Weekend Randomness

Getting Organized...
I know it’s not fun to have every minute of life planned out and to live by the calendar, but sometimes it’s what will keep the sanity in my house. Last week, we actually had some free time on Wednesday evening (no activities for the kids, no workouts to do), so we took advantage of it – after getting lunches and clothes ready for the next day, we had a family game night. And yes, I managed to get totally schooled in Candyland Bingo! After the kids were in bed, I commented that we needed to work on the Kiddo’s project the next night. I knew we’d have a busy weekend and it was due on Monday. Then, the Hubby reminded me that the project was actually due on Friday (as in the day after tomorrow), not Monday.

Doh!

I was annoyed; after all we just spent an hour playing games when we should have at least started the project. Grrrrr. Because of this (and this isn’t the 1st time I’ve managed to get dates confused), I decided that we needed to get organized. The hubby and I both missed our workouts on Thursday, so he could entertain the Munchkin while the Kiddo and I worked on her project. Shame on us for working on school projects at the last minute!

To help remedy this problem, I recently bought a cute calendar that gives you enough space to have a line for each member of the family for each day and space to write in activities for each person. It’s a 2012 calendar, so beginning in January the goal is to be uber-organized. So no, it isn’t fun to live and die by the calendar, but it does make things a lot less stressful because it’s easier to stay on top of things! We'll see how it goes.

Random Weekend Stuff - The run & the swim...
This weekend was a lot of fun. Friday we were supposed to go to a holiday party, but we had an appointment that ran late. By the time we made it home, we were just not feeling like getting all dressed up and heading back out. Plus, I knew I’d be waking up at stupid-thirty to run 16-miles, so no party for us! The kiddos were staying at their Grandparent’s house all weekend, so the hubby and I ran a couple of quick errands (like FINALLY picking up our Christmas cards) and grabbed a bite to eat.

Saturday my running peeps only had to run a 12-miler, so I started early enough to get in my extra 4 miles and then met up with them. It was a great run. Definitely warmer than the weatherman predicted (it was 48 rather than 38), but overcast and nice. No complaints at all during the run – at the advice of Coach, I worked on consuming more calories and tried Hammer Gel. The gels are definitely easier to carry than my Honey Stinger gels, but since I haven’t used gels in awhile, I started with the Honey Stinger chews and ended with a Hammer Gel. I tried the espresso flavor – normally, I like espresso, but maybe not in a gel! Next time, I think I’ll stick to the apple or raspberry flavors! Coach was right though, with more calories consumed, I didn’t feel like I wanted to eat an entire cow after my run and my recovery was great – very little stiffness or soreness.

After our run, I met up with some of my running BFFs for Starbucks and girl talk – It’s been too long since we’ve all gotten together on a Saturday and I’ve missed it! After my run and coffee, I headed to the gym to get in my missed swim from Thursday. I figured if nothing else, the cool water would feel great on my legs. And it did! I swam 1,800 in about 45 minutes. I’ll admit – after that, I could have eaten a cow, lol!

The shopping...
After both workouts and a shower, the hubby and I did some Christmas shopping for the kids. Oh my god, we had so much fun trying to figure out what to get (they want EVERYTHING!). And the crowds weren't horrible either. However, I will say one certain Target in our area needs to get their crap together - the shelves there were a mess!!! We still need to buy for some other family members…not sure when that’s gonna happen, though. We ended our outing with dinner at PF Changs. Yummy, yum, yum! The Hubs and I had every intention of watching the Kona coverage that night, but all that running, swimming and shopping wore me out (well, maybe that and the glass of wine I had at dinner)...I was ready to hit the hay by 9:30 pm. (LOSER!)

Everything else...
Sunday we had to get to church an hour early because the kiddo had choir practice for the Christmas Eve performance, so we had to get the kiddo from the Grandparents and get to church. And, we had a lot of other things to accomplish as well…so that meant no sleeping in! I woke up at 6 am to ride for an hour on the bike trainer and the Hubby had to head out for his 7-mile run. Luckily, we managed to get everything done through the course of the day, and we still had time for some football (GO TEXANS – AFC South Champs and playoff bound!!!!)



We ended our weekend with our tri-club’s holiday social. So much fun and too many margarita’s! Actually, I only had two and they were the smaller ones…I am a cheap date. Monday’s word for the day will be “HYDRATE”! ‘Tis the season!

Any tips on staying organized and keeping all the deadlines straight? How was your weekend? Holiday shopping? Holiday parties?