Black Friday Hypocrite…and a New Running Around Normal!

Well, I was going to wait until tomorrow to post because……

A. It’s RAN Household Thanksgiving 2010 Preparation Insanity in the kitchen right now

and

B. I’m running out of daylight to take pictures!!

But I can’t help myself. As you can see, Running Around Normal looks a little different this afternoon!!

That’s because this whole week, I’ve been working with Cory of Zesty Blog Consulting to give my blog a facelift! We worked together a lot yesterday and today, and I’m happy to share with you the final product!!! I love it 😀 😀

He also gave a makeover to my other website, Fitconomy! I recommend checking out his superb work (and my content!) by either clicking on the hyper link, or on the cute little logo Cory created for me at the bottom right hand sidebar 😀

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Let’s talk Black Friday.

I am the most anti-black Friday one person can get. I hate lines, I hate crowds, and I’d be more than happy to shovel over the extra 20 dollars NOT to stand in line for three hours. Additionally, I don’t get many days to sleep in. I’m not gonna waste them 😉

I did, however, wake up with the sun this morning, and after some coffee and blogging I met up with my girl Heidi for a spinning session!

After class……I did the Black Friday thing. But my way!! After 9:30 in the morning and at a local establishment. I’ll stay far, far, away from Best Buy, Toys R Us, and Wal-Mart, but my local running store? I can handle.

Besides…they were having a 25% off of EVERYTHING sale.

So I made the impulsive decision to console myself from having to take a month off of running by buying some spin class shoes:

What can I say? I like to jump right in with both feet and immerse myself!

I was in and out in 20 minutes, and that includes the time it took for the guy to attach my clip ins for the pedals! I also left with some sweet black wick dry socks:)

I can’t wait to try the shoes out!!

I’m sure I’ll be fumbling my way through “clipping in” in Monday morning’s spin class.

I have no idea how to clip in. Is clip in the right term??

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I think my potatoes are tender! Back to cooking I go!

Oh – and you’ll be happy to know that the Amish turkey is completely thawed out and ready to be cooked.

 

Big thanks to the husband for taking care of that job. However, I’ll be partaking in butternut squash lasagna instead of turkey 😉

Did you participate in Black Friday? Or are you Anti-Black Friday, like me??

The Gang’s All Here

I have been loving reading everyone’s Thanksgiving recaps. It makes me so happy to read about what so many of you are thankful for and how happy your Thanksgivings were. For my non-US readers, Happy Friday 🙂

Thanksgiving 2010 was a fantastic one!

It started at the gym. I met my girl Heidi at the gym for Body Attack, and finished it out with 15 minutes on the step mill.

15 minutes on the step mill has me sweating more than a 6 mile run! It’s brutal!! In a good way 🙂 I worked out – and worked UP and appetite.

Per the usual, I didn’t leave myself enough time between end of workout and getting in the car to head to my aunt’s house for Thanksgiving #1. We were due there around 1:00 and Thanksgiving lunch/dinner was soon after. What time of the day do you eat Thanksgiving? We’ve always eaten at my Aunt Kim’s at 1:00.

I packed up my two pies (pumpkin and apple) and the portabello lasagna rollups – which I didn’t take pictures of, and we headed over.

 

This year (almost – love you Aunt Bobbie!) EVERYONE made it! Almost every year someone has to be over at their spouses side of the family. It was the first year ALL of us cousins were together (except Jason, who lives in Florida.)

The love was flowing as we all stuffed ourselves silly, drank multiple glasses of wine and champagne, and played Balderdash.

I should have taken more pictures, but it’s times like this when I feel I need to live in the moment. I know, I know, it’s most likely times like this (Thanksgiving, with lots of food) that most food bloggers find it imperative to put the holiday to good use for the blog. But I just wanted to BE with the fam.

All of us cousins. 🙂

When Shane and I had to leave to go back to Niko, I have to admit, I got a little sad. Our little house seemed SO quiet after leaving the magnificent chaos of my Aunt and Uncle’s house.

By the time we got home, I was ready for leftovers. However, anything left over from what I made I left over…there. So this sufficed:

 

Roasted brussels and broccoli, a bit of whole wheat cous cous, and curried eggplant.

And since the oven was on, I went ahead and got my squash cooking out of the way:

 

Now all I have to do is puree it and put it in the lasagna 🙂

The rest of the night was spent with my eyes on the tube catching up with this week’s shows and my hand in this bowl.

 

I felt sick before I realized how mindlessly I was eating. Ciest la vie.

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And at approximately 3:00 pm today, I’ll know how my Aunt Kim feels every single year as she’s in the midst of cooking Thanksgiving dinner. Shane’s family comes over HERE for Thanksgiving dinner tonight. And I’m the host! Here’s my Thanksgiving menu. I’ll report back tomorrow on whether or not the bird was served. 😉 It’s Shane’s duty! I’m a vegetarian and am NOT Sticking my hand up a turkeys you-know-where, and… we have a bit of a…defrosting issue over here.

But for now, I spin.

What was your favorite part of Thanksgiving? The food was incredible, as always, but the company was even better.

Happy Turkey…Day

There’s a turkey in my freezer and I’m unsure what to do with it to get it from freezer status to serving status.

 

What I do know…

• It’s organic
• And it lived a happy life (the lady at the butcher shop said so 😛 )
• And this turkey was raised on an Amish farm

 

What I don’t know…

How it lived a happy life it was deprived growing up without a laptop or an iPhone! 😛

 

Happy Turkey…Day to my American readers:)

I’m off to take Body Attack with my girl, Heidi! Working up that Thanksgiving appetite!! 😀