Post-Christmas Haze

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! I know I certainly did.

I didn't do much blogging, mainly because I was busy spending time with my family instead of constantly being on my computer.

That... and the fact that I was with the only people that actually read my blog. Why write about my experiences when they're there experiencing them with me? That's just redundant.

Long story short about my Christmas morning: I worked from 6am to 2pm all by myself (yep...all alone) writing stories to put on our channel's ticker. It was great (and by great I mean boring) fun. Not a whole lot of news happened for the most part. The biggest thing that happened was a wind storm that picked up around noon that caused some power outages.

Then it was time to go home and join in on the Xmas festivities.

I have to say that I made out like a bandit this Christmas. I got a new pair of Lululemon running pants (for when I start my 10k training) and lots of cool Tupperware items for my packed meals I take to work. Spoiler alert: I used some of them in my lunch and dinner today.

But the present that really sent my Christmas over the top was my new iPhone 4S. Yep, you read that write. My parents got me the new iPhone, with Siri and everything.

I was planning on getting the phone myself using some gift cards and kitty-sitting money, but I was totally shocked when I opened my last present and found the Apple iPhone box. My mom was really clever and put it in a super large box, and even weighed it down with some magazines. She's so sneaky.

The presents I gave out this year were also a big hit. My parents totally love the Keurig coffeemaker I got them. In addition to that, I got them both new coffee mugs to drink their fancy coffee in. My dad got a Dr. Who-themed mug with a TARDIS that disappears when it's touched by hot water (for those who don't know, a TARDIS is a time-and-space-traveling phone booth that's bigger on the inside). For my mom, I got her a customized mug that has a picture of Lionel Messi winking on it.

I'm so effing clever.

I got my grandma some new place mats and napkins. Now she doesn't have to use paper napkins and kill a million trees when she's eating.

After opening the presents, we sat around waiting for our ham to cook and watching Sunday Night Football. Good times.

There was one down-note about my Christmas. After almost 30 days of running everyday, I just could not run on Sunday. I don't know why, but my stomach felt like crap. So much so, that I couldn't even bare the thought of getting on the treadmill for a mile.

I felt kind of bummed that I broke my streak, but I just wasn't feeling well. But at least it made my run on the 26th that much better.

I didn't have to work the day after Christmas, so I had a pretty lazy day. I didn't get to the gym until almost one, but I ran a good two miles with no side aches.

I had to get an Apple Care warranty for my new phone, which meant that I had to go to the Apple store at Bellevue Square to buy it. Oh. Em. Gee. That place was a fricking mad house. Thank Tim Tebow I made a reservation, otherwise I would have been there a long time.

I also got a snazzy new cover to go with my phone. I'd show you a picture, but I'm afraid to peel it off my phone.

After the Apple Store madness, we went to Nordstrom's to see what kind of after-Christmas deals they had going on. I wasn't planning on buying anything, but I ended up getting two shirts and a sweater, all of which I purchased with Christmas and kitty-sitting money.

I then wanted to stop buy a specialty running shop to see what they had in the way of watches and water receptacles for longer runs.

I wanted to get a watch that kept track of how far I was running and how fast I was running. Since I'm starting my 10k training next week, I wanted something that told me my per-mile pace, since I have to stick to the paces the training program assigned me.

The store clerk helped me find a watch that did all those things. Well, it didn't take a lot of searching since it was the last watch they had in the store since all the other ones were bought for Christmas. Duh.

The down-side was that the watch cost $200. That seems a little steep to me, but I also remembered that I didn't have to buy a $200 iPhone in addition to the watch. So I considered myself still in the black.

I also got a belt that holds two little water bottles and has a place to put my phone and keys. Now I won't have to hold on to a water bottle when I got out for my 13 miles runs. That would have been lame. Merry Christmas to me!

After boosting the Boxing Day economy, we went back to the house to eat more Cougar Gold cheese and crackers and watch Monday Night Football. Hot damn that cheese is good. I hate Wazzu, but they really do make the best cheese.

We did some more lounging around and eating -- you know, things everyone does on the holidays. We got to see Drew Brees set the new single-season passing yards record, which was cool. I like Drew Brees. He's a classy guy. But I'm sure it keeps him up at night that he doesn't have a Rose Bowl win thanks to Marcus Tuiasosopo and the UW Huskies.

Yeah...I'm sure he doesn't care that much.

Fast forward to today, when I have to go back to my normal work schedule. Boo.

I got up early enough to see my grandma before my mom took her to the airport. Then I made my lunch and dinner for today, followed by some gym time.

I wasn't planning on running three miles, but I did, because I felt that awesome. And the best part was I didn't have any side aches at all! Win! That makes me even more excited to start my training next week.

After the gym I went back home to find my dad watching some English Premier League -- Swansea vs. QPR. I said he must have been really desperate to watch soccer since I was watching perhaps the two worst teams in the EPL. I think he misses Barcelona games more than I do.

I got to work and it was all pretty ho-hum. A lot of people still aren't in thanks to the holiday. I'm not sure if I like a quiet newsroom. It kind of freaks me out.

For lunch I did have turkey and hummus on a slice of high-fiber bread along with some mango, blueberries and raspberries.

More writing, writing, and writing. I'm kind of looking forward to the return of 15-45s, since it will give me more to do during the work day.

While I was writing for the 6pm show, I had some apple slices with peanut butter. Look at the cool container it's in. It has a place for dips! Yep...I got that for Christmas.

After being totally bored the first two hours of work, the next six seem to fly by. Probably because I had a lot of stories to write.

After the 6pm show aired and I wrote a few stories for the overnight, I had some way left over Trader Joe's cheese ravioli. Still delicious. But I was totally hungry immediately following.

Now it's time to head home. But first I have to stop by the store and buy some essentials for the two-day detox I'm starting tomorrow. I definitely need it after all the holiday goodies I've eaten over the last week.