I have a code. (cold)

I've been home sick for two days now. In between naps, I've tried to be somewhat productive. I could have been updating my blog, but I didn't. It's really sunny out and I'd like to go outside, but I'm too lazy and my head is pounding.

Christmas was wonderful. I hope everyone had a very happy holiday season! I got to see both of my new nephews, Luke (8 months) and Nicholas (2 weeks), who are both super sweet. I got spoiled with presents from everyone and ate way too much delicious food. I'd love to be out exercising off the calories, but well, I can barely breathe, so that won't work too well.

So, I might as well go ahead and post some pictures!

Here are some from my night in Granville:








And here is my nephew Luke at his Christening this past Sunday:




And here is my other nephew Nicholas, at Luke's luncheon, held by my mom:



Ok, that's all for now. I'm ready for a nap. And judging by the snoring, so is Jellybean. :)

Testing

Let's see if I can get a photo posted...

These are the ladies (Jelly on the left, Abbey on the right) in their Halloween/Christmas outfits. :)

Hungover!

I had such a blast last night out in Granville. And of course I drank too much. And am paying the price today. :) Oh well - it's only once a year! I'll try to upload and post some pictures later. And I wanted to wish AJ a happy birthday! I already got to wish her one at midnight last night, but still.

I can't believe it's almost Christmas! My family always celebrates on Christmas Eve, so for me, Christmas is tomorrow! Holy cow. I have one more gift to buy and a bit more wrapping to do, but mostly everything is done. I want to make some little gifts for my new nephews, so hopefully I'll have time to do that later today. I never did put my ornaments on the tree...

trying to catch up!

Wow, week 2 and I'm already way behind! I promise to try to catch up soon. Last night was the annual Christmas party my dad plans every year in Granville. I always help him and it's a ton of fun, but it always sucks a little timing wise. It's always the Sunday before Christmas and I am always there ALL day. Yesterday was actually only about 9 hours because they cut back this year, but normally it's more than 12. But it just makes me feel crazier and busier. And tonight I'm heading back to Granville to have dinner with a few of my oldest (and dearest) friends, Mary, Alyssa, and Kim, and their husbands/boyfriends. We do this every year and it is always so much fun! We've all known each since at least 5th grade (or preschool, with Mary and I) so we can go for months without talking and then fall right back in. Everyone has had lots of exciting things going on this year so it should be fun catching up.

I still haven't even sent out a single Christmas card or anything! I haven't put ornaments on my tree (although I did put the lights on it!) and now I kind of doubt I will. I brought my Christmas cards to work with me today thinking I might find some time, but I've been really busy. Oh well. Sorry anyone who's waiting for a card from me, it will be a while! I love Christmas though, so I'm just trying to stay cheerful and happy and not get bogged down with the stuff I haven't done.

BUSY!

I haven't about my little pet project still in its infancy, but I have been so busy!! I've been really productive though. :) I'll try to post an update (and pictures!) soon.

What's the Point?

One of my friends just asked me what the point of a blog is. I completely agree that this is a valid question, especially in regards to my current little project. Some of my favorite blogs seem to be very focused, but I can't seem to find a good focus for mine. I don't cook enough to make a cooking blog. I don't throw enough parties to have a party planning blog. I probably run enough for a running blog, but that would be pretty boring. No one but me cares how far I ran and in what shoes! I don't have kids, so that wouldn't work. A dog blog would involve a lot of shameful moments. So would a weight loss blog, since my war on the last 15 or so pounds had been stuck in the same rut for, oh, a year. So I guess for now this is just my random rants and raves. Maybe somewhere along the way I'll find my focus. :) (Suggestions are of course welcome.)

MIT starts tomorrow!

Tomorrow is the first day of the new session of my running group, MIT. That starts for Marathoner in Training, not Massachusetts Institute of Technology. :) Just FYI. If anyone in Columbus is looking for a great running group, I highly recommend it. I don't think I ever would have run a marathon if I had not signed up with this group.

Here's their website for anyone who's interested:
http://premierraces.com/mit/index.htm

(PS, say I referred you please because then I get something, I think!)

It's going to be chilly tomorrow but I'm really excited to get back into the groove of running again! Next on the agenda, pick a race! I think I'm going to just do a half this spring and then gear up for the Chicago full in October.

TGIF!

Yesterday was not boring. I took the day off to go Christmas shopping with Todd. After I went for a cold run while he took a work call, we headed over to Easton where we met my mom and stepdad for lunch at Panera. Todd had never eaten at Panera before! I was shocked. Consequently, he did not pick the best sandwich, which is the Sierra Gobbles, in my humble opinion. That's Sierra Turkey for anyone who wasn't instructed on how to speak by my college roommate Chris. I also had their new chicken tortilla soup, which was pretty decent. After fueling up, we did some grueling shopping for a few hours before heading home.

I had week 5 of my beginner yoga class last night. It was just me and Adriane, as Shannon had a party or something. I'm not beginner, but last night was fairly hard. Maybe they just turned the heat up in there or something, but I got a little schvitzy.

I also got my cookies baked. I still need to frost them. Who knew it was going to be such a long ordeal??? Speaking of cookies, I also got a fabulous package of them from Sarah! I was sooooo excited to see that. I think I've already eaten 3. WTF? Sarah, this is NOT going to help my weight loss mission! :) It was extra exciting because last year my entire box of cookies got eaten by my dogs. My dad happened to stop by my house the day they arrived and took them inside for me. Not knowing what the precious box contained, he set it on my dining table. I arrived home later to a tattered cardboard box and little shred of baggies and ribbon scattered around the living room. It's funny now, but at the time, I was livid.

Hmm, maybe I should do some work now. :)

Made it to day 2!

Last night Todd and I went to a law firm's holiday party. It was very fun (we got to hang out with our friend Andy) and the food and drinks were delish. Then I came home and made cookie dough in preparation for making Christmas cookies. I love decorating sugar cookies but I get really sick of it after about 4. :) My lil sis is in Korea for a year though, and she needs some down home cooking, so I'm sending them to her. (surprise!) Maybe if I can figure out how, I'll post a picture of some of the finished product.
This is my current favorite sugar cookie recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Soft-Christmas-Cookies/Detail.aspx
I use half butter and half margarine (margarine makes the dough easier to roll, sorry about the trans fats!!!) but otherwise follow the recipe.

Today has been a busy day at work. We're working on an upcoming architecture exhibition that is pretty slow in the planning. Some budget numbers kind of hit the fan today, but we keep getting reassured that everything will be all right.

I also ran on the treadmill before work this morning, and had a great run, yay! It's so interesting to me how some runs are so much better than others. I drank a lot of wine last night, so one would have expected a crappy run. Apparently I function better with antioxidants of the fermented type. It was a short run, but I did speedy intervals. The only complete annoyance was when I accidentally hit the stop button midway through. GRRRR!

Speaking of running, I need to sign up for a race. MIT (my marathon training group) starts again this weekend, and I find I train better when I actually have a goal in mind. And no, I don't mean signing up for the Flying Pig 4 weeks before the race (ahem, 2008). I heart my running group. :)

While I don't sound all the boring to myself, anyone reading this (no one yet since I haven't told anyone!) is probably bored to tears. Happy Hump day! :)

Another Obsession

Baked Cheetos. YUM. I pretend they're healthy because they're baked. It's a big fat lie.

I'm Taking the Plunge

I've been known to read a few blogs. I've always wondered what I might blog about. Most of my friends who have blogs have kids, or big projects, like training for an Ironman or teaching the city how to eat locally and yummily. I obsess about lots of things: losing weight, saving money, spending money, my dogs, cooking, drinking, eating out, my friends, my boyfriend, the holidays, my family, eating well, throwing parties, wedding coordinating, my job, you name it. So what in the heck could I possibly have to add to world of blogging? Well, probably nothing. :) But I also feel very boring and uninteresting lately, so I decided this could be a way to be less boring. Either I'll discover that I'm not as boring as I think, or I'll feel the pressure to blog about interesting things and will become less boring. Either way, I win. I like these odds.