The Best Way to Spread Christmas Cheer....

Is to sing loud for all to hear!!! If you know me at all, you know that Elf is my most favorite Christmas movie. Yes, I'm sorry for you sentimental types, it even surpasses It's a Wonderful Life. It still makes me laugh out loud every time I watch it. So watch and enjoy, and I hope that you and yours have a very Merry Christmas!!!!



I think that Buddy must have been wearing Under Armour cold gear tights, because they kept him warm all the way through  his journey to NY from the seven layers of the Candy Cane Forest all the way through the Lincoln Tunnel.

I know because this chicka got some new tights for Christmas and took them out in 18* weather a couple of days ago on a 5 miler, and I stayed nice and warm!! So until I can retire someplace warm (and to those who are wondering~that is a very loooong time from now~wink!) I will forever be grateful for coldweather gear!!

By the way...I must have been a good girl this year, because Santa Baby left a Garmin Forerunner 305 for me under the tree!!!!!!!!  He's the BEST!

A Procrastinator's Twelve Days of Christmas List...

Okay, so I know that there are now hmmmm... 7days 'til Christmas, but I've been a busy girl! Hopefully all my work will put me on the "Nice" list, and Santa doesn't mind me being late, because I think I went over on my list.... a little! (*wink) So what does this little girl want for Christmas, well aside from the unattainable list of "World Peace" and "Being able to eat all the pizza, chocolate, and cake I want without gaining any weight".
On the first day of Christmas my true love can get for me....Nike Pro thermal tights ( that aren't too big for me)
On the second day of Christmas my true love can get for me...A cute carry all gym bag
On the third day of Christmas my true love can get for me...an ipod that won't break if dropped several times or to being exposed to sweat tucked in a sports bra strap
On the fourth day of Christmas my true love can get for me...swim goggles so I can see
On the fifth day of Christmas my true love can get for me...Shoes, shoes, and more shoes
On the sixth day of Christmas my true love can get for me...lots of cold gear to run in because I'm a baby
On the seventh day of Christmas my true love can get for me... a foam roller for my IT
On the eighth day of Christmas my true love can get for me...a new coat with hat and gloves for morning duty
On the nineth day of Christmas my true love can get for me...a Garmin so I can know if I'm really speedy
On the tenth day of Christmas my true love can get for me... lots of trendy outfits
On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love can get for me...Chocolate candy, cake and ice cream
On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love can get for me... Coffee!!!!

It has been a tradition for my kids to write a Santa list, and we mail it (EARLY *wink wink) so Santa can have plenty of time to get everything ready. So I thought it would be fun to sit down and think if I were to make a list what would be on it. So there ya go! It was fun for me anyway...

Not Always A Roller Coaster of Love

Trying to run with diabetes can be tricky sometimes. It's not good for me to start out on a run if I'm below say ~140. I end up crashing mid to late run and have to take in some fuel (usual Jelly Belly Sports Beans) and wait to recover. Then I can continue on. I really have come to learn that somewhere between 140-160 is my sweet spot. Much higher, I feel sluggish like I'm running through mud the first part of a run and much lower I start seeing halos mid run. I ALWAYS check my blood before a run!  Mui Importanto!!!

This weekend (for some unknown reason) my bg (blood glucose) levels have been a bit of a roller coaster ride. I ranged between 342 (yesterday- too high for running. boo!) to 105 (this afternoon-near perfect). This does not always make for a comfortable ride.

It leaves me feeling a bit tired and well....honestly I really have to work hard at not being a pooper!

I had been planning for a few weeks to run the Christmas in the Park 5k. We got our first "real" snow this weekend. You know, the winter wonderland type of snow that's just perfect for taking pictures, but not so much fun to drive or run in because it's so wet that everything just freezes over. So I decided to go ahead and bear the elements and go ahead and run. My blood was close to normal range, and maybe the run would help get it down, and really I could use a little fun!  The whole family was going to go with, but it was pretty cold and my kiddos are not fans of cold weather. I can't say I blame them. I'm pretty sure I want to retire in some tropical area selling umbrellas on the beach.

So I snuggled up in my winter gear and got my butt out there to run! I'm not sure of my time because I was too busy trying not to fall on my behind at the finish line I didn't think to stop my watch right away. But I know I finished in 27:and some change. Which earned me 1st place for my age group!! woohhooo!! Not  too shabby, especially with ice and snow covered roads.

Thanksgiving Weekend

So Thanksgiving and Christmas have always been a favorite time of year for me. I am very thankful for many things: God's amazing grace that I soooo don't even come close to deserving, my family, and some great friends that I'm just not sure what I would do without some days!! I've found myself a little more emotional this year than years past. There's something about the second year after you lose someone you love that is harder than the first... I found myself really missing my mom this year. She loved the holidays, and she loved to cook!!! She would start cooking Thanksgiving and I think not stop til Christmas - really! She had to share her love to everyone through baklava!! I love the holidays as well, but to say I love to cook would be more than stretching the truth. I know how to cook, and am pretty good at making some things, but loving it...eh not so much. So this year, just like almost every other Thanksgiving I made the broccoli casserole. Yummo!

mom would be so proud! :)

 I love family get togethers! This is our newest member to the Hull family-Sam! He is just the cutest little man! It was fun to play, and not have to change any diapers.

The day after Thanksgiving is when we decorate for Christmas. Sydney and Zachary gettin in on the photo op. It's also a great time to move the furniture around and get rid of all those dust bunnies that seem to multiply like crazy under couches and behind bookshelves. 

And the view from outside!

Oh!!! And one more thing...I have soooo enjoyed my time off!!! I even got a run in EVERY day: Thurs (in the rain) 4.6m, Fri 4.5m, Sat 6.1m..and planning just a short easy 2 miler for tomorrow. It doesn't seem like much, but for a girl that has been crazy busy lately...it's been awesome!

Man is it WINDY!!!

Ok! So every year we have this battle with trying to keep up the Christmas decorations, and yes our outside decorations are already up. We thought ahead this year and put them up on a good weather day instead of waiting until the normal Miller tradition of putting up the lights the day after Thanksgiving. We will still do that on the inside along with make hot chocolate (coffee for me) and bake cookies...pictures of that to follow.
So back to the decorations...
The deer in the front yard probably falls over ooooh 18 times a day! and so Jack put the stake through the material this time to "secure" it.

As you can see the material is still securely held in to the ground! :)

Some things you just can't control

Today's lesson: There are things in life that you cannot control. Sometimes life just happens to you and you're stuck in the middle of it.

I went on a field trip with my class today, and several, many things went wrong....from buses arriving late, to having someone get sick on the bus, to getting stuck in traffic, then lost and having to take a detour on the way back due to an accident. And why is it that some people just won't take directions, or ask for directions??? Eh? All things beyond my control. By the end of the day I figured I could either let it all ruin my whole outlook, and day, or I could just roll with the punches and hope they don't leave any marks.(ouch!)

Well even though during certain moments I was frustrated way beyond measure... by the end I was laughing over it. At least we all got there, had a good experience while we were there, and got home safely and relatively close to on time! (*wink)

It helps to have had some good friends to vent to, and go through it all with. Life is good! Can't wait for tomorrow!!! ~always and adventure

Naked Running and Homework Hotline

So tonight was the first night that I have even remotely felt like running since Thursday. I got an awesome 7 1/2 miler in on Thursday, then BAM! Stupid head cold!! I couldn't hardly breathe let alone try to run. But today? Today was a new day...So feeling somewhat better (~80%) I decided to go for a naked run. What might you say is a naked run? Well for me it is a fun run. Running for the shear enjoyment of it. I probably wasn't going to be able to push it anyway so why not leave the watch, heart rate monitor and mp3 player at home. I used to also run with my phone, but I quit doing that a while back ;) It was a GREAT run!!! Just me and the road.... I just took it easy. nice. slow 2 miles. It was really nice just to relax and run!

 My sexy white legs...I can tell it's fall because all my tan lines are all gone! Boo!! Time for a vacation!!!

And then there was Homework!!! No, not my homework...it was a true test of "Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader". My daughter's homework page (shown above) she was supposed to find the degree of the angles of each shape, but NOT using a protractor?!?! What the??? Hmmmmm.... So I remembered that the angles of an isosceles triangle all equal 180, but aside from that I needed some serious help! Well between coolmathforkids.com and a pretty AWESOME Homework Hotline connection we figured it out, but boy it doesn't take much to make a grown up feel stupid! But this girl is resourceful! I know that when I don't know the answer...it's time to find someone to help me understand. All I have to say is with all that effort this assignment better be for a grade! :)

Introducing me...not the Nick Jonas version

This year has been an eventful year! Let me tell ya~ I've been crazy busy going back to school to get my Masters'  and along with all the other stuff I have on my plate has proven to be a challenge. I won't get into all that right now, but I would like to share some of my most recent accomplishments.

In February of 2009 my diabetic doc said I had to start doing some kind of exercise if I wanted to be healthy and be around for my family. I have successfully lost and held off 35lbs! It took me about 6months to lose it, and I know that is pretty fast, but when I set my mind to somethin' I mean it! Last year was a learning year. I learned how to run and train for races (1m - 5k) and how to ride a road bike...that was quite entertaining especially for those with me on my first ride with cleated shoes...no video available, sorry!

This year I trained for my first half marathon The Indy Mini:

time 1:57:26

I also got more comfortable riding my bike and completed my first duathlon Tri Indy

I came in 1st in my age group!

I also completed my second half marathon. The Detroit Free Press Marathon/Half Marathon in October. As well as some other smaller races peppered through the year.

I think it is sooooo super important to take care of yourself! I have just recently realized that it's a necessary part of the puzzle in enjoying life. Life changing events are called "life changing" for a reason. It is your choice to let them have a positive or negative affect on you.

Right now I don't have any events on my schedule. So I am looking for some things to sign up for. I would really like to try swimming and try a triathlon this next year. I am completely freaked out by the thought of swimming though. Not that I'm afraid, it's just been a reaaaallllly long time since I've actually tried swimming. I mean like back in the day...like high school! Haha!! And that was just in PE! Oh well, won't know if I can do it unless I try. I'll let you know how things progress...

~later