone! Music is my background to the imagery I look at while running. I sing almost the whole time! When Jay-Z and Rhianna belt out something about running this town...I'm like... no actually I'm running this town!!!! And when I'm doing sprints I put on the fast RPM playlist, and when I'm out for a long run I put on Pandora radio and float on with whatever Steve Miller Band and Lynard Skynard are playing...so I've been through my fair share of headphones....in fact very recently I lost a pair to a car bumper that ate them when I ran too close! I've dealt with every issue and a few really weird ones too (like the aforementioned bumper incident...btw if anyone got video of that it would make great TV)! Well hello my sexy Auria headphones!
1. No slippage and perfect fit that is like they aren't even there! 2. Allow for ambient noise to enter but not to overwhelm...running on well travelled roads it is super important to be able to hear a car approaching from behind or a bike rider or even someone who might want to give you their number! 3. Come in hot pink/black....no need to say more 4. Come with a clip to clip to your running clothing...no more bumper disasters. 5. Special slider that allows you to advance or repeat songs with a touch or activate voice control on iPhones!!!! No more having to take the phone out of its cozy home to switch songs or answer the phone...which gotta be 6. you do not need to stop to answer the phone...microphone in the wire allows you to answer, talk and end a call without touching your phone once!!! You can also text with Siri!...Yes I do talk and text while running...doesn't everybody! 7. Volume control slider makes music very loud and clear when you want to turn up the Rocky song...

And I'm sure they have more things that are great but I have a sudden urge to run and use them....

Birthdays! Good or Evil?

Yesterday was my birthday, my 37th and while I did not have an epic gala, make any speeches or use a magic ring to dissapear, I thought it was rather good. So I got to thinking about what a birthday needs to be to be a success and why so many people put birthdays in the evil category.

To begin my day well I had my keurig brew ready! I know it sounds simple but that one little thing...not having to clean the filter and refill and wait...started my day in a way that I hoped would set the precedence.

Kids off to school, etsy orders and errands...blahbidy blah. A birthday is yet another day and maybe there is something to that saying about have low expectations (or realistic anyway) and never being disappointed.

It may just be me but then I went to the gym...did the hamster wheel for 9.5 miles then did the weight room for 20 mins or so...and left feeling like the most powerful birthday girl on the planet! Many people make the excuse that a gym membership is too expensive but when compared to the litany of junk we buy I think it's a great bargain! It's unlimited and you can take a hot shower there as long as you like.!

Then my favorite meal...ok maybe I have several favorite but it def top 5!

Hubby Lou

Christmas Lights Island Style

A winter walk on the beach!

Hope it's not too horrible but that is sand on my toes in December!!!

One Year Wiser! Good!

Why is it that some consider growing older...evil....? In the words of my beloved Mae West...

"You only live once, but if you do it right....once is enough!"

Treasury Time on Etsy

Items from my etsy store were featured in three treasuries today so I thought I might put them on here:

Holiday Time

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTAyNDYxMzN8MTI1OTM3NTE1Ng/holiday-time

Gifts for writers!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTc3NDU3NDF8MTI1NDE0NDg2MQ/gifts-just-for-writers

Christmas Gift Tags

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTA3OTY1ODB8MTI1MTA2MTIxNA/christmas-gift-tags

Many thanks for the ADD...check them out tons of great stuff!

I hope to get the majority of my presents this year for my friends and family from ETSY.  There are so many wonderfully talented artists there and so many unique gift ideas!

I wonder how many people still have all their shopping left to do...or is it all finished?

On a side note....I vowed to myself that I would take off a week after the marathon and that week comes to an end today.  I think I have gained like 5 lbs this week and I have really enjoyed the time off, but I am excited to get back to exercising. 

I'm not going on any plan but...should I? 

Crafting for the Holidays

I really have things backwards...on the most beautiful day we have seen in many a November I am thinking SNOW, WINTER, CHRISTMAS. 

I have so many ideas for my etsy store...almost too many to start and finish any one thing. 

I am considering sending these old fashioned postcards as our Christmas cards.  My plan was to hand write a message from "Santa" on the back.  Since we have to include the obligatory kid/family picture I am going to put them into envelopes.

Another version!  I love Christmas!

Tomorrow I aim to start my decorating and this year I am going to engage the kids in helping to find hand made ways we can decorate. 

Slow to Blog Recap

So many things I have wanted to blog but then I kept forgetting and remembering a day later and then another day later...etc etc...

RAN MY FIRST MARATHON!!! Official time 4:24:53.

I had been worrying over that race for so long and now its over...its very odd. 

Here I am at Mile 23....cannot believe how relaxed I look.  And I took Janae's advise (aka thehungryrunnergirl ) and put my name on my shirt!  It was awesome to hear people shouting encouragement directly to me!

Finished and posing with my super fast Friend.  She so patiently waited for me to finish...some 57 minutes after she did!!!

Over the next few days I hope to put to paper some of things on my mind regarding the Philadelphia Marathon.  But I guess the first thing I wanted to put out there is that I would never have thought myself to be  marathon runner.  One would not look at me and think marathon runner.  I'm 5 feet 2, boobs that don't seem to know they are fat cells mostly...I think they get bigger the more I run, and I am always fighting off some injury (which may just be typical?). 

To begin, I believe anyone who wants to put in the time to train can run a marathon.  The hardest part of the marathon is the mind telling you that a marathon is a near impossible distance for you.... oh and the training. 

Here is what worked for me... I begin my "racing" in April.  I sign up for all my races way ahead of time.  It helps me to be accountable to the distance.  I don't typically like to waste my money on races I don't plan to do and so if I know they are looming, I know that I MUST get in those training runs and gym sessions in. I start out with several 5k's for charities that I support and then proceed to lengthen the races as the season continues. I run them with friends and family and they boost my running confidence and give me the opportunity to experience finishing a fast race in a relatively pain-free way! My final race this year I planned as the Philadelphia Marathon on Nov. 20, 2011. I do plan to keep up my fitness with a half every month until April this year, but it's not something I have done previously.  The runs do get expensive if you wait so signing up early not only keeps you accountable but saves you money!  Then you can get the finisher shirt at the end...guilt free!

I was really expecting the marathon to be awful.  I told my husband "one and done!" But to my surprise it was amazing and so much fun. I will definitely be doing another!

The next marathon I do I'd like to be a location I haven't been before...TBC...

I plan to do a small blog about the hotel as that was something I would do differently but that also is to be continued...

We arrived early in Philadelphia to get to the convention pick up our bibs and check out all the "cool" swag. I guess because it was the second day they were low on inventory...what they had wasn't so great and not many sizes styles left of the official merchandise.  Around 2pm we headed over to the Reading Terminal Market and my friend and I split a turkey spinach wrap with no mayo!!!  It was the perfect amount as we had a reservation to Ralph's Restaurant at 4:30.  The early reservation was necessary as we did not want to fill up too late or get to bed too late...I was shooting for 9pm.  I ate whole wheat penne with marinara and meatballs (probably about half of it), split a Caesar salad with my hubbie (not mayo based) and lots of water.  I didn't want to overeat.  And let me tell you...I have never been to Ralph's and not ordered Fettuccine and Alfredo Sauce...wow was that a challenge!!! They make the most fabulous Fettuccine Alfredo...I'll be back!!!  Picked up a bagel and banana on the way back to the hotel for the morning... With a 7am start time there was no time to eat before unless I did it at 5am.  When we got back to hotel the men planned their course and we talked about ours.  We parted ways around 7pm and I proceeded to do X-Stretch...P90 dvd.  I have found that the 45 min stretch is perfect the night before a run! In bed by 9pm with clothing all layed out and bag packed!

I'd love to hear what pre-race rituals other have?  If not I might need to follow the same blueprint every time!

When's the next race?

www.hungryrunnergirl.com