November Recap

Hello everyone! Happy Hump Day!

I can't believe its already December! I feel like November just flew by and now its time for the holidays and Christmas and definitely is the busiest time of year for me and my family. Since November disappeared with a blink of an eye, here's a brief recap of all the fun activities that took place:

Second Triple Spin:

I have such a wonderful fitness family at my gym! Most of these friends I met through various spinning classes. Last month we got together for the fourth Triple Spin event (it was only my second time) and it was an absolute blast! Our fearless leader donated these amazing t-shirts for all triple spin participants and the design was created by one of our fellow spinners. It was such an awesome experience to share with so many inspirational people!

(Photo courtesy of Tracy Outlaw)

Overall, we had 16 triple spinners, plus more who joined for individual and double classes. I handled it much better than my first time around and I can't wait for round number three!

Foodie pen-pal

Thanksgiving Day Race and Dinner

A chilly yet sunny start to my fourth Thanksgiving Day Race! It was absolutely frigid, but that didn't stop the crowds from running in the 104th Cincinnati Thanksgiving Day Race. In total the race had upwards of 14,000 runners and walkers. This is my favorite race and I run it every year. It was my first race I competed in and I look forward to running it every year. An added bonus this year: I PR-ed this year and I'd like to thank the cold for helping me get my tail in gear!

After the race we headed to my sister and brother-in-law's for Thanksgiving celebrations. This is their first year hosting everyone and they did a fantastic job! My sister beautifully decorated their house and everyone made such delicious food, including my brother-in-law's turkey. He is such an excellent cook and I love whenever he volunteers to make something!

My favorite pups constantly guarded the turkey on the grill.

Our lovely table settings and delicious display

Some family shots before sitting down to a delicious and wonderfully filling meal

I love goofing around with my family!

Our menu included:

• Grilled Turkey
• Garlic Mashed Potatoes
• Sweet Potato Casserole
• Honey Mint Fruit Salad 
• Maple Roasted Butternut Squash (my favorite dish)
• Crockpot Cinnamon Applesauce
• Cranberry Orange Relish Jell-o
• Almond Toasted Green Beans

It was all so delicious and so filling, but I was more than happy to take leftovers home!

November was such a wonderful month but I am so excited for all of the holiday activities coming up during December!

First Foodie Pen-Pal Experience

This month I participated in the wonderful Foodie Pen-pal program for the first time! This monthly event is organized by Lindsey at The Lean Green Bean. She did an excellent job making sure each person received a pen-pal and reminded everyone of the timeline of the swap. I was very lucky to be paired with Kimmy from Making Mondays. She is an easy shop owner from the west coast, who enjoys cooking and trying new recipes. She has a great feature on her blog where she tries out new Pinterest recipes! Such a great idea! I was so excited when I received her box of goodies!

The box included an excellent variety of snacks, including:

• Trader Joe's freeze dried blueberries
• Trader Joe's coconut chips
• Garlic roasted peanuts
• Smartfood popchips
• Two fruit leathers
• Raw Walnut Butter
• Nutella
• Roasted Veggie Chips

Kimmy told me in her postcard that the coconut chips were her favorite, so I was eager to try them. I'm not normally a fan of coconut, but i was so surprised with how much I enjoyed these chips! They were so delicious and just the right amount of sweetness. I mixed them with a few dried fruits and nuts to make a sweeter trail mix and even topped some protein pancakes with them. I will definitely be picking up more of these when I run out!

I also really enjoyed the walnut butter! I'm a huge peanut and almond butter fan so I was super excited to try walnut butter! It was an excellent post-workout snack with a banana. The fruit leathers were also excellent pre-workout snacks for busy days on the go. I'm so glad I signed up for this pen-pal program and I can't wait to see what goodies are in the next swap!