Christmas 2012

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! I know I sure did!

No real tree this year. I did NOT make a fuss.

We had a low key Christmas this year. Most of it was just me and my parents, and it felt more like a quick vacation than a stressful holiday.

Wood stove equals relaxing.

I woke up Christmas morning and, after opening presents, went on a short 10 mile run. It was a glorious morning, and I was happy to be out on the trails. I pretty much hit every hill I could find in my parents' town.

I came home to a lovely brunch filled with some of my favorite foods. Then, because it was raining, my stepmom and I played an epic game of Jenga. We ended up getting to 34 levels, if I remember correctly.

And, boy oh boy, was it stressful! Haha. I don't think either of us expected the game to get so intense, but by the end, we were on the same team and just trying to get the tower as high as possible. Put two anal perfectionists in a room and there's trouble! Our efforts to capture the final collapse on camera didn't happen. We were pretty much on camera standby the whole time!

My Aunt, Uncle and cousins ended up coming for Christmas day dinner, so it was great catching up with them.

The next morning, I took off on the same trails for an 8 mile run. My hips were barking at me from all the hills the previous day.

I did, however, manage to look like a complete stud with capris and neon pink compression socks. Had to get some photo proof of that, obviously.

I also got to try out a new Christmas present I got, a headlamp! Finally no more running in the dark. It was definitely needed while I was running at my parents' house. Goodness gracious it gets dark out in the country!

I tried to secure the lamp around my arm, but it didn't shine in front of me correctly, so I surrendered and put it on my head. It didn't stay exactly like I wanted it to, so I may take it back to REI and see if we can find a solution. By "we", I mean the helpful staff, because they sure are knowledgeable there!

What else did I get for Christmas, you may ask?

My parents made me a photo mug with my puppy (she's actually 13 years old, but I still remember the day I got her, so she will always be my puppy) on it! So cute. I can't wait to use it!

I also got....

Ellen underwear! Totally random, but my stepmom and I both share a love for Ellen and apparently her underwear is super comfortable! I'll let ya know!

Other family happenings included getting my haircut!

Finally! It's only been almost 8 months. Needless to say, my hair was a little scraggly.

Luckily, my aunt is a hair stylist and she is always happy to give me a trim when I see her. Thank goodness because I've got better things to spend my money on! Like race fees. Obviously.

We also played lots of Uno, which I forgot how much I enjoyed! That was, until my stepmom, aunt and I all ended up in a fierce 40 minute game, which we were all happy to finally finish!

The other thing we do when we are bored...hike! My parents live right next to a national park, and we always have a good time taking walks with the pup.

All in all a great Christmas full of lots of family time!

And lots of Jilly cuddles. My favorite kind.