2014

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and all of that stuff!  How was everyone's holiday season?  We had a ball over here.  It felt super busy and I am somewhat relieved to get back to a regular routine and hopefully regular sleep schedules.  It's amazing how all of the holiday excitement totally throws the little ones off.   

And speaking of being thrown off, I am ready to get back to the regular diet.  The holidays were incredibly fun with a lot of events, gatherings and of course deliciously baked goods, but eating as healthy as usual when the schedule is so crammed can be tough.  There was the night I had a hunk properly portioned piece of brie cheese for dinner because the thought of making something and re-dirtying the kitchen after I had just got the kiddos to bed made my stomach churn.  There was the night I made these from scratch and I am pretty sure I just scarfed down excess frosting....you know, to make sure everything turned out ok for my loved ones' dessert :)

 

 

And my family is well versed in the fact that I am a chocoholic and I was spoiled with a lot of my favorite stuff for gifts.  It has been a great few weeks but I am ready to restore a little more balance to the indulgences! 

 

I do have a few New Year's Resolutions to share and I would love to hear your resolutions too.  Here goes!

 

1. Eat more produce.  Instead of focusing on what things to stay away from, which can be overwhelming, I want to focus on cramming more produce into the daily diet.  I'm going to aim for double digits of produce servings and my guess is that I will be staying away from more junk with filling up on that anyway.  To start, I signed up for the 30 Day Green Smoothie Challenge.  I have loved green smoothies ever since I got my Vitamix and need to keep those as a regular thing.  They taste great, provide a lot of energy and all sorts of great vitamins and health benefits.
2. Slow down the morning routine.  Mornings are so hectic getting the family out the door so everyone can get to daycare, preschool and work.  I know slowing it down sounds counterproductive but the reality is that we aren't fleeing a burning building (thankfully) so I think a more relaxed start might get us all off to a better day.  We prepare a lot of our stuff at night and I think with a few additional night tasks and some tweaking, we will be off to a better start.
3. Smile.  I'm getting too serious.  Maybe it's because the days feel tight with work, little ones etc.  Maybe it's from worrying too much.  Regardless, it's happening and I don't like it.  Life is too short.  Maybe I need some SNL re-runs once in a while....maybe a catch up with an old friend.  Maybe more running (more on that soon!!).  Whatever it is, smiling more is high on my priorities this year. Remind me when I forget please!

 

On the running front, I am only 7'ish weeks away from post-baby 1/2 marathon #1.  Eeeks.  I felt that my first 4 weeks of training went great.  These last 3-4 weeks have not been great.  The combination of my better half traveling for work for a couple weeks, the holidays, my own work schedule and some expected fevers, colds etc. with the little ones has resulted in missed runs.  My longest run to date is 7.6 miles.  I think I can recover in time to finish this 1/2.  I will be giving it my best and I am definitely approaching this first event as a training race.  There is no chance of a PR for this one!  I also have very exciting news that is going to greatly help with my running. 

 

Drum Roll. 

 

We are getting a treadmill! Yeehaw.  I'm spoiled- I know.  I am very lucky that my family is supportive of this.  Running seriously helps me to have a great day and I was struggling to get my runs in.  The time before work on the weekends isn't an option anymore with the ice and darkness.  I use the gym at 5AM on a few week days but need to be home for 6'ish and can't squeeze in the distance during that time.  Evenings don't work until about 8:30PM and the gym closes at 9 anyway.  I am very, very lucky and so excited.  Delivery is tomorrow.  More updates later!

 

How were your holidays? Any resolutions for 2014?

 

Have a great week!

 

Holiday Treats

How is everyone's holiday season going so far? Things over here are going well.  I am prepping for a young one's pre-school Christmas party tomorrow and signed up to bring in wrapped treats.  I wanted to bring something in that was both a treat but somewhat healthy as we all know how many goodies we get this time of year.  So, I bought some whole grain pretzel sticks, melted some chocolate chips with a little bit of coconut oil, dipped them and then sprinkled some "snow" or unsweetened coconut on top.  I thought they came out good until.....I remembered the "no hard pretzels" guideline for pre-school snacks.  D'oh.

I don't know what even made me think of it but it would have been helpful had I thought of it before they were all done and wrapped.  C'est la vie!  Although I had to kick in a plan B for my little one's event, I do think these would make a good snack for older kids if you are looking for an idea.

Plan B?  Well, I had stumbled on this recipe for Soft Ginger Cookies over at Pennies and Pancakes yesterday coincidentally and I was tight on time but whipped up 1/3 of a batch and they came out great.  Yes, there is regular flour and sugar but they are made from scratch without any chemicals or preservatives and it turns out that Blackstrap Molasses is a good source of iron, calcium and potassium.  The sign up for wrapped treats is saved.  Thanks to Pennies and Pancakes because these came together really quickly and taste great.

 On the running front, I had gained some momentum with my half-marathon training.  In 4-5 weeks of training, I only missed one scheduled run and I was up to 7.6 miles for my long run and keeping weekly mileage of just under 20 miles per week.  The last 2 weeks were sort of a bust though.  The husband had to travel for work for a couple of weeks and I kept up with some running the first week, but the second week was filled with fevers, colds, very little sleep and all those lovely things that little ones get hit with this time of year while work is still busy for mom.  I only ran once this week.  Oh well...there really was nothing more I could have done but I will be back at it this week!  Hopefully, I do not feel the blip in training too badly!  I have about 9-10 weeks left until half marathon #1 of the year. I can do it. I can do it.

How do you handle training blips?  Are you ready for the holidays?