Monday musings

• I feel like I've been washing dishes nonstop since Thanksgiving. And washing dishes is my least favorite household chore. I guess that's what I get for cooking a big meal with lots of leftovers.
• At my dentist appointment today, I learned I have two broken fillings and one broken tooth. Why? Because of my newly developed habit of grinding my teeth. My jaws have been so sore lately, and I wasn't sure why. Now I know. Now I have two more appointments, a crown and a mouth guard in my future. Yay.
• I found this obvious Christmas necessity at Target.

• When my running buddy Lori called to tell me we made the Tampa Bay Times (our local paper), I panicked. Why? Because the photo was of us running the Women's Half Marathon. I started imagining how red, sweaty and taxed I looked. Photos of me running are not cute. When I finally got my hands on the paper, I was relieved. 

Photo by James Borchuck, Tampa Bay Times

Thankfully, the photo was at the beginning of the race. As an added bonus, Lori's ponytail blocked my face. Even though it was early and I wasn't too red, sweaty or taxed, I'm still capable of making a ridiculous face.   

• You may have noticed I always refer to Lori as my running buddy. I'm not really sure how it started, but it's an accurate description. So, how cool is it that she got me this shoe charm?

•  I took today off from work. I originally asked for it because we were planning on traveling for Thanksgiving. Even though we didn't, I kept the day as vacation. Awesome decision on my part. Of course, it will make going back to work tomorrow that much harder.

A fairly uneventful holiday weekend

At one point, my boyfriend and I were planning on driving to South Carolina for Thanksgiving to visit his family. Then, we decided that wasn't going to work. So, we stayed and celebrated by ourselves (with a begging dog named Chloe).  

Yes, this is too much food for two people.

Never fear. Chloe is here.

After we ate, we watched football the rest of the day as one should. Well, I did anyway. Somehow my boyfriend ended up in line for a good deal on a TV at Walmart. Not sure how that happened ... he went out to get gas in his car at halftime of the Cowboys-Redskins game and called telling me he'd be in line until 10 p.m. I didn't go because I didn't want to miss any of the game, although I wouldn't have minded missing the Kenny Chesney halftime show. Well, now knowing the outcome of the game, I wouldn't have minded missing that, too. It's rather painful to be a Cowboys fan these days. 

Thankfully, now I can watch the Cowboys' demise on a 60-inch TV screen. Yes, that is extremely big. Probably too big in my opinion, but I wasn't the one standing in line for 3+ hours to get it (so I'll probably keep my mouth shut on that).  

I feel like we didn't do anything else the rest of the weekend besides a few trips to the dog park and one to see Christmas lights.

These icicle lights are the coolest. A photo doesn't do them justice.

Oh, and last night we went out to eat at Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Tampa with a friend. They have the absolute best oysters. I love raw oysters. Love them. I also love people-watching at the casino. I also love wine at the casino. With all of the love, we ended up staying there pretty late; by the time I got to bed, it was 2:30 a.m.

So waking up for our 7:30 a.m. run today was somewhat unfun. But that is really no different than any other day. Mornings and I just don't get along. 

But, I made it (we ran 50 minutes; 4.5 miles). And after breakfast, I promptly took a long nap. And, I really don't like naps. 

How was your holiday weekend? Did you cook? Did you do anything fun? Did you run?

Notice what isn't on the list?

With some days off from work, I had time to spend however I wanted (a nice change). So, I:

• Did laundry
• Took Chloe to the dog park

• Cooked Thanksgiving dinner
• Ate Thanksgiving dinner (and leftovers and more leftovers)
• Watched football
• Watched "Beverly Hills 90210" reruns
• Got a massage
• Played beach volleyball
• Met friends for dinner
• Caught up on "American Horror Story" episodes
• Took my car in to check out that pesky "difficult to start" problem
• Bought the Lucky magazine with Jessica Simpson on the cover

• Read the Lucky magazine with Jessica Simpson on the cover cover-to-cover
• Drank wine
• Shopped (online only, thank you)

You may have noticed that running was not on my list. I have not ran since my half marathon on Sunday. I'm not really sure why. I've thought about it some. It just never happened. I'm going to try and change that tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. (although I must admit I'm not terribly motivated at this moment).