busy-not at leisure; otherwise engaged

that, my friends, is the definition of busy according to dictionary.com. no complaints here, i was definitely enjoying the Christmas/holiday season, but i couldn't seem to find time to update my blog!

how was your Christmas/holiday celebration? my fellow Minnesotans, how did you feel about the 'brown' Christmas we've had?

well, as much as i do enjoy snow and getting in the Christmas spirit with a winter wonderland, i made the best of the 'brown' Christmas we had this year and even will admit that i enjoyed being able to run outside without having to wear 4 layers and slipping everywhere! :)

this Christmas seemed extra special for reasons that i can't quite pinpoint, but i can take a few guesses....

1. i got to spend the couple weeks before Christmas having a great friend of mine stay at my place (what up, MOH)....we had SOOO many laughs, reminisced about the good ol' days (cause we're so old and wise) and created so many new memories and outrageous sayings that wouldn't make sense to anyone, but us....

2. being able to see my basketball girls enjoy the Christmas season and 'Secret Santas' put me in a festive mood. has anyone else noticed that as you get older, Christmas seems to be a bit more stressful than enjoyable with all the spending money, long 'To-Do' lists and traveling? these girls keep me grounded and made me realize Christmas can be easy and enjoyable.

3. i absolutely LOVE giving presents. i am a person who would rather give presents than get presents, but being short on money can make this difficult and stressful. i realized a little creativity and planning can go a long way! i was able to stay within budget and give some of the best/creative gifts yet! yaay!

4. simplicity--maybe this is what the 'youngens' are doing right to enjoy Christmas....this season will always be hectic, but there is no reason why it cannot be simple at the same time. i found myself truly enjoying the simple thingsthis year:. time with friends, decorating the Christmas tree, enjoying the scent of a holiday candle (seriously, has anyone tried the Glade holiday candles? AMAZING!), enjoying the peace and quiet of an evening run in the snow and cuddling up with my mf and favorite kitten just watching TV. slow down, enjoy it! it's the most wonderful time of the year!

5. TRADITIONS! my family and i have always had the tradition of attending the candlelight Church service and afterwards,  gorging ourselves with crab legs (and butter) along with pecan pie on Christmas eve. in my mind, you can't beat this tradition! my oldest brother, Nic, coming home has also turned into tradition! his life is very 'Hollywood', so he only gets to come home twice a year and having him home is a really special treat (for the most part...). 

 

this was the first Christmas my mf and i have spent together, so we decided to create a few of our own traditions....

we put up our own Christmas tree! we had a lot fun doing this (Henry was a big help as well) and we are quite proud of our first Christmas tree :)

another tradition we decided to do was to write down all of the memories of 2011....on an ornament! we bought a big green ornament and wrote down big milestones of 2011 in black permanent marker. we really had a great year together and can't wait to see what memories can be put on 2012's ornament.

do you have any Christmas traditions? i think they are so fun and really add to the meaning of Christmas!

always striving for more,
dee b.

slacker....

my sincerest apologies friends for neglecting my blog for so long! it  has been over a week since i have written a post....

do i have an excuse? not really, just been very busy with LIFE!

updates in my life:.
>i am going to my hometown this weekend to see one of my good friends get married! i am so excited to see her little family officially become one!
>i am having a GREAT friend of mine stay with me for 2 weeks (we are already  1 week in). it is so wonderful to have her around to talk with, take my mind off of other things and workout with! ok, we have only worked out once together, but she does hold me accountable to go to bed earlier which is something i should HAVE to work on! you can also blame her for being the reason my blog has been slacking...jk, she was the first one who pointed out that i was slacking!
>i have been able to get about 2-3 runs, 2 yoga classes and at least 1-2 weight lifting sessions in per week. much better improvement than before, however still a lot of room for improvement, i'll get there!

one thing that i think has allowed me to stay in shape while not putting in as much time in the gym is going in there with an intention. i have found that you can accomplish a lot by only spending 30 mins in the gym if you know what to do. besides, there is nothing worse then spending an hour in the gym and realizing it was a waste of time and you could've burned more calories cleaning (which is also an area that is slacking...), am i right?


i found this wonderful link to carrie underwood's leg workout, who doesn't want legs like carrie (or arms or hair or teeth for that matter)? she is absolutely stunning! not the, 'of course she looks good in an evening gown' stunning, but the stunning that still looks good kicking it in sweats, no makeup and greasy hair! can you tell i may be slightly jealous?

http://www.bodyincredible.com/incredible-bodies-2-those-legs-are-amazing-and-heres-how-to-achieve-them/

anyway, i am currently trying to compile little workouts like this one to target certain areas that i can either do at home or before practice at the gym. they will even come in handy if i ever decide to get my butt out of bed in the early morning for a short yet, effective workout. stay tuned for more!


goals:.
>start training for the annual sprint triathlon that is held in my hometown every spring. last year i was not able to participate due to my knee surgery, but plan to participate and be in great shape when i do!
>go thru my clothes and simplify my closet, who doesn't need to do this? luckily i have 2 closets in my room, but with my friend staying with me, we are both realizing we have TOO many clothes. this is going to be something we will accomplish together.
>TRY getting out of bed next week for an early morning workout. i have been failing at this so miserably that i will set an alarm early enough to workout, but then oversleep and barely have enough time to get ready for work, yikes. i need to do better. also, if i am going to start swimming for this triathlon, the pool right across the street from my house (literally, right across the street which makes me look even more pathetic) has open swim from 7-9 am 3 days/wk.
>pay off my iPad. i finally have the money to do this and need to this ASAP before that money magically disappears....
>finish my christmas shopping:. my parents, brother and sister-in-law, and mf are completed! yaay! i get super excited to GIVE presents for Christmas! i also am known to get so excited that the presents don't stay a surprise for too long. here's to a new christmas tradition:. not spending over my budget on presents and keeping everyone's presents a secret.....

that is all i can think of for now, my mind is already checked out looking foward to a weekend full of fun!

what are you all up to this weekend? how's your christmas shopping going?

always striving for more,
dee b.