Back.

The whirlwind has died down. We're back from Long Island and the big 40th anniversary party that we hosted for my parents is over. Back to normal (so to speak).

Briefly:

Easy trip down to LI. No traffic. Yippee! Lovely Thanksgiving day, which included a great 6.1 mile run (in shorts!), lots of family time and even more food. Fun Friday-after-Thanksgiving with a big family gathering. Late night trip back upstate. No traffic. Yippee! Chaos getting ready for the surprise anniversary party. Success. Surprised parents, 55 happy people at our house. Yippee!

Sunday, we caught up. I cleaned. I ran. I was a little lazy.

Now, I'm back. I'll eventually get caught up on everything in my Google reader. I may even attempt to write an interesting post or two. Don't hold your breath too long . . .

In the meantime, I posted the bodyshaper winner over here and I'm getting ready to post a pretty cool running books review/giveaway later this week. So stay tuned! Oh, and, wow -- how is it December tomorrow? This fall flew by . . .

Have a great week, everyone!

~ Felice

Happy Thanksgiving!

I've been jamming a ton of stuff into the last two days including, but not limited to, toilet cleaning, dip making, laundry washing, clothes folding, floor mopping, errand running and lots and lots and lots of coffee drinking.

Now, I'm almost -- almost -- ready to head to Long Island for the Thanksgiving holiday. We leave later this afternoon so I really ought to get packing! And I probably need to fit a shower in at some point, too . . .

In the meantime, since I won't be able to post while I'm away, I wanted to thank each and every one of you who stops by and reads my posts and makes me feel like I'm not quite as nutso as my mother and others would have me believe. (Yes, my mom did express concern that my uterus would fall out when I ran "that marathon.") Your comments and emails and overall support make my day!

Yes, I'm grateful to the running blogging community this Thanksgiving season. I'm also grateful that I have a loving family, some terrific friends and an overall happy, healthy little life. Yay!

So, now I best finish getting ready. Happy Thanksgiving!!!

~ Felice

PS: Remember to enter my bodyshaper giveaway, if you're interested.

And . . . check out some Black Friday deals for runners here and here!

Buggin' out.

We have chaos on all fronts here in Happy Runner-ville. First, we're headed to Long Island on Wednesday to celebrate Thanksgiving with my husband's family. We'll head back home late Friday night, probably arriving early Saturday morning. We won't have much time to relax when we get home because we're then hosting a huge surprise 40th anniversary party for my parents that night. We're expecting about 50 people! Needless to say, I'm bugging out.

On top of that, my toddler has decided that now is a good time to throw some tantrums. As in: hour-long tantrums. Oh, and to skip his naps, too. He thinks that's the winning formula.

It all makes me want to just drop everything and head out for a run.

But that would be irresponsible and, in the case of leaving my child at home alone, illegal. Don't worry -- I would never, ever, ever, ever do such a thing. But there are times when I'm tempted to just walk out that door.

Instead, here I am. And, lucky me, I got some good news today. I have a new project! A few weeks ago, when I finished my last one, I wrote about how nervous I was that I wouldn't get any new work. Well, no worries. A past client contacted me to help them on their new brochure. Yay! I'm relieved.

Of course, that means a bunch of deadlines which can only be met if my little guy behaves. So, I'll be praying to the Good Naps and No Tantrums gods for a few weeks. Forgive me if I seem a little distracted . . .

Hope you all had a great weekend! Happy Monday --

~ Felice

PS: Oh, and hey! I have a new review and giveaway over at my other site. Bodyshaping . . .

Running again.

After the rotten post-run migraine on Sunday, I didn't run all week. I was feeling nervous and so I decided to go for some cross-training. I did more lunges, squats and push ups last week than I've done in ages. And my body has been feeling it!

Today, though, I got back in the running shoes and went out for a relaxing 5.5 mile run. It was GREAT! Don't get me wrong: I was still quite nervous after the run, thinking that I might get another migraine. But, I took the time for a proper cool-down then I ate my usual handful of raw almonds and dried cranberries, followed by a glass of water and a cup of coffee. I also took an Advil sinus because I needed to cover myself, just in case.

It all worked and I'm pleased. It felt terrific to be out there running again. Sure, cross-training is important and enjoyable but, really, it isn't running. Nothing compares to a run!

And with that, I'm off to enjoy my Saturday evening and hope that you enjoy yours, too. I'm also sending some good vibes to everyone racing tomorrow - I'm rooting for you!!!

Have a great rest of the weekend, everyone!

~ Felice