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).

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.

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.

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.

After an hour, it was finally put together with all the pieces though.

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.

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!