Thanksgiving, Home Hell, and some Run-Related Stuff Too

Oh, hi there! Yea, it's been a couple days. Saying I've been busy is a bit of an understatement but I'll leave it there ... for now. lol. I figured I should probably write for a bit since I'm too frazzled to concentrate on my paper right now. My legs and hands were cramping up so I decided to run a couple sprints up and down the basement hallway here in Bowman-Oddy ... in jeans, sweatshirt, and barefoot ... and was doing that when a couple of the construction workers came downstairs looking for a bathroom. I wish I could have gotten a picture of their faces, it was priceless. I was laughing so hard my sides hurt now.

The youngest cutie, Ellie, and her
m&m-stained fingers!

Mileigh (middle child) snuggling the
poor mop, oops, I mean dog. lol. I
can't believe how much she's grown
in the last year!

Anyway, I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. I had a great time with my uncle's family. We all ate way too much and then fell asleep for a while watching football. My cousin's kids (especially the youngest since we only saw the older girls for an hour or so) were stinking adorable (as always). Since we won't see them again for a while, we had Christmas with them while we were there. I seriously loved watching my cousin opening the new Ohio State baby outfits (mom found the most adorable Ohio State booties for baby Justice). Kayla, mom, and I all started crying when mom gave her one of Grandma's teddy bears for the baby.

The 6+ hour drive there wasn't bad (even with the complete lack of leg room in the truck) considering we drove 18+ hours each way last Thanksgiving, though I didn't appreciate the extra 2 hours on the drive home because the little brother forgot his stinking coat and tennis shoes (and then didn't notice they were missing the FIRST time we pulled over for him to check to see if he left something behind). Between his and dad's huffing and slamming crap around, dad turning up the radio so he didn't have to listen to little bro's huffing (obnoxious when the back speaker is right by your head), and the extra-cramped leg space (because the little cooler DOESN'T BELONG on the seat and mom wouldn't move her seat forward 2 inches), I was more than ready to strangle someone. It's been a while since I was THAT excited to see Manapogo ... and then the state line ... and then the airport exit. Haha.

Now, we're in the process of packing up the entire (and I DO mean entire) first floor of our house and the upstairs hallway. Mom and dad have finally caved and decided it's time to get the drywall fixed and repainted and new flooring. And, of course, it's 3 different entities (contractor/ painters and the floor installer) and none of them can give us a definite timeline how long it will take them or where they'll start. Oh, and we can't really have the wall guys and the flooring guys working at the same time. How we're supposed to live and function semi-normally during these 2-ish weeks is beyond my comprehension. My parents haven't even asked the important questions (IMO) of the contractor ... Do we need to me there all day or can we just be there to let them in in the mornings (both options have serious issues) ... What hours do they work ... Are they going to fix all the walls and THEN paint or go room to room (we know the dining room will be last since it's getting COLOR, but that's it). I'm TRYing to be helpful and ask my parents these things so we know if we have options for moving furniture/appliances around, but then they just get pissy with me. Whatever. I feel like I'm going to be living out of my bedroom and car. I think I'm going to just plan on working out on campus at the rec and then showering there before heading over to the lab most mornings (as long as I don't have to be at the house all day). That's another thing. We don't know if we can just move our modem to another outlet or what so I don't know if I'll BE ABLE to work from home. Ugh. It's a mess.

Despite my serious dislike of being out in the cold, I'm checking out races to run during the winter. I figure it'll be the motivation I need to keep running (besides HBBC). I found 2 local ones with cheap entry fees that I really like, and I have the money for the entry fees (and tee shirts) thanks to the aluminum cans I turned into OmniSource yesterday. The only thing is that the Midnight Special is at 11:45pm on NYE and the Hangover Classic is at 2pm the next day! Haha. While I'd like to be able to get drunk and stupid on NYE, I think it'd be great to just be able to say that I DID the races (whether I PR or not). And when I say LOCAL, I mean it. The Midnight Special is based from Fallen Timbers Middle School and the Hangover Classic is based out of the Monclova Community Center! I need to send in my registrations and checks soon (on top of all the other crap going on right now). Who wants to run with me? :D

Since it IS getting dark earlier and staying dark earlier and I refuse to be chained to the treadmill all winter, I finally gave in last night and ordered some reflective gear and a more runner-friendly headlamp from Amazon. I had a couple gift codes to spend from my survey-taking shenanigans, so I didn't pay for any of it out of pocket (heck yes, free shipping). I already have a reflective vest (still undecided on if I like it or not) and I figure my trail shoes will work well when the roads get a little slick. A pair of Yak Trax are next on my list of Amazon purchases once I build up enough gift codes, but we'll see what happens with Christmas. I really need a new pair of shoes and some more compression socks/ shin supports too. Oh, and a couple more sports bras wouldn't hurt either. They determine when I do loads of cold wash (pretty much every weekend with as often as I've been working out) and the load is always small, which annoys me. I hate wasting space and water in the washer.

Alright, I've procrastinated enough this morning. Back to working on my paper/ trying to ignore the beating and banging that is going on over my head right now. Maybe I should have said something to the construction guys who caught me sprinting instead of just cracking up laughing? Little brother is coming home tonight to help dad and I move the big furniture so i'll probably have another update on that mess soon.