Did I tell you....................


That we were going on vacation after Christmas? We have been spending our days laying in the sun on the beach sipping a variety of cold beverages. Yesterday I met someone that lives 20 minutes from us and they reported snow in our city, making our vacation all that much sweeter.


I am not going to spend much time on the computer since (my) Mister and I are having so much fun being alone together. I just came in to check on things at home and thought I would check in here also and give you a peek of what is to come when I fill you in on all the details of vacation.


The veiw from our roomThe swim-up pool barTwinkle toes

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true loves gave to me...............


A precious snowman ornament with a bucket hat to hang on my little snowman tree.

And some new flossing supplies. Ya, I am that obsessive compulsive about flossing my teeth! One of my favorite memories of (my) Mister's mom was the time I innocently confessed to flossing while driving. First the look of shock (YOU WHAT?), followed by the roll of the eyes (she was not a roll-the-eyes-kind-of gal) kept me smiling for weeks.

And Sheri, I promised you a peek at the hot little number I got (my) Mister for one of his gifts...

Boxers that are monogrammed "Handsome Devil"

Complete with horns and a tail...

We think Ben is a handsome devil too!

On the tenth day of Christmas my true loves gave to me.............

A little wall hanging that says, "Snow glad it's winter," and lottery tickets, which I let my youngest scratch off for me (she gets a much bigger thrill out of it than I do) AFTER making it clear the winnings were ALL MINE! (my) Mister had told me he had infused the tickets with good energy, and as a result we won $15.00! Of course, I had to point out that between the two of us (my) Mister had spent $14.00 on tickets, so once you took that out of the winnings (a total of $16.00 it wasn't nearly as much as it sounded. I really have no problem with people gambling responsibly, I just prefer to not spend my money that way. I'm taking my fifteen bucks and buying something practical. Like a new pair of (clearance) heels.

Best Christmas surprise ever!..............................

My oldest (who lives out of state) came home last night to surprise me. Normally she goes to her dad's house for the day before the day before and Christmas eve (the day before in case you were confused) and I don't see her until 10:00 PM on Christmas Eve. It was such a great gift to have her home just to hang out. She may be grown and have a life of her own, but she is still my baby and I feel wonderful when I have all my little chicks under my roof again, if only for one night.

When her sister got out of work the three of us went to the new bar and grill in town (the old bar burnt down sometime last year) which was suppose to be upscale from the old place. It was the first time any of us had been in, and it was kind of sad for the oldest (she had worked there for a second job during her summer vacations while she was in college) but the place really is very nice.

The grill has a chef that has worked in New York city so I put him to the test and requested that he make me something raw for my dinner. The waitress brought me a lettuce wrap, and I felt like a celebrity when the chef came out of the kitchen to explain the dish to me, and make sure I liked it. He told me that I had caught him off guard with my request (I am so good at catching people off guard with things that I say and do) and that he hasn't been ask for a raw dish since leaving the Big Apple. Then he came back to our table after I had time to eat to make sure he had satisfied me. Coupled with being with my girls it was one of the coolest dining experiences I have ever had and I only had to drive two blocks from home for it. Pretty cool.

The dish, in case you are interested, was fairly simple, but his addition of fresh herbs and the way he seasoned it created a taste out of this world and mouth thought she had died and gone to heaven.

We came home and sat outside in the hot tub to continue our girl-talk ending the evening with lots of extra hugs and promises of a combination of good (fresh veggie juice from my new juicer) and bad (french toast made with home made cinnamon bread) carbs for breakfast. Who could ask for more?

On the ninth day of Christmas my true loves gave to me..............

The matching trash can to the tissue holder. Unable to contain herself any longer, my youngest said, "Okay. I know it's improper, but that is a $25.00 basket and I got it for $5.00. It totally doubled my enjoyment!
And this cute little snowman candle. I know (my) Mister reads my blog, not because he ever says anything about any of the post, but because of what he said as he was handing me the gift. "Notice that it is wrapped?" To which I replied, "You spent money on a bag?" Puffed with pride he says, "Nope! I re-gifted it to you." There is hope for him yet!!!

Christmas traditions...........................

Now that my children are adults, it is time to tweak some of our family Christmas traditions. On the chance that you are looking to do the same, I thought I would share what we have done.

For as long as I can remember, it wasn't Christmas until the picture with Santa was acquired. Great children that I have, they continued to comply with my wishes, all through high school, college, real employment... Last year when we showed up at the mall for the annual picture, Santa was on a coffee break. Not wanting to hang around waiting, we came up with the idea that I would be Santa (a MUCH cuter version of course), so I sat in his chair, the kids climbed up beside me and we had a stranger snap our picture. That is when we decided we would move from the traditional mall Santa to more adventurous ones each year. This year we went to Home Depot and posed with one of those blow up lawn Santa perched high on a shelf. I cropped out the faces for blog safety, but here is what a kind stranger captured for us:

It's that great? We are already thinking up next years adventure.

Also, for as long as memory serves, my Christmas Eves included the reading of the traditional Christmas story of Baby Jesus's birth, and being able to open one gift which ALWAYS happen to be new pajama's so we would look good in Christmas morning pictures (took me years to figure that one out on my own). Over the years I maintained this tradition, passing it down to my children, regardless of what I did the rest of the evening with my various partners. Last year I added one more piece that I hope my grand kids pass on to their kids (Wait! Dogs and cats can't talk...Maybe someday...)

About six weeks before Christmas (so no one could come up with the excuse of not having the time) I told everyone that between the reading of the story and the opening of the presents that we were starting a new tradition of sharing a memory from our past. I picked the year the memory was to have occurred in, and the only rules was that it needed to be something that none of the rest of us knew about the person. It was wonderful listening to each other bust on themselves. I totally blew my kids minds when I shared my one and only experience of trying a cigarette. Not their mother! This year I have picked age five, and totally plan to gross my kids out with what I am going to share. It will be great!

On the eighth day of Christmas my true loves gave to me...........




A sweet snow-family picture holder. I told my youngest that we would take a pic of the two of us on the beach (this vacation) for it and see if it made them melt. Not because I am such a hot babe sillies, because of the air temperature.

I actually have another snowman picture frame and it holds a picture of us three girls all bundled up for a winter race. I love unpacking it every year and recalling the details of that fun day. If the beach scene does melt the little guys I will have to get another shot before spring for them to hang onto.

And now onto my gift from (my) Mister...

Remember how the cat laid on my vacation clothes? As I was packing them, I came across a pair of black running shorts that were covered in cat hair. (my) Mister was being extremely helpful WATCHING me pack so I said to him, "Do you know where the lint brush is?" "No" was his reply and in a few seconds he left the room. To go find a lint brush? When he had not returned a nano-second later (I am SO impatient), knowing I had a lint brush packed, and who cared what my running clothes looked like anyway, I rolled up the shorts (cat hair to the inside) and commenced packing. That was the last I thought about a lint brush until I opened the bag last night.

And as an aside to the story, MY presents are delivered wrapped! The day before day one the question was, "are we wrapping," IE:what are the rules for this silly contest? My reply, "I did" was met with groans. Day one from Mister, real wrapping paper. Day two and three, hand decorated computer paper. Since then, plastic store bags. The youngest has hidden her presents in her clothing until handing them over from day one. Guess who the over achiever is in this bunch?

I pulled it out of the bag and said, "What a functional present" ( as I thought "to hit you over the head with." JK!). (my) Mister's reply, "Well we don't have any." (me) "Ya we do. About six of them, on the shelf above the laundry tubs." (mister) "Oh."

Ya! The two of us communicate that good! But like I said, it is functional, and will get used (by the year 2011 maybe), and (my) Mister is spot on in knowing I will take function over style any day. Except when it comes to shoes that is.

On the seventh day of Christmas my true loves gave to me.......

A refrigerator magnet that, in case you can't read it says, "All I ask is that you treat me no differently than you would the Queen." My youngest said that for some reason, and she wasn't sure why, this magnet just spoke to her, and reminded her of me. WHAT? I am choosing to take that as a compliment as it is my present and I can take it any way I like.

Okay, Another confession. I actually bought this gift for myself and gave it to (my) Mister to give to me. An unknown fact about me...I have a thing about sea salt VS regular salt. This will be the fourth kind that graces my counter now. I also have grey, (light) pink, and (dark) pink. Not only does it have better minerals, and less sodium so is better for you, the taste is out of this world. Last night, after he gave it to me and I was tasting it with my youngest, (my) Mister says, "Your eating it! I thought it was bath salts." See why I had to buy it for myself?

If he would just take his cue from the refrigerator magnet...

On the sixth day of Christmas my true loves gave to me................



Taken care of from head to toe!

Either (my) Mister re-gifted me the socks or he knows me better than I thought. My money is on the latter.

On the fifth day of Christmas my true loves gave to me..............

A sweet little snow woman, named after me

And a bag of chocolate bliss. I confess that I immediately re-gifted the chocolates to my youngest so I would only eat some of them and not the entire bag, which I am quite capable of doing.

About other things.........................

Can anybody explain to me why no matter how many other surfaces are available for my pet's comfort that they ALWAYS choose to lay on my clothes?

That is our cat Andy, comfy as can be in the middle of the things that I had laid out to pack for vacation. The fact that he is laying on all my tops instead of my running shoes speaks to his intelligence don't ya think?

TOTALLY BRAGGING HERE (Random are you sitting down?)... My youngest and I are only taking five pair of heels on a seven day vacation. First words out of (my) Mister's mouth, "that's five each right?" NO SIR, five pair total for the two of us! Unbelievable I know! Another three or four vacations and I think I will have it down to everything fitting into a knapsack. Now that would be unbelievable...

On the fourth day of Christmas my true loves gave to me...................



A wonderful little snowman charm, complete with poem. I plan to add him to my running pouch (knock it off guys, he hardly weighs anything at all). Who knows, maybe he will cool me off on my hot, summer runs.


And a headlight to add to my running gear. My next run is going to be a trail run, up north, on January 19. Did I mention that it starts at 6:00PM? Head AND tail lights are mandatory. It is going to be so cool! I am just praying I don't meet any wildlife in the woods, because I know I will scream like a girl and totally ruin my reputation as a stud runner.

On the third day of Christmas my true loves gave to me.................

This adorable tissue box cover...
Have you seen anything cuter???

And a little triangle stand to hold my guitar so I don't have to put it back in the case to keep it from tipping over. Now I can just grab and play. I am soooooo spoiled!

On the second day of Christmas my true loves gave to me...............

A fabulous snowman for my collection that also happens to be a deviled egg tray. Is he not the cutest thing you have ever seen? As my youngest was giving it to me she said, "We still eat deviled eggs, right? I told her we could, but I could already see the snowman holding little healthy, raw delights in place of the eggs. For health reasons I am encouraging my family to eat less cooked food, and avoid products that once upon a time had a mother (or with eggs, the potential to have had a mother).

And a nifty little digital guitar tuner for my new hobby. It occurred to me as I write this that maybe this gift is a reflection on my playing. Naw, I usually only play it when no one is around to hear me mess up. I hope I am not tone deaf so I can use make good use of my new gadget.

On the first day of Christmas my true loves gave to me................

Some silicone muffin cups so I don't have grease the muffin pans anymore, and a pair of headphones for my winter runs.

I got some great headphones for my portable XM radio that have a built in antenna, but when I put on scary spider hat it smashes them into my ears and I can't stand to wear them. These fall out on their own, but with the hat they work perfectly!

Modern day wrong number........................

This summer, while up north, I discovered a great little yarn shop. As most places do these days I was ask if I wanted to leave my e-mail address and receive the store's newsletter. I did, and have been getting a monthly "group" e-newsletter. Yesterday I received this e-mail, addressed just to me (as opposed to the entire group):


Looking into doing Chris Bsylma who designed the Crayon Box sweater for 2009! What do you think?

(insert name here)

Just like I would call the person back if I received a answering machine message that I didn't think was meant for me I responded.

My reply:

I think I don't knit enough because I don't know the person, or the sweater you are referring to.
I have much to learn from you, and I am looking forward to it.

Patty (add last name here)

This morning I got this note back from her that read:


Patty, this is weird I don't know how you got this question from me. So just ignore and have a happy holiday season!

Sincerely, (name)

Funny right? Almost as funny as the time I listened to a message on my cell phone from a stranger R.S.V.P.ing to a surprise birthday party. I called him back to let him know the number he had called was not the right one, and it turned out that my number WAS the number listed on the invitation. He called the person throwing the party to let her know, and she called me to tell me she had transposed two numbers on the invite which made it my number and not hers. I promised to let her know if anyone else R.S.V.P.ed to my phone and ended up passing a couple more calls about the party to her. Made me feel like I was involved in pulling off the surprise for this woman's husband. I guess it doesn't take much for me to feel needed does it?

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend.

Falling Apples Report... They continue to cling to the base of the tree.........................

I have three adult children, ages 28, 26, and 18. Not so surprisingly they continue to show aspects of my personality, something that I am getting better at accepting, but also makes me want to remind the parents out there that the eyes are watching and learning. Here are the latest examples of my offspring acting just like good old mom...

My oldest received an offer to take another step up the corporate ladder, and she has decided to accept. The most exciting part to her...They will be "blowing up" the current system and building a new one from the ground up. As do I, the girl loves a good challenge, and has strong opinions in just how the new build should go, for the betterment of mankind of course. She is also not afraid to ruffle feathers of "important" people to assist them in seeing and understanding her wisdom as to the way things need to go.

My youngest came home the other day unable to contain her excitement. What was so great in her world? She had been watching for a certain comforter to go on sale enough to be a reasonable purchase, and it finally had done so. In addition, she had a gift card to purchase it with, AND the store had undies NINETY (90) percent off so they ended up being fifty CENTS a pair. Her commentary, " I wanted to buy them all it was such a good deal, but really, how many pairs of underwear does one person need?" EXACTLY! P.S. Upon checking Saturday's early sale prices she discovered the comforter had been further discounted for a few, "door buster" hours. She didn't have time to get the price difference herself, but she sweetly convinced her boyfriend to pick up the receipt and get to the store before 1:00 PM so she could get an additional twenty-six dollars off the comforter. That's my girl!

My middle child, my son, continues to believe that life must be a struggle and stay in a frame of mind that keeps these thoughts his reality. I spent so much of my twenties living the lie that life HAS to be hard. Being in chaos was the only time life felt normal, so if there wasn't chaos, it wasn't long before I was (subconsciously) creating some. When there was a fleeting moment of peace I would find myself holding my breath, waiting for the other shoe to fall. Eventually, I found a way out of this mind set, and I am confident that my son will also, in time, discover his own path to inner freedom and acceptance. As I tell him, "he has everything inside of him that he needs to live whatever life he chooses to live, and I am confident in his abilities."

I find it interesting that while I have/had one parenting style the three of them picked different parts of me to emulate. I guess that speaks to the different personalities and needs of my children, and proves that there can be no such thing as cookie cutter parenting, no matter how much I tried to keep things equal between them as they were growing up.

Eight on the Eighth...........................

Background for the readers that don't follow the running blogs, Nancy put together a cyber race in which anyone that cared to participate could log eight miles on the weekend of December eighth and then report back to her with the results. Here is my report, and remember this run/race was also Wild Woman's first venture out.


I woke to a couple of inches of new snow Friday morning, so I shoved the driveway in a short sleeve T-shirt and flip flops to help me gage the outdoor temperature. It didn't seem that cold to me, and by noon the roads were clear of snow so I opted to do my run Friday, having heard on the television it was a whopping 30 degrees outside, and not knowing what the rest of the weekend might bring.


I started layer dressing for the race around two in the afternoon, and as I was tying my shoes, I realized I had not eaten anything beyond my morning coffee and four or five radishes. I guess I am out of training with paying attention to what I eat on race days. I threw a mini box of raisins and a Prana bar in with my water and Wild Woman and I were out the door and on our way.

The first couple of miles is always a warm up for me but by the end of mile two we found our running legs and were singing out loud. Our harmony seemed to drive the dogs crazy, but the couple of cows we passed in a field didn't seem to mind at all. By mile three (35 minutes) Wild Woman joined me in a funky dance around the corner to the song Sonar Girl, and we were having a blast, and laughing out loud.


I had not listened to my race play list since the first part of October so this added to my enjoyment. Having used the same songs for some time now several of them bring back memories of past runs so I used the reminders of hot weather runs to keep me warm, gently told the ache in my left leg to knock it off, and we arrived at the five mile mark at 1:05.


I found these really great fingerless gloves that have a mitten part that goes over the missing finger area. I wear these over another pair of gloves and they help me regulate my hand comfort. If I am feeling warm I can take off the mitten part and cool down. If my hands get cold I add the mittens and I have toasty warm fingers in seconds. If my hands are comfortable the rest of me automatically follows suit. The wind was only a problem at miles four and seven, and I solved this by pulling my wattle up over my cheeks and nose. Like my food processor is the one kitchen appliance I would want with me on a deserted island, my wattle is my MUST HAVE for winter running.


As usual, I didn't break any speed records, but I was happy because I felt great and only walked a couple of times while I was having a drink. Having only done short distance runs since completing my marathon, I was thrilled to see that I could still do a longer distance run without it knocking the snot out of me. My final time was 1:45 (not sure how accurate this is as I just looked at my wrist watch at beginning and end and didn't use a stop watch, so if there is a tie timed with me in my age division go ahead and knock me to the bottom).


After the race I thawed out in the tanning bed (and worried just a tad about a suffering from a heart attack from heating up too quickly for a few seconds until I drifted off to another thought) for twenty minutes and then celebrated my accomplishment with a six inch veggie sub (no cheese please) from Subway, along with a handful of cheddar cheese potato chips since I had burned all those calories .


Since no race is complete for me without a finisher's picture here are a couple of pictures of Wild Woman and I at the finish line (it is drawn in the snow, no banner so you can't really see it in the picture so you will have to trust me that it is there.





Thanks Nancy for putting the race together. I vote we do our next one on New Year's day since I will be in Cozumel and it will be warm, warm, warm there.

(a) Wonder(ful) Woman.......................

For months and months I had driven by a store in town while ignoring my inner voice telling me I HAD to stop for a visit. What finally got me inside the doors was my marathon training, one more reason I am grateful I received the desire to run one.

During my mileage tapper, I decided it would be good to go to a massage therapist for stretching instead of massage. Knowing massage services were available in this store, I went in to inquire about having the therapist stretch my leg muscles.

From the moment I stepped inside of the door I felt welcomed and nurtured, and this was before I even talked to anyone. After talking with the owner, ((this)WW) I had that feeling one gets when finally making it home after a long, driving, vacation; "Finally I can stretch out, relax, unwind, and get renewed."

So for the last couple of months I have been exploring the services offered at the store and have come to find that the staff is as loving and caring as (this) WW. I always come away feeling nurtured and spiritually fed. Yesterday (my) Mister and I took a Reiki class together. Reiki is a form of (spiritual) energy healing/work, delivered kinda like Polarity massage therapy by holding one's hands just above the person receiving the treatment, but with the spiritual componate that you ask your higher power energy to enter into the person that they might accept the healing energy. It was a great experience and if any of you have the opportunity to experience Reiki I would strongly recommend doing so.

After our class, (this) WW handed me the crystal pictured below and ask me how it felt to me.



Here I will (sheepishly) admit to (subconsciously) wondering if it were one of those trick questions, with ONE right answer that you don't want to get wrong, so I held the crystal and replied, "It feels okay." WHAT KIND OF AN ANSWER IS THAT? Since you ask I will tell you... The kind of answer that when I get it from (my) Mister or my youngest I tend to shoot back a "just okay. What does that mean?" (this) WW did just the opposite. She graciously said, "Well I would like to gift it to you and I wanted to make sure it resonated with you before doing so." I melted into a pile of mush right there at the counter. Isn't that just the sweetest thing ever? I told you she was very loving and nurturing.

On my short drive home I held my present and it began to take on a personality of it's own. I had not noticed "his nose" when I first held it, and it was a couple of hours later that I discovered he is wearing a hat. Maybe he appears this way to me as I absolutely adore snowmen. My youngest thinks he takes on more of an owl form. What do you see? That is the cool part of crystals (and other jewelry), the pieces either speak to you or they don't, and you get to decide to invite them into your heart and home or not, and they will bring you as much joy and happiness as you decide to take from them.

Before I go, gotta share one more thing I discovered at the store:

She is a little pin and I was unexplainably drawn to her. HAD to have her. I don't wear much jewelry besides my wedding ring and a watch (remember my $5 dollar watch from Wall Mart that I bought four or so years ago, that they replaced the dead battery and sized down for free? Still one of my best deals EVER!), so it is kinda strange that I would HAVE to have a pin. I actually thought I would give her away when I brought her home, but the more I looked at her the more I knew she was meant to go on my runs and races with me. I will pin her on my water pack and the two of us will run with the wind and have a great time letting our inner wild woman explore whatever she wants to. Her debut run will be tomorrow as I join in with other runners that are doing a cyber race of 8 (miles) on the 8TH. Be sure and check back as I will be letting you all know how much fun we had.

What does your inner child want for Christmas?.............................

Thinking about what I wanted to post about today, that was the question that came to mind. Kind of stopped me in my tracks. Guess I haven't been paying enough attention to my inner child lately. After thinking about the question for a while this is what I came up with:

I want to snuggle with someone that I feel safe and secure with and watch Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, while munching on REAL movie popcorn. Ya! I'm spoiled that much.

Rudolph was on television last evening, but I gave it up to attend a Christmas party with (my) Mister. Noble of me wasn't it? Luckily I have the show on DVD. When I want popcorn, (my) Mister runs up to our local movie theater and gets me a large (with butter) for $1.50. I totally have to have the large so I have enough to share with my youngest and ALL four of the pets. None of them eat or want popcorn until I get some they they all cluster around with that hopeful look on their faces and I can't resist sharing.

My inner child would also like to make a snowman, and snow angels and then come inside and drink hot chocolate with big fluffy marshmallows floating in it.

To finalize the season, my inner child and I have almost talked my youngest and (my) Mister into doing the twelve days of Christmas with us. We really love that. Gifts should not cost much, homemade or service gifts are the best, and you get one gift, every day for twelve days. Lots more fun than opening several gifts on one day.

Now it's your turn. Share with me what your inner child told you s/he wants.

My new love.........................

This is a mandoline, and it is for slicing fruits and veggies in various thicknesses and sizes. I have wanted one for some time, and have been selling my old kitchen items that I no longer use (like my deep fryer and pasta maker) to earn the money to buy new things to make my raw food prep easier. I found this in one of the many kitchen stores I went into at the outlet mall last weekend.

This little fellow is fabulous, a true wonder. I diced all the veggies in my fridge (I need to go shopping so there were not that many, but it was still fast), in about ten minutes to make a yummy healthy lunch. Since it was still morning, I tossed them with a little bit of ranch dressing and threw it in the fridge. My youngest came home before I ate it and I told her she could have some if she wanted. She brought back an empty bowl, which totally supports my theory:

If you want to get your kids to eat more fruits and veggies prepare them AND tell them they are for YOU (the second part of the theory is the important part). Don't we all covet what the other guy has?

I has some radishes and baby carrots left that my youngest sliced last night so she could try out our new toy, and I have been munching on them for breakfast as I type this post. Maybe not your typical breakfast, but I enjoyed it, and that is the important part. Right?

Winter camping.......................

So (my) Mister and I set out Saturday morning for the woods, making one small detour to an outlet mall to do a little Christmas shopping, and arrived at our home away from home about four in the afternoon.

After unpacking, we made a pot of coffee and settled in for a nice, uninterrupted, catch-up-chat. A few hours later I noticed that it had started snowing; WITH A VENGEANCE!

YIPPEE!

It was then that is occurred to me I had never gotten around to finding my boots. I had taken great care to find, and pack my warm weather running clothes but had neglected to bring snow boots or a winter coat. The coat is no big deal as I rarely wear one. I knew I would be toasty warm with my layered shirts and windbreaker, but running shoes are not designed to keep the cold, wet, snow out of ones ankles. Guess I know where my priorities are.

Lucky for me (my) Mister takes extraordinary care of me and had thrown in a pair of boots for me to wear. And they were even cute in that clunky-rubber-functional-counts-for-something-they-are-so-ugly-they-are-cute way. Bonus! Okay! So they didn't actually belong to me. I think I might have bought them for the youngest when she was in middle school or high school, but they are like brand new since everyone knows that one doesn't wear boots in middle or high school. NOT COOL! So now mom had some really great snow boots to go tromping through the snow with. Thanks honey.

So, after a sleepless night (the good kind of sleepless night, wink, wink), we fired up the coffee pot again and had a muffin. Not wanting to drag my kitchen with me camping we had went to the local grocery store to get supplies for the weekend. I ended up eating maybe a third of what I purchased for the weekend. I am still amazed that food no longer has the pull that it once did for me. Even though vacation is still a license to eat all those things that you don't eat on a regular basis, I no longer do this (or do so to a MUCH lesser basis than I once did). If you have never had an addiction to food the way I had for most of my life you won't get the significance of this, but to my health and well being it is huge.

After breakfast (my) Mister left to take care of winterizing our trailer and I dressed and headed off for my run. It was fabulous. My first snowy run of the season. There is a skill to running on snow and ice to keep from killing ones self. Okay, maybe not skill, but at least a technique. It works best to find tire tracks or other disturbed snow as pavement can have those black ice patches that can send one flying. Not sure exactly how far I ran, somewhere between two and three miles, but I worked up a good sweat and had a blast so the run was very successful.

Shortly after I got back to the campground, (my) Mister finished with the trailer so we went to the club house to play a couple of games of pool. As usual, I won by cheating so we were both happy as we clomped back through the snow to pack up and head home, happy, content, and looking forward to the next time we get to go camping together.

Gettin out of Dodge............................

Yup, (my) Mister and I are heading north for some winter camping in about an hour. Time alone for about thirty-six hours. I hope there is lots of snow (with the roads cleared of course so I have a place to run), and that the cabin is warm. Who am I kidding, I know how to warm up the cabin if need be, so I will focus all of my energy on the snow.

Must go find my boots. Have a great weekend!