Monday, December 17, 2012

Babble Bullets and Brooks!

I have presents to wrap, Christmas cards to finish, a house to paint, a party to decorate for, homework to do, paperwork to do, laundry to do, lunches to make, bills to pay, emails to return, probably a few miles to run, but somehow writing my bi-yearly blog post and sipping on a glass of wine has made it's way up to the top of my to-do list tonight:) Perhaps running the few miles would have been better BEFORE the wine...

Completely random bullets, not flowing, not in order and however they should come out.....

*I started a new job a few months ago. I LOVE it but it's certainly been keeping me busy and I've been putting a LOT of time into it with the holiday season. My son is jealous because he has to be in school all day while I play with blocks-aka pop:)







*I'm totally absorbed in hockey season!!! All 3 of my kids play and our schedule is CRAZY. I have 16 nights booked in hotels for the month of January! AHHH! Thankful I've found a roommate with kids the same age for the season to split hotel costs with!! Lots of travel but the kids are active and happy and we LOVE watching them!

*Running is a little on the backburner. I decided to release myself from training for anything specifically this winter. I wasn't sure exactly how I would handle this but it's going AWESOME so far. I LOVE to run and I will ALWAYS run but just no big ticket races on my calendar for awhile-until April actually!! I have been running anywhere from 20 to a max 40 miles per week, no speed and no schedule, just whatever I feel like doing. I have absolutely NO doubts that when I decide to start training I will be gung-ho, balls to the wall!!. I'm gung-ho about nearly EVERYTHING I put my mind to and those who know me, know this! Right now, I'm a gung-ho hockey mom and I'm thankful for the peace I'm finding in this.

*I don't think I've ever been more excited for Christmas! Such a special time of year for me. All of my sisters are home and we lounge around in PJ's and play board games and watch movies. We haul our kids to Malung to go sledding and skate on the outdoor rink and and just enjoy our time together so much! My busy life has interfered with my ability to spend as much time with my family as I would like and I'm CRAVING it! We're a CLOSE group and I'm so looking forward to some downtime next week to just love up on them!!!

*I used to love to entertain. I loved to get out the fancy dishes and do things up right every now and again. We are not a fancy family but sometimes it just feels good to put on a dress and enjoy an evening a little more on the classy side, and a little less on the redneck....Joe and I used to throw a cocktail party nearly every Christmas. It was a lot of fun but like many things it became a lot of work when life got busy (mostly because I'm a perfectionist:) and we kind of let it go. Last Monday, a good friend mentioned how much she had looked forward to that part of Christmas every year... a highlight, and it made me feel so appreciated....Joe and I ended up talking and decided to go for it and do it again next Friday! Now, as if getting my house ready and ordering in food etc.(because we live at the end of the earth) isn't enough, I decided I needed to paint the entire main floor of my house.....I have absolutely no time for this.....

*2012 has been an interesting year for me. A pretty successful year in terms of running. I'm pretty happy that I could pull out PR's in every distance that I raced this last year. I truly believe I can do the same in 2013. I will do the same:)

*Extremely honored to have been chosen again for the 4th year to represent Brooks through the Brooks ID program . Such a wonderful opportunity for such a great company!!

*2012 has also been a pretty special year for me in terms of relationships. I definitely think that this has been the BEST year of my marriage. 15 years next week:) Absolutely married to my perfect match! We laugh hard and we debate hard and we -- ---(fill in the blanks:) and we support each other no matter what. Very blessed here. I'm thankful for the blossoming friendships with some hockey moms this year. A definite camaraderie there...... I'm thankful for an ever growing relationship with my sisters.... I'm thankful for some very special friends I've met through this blog! Specifically, a trail running, fashion trendsetting superstar over there in Oregon who probably thinks I fell down an icefishing hole the last couple of weeks; a badass in Massachusetts who is actually one of the most supportive, encouraging badasses I've ever met and someone who really gets a side of me that many don't, and another free spirit absolute "GIFT" in my life that I've emotionally adopted as a sister:) I've been so thankful for opportunities to travel to Boston this past summer to spend real hands on time with a couple of these girls and then to get a chance to spend some time connecting in Minnesota last weekend with Amanda. Very VERY special to me.



Well, that was random and my wineglass is empty:) 2012 probably in the books for me but perhaps a new blogging leaf in 2013:) Peace





11 comments:

Amanda@runninghood said...

well, I've filled in the blanks, thanks for letting me know there were two of them. ha! Whatever you did to that picture is great...makes my jeans look way sexier and my legs a little thinner too. Thanks! I think you are crazy about the painting and even the cocktail party with all that you have going on but I also love this about you and love that you are able to do it. Wish I could come. Yes, a GREAT year for you with running...and friendships. :) At least it was for me in the friendship department. Love that bad A in Massachusetts and that trend setter in Oregon. Good friends. Glad for the big sister I've found in you. Loved reading a Jenn blog post tonight. xo

Raina said...

A cocktail party? Looks like a perfect opportunity to showcase your hotdish! Which flavor will it be? Swedish balls of meatloaf or English?

:) Thanks for remembering me. I knew you weren't in any ice hole! Look how busy you have been...that SANTA is cool! Did you come up with that on your own? Very nice. And a LOT of physical labor too. You must be so toned right now.

Very funny about the trail runner part. Really just a fake trail runner so far. Looking forward to doing more though...if you ever get the urge to do a 50k on 40 MPW. :)

I really need to email you because I could keep going on here. But, VERY VERY happy to see you are in Brooks ID again. And with a PR in ever race distance this year- they should be proud to have you!

Hugs to you, my friend.

Jenn said...

@Amanda-Ha! I didn't do anything to the picture! Just hit auto-enhance on my phone to lighten it up. XO

@Raina-you make me laugh because I actually got up early to make a hotdish for a hockey thing and started reading this-ha! Going to take it to email! About time!

Becky at Prairie Runner said...

You have a cool job!!!! Do you really get to put those designs together??
I would love to run with you sometime!!! It would be fun to meet you. I am in Mankato, but maybe we could meet halfway sometime!!

Lindsay said...

i am impressed at your box creations (i assume that's what you meant you're doing, ha). those are always so cool at the stores!

good luck with the holiday party. although i think it's sunday so you've probably already had it? my brain has quit for the year already.

Allison said...

I've missed you! I actually tried to comment on your race report a while back, but then I had log in problems. Boo. Anyway, it sounds like you had a helluva year! Congrats! Can't wait to see what next year has in store for you and the kiddos too. Happy holidays!

Nicole Wagner Makeup said...

Awww I love this post! You are so special Jenn and all these women in your life are so lucky to have you! xxx

Jill said...

Hey sweet girl...
Just a quick comment because I am late for Body Pump class (one needs all the help they can get on Christmas Eve when massive calories are about to be consumed)... but I wanted to say a very Merry Christmas to you and your beautiful family. You were one of my very first blog friends and I've LOVED every post you've shared in the past 4ish years. I'm so blessed to know ya, girl!! Congratulations on the Brooks gig again and all the awesome PRs and I hope you get your hiney out here to Colorado soon so we can hit the trails together....after hockey season! :)

Much love to you!

XLMIC said...

Really LOVE what you have to say about your marriage :)

Unknown said...


It is truly a great and helpful piece of information.
I am satisfied that you simply shared this useful information with us.
Please stay us informed like this. Thanks for sharing information.
You can follow this link and get more huge funny and interesting yo mama jokes

http://www.yomamajokeshub.com

Unknown said...


It is truly a great and helpful piece of information.
I am satisfied that you simply shared this useful information with us.
Please stay us informed like this. Thanks for sharing information.
You can follow this link and get more huge funny and interesting yo mama jokes

http://www.yomamajokeshub.com