Friday FAVORITES + YOUR running accomplishments!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!! I hope you have a great weekend up ahead!  I’ll be working on and teaching a lesson at church,  running and finishing up the last things we need to do before leaving to take Brooke to her dad for Christmas.  A portion of this post is sponsored by BOUQS plus an awesome discount for you to use!

Time for a few of my Friday Favorites:

1.  This face on Dumbo.  In line all she could talk about was her hope to ride on one of the pink elephants (there are only three of them) and somehow we got one.  Talk about pure happiness right there:

2.  These pictures of Knox.  When we first arrived at Disneyland last week he put his hand over his mouth for at least 5 minutes.  He was in shock.  It was the sweetest thing ever to see how excited he was to be there.  He was also dancing around (this was before it was crowded at all) and he had a few of the employees laughing over how excited he was.

Yep, hand still covering his mouth.

3.  Bouqs!!!  Absolutely gorgeous flowers.

We ordered Bouqs and these peonies (they are available for the month of December!) make me smile every time I see them!  They seriously are so stunning!  The Bouqs Company is a flower delivery service that is incredibly easy to use. The fresh flowers I have received from them (I have used them a few times before too) are always gorgeous.

The flowers usually last 2 weeks or longer and they are shipped straight to your front door.  They can also be delivered to the door of whoever you are ordering them for—> somebody sent us a gorgeous arrangement from Bouqs when we got back from our honeymoon.  It was the perfect gift for us!  The flowers are all grown at sustainable and eco-friendly farms that follow strict responsible farming practices!  When you order your flowers from Bouqs they are cut that same day.  Then they are shipped the next day so you get them faster so they last longer!  They arrive at your door in a rectangular box.  The bulbs usually take a day or two to open up!  My Christmas bouquet below is just starting to show their pretty faces.  I can’t wait. The prices are very affordable, no upsells.  With the gloomy weather here, it is so nice to come home and see these on the table (the peonies are on my desk because I like to stare at them while I work).  They make a perfect gift, they are perfect for the finishing touches of a party you are planning or just to brighten up your month!

Use the code ELF20 HERE to get 20% off the entire site!  It will expire a few days right before Christmas!!!  

4.  Last night was our last night with Knox before Christmas so we tried to fit in as many traditions with him before saying goodbye.  That included getting cookies (for the kids) and delivering some to people followed by picking out a kid’s Christmas book to read together at home.

5.  On the mornings where Andrew goes to pick up Knox he takes Brooke with him and I go for a run.  After he picks up Knox he figures out where I am running based on the ‘find my phone’ app thing.   It is always fun to see them in the middle of a run.  Also, you might think I am crazy but 34 degrees is slowly becoming my favorite temperature to run in… sure I am cold for the first few minutes but after I warm up, it feels amazing.

6.  Brooke and I have both been huge lovers of pancakes in the morning (ehh… night too).  We keep adding more and more blueberries to each pancake to the point that one day there might be more blueberries than batter.  Also, pan-sized pancakes are the way to go.  We use the Kodiak Cakes powercakes.  I don’t usually eat anything if I run EARLY but if my run is after 7 a.m. then I eat a pancake beforehand and my stomach does not freak out over it.   I do not miss my gut issues.  Not in the slightest.

7.  Brooke’s coat trick and slow motion running are a Friday Favorite over here:

8.  Good (inexpensive ha) winter dresses for church are always hard for me to find—>  I just got this one, this one and these cute booties that are a current favorite!

9.  My mom has a Friday Favorite to share today too…   We must have similar tastebuds because these are my favorite too.

10.  I stopped by my sister’s house to drop some stuff off and this little dude probably ran close to .5 miles just while I was there.  My sister said he had been going non-stop for a very long time at this point.  Run to the cupboards and touch them and then run to the door, repeat x 500.   He did stop to take a picture with me.

11.  And Knox’s Friday Favorite involves some snacks he got at my mom’s house.  He created the goldfish and fruit snack sandwich.  Sounds delicious right?

12.  Home Alone.  I can’t go a Christmas Season without watching it once.  Last night we took dinner over to Mer’s house and then watched it later on.  Classic.  

13.  This came out last month but has anyone tried the Cat Lady Sports Bra?  A fleece sports bra?  This could definitely be a favorite for me for when the temperatures really drop!  PS torture = finishing a workout in the winter (and being quite sweaty… especially a sweaty sports bra) and not having a chance to change afterwords for a while.  Not fun.

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I have two awesome running accomplishments for you today! If you want to be featured for your accomplishment, please send it in to [email protected]  THANKS!!!

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Rebecca!!!  “I started training in July for my first full marathon, which I thought would be on November 5.  Starting in late September, my first running injury had me sidelined for 3 weeks, and I was extremely frustrated.  When I finally started to heal, I decided the November marathon was not realistic and re-focused on the St. Jude Memphis Marathon on Dec. 3.  This race has extra meaning to me, because I went to grad school in Memphis and did an internship at St. Jude for a semester.  This training cycle had me feeling ALL the emotions, but I’m now convinced my injury lead to the best possible outcome:  I ended up far surpassing my original goal of 3:45 and became a marathoner in 3:35:14! I’m still sore but so thrilled.”

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Ella wrote this about her sister Paige!!!  My sister, Paige, and I ran the Gar Williams Half Marathon on Sunday 12/11/16!!!  Temperatures in Virginia have been in the mid 40’s until Sunday, where they dropped to 30 degrees!  It was quite an adjustment for my body, but we did it!!  Not my best pace, but a great challenge to overcome.  My 3 sisters and I have been running half-marathons/marathons together for the last three years.  It has been such a joy to share something so special with them!!  I can’t wait to cheer on my older sister in Boston next year!!”

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What are you looking forward to this weekend?  Anyone doing a long run?  

Would you rather have pancakes or waffles or eggs or oatmeal or cereal for breakfast?

Do you have a favorite flower?  What is it?

Have a Friday Favorite to share?  I would love to hear!