Dried pine needles litter the floor, half the ornaments are cozy in tissue paper and put away in the box, turkey noodle soup is on the stove and turkey salad is in the ‘fridge ready for sandwiches tomorrow.
Here we are 3 days post Christmas and the kids are still in their jammies ~ one with a slight fever and one still napping at 6:30pm {yikes!}
The house is semi back-to-normal…dishwasher is empty, laundry is {almost} caught up, the upstairs is vacuumed, there is one bag ready for Goodwill and the new toys and goodies have found a home.
Jay’s poor uncle is stuck in Miami until Friday, though. He can’t get a flight out to NYC until then….thank goodness he has a friend in South Florida.
A little sad that it’s all over, but looking forward to another New Year’s Eve close to home {on our street!} and possibly {OK, for sure} some karaoke. Look out Beyonce…..
Some good stuff is already on the calendar for January ~ 1st or 2nd {Rose Parade float viewing} and then the following weekend is reserved to help my bestie welcome the big FOUR-OH! Trying to figure out how to wrap her walker and making a mental note to head to Wal-mart for some Geritol!
Should be fun.
Then it’s back the the ol grind with school, homework, sight words, dance class and workouts!
I have let myself slide since December 5th…too much indulging and certainly not enough activity.
OK, so maybe a {little} activity, but certainly not enough!
Now to vacuum up those pine needles and ladle up that soup.
Hope your Tuesday had you relishing in the last few days of 2010!
25% of the food shopping for the next 3 days has been completed.
Absolutely 0% of the 90% of the gifts have been wrapped.
That leaves lots of stuff to do today!
Factor in a haircut for Elliott, 4pm mass and 11 guests for lasagna dinner tonight.
Jay will get the turkey in the brine and help Santa by picking up a surprise for under the tree…
Coffee is brewing.
Lots of it.
*****
Night One was a success with Ameci’s pizza and Sonoma Salad : Chardonnay and Blue Moons : A plate of Italian Wedding Cookies, macaroons, jam thumbprint cookies and saltine toffee.
And Toy Story 3.
{Elliott & Holden enjoying the movie with Grunc, their Great Uncle}
I remember getting my first official business cards when I was with HSBC.
“Marketing Coordinator”
It was so exciting to see my name and title printed on the little cards….
Gosh, that was about 10 years ago.
I received a fun early Christmas goodie from one of my best fellow mama friends, Mel:
I’ve seen these and wanted to get myself some…..
They’re the perfect little gifty for the mamas in your life.
How many times have you rummaged around in your purse to find a scrap of paper and a pen to jot down your info? These are MUCH cuter and fit nicely in your wallet. I sent one to school with Elliott today…she has a little classmate that she wants to arrange a playdate with ~ she said “Mommy, don’t forget to give me one of your cards!” So fun.
You may want to grab a cup of coffee, tea or hot cocoa. This is going to be a mile long Monday post!
Things are heating up and the clock is ticking ~ less than 2 weeks and Santa will be coming down the chimney. This week is BUSY. So much on the holiday plate {more like a HUGE platter!}:
Make loads of puppy chow and saltine toffee, share holiday traditions in Elliott’s class, shop for white elephant gift and gift for Jay’s boss, pick up Christmas card photos, print letters, address, seal and stamp 120 envelopes, menu plan for 7+ guests here for Christmas, etc. etc.
Not to mention I’ve only bought about 2.5 gifts and haven’t wrapped a thing!
Last month when I glanced at “December” on the calendar I knew it was going to be full, but isn’t it always? Something BIG going on every weekend…Vegas, Jay’s b-day and company party, Elliott’s Winter Recital and then, BAM!, Christmas! And, of course, there are all the little things sprinkled in amongst the big ones ~ school parties, playdates, laundry, dishes, homework, studying sight words, dance class ~ which brings me to the “something’s gotta give” thing. This week dance class lost out. I finally realized that I was packing WAY too much in. I felt terrible that she had to miss it, but at that moment, I needed to make sure that Jay’s b-day dinner was top priority.
*****
Saturday evening was Jay’s holiday party which is always a good time. It’s held at the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley. It’s so neat to sit under Air Force One and enjoy appetizers, martinis, dinner, chats and dancing with fun co-workers!
Each year I stress on what to wear…finding the perfect dress, shoes and accessories. This year a new dress was out of the question. I do have a gorgeous plum colored number from Banana that I got earlier in the year that I was planning on wearing, however, my foot/ankle has really been bothering me the last few days so I knew heels were also out of the question. I decided on a pair of shoes and then built the outfit around them.
I bought these little plaid mary janes for like $2.50 at Target and then glue-gunned on the rosettes.
Jay said it was “business casual” {perfect!} so I immediately thought that the festive pantalones rojos would make an appearance. I just paired them with an old black top, cropped short-sleeved sweater, my crazy “Vegas” necklace and red rosette statement ring.
Done.
Comfy. Festive. Comfy. Casual. Comfy. {did I mention that?}
{The above pic cracked me up. I think, in this situation, Jay enjoys being the photographer because he doesn’t have to dance!}
{California Gurls!}
Cheesy background shot:
Group Shot:
We hired a babysitter for the first time ever! A super sweet girl from across the street. No, I didn’t call once to check up, however, SHE called us at midnight to get some idea of when we’d be home! Oops…I think I forgot to mention that. We were still in Simi waiting for the valet to bring us the car!
I think it’s evident by the photos that we had a good time.
*****
Then yesterday I had my monthly Bitch Bingo session with the ladies.
So much fun….and I won twice!
It was a brunch and I brought Creme Brulee French Toast. This is a recipe that my sister told me about years ago and I am just now getting around to trying it. I MUST share it with you!
It’s the perfect thing to assemble on Christmas Eve and then bake up Christmas morning and serve while opening gifts.
*****
Last night Jay and the kids decorated the annual gingerbread house.
Royal icing and mini gum drops everywhere!
*****
Oh, and the weather is crazy warm for this time of year. There’s something just not right with going to see all the Christmas lights in a tank top and flip flops!
Hmmm, I wonder if I could come up with a joke based on this post’s title….
A dolphin and a unicorn walk {er….swim/fly?} into a bar….
Can you tell the caffeine hasn’t quite kicked in yet on this Friday morn?
Anywhoo, last night our good friends and old neighbors from Nor Cal passed through on their way to the O.C. and delivered some Christmas goodies for E & H.
All I can say is THANK YOU Logan & Finley…now I don’t have to hear, “I want a {pi-woe} pet! I want to ask Santa for a Pi-woe pet!”
And that commercial ~ “It’s a pillow, it’s a pet, it’s a Pillow Pet!”
How many times have we all heard that?
We’re now the proud owners of:
and
Even though I am not a big fan of stuffed animals, these are great because the kids were excited to go to bed AND they are one-piece!
{Don’t worry Santa Gramma, I was informed this morning that Dolphin & Unicorn need friends so we’re happy to adopt two more!}
*****
Tonight we’re celebrating Jay’s happy day with a Spanish inspired feast:
My Wednesday started off taking this little guy to Elliott’s classroom:
{This pic is from several Christmases ago, but he wore the same collar today}
It’s share day and this week’s letter is “D”.
Dog. Dachshund.
She wanted to share Rascal SOOOO bad so last week I sent her teacher an e-mail to see if this would be OK {afterall, one of her little classmates shared a snake for “S’ week!}
{Rassy sitting with Elliott earlier this year when she was under the weather}
I hadn’t heard anything back until yesterday when I got the OK to share Rascal first thing this morning.
Ugh!
It’s the LAST thing I wanted to do.
But, Elliott was so excited. How could I say, “no”?
I had to wake Holden from a deep sleep and drag him in his buggie jammies to E’s class. I’m sure I was a sight carrying a wiener dog in a Santa collar with a pajama’d 3-year old in tow.
However, Rascal was a gentleman and behaved beautifully. He let all 25 kids pet him and got lots of sniffs and kisses in.
Elliott demonstrated how Rascal sits and waits for a treat and answered a couple classmate’s questions and Pajama Boy, Rassy and I were off!
Oh, and I had to bribe Holden to get him out the door ~ so it was off to the {d}onut shop we went!
I should write a book entitled, “Half-marathons For Dummies” and submit it to the series of “for dummies” books.
I know it makes more sense to run a few 5Ks or 10Ks first, but it IS possible to jump right into a half marathon. No, I did not train the best that I could. No, I am not in tiptop physical shape. No, I do not {enjoy} running. But I finished my first half marathon. That was my goal ~ to simply FINISH. Get that medal. And not be the LAST one across the finish line. It’s doable and I highly recommend it.
Once my body recovers, I’ll look into my next challenge. But right now I am hurting. My toenails hurt. My lower back hurts. I have a blister on the side of my left foot. One toenail dug into it’s neighboring toe on my right foot. But I feel {good}. The black cloud that was this half marathon hanging over my head for the past few weeks has lifted. I can now celebrate the holidays carefree. I have been given an early Christmas gift in the form of a medal on a red ribbon.
I cannot believe that it was a year ago when I committed to this venture. You can read about it here.
As we drove into Vegas, I became a little anxious. We picked up my bib and I immediately noticed that the participants came in all shapes and sizes. Not everyone was your typical marathon runner look alike. I immediately became less intimidated and just kept telling myself…”you can do this”.
We got back to the room after our Buca di Beppo dinner and I pinned my bib on my shirt and attached the timing tag to my shoe. In less than 10 hours it was show time and there was NO turning back.
I awoke several times during the night. Afraid I was going to miss the wake-up call. I got up around 5am and had a banana and half a Luna bar. I drank some water and tried to hit that fine line of being hydrated enough but not too much that I had to use the dreaded port-a-potty!
Jay and I left the room around 6am and began the mile walk to Mandalay Bay. I checked in my bag and stood in line for the potties {darn it!}. I was in corral 22 so that meant I had some extra time. I would start the race about 30 minutes after the official start. This is done to alleviate too many bodies going out at once. {the chip on my shoe registers the time I cross the starting line and the finish line ~ not the official clock time}
Here I am in my corral:
The first several miles were fine. I pared down my playlist the night before and just had the {good stuff} ~ Katy & Snoop, Lady Gaga, Pink, Usher, Taio Cruz, Bruno Mars.
There were some awesome signs and posters along the way…
“Keep running…there’s FREE BEER at the finish line!”
“Your feet hurt because you’re kicking so much ass!”
“Run like Tiger’s wife is chasing you!”
“In my eyes, you’re all Kenyan!”
There were lots of high fives with high school cheerleaders.
All these things were little boosts.
Once we left the strip, we soon entered the downtown area and it was quite evident…$40/night hotels, increased Police presence and instead of Cytomax and water, there was beer being handed out courtesy of a seedy little hole in the wall. I kid you not…there was a homeless looking {gentleman} that pulled out a table and a tray with clear plastic cups filled half way with a dark beer. I thought that was awesome, but declined as I still had 7 miles to go!
I made it to about 8 miles and my feet began to feel it. I started walking and figured I could walk faster than I was shuffling along! At that point I was amongst a lot of walkers and wasn’t going to kid myself that I could shuffle along for the next 5 miles. I just power walked and enjoyed it. Kind of like when you finally cave in and get an epidural after being in labor…the pain is gone and now you can relax and enjoy your labor.
Even though I kept to myself and listened to my iPod, I felt connected with the others on the course. We were just plugging away…all trying to get to the same place…one step at a time.
My mom and my babies waiting to cheer me on:
Here I am at about the 12 mile mark:
And here I am with an ice cold MGD 64 at the end!
*****
It was an AMAZING experience.
I’m glad it’s over, but I’m excited to see what I do next.
I simply cannot explain what it feels like to be out there amongst 28,000 other athletes and FINISH what I started.
If it feels this good to finish a half, I CANNOT imagine the feeling of finishing a full marathon.
May I encourage you to think about doing this race next year? It is not at all intimidating. It’s casual. It’s flat! It’s a blast. Or, if you live elsewhere and Vegas isn’t an option, check your area for other half marathons throughout the year ~ there are lots.
THANK YOU for ALL your encouragement and cheerleading along this journey. I drew from all your support along the way and it certainly helped get me to the end. But the journey isn’t over….it’s just beginning.
Ask Santa for a pair of running shoes for Christmas.
We finally uploaded our Thanksgiving Weekend pics to the computer and YES we did feed marine life on Turkey Day.
We took the kiddos on their maiden voyage to Sea World ~ many thanks to Gramma K for treating!
Getting his bearings:
A quick whirl on the Elmo ride:
You’d of thought we were at Disneyland with the permagrin on his face!
Gramma & Elliott bringing up the rear in the zebra Elmo:
“Petting” the manta rays:
Then it was lunchtime {for them not us!}:
Do I have to touch it?
I rolled up my sleeves and got in there:
Then we went to “Blue Horizons” {dolphin show}. I must say that they have stepped this show up and it {almost} has a little Cirque du Soleil feel to it. Costumed acrobats swinging & twirling over the tank. Divers. The whole nine. I was pretty impressed.
{Sorry. No pictures of that part, though.}
We then ventured to see the sharks followed by the sea lions.
This guy {gal?} was quite vocal:
Holden LOVED feeding these guys.
First you hold a mackerel in your hand and bring it up over your head:
…then fling it into the exhibit:
{I was thankful for warm water and antibacterial soap at this point}
We then saw the Holiday Paws show and got to pet the pot belly pig:
Then it was another visit to Santa and then some face time with Shamu.
Elliott really wanted to ice skate.
If you’re going to feed a sea lion on Thanksgiving, why not go ice skating, too?
A tuckered Holdy cuddling with Gramma:
All laced up and ready to roll….I mean skate!
If this isn’t Southern California I don’t know what is….the sun setting over the Pacific, palm tree silhouettes, sea gulls in flight:
Gorgeous!
{This part really made me miss my hometown}
Holden awoke from his power nap and was ready to join in on the rink action:
After the drive to SD and an afternoon at Sea World, we capped off our Thanksgiving with Panda Express!
It was a departure from the norm on Turkey Day, but so welcomed.
My Dad made it into San Diego late that evening and we ended up having our feast and giving our official thanks on Friday evening. We had some family friends {who my parents have known for 50 years!} join us. Holden came down with a low grade fever that afternoon so between giving him doses of Advil, making sure Toy Story 2 was playing, visiting with dear friends and eating, we didn’t get any pics of the spread! But Elliott did help Gramma earlier in the day with the stuffing:
She added plenty of pepper!
Friday afternoon before dinner we also took a drive through Balboa Park. I love driving down the 163 corridor past the zoo…so beautiful. We drove by the organ pavillion and across the bridge and reminisced about our wedding day 6 years ago.
On Saturday we were able to catch up with more old friends. Jay and Elliott went to visit one of the groomsmen in our wedding while I stayed home with Holden and kept his fever at bay. I also ran/walked to the mall near my Mom’s place to fetch our holiday ornaments which you can read about here. It was literally over the bridge and under the freeway to the Westfield mall I go! There is a trail that goes along the lake {Lake Hodges} and under the 15 freeway and puts you right at the mall. So yes, I got this year’s ornaments “on foot”.
Saturday night I met up with my high school besties and we went to a 40th surprise party. It’s so nice to just be able to pick up where you left off so to speak. We met up for a pre-party libation and then their lovely 16-year old daughter drove us to and from the party. It was great to get caught up with old faces and celebrate more folks turning the BIG FOUR-OH!
