Halloween 2021

Happy November! I know I've been MIA for a while now and holy cow...it's because life has been insane. Honestly, I know everyone's life is insane so it's not a legit excuse, but there it is. For me to miss not only my dog grooming appointment but also the appointment I rescheduled because I missed the first one...well, if you've been around here long enough, you know that's totally out of character for me! So in the early morning hours of this Thursday, I decided to take a few moments to sneak on here and share a little glimpse of our Halloween of 2021. 

As I think back on my blog and what I want to get out of it over time, I like to not only share our lives "in the moment", but also to look back on it as a resource and to reflect back on memories. So if I'm absent here or there, please be patient with me. I've said it from the moment I had Brayden and I'll say it again - life passes us by SO quickly. I'm trying to soak up every single moment I can with my sweet five year old boy!

Anyway, back to Halloween! If you remember from his birthday party this year, my child has been obsessed with Moana over the past year or so. When we were discussing Halloween costume items, he immediately jumped on Maui. Since we already had Maui's hook on hand from Brayden's birthday party, the rest was fairly easy to put together. His costume came from Amazon and the necklace from Etsy. For reference, I did purchase Maui's hook on eBay back in the spring. 

When I told one of my best friends about Brayden's costume, she asked her daughter if she wanted to be Moana and viola - their duo was born! We attended various trunk or treat type activities over the course of a couple of weekends and they were SO cute!! 

Jason was off work for Halloween weekend, so we had the chance to trick or treat together! Yay!

We attempted the Maui wig for about zero point three seconds, then it went away!

So, Jason took it! HAH!

On Halloween night, we visited several safe neighborhoods in our area. It's so much fun when everyone comes out and sits at the edge of their driveway to join in the festivities!

At one house in particular, they had the grim reaper there, giving out ramen noodles. Seriously the funniest part of the night!

We also spotted Santa again! He was the same Santa from last year and I told him he made our Christmas card from 2020! He thought that was too funny!

Our favorite photographer also did a little mini fall session of Brayden! We went with both a Halloween costume as well as a regular fall outfit.

I just love mini sessions and preserving the various seasons of his life. As you can obviously tell, photos are important to me!

I hope this has found all of you doing well and with a new season upon us, I wish you all the best and happy things! I will be back with more trip fun from our August WDW vacay as well as various upcoming running adventures! Stay tuned and Happy Halloween, Happy Fall, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Friday Five

Happy Friday! It's so great to see another weekend, especially since most of last weekend was spent in bed for me, but more on that later.

We've had some fun things happening around here this week, so I thought I would share them in a Friday Five format!

#1-The Weather

Have you seen those memes going around about fall in the south? They say things like "oh yay it's fall - let's get out the pumpkin spice and scarves and boots...just kidding we live in the south, it's basically like summer but with lots of orange." Yeah, that's 100% life for real. Well, it began yesterday, but we've officially had our first cool snap of the season! When I walked outside yesterday morning, I was shocked to feel the cool breeze - the temps were in the 60's and it was glorious. Of course it warmed up to the mid 80's by the time the sun came out, but we won't discuss that.

Also, we might have made our first pot of gumbo last night! It was delicious!! Gumbo and cool weather are synonymous down here in southwest Louisiana!

#2-Superhero Commercial

On Monday afternoon, I met up with a group from our church to shoot a commercial for our church news segment. At the end of the month on the Sunday before Halloween, we always throw a big "Superhero Sunday" shindig where kids dress up as their favorite superhero (which could be anyone that you "look up" to) and it's always a fun time.

To promote this event, we made a commercial for our Sunday church news. They had me dress as Wonder Woman and I had to run all over the place which was lots of fun of course.

I can't wait to see how it turned out!

#3-Workouts

Sadly, I spent the entire weekend in bed due to a stomach virus and fever. I seriously felt the same way I did back in January when I was diagnosed with the flu...and the fatigue lingered for days. Yuck. Needless to say, I did not have a long run on Saturday and didn't really return to Orangetheory until Tuesday. Running around on Monday for the commercial was as much as I could stand, so I decided to wait until Tuesday to resume my workouts. Both Tuesday and Thursday workouts this week were great! I also plan on running a long run tomorrow morning in the (hopefully) cooler weather!

#4-Police

This week, the local PD visited Brayden's Mother's Day Out program where they had the chance to see an officer in uniform, check out their motorcycle with the lights on, and crawl through the backseat of their unit. I had my brother (who is also in law enforcement) send a picture of himself in uniform to me so I could show it to Brayden and make that "personal" connection to what these guys do. Brayden was a little hesitant with the officer presentation at first but once the MDO director told Brayden that this officer wears a uniform just like his Uncle Brian, he was ok!

He was so very proud of his little badge and hat! I love opportunities like this where they get to see professionals and hear what they do.

#5-Pumpkin Patch

It's that time of year again! Pumpkin patches are popping up everywhere and we've already visited one! Brayden had so much fun calling out the different colors of the pumpkins he saw and running throughout the patch! We even came home with a little pumpkin as a memory! :) Sadly, the memory card inside of my DSLR camera decided to corrupt and won't allow me to even see any of the pictures I took there (which just means we will have to go back for more). Thankfully, I have the pictures I took on my phone!

I'd say it's been a pretty great week so far! :) Have a great weekend!!

It's FRIDAY!

Link up with Running on Happy & Fairytales and Fitness for the Friday Five 2.0 linkup!

Fall Changes, Running Style

Has fall weather visited your place yet? It definitely has not here. Although we've seen a reprieve from the 100+ degree days of summer, it's still hot...and humid...and the mosquitos are BAD.

I do love this time of year, though. The weather and nature starts to show signs that things are changing. I also love fall decor and colors - pumpkins and all things orange and brown and green and cream! One thing I'm not is a pumpkin spice fan. Or pumpkin pie. However, I do love pumpkin bread! That counts for something, right? Sorry all of you pumpkin spice lovers. I've tried it and although I want to like it, I just can't!

We have a running joke here that the leaves on the trees go from green to brown. There's not much in between which is sad because fall foliage is so pretty!

So, how will all of this affect my fall running plans? Well, once fall weather DOES decide to arrive (usually around early October), I'll definitely have more motivation to run outside for starters!
  
Consistent Cross Training

This will be the first time in a very long time that I've been consistent with a cross training program (Orangetheory), so I'm curious to see if/how that affects my running performance this fall.
  
10K PR?

My current 10K PR is a really good one for me and I'm not sure if it's attainable at this moment, so we will see what happens with that too. I'm trying to not look at numbers and get scared or say "I can't do that again" because I know if I did it once, I CAN do it again. It's all a mental game. Hopefully the weather for race day is good - that will make all the difference in the world.
 
Warmer Running Clothing

"That" drawer in my closest will finally be opened again and my long sleeved running things will appear! I cannot wait!!

Consistent Training Plan/Longer Mileage 

Lately, I've been kind of doing "whatever" and "whenever" when it comes to working out and that will all soon change. Once I hit the training schedule for my next half marathon (which will be soon), my mileage will definitely increase and thankfully, it will be will a little less heat from the outside world!

 How will fall change your running plans?

It's the Tuesdays On The Run Linkup with Erika, Marcia and Patty. 

Jamaica Me Crazy & College Football & Movies!

9/11 - a day that will remain in the hearts and minds of Americans for eternity. It's hard to believe it's already been 16 years! Where were you? I was a sophomore in college, driving to class. I remember sitting in nutrition, unable to focus at all, looking at the world through completely different eyes. What a sad sad day. Let us never forget.
---------------------------------------------------------------

For a weekend that was supposed to be spent out at sea that wasn't, it actually turned out to be a pretty decent weekend!

On Thursday afternoon after work, Jason and I were invited to the annual American Cancer Society's Jamaica Me Crazy event. We didn't have tickets initially since we weren't supposed to be in town, so being invited at the last minute was a fun surprise! This would have been my first event to miss in years so I was happy it all worked out!

Totally nerd alert here - but I was so excited to see that the colors used at this year's event were my wedding colors (teal and pink)!

When you can't physically be out in the Caribbean on a cruise ship as planned, you take out some of your pre-packed dress clothing and attend a Caribbean themed event instead!

The food was AMAZING as always.

So was the dessert! YUM!

It was so much fun spending the evening with my friends and parents! Can't wait for next year!

On Saturday morning, I woke up to amazing weather and headed out for a long run. I'll share more on my long run in a later post this week!

After the run, Jason and I made breakfast.

Again, I'm sure you can see a theme here...we pretty much decided to do as many Disney-like things we could this weekend!

This turned into more of a "brunch" since we were eating closer to 11 p.m.

Jason's parents were also gracious enough to watch Brayden for part of the day, since they were supposed to have him anyway! 

One of the things we were saving for the cruise ship was movie watching. We didn't go see Guardians, Cars 3, or Spider-Man in theaters with hopes they would be available on the ship. Well, we decided to Red Box Guardians 2 and watch with our surround sound that we hardly ever get to use! We also blacked out as many windows as possible and loaded up on the snacks! No, we didn't eat ALL of that in one sitting! (I bought the Ghirardelli chocolates because they reminded me of Disney Springs and the Pineapple Fanta reminded me of Club Cool in Epcot!) 

After the movie, we met up with Jason's parent's in town and picked up Brayden for his first football game of the season! Our hometown college team is the Cowboys, so Brayden was decked out in Wranglers and Cowboy boots! :)

He did REALLY well for the first part of the game but started getting restless closer to half time. Our team was winning, so after half time and watching the band, we decided to leave. (They ended up winning in the end!)

On Sunday morning, we went to church and had lunch afterwards with my parents.

Brayden fell asleep on the way home and he seems to transfer really well from the car seat into his bed....so once he was sound asleep, I began the fall decorating process! I was going to wait until we returned home from the cruise but since that didn't happen, I decided with the gorgeous weather all weekend, I might as well!

Fall is one of my favorite times of year!

We spent the remainder of the evening in the pool! Perfect end to a great weekend!

For the record, my comments about a cancelled cruise are seriously tongue in cheek. I know Disney made the right decision and I'm not upset at all. Yes, I'm sad we didn't get to go on our cruise for now, but I feel worse for the people on those poor islands who had their homes destroyed by Hurricane Irma. 

So there you have it - for a weekend that started off with cancelled plans and ended with a lot of fun, I'd say it was a success!

How was your weekend? Any fun plans?

Fall Training Plan

Fall. 

That word sounds so sweet to my ears! Although I'm not a huge pumpkin spice fan (don't hate me), I do love everything else about fall - the smells, sounds, decor, and above all, cool running weather.

Although we probably won't get decent weather here in the south until November, the temps still tend to cool off a bit from the crazy 100+ heat index of summer.


So, how will my training plan change for fall?

#1 - Higher mileage. 

As Dopey's Challenge grows closer and closer, the weekly mileage inches higher and higher. After a rough 10 miler in August, I've shied away from any double digit mileage since...at least until the weather turns cooler! Thankfully, cooler temps are hopefully around the next corner or two and I will be able to get out of this 6-8 mile rut!

#2 - Warmer Clothing.

Ah yes, the drawer of long sleeved shirts, tights, and compression socks that gets used for a few short months of the year will get to be used once again! I love sporting my WDW Marathon Weekend shirts, especially! :)

#3 - Later morning run times.

Sadly, the sun rises later once daylight savings time hits, which means a later start time for me. I'm a super huge chicken and hate running in the dark alone, especially downtown. Nope. Not happening.

How do your running plans change for fall?

Tuesdays on the Run hosted by Erika, Marcia, & Patty!

PopSugar Must Have Box - November 2016

November's PopSugar Must Have Box arrived in the mail a few weeks ago and I was so excited about the contents of this box! Honestly, I have to say this is one of my favorite boxes to date! I loved every single item inside!

These are always so much fun to open! You never know what's going to be inside!

The theme of November's box included "togetherness, elegant, essentials, inviting, celebration"...all perfect for a get together or party with family and friends!

The November box included 6 items. Here's a sneak peak of the items inside....

From the start, I couldn't have been more excited to see that little green bag from Kendra Scott!

Without further adieu, here's the contents of the November PopSugar Must Have Box! 

Meri Meri Star Party Picks

How cute are these?! They would make an adorable and festive addition to cupcakes, appetizers and other fun party foods!
These picks retail at $8.00

Stowaway Cosmetics Dawn to Dusk Palette 

How beautiful are these shades? This palette is perfect for fall and winter with gorgeous shades all around! The idea for this palette is a morning to evening transition - apply the lighter colors for the day time, then apply the darker shades for evening! What a fun concept!
This palette retails at $25.00

Kendra Scott Elaina Rose Gold Bracelet in White Pearl

As mentioned before, I was so excited to open this little turquoise bag from Kendra Scott and it did not disappoint! Included inside was a beautiful rose gold bracelet with a white pearl stone. I absolutely love it and this became my favorite item in the November box!
This bracelet retails at $50.00

Ooogie's Gourmet Toffee Butter Popcorn

One word: delicious. I'm a fan of all things toffee/caramel and this popcorn did not disappoint! The salty/sweet taste of this popcorn is perfect for any occasion!
This popcorn retails at $2.99

Pehr Chambray Table Runner

I was so excited to see a table runner included in this box! This table runner is lightweight and the colors are beautiful! It's long, so it fits just right on our main dining table. The colors are perfect to add to any fall/winter decor, too!
This table runner retails at $44.00

AJ Goods Nest Wire Bowl

I love the ideas that were given for use of this bowl - as a "catch all", fruit bowl, or even part of your holiday/Christmas décor with festive ornaments inside...this bowl is so versatile and the color matches just about any home décor!
This wire bowl retails for: $35.00

That's it for November's box! Again, this box was perfect for me and I am loving each item inside!

Are you interested in trying out next month's PopSugar Must Have box? Click here, then use use code SHOP5 for $5 off your first  Must Have Box!

Disclaimer: I was provided a PopSugar Must Have Box in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.