Merry Christmas!

I was bound and determined to do a “long” run first thing Christmas Eve morning. Even if it was no where close to the distance of my “normal” long runs, I’ve had enough of these short 3 and 4 mile runs.

I will admit that partially my reasoning for doing a long run this morning is because I felt like I’ve indulged a little more this week and knew I would be surrounded by more food than usual today and tomorrow.

This morning I slept in until 8 a.m., which is really good for me. I did wake up at 5:30 a.m. but wanted to sleep longer than that, so I read for a while and then fell asleep again but ended up having nightmares about school. Ugh!

I was excited to go running this morning. As much as I enjoy other forms of exercise, running gives me a high like no other form of exercise does!

Distance: 6 miles

Time: 59:30 (It has been slow going with the snow, ice, and cold!)

Weather: 13*, cloudy, dark (the sun hadn’t rose yet)

When I got back, I Skyped with my family. Skyping is so much better (and more fun) than talking on the phone! It was so great seeing everyone but of course made me miss them like crazy.

After breakfast, showering, and getting ready, it was time to meet our friends for lunch. Craig and I had plans to check out this new German restaurant in town, but sadly it was closed.

Instead we met our friends at Bear Tooth Grill—always a favorite and never a let-down.

We were meeting our friends Morgan and Andy, who are both in town and on break from grad school.

Come to find out they got engaged yesterday! We were so excited for them!! (I noticed Morgan’s ring before they even said anything.)

While waiting for food, Craig entertained us with lots of stories—a favorite pastime of his.

Don’t mock my stories.

I had eaten breakfast only a couple hours prior, so I wasn’t very hungry. I ended up ordering a bowl of Seafood Chowder. This has got to be the best seafood chowder I’ve ever had. It was very delicious.

Craig ordered the Portobello and Goat Cheese Sandwich. I had it last time we went to Bear’s Tooth, and it was excellent.

Morgan had breakfast: ham, potatoes, eggs, and toast.

Andy had a Basil Chicken Sandwich.

And us, the old married couple.

I tried to get a picture of the sun, which was even with the Subway sign in the middle of the picture, off to the left.

When we got back home, it was time to pull out the Jim Brickman holiday/Christmas CD. This was the first time I have listened to it this Christmas season.

The next couple of hours I spent making these Chocolate Peppermint Cake Pops. (I will be doing a separate post on them tomorrow.) This was my first time making cake pops. I was hopeful they would turn out well, but I made a couple of mistakes so they weren’t as perfect as I hoped they would be.

For dinner, it is tradition for Craig’s family to go to Mexican food on Christmas Eve night. Their favorite Mexican restaurant.

Craig ordered chicken enchiladas, and I was going to have a few bites, but he ended up mixing all of his food together, so I was a little disgusted and didn’t have any.

Then it was off to church for Christmas Eve service at Craig’s parent’s church.

Then back to Craig’s parent’s house for gift opening.

Two of my many gifts: a Kindle (from Craig’s grandparents) and a bright yellow running top from Craig’s parents.

Pretty soon Craig and I will be going to our church for Christmas Eve service. Aye, aye, aye, it is 9:30 p.m., and I’m ready for bed. I’m going to have a hard time staying awake.

Blessings for a wonderful and joyous holiday season.