sidebar | life and training 12.12 – 12.18

Merry Christmas week ya filthy animals.

Yup, we’re in the final countdown (na na nana, na na nanana) and all I want to do is keep buying presents for everyone. I guess you can say my intentional gift shopping is complete, but I keep seeing things I think my people would like and thus buying them. As I get older, the joy of Christmastime comes more in making others happy, and less in receiving things myself. You could view that as being a very nice thing, or a reflection of diminished self worth – which yes, has been an issue of mine lately.

If you yourself need some gifting ideas, check out all my guides: Kitchen & Dining, Active Lifestyles, Beauty Junkies, and Stocking Stuffers!

I struggle to feel really in-the-spirit right now. I’m doing my best to capture that magic daily, in simple ways: Christmas tunes as I write, garbing in my Santa hat, wrapping fits piece by piece and putting them under the tree to look at. J and I did some festive errands on Sunday, stopping first by Barnes & Noble for lattes and to browse books, then randomly drove out to World Market to look at their stock. Doing such gave me a bit of brightness, but it just hasn’t felt like enough.

This week, I really want to be intentional with channeling the holiday mood. We checked out the annual holiday boat parade Saturday after dinner at Steelbach, which was wonderful. Get the black grouper. Totally worth it. We plan to look at light displays around town, and it’ll be cold so I hope to make a big batch of hot chocolate to sip while we drive. I suggested we bake gingerbread men and decorate them one night, just for the hell of it and not for FMG purposes. I have a set of Christmas snowman stuffies boxed away, and need to bring them out so they can chill happily under our tree.

When in a depression, though, it’s very difficult to scrounge up true joy amongst the other shitty mental clutter. And that’s where I’m at lately: not in focus, not really grounded enough. I’ve had a tough month. The end of the year always brings up some extra gunk that’s been suppressed during the bulk of the year, and presently it feels more smothering than usual. I feel I don’t even deserve to enjoy the season. Yes, I know, not a logical string of thoughts, but one that I haven’t been able to shimmy off.

This week, though, I’m going to give an honest try. Perhaps with all of us being together on Christmas Eve I’ll find at least a flash of happiness. We always do a big appetizer feast – which will be prominent in this week’s posts, lots of small bites! – and my mom and sister share a dance to Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree. That tradition has held for probably over a decade now, and is a pretty epic one. My little ole mom can still groove!

Need some culinary inspiration for the weekend? Check out my Christmas Eve and Day Menus! Both pescatarian and vegetarian options abound this year, and tons of appetizer ideas. More will be coming this week as well. Let’s try to get excited and enjoy the festivities, shall we?

The Fuck We Eating This Week?

A simple and healthy stir fry…

A rich and creamy salmon curry…

Hearty Italian-style chickpea meatballs…

A delicious noodly soup…

A Few Things I’m Digging

Granola…Tried out this peppermint mocha granola and quite like it, very festive but doesn’t taste like Colgate. I usually have a bowl of yogurt with granola in the afternoon for a snack and this really hit my sweet tooth right in the face.

Coconut bacon…I have two recipes coming up utilizing this amazing vegetarian alternative to bacon bits! It’s smoky and just enough sweet and savory to mimic the taste of bacon, to a point. Absolutely love it on soup. You can buy unsweetened coconut chips at Target, Trader Joe’s, or Sprouts, possibly other places too.

The Holiday Edit

Looking for some inspiration for your holiday gatherings, maybe a family dinner or a last-minute gift exchange with friends? Here’s some ideas!

Shops & Wish List

Skincare & Wellness

Morphe… Interested in their Hint Hint Skin Tint since apparently my beloved white tea tinted veil is being clearanced. Sad face. I like using a tinted moisturizer on my days at home to brighten up my complexion a bit and feel more lively.

Tula…I’ve eyed this company for a long time but never had it nearby until my Target recently put in an Ulta storefront. Going to snag the 24/7 Hydrating Cream and like what I’m reading about their exfoliating sugar scrub and the triple vitamin C serum. The firming and smoothing discovery kit would also make a nice last-minute gift for a skincare junkie.

Home

Target…Really need to rid of my desk since it just takes up a lot of unnecessary space in the corner and basically just houses a stack of random-ass props. Something like this storage tower would be perfect for the job.

Week in Training

Monday, 12.12: 7.66 miles, 11:06 pace + 30 minute back & bis

Pretty harried mentally when I got up in the morning; more or less right when I got out of bed I felt purposeless, lost, and sad. Not a great start. I was able to find a little clarity during my run since I had some time to think, and it felt good to lift. Established a baseline for later workouts during this session so I can continue to increase so long as I have that urge.

Strength:

• 2 x 10 cross curl to curl 15#
• 3 x 10 ea. single arm row 35#
• 3 x 10 ea. balanced curl 15#
• 3 x 10 lat pulldown 60#
• 3 x 10 single-single-double row 20#
• 3 x :20 on/:20 off punches 10#
• 5 minutes core work

Tuesday, 12.13: 5.85 miles, 11:06 pace + 25 minute chest & tris

Okay run, didn’t feel amazing and it seemed to take forever. Squeezed in my second lift of the week afterwards. Two day streak, woohoo!

Strength:

• 3 x 12 pullover 40#
• 3 x 10 pressdown 37#
• 3 x 10 bench press 30#
• 3 x 8 ea. skullcrusher 15#
• 3 x 12 pull apart 20#
• 5 minute core work

Wednesday, 12.14: 8.23 miles, 10:57 pace + 35 minute legs & shoulders

Very windy morning, fairly pleasant overall. 90 minute run followed up with strength. Someone was dead sprinting on the treadmill in the gym and it was stressing me out – I half expected them to roll off the thing!

Strength:

• 3 x 12 ea. lunge 40#
• 3 x 12 ea. leg extension to overhead press 15#
• 3 x 10 narrow squat 80#
• 3 x 10 ea. balanced side raise 20#
• 3 x 10 ea. lateral lunge 55#
• 3 x 12 shrug 40#
• Core work

Thursday, 12.15: 4.23 mile walk (1:06:00)

Friday, 12.16: 6.22 miles, 11:19 pace + 25 minute upper body

An average heart rate of 147! Wowza. Didn’t feel that effortless but I’ll take it regardless. A cool morning, around 60, with a stiff breeze so I was actually quite chilly.

Strength:

• 3 x 12 around the world curl 15#
• 3 x 10 ea. oh extension to press 15#
• 3 x 16 T-raise 15#
• 3 x 12 bent front raise 30#
• 3 x 15 ea. pull apart 15#

Saturday, 12.17: 9.6 miles, 11:27 pace + 35 minute lower body

Still shut out of our gym due to some water leak shit, but I tried to get a little session in anyhow with our dumbbells. Run was unremarkable, slow, head wasn’t really in it.

Strength:

• 3 x 10 ea. lunge knee up 25#
• 3 x 20 ea. banded lateral leg extension 25#
• 3 x 15 plie squat 50#
• 3 x 15 ea. lateral step up 25#
• 4 x 10 ea. calf raise 50#
• Core work

Sunday, 12.18: 4.23 mile walk (1:08:00)

Total running mileage: 39