STS 6 Month Alumni ***December 2011***

cab0899

cab0899

Cathlete
Just thinking that maybe we could keep the thread going for the whole month instead of starting a new one each week, okay?? It's such a busy time, that we often don't have time for daily posts so the threads aren't that long.

Cendrine, LOL on the advent calendars for ourselves. That would be fun to get a daily treat. DH always does a stocking for me so that is fun. What's on the kid's Christmas lists this year?

Rachael Did you finish the job?? Do you get some time off now? How nice the vet invited you to a party.

Yesterday I went and got my hair done and got it a lot darker than usual should be interesting to see the reaction at work tomorrow. Last night was DH's work Christmas party which is always a formal dinner/dance. Always very elegant but only so much fun when I don't really know many people. We missed last year's party as we were in Mexico!! (doesn't seem like a year ago!)
Got Trisets Lower Body done early in the morning before my hair appt. DH did the workout with me and is still complaining about his legs:p Today was an extra long workout with the cardio from S&G and LIC.

Anyone got a Christmas tree up?? We got lots of decorations and lights up. DH and I went and bought a real tree this afternoon but it's in the garage right now. DH is not feeling well so didn't feel up to getting it in the house today maybe tomorrow.
 
Kim, I think that is a great idea. I hate that I have not been posting regularly but I know yall all understand.

We are just about to finish this job up.! We worked the entire weekend and we still have a good work day today and then just miscellaneous stuff tomorrow. Nothing major, just some changes they made that we were saving till the end.
I wanted to share a little milestone with yall. I am sure you all agree that work is much more interesting when you are learning something or doing something new. Well DH had a lot of "welding" to do on the floors and that would have left me waiting for him to be done to work on the mill work base board. SO first I tried the cuts with the compound miter saw that I knew I could do...all the straight cuts...then I ran out of those and had to make the decision if I was going to keep going or get stagnant. So I sucked it up and got brave and started doing all the angle cuts that went around corners and I turned out to be pretty good at it!:p I surprised myself.:D So that made working the whole weekend tolerable.:rolleyes:

Kim, I have not been able to decorate one lick but I am getting some ideas of what I want to do this year so hopefully after Tuesday I can get some stuff done. Really the only CHristmas shopping I have done is a little internet shopping for the kids. I LOVE THAT! It takes every bit of stress out of what to get them with all the reviews and sometimes a graph of what ages and genders did well with what toy. Oh the beauty of the internet!!!

I think I am going to go do some Afterburn. I am just winging it these days.:p
Have a wonderful Monday!!!
 
Congrats Rachael! That is a huge milestone, what a great feeling of accomplishment to learn something new!

I finished off the third week of the rotation with Cardio Supersets. Tonight was dd's last piano lesson before the recital on the weekend. She's going to play Angel on High and then our duet of Silent Night. I'm starting to get a little nervous!
 
Kim, I think its so great that you are doing the recital with dd! I think I would be nervous too! We do have our little treee up and I wrap gifts and put them by the tree as they come in... ;) ds wants a unicycle this year, some stilts and a sharktooth necklace. Dd is just happy as is so its not specific wishlist things for her. Dh and I are looking at getting her a nice bed set (she's still in her toddler bed) and because her room does not have much wall space because of windows on two sides and a closet on the third, we are looking at a bunk, with deskstorage underneath to maximize the space. I found a beautiful set that is unfortunately a bit pricey, but we might just get it anyway, and then we get to find pretty girl bedding! I just really like shopping girl things!

Rachel, way to go stretching yourself and trying tomaster a new skill! I find that the times dh doesnt jump right up and help me I end up trying and learning new things too! It's empowering, isn't it?

Workout today was cardio super sets. All the mountain climbers sure burn me!
 
Good Morning!!!!
Well Hopefully aside from odds and ends this is our last day. There are a lot of damaged planks, unfortunately:mad:, so I am sure there will be a day after all is said and done that will will have to go do repairs before the hospital opens. We warned them that they were starting too soon:rolleyes:

I did do Afterburn yesterday and almost got through the whole thing. :eek: I guess I am just pooped. I really like that workout. You know I have not even tried the step one yet. From what I have read and what yall have said, I am going to need to prewatch that one and I just have not had time to do that. After this day though, I think we are going to be off till the beginning of the year...YEA!!!! I don't mind that as much since I know there is work on the horizon.

Cendrine-The bunks with storage sounds like a great idea. Plus you can justify the price by knowing that she can use these beds up into her teen years. My niece still has hers and she is 15. She just now seems to be outgrowing it a bit. But she is a tall girl!

Kim-I would be so nervous but then again I don't know how to play the piano...LOL Try to treat it like a practice when you do have to play and also know what a great memory you are going to make with you and dd playing together!

Off to yoga ...TTYL
 
Low impact challenge yesterday and trisets lower body today...
christmas is in the air here! We were decorating gingerbread houses with friends yesterday and went to ds' cub scout party at night. Dd's girlscout party is on Monday, and more things coming up all the time... ;)
 
Just a quick checkin!
We are done!!! WOOO HOOO

Now we will just have to go back to repair things but it feels good to be "done".

Now I get to concentrate on getting things ready for christmas. I am ready to drag out all the boxes and start setting out all my beloved decorations. Every year I still get whimsical when I pull out some of my decorations. Esp. the ones from when DH was little and lived in Norway. Their decorations were more centered around the elves. Too cute! Plus his family sends us stuff sometimes and it seems to be so old fashioned. I love it.

So that is what is on for today. I am taking the day off from regular workout. My friend that got me started at the yoga studio has been going through teacher training and she is subbing for my other teacher that went to Mexico. SO I want to be fresh for that. LOL

Have a great day TTYL
 
I'm so glad you are getting a break now, Rachel, perfect in time for christmas! I hope you won't have too many repairs to do later! I meant to ask, have you ordered off vitacost yet? You were probably too busy....

Kim I was also wondering about the album you finished online and were waiting to get in the mail. Were you pleased with the results?

I did s&g cardio and trisets upper body, but I only had time for doing each triset once.
I love the plank tricep kickbacks!
 
Decided to take a few days off before starting week 4 of the Nov. rotation. This week just seemed so crazy with tickets to a concert, hockey game, dd's piano recital, the last swimming lesson, ds's hockey game. I just felt that I would be stressed trying to fit in the workouts, will get started with week 4 on the weekend.

YEAH! Rachael, glad that you can start to enjoy the holiday season! How was the yoga class??

Cendrine I really like the scrapbook! I think I've converted to online scrapbooking.
 
Afterburn done! That is a tough one for me! But I feel accomplished, considering I toyed with the idea of skipping it....lol I finished the whole one, not even a premix...;)

Kim, I love my album too, I think we both have converted! Can't beat the ease!

You guys have any Christmas Traditions you are doing in December? It's become a tradition in this house to make a big batch of dh's favorite gingerbread, the non-healthified version...LOL He manages to put away two whole batches all by himself in no time...LOL and usually I'm the one with the self-control issue...

We have started doing a Christmas Eve Fondue dinner with whoever is available to join us... then we go walk the neighborhood with hot chocolates to look at the lights on the houses.

I don't feel much like making cookies this year. It's still a lot of my work, the kids are still too little to be much help, so I think when they are bigger we can teamwork and it won't seem so daunting....

Taking dd bedding shopping tomorrow, we found a beautiful bed for her that she can grow into the teen years with nicely, I'm very excited! I'll have to send you a picture when it's all set up and pretty, although we are holding off ordering until we can at least get a free shipping deal or something.... :rolleyes::rolleyes:

Just got done writing our annual Christmas News Letter, and am waiting for dh to print the address labels, the kids can help with the return labels and the stamps and then we are pretty much set, I think. not many people do christmas cards any more, it seems, do you guys do them?

Well, enough chit chat, back to work....
 
Good Saturday Morning!

Cendrine, You were right about me not having ordered from vitacost yet but when I made my granola the other day and saw how low my coconut oil was, I thought I better get on that soon. I have not even went to the website but maybe that is something I can do tomorrow.
We still do some christmas cards. Mainly to the older generation. I think they like to get them still.
As far as traditions go for us, the main one is going to DH's moms for Christmas eve. She would be devastated if we did not show up. :rolleyes: Then I always make cookies. This year , I think my list is a little different. I am adding the vet clinic and of course my sweet hair stylist.
Then I have all these new friends from yoga with different events planned. I just am really looking forward to everything this year.

My family is coming for a southern chicken and dumpling dinner on the 23rd then we have MIL's 24th and then my FIL is coming for a more formal dinner on the 25th. I fancy it up for him a bit because he seems to miss those things now that he is retired and put himself on a tight budget. So I try to do something sort of elegant. I love the contrast between my Friday dinner with my fam and Sunday dinner with him...LOL!!!
Oh and then I have DH's birthday to think about on the 26th:eek: OK all of the sudden I am feeling a bit overwhelmed. LOL!!!

Kim-My friend ended up being sick that day so we did a yogaglo session instead and it was still fun to be there with all my pals. ;) She is coming to teach 2 classes today so I think I am just going to go in there and do a 30 min cardio something to get my blood pumping!

So glad to have you guys this time of year to share with. Have a great day!!!
 
I'm finding myself making more granola more often, my family has started digging in more... ;)

I just finished watching a netflix documentory on Dr Gerson, I think its called the Gerson miracle, it's available for watching online. Oh my gosh, it was so fascinating! It's about healing cancer patients with a combination of juices and a very strict vegetarian diet. Their results are amazing! If you're looking for something interesting to watch while the cookies are in the oven, I recommend this one!

I hope you don't get too stressed out with all the things you've got on your to do list, Rachel!

Kim, a few days off workouts sounds like a good balance act with everything else you got going on. I honestly would take some getting used to to do all the things you do and work out regularly! How did you do at the recital? Did your dd approve of your performance? ;)
 
Thanks for posting that, Kim! How beautiful! And what a fun memory to have togehter! You guys look and sound wonderful!
 
I must be emotional Kim cause that gave me a little bit of a teary eye. :D:rolleyes:
So sweet and how wonderful to have a talent like that. Thank you for sharing it with us.

A little of everything going on here today. Gonna do some baking, cooking, and cleaning and relaxing. I am looking forward to all of it ...even the cleaning. LOL

I hope you are all having a wonderful day.

TTYL
 
Thanks for the sweet replies. It was fun doing the duet together! I was so busy doing errands and stuff yesterday, that the time got away on me and all of a sudden, DH tells me we have to leave in 1/2 hour.:confused::confused: I hadn't showered, done my hair, ironed my clothes so I got ready so fast that I look kind of messy next to dd who always looks so beautiful.

I somehow got roped into doing little place setting gifts for our work Christmas lunch. So spent lots of this weekend running around to find little candies, chocolates etc and making up 55 goodie bags:rolleyes::rolleyes: I also volunteered to be one of the moms to hostess the piano recital so had to set up and clean up from the tea that we have after the recital. DD decided that she would be cold in her red Christmas dress ( why in canada do they sell sleeveless Christmas dresses??) so we had to run out to buy her a dressy sweater. So I never got a workout in yesterday. DD and I didn't even get a chance to practice before the recital. Then when we got home we decorated the Christmas tree. We bought a real one and it's beautiful. It's almost too perfect that it looks fake!!

This morning I started week 4 of the Nov rotation. Switched day one and day two though so we (DH and I ) did Athletic Training and tomorrow will be Low Impact Challenge. My little elf (dd) was wrapping gifts while I worked out!

Now we're headed out for a family lunch for my nephew's 14th birthday!

Rachael Enjoy the day at home. It's so much to be at home to putter after a busy couple of weeks!!!

Sounds like you both have some yummy fun traditions! We do the whole turkey dinner with both sides of the family but it switches houses to be fair. This year we are having the big dinner Christmas eve at my sister's house for my side of the family, then a light Christmas lunch/open gifts at my mom's house on Christmas day, then a big family dinner at my MIL's!

I didn't want to do a whole bunch of baking just for us to eat especially as we're going on a holiday right after with a all inclusive dining plan so will eat too much for those two weeks. Also I'm not hosting so only need to take 1-2 dishes to each event. So I asked my family what treats they wanted and the only thing special was the kids wanted was decorated sugar cookes. If I make the dough dd will cut and decorate so will do next weekend maybe.

Cendrine This is first year I haven't planned on doing Christmas cards. I've always done kid's pictures, cards, sometimes a letter but it seems like more and more people aren't doing it so I thought I might not this year. But now that I've received some in the mail, I'm feeling really guilty so we'll see maybe I will do some this week but keep them simple. I have the lots of the kid's school pictures I could put in.

The next couple of weeks should be less hectic, thank goodness! DD finished her swimming lessons on Thursday. She passed her level 9 (the Red Cross 10 level program) which is great! I'm so proud of her, she was by far the youngest in her class. I think we take a break and maybe sign up for level 10 in the spring or summer. Piano lessons are done till January now. I'm pretty much done Christmas shopping.

Can I add one quick brag, the first term high school honour roll came out and ds has the 3rd highest average in the ninth grade. He is so funny, his competitive spirit is activated now. Third place !! In grade school and junior high they never revealed the top marks but now he knows where he stands next to the other students.
 
Kim, You can absolutely brag all you want. I think it is great that you ds is not only competitive in sports but academically too. You just don't see that too often.
I hope you are finding some down time in all the craziness that is going on at your house.

I am completely relaxing into this season. At first I was a bit frantic and then started to think about how that was not really helping me to achieve any of my goals so I am just putting through and enjoying each thing that comes alone. Tonight is the x-mas party at the yoga studio so I made some cookies and a cheese log.
Cendrine, although you are not making cookies to give out this year, I was thinking these might be some you would like. I got them from the vegetarian times mad and they are "delightful". Orange pecan squares! So darn delicious.
So let me know if you want me to post the recipe. They are going in my cookie list from here on out.

We are having a little unseasonable weather today...Should get close to 70f.:rolleyes: I hope you are all staying warm.

HAve a great day.
 
Rachel, when in doubt always post the recipe! Lol! I am always up for new recipes. I'm glad you are relaxing and takin it easy, how was the party?

Kim, your tree sounds beautiful, ours is a little, fake one, I always feel weird when I see other people's trees that look like out of a storybook.... I love the beauty but just am not called to make it happen, I guess... ;)

Congrats about ds' achievements! You are allowed to be proud all you want!

I have to email Jo, she is going to chuckle when she hears that dh is getting me a juiser for christmas....:eek: she'll have to share where she gets all her recipes from! I didn't think I was ever going to get one, but now imkind of excited!

Of course dh wanted to get me something to put under the tree, but it's coming in the:D mail this week and he's about as excited to try it out as I am... LOL! So maybe we'll put it under the tree after testing it...:D
 
Cendrine...Yes I should have just added it , huh;) It is such a good cookie!

Orange Pecan Squares
1TB flaxseed meal
1/2 cup pecans or pecan pieces
2 tsp grated orange zest, plus more for garnish (optional)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup of sugar
4 oz. ( 1 stick) of margarine, softened. ( I used unsalted butter)
1-2 TBs fresh orange juice
1 cup of confectioners sugar

1) Combine flaxseed and 2 Tbs. of water in small bowl and set aside.

2) Grind pecans into fine meal in food processor. Transfer to bowl, whisk in flour, orange zest and salt. Set aside.

3) Cream together sugar and butter with and electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add flaxseed mixture and beat until smooth. Beat in flour 1/2 cup at a time until smooth dough forms. ( mine was a bit crumbly but it comes together good when you form the log)

4) Divide dough in half. Transfer each dough half to a piece of plastic wrap or wax paper. Use wrap to form dough into 2 1 1/2 x 1 inch log. flatten sides of logs with a large knife or spatula. Wrap tightly and chill for 2 hrs or over night.

5) Preheat oven to 350. Slice each dough log into 3/8 inch slices and transfer slices to greased or parchment lined pan. Bake 10 -12 mins. or until bottoms are slightly brown.

6) Whisk enough orange juice into confectioners' sugar in bowl to make thick glaze. Spread glaze onto cookies with a pastry brush while they are still hot. Cool on baking sheet and sprinkle with zest if using.

These are just so good. And they really have a holiday taste to them...Esp. if you were one of those kids that always got an orange in your stocking.;)

Nothing new here. The party was a lot of fun and too much wine and good food.
I am going to post a picture of my christmas tree in my album...I know I am not normal when it comes to christmas. LOL
 
Thanks for the recipe, Rachel, they sure do sound good! I will let you know when I have time to try them!

I skipped workout today, just feeling tired this week... the kids are a little off and we have been doing gse to combat any bugs taking residence...lol
 
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