lucy turns 11 ...

No, I don't have a cat named Lucy. Or a dog. Or even a fish. (I'm not exactly an animal lover.)

But, I am a lover of adorable workout gear. And where can you get adorable workout gear? That's right, at Lucy. And it just so happens that Lucy Activewear is celebrating their 11th birthday tomorrow with a HUGE sale.


So, if you are looking for some new clothes for the cooler temperatures or if you just want to send me a gift (I wear a small and you can email me for my address ...), then print out the above coupon and take it to the nearest Lucy store or click on it and shop from the comfort of your own home.

Happy Shopping!

my Christmas card obsession ...

For as long as I can remember, I have been using a computer. As a child (I'm talking 5 or 6 years old) we had a Commodore 64 and when that computer "died," it was replaced with the latest and greatest (as was each subsequent computer). Because of this, I've always been a fan of technology and how it can make our lives simpler.

But as much as the world has gone digital, I can't seem to let go of a couple of "old fashion" means of communication. I still have a land-line. I can't bear to pay my bills electronically. And I ALWAYS send Christmas cards. And not just any Christmas cards. Holiday Photo Cards from Shutterfly.

You might even say that I am obsessed. OK, I am obsessed. It's just that I can ALWAYS find the perfect design on the Shutterfly website. With styles ranging from "simple and classic" to "bold and modern", I'm never disappointed. Plus, photo cards are super cute and I love to see how the girls changed through the years. You want to see how they've changed too, don't you? Well, here you go ...

2008
2009

And the soon to be distributed (family members look away NOW), 2010

So, how do I end up with such amazing Christmas cards?

For me, the process is simple.

1. I take a zillion and one photos throughout the year, in search of the "perfect shot."
2. I start to narrow down my selection of card designs in late September/early October.
3. I choose a design, a photo and have 100+ cards printed. (I use all the photos that don't make it onto the card in calendars that I give as gifts.)
4. I address and stamp all the cards by hand and have them in the mail the day after Thanksgiving. (My Christmas card is sure to be the first you'll receive).
5. I sit around and wait for cards in return.

Yeah, I'm not OCD at all ...

Three Things Thursday ...

1. Thank you to everyone who "liked" my photo for the Running Skirts Halloween Contest. I truly appreciate it. With that said, if you didn't head over there yet and want to help me and my little sister win for our "Tortoise and the Hare" costumes, you still can. All you need to do is "Like" the Running Skirts fan page HERE and then click "like" on our photo HERE. (I am so not above begging ...)

2. Speaking of Facebook, I was messing around on it yesterday and clicked on "Page Suggestions." When I did, it showed me a list of my Facebook friends who have the most "likes" in common with me. Here's the list ...

Does anyone else think it's odd that the 15 people I have the most in common with are all fellow bloggers? It's probably because we are all runners and all love a good giveaway, but don't you think it is strange that none of my non-blogging friends were able to break into the list? Just saying. (Note: the top 25 people were all bloggers, I just couldn't get the whole list in my screen shot).

3. And if you are Facebook friends with me, you might have noted that I found out my bib number for next weekend's 8K and I COULDN'T BE MORE EXCITED. (I'm totally a numbers person.)

Anyway, my bib number is 15275. Do you see why this is a good number? No? Well, I will explain.

My goal for this race is sub-40. My current PR is 41:58, which means I need to beat my PR by 1:59 to hit my goal.

Well, 152 + 7 = 159 and the race is 5 miles long (OK, it's 4.97, but it's close enough). Basically, this bib number was designed especially for me. And that has to be a good sign.

slumber party ...

I mentioned last week that Dilly is no longer sleeping in her crib. She made the transition to her queen size bed (which she looks mini in) and has been sleeping like a champ. Ever since Dilly upgraded her evening accommodations, Dizzle and Doodle have wanted to bunk with her. On Monday night, we finally gave in.


Couldn't you just eat them up? (And yes, I am ignoring the fact that it took them FOREVER to fall asleep. And that they all ended up back IN THEIR OWN beds.)

please vote for me ...

Remember those wicked cute Tortoise and the Hare costumes that my sister and I wore on Halloween? (which you all said you LOVED by the way)


Yeah, those ones. Well, we submitted our photo to the Running Skirts Facebook Fan page HERE for their Halloween Costume Contest. The three photos with the most "likes" win an outfit from Running Skirts. And we'd REALLY love to win.

So, we are asking (begging, really) for your help. Would you vote for us? PRETTY PLEASE?

Here's all you need to do.

Head over to the Running Skirts Facebook Page HERE and "like" their page. Then find this photo in the RunningSkirts Halloween Contest album (you can click on the one in this post to go directly to it) and "like" it.

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

October Rewind ...

10 down, two to go. Here is my October 2010 in review ...

Miles Planned/Miles Ran: 154.2/168.1 (which brings me to 1468.58 on the year. Only 31.42 until 1,500!)

Rest Days Planned/Rest Days Taken: 9/12 (That whole marathon thing took more out of me than I suspected it would.)

Highest Mileage Week: 10/4-10/10: 39.5 miles (taper and recovery make for low(er) mileage weeks)

Long Runs Planned/Long Runs Completed: 5/5

Donuts Burned: 121 (my favorite statistic on Dailymile)

Current Book: Funny. Did you really think I was going to have time to read a book while I was suffering from Taper Madness and subsequently recovering from my marathon? Really? Well, obviously you don't know me that well ...

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: CHOCOLATE. We bought 60 FULL-SIZE candy bars for Halloween. Guess how many trick-or-treaters we had. FOUR. Leaving us with 56 FULL-SIZE candy bars. Add that to all of the junk my kids brought home and it's just a recipe for disaster ...

Current Colors: Turquoise and Green

Current Drink: Dunkin Donuts French Vanilla Coffee. With the temperatures dropping, I find myself drinking it non-stop just to stay warm.

Current Song: Take It Off - Ke$ha

Current Triumph: My 17 minute marathon PR. Oh, and dropping the eight pounds I managed to pick up during Taper Madness ...

Current Goal: Demolish my 8K PR (41:57) on the 13th. I am so.very.ready.

Current Blessing: Pretty much everything. Life is pretty sweet right now. And I don't take that for granted.

Current Excitement: I am SUPER pumped to run the HCA 8K on November 13th. And I am BEYOND EXCITED for our Christmas present to the girls - A trip to Disney in 42 days!

spooky ..

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I love sweets. I love trick-or-treating. And I LOVE dressing up (Shocking, right? I'm sure that you'd never guess that by looking at my running apparel ...) In fact, I already have the girls' costumes for NEXT YEAR already picked out. You might say that I am mildly obsessed. But, my obsessions are not important. What is important is that my kids had a blast yesterday.

We started the day with some pumpkin carving (which was messier than I would have liked). Then after a quick nap for Dilly (who's sleeping like a rock in her new bed), we headed out to Dizzle's soccer game, where she scored her FIRST GOAL EVER! It was an awesome moment. The look of surprise on her face was CLASSIC. And just moments after the shock wore off, she scored ANOTHER GOAL. It was total rock star material.

After the game, we headed over to Dizzle's BFF's house for our traditional Halloween celebration and trick-or-treating. For the girls, it was pretty much heaven. Both Dizzle and Doodle got to chill with their best friends. They stocked up on WAY TO MUCH candy. And they laughed the entire time. It was fantastic. Here, take a look at some of my favorite shots from the day ...

Me and my sister in our "Tortoise and the Hare" costumes
All the kidsDoodle and BOur whole groupMe and G (Note: J as a track and field athlete standing behind us)Doodle and B on the huntDizzle running to the next houseDilly giving me the "evil eye" when I tried to take her candy

Cute, right? I so can't wait until next year ...