Sunday, December 11, 2016

Last Week of Routine (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

I've been having a hard time starting this post.  Not sure why.  I'm training for a half in January, but I'm not really following any plan.  Just trying to keep my fitness and runs up from the Richmond Marathon last month.  So why am I having a hard time wrapping up my week?  Again, not sure why, but I'm just going to see what happens as I type.

Monday and Wednesday I got in a 4 mile run.  It has started to get chilly and feeling a little like winter.  I'm getting used to running in the cold now and have very little hesitation anymore.  The run was good and I was glad I was out there.

Friday got a lot colder.  My first run colder then freezing.  I think I bundled up well for the 4 miles and even needed to take off my gloves at mile 3.  Again, another good run this week.

I missed my run on Saturday cause we drove up to Maryland to make Christmas cookies with family.  We haven't seen most of the extended family for a long time.  My great uncle died over the summer and that was the first time in years that we saw anyone.  The funny thing about that funeral is that most everyone was not sure who everyone was in the family.

On my mom's side my great grandmother came to this country from Lithuania when she was a teenager.

My Great-Grandmother is the one in the middle


She had four children and it seems that most of us kept to our own families.  So we all were not sure who was who and it was a bit of a relief that we were not the only ones that were not sure.  After a lot of discussion we asked to be invited when they made Crusdes (Lithuanian Christmas cookies).

The four siblings, my grandmother is on the left



So we went up Saturday to see everyone and make cookies.  It was a lot of fun to catch up with everyone.  The cookies are a lot of fun to make.  The dough is made the night before and everyone brings their batches.  Then the dough is rolled out and cut into strips with a slit in the middle.  They are then twisted in the middle to make them really fun.  Then we fry them.

 


Like the typical setup, the women were in the kitchen rolling, cutting, and twisting, while the guys were in the garage with the fryers.  I wanted to try and catch up with everyone, so I went back and forth and did a bit of all the jobs.  I wish I would have taken pictures while I was there.  I'm bad a that when I'm in the middle of having fun.

I made up my long run on Sunday.  I ran 8 miles and it was a hard run at the end.  I started the run and the temperatures said it was 40 with a wind chill of 35.  The first 5 miles were good and I felt warm with what I was wearing.  Took off my hat and gloves and enjoyed being outside.  After the fifth mile things started to get cold again.  Like really cold.  The hat and gloves were put back on.  And I started to hate the run cause I was so cold.  I was glad to be done with the run though.  I did see this great decoration.

 


So the week is over and I'm about to start a new chapter of my life.  I have tons of things that I will be doing this week, plus a lot of things that need to get done before Christmas.  It is nice not to worry about work while I try to get all of this done.


Linking up with Holly and Tricia's Weekly Wrap Up.

7 comments:

  1. Good luck with the next chapter. I have one more week of work, then I'm off for a week and a half before my new job starts.

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  2. What a wonderful tradition! to make cookies with the whole family! I sounds like a great way to catch up with everybody!

    I love the old style pictures!

    the cookies look delicious!

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    1. It was a really great day. I brought all of these old photos and everyone loved looking at them.

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  3. Glad that you decided to make the trip to do the cookie thing with family. I worry that once the older generation in my family passes that us younger ones will lose touch. I hope not.

    That lawn is funny. There is a house in town that STILL has their pumpkin on the porch. I ran by there last year and the pumpkin was still there on Valentines day, no kidding. I have a bet going on how long it will stay there this year.

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  4. Wow what a neat tradition. Fried cookies. We fry oreos down here and put powdered sugar on them It just made me think of that. Yes this chapter will be over with soon enough. Gosh I have not even thought about the focus on next year! Thanks for linking up!

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  5. The cookies look like a doughnut or pastry and also quite delicious! Hopefully making Crusdes is a tradition you can keep up and reconnect with your Mom's extended family. I like looking at old pictures. Good luck with your next chapter. Thanks for linking, Heather.

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