Today is Steven’s birthday! Happy Birthday, Steven! No big plans… because we usually don’t have big plans… and he’s sick. Poor guy. Hope he feels better ASAP! I asked Steven if I could post this cute picture of him from 1986 – he said yes – if I added a beard. Ha ha.
I haven’t mentioned Khali and Snow lately but they are doing well and survived outside last week when it was so damn cold. We bulked up their houses by putting rigid insulation all around them, putting a platform over them, and packing the space between with blankets. Steven is currently building them something warmer!
Our driveway sensor is now linked in with a speaker, so besides hearing a tune when someone drives down the driveway, we also hear the speaker say “oh great, who the f*ck is here now?” Ha!
Alyssa’s (my older brother’s wife’s) mom is so sweet! She sent me this frame and photo from Nick and Alyssa’s wedding in June. It means a lot to me. We’ve taken a photo of all the sibs at each wedding, and now the series is complete!
Two weekends ago, I had a four-day weekend in Texas with my otra familia:
This is the third year in a row I’ve gone with Luca to see Santa!
Steven couldn’t come, but we FaceTimed with him, and sent him some photos (including drawings by Luca).
I got to go to Luca’s school and have lunch with him.
Family pic!
Then after a short (and BUSY!) week (work, work holiday party, dentist, celebrating with Anne and Terry, house prep and shopping…), I had a four day weekend here celebrating an early holiday with Steven’s family:
Carbs, carbs, carbs
Me and the boys!
Up this week? Another celebration, Steven’s birthday, and Christmas with my family! I am having a lot of fun but I am so freaking worn out! I am definitely sleeping in on January 1st! (<— just kidding, if it’s nice, I will probably get up and run!)
You know you’re an adult when you get excited about receiving yard equipment for Christmas! Ha! It’s not even winter yet and we’ve already had at least seventeen inches of snow so… I think the snowblower will come in handy. Thanks, Santa (Steven’s dad)!
(Another lame adult thing on my wishlist this year? The Swiffer Bissel steam mop. Ha.)
Steven’s brother, Andrew, asked for records for Christmas – two specifically, but then any other records as long as they weren’t country or folk. We were planning on only getting the ones he asked for, but I came across a record bin at a shop on Sunday and it was so fun to look! Sadly, the wrong record was inside the Nazareth Hair of the Dog album, so that one didn’t come home. But I got a few others. Too bad we can’t listen to them when he opens them – we don’t have a record player!
I feel bad it’s going to be so freakin’ cold when Steven’s dad and brother are here for early Christmas this weekend – on Sunday the high is only 4°F. It will get in to the 20s on Friday and Saturday, but with a messy snowstorm. It’s not like we’d all go outside together, but I thought maybe Andrew would run with me outside. Maybe he still will!
OMG, my snister’s work had a holiday costume contest yesterday and I am STILL laughing about her costume (that’s her pulled out on the right side of the photo). She won the contest, 0bvs.
I also got a bit festive for work yesterday, too!
And I got an early holiday present at work yesterday – the project manager I had been covering for while he was on paternity leave came back to work. I was SO relieved. They keep pushing me toward project management stuff at work, but I don’t feel like it’s for me. Or, maybe I should actually be trained and not thrown in to it.
Did anyone else watch The Fate of the Furious trailer like “No, Dom, no!” Actually, I first saw it without sound in a restaurant, so it wasn’t until I could watch it on my phone later that I understood what was happening.
Did anyone else brave Bath & Body Works this weekend for the candle sale? I had NO idea how crazy it would be. Steven and I were running errands that morning and I brought him with to make sure to get scents he likes too and whoa – the store was PACKED! Everyone was being civilized and kind though, and the employees worked hard to get us out of there in a decent amount of time (I think we waited twenty minutes to check out?). And now we have candles we both like.
I had a Shutterfly coupon for holiday cards and… decided to use it! This will be the first time we’ve sent out personalized holiday cards!
Oh look! Bicycling magazine is sharing information from the same study that Runner’s World keeps sharing over and over, but not in a disordered way! Here, Bicyling is saying to take in sugar to help with a bonk during a ride. AND TO ACTUALLY CONSUME THE DRINK.
Any bets on whether these presents will last until Steven’s family gets here next week?!
It’s getting really cold here, which I don’t mind, but I am worried about the outdoor cats. We’ve built a structure around their houses, and insulated it a bit, but I don’t think it’s enough. Maybe they can come in to the garage until we build them something better.
I ran by this sign in the forest preserve next to our house this morning, so, yay for tree drop off being so close! The last time we had a real tree, we dropped if off at a (different) forest preserve, as well. I think it’s cool they chip the trees and use them for the trails and landscaping – that could be YOUR Christmas tree you’re running on!
Teaching four fitness boxing classes! My students have really been getting in to it, and that makes it so fun for me. And this month, my brother-in-law will attend one of my classes and two of the classes will be holiday themed (Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve)!
Going to Dallas! It’s my third year going there marathon weekend (2015, 2014). Only this year, no marathon, ha. I can’t wait to see my otra familia, be silly, eats lots of good food, visit Luca’s school, and see Meb again!!!
Steven’s family’s visit for the holiday (early)! That’s why we got the house all gussied up – for their visit. We usually don’t decorate when we won’t be here for the holiday (we’ll be in Iowa). Or maybe we would have this year since it’s our first holiday in the new home? Who knows! I love it all festive, so maybe we’ll start decorating every year.
Making a tofurkey and mashed potatoes when Steven’s family is here. I’ve been craving them since Thanksgiving!
Seeing the new Star Wars movie. I wonder if I’ll want to see this one several times in the theater like I did the last?
Steven’s Birthday! Poor Steven has a December 22nd birthday. We gotta do something special to celebrate it away from the holiday!
Being with my family on Christmas and watching them open their gifts!
Seeing our house with snow on it – it just looks so pretty!
Cold weather running – I love it… as long as I can take a hot bath after. Ha! Hopefully I’ll get lots of runs with family and friends this month during our visits!
Ha, when Steven and I were at Target on Sunday, I stopped in the cat food aisle to get the ONE flavor of wet cat food Data likes (Mariner’s Catch) and that Target only had three cans of it left. I had bought the last five cans at a different Target earlier that week. So I say to Steven “This must be really popular – it’s sold out at both locations!” And this lady walking by in the main aisle (not the cat food aisle) turns around and says “What’s so popular, I have to know?!” (not in a nosy way, but in a “is it so popular I need one too?” way). And I am like “this flavor of cat food…?” “Oh.” Ha ha ha. Ha.
We saw Arrival last night. Has anyone else seen it? It’s definitely a movie you want to discuss after seeing it. And a movie where I did not see the twist coming (but that’s why it’s called a plot twist, ha).
Gosh, our leisure schedule is so much different at the new house (as expected). We used to see movies much more frequently. The last time we saw a movie was five months ago!
Rihanna’s song “Love on the Brain” is my new “listen to it on repeat five-six times while running” song. Anyone else digging it?
All of the new sets of balls we got to decorate the tree came with some glitter balls (first picture below). And we have a STRICT “no glitter in the house” rule (Steven HATES glitter). So… we have lots of glitter balls that won’t get used (second picture below). Maybe I should put them on the mailbox garland?
Something strange happened at Starbucks the other day when I had them reload my card (in the store). They accidentally charged 20 cents instead of 20 dollars and there was no way to undo the transaction and fix it… but somehow, Starbucks still put 20 dollars on my card. They said it was like a Christmas present from Starbucks! I was using it to get someone holiday gifts, but had to add on the guy behind me in line’s drink too!
I think I can get to 2000 miles run this year if I don’t slack off this month! I am at 1845 miles right now, and I typically run 40 miles a week. So if I stick with that, I should be good! It’s going to be hard with all the travel and guests BUT the people I am spending time with run too/or understand that I run! I can make it happen!
Yay! All the holiday decorations are up! It’s not a lot, but I’m going to document it here so I can look back in the future if I want to set it any of it up the same way.
Our Fraser Fir tree is eleven feet tall on its own, and a bit taller in the stand. It has 700 lights on it. We (expectedly) had to buy more lights and ornaments. I got the LED lights to try and those were a big NOPE – way too harsh of a white! We went back and bought conventional lights.
As kids, we’d spend Christmas Eve at my mom’s parent’s home, and they always had metal “NOEL” letters that we’d rearrange to say “EL NO” or “LEON” and see how long it took an adult to find it. We thought it was really funny. I was happy when my mom gifted me my own “NOEL” set one year!
A fire place with no mantel!
We’ll see how long it takes for Data to knock these down. He is getting in to ALL the decorations. And I don’t mean he’s “in to them” metaphorically. He is physically getting in to them and messing them up and knocking them around (and eating them and throwing them up).
Was anyone else up late last night/this morning buying their Rogue One: A Star Wars Story tickets?
I was! And I’m not sure why because:
1. Fandango servers couldn’t handle it, like when The Force Awakens tickets went on sale. I was online at 11:01 pm cst, trying multiple browsers on multiple computers, my phone browser and the fandango app and it sat and span or said “site maintenance.” Chrome finally worked around 11:30 pm.
2. The showtime I’m getting tickets for (Sunday 4:00 pm) probably could have waited until this morning!
3. It feels like such a money grab and that bugs me. And it takes a lot for me to say that, because Star Wars are my favorite films.
But! I have four tickets and am looking forward to going with Steven and his dad and brother!
Hi! I'm Kim, a 34-year-old living in Chicagoland with my husband, Steven, and our cats, Khali, Apollo, and Starbuck. I work in the design industry (architecture), follow a vegan lifestyle, am addicted to running, and am an ACE certified personal trainer (working at Essential Fitness, LLC ("Efit"))! I write about a variety of topics, and consider this a "life" blog - a place I can share anything that's on my mind. Please visit the "About" page to get a better idea of who I am! :-)
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