Christmastime

7:16 AM Posted In , , Edit This 0 Comments »
Last weekend we decorated the house. It feels and smells wonderful in here. We have cinnamon ornaments, dried fruit garlands, a real Christmas tree, and I'm baking something almost daily. Today we will be baking gingerbread cookies! I won't be eating any because I'm not making them vegan, but I don't need to eat them anyway. Other advent activities so far have been making bird feeders, making a Christmas tree topper, Christmas madlibs, watching a Christmas movie, and drinking hot chocolate. 

The week went by quickly and fairly easily. We stayed under budget on things, especially food. I started on our homemade Christmas gifts. I spent a lot of time at home, walking to get steps for my Fitbit. Irontribe on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and yesterday. Still feeling great. 

I'm going to spend some time in the next few weeks thinking about my goals for 2016. My 33rd year. Lots of good stuff to think about! 

Productivity

5:46 AM Posted In , , , , , Edit This 0 Comments »
Awake this morning at 5:09. Maybe I need to take a nap during the day so I can sleep later. I do enjoy being up so I can get things done, but on the days I want to be a little lazy, waking up this early is no fun. 

On Wednesday, I went to irontribe (hereafter "ITF"), Eric went to work. The kids and I made Christmas ornaments and went to Target for a few things. We made cinnamon applesauce ornaments and put fruit in the oven to dry. After lunch at home, we put Christmas lights up in Violet's room and redid the ones in Duncan's. Dinner was early at Chipotle. 

Thanksgiving morning, Duncan and I went for a long walk as the sun was coming up. 2.5 miles! Back at home, Eric and I prepared stuff while the kids watched the parade. We had a last minute change for thanksgiving location and we all went to Heather's house for our meal. The food itself was good - my first vegan thanksgiving! Eric's first as a vegetarian! 
After the meal, a few of us went for a walk. I had 10,000 steps by 2:00, which was great! We arrived home around 4 and snacked on veggies, fruit and leftovers for dinner while watching "The Muppet Show." Eric and I fell asleep on the couch before 9pm. 

I was awake at 5 again yesterday morning. Rather than lay in bed, I went to the mall. For one, to walk and get some steps, and second, to look at the stuff on sale at lulu. I ended up getting a few things hs and was home with some panera before 8am. After breakfast, we all went on a walk (because Violet felt left out on Thursday) - over 2 miles again. Back at home, we cleaned up and worked on a budget for paying down our  credit card. After lunch, we all went to Costco (which will hopefully be my "once a month trip"). We also bought a Christmas tree! It's iur first real tree and it's beautiful. Once home we put it up and decorated the house, inside and out. We will decorate the tree today since we had to let the branches "relax" first. 

And that's it. Plans for today hopefully include lunch with my parents and getting Eric's childhood bunk bed from his parent's house for Duncan. Probably some more decorating, too! I'll take more pictures today!


 

Preparation

6:26 AM Posted In , , Edit This 0 Comments »
Awake at 5:12 today. Been scanning Amazon looking at shoes and protein shakes. 

Lots to do this week. We are hosting thanksgiving for the second year in a row. Today I have to pick up food from Whole Foods (vegan sides) and also get a few things for Grandparents Day at school. May stop at Trader Joe's, too. 

Yesterday morning's workout was invigorating. Some barbell stuff, some push-ups, some ring rows (what you do before you can do pull-ups). It was a partner workout, so we cheered each other on and had a good time. My shoulders and chest are sore today. 

I started wearing a Fitbit a few weeks ago and I love it. Having that daily step goal pushes me to walk more. On Sunday night, the kids and I had a dance party while walking around the kitchen table. Good times. 😊

Short post today - not feeling reflective or like I have a lot to say. Today is the kids' last day of school. Tomorrow we will get the house ready and make some ornaments. Last workout of the week will be tomorrow morning, too. 

Friends, finished projects, first vegan cookies and vegan shepherds pie

Overslept

6:30 AM Posted In , , , , , , Edit This 0 Comments »
I've been going to the gym regularly every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for about a month - the class I attend is at 5:30am. My phone alarm is set for 5am on those days. Last night I decided to work out today, too, and neglected to set my alarm, so I woke up at 5:49. Shit. This is a problem because you have to sign up for classes - only 20 people can attend each class. So I likely took someone else's spot and I feel super guilty this morning. It was an honest mistake, though. Now I am awake at 6:15. Sigh. I am going to try to attend the 12:15 class if I can get Eric to pick Violet up at noon. 

In other news ...

Music class last night was fabulous. Hooray for harmony. 

Eric made a delicious stir fry for dinner with peppers and onions and the kids ate the vegetables. Hooray again. 

I have volunteered to head up the parent association at school. We lack organization and I'm excited to see what we can do. Parent involvement and excitement is so important to schools! First meeting is tomorrow, where I'll be introduced as the new "facilitator" of the meetings ... And we will go from there. 

Ann and Katy will be in town this weekend. Excited to see them again after seeing them in Montana just in September. 

Averaging a peek at Facebook once a day right now. So far, so good. 

The kids and I made a 3-D paper snowflake (in "Thanksgiving colors") last night and hung it up in the kitchen. It was fun and looks so cool! 

We finally ordered a real composter. It will be here early next week. 

I'm hosting Thanksgiving again. Hooray! I ordered some food from whole foods - some vegan sides. Shhhh, don't tell. My in-laws still don't know I'm vegan and I don't plan to engage in that conversation until it's necessary. 

Plans that I've worked out for the morning while I've been writing this: walk at the mall after drop off, Costco for garlands to decorate school front porch, then to workout. Today's workout is running, wall balls and pull ups (everything is scaled to your level - I cannot do pull ups).

I've missed writing. It's such a release for me, even if it's not poetry. 😊
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