Hey all! I ran a few miles this morning. Kinda hot here (70s) but cold fronts are coming and I think the predicted high is 40 for Christmas day.

Congrats Vicki on the retirement! And Kathy (HH) on the almost retirement! You'll both have to let me know after a couple months if putting on pants in the morning is something unusual and worth getting excited about, as Riley seems to think in my house.

HCK, dang you guys killed it in the mileage game last week. Congrats!

Tessa, yes, we do itemize (although with the standard deduction nearly doubling in 2018 we might not after this year), but the dental expense would still put us nowhere near the 10% needed. Even with it going down to 7.5%, no dice. I guess that's a good problem to have though, I would hate to have that much in medical expenses!

Diane, count me in on interested in the little Buddha thing. And on needing to eat more veggies. Last night for dinner I put chicken thighs and a bunch of veggies in the crock pot and doused them with balsamic vinegar. Not bad, but not something I do often.

Liz, that would definitely freak me out with the SUV. Once a car slowly followed me through my neighborhood when I was running at night (and this was in Maryland, when I lived in not-so-lovely PG County). I tried changing my route and it followed me. I was totally freaking out and about to sprint home when they rolled down the window..........and it was a little Asian man lost and asking directions. I wanted to yell at him and tell him NOT TO DO THAT!!!! I just ran home after, my nerves were shot.

Sandy, excited about your trip! Although now that i live down here, I have trouble getting excited for warm beach vacays.

Cathy, the Vegas part of your vacation doesn't sound that great to me, but the rest of it sounds awesome. I will admit the first time I went to Vegas (It was a work trip, they were building the Mandalay Bay Hotel and it was sinking 1/4" a day as they were building, and my company was hired to come in and fix it. The Las Vegas office was overwhelmed so they borrowed engineers form other offices, including me and my coworker from Oakland) I was pleasantly surprised at how much fun we had just wandering around on our day off.

Kat, yay for 2 good miles! I signed up for Piney yesterday.

I am all over the place on personals....and too lazy to go back and see what and who I missed yesterday and today. So instead I will go make some lunch and do a little cleaning. Hi to everyone!

karen

Slowwwwwwww day.  This week is a DRAGON!!  2 more days 2 more days 2 more days.

Karen – your cold front is 40*?!!  Eye roll LOL  Teasing!!  I know you suffer through that H and H so hope you can enjoy this!  I totally get not getting all excited about a beach vacation since you live in TX now – anywhere you are itching to go?

Cathy – nice miles this morning!  Whoa that’s a lot of crunches.  Do you do them all at once or break them up?  I love Biryani!  I foraged in the fridge and had a plate of leftovers today hee hee.  Love that it’s the real deal, too, homemade!  By the wife of the Pakastani manger.  I thought it was pretty cool we had Indian, Mexican and Scandinavian (someone brought lefse) at our pot-luck yesterday.  Next time I will try to sweet talk the Eritrean, Ethiopian and Sri Lankan to bring something ethnic as well.

Hi Sugarland!  Wow, color me jealous on the retirement.  CONGRATS!!

Damaris – what’s up, speedster??!  I love how you leave DH in the dust.  Girl power!!  Oh, goodness, 11mi on a Wed – yipes.  Hope you get out of your deposition at a decent time.

Elina – so your break neck pace has finally caught up with you?!  Rest up, chica!!  And mighty good luck at your meeting tomorrow.  Supergrumpy Elina can’t be a good thing.

Diane – do you like salads?  I very rarely “cook” dinner either but a salad is super easy to throw together.  What about frozen veggies you can zap in the microwave?  Do you have a rice cooker?  Most have a veggie steamer on top that doesn’t take long.  Press start pre-workout, they are done and warming when you are ready to eat!!  What about soups?

Kat – nice job getting out there for 2!  Ugh on the losing a lung when you got home.  Careful with that but, I can relate.   Oooh, I’ve been thinking about making bread.  This guy brought homemade sourdough yesterday that was soooooooooo good!

Lizzie – awww, I’m oddly jealous of your busy day!  I was going to suggest WFH on Friday but calling in sick is even better!!  And color me jealous of you wearing SHORTS on your run this morning.  Yep, Joe the Golden Doodle – I think that’s what he’s called – he’s a cross between a golden and a golden doodle so one part poodle to two parts golden, I guess.  He definitely looks more golden retriever and very much has the pack mentality.  He always has to make sure everyone is together – it’s pretty funny.  His “mom” is my tiny little friend and she wears the leash around her waist.  I swear he’s going to take her down one of these days.  That’s cool you would want to do hair!  Joe’s “mom” started her life as a hair stylist but is now a dietician haha  Enjoy your sleep in and REST DAY tomorrow – woot!

Well, the BIG snow is missing us but we’ve gotten just enough today to grease up the roads.  Commute home shall be funnnnnnnnnnn – traffic maps are already RED.  Have a good night, everyone!!

7.5mi today, the temps haven't dropped, but even at 30 degrees it felt very chilly. Funny how w the last mile going thru calm residential area w lots of snow there's always ''so cute, maybe another km or two?'' and always have to talk myself out of it for sake of the next day's run Still dreading tomorrow. Thanks everyone for the kind words!

Sandy - nice 5 with the group today!  Omg, your vacation sounds so fun, I want to skip X mas and go to the beach LOL!

Hi Cathy - nice run and ab workout, you are rocking it!!  I color my hair monthly, it is pretty gray around the temples.  I'm not even sure what color is it naturally ha ha!! No major plans next week though I hope to do something fun.  Right now I just want to sleep!

Welcome back, Vicki and CONGRATS on retiring, how awesome!!

Damaris - nice intervals, Girl!!

Elina - I am in a slump too, ugh!  Try to hang on until next week!!

Diane - back at ya, TM sister!  I like most vegetables and try to make some every night, I usually roast them in the oven with some olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.  I had a dental appointment a couple of weeks ago and always dread them but am glad afterward.

Kat - now I am hungry for roast and bread 

Quick check in, not doing personals because I have to go to class. I was supposed to be on a vacation day today (funeral) but I have been working most of it. Bah.

6 this morning. It wasn't windy then but it is now.