Christmas Decorating, Part I

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Hey everyone! Hope you’ve had a wonderful Saturday. I’ve had a busy busy day full of shopping, decorating, and loads of laundry. I’ve washed, folded and put away 4 loads of laundry since I got done with work yesterday. That never happens. I’m on a roll!

This morning started out with my scheduled long run of 9 miles. I headed out around 7 a.m. and finished in a little over an hour. It was a windy morning, and it was fighting me the whole time. The last couple weeks I have gone beyond my scheduled distance because I was feeling good and wanted to push myself. Not today though. I was happy to get to 9 miles with a pace of 8:22/mile, so I stopped before my time started getting any slower. 🙂

Breakfast was quick and easy when I got home. Greek yogurt + a spiced pear + coffee (lots of it).

photo(131)I cut up the pear into bite-size chunks, add about 2 tbsp of water and sprinkle it with cinnamon, and then microwave for 2 minutes. It gets so nice and soft. I love it! I do the same thing with apples at night a lot. Just up the microwave time to 3 minutes!

Christmas Shopping

I ate quickly and showered before my mom got into Springfield to do a little Christmas shopping. We headed to Target first, where I found my fave purchase of the day.

image(9)Mac got some new Christmas pajamas! He’s been extremely tired today, so I didn’t make him to do a photoshoot. Maybe tomorrow I can get him to pose.

After Target we had lunch at TGIFridays, and then headed onto Marshall’s and Sam’s Club. It was a nice little shopping trip. My mom spoils me too much! She took some of my finds home with her though. My Christmas presents are rarely surprises to me anymore. But at least this way she knows that I’ll like it since I picked it out!

Christmas Tree is Up!

My mom headed home mid-afternoon, so this left me with the rest of day to get my tree up! I pulled the Christmas tree box out of the garage, and Mac had to check it out immediately.

image(11)I found the directions and was instantly reminded why this is never fun. Color-coded branches = failure. The colors had faded from last year, and I almost panicked when I thought I lost a couple branches.

image(12)After an hour, it was finally put together with all the pieces though.

photo(130)I didn’t do the best job at packing up my decorations last year, so I had to dig through all this stuff to find the lights, garland, and ornaments.

image(10)WOO! All done! I’m pretty happy with my cute little huge tree. Last year, this 7.5 feet tall tree kinda took up the whole living room of my small apartment. But it looks awesome in our living room with the vaulted ceiling.

Now, I called this post Part I because all the decorating isn’t done. Truthfully, most of my Fall decor is still up. But the tree was my biggest project, so I’m saving the smaller stuff (wreaths, table settings, etc.) for tomorrow. I just want to get it done before Nick gets home tomorrow night. Stayed tuned to see if I can actually stick with my plans! The Hallmark channel Christmas movies are calling my name now that the tree is up. 🙂 Must. resist. sappy. Christmas. movies. (in a strained voice).

Tomorrow will start with a short 3-miler and then Jazzercise. A little exercise should set me on the right path for the day (fingers crossed). Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Out with the Fall, in with Christmas!

Daily Life!,

Happy Friday, ya’ll! It’s a been a beautiful day here in Springfield. Temps are mild. The sun is shining. And Nick is headed off to deer camp. So I’m pumped to start this weekend of alone-time that is hopefully full of productiveness!

My first item on the agenda? Fall decor must come down. All of it.

photo(119)Yes, my Fall decorations have served my house well. But it’s time for the switchover. Mac is the most excited for this event.

christmasdoggieIt’s Santy Paws! This is what happened last year while I was decorating. And yes, it will probably happen again this year. I know exactly where his Santa Clause outfit is, and I will be bringing it out of storage as soon as I get home this evening.

So I must warn you.. I’m one of those crazy people that completely overdoes the Christmas decorating. So my house will look a little like this…

mantle 6And this.

christmas-2011-bossov-sapp-mcgee-seven-hills-033Also this.

3080787745_b033e5393a_nAnd last but not least, the tacky awesome inflatables that people tend to pull out at this time of year.

christmas-decoration-overkillOH yes, that just happened.

Okay, I’m obviously joking. I would never let my house turn into this. Just google image search ‘Christmas decorations overkill’ and tell me if they don’t make you chuckle just a bit. Some people be crazy with their Christmas decorations. But I’m not one of the crazies.

Tonight, I’ll be focused on figuring out where my tree will go and then rearranging the furniture to make everything fit. I would love to get my Fall decor put away and the tree up before bedtime! We’ll see if it actually happens. I’m also in the mood to bake, so these two things may not work well together. Baking will most likely win – I’m craving chocolate. 🙂

Today has been normal for the most part. I ran 3.25 miles this morning in 40 degree temps. I felt naked without my gloves and ear warmer on! I was glad to not have them on though. I would’ve been too toasty. And then after work tonight, I have the whole evening free! WOO! I’ll try to be as productive as possible, so I’ll have some good decor to share with you all.

Along with decorating, my mom and I are going to do some Christmas shopping tomorrow. It should make for a fun day! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend as well. See you all later!

Baking Goodies & Deer Hunting

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Happy Thursday morning! I hope your Hump Day was a good one. I didn’t have time to check in because….um….I was busy? Not really I was completely lazy and just wanted to bake things and lay on the couch after my work day. Hopefully you were lucky enough to catch some lazy time too.

Yesterday started with a 6 mile run in 19 degree temps! It was COLD to say the least. I stayed mostly cozy in my cold weather gear. My bottom half was cold again though. I’m thinking an outer layer is going to have to go over my cozy running tights. They aren’t so ‘cozy’ when it’s below 30 degrees and dark outside. But like I’ve said before, this whole running thing is a learning process. And I’ve figured out that my quads and buns need a little extra warmth! 🙂

Deer Hunting?

This weekend starts the deer hunting season where hunters can use guns. It’s been bow season for a while, but I guess gun season is where it’s at?? I know nothing about hunting…if you can’t already tell. And Nick is going deer hunting this weekend with some of his old buddies. Needless to say, I’m a little less than thrilled about the whole event.

I have nothing against hunting really. I grew up in a rural, farming community where just about everyone (except my family) went hunting for each season. But the thought of Nick bringing home an entire deer is overwhelming. We don’t have a big freezer to store the meat after it’s processed, and I don’t particularly like the taste of venison. I think it is rather ‘gamey’ and blahh. For his sake though, I hope he gets a big buck that he can be proud of!

Since Nick will be gone all weekend (Friday afternoon – Sunday evening), I thought it was my duty as a loving girlfriend to bake him some goodies to take along on his hunting trip!….Truthfully, I just love any excuse to bake. So last night I made some blueberry muffins….

image(11)From a box though. Don’t get too excited, people.

image(10)Box or no box, they were still delicious, and we each ate one fresh out of the oven.

I wanted to make something else for him, but I also wanted it to be quick and easy since I was feeling lazy. I came across an awesome recipe for Cheerio peanut butter treats on Pinterest!

photo(52)

Cheerio Peanut Butter Treats

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup light corn syrup
  • 1 cup crunchy or creamy peanut butter (I used crunchy)
  • 1 tbsp vanilla
  • 5 cups Cheerios

Combine the sugar and corn syrup in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir often and bring the mixture to a boil. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and mix in the vanilla and peanut butter. Stir until smooth. Immediately mix in the cheerios 1 cup at a time. It will be thick and hard to stir! Spread this mixture into a greased 13 x 9 pan.

image(12)Let cool and cut into into bars just like rice krispy treats!

photo(51)Tiny dogs anywhere nearby will be watching…and waiting. But since there’s no chocolate, Mac did get a small taste.

Nick and I both loved ’em! They are chewy and bursting with peanut buttery goodness. Plus they took no time at all to throw together since no baking is involved. I think I’ve found my new easy go-to sweet treat to take to any food-related get together. Two pans of these babies would feed a crowd for sure!

The rest of my day will consist of work followed by teaching two Jazzercise classes. The 5:40 pm teacher needed to trade classes. So I will be there tonight instead of tomorrow. Yay for having my Friday evening open! This created a quick change in my half-marathon training schedule. Today will be my cross-training day, and tomorrow I will get in a short run before work (hopefully).

And since I have tomorrow night wide open (no Nick + no Jazzercise), some Christmas decorations might start going up around the house! Yes, it’s early. But my calendar is getting busier everyday, so Christmas may come early for my sanity’s sake. Plus the music is already playing all over the radio, so that makes my decorating a little more legit, right? I’m going to think so.

Have a great day everyone! I’ll see you all tomorrow!