Christmas Finish-the-Sentence

Hey fools. Today I'm partaking in another one of Holly and Jake's Finish the Sentence Linkups, because I like them.

And this time it's Christmas-themed!



1. My favorite Christmas was....1997, when I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of a crying puppy outside my door. I found the cutest, sweetest little puppy ever. My uncle had "played Santa" and brought him over in the middle of the night, so I legitimitely thought Santa had brought him. He also had a big bow tied around his neck. I named him Buddy, and he was with us for 12 wonderful years :)



2. The worst Christmas I had...I think I was maybe 8 or 9 years old and on Christmas Eve I got the stomach flu. I was puking (and other things) all night. I felt better the next day, but it sucked in the moment.

3. That one gift that made me scratch my head and say, "Hmmmm" was...I honestly don't know the answer to this one.

4. One year I....Knew one of my gifts from my dad was the new Gwen Stefani CD (so I was about 14) and I just couldn't wait till Christmas to listen to it. So I carefully unwrapped it, downloaded it onto my iTunes, and re-wrapped it and stuck it back under the tree. Yep.

5. I think the worst gift to give is....GIFT CARDS. I. HATE. GIFT. CARDS. Seriously, I think they're the most thoughtless present you can give someone. Sorry for my rant.

6. At Christmastime I typically....Go nuts with decorations and play Christmas music as soon as (and sometimes earlier than) it's somewhat socially acceptable.

7. Typically, family Christmas....I haven't had to worry about this yet. We have no family here so we usually spend Christmas morning just my mom and I (now that grandma's in the nursing home), go visit her, and then go to my non-biological aunt and uncle's house, where we drink lots of wine and eat lots of good food.

8. If I could change one thing about the Holiday season....Ummmmm it would last longer!! And people wouldn't get so crazy about shopping and instead focus on what it's all about.

9. It is so hard to buy for....my dad. I've made a tradition out of buying him boxer shorts that are funny, because he never wants anything. He's a very simple being. He likes to be outside, naked. Yes, he's a nudist. Don't ask.

10. My favorite Christmas tradition is... Going to church on Christmas Eve. I know, not very exciting. But I just love it. My church is pretty over-the-top on Christmas and usually there's thousands of people that show up, and it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

11. Santa, baby, bring me a .... fat wad of money so I can pay off my debts! Also, the man of my dreams, please.



Alright, that's all for me! Hope everyone's having a great Thursday and I can't wait to read everyone's posts!

Trying to get serious.

Wellp, it's Wednesday again so I weighed in. And again, no change.

I know why. It's because I'm not being aggressive with my diet. I'm eating well so I can eat bad things and/or drink, and running to also cancel that out. I know it will all be better after the holidays but geesh. This is like the 3rd or 4th week of no change. Guess I need to really start taking my diet seriously.

But Monday I got up and ran a mile around the neighborhood, and today I went to the lake by my house. I was shocked at how many people were there at 9:30 on a weekday................but that speaks to the kind of neighborhood I live in, if ya catch my drift.

Anyhoo, I wrote before that it's a mile loop. Then before I went I looked on the lake's website and it said it was a 2 mile loop. Then while I was running I thought "there's no way this is 2 miles because I haven't been running long enough." So I went around again and stopped halfway, and then looked at my Nike App to see this:

Wommmmmp wommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmp.

I walked back to the start (where the green area is in that corner) and passed a sign that said "Lake Chollas Running Trail: 1 Lap=.8 miles, 2 Laps=1.6 miles..." and so on and so forth. So, both of the information I had was wrong. I wasn't necessarily mad, but just a little aggravated I didn't know that before because I didn't walk by that sign when I started, and then when I passed it and kept going I didn't even notice it. But at least now I know for next time, I need to go around twice to get my 1.5 miles in for my 5K training. Which I wrote about on Monday.

Anyway, at least I had a nice view today, not of the trailer park

It's a gorgeous day today (finally). It's going to be in the upper-60s at the beach. Holllaaaaaa. (I work at the beach).

In completely unrelated news and just because I need to get it off my chest: We're probably going to be putting my sweet kitty, Jewel, down this week or next. I don't know if I've ever written about her on here, but she's been in my life for 15 years. That's the majority of my life, people. That's a long time. We got her when she was a kitten right after we got my childhood dog, Buddy. Buddy passed away two and a half years ago and at first Jewel was devastated (like my mom and I) but then she got used to being the queen of the castle, basically. So, when I got Winnie, she was pissed. She never liked Winnie, but it wasn't until I took Winnie to Memphis and brought her back 6 months later that Jewel got seriously mad. She didn't mind my mom's dog (probably because she can tell he's too stupid to do anything to her. Winnie is smart.) but she hated Winnie. She started refusing to leave my mom's room and peeing on my mom's bed out of spite eeevvvverrrryyyy single day. So we moved all her stuff into my bathroom and that has been where she lives for the last 6 months or so. I hate that she's stuck in there, but she just couldn't be trusted. Recently, she started having obvious mobility issues. She's stopped trying to get on the counter because, well, she can't. When she tries to walk she basically drags her butt around. She can get in and out of the litterbox sometimes, so there's always a mess to clean up. And the last couple days it's gotten really bad. And it's become clear she can't even control it anymore. I've been saying for a while that we need to put her down and I think my mom might finally be on-board. Of course we go in and spend time with her every day, and I see her every time I go into the bathroom, but she's not happy anymore and on top of that she's losing control of all her functions anyway. She's 15, too, so I know it's just about that time for her. But it doesn't make it any less sad.

Alrighty fools, that's all I got for today. Hope y'all are having a better week than me. Say a little prayer for Jewel if you have a heart for animals. I just want her to know how much I love her.

I'm feelin' Christmassy

Whaaaat I'm posting on a Tuesday??? When was the last time this happened.......

Anyhoo. I'm feeling all Christmassy today since we finally started decorating. My mom scheduled our carpets to get cleaned yesterday, so we didn't want to put the tree up and have to somehow move it off the carpet, fully decorated. So last night, we started decorating.

We have a nice fake tree, but I like real ones better. Last year we got a gorgeous real tree, but this year my mom won the battle and we put up the fake one (which is more of a hassle than wrestling a real one, in my opinion!). In the last few years we've acquired a theme for our tree, and therefore the rest of our house. It's blue, silver, and white and very pretty and classy. But I'm over it. I wanted to use all my grandma's old ornaments and go for a more classic Christmas theme. My mom thought that meant tacky, because she's dumb. Just kidding, but she didn't get my vision at all until this morning (when we decorated). Anyway, it's not done yet, but this is what we have so far:



It's hard to tell in the picture but the string lights over the TV have clear bulb ornaments around them. It's like a Christmas orgnament garland. I love it.

I also want to add this to the tree:

source

But maybe have it say "Merry Christmas" instead of Tis the Season. BTW, that's my dream tree.

I will have to get that done by this weekend because as I mentioned yesterday, Saturday is my 2nd Annual Christmas Pajama Party!!! I'm soooo excited!!! Last year was so much fun. I made sweet treats and invited my girlfriends over for a Dirty Santa exchange (like white elephant but with legit gifts, not joke gifts) and games. This year more girls will be coming, so I'm starting to freak out a little bit about the food situation. So far this is my menu, thanks to Pinterest:


source

Chocolate Peppermint Bark:

source

Red Velvet Cheese Ball:

source


And spiked hot chocolate with this stuff on top:
source

So yeah. It should be a good time. We'll probably play Cards Against Humanity (I know, not very Christmassy. But it's so much fun!) and drink lotsa wine, but we'll be in our Christmas PJ's and it will be a good time :)

I'm pretty excited to bust out my Christmas Story onesie.

Yes, it has leg lamps and bunny slippers all over it.

So anyway, I'll try my hardest to be a good blogger and take lots of pictures.

See y'all tomorrow for Weigh In Wednesday!

It has begun (again).

Hey fools.

Hope y'all had a great weekend :) Mine was good, but not because of December Nights. I've talked about my issues with the San Diego Alumnae chapter of my sorority and Friday night didn't make it any better. The president didn't plan anything. We all discussed going as a group a month ago at our meeting (which SHE held to get the chapter organized) and I made a newsletter with that explicitly on there, and then I text her on Thursday and she says she doesn't know if she's going or not. I went with Lindsey, we met up with one other girl, and none of the other women said anything about going or not going. Turns out, the president went both nights, just didn't tell us. And either way, December Nights sucked. When I was younger, it was actually called Christmas On the Prado. Then they had to make it all PC and shit and it was basically a giant Octoberfest. There were a bunch of fried food stands and small businesses selling their stuff. There was no caroling, no performances at the Organ Pavillion (it was just lit up with a tree), and no live nativity. Heaven forbid anything at a public park endorse a Christian holiday.

So, we spent an hour at the Beer Garden (see? Octoberfest.) before we bounced. Needless to say I was disappointed and will not be turning that into a Christmastime tradition.

Anyway. The rest of my weekend was fun. I wanted to get decorating done but we're having the carpet cleaned today so it's going to have to wait until tomorrow morning (not very Christmassy right?). But I'm super excited because I'm having my 2nd-annual Christmas Pajama Party this weekend!!!! I'll post more details tomorrow :)

So anyway, I found a 5K in the beginning of February called the Mermaid Run. It's all women, there's no cut-off time (it's also a marathon and half-marathon, and there's a 1-miler for little girls) and it just sounds like a good race to be my first. Brittany and Lindsey say they'll do it with me, so we will see.

This morning marked day 1 of my 5K training. I made a schedule based on the one Hal Higdon has for beginners. I replaced most of the "walk/run" days with 30 Day Shred, since, ya know, I just stopped doing it halfway through. Some days I may decide to just go for a walk, but I'm putting it on the schedule to hopefully just keep me on track:

I know with the holidays coming up (and therefore my work schedule getting a little out-of-whack), it may be difficult to completely stick to this schedule, but I'm going to try my hardest to make it work. There's a little lake about a mile from my house that's just got a dirt path around it. It's only a 1-mile loop so pushing the distances should be easier than around my neighborhood, which is a 1.3 mile loop and hilly. The loop around the lake is relatively flat, and more interesting scenery than a high-school track. I also fully intend on using the Sunday walks at Mission Trails and hiking.

If you've followed my blog for any of the *almost* year it's been on the internets, you know I haven't stuck to anything I've said I was going to do. But I haven't ever felt like I wanted it like I want to be a runner. I like running, as much as I hate it. I want to be good at it. So I'm really praying I can stick with this.

Anyway, enough rambling from me. If any of you are planning any runs in the near future, tell me! Also, if you've ever used Hal Higdon's training programs, how did they work out for you??

Alrighty fools. Have a great week!

Just some thoughts.

I feel like it's been forever since I've done a post on a Friday. Probably because it has been forever. Anyway. I don't have a whole lot to say today (famous last words), mainly because I set my alarm for 5:15 to go run (I'm working 8-430 today) annnnnnnd when I woke up it was still dark outside and freezing cold (by freezing I mean around 40 degrees) and there was just no way it was going to happen. I don't know how you fools that live anywhere other than So-Cal live. Honestly. When you're raised in this weather, you can't imagine how easy it is to get the shivers! Seriously, I was shivering uncontrollably waiting for my shower to heat up, and it took half the shower to stop!


This was def. me this morning. Source.

I'm sure none of y'all feel for me, and that's ok :) haha.

You all know how obsessed I am with Carrie Underwood. She's just freaking fabulous. Well, I watched the first half of Sound of Music last night when I got home from work before I had to go to bed, and I must say, Carrie Underwood is not an actor. But who gives a fuck. I'm tired of seeing people bashing her and the whole thing. It was supposed to be a fun family event. The music was amazing adn there's no way anyone can deny that. Basically, I think everyone needs to just STFU and be nice for once.



I'm glad she's proud of what she did. She should be. I don't really pay a whole lot of attention to tabloids and celebrity news, but as far as I know she's painfully shy. And I remember how awkward and timid she was when she was on American Idol, so I would imagine doing a LIVE THREE HOUR LONG PRODUCTION of a LEGENDARY musical was a huge leap outside of her comfort zone. Give her a break, people.

Moving on.

Tonight I'm finally going back to December Nights! It's this Christmassy festival type thing at Balboa Park (basically San Diego's version of Central Park). It's been years since I've been.......as in I was in elementary school the last time I went. Parking is always a nightmare, but it's a Kappa Delta Alumnae event and I'm super excited to go. They have (or at least they used to have) a live nativity setup, and Balboa Park also has all these little cottages that represent different countries around the world and they all open up and display their holiday traditions. It's just a really cool thing to go to and it's only 1 weekend a year, so I'm pumped! Here's some pictures I could find (since we all know I'm a terrible blogger when it comes to taking pictures--among other things--and probably will forget to take any tonight):







Do your towns do anything like that for Christmas? We usually have this along with the Holiday of Lights at the Del Mar Racetrack (horse racing), which is always AWESOME. I was so excited to go this year, and I foudn out a few weeks ago they're not doing it because they're widening the track. I'm. So. Bummed!

Anyhoo. Enough rambling. I'll leave you with two of my fav gif's from this week on What Should We Call Me:

Getting in shape--
expectation


reality


Me trying to work on a Friday


Hope y'all had a great week, and have an even better weekend! Stay warm, my bloggy friends!

My longest run yet

Sorry for the late post. I have today off, so I've been lazy.

LIE. I just got home from a run. I'll get to that in a minute. First, weigh-in Wednesday:

Still no change in my weight from last week to this week. Which I guess is a good thing considering it was Thanksgiving weekend? I'm trying to watch what I'm eating a lot more, but my biggest problem is eating out. I do it wayyyy too much (it's part of being young and single, isn't it?!) and I have no self control at a restaurant.

I have been slowly but surely getting more regular about my running. But I'm not totally naive enough to think that's enough. I think I'm going to start 30 Day Shred over again and integrate it in on days I don't run. It can only help my stamina anyway, right?

Apparently I just need to go on Project Runway...



Can we please talk about Biggest Loser? Have any of y'all been watching it??? I was SO SAD to see Holly go last week!!! She was one of my faves on there for real. And obviously her friendship with Bob was just too much.

Did you know I cry every single episode of that damn show??? Please tell me I'm not the only one.

Anyhoo, right about now is the time I start to get motivated when I watch because some of the younger girls are getting into "onederland" which I've been hanging out in since the beginning of the year. It didn't take me long (since I started at 203) but once the girls on there start to creep up on me (and eventually pass me up) I get a fire under my ass. Let's hope it sticks this time. But I guess my new favorites are either Chelsea or Jennifer. I like Rachel too, but I feel like she's already been an athlete so if she went home she would be fine maintaining this and continue to lose the weight. But I have a feeling she's going to be this year's Danni (who I LOVE) and win the whole shebang.

Moving on.

Today I decided to bite the bullet and attempt to up my mileage (just a wee bit). I drove to Lake Murray, which is actually a part of Mission Trails, where I've gone the last couple weekends. It's a pretty sizeable lake, and I'm pretty sure the trail goes 4 miles total around, but it doesn't connect, so you have to turn back around at some point. But you can still run pretty far.

First things first: I live in San Diego. It's hilly. Actually it's mountainous. But whatevs. My neighborhood where I've been running is on a hill, so I thought Lake Murray would be no problem. Well, I was wrong. My hood ain't got NOTHING on Lake Murray, y'all! So it was rougher than I thought. I got to .8 miles and thought for sure I had gone further, all because of how tired the hills had made me. But I kept going. I turned around right at a mile (which I didn't even realize because I put my phone back in le old bra and kept going) and actually got to just about 1.5 miles before I slowed to a power walk. But I'm such a slow runner, I didn't really lose much by walking. I wound up running the rest of the downhills and walking the rest of the uphills till I got back to my starting point.

It was hard.

I had multiple breathing cramps. MULTIPLE.

And I had some bitch who I caught up to that wouldn't freaking let me pass and stay ahead of her. It messes with my mind a lot when I got running with other people (which is why I choose not to do that anymore) so having this ass hole literally teetering between being a few feet behind me and right next to me the last mile was hard. Jerk.

But anyway, I'm proud of myself either way. I'm not ashamed of how slow I went. I'm a slow runner. And in time I'm sure I'll get faster naturally. But for now, I'm not concerned with my pace, I'm concerned with distance. Isn't that how it's supposed to be anyway? Today I ran farther than I ever have at one time. Let that sink in for a sec :)

Well, that's all I got this Wednesday. I hope y'all are having a great week!

A sports bra that's too big and "running" shorts...

Wellllll fools it's Monday....and I can't believe Thanksgiving is over! Christmas is coming way too soon. Luckily, I got all my shopping done (online) by the end of Friday afternoon :)

So, going back to Thursday, I hope you're all proud of me when I tell you..................I went for a run. On Thanksgiving morning. WHAT? Yep. I did.

It sucked only because I had to smell everyone's food cooking the ENTIRE TIME. My mouth was watering. My stomach was growling. And then I drank a bunch of wine and surprisingly didn't gorge myself on food later on. Imagine that!

UPDATE******* After I posted this I went scrolling through my Bloglovin' feed and saw Operation Skinny Jean's "Turkey Trot" Linkup. Figured I might as well link up, since, ya know, I moved my ass on Thanksgiving. Good for all of you that did, too :)

For Thanksgiving, we went to see my aunt and uncle, who camp on the beach in their RV every holiday pretty much. It was a gorgeous, perfect day. We ate outside. I had on sandals and a regular shirt. I hope you're jealous.

And if you're not already jealous, here's a picture of our view at dinner:

I am truly blessed.

So, my aunt and uncle are both extremely athletic. My uncle was in the navy for 31 years, and he wasn't just any ole' sailor. He was EOD, enlisted for 10 years before becoming an officer. He was always in tip-top shape because he had to be. He was a huge cyclist and runner, and my aunt was too (not sure if she was because of him or not). Anyway. My aunt and I were talking about me starting to run, and she told us a few of her half and marathon stories. She's quite the story-teller, so naturally i got all excited and for a split-one-eighth-of-a-millisecond thought, "maybe one day I'll do a half." HA!!!! But really, it did get my mind reeling about running further distances. I know I could run farther than I have. And when I explained to her that I need to find a longer loop, she understood exactly what I was talking about, that I just won't go again around my neighborhood. So, I'm still searching for a good place to start upping my mileage that's still either on paved road or a very solid, not-rocky trail (and in a part of town not known for having single female runners either kidnapped or raped. Look up Chelsea King if you don't believe me). Anyway, moving on from Thanksgiving... I Had to work on Friday, and I was lazy all day Saturday, and I worked yesterday. So the rest of my weekend was pretty much uneventful.

This morning, though, I did drag my fat ass out of bed to go run. It was colder and dryer than any weather I've ever run in, so my nose was almost hurting from the cold dry air. All you people who don't have perfect weather year-round, how do you deal with that? Are there any tricks?!?!

I also haven't done laundry in a hot minute and had to wear a sports bra that's too big (super fun) and shorts. Not tight shorts either. Loose, running shorts. I don't understand "running shorts." If they're loose, they ride up if you have thighs that are of the thunder variety (which, let's be real, is 98% of the population). I wear running shorts for lounging around and running errands. Actually running in them? It sucks. I chose to just let them ride up--sorry neighbors--instead of constantly pulling them down. Firstworld problems?

Anyhoo, time to go to work (again). Bleeehhhh.

I hope you all has as blessed a Thanksgiving as I did, and are getting into the holiday spirit (not focusing on finding the best deals for presents and all that bull shit).

:)

Have a great week!