Post holiday

Happy Merry Christmas Belated  and a Happy New Year.

The holidays were busy and family filled. I loved the time spent with my family and chosen family. Santa was good to me and Terri surprised me with a Kindle Fire!!! Woot. I got some running supplies such as sports beans, new water bottle and gloves. I also got a Half Marathon book by Jeff Galloway..Terri said I got you the book, you get us to Disney. Yes the wheels are turning to think about a Disney marathon. Santa also left other fun goodies,

I thought I fought off the cold or whatever it is a week and half ago...I was wrong , came back full force Friday and still here. Missed a run yesterday due to being totally wiped out, oh breathing was essential just sitting let alone think of running with it.

I was reflecting on my running this year...well since I started running in March/April. I have logged 231 miles so far this year. Now I have not included misc runs, and races I have done. I am darn proud of myself. That is a lot for someone who thought she could never run.

Wow

The two most important days of your life are the day you were born , and the day you find out why. Mark Twain

Photo blog

Baking yummy cut out cookies!

The train ride...family= Love

The train is going to run us over~

I just love this picture overlooking the tracks.

The glassblowing class we happened upon at a quaint art gallery.

Bits and pieces

Wow, it has been a busy yet very rewarding Christmas season so far. If today was December 26th, I would say I had a great Christmas.
Last weekend was the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad train ride. Terri got us tickets as a Christmas gift. The views from the train were spectacular and the festive mood in the air was great. We exited the train in Peninsula and walked around to art shops and quaint little gift shops. We saw a glass-blowing class in action which was so cool. We are considering taking the classes ourselves.
Back on the train, Santa came to visit ---excites my inner child! We even started the train car into several Christmas carols. Memories made for us and others....feels very good!

We baked some cookies this past weekend as well. I thoroughly enjoyed this. I have not baked Christmas cookies since I was a kid. We did cut outs(ended up with flour on our faces) snowballs, thumbprints and even chocolate chip with walnut. We might try our hand at spritz cookies as well. Lots of fun baking while singing and dancing to Christmas carols on radio.

I am hoping to keep weight gain to a minimum this holiday. I don't want to restrict myself to much but I do want to be mindful of portions and how often I eat. It will be interesting trying to fit in running/working out next week as well. I may not get all the runs in I want but will get right back at it after the holidays.

My knee is doing well with no flare ups or swelling(knock on wood). I am keeping my runs to 3-4 miles at a time and will increase slowly. I have cancelled out the idea of doing the Canton Marathon in June. After discussing with my wellness coach at work, it would not be a good first Half Marathon . My sisters wedding is the day before the marathon. Might set my sights on running the Cleveland Half. Still sitting with it .


I am having trouble with blog on uploading pics, will try again later.

Back at it.

This past week has been the most I have run in several weeks 14 miles . I was not running since the end of Oct due to knee swelling. The orthopedist said no running while the knee was  swollen and placed me on anti inflammatories. I was given the ok to cross train with the bike and elliptical. After Thanksgiving, I started running again. I started back on the treadmill to be easier on my knee. I was doing well and slowly increasing my distance again. This past Sunday I did a trail run down at Botzam trailhead in CVNP/Erie Canal Towpath. Ohh trail runs how I have missed you. Before I knew it I ran 50 minutes for 4.9 miles. I overestimated myself and was only planning 4 miles.
My knee is doing ok right now. I get scared or nervous more like it that it will start swelling again. I don't want to miss more running. I have come to find that I love running and yes I am probably addicted. I guess there are other worse things to be addicted to.
It is hard to believe that I only started running in April to lose weight. Plus I didn't think I could run. Bigger girls don't run , right?
Well today I am about 42lbs lighter and more fit and toned up. I feel good.
My goal is to run a half marathon next year. I just need to figure out which one or ones to run. I am considering Cleveland, Akron, and Canton.

Love Christmas time!!

I am such a kid at heart anytime, but Christmas time just increases my inner child! I love the cheesey shows on TV- Charlie Brown Christmas, Rudolph and Elf.
Last weekend Terri and I put up decorations and thoroughly enjoyed doing it. We went with the large tree this year which proved difficult getting it down from garage attic.
I am exicted that tonight is The Nutcracker at the Akron Civic. Yes I am ashamed to say that I have never seen The Nutcracker, but glad to be going and we have loge seats to boot!

Here is me in my Elf hat!
The bottom picture is our tree .

Back at it

Today for the first time in over a month, I ran outside again. Ohhh outside runs how I have missed you. Before I knew it I did 3.33 miles. Now mind you the weater was cold in 33degrees and snow flurries, I still enjoyed the run. I was aware of my breathing, the cold snowflakes hitting my hot skin and the crisp air.
I will still need to build myself back up slowly but I will get there. The knee is handling this all well too. No swelling or irritation...Woot woot!!
Tomorrow I am gonna try the rec centers open gym volleyball games. I haven't played volleyball in a long time.

It's a girl!

Yes 39 years ago I was born.
I am not nervous about heading into my 40's, rather quite excited. I have come across someone else's blog to where on there birthday they did random acts of kindness x the number of years old they are. I am hoping on my next birthday to do that . Sounds unquie and a different way to celebrate your day.

Ikea Poang chair

We purchased a new bounce chair from Ikea...called Poang. It is a comfy chair and Terri fell in love with it last weekend.
The directions are done in pictoral form and very easy to follow and understand. I toot my own horn and say that I am fairly good at putting things together or following directions.
This chair took me less than 1/2hr to put together. It would have been much shorter if I wouldn't have mixed up the two pieces that are the arms and bottom part. They included all tools to assemble except a philips head screwdriver.
All in all a good purchase and a snap to assemble.

Creative outlet

I started taking Watercolor Landscape Painting classes a couple years ago at CVAC- Cuyahoga Valley Art Center. The instructor is Paul Adams. He is very pateint and a good teacher for beginners just learning to paint.
I have enjoyed the classes for several reasons. It is an outlet for me to be creative in a safe enviroment, it was a step out of the box for me trying something new, and it was me time.
I am pleased with the progress that I have made with my paintings. I can see the learning curves I have made and where I still need to improve in my paintings. One thing is I need to get more comfortable with painting on my own.
I am very excited about my current painting that we are working on. Picture to come on completion.
Here is a sample of a couple of my favorites.

Welcome

Welcome to my blog about me..Just Jen.
On here you will read about things in my life, such as running, camping, traveling, my art, crafty projects , friends/family and anything else going on with me.
Sit back, grab a cup of coffee and enjoy.