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Last Training Run

I just finished my last training run before Saturday’s race. Today’s training session was a thirty-minute treadmill session, which I thought would be easy. Perhaps easy isn’t the right word. I figured, however, that a thirty-minute treadmill workout after running 45-minute treadmill workouts would feel like a relief. Unfortunately, it didn’t. I think this is in large part due to running 45 minutes yesterday. Fortunately, I have two full days to rest my legs before the race.

Tomorrow I’ll do the upper body Sweat workout, and then on Friday I’ll do the ab one. The ab one isn’t super intense, so it’s perfect for the day before the race. In the meantime, I’ll keep doing yoga every morning and stretching at night. I’m doing everything I can to keep my legs and hips loose for Saturday. I definitely don’t need a harassing injury to slow me down; I’m pretty sure I’ll be slow enough on my own.

From 2020 to 2025

2025 Goal Tracker:

  • Run a 5K: still training, signed up for a 5k on 9/20!
  • Complete Kayla Itsines program: finishing 2.0 this week!
  • No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): I made it into September and haven’t buckled!
  • Top performer at work: on it!
  • Travel: went to Vegas, but lots of work to do here. I’m tickled pink that we’ll be going back there in October to see Paul McCartney
  • Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
  • Read daily: in progress. I finished Pride and Prejudice on Saturday and am now reading Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
  • Get out of debt: in progress, but still poor
  • Financial independence: in progress, but still opt
  • If you’re not already following me on instagram, give me a follow!
  • ’Check out my newest partner, Zulay Kitchen. You can use the code Welcome43 to get 43% off.

How do you celebrate holidays?

I celebrate the holidays by spending time with the people I love most. The holidays are such a special time for me because it’s one of the rare times everyone is home. It sucks not having the kids around all the time, so having them home is amazing.

In addition to the family time, I enjoy baking all of our traditional family favorites. These dishes have really become the fabric of our holiday season. Each dish has a special connection to our families or our ancestors. It’s special to bake holiday cookies with the rolling pin handed down to me by my grandma, who was given it by my great-grandma. Keeping the culinary traditions alive is a way of always staying connected to our family and our heritage. I look forward to passing it on to the next generation.

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Too Soon

Is it too soon to be thinking about the holidays!? Today’s prompt has me looking ahead to December and winter break. My busy season ends after the first week n December, so I’m thinking Goalielocks and I may fly up to Minnesota for a visit. The Mayor has a showcase in Tampa the following weekend, so I’d like to be back in Florida for that. Once the showcase is over, he’ll be on winter break too.

How do you celebrate holidays?

We celebrate the holidays with family and friends. I bake a lot of cookies some with the boys’ help. If my mom’s in town, we’ll get more ambitious and make lefse. I’d say that a good portion of my weekends leading up to Christmas are filled with baking Christmas cookies for our annual Christmas brunch.

On Christmas Eve, we join Melody’s family for church service, which is an absolute joy. Melly is one of the singers at the church and is so talented. Plus, the sermons are always top-notch. Afterwards, we do a family dinner. Last year, it was at Melly’s folks house. Sometimes we have dinner at my brother’s house with him and his friends. I use friends loosely because family would be a better way to describe his circle.

On Christmas morning, we host a brunch for our family and friends. The centerpiece of which is my caramel rolls and the hubby’s cholesterol bake. Personally, I’m partial to Brandi’s cheesy hash browns. It’s a high-carb, high-calorie meal combined with mimosas, Bellinis and beers served around our commodious dining room table. The food is always as magnificent as the company. Needless to say, there’s no food waste at this brunch.

In years past, we followed brunch up with paintball, but the place closed down a few years ago. It reopened last year under new management, but they don’t have many maps anymore. We may still try to play some paintball this year or even ride the go-karts. It’s nice to do something active after eating your weight in carbs. Our Christmas finishes off with some delicious Chinese food. Anyway, I suppose it’s never too soon to start looking forward to the joy of the holidays.