Happy Monday! I hope your work week is off to a great start. It’s rather gloomy here in Springfield, but the snow on the ground + my Christmas tunes are keeping my spirits high today. 🙂

Let’s back up to the snowy weekend a bit….

Since I stayed home on Friday from work due to the snowy weather, and I wasn’t feeling very well, Nick stayed home too (his office was actually closed…lucky!). We ventured out briefly to Walmart to grab a few groceries and some meds for me. And while we were out, we decided to grab some lunch. Yes, I wasn’t feeling awesome, but I also was starving and wanted some hot food in my belly. So we opted for my favorite…Mexican!

I had this large burrito stuffed with black beans and shrimp. It was awesome! And we were lucky to get our lunch when we did because the restaurant decided to close early as soon as their lunch crowd was out the door!

Once we made it back home, I put dinner into the Crockpot and slept for the rest of the afternoon in hopes that I would feel better when I woke up. I made an old classic…. Creamy Chicken & Rice!

This has been the most visited post on the blog so far, so I thought I should revisit this hearty recipe on one of the coldest days of the year. It was delicious, and I’m so thankful for all the leftovers this week!

Family Photos

Sorry, I have no real photos to show you yet, but the main highlight of our day on Saturday was family photos with CaraDee Photography!

I usually starts my Saturdays with a long run. This week, I had 11 miles on the schedule. And that obviously couldn’t happen….ugh. So I opted to go take 2 Jazzercise classes instead to at least get some exercise in my day. I was still a little on the sicky side, but sweating and working hard really did make me feel a little bit better. And by the time I got home and cleaned up, we had to head off to our photo shoot!

Mac was so excited to go to the park and take photos. Can’t you tell??! He really loves his new Christmas sweater too. It even has a scarf attached. It was one of my Black Friday purchases!

Nick, Mac, and I put on our color-coordinated sweaters and headed off to Nathanel Greene Park for our snowy photos. We braved the cold for an hour and even laid in the snow for our lovely photographer. I’m hoping they turn out well! We have an appointment to see them on Wednesday night. I can’t wait!

We thawed out in the car on the way home. Poor Mac was so frozen he even let me blow dry him for about 10 minutes…and that never happens! Dry, warm clothes never felt so good. 🙂

Since we had stayed in the night before, I decided I wanted to eat dinner out that night. So Nick and I headed out to Cheddar’s for a quick and early meal on Saturday evening. We got seated right away, and that NEVER happens! Win!!

I started with some Chicken Tortilla soup to help warm me up.

And then had an amazing grilled chicken and pecan salad for my entree.

We polished off our meals in no time and headed back home. I was ready for my warm blanket and the couch.

Icy Run

Sunday morning I was feeling adventurous to say the least. I wanted to run, so before I could talk myself out of it, I bundled up in my running gear and headed out. It took me a few minutes to get adjusted to the icy landscape.

It was definitely harder than running on the typical day! I took it slow, and once I was out of my subdivision, I stayed on the roads where the salt had melted off most of the ice and snow. It was early and traffic was light thankfully, otherwise staying on the roads would’ve been a challenge.

I headed out around 7 and knew I couldn’t be out too long since I have a Jazzercise class at 8:30 am. So I opted to complete my typical 3ish mile path. My pace was about a minute slower than normal, and I’m totally okay with that. I didn’t fall or hurt myself, and I know it’s because I was extra careful.

It was also misting/sleeting very lightly while I was out running. I could feel the moisture in the air, but it was light and didn’t bother me. The front of me was pretty icy, but it wasn’t until I got home that I realized this was going on.

Ice lashes!! So, if you’re going for the snow bunny look, just go running when its below freezing and precipitating a bit!

This was definitely a first for me in my running, so I felt pretty accomplished. There’s something about running in less-than-ideal weather that makes me feel about 10x more awesome than my normal running high.

This morning I was sadly banished to the gym to run because the roads were covered in black ice at 5 am. But fingers crossed that I can brave the elements tomorrow morning for a few more miles. We’re supposed to be getting a few more inches of snow tonight, and that little dusting over the ice will actually help me with traction.

Well I think that’s about it for my snowy weekend. I know the snow can be an inconvenience (especially to someone who’s training for their first half marathon!), but it really is beautiful. It makes me extra thankful to live in an area that has so many different kinds of weather!

Enjoy your Monday – it’s already halfway through!