This past Sunday I began my Christmas cookie baking. I’m a much better cook than I am a baker, and mostly only bake this time of year. But I do alright – it helps that I only make two types of cookies!

 

For the past several years I have made gingerbread men. Last year I also started making white chocolate chip pumpkin snicker doodles, after seeing the recipe on HRG. They were a hit, so I brought them back again this year!

One of my favorite things about the gingerbread cookies is decorating them. About halfway through, it also becomes my least favorite thing. It’s a lot of work! They’re fun, though, and people always tell me they look cute. I secretly think they look cute because try as I might, they always look like a first grader decorated them. 🙂

 

Much to Barry’s dismay, almost all of the first batch of cookies got mailed or given to other people. Lucky for him, I made round two of cookies on Wednesday evening after work to take with us when we visit his parents. I even gave a Hokie bird cookie a try!

 

I’ll be making two final batches early next week to take with us when we go to visit my family. One of those batches will include several ginger “dead” men!

Since we’re talking Christmas things, I have two other non cookie-related things to share. First, our neighbors had an extra string of lights and they asked if we wanted to use them. I ended up deciding to decorate the chicken coop with them, and Barry helped me do so last weekend!

I think the chickens like their decorations!

Second, we took Hank and Scout to see Santa the weekend before last. I picked up their photos on Monday morning. This was the best one from the 15 or so the photographer took. I think it turned out pretty good.

The folks at the humane society still talk about the time three years ago when Scout was a puppy (back when we also had Toby). That was the time when this….

…..became this.

Do you have a signature ‘treat’ you make during the holidays?
Do you ever take your pets to see Santa?

Each Wednesday I join in with the Wednesday Word link up, hosted by Debbie from DebRuns. She provides us with a word prompt to write about. This week’s word is stressful. Click on the button below to see who else is linking up this week or to join in.

I decided to share something that happened on Saturday’s 10 mile long run that made the entire run stressful. I mentioned it briefly on Monday, and here’s the full story.

Around mile 1.5, I had an encounter with a loose, unfriendly German Shepherd. Not a normal German Shepherd, though. This dog was huge. Originally, I thought the dog must have been a mutt with strong GS features. But after some research, I now think it was a ‘King Shepherd’ which is a cross between a German Shepherd and a Newfoundland. I’m not exaggerating with the below picture (remember, I have big dogs).

As I was running downhill in a section with a lot of blind curves, I looked up to find a large animal charging toward me down the next hill. At first I thought it was a large wolf or a small bear. Then I saw a smaller white dog that was with the King Shepherd and realized it was two dogs charging towards me. With no owner anywhere in sight.

I stopped, stood still, and fumbled over my hydration pack, trying to get my pepper spray (which I keep in my sports bra – a fact I had momentarily forgotten). There was no time for me to grab a stick or rock, like I usually would, with the two dogs bearing down on me. I yelled for them to get back and get away from me and the smaller dog did slow to a stop. But the larger dog ran almost all of the way up to me while barking and growling. When he was about two to three feet from me, he bared his teeth. There was still no owner, and I couldn’t even see if the dog had a collar on. I had my pepper spray out, and I sprayed him across the bridge of his nose and possibly a little bit in his eyes. The dog stopped charging, but stood there just staring at me.

A few seconds later (which felt more like a minute) the owner came around the corner and yelled for his dogs. The small one went back to him immediately, but the large one continued to stare me down. Finally, he turned and very slowly made his way back to his owner at the top of the next hill, nearly a tenth of a mile away. I didn’t move an inch until both dogs were leashed. Then I walked up the hill and past the owner, as he apologized to me profusely. I asked him if he had water (he stated he did not) and informed him that I had used some pepper spray on his larger dog but didn’t think it had gotten directly in it’s eyes. The dog didn’t appear to be in pain or distress as I went by. I think using my pepper spray was the necessary action, but I still hated I had to do it.

The incident itself was pretty stressful for me. It also really affected me the rest of my run. I was frightened, stressed, and couldn’t relax and enjoy my run at all. There are so many blind curves on the two trails I ran on, and I was just waiting to encounter another loose dog.

As I continued to run (bear in mind I was only 1.5 miles into a 10 mile run) I waffled back and forth about what to do. Should I cut the run short? Change my route? Bag it all together? Maybe go somewhere else? I finally decided to just follow my original out-and-back plan, but felt freaked out the rest of the time. I actually ended up finding a pointy stick about a foot and a half long to carry with me the rest of the run. People gave me funny looks (which I didn’t care about), but it made me feel a bit safer.

Tell me about a time when a run or workout has become stressful for you.

I’m linking up today with HoHo Runs and MissSippiPiddlin’ for their Weekly Wrap link up. Here’s a recap of last week’s workouts (week 4 of base training)!

Monday – Strength training, consisting of 10 minutes of abs and two circuits of squats and lunges. I normally strength train on Tuesday but after last week’s fall, I took an extra rest day from running to give my knee a break. It didn’t give me any problems the rest of the week.

Tuesday – 3 mile easy run on the treadmill in the morning before work.

Wednesday – 5 mile hill run on the treadmill, with 7 x quarter mile hill repeats. Also a morning workout.

Thursday – Cross training, 30 day shred level 2 DVD workout.

Friday – Rest.

Saturday – 10 mile trail run at Hungry Mother State Park. It was nearly 70 degrees outside! So unusual for December. I nearly forgot my pepper spray, but remembered to grab it right before I left. That became important not too far into my run.

I wasn’t really feeling it from the start of this run. I just felt tired and couldn’t get into a rhythm. That happens on some of my trail runs, though, and things usually get better after the first 30 to 60 minutes. I did finally get into a good groove around mile 6, but unfortunately by that point I was mentally stressed and over the run.

Around mile 1.5, I had an encounter with a loose, unfriendly German Shepherd on a section of trail with a lot of blind curves. I’ll share the full story on Wednesday, since it kind of warrants it’s own post. But the encounter ended with me having to use my pepper spray to defend myself before the owner finally came around the corner and got control of his dog.

So that incident really affected me the rest of my run. I felt freaked out, and couldn’t relax and enjoy myself. There are so many blind curves on the two trails I ran on, and I was just waiting to encounter another loose dog.

I wanted to cut the run short or change my route, or even just go back to my car and go somewhere else to complete my run. In the end I went with my original plan and did an out-and-back up Molly’s Knob.

I did have three more off-leash dog encounters, but only one spooked me a bit. That one was only because the dog barked, and ran at me a little, before going back to his owner. Normally that wouldn’t bother me but after the first incident it did.

Sunday – 4 mile trail run in the morning with Kim at our usual spot. It was super foggy outside, but the temperature was around 45. In my opinion that’s just about perfect for running!

We had a nice run, but unfortunately had another dog incident, too. This one involved two dogs that we encountered who were just running loose in town. The one ran up to us while growing, so we both pulled our pepper spray and I sprayed him. I felt bad afterward, and worried I had reacted too quickly due to Saturday’s incident. But shortly thereafter there was a man walking on the trail who asked us if we had seen two dogs. When we told him we had, he warned us to be careful because they would try to bite us. Kim told him we sprayed them, and I felt a bit better about the situation. Hopefully that’s the last of my unfriendly dog encounters for awhile.

Total Miles: 22 miles

Have you had encounters with unfriendly dogs? How do you deal?
Who else has had unseasonably warm weather for December? Do you like the warm weather? I’m not going to complain, but it’s supposed to be winter and that means it’s not supposed to be 70. Just sayin’.

I’m a planner, so naturally when it comes to holiday gift buying I plan and I start early. My planning begins anytime of the year, but mainly right around and after Halloween. As I think of gift ideas, I keep a list. Later on, when it comes time to wrap those gifts I like to check things off the list and cross things out, to make sure everything is accounted for.

Most of my shopping happens between Halloween and Thanksgiving. I like having most of it done before the stores get crowded (although it’s definitely not as crowded in our area as it is in urban areas). I usually get about 95% of my shopping completed prior to Thanksgiving, and this year was no exception. That way, after Thanksgiving, I don’t get stressed about buying gifts and can enjoy time baking, watching holiday movies, listening to holiday music, and doing other Christmas traditions. I also like being able to take my time wrapping Christmas gifts.

I put a lot into wrapping my gifts, and like them to look good. That definitely takes some time since I’m not a very crafty person!

When do you start your holiday shopping? when do you start planning for your holiday gifts?
Do you do most of your shopping in stores or online? Sadly, mine is mostly online now. It’s just so convenient!

For this week’s Wednesday Word I was going to write about a favorite childhood memory – the way my family celebrated Christmas Eve. We celebrated with a big family gathering at my grandparent’s house, with fancy clothes and a turkey dinner, gift giving, and lots of time together. Those evenings always ended with a ride home through our neighborhood that was almost magical, for a kid. Most of the houses had their Christmas lights on, the streets were lined with luminaries, and Santa was on his way.

But then I decided to write about something different for the word Debbie provided us this week, which is celebrate.

I started playing soccer from a young age, and I grew up idolizing several women. These women were pioneers of sorts in the world of soccer, although I think they all will point to the fact that there were many that came before them. But their time on the US National Team and accomplishments during that time cannot be denied. One among them, possibly the most well-known, was Mia Hamm. I recently came across this quote from her:

Her quote, while simple, translates to so many aspects of life. It’s a reminder to keep moving forward, no matter what, and to never rest on your laurels. It’s something I strive for both for my running and in my life.

From the tunnel leading to the football field in Virginia Tech’s stadium: For those who have passed, for those to come. Reach for Excellence.

How do you celebrate the holiday season?
How do you Reach for Excellence?