November 23, 2012

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving went well yesterday, and I stuck to my plan. In the morning, I had a four mile run at race pace (9:00/mi) scheduled. It was rough. As soon as I started running my legs felt heavy and just kind of uncoordinated. That goes to show that there are good days and bad days when it comes to running.

I still managed a good pace, however.


Four miles in just shy of 35 minutes. I'm confident that I can hit my sub-55:00 goal for a 10K if I race one. I've registered for a 5K on December 9th--so hopefully I can run that sub-26 and retire from 5K's :)  Not really--I'm starting to like short and fast, so maybe I'll continue to try to improve my 5K time!

In the afternoon, I went to my parents' house for dinner. My little brother Nathan was there too, with Baily (his dog). My mom made turkey, stuffing, sweet potato casserole, corn, rolls, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and gravy; and pumpkin pie for dessert. Like I mentioned, I'm not a huge "Thanksgiving dinner person", so I planned on just having some turkey and sweet potatoes.

Before I left my house, I nuked a sweet potato and added some Stevia, and decided to have that instead of my mom's sweet potato casserole. Her casserole is SO good that I don't know if I could have stopped with a little. So I ended up having some turkey with gravy, the sweet potato, and a couple tablespoons of cranberry sauce for dinner. For dessert, I brought over Pumpkin Fluff, a recipe that I got at the Weight Watchers meeting I went to on Wednesday.



It tastes like pumpkin pie, just in mousse-form. It was good! (I also posted another recipe today for "Chicken 'n' Noodles"--I made it for dinner, and it was really good! Even though I used chicken, it'd be a great use for leftover turkey).

I was cracking up at Estelle when I was making the pumpkin fluff. The cats always come running when they hear me open a can in the kitchen, and Estelle heard me open the pumpkin. She was circling my ankles and meowing, thinking that I had a can of food for her. I said, "Estelle, it's not for you, dummy!" and I held out a spoonful of the pumpkin for her to smell, so she would leave me alone.

Well, she went nuts for it. She ate it all off the spoon, so I gave her a little bowl of the leftover pumpkin, and she ate all of that, too! It was so funny, because even when I give her some canned food, she only gives it a few licks and then she's done with it. I've never seen her go so crazy for food as she did with the pumpkin!


The other cats all swarmed around me, demanding their food, too. When I let them sniff what Estelle was eating, they gave me a look like, "Oh, yeah, like I really want THAT."

Last night, I was so completely bored that I went to bed at 8:30--and without my nightly wine! Usually, after the kids are in bed, I'll watch a show on TV and have a glass of wine and a Dove Promise. Last night, there was nothing on TV, and I just felt so incredibly bored that I went to bed. (I really wanted to eat my boredom away, but figured sleeping would be better).

Today would have been my long run, but I took today off because I made plans to run with Stephanie early tomorrow morning at the Metropark. I haven't run with a partner in a while, so I'm looking forward to it! It's going to be very cold, in the mid-20's, but we're only running six miles.

Today, I cleaned the heck out of the laundry room, and then scoured Pinterest for some sewing ideas. I desperately want to get crafty with my sewing machine, but can't figure out what I want to make. If you haven't checked out yesterday's crafty post, make sure you do!



23 comments:

  1. Whole Foods carries canned pumpkin year-round ... in the pet food section. It's the same one the put on display for pie making at holiday time, but they carry it the rest of the year as well because the fiber in it is a good occasional food add-in for dogs (and I guess cats too!).

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    1. That's so interesting--such a strange "pet" food, but Estelle definitely approves!

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  2. That is so funny about your cat. My female cat loves pumpkin too! It is the weirdest thing, but was nice when my vet told me to give her pumpkin for her stomach. Haha.

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    1. I never would have guessed she'd actually like it!

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  3. I've heard good things about pumpkin fluff, someday I will try it. Estelle is too cute!

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    1. It's yummy! But kind of rich, so I didn't feel the need to eat TOO much--a good thing :)

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  4. Pets are hysterical. Molly comes running when I open the cold cut drawer because she hopes for a slice of pepperoni to come flying her way. Charlie has pb toast every morning and when the jar sounds like it's getting empty, she comes running because she gets the jar to lick clean. If you're eating yogurt, you might want to do it behind closed doors because she stares at you and drools until you give her THAT container to lick clean. She's definitely "food motivated." She high-fives for treats. Love her.

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    1. Haha! My dad used to eat a huge bowl of ice cream every night (no wonder it's my biggest weakness!) and their dog would go running into the kitchen for his own little bowl--he was used to hearing that noise of the container (those big one-gallon plastic tubs).

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  5. Cats - they all are so individual. We love our cat but we're fostering a kitten soon - and our cat has never been around other animals really. We're nervous about the introduction. Any tips on how you got your cats to get along?

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    1. That's a tough one! The only cat of ours that didn't seem to mind the other cats was Paolo. But every time we've taken in a new cat, it takes a good week or two before they tolerate being near each other. We just give them their own space, and let them do it on their own. I certainly wouldn't force them to be together in the same room, or sit together. Eventually, our cats have gotten to the point where they don't mind being around each other. They play together sometimes, but mostly just do their own things.

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    2. Thanks! Kitten is coming on Saturday, so wish us luck!

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  6. "Only running six miles." HA! Only. Only a runner would say something like that :)

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    1. LOL, I didn't even realize I said it like that. But you're totally right! ;)

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  7. Be careful of too much pumpkin, because it may cause diarrhea. I work at a veterinary clinic and we recommend that for dogs and cats that are constipated, but too much can have a laxative affect.

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    1. Good to know! I'll give her a little now and then when I open a can, but won't go too crazy ;)

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  8. Love your blog! I'm a new reader and I'm hooked. I'm a new runner (3 months) and I love reading your posts. I also follow the WW plan and I have lost 17 lbs so far (3 months). I started reading your blog when I first started running and you have been a great motivating factor for me. Thank you!!

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    1. Congrats on the weight loss--you're doing great!!

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  9. I'm glad you found a sweet potato alternative!

    Have a great weekend!

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    1. The sweet potato was okay, but nothing compared to my mom's casserole! ;)

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  10. hey, is it okay if I mention about your blog in mine?

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    1. Of course you can link to my blog :) Just please don't use my photos or writings w/o checking with me.

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  11. I just had to come share... Remember a few days ago you posted about how to start running/increase speed?

    I did it! I actually ran. I was (am) sooooo excited! It is a very big deal for me (I need to lose 100 pounds). I tried your 30 second start-up plan and I did it!

    Can't thank you enough for sharing that plan. You've rocked my world!

    Nitty Gritty Momma

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    1. That is AWESOME--I'm SO excited for you! Congrats :)

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