Oh I am so clever with titles!

No, just cheesy.

This weekend was fantastic for several reasons, and I’ll update you lovely people on some of the highlights. Just know, my weekend consisted heavily of cookies, running love, and Christmas merriment—so get prepared for a bare-all look at my idea of Saturday and Sunday perfection (or close to it).

But seriously, the cookie consumption was a little absurd—try not to judge.

Let’s start with Friday night.

As I stated in Friday’s post, I went with my coworker (read:boss) Leanne to see Breaking Dawn, which was in my opinion one of the better Twilight movies and honestly enjoyable for anyone who read the books. Yes, guilty—I read them all. What-ever. Afterward, we joined some other employees for our annual holiday party. White elephant, holiday decor, way too many appetizers for a small group of people—it was a pretty classic set up for a company good time. Also, apparently my subconscious decided that wasting good food is well, wasteful, and I aimlessly ate way more than I normally do—enjoying it all, but my fullness capacity was not happy at the end of the night. It happens, right??

The cookie contest was also a success. Not only was I the winner, but I was able to eat a lot of cookies to top off all the wine/cheese/bruschetta that lined my stomach. Honestly, I had a slight advantage—Leanne decided to make cookies that were not only vegan, but they didn’t have any sugar, only maple syrup. They were delicious, and a worthy demonstration that vegan baked goods can be highly enjoyable. However…butter trumps all. Always.

I love Christmas season.

Moving on, I woke up Saturday morning in a bit of a foul mood. I knew I needed to shake it, and despite my feelings of laziness and bleh-ness, sweat was necessary. I was a bit bored with the idea of double spin, and I decided after the first spin class the bang out some fast treadmill miles.

Now, 90% of the time I will choose to run outside. It’s more entertaining, more comfortable, and generally goes by much faster. However, there are rare occasions where I get the urge to set one quick pace on the treadmill and go to town with some of the fast-pace, more intense songs I usually don’t listen to. It helps me work at a definite pace, and if I feel like I need to push myself harder I can up the speed a bit and know exactly how much faster I’m going. In this instance of needing a mood revival, angry treadmill running was just what the doctor ordered. You’ll see this term used again, because I really only resort to the treadmill in instances of scorching heat, white-out blizzards, or bad moods. You can guess which of the three occurs the most in the Pacific Northwest…

The rest of the day was spent hanging with BF, shopping for some Christmas presents, happy hour at Mission, and watching too many episodes of Dexter.

We are obsessed.

I would like to send some applause out to my mom’s partner Kate, who ran a half marathon on Saturday! Kate is a bad ass hiker, biker, and one of my favorite people in the world—and her style of running half marathons is to use the fitness she has and just go for it. Basically, not training in any kind of running sense. This, to me, is remarkable; so many people spend weeks and months training for such a big race, and the fact that Kate (and my mommy) can whip them out without [too much] difficulty is a sure sign of impressive fitness.

Sunday, I woke up amped for a long run. I was well hydrated and my legs felt loose (lucky after the fast run the day before), and I hit the road hoping to finish 16 miles. The weather was freezing, sunny, and for a runner—glorious. It’s funny to me to see people in their wool coats and winter hats(rightfully so!) walking along while we runners are in shorts and thin shirts.

Crazies, that’s what it comes down to.

I finished 16.6 miles in 2:18, which I was pumped about. My min/mile times have been varying between 8-8:45 since the marathon, and as I’m attempting to get faster, a long run with 8:20 splits is highly encouraging. I also felt great the last two miles, and actually felt like I could keep going—very thankful my endurance can still outlast those mental doubts that pop up.

After the run, we settled into some football and house cleaning (read: one of us did one of those things, one of us did the other), and then we went to select our Christmas tree! BF is sadly allergic to Christmas trees, and despite my love of fresh pine scent wafting through the house, I had to submit to his medical waiver and opt for the Target fake trees.

This was a first for me, can you tell?

We stopped by my favorite bakery on the way home, Bakery Nouveau, and picked up two of their fan-flipping-tastic double chocolate cookies. They are as big as your face, and they gave them to us hot from the oven.

The night concluded with tree decorating, Chipotle eating, and some more Dexter watching. Chipotle is one of my truest, unconditional loves, and it has been missed.

Our tree, despite the shot-in-the-dark ornament selection and somewhat shaky assembly, actually turned out quite lovely! I strung some lights above our window too, and our living room is now a-glow with Christmas joy. I’m thankful for BF, who puts up with all my childish giddiness and holiday euphoria.

Thanks babe, you’re a trooper.

It’s official! Holidays are happening. And so far…only one candy cane has been broken.

Now YOU! There were Christmas trees atop so many cars this weekend, do you re-use a fake tree, or go for the real deal? Any fun decorating traditions? ‘Tis the season for sharing 🙂