Tag Archives: Thanksgiving

Training, Uncategorized

Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Target Practice

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Hi, friends! How was your Thanksgiving? Mine was filled with family and food — as it should be. I hope yours was, too. We got to my parents’ on Wednesday afternoon and came home Saturday. While we were there, I got in a few good runs with some nice scenery,
photo (23)

a nice gym workout with my mom, and some quality time with the extended family (unpictured, because I was busy enjoying the QT).

On the way home Saturday, we stopped a few times and got the vast majority of our Christmas shopping done. (No pictures of that, either, as the recipients of those gifts read this blog). Winning.

Today, we did the usual boring Sunday stuff but also got our Christmas tree up, and J did the outside lights while I ran 8 miles. Also winning.

Today is December 1, which means it’s time to see how I did on my November Target Practice goals.

Target Practice

I tag along with Fit.Fun.Femme. for these posts.  I think I’m going to make Target Practice a monthly post, because my goals don’t change much from week to week.

These were my goals for November:

Life: Hang out with some friends. Call the ones who live too far away to hang out with. I went to a party a couple of weeks ago. And I haven’t called anyone, but I have exchanged some texts. Grade: C-. 

Blog: Post a minimum of three times a week, and regularly update Twitter and Instagram. Well. That was ambitious for a month as busy as November. Nope, didn’t happen… unless your definition of “regularly” is everyone else’s definition of “occasionally.” Grade: D.

Health: Finish the Whole30. Figure out what’s been bothering my guts for so long. I got half of this one. I finished the Whole30, but my insides are still messy. I’m not sure what to do next. Grade: B. Because it’s really not my fault that my experiment didn’t work. 

Fitness: While my mileage is decreased, I want to gain some more strength. That probably means actually going to the weight room instead of to the dumbbells in my basement. Hey hey, I actually succeeded at one of my goals! I’ve hit the gym — the grown-up weights section — three times a week for the past few weeks. Score. Grade: A.

And now, for December goals:

Life: Enjoy all the holidays have to offer, rather than letting them stress me out. We all know that there’s a lot of stress that comes in December — a ton of events to attend — some of which we’d maybe rather not –, the end of the semester at work, shopping, blah blah blah. But there’s also a lot of fun stuff  — the events we want to attend, the time with friends and family, shopping on the Internet from the comfort of my couch — and I want to focus on the happy instead of the stressful.

Blog: I’m not going to put too much pressure on myself here (see goal above). I’ll be satisfied with twice a week, but I want to take more pictures and be more active on social media when possible — without letting my online life take precedence over my in-person life.

Health: Indulge mindfully. Because there are some flipping delicious things that only come around once a year, I will eat those flipping delicious things. But I don’t need to eat ALL the things. For the most part, I want to stay Whole30 compliant even though the “official” program is over, and indulge in the treats that are truly worth it.

Fitness: Work out every day in December. That will help balance both the stress and the indulgences. I’d like to do a December run streak, but if anything feels twingy, I’ll cross train instead. No need to create an injury just because I want to go streaking.


Not that kind of streaking. 

Those are my goals. If you see me slacking, yell at me, okay?

 

Tell me about your Thanksgiving!

What’s your favorite December event/tradition, or what are you looking forward to most this year?

 

Uncategorized

Thankful > Grumpy

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I made a math equation in the title there. Someone please show my boss and tell him that I’m being all cross-curricular and stuff. Or don’t.

So you know how sometimes, minor things annoy you? And then those minor things start piling up, and you find yourself in a funk because nothing seems to be going right? Yes, me too. That’s the state I’ve been in for the past couple of weeks, and what I really needed to do was take a step back and look at all the things that have been bothering me. As I suspected, not a single one of them is important.

In fact, I am blessed beyond belief with this life I’m living. So instead of dwelling on the stupid little grumpy-makers, I made a little list of things I’m thankful for (’tis the season, after all). Ironically, some of the first things that popped into my mind were the same things that had been perturbing me for the past couple of weeks. So I guess those things aren’t so bad after all, are they?

1. My health. One of the major players in Cassie’s Game of Funk has been the lack of improvement after the Whole30. My stomach is still a mess. But let’s put that in perspective: I can still run and lift. I am able to go to work, see my friends, and enjoy my life. A little bit of stomach pain and discomfort is nothing compared to what so many others go through.

2. My job.  The week of Thanksgiving is not a very fun one in a high school. The kids don’t want to be there. They don’t want to be working. And at times like that, it’s easy to forget that I do love working with them every day. Especially when they make stuff like this:
photo (22)That was an assignment. He got an A.

I needed to remind myself that I love what I do, and I love my students. Even when they’re being pills.

3. The end of my latest turn at lunch duty. What? I said I love my students, not that I want to hang out with them (i.e. yell at them for PDA and make sure they’re not hurting themselves or the building) for the only 20 minutes of adult time I get per day.

4. My husband. The man is amazing, seriously. When I get grumpy, I don’t even want to be around me. And yet, Jordan has listened to me gripe about nothing for a week, and he never rolls his eyes, or ignores me, or says anything, really. He just hugs me.

5. My boyfriend.

Just kidding. But I got you for a minute there, didn’t I?

6. My family. I get to see my parents tomorrow and my grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousin on Thursday. My brother and his girlfriend stayed with us last night on their way to see her family. I have such a terrific family, and I don’t get to see them nearly as often as I’d like to. I’m thankful for a few days with them this week!

7. My friends. It took me a really long time to make friends here, so I feel even more fortunate to have them.

8. Super-fun challenges and new internet friends. Holiday health challenges are all over the blog world right now. I’m doing Elf for Health, and my elf for the first round is Danielle. She’s a teacher, too,  so clearly we were meant to be friends. She teaches first grade, though, which sounds like an absolute nightmare to me.
In December, I’ll also be joining Heather at Better with Veggies for the #movehappy challenge. I love the hashtag she created there, and the challenge has some wicked-cool prizes.

9. Hot tea. I know this is a little thing, but holding a warm cup of goodness in my hands in the afternoon at work and in the evenings at home (i.e. right now) makes me super happy.

10. The ability to do this:
photo (20)(Recycled picture, but not much is different right now). Sometimes, just relaxing in comfy pants is the best thing in the world.

See? Life is good. Happy Thanksgiving!

What are you thankful for right now?

What are your Thanksgiving plans?