Tag Archives: Christmas

A December mix…

As soon as I got home from that trip, I geared up for a busy week. I volunteered my services to the Central Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra Program for their inaugural concert. The kids were wonderful, and I loved seeing the college students bonding with the kids within their sections.

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We also took a little time to capture a photo for our Christmas card. πŸ™‚

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We had a week or so with this crazy fog, so we took full advantage of that. πŸ™‚ Abbie was a trooper for the shoot!

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Christmas was a kind of a blur. We were lucky enough to have seven family Christmas celebrations! Since I’m late in blogging about it, I’m going to skip telling you about all the driving and wrapping and cooking, and sum it up in that we are really lucky and feel blessed to have our family and friends.
Oh, but I will share a couple pictures from my travels…
The Chicago Chamber Choir concert, that I attended with my Aunt Colleen and Steve, and my great aunt Eileen…

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A run along the lakeshore…

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An awesome Christmas morning run with my loves, crazy warm weather, caterpillars (in DECEMBER!), core work with Abbie as my med ball, and Christmas pancakes…

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What it means to be a seasonally decorated Packer fan…

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Long lost friends from London…

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Amanda’s birthday in Minneapolis…

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And pretty typical cold weather returned.

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That’s all for now, friends. πŸ™‚

Miles this year: 45

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Finished with antibiotics, Cat and Brett, family, tying flies, Talia and JJ, and lots of traveling.

I’m proud to say I have officially finished my 10 days on antibiotics. Now, the probiotics begin πŸ™‚
Brian and I had influenza, and mine paired up with a sinus infection to keep me pretty miserable and out-of-it for almost three weeks.
I’m almost disappointed to report that I’ve run a total of 6.25 miles this year. On a positive note, I finished off last year with a total of 670.4. That means $67.04 will come from out of our pocket in memory of Rachael. 2012 was a heck of year for my Miles for Melanoma schedule- Bock run, Oshkosh 1/2, Crazylegs, Lacrosse 5K, Madison Marathon, Grandma’s Marathon, Heart and Sole 5 miler, Lifest 5K, Fox Cities 1/2, Clam Chowdah Challenge, Noodleini 15K, and the Frostbite. Amen to that, and we miss you, Rachael.
One of my running resolutions for 2013 was is to run a higher weekly average- mostly meaning that I’d continue to run seriously between training for races. I will be happy to get going on that resolution as soon as I’m feeling 100%. In the meantime, I’ve been cross training and trying to keep in good spirits.

Since I’ve been “gone” for the better part of the month, here’s a little recap, dominated by photos πŸ™‚
We hosted a fun cocktail party, complete with a surprise guest from London, my beloved junior high crush, Jon Marx πŸ™‚ I didn’t think he could get any cuter, but he did… He now has an accent. Oh, dear.

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We also celebrated Christmas eight times, all over the state…

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Sledding with my cousins…

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Took a family picture…

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Visited my sister, her boyfriend, and my adorable niece, Ember…

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Ran in 6 degree air on Christmas morning…

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Made Christmas pancakes…

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Ran in the country, at my in-laws…

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Visited with Catherine, Chad, and Carlo…

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Played outside, in the snow, in the country…

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Shot the beautiful winter wedding of Catharine and Brett…

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Celebrated New Year’s Eve (and Amanda’s birthday!) in Baraboo with my Delta Omicron sisters and brothers and spouses…

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Spent time with our California bride, Talia, and her fiancΓ©, JJ…

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Celebrated our five year anniversary, mostly by laying and resting (darn flu!) but also by going skating…

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Took Abbie out a few times, in training for being a running partner…

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Went to one of our TU fly tying workshops…

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And last, but definitely not least, celebrated my Grampie’s 87th birthday. I love that man.

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I made dinner tonight, and tried a new experiment with the ends of my green onions. Results to come. πŸ™‚

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Lonely miles this year: 6.25

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Christmas preparations, in a nutshell.

First and foremost- please hug your loved ones. After the national tragedy of the loss of those beautiful elementary school children, I’ve been reminded to tell those special people in my life that I love them. Like this handsome face!

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We’ve been busy getting ready for Christmas in our home.

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I love our Charlie Brown tree! I have almost all of our gifts wrapped and ready, under the tree. I wrote out all of our Christmas cards, too!

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We spent some time working on our homemade gifts for the family, as well- home brewed beer! We bottled at Joe’s house on Saturday.

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So far, I have all of my Christmas print orders fulfilled, and everything framed and matted, waiting to be happily given as gifts πŸ™‚
This may be the most prepared I’ve ever been for Christmas, as long as I can remember. I’ve been getting spiritually ready, too…
Our church has been discussing The Advent Conspiracy for the last few weeks. If you’re looking for a deeper meaning of Christmas, it’s not too late. Check it out!
I’ve had a few short, fun runs this week- I’ve mostly been cross-training and doing some exercises to strengthen my hips. My physical therapist checked me out upon my return from Boston, and my muscles aren’t quite in balance. Bring on the resistance bands and ArcTrainer!

Miles this year: 658.9

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