The Little Things
December 25, 2012

Merry Christmas to you and your families! Do you celebrate on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, or later/earlier in the week! My family spends all day slowly opening gifts, going on a walk, watching movies, etc… so I will be enjoying that today.

I thought I’d share this picture I took of a note from 1923 because it makes me smile. I found this note when I was cleaning out my grandparents’ house. This was written by my great grandpa to my great grandma (Caroline- called Carrie), whom I was named after.

Merry Christmas Carrie

This just makes me smile, to think of my great grandpa sitting down to write this and draw the little pictures to someone he loved dearly:) Cute, right? And now, for the real reason that we’re celebrating today. Back in 6th grade I convinced my younger brothers to join me in memorizing this passage, and since then I’ve had it memorized. From Luke 2:

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.  (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)  And everyone went to their own town to register.

 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Now it’s your turn to share! Merry Christmas! How are you celebrating the day? 

December 23, 2012

Happy Sunday (and happy 2 days until Christmas)! If you’re stopping by from Heather’s Blog- Welcome! Make sure to check out my about me and race recaps to get a little picture of who I am (and be sure to say hi!). This week was great in that I was able to swim for the first time since my triathlon, and ran for the first time in 3 weeks (and it didn’t hurt!). Here’s what the week looked like:

Total Miles: 9.77 mile bike + 1.2 mile run + .5 mile swim + 3 mile walk = 14.47 total miles + 4.5 hours of strength training

It’s been great to get back into pilates and swimming, but I’ve definitely been sore this week!

Now it’s your turn to share! Have you done something this week that you haven’t done in awhile? What’s your favorite type of strength training? Are you done with your shopping for Christmas? 

December 22, 2012

Creative title, right? 🙂 I just wanted to stop by and give you all a little update. I’ll be spending time with my family over the next week, and won’t be spending much time here at all (so posts will be minimal!). It’s the last weekend before Christmas, which means it’s busy busy busy! I’ve spent the last two days doing almost nothing but baking, frosting, printing Christmas pictures and letters, stuffing envelopes, and addressing them. I’ve found time to workout and sleep, but that’s about it! And we haven’t even started wrapping yet!

Even so, I’m thankful for everything that we’ve gotten done. My brother (the one in the military) is flying in today (thank you air force for giving him a week off!!!!), and I’m really excited to see him!!

If you’re looking for some delicious things to eat this weekend, here are a few options: Peppermint Cookies, Peppermint Oatmeal, Gingerbread French Toast, Cranberry Apple Grilled Cheese (It’s red and green!!) or Cranberry Apple French Toast.

One last thing! Today I’m being featured on Heather’s blog at Running With Sass! Check it out here, and then check out her blog because she’s one awesome lady!

Now it’s your turn to share! What’s one thing you’ll be cooking this weekend? Do you have any big weekend plans (travel, wrapping, christmas caroling… whatever!!)? Please share. 

December 20, 2012

It’s been almost a full week since the shooting, and I do have to admit that it’s a little weird for me to sit down and make a list of things I’m thankful for right now. At first it felt a little wrong, but moments like this also increase our awareness of what we currently have. It causes us to stop and pause for a moment, and realize what we’re surrounded by. So, in that spirit, here are the things I’m thankful for right now:

I’m thankful that, while evil exists, good exists all around us. I’ve been so impressed by all the good that has surrounded this very bad situation. People who lay down their life to protect children, Jet Blue offering to fly letters from across the country so they could be buried with little Noah, people sending money to the city, and victim’s parents reaching out in statements of love and forgiveness. It truly amazes me. Yes, evil does exist. But there’s so much good in the world too, and I’m glad that it becomes part of the story.

I’m thankful for this promise: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demon neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)

I’m thankful for hopefully determining what is causing my current pain with running. After dealing with months of pain, I think that I may have figured out (with the help of a few others) what’s going on with my leg pain. I have a few new exercises to do, and I’m hoping this will help!

I’m thankful for night time walks in the snow during the Christmas season. Lately it’s snowed very lightly in the evenings, and this makes it absolutely perfect and picturesque to walk in, especially with the brightly colored Christmas lights on the trees. I treasure the moments that I’m out on those walks, knowing that I only get a few of them every year. It’s the little things in life, right?

I’m thankful for pilates. Pilates is one of my favorite things to do! I enjoy the great stretching and lengthening I get from this, along with the strength in my core from this type of exercise!

I’m thankful for Christmas cookies! YUM!! I love making them as it brings back all sorts of wonderful memories from growing up! Yesterday I made cookies using a recipe that my great grandma used to bake cookies to send my grandpa in Europe during WWII. 

Now it’s your turn to share! In this difficult week for our country, what are you thankful for? 

December 18, 2012

I have to confess that I’m struggling a bit to sit down and write a “normal post” after Friday’s shooting in Connecticut. My heart aches for all who are associated with this tragedy, as well as those who were triggered from past traumas as well. It’s all so sad 🙁

To get back into the groove of things, I decided to do a Christmas survey I saw on Emily’s blog. The Christmas season is one of my absolute favorite times of the year, so here’s a little slice of how I celebrate:)

Favorite Christmas Album/CD/Song? I really like Josh Groban’s Christmas album! One of my all time favorite Christmas songs is “I heard the bells on Christmas Day”. I not only like the song, but I love the moving story behind the song. I wrote all about it here.

Run on Christmas morning or take the day off? Definitely no running on Christmas! I’ve never gone on a run on Christmas. However, my family takes an afternoon walk together each year, so I do get outside and get in some exercise.

What do you usually eat on Christmas morning? Always Cinnamon rolls! I don’t even remember when we started eating them, but it’s been as long as I can remember. YUM!

Christmas cinnamon rollsFrom 2009- long before this blog existed.

Favorite holiday or Christmas tradition? How can I pick just one? Every night we play a game or watch a movie in the family room. We turn the lights down, have the Christmas tree lights on, and always have a fire! It’s perfect! My brothers and I tend to often fall asleep in the family room watching TV too, and end up sleeping there all night- just like when we were little! I also really enjoy baking Christmas cookies with my mom. On Christmas Eve my family also reads the Christmas story in Luke 2, and I enjoy that. We do this after attending the Christmas Eve service and driving around to look at lights.

Real tree, fake tree, or no tree? Both, I guess. I obviously love real trees; both the look and the smell! At my parents’ house we have one of each. The real tree is upstairs and has white lights and our nicer ornaments on it. The fake tree is downstairs in our family room, and it has the “kids ornaments” on it. It’s always fun to see all the little things I made in elementary school! At my own place I have a fake tree since I’m only there for half the Christmas season.

Christmas pajamas… yay or nay? ABSOLUTELY! What’s Christmas morning without fun Christmas pajamas?

Christmas pjsChristmas morning 2011. Great Christmas pjs, right? This picture is really weird (I KNOW), but I promise there’s a story behind it…

Where do you spend the holidays? All from elementary school through grad school we went to my cousins’ house for Christmas each year. Now that everyone in my family is out of the house, we want to be at our parents’ house, so we now spend Christmas there. It’s wonderful!

Food you always have during the Christmas season? Lots of delicious Christmas cookies (they are a MUST)! For Christmas dinner we always have honey baked ham (amazing!), creamed onions, corn casserole, cranberry sauce, and pie. It wouldn’t be Christmas dinner without those things!

Open presents all at once, or take turns? Confession- I feel anxious at the thought of chaotic tearing of wrapping paper. I don’t understand why people choose to do this! My family has always drawn out the process of opening gifts for the whole day (mixed in with games, the family walk, etc…). We open gifts slowly, laughing and talking throughout.

Favorite Christmas movie? Hmmm… that’s a tough one because I love so many Christmas movies! I really like It’s a Wonderful Life, Elf, Love Actually, and Boyfriend for Christmas (a classic my cousin and I grew up watching :D). I try to watch as many Christmas movies as I can. My family also loves to find the cheesiest Hallmark movies and watch them in the evening (and of course laugh at the cheesy parts). It’s so fun!

Now it’s your turn to share! How do you celebrate Christmas? What’s been your favorite Christmas pjs ever? 

December 16, 2012

Wow- the weeks are flying by, aren’t they? I’m still mostly resting my IT bands right now, so I’m doing much less cardio than usual. I am planning to increase pilates to keep me moving and strengthening. Anyways, here’s what the week looked like:

Total Miles: 6.67 mile walk + 1.5 mile bike= 8.17 miles + 1 hour pilates

I’m excited to spend a good amount of time over the next two weeks focusing on pilates  and strengthening my core! I think the combination of that and rest will set me up well both physically and mentally for the new year!

Now it’s your turn to share! What do you do to strengthen your core? What’s one thing you like to do when you are taking a “rest”?

December 13, 2012

Happy Thursday!! I hope you all have been having a great week. For me, this week is a really different one at work because it’s the end of the semester, so my client load is much lighter, and there’s a lot more paperwork to do. I don’t mind weeks like this, but I enjoy meeting with people more! And now we get to be extra happy today because we’re acknowledging all the blessings we have that surround us daily. Here’s what I’m thankful for today:

I’m thankful for the chance to get to know one of my co-workers. Ok, I’m thankful for all my co-workers, but I’m specifically thankful for “L”. I’ve known “L” for 4.5 years, and have had the pleasure of working next to her for a lot of that time. “L” is having her third baby in the next few weeks, and is taking an indefinite leave of absence from our job. I’m secretly (and not so secretly) hoping that she’ll decide to come back, even for just a day a week (!!) after her maternity leave is over. Either way, I’m thankful she’s been there almost every day at work with me for the last 2.5 years. She’s been a great support, listening ear, and source of laughter and fun in between clients.

I’m thankful for all the peppermint in my life! Peppermint isn’t a flavor I tend to have most of the year, but I sure do love it in the winter. Foods like the peppermint cookies and peppermint Christmas oatmeal find their way into my diet in the winter, and I’m thankful for it! YUM:)

I’m thankful for getting a long break over Christmas for one of my jobs. I feel lucky to get a long Christmas vacation at my job every year, and have time to visit with family and friends. I often take it for granted, until I hear about friends not getting hardly any time off or even getting to see their family over Christmas. I’m thankful I get to see them.

I’m thankful for the “walkway of lights”. In a town near to me the park puts up all sorts of Christmas lights into different shapes. It’s fun to see dancing penguins, dinosaurs, cars, gymnasts, and traditional Christmas trees. They have Christmas music playing and give candy canes at the entrance. It’s so Christmas-y and it has become one of my “must do” activities each season!

I’m thankful for my “no”. Like I talked about a few weeks ago, the Christmas season can be stressful with so many events, parties, and expectations. I’m thankful that we all have a “no” that we can choose to use to help keep us healthy and stress free (or at least less stressed!) this time of year!

Now it’s your turn to share! What are you feeling thankful for today? Share a happy thought or interaction you’ve had this week? If you work, do you enjoy your co-workers! 

December 12, 2012

Before I get to my delicious oatmeal, I want to acknowledge that today is 12-12-12! This will be the last repetitive date like this that we’ll see in our lifetime, so enjoy it:) I have to say that I’ve really enjoyed writing the repetitive date each year, so I’ll miss looking forward to it next year. Ok, enough of that!

I love holidays and I love oatmeal, so it only seems right that I would choose to make “holiday oatmeal” each season! I even have a few of my co-workers making it too. (For some examples, check out my Easter Oatmeal and Valentine’s Day Oatmeal). This past weekend I decided to make Peppermint Christmas Oatmeal, and I have to say that it is one of my favorite concoctions yet!

Ingredients

Peppermint Christmas Oatmeal 1

While the oatmeal was cooking in the microwave, I broke a candy cane into 4 pieces and put it in a plastic bag. I then hit it repeatedly with a meat pounder/tenderizer until it was broken into fine pieces. Once the oatmeal was done, I let sit for a few minutes and then dumped the candy cane and marshmallows on top! I let sit for another minute or two so that they had a chance to melt a bit before I dug into it. OH. MY. WORD. This is a little taste of Christmas in my mouth. (Just like the gingerbread french toast was!) Seriously. It’s AMAZING! I certainly wouldn’t make it on a regular basis (hello candy for breakfast!), but it’s fun to spice my oatmeal up a little bit for various holidays! Give it a try!!

Now it’s your turn to share! Have you ever put candy in “real food” before? What’s your favorite holiday food?

© Caroline, Journey to Wellness, 2012

December 11, 2012

Growing up we made the same Christmas cookies every year, and to this day I anxiously look forward to making them. However, every year I like to try a few new desserts out as well before I head to my parents’ house for Christmas. I just stumbled on a recipe for peppermint cookies that Heather from “side of sneakers” posted last year. I made them this past weekend, and they did not disappoint! I had some friends over for a movie night, and they were quickly consumed! I won’t post the exact recipe, so you’ll have to head over to her blog if you want to get the exact recipe, but I wanted to share a bit of them here and encourage you to check them out:)

Here are the ingredients:

peppermint cookie

This is the final outcome. Doesn’t it look delicious and festive? These cookies are also vegan and lactose free, which make them perfect for many Christmas parties! Because there are so few ingredients, they are really easy to make as well, which is always a big plus in my book! If you want a “bite of Christmas”, then these are your cookies!

Now it’s your turn to share! What taste reminds you of Christmas? Do you have a favorite cookie recipe? 

December 10, 2012

Last week’s “mental health monday” post was dedicated to talking about peace during the holidays when it doesn’t seem so joyful. (If you missed that post, make sure to go back and check it out. The story is really good). This week I wanted to expand on the premise a little. Holidays and anniversaries can be like salt in a wound, and brings the pain to the surface on again. Grief can be especially cruel during the holidays, and I try as best as I can to help my clients prepare for these times of life. Just like with anything in grief, there is not one right way to deal with it, and certainly not one right way to cope during the Christmas season. I did, however, want to share a few thoughts on coping with grief during a holiday.

Grieving During Christmas

Of course this is not an exhaustive list, but merely a few thoughts to get you thinking. Grief is tough, and can be especially triggered during holidays and anniversaries. Remember to be understanding and caring with yourself and others!

Now it’s your turn to share! Have you had to go through a holiday while experiencing grief? If so, please share any thoughts you might have! 

Disclaimer: This post is not meant to take the place of meeting with a counselor. If you’re experiencing intense grief for an extended period of time or notice feelings of depression, please seek out the help of a mental health professional.