what i did on my thanksgiving break...
Well, I certainly did not do nearly the amount of running I was planning on. But, that's OK because I spent my FIVE DAYS off enjoying time with my family and friends!
I feel like my break really started Tuesday afternoon - we were on a half day schedule thanks to our now 3rd annual Turkey Trot. We have 100% participation by our students and staff, and they have the choice to run or walk the 1-mile course, with medals handed out to the top 3 boys and top 3 girl runners. I recognize the top staff runners too, although I don't give them anything. Of course, if they beat me, I would give them breakfast, but that has yet to happen! We lucked out this year with GORGEOUS 60 degree weather! I ended up finishing 4th overall, with only 3 boys beating me, in 6:28. I'll take that time! It's on my bucket list to break 6 minutes in the mile, so hopefully I'll get closer to it as I continue to train.
I didn't do much more running than that - a 45 minute run Wednesday morning, 30 minutes on Thanksgiving morning, and a quick 30 minute run Saturday afternoon. Not the greatest week for running - a total of 17 miles for the week. But, it's the holiday season and training is usually slacking this time of year with how busy we are.
Other things I did over Thanksgiving break:A much needed 90-minute message on Wednesday. I had a $100 gift certificate burning a hole in my pocket, so I cashed it in for my yearly day-before-Thanksgiving massage. It. Was. Glorious. I need to not wait a year until my next one...Spent Thanksgiving with my extended family. There were 27 of us total for Thanksgiving dinner. It was loud, as always, but also nice to be around my family. It's a good thing we love each other so much.
I had my first "Black Friday" shopping experience. I've avoided it for all 31 years of my life, but after my brother told me Michaels was having some really good deals, I headed out after putting the kids to bed on Thursday night. I scored some really great stuff to decorate our house and I now have more ribbon than I know what to do with. But, our house is the best it's ever looked for Christmas! Now to get the outside all decorated...
Matt spent his Black Friday "goose hunting". My absolute favorite beer EVER is Goose Island's Bourbon County Stout. It comes out once a year on Black Friday and it sells FAST. We barely got our hands on a 4-pack last year, so we were determined to get more this year. Matt was out the door in line at Schnucks by 6 AM and then waited 4+ hours for our favorite liquor store to open to score some more. We ended up with 11 bottles, including a barley wine and coffee, which of course is the one I wanted. We are selling/trading 3 of them, but they will last us for awhile. We still have 2 more of our 4-pack from last year in the basement. It's definitely a special occasion only beer.
Saturday night was our first Christmas party of the season with our neighbors. Lots of good food and friends. It was nice to be inside for once without having to worry about baby monitors or kids in general. We are so blessed to have amazing neighbors (besides the 2 we chose) who have kids close in age and we can spend hours hanging out with.Our break ended with our second Thanksgiving with Matt's family on Sunday afternoon. I am now absolutely stuffed to the brim with delicious food and feel like I shouldn't eat for a week with everything I have eaten the past 5 days. Ha! It was a much needed, enjoyable break from thinking about anything work-related. I loved every second of it! Only 15 more work days until a full 2 weeks off for Christmas break...