I might be a mess but I'm a thankful mess

Some of my fav. running peeps...

Even though I've been up in weight and feeling ick lately, I would be remiss if I didn't take a pause for the cause (i.e., stop bitching and moaning for ten seconds) to count all of the blessings and great things in my life, especially today on Thanksgiving day.

Despite some of my latest blog postings, I do try to live my life in a state of gratitude. I can probably list 1000 things I am actually grateful for but I will spare you and come up with just a few.

Today I am thankful for:

The peeps. Son, hubby, sister, momma and papa, best friends, Moms In Motion, you guys who read my blog, I'm lucky to have you all in my life…

The Running. My anti-depression drug, my anger management, my celebration companion, my blood sweat and tears, my "I can do anything" proof, my provider of bling, my weight controller, my bringer of more peeps, my everything, 'the journey,' my friend.

The Running Stuff. Sports bra, Nike+ App, Simple Hydration water bottle, my Garmin watch (yes it co-exists with my Nike+ App, Ignite gels, toe socks, good running songs, great (other) running blogs, Runner's World magazine, Saucony and Brooks sneakers (yes they coexist in my closet), fun races, bling, oh  this one could go on forever…

The food. (with the food issues I'm particularly thankful for) Avocados, oatmeal, brown rice pasta, beans, peanut butter (and chocolate peanut butter) Chipotle, Amy's Organics, Udi's bread, Applegate farms yogurt cheese, bananas, walnuts, dirty martini's (is that a food?)….  oh this one could go on and on forever too.

The blog. Wow. How did I get so lucky to have over 329 of you care enough to follow my journey and rantings!?

The job. I work as a health blogger and copy-write editor for a company close to home. I'm so blessed to have this position as it is flexible enough to allow me to grow my production company but keeps food on our table. This job has been crucial in allowing me to pursue my bigger dreams… which leads me to being grateful for...

The film. I'm on this awesome Ragnar team and we are making a movie! I love my partner in the film and I get to be a part of this amazing journey. How cool is that!?

The basics.  Food, shelter, clothes on my back, clean water. We often take these "basics" for granted, millions world-wide lack or fight to have the basics. Even friends in my very own New Jersey are finding themselves without because of Hurricane Sandy.

The health. Without that, ya got nothing.

Oh I'm grateful for plenty; from episodes of Kitchen Nightmares to my car making it to the gas station when it's beyond "E" -- my life is awesome and I'm really a lucky girl.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

What are you most grateful for?

XO
Jen

Operation don't overeat on Thanksgiving FAIL

Well I ate too much at Thanksgiving which is really annoying.

I started the day off strong with a bowl of oatmeal, a cup of coffee and a 4.3 mile run around the neighborhood. GO ME!

Then, it was a scramble to shower, pack up the kid and head over the river and through the woods to Grandma's house.

Nana and Poppa (as my son calls them) live about an hour and a half away. I ate the oatmeal around 8am and that was all I ate. By the time we got to my mother's house, I was STARVING and promptly fell face first into a platter of cheese, olives, crackers and (I'm not proud) potato chips and onion dip.  

Oh and what the hell… It's a holiday. Sure. I'll have a bottle glass of vino please.

I was pretty full by the time the bird flew out of the oven but Thanksgiving is my very fav holiday and there was a no retreat, no surrender thing going on internally and like a good soldier (or a very foolish, slightly sloshed and full of junky food girl), I piled on the mashed, the stuffing, the turkey and I don't even know what else… (well I do know what else but I won't bore you with the delicious ridiculous details.)

I rolled from the table (thankfully, I didn't clean my plate) but I was mad at myself for eating waaaay past the point of satisfaction which is something I've worked hard to grasp… 

Of-course I wasn't angry at myself enough not to roll back to the table 45 minutes later for a little dessert and coffee…

Well. Ya know. What can I say? I'm not proud of myself. But I learned something.  Nana and Papa are evil people who tempt me with their goods! Bastards… 

Seriously, I learned that I need to never arrive at a festive affair hungry or I'm a goner.  I should've had some fruit and yogurt post-run or a half a whole grain muffin with a little peanut butter - something to keep starvation at bay and a little control in pocket.

So the bad news: This was a food fail.

The good news: Truthfully, years past I ate all this and more without a second thought. I would of then followed this debacle with a leftover plate around 9PM at night (we eat around 2 PM in the afternoon) and would've had it for breakfast the next day.

Instead, I came home, drank a ton of water and went to bed.

I also would've never exercised (heaven forbid) on a holiday.

Got up this morning and went to a Weight Watcher meeting like it was confession, cleared my soul and started my healthy life over and followed that with a two mile run.  I stopped the bleeding and am carrying on.

For the record - I was up only .2 this week at WW and with long runs coming back and a little focus, I'll take that off by next weigh in.

So I guess it's not so bad after all.

How was your Thanksgiving?

XO

Jen

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving is my very favorite holiday.

The Macy's Day parade, food, family and football and of-course giving thanks.

My heart swells with gratitude when I stop to really think about all the wonderful things in my life.

1.   I am thankful for my family.
2.   I am thankful for my friends.
3.   I am thankful for having found running.
4.   I am thankful for fellow bloggers and the support I get from other runners.
5.   I am thankful for iTunes, sport beans, Gu and other stuff that support my run.
6.   I am thankful for Facebook, Twitter and other means of connecting to others.
7.   I am thankful for my followers and commenters because sometimes it's what keeps me going.
8.   I am thankful for Saucony and Brooks for sneakers that support my over-pronating feet perfectly.
10. I am thankful for my health and an injury free body.

I can go on and on. I am so thankful to be on this journey.

I am thankful that I got my virtual Turkey Trot in this morning! (Actually 4.31 miles but who's counting?)

Now I'm looking forward to being very thankful for a great meal and day with the fam.

Enjoy your holiday.

XO

Jen

Happy Thanksgiving - Thanking the running Gods

As we gear up to gather with family and friends for another Thanksgiving holiday (my fav. holiday for the record) I, like many others, have taken some time to reflect on all of the things I'm truly thankful for. Topping the list are my husband, son, my twin sis and parents, the many friends in my life, the roof over my head, the clothes on my back, the food on my table. I am a lucky girl and my thanks for things could go on from now to next year.

In the interest of time and keeping a running theme going, I thought I'd do a top ten greatest things I'm grateful for in running.

Thank you running Gods for:

10. Having the good sense to make the Apple folks invent iPods & iTunes

9.  Running fuel like Gu and Sport Beans for long run days.

my park - I owned the place today!

8.Beautiful places to run, like the beach when I'm in Cali or the gorgeous and many, many miles of Saddle Brook Park in NJ just a few miles from home for me.

7.  The Internet, where in a wink of an eye, you can calculate routes, calories burned, gather information, browse blogs and order a new pair of running pants.

6.  Sneakers! Running in heels or flip flops would really suck.

5.  Fellow running bloggers like Jason, Lesley & Julie ----> make sure to check out my blog roll for others who rock. I find humor, advice, feedback and inspiration from my fellow writing runners.

4.  Thank you running Gods for making me thinner and healthier...

3.  ...for challenging me to be stronger and inspiring me to dig deeper.

2.  Race day excitement and runner's high.

1.  Thank you for finish lines where goals are reached, dreams achieved and new beginnings emerge.

XO

Jen

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!