Probably Annoying

When my friends and I were in Nashville last April for our half-marathon, a girl stepped onto the elevator with us. She smelled amazing, so we told her so, asking what perfume she was wearing.

Laughing she said, “It’s Biofreeze.”

Just a little running humor for you to get this post started off on a probably annoying foot. Annoying because I realize that if you’re not a runner, you most likely don’t have the same affinity as I do for talking about all! things! running! Really, I could talk about running for days, the best running clothes, Garmin watches, stretching techniques, favorite routes, paces and splits, races, ointments….

(For you non-runner types who are still reading, Biofreeze is basically Ben-Gay, which is FUNNY right, that we thought it smelled like perfume?!)

So I know you’re probably very interested in hearing about how my half-marathon training is going! Well I’ll tell you! It’s going. I’m having some hip “issues” that I hope don’t turn into hip “problems,” but mostly I feel pretty good.

This round of training has been different than the last time. One of our good friends had a freak accident and hasn’t been able to train with us, but she’s ALIVE and getting better everyday, so that’s the most important thing. And another friend decided that she just really doesn’t like running (WHAT THE WHAT?!?!). It’s not the same without them. The rest of us are still having fun and talking smack about them while we run. (Just kidding Jen and Kate! Or am I…..)

I think about where I was with running just a little less than two years ago. I…hated it. I wanted to love running, but I couldn’t understand why people purposely ran, if not for the reason of being chased by a bad guy holding a gun or rabid animal. Never in a gabajillion years would I have ever imagined that running would be something that I truly love or that I’d develop such deep friendships with my running friends. Friends. They are the key to my love of running. Truly.

::

Apparently Christmas is right around the corner. My Scrooged-ness has begun to set in, worse than ever this year. Putting up the tree was a CHORE, but I faked merriment and joy for the kids. All of Christmas seems like a chore and I hate that.

Carson and Ella have been acting like jerks the past few weeks. I’ve basically taken away everything that gives their life joy, which means they get no chocolate in their milk, no special treats after school, no help folding their laundry, no Wii, no TV Christmas shows, no movie nights. Since none of this seemed to be make a bit of difference in their behavior, I decided to bring in the big guns.

We got an Elf on the Shelf.

Her name is Daisy and truthfully, I got her for myself as much as for the kids. I wanted something that would put the magic back into Christmas for me and after just two days of devising crazy schemes for the kids to find in the morning, I have to say that I’m having so much fun. It’s sort of like Christmas morning EVERY morning, watching the kids faces when they find her.

As an added bonus, their behavior has improved dramatically these past two days! Daisy, YOU are a miracle worker!

I plan to obnoxiously post all of Daisy’s adventures, so, uh, beware? Get ready to be wowed? I swore in years past that I’d never be one of those wackadoo people who got into the whole Elf on the Shelf phenomenon, but I’m allowed to change my mind! After the past several years of completely overthinking Christmas, I just needed to be reminded that we’re all allowed to have a little fun…even at, ESPECIALLY at, Christmastime.