Dear Santa, I've been a good girl this year. Here's all I'm asking for:

I know I haven't posted in a while.  This past week (Thanksgiving) and weekend were crazy.  I'm at work right now, so I don't have access to the awesome photos I took, so I'm just going to put up a post about what I want for Christmas.  So, in no particular order, here's my list:

1. Urban Decay BOS IV

I am, literally, obsessed with Urban Decay Eyeshadow.  It's so versatile, and you can create any look with it.  I know for a fact that I'm getting this.  It was on sale last week, so I ordered it.  Kyle will be giving it to me on Christmas morning.  We'll just see if I can hold out until then.  Don't be surprised if I'm begging for it in a few days.

2. Runner ID Braclet

I know you can't read it, but it says something about how Kyle should buy it for me since he wants me to be safe.  And it's pretty.


3. Target Gift Cards.  We are obsessed with Target.  We go there every weekend.  And since I've lost 55lbs, I desperately need some new clothing. 


4. Nike+ GPS Watch.  I know I'm going out on a limb asking for this, since it's $199, but it's my list, darn it, and I can ask for whatever I want.

5. Some sort of jacket to wear when running.  Right now, all I have is a long sleeve, moisture-wicking shirt.  I know it's going to get down in the teens soon, and I'm going to have to have something more.  I'm not big on brands-anything from Target would do.

That's all I can think of for now, so this is where my list is going to end.  Well, that and my stupid computer at work doesn't work properly, and it's a complete pain in the butt trying to get pics on my blog.  I'll be back tonight to recap Abington Gobble Wobble and Thanksgiving.  Hope you and yours had a great holiday!

Kristin has an Owie....

I haven't run in 2 days.  Why, you ask?  Duh.  Because they were my rest days.

Not really.  I've actually been experiencing pain in the area where my thigh meets my tushie.  I've never had a pinched nerve, but for some reason, I feel like this is what it is.  But what's weird is that it only hurts when I'm sitting in my chair at work.  So, maybe it's the 57897592 year old chair I use at my desk.  I switched with another chair in the office, and it seems to be feeling better.  I'm going to get out there tonight and attempt (attempt being the most important word of this sentence) to do my scheduled 5 mile run.  I'm not going to push it though.  I do have a race to run tomorrow with the beautiful Darrah!

I did the 30 Day Shred last night.  And by do, I mean I flailed around on the floor, attempting to do the moves that Jillian was yelling at me to do.  I'm not going to lie.  I totes half-assed it.  See, Jillian and I have this love/hate relationship.  She loves to yell at me, and I love to hate her.  I do her DVD off and on (usually when I don't feel like going outside to run), and the last time I did it, I couldn't walk for 5 days.  I think I used weights that were way to heavy.  Last night I used my 2lb ones (I'm a badass, I know) since I do have a race tomorrow.  Sadly, those 2lb weights got the best of me.  My arms hurt, but luckly, not my legs. 

I'll be back tomorrow to recap my race.  Wish me luck on my run tonight.  I'm totally bringing my cell phone.  So if I end up more than a mile from home and I can't walk back, I can call Kyle to come pick me up.

FYI

Just wanted to let you guys know that this is what I wear to work at least twice a week:

Because when it comes to winter shoes, I have no fashion sense.

Here are my reasons for wearing them:

1. I have no heat in my office (except for a space heater), and these babies help keep my feet toasty warm.

2. Like I said before, I have no fashion sense, so the only shoes I own are riding boots (not wearing my skinny jeans today, so they wouldn't have worked), peep-toe pumps (which I do wear in the winter, but I haven't given myself a pedicure in a while-so not pretty), and running shoes.

3. They are super comfy.

Can any of you guys out there in blogger land give me some advice on what shoes I should get?  I was all over Kohls and Payless today, but I guess I have different taste then the current trends, because I seriously did not like any of their options.

Runner's Guilt

Lately, I've been having a really hard time dealing with what I like to call Runner's Guilt. 

Right now I'm in the middle of a 10K training plan, with my long runs falling on Sundays.  This past weekend, I ran 6 miles, which is the farthest I've gone so far.   I then always have off Monday and Tuesday, and I feel completely guilty about this.  I *know* that rest days are important.  They're there for a reason.  To give my muscles a chance to rebuild.  But 2 days off?!?!?!  How will I manage?

Yesterday, I convinced myself that even though I had off from running, I was going to do a quick 2 mile run.  (I love that I now think 2 miles is a quick, easy run.) 

And then, my IP band started to hurt.  I quickly came to my senses.  I need to rest.  I WILL NOT go out for a run.  So, instead, I made the excellent decision to go to Chipotle for dinner, and had the greatest burrito ever.  We sat our asses down on the couch and caught up on Dexter and Homeland.  And I don't feel guilty about it at all.  I'll get in my 5 mile run tonight, have a race on Thursday, and another run on Friday and Sunday. 

Unfortunately, I have no picture of the burrito.  It was calling my name, and I chowed down before I had a chance to photograph it.  But I will say, it was as large as my head.  Are you getting an awesome mental image of that?  It was deeeeeelish.  Instead, I will include a pic of my cats being all cute.  Enjoy!

Gourmet Grilled Cheese!

I thought up this receipe last week, and I've been drooling over it ever since.  I'm usually not very creative in the kitchen, so coming up with this is a huge deal for me.  Hoping you'll try it and enjoy it as much as Kyle and I did!

Gourmet Grilled Cheese

Ingredients:
4oz Chicken
2 Slices Turkey Bacon
1/2 of Shredded Cheese, halved
2 Slices of Sourdough Bread
2 Tbsp of BBQ Sauce
2 Tbsp of Butter, halved
And if you want, a glass of wine to enjoy while cooking

Directions:

1. Chop up the 4oz of chicken into bite sized pieces.  I find it's much easier to cut them when the chicken is still frozen slightly.

2. Remove the battery from the smoke detector, since you ALWAYS set it off while cooking bacon.

3. Cook the bacon over medium heat to desired crispiness.  Remove from pan and place on paper towel to cool.

4. Ignore the dog, who is begging silently with his eyes for you to drop something on the floor for him.

4. Cook the chicken over medium heat in non stick pan until brown and cooked all the way through.  While you are cooking the chicken, chop the bacon into small pieces.

4. Put both the chicken and bacon into a bowl and add the 2 tbsp of BBQ sauce and toss to coat.

5. Assemble the sandwich in the following order:

• Slice of bread
• 1/4 Cup of Shredded Cheese
• Bacon/Chicken BBQ Mixture
• 1/4 Cup of Shredded Cheese
• Slice of bread

6. Spread 1 Tbsp of butter onto each slice of bread and cook sandwich on non stick pan over medium heat, flipping once.

7. Put the battery back in the smoke detector (most important step of them all).

Here's the beautiful, finished product:

And here's a pic of pure enjoyment.

Don't you love my awesome orange Flyers shirt that I got for free?  I do.

And I'm off for the night.  To finish my glass of wine and watch a documentary about a lioness and her cubs.  So, that means I will be yelling at the tv.  I know it's 'nature', but it makes me so angry that this other tribe is following her and her babies and trying to kill them.  I mean, jeez, she left the territory they wanted.  Leave her be to raise her young.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

6 Mile Sunday

Sunday is my long-run day, so today was 6 miles.  To be honest, I went out thinking I wouldn't be able to make it.  This would be the longest I've ever run, and I had a 5K race yesterday.  But I was pleasantly surprised with how I did.  I was able to make it with only having to walk once-for only about a quarter mile.  I had a side stitch like no other.  As I promised, I took photos along my route, so you WILL run my route with me-virtually of course.  (Did I sound like Jillian Michaels just then?  That's what I was going for.)

This is my starting point.  I always feel great about my run when I'm here.  That feeling doesn't always last too long though.

This is a draining ditch about a mile into my run.  I'm always afraid to look over and see a dead body floating.  Today though there were only a few ducks.


Here are the temptations on my run:

It always smells so good when I'm doing my nightly run, around 5:30 or so.  I end up picking up my pace when passing by.

My local, awesome Wawa.  I take bathroom pit stops here if necessary.

Mmmm, bacon.  But seriously, this place is gross.  There are a constant stream of trucks, filled with pigs passing by my house.  And to top it off, the smell coming from this place in the summer is horrendous.  Try to imagine the smell of sewage mixed with a rotting body.  At least, that's what I picture it smelling like.  I try not to breath it in, because it's almost like I can taste it.  Disgusting.


And this is what I have to look forward to when I come home:

A bouncing, wiggily, jiggily puppy.  Apparently, he sits in the window, waiting for me to come home the entire time I'm gone.

I ended up running/walking 6.14 miles in 1:07:48, which has me averaging at 11:02/mile.  Here are my splits:

Mile 1:   10:50
Mile 2:   10:36
Mile 3:   10:38
Mile 4:   11:35
Mile 5:   11:03
Mile 6:   10:45

I'm hoping with my increase in running that I'll eventually be more consistent in my miles.  

Surprisingly enough, I'll be back later with a review of my deeeeelish dinner I made tonight.  2 posts in one day?  Must be a record!

Why don't we try again, hmmm?

I tried this whole blogging thing once before, and for some reason, I'm going to try again.  But this time, I'm going to attempt to take more pictures and even possibly post once a day.  Ha!  We'll see how that goes.

So, how about a few things about me that I'm sure you're dying to know about.

1. I live with my boyfriend Kyle, and our many animals.  It's almost like we have our own zoo.  One dog and  four cats (should be 5-but one went missing).  Here's some adorable pics of our pets.

Here's Rupert.  Doesn't he look so cute and sweet?  Don't let him fool you.  He's secretly the devil in cat form.

Here's Hudson.  AKA Smush.  He's a sweet heart, and loves to cuddle.  Don't mind the dirty, gross shoe in the background.  I have since thrown that pair out.

This is Bronx.  He is the laziest, fatest cat that ever existed.  He also purrs constantly.  To the point where it keeps you awake at night.  And yes, my boyfriend does wear Homer Simpson pajama pants.  Jealous?

Out little Peanut Bowie.  Yes, she is named after the wonderful David Bowie.  Yes, she is the most beautiful cat ever.  And yes, it's just her and I in a household of boys.                                                                      

This is our missing Oreo.  He and Rupert got out in July.  We've since found Rupert, and are just hoping that some nice person took Oreo in, since the winter is coming.  We miss him so much.

Last, but not least is little Sawyer.  He's my puggle and is like my child.  He likes to sleep under covers, which is great when it's cold out.  And then he starts dreaming, and kicks you over and over again.  And he snores.  But he's a sweetheart.

2. I've been on Weight Watchers for 6 months, and have lost 55lbs.  I started running about 4 months ago, and I love it.  Here's a before pic of me:

This is at 192lbs.  Gross. 
And here's the after:

I still have about 15lbs to goal, but I will get there eventually.  Doesn't matter how long it takes, I will succeed.

3. I am obsessed with Haribo Gummi Bears.  Kyle and I went to 5 Below last night, and I have never been more excited about finding this purchase.  Kyle thinks I'm crazy.

I'm not entirely sure of how many bears there are in this huge bag, but I'm thinking of putting each flavor in a separate bag.  Because I'm normal, and eat them in a specific color order.


4. I knit.  It's like meditation for me.  I just sit and watch tv and zone out.  I've only ever finished one project, and I'm in the process of 2 more.  Here they are:

This is a cozy (cozie?) I made for my brand new iPod touch.  I can make you one.  I offered to make Kyle on and he declined, for some reason?

I started this scarf in the summer.  It's about double the length of what you see now.  I was going to make it a regular, full length scarf, but I'm thinking of just making it an infinite scarf at this point.  I'm sure it won't be finished before the winter is over though.

This is the sweater I'm making.  Right now, I'm knitting the body of it.  I have no idea what to do when I get to the arm holes.  I'll probably make it up as I go.  Since the directions for it are translated from Norwegian into English.  And they don't really make a lot of sense.


5. I am obsessed with Urban Decay eyeshadow.  Here's what I have so far:

And this is the only thing I want for Christmas:

Isn't it beautiful?


6. I can finally say that I am a runner.  I started about 4 months ago, have run in a few races, and am doing a 10K (6.2 miles) training program right now.  My goal is to eventually move to half-marathon and then marathon.  I may not be the fastest runner out there, but when I started I could only go for about 30 seconds before I started to die a little on the inside.  I now regularly run 5 miles at once.  I had a 5K this morning, and PR'ed.  30:54.  Boom goes the dynamite.  Here's me in my super cute running outfit.  Don't I look sexy and svelte?

You can't see my running shoes in the picture, so feast your eyes on these beauties.

They're Brooks Adrenaline.  They are my besties.


7. I am the messiest person in the world.  I tend to do laundry, and then never put it away.  It's gotten out of control.  Here's a picture of my clothes that I have at least separated into piles on my bed.  There's a pile of towels, undies/socks, and clothes that need hung up.  (And stop trying to zoom in on my undies.  There's nothing to see.  Pretty boring.)

8. I read.  All the time.  My beautiful collection of books:

Do any insurance companies have a plan for books?  Kinda like the ones you have for your expensive jewelry.  Because, lets be honest, I have none of that.  I spend all my money on books.  And yarn.  And eyeshadow.

9. I <3 TV.  Here's a pic of it:

Kyle's out having lunch with his friend.  So I'm catching up on all the shows on my DVR that Kyle refuses to watch.  Here's the list.

Beavis & Butthead and Top Gear are not mine.  Obviously, I watch shows with much more intelligence.  Like TMZ.

10.  I love wine.  Nothing more needs to be said.

Yes, that's a $6.00 bottle of wine.  Yes, I am cheap.

11. Lastly, I am addicted to coffee.  Specifically, Wawa brand.  And if you aren't from the Philly/NJ/Delaware/Maryland area, look up Wawa.  It is the greatest.

That's about all I have to say for now.  I'm off to knit and watch all that tv I have saved.  I promise to be back tomorrow.  (But let's be honest, it probably won't be until Monday.)  I have a 6 mile run scheduled for tomorrow, so maybe if you're lucky, I'll take pics of my route so you can virtually run it with me.