This Is Pawsome!

Thanksgiving Weekend and Being Productive

I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday. Unfortunately, it's back to thre grind tomorrow...well, until Christmas!! I had a terrific Thanksgiving this year. We all decided to have a big, Thanksgiving dinner at church this year. We had a big crowd too. It was so great to be there with my family and my church family. I just had the best time!! Here are some shots of the day.

The big dinner table, pre-dinner:

Mama

All of the yummy food!

A big group shot of the ladies.

The rest of the weekend has been really productive. On Friday, I didn't do any Black Friday shopping, but I did get the mantle all decorated. It's all dog themed again this year.

Yesterday Casey made breakfast, and we all had breakfast together over at Moms. We spent most of the morning just lounging. In the early afternoon, I got a great swim workout in. It was the first time I'd been back in the pool, since the meet in Louisville last week. I tried to get in a good bit of yardage. I felt great afterwards.

Today was the first day of Advent at church. It was also my Sunday to be the chalice bearer. I always enjoy doing that, and I especially enjoyed it, because of Advent. I always look forward to Advent and the lighting the candles on the Advent wreath.

After church and lunch, I managed to get all of the outside Christmas decorations up. It was a bit more difficult this year, since some neighbors are busy rebuilding the roof of my front porch. It took a while, but I managed to get it almost done. I still need to get some new ribbon and bows for the window wreaths. As soon as I get those up, I'll be done.

When I finished with the decorations, I headed out to the pool. I wanted to get another workout in today, since I'll be busy putting up Mom's Christmas tree tomorrow. I got in another good workout today. I also managed to get quite a few drills in, so at least I'll feel ready for practice this coming week.

All in all, I had a great break over Thanksgiving. Now, I'm just looking forward to Christmas vacation!

Wordless Wednesday: Thanksgiving Edition

The Louisville Invitational

Katie, Erica, and me at the Louisville Invitational. This past Sunday, the MTSU Masters Swim Club attended the Louisville Invitational Swim Meet in Louisville, KY. This was my first big, sanctioned swim meet through United States Masters Swimming. Four team members attended. It was such great fun! I entered the 100 meter Backstroke, the 50 meter Backstroke, and participated in the 200 meter Freestyle Relay.

I'm glad to say that it was a very low stress meet, and I didn't freak out at all. On the 100 Backstroke, I missed a turn and was disqualified. I was pretty disappointed about that, but that's one reason that I had decided to swim the 100. I figured that would give me enough time to get in the pool, calm down, and figure everything out, since it was my first event. Good thing I did. I was much better in the the 50 meter Backstroke. I actually came in 2nd in my age group. The relay was sooooo much fun. I was really apprehensive about doing it, since I'd only known we were entered a couple of days beforehand. I've never done relays, so I had no idea about relay starts. We ended up doing really well, and I swam a relatively fast 50 free for me. We were the only all female relay team. The other teams were mixed. We ended up taking first place in our age group!! WOOT!!

I'm glad that I've got one behind me now. I'm really looking forward to the next couple of meets!

My 50 meter backstroke. I'm in the far lane at the top.

Our 200 meter freestyle relay. The video will zoom in on us! I'm the second swimmer!

Wordless Wednesday

Christmas Spirit!

It's that time of year again! Time to start thinking about Christmas! I've been busy working on cards for me and Casey to send out this year. Shutterfly has some GREAT deals on their cards right now. They are offering 20% off and free shipping over $30.00! Here's a version of our card.

Peppermint Palms Christmas

Get custom photo Christmas cards online at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

I can't wait to get them back and start mailing them out!!

Veterans Day

I just want to thank all of the men an women in the United States armed forces for protecting my freedom. Also, a special thank you to their families for your sacrifices.

Dogs have served in the U.S. military during every modern war—World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, in Bosnia, and in Afghanistan—as trackers, scouts, sentries, and messengers; as attack dogs, mine detection dogs, and rescue dogs. The dogs are credited with saving thousands of American lives and great acts of heroism.

Please don't forget to remember all of the 4 legged veterans of war. To read more about these very special veterans click HERE, HERE, and HERE.

Almost Wordless Wednesday

Indianan, practicing for our Christmas card!!

Wordless Wednesday

Spooktacular 5K Wrap Up

Last Saturday's race was one of the best ever for me. The weather, even though it started chilly, was perfect race weather! I felt good before, during, and after the run. The finish line seemed to come up quickly, and I didn't feel winded at the end! I ended up with a personal best for the day, 36 minutes!! I was so proud! I feel that I'm definitely ready for the Boro Dash, which is a 4 mile race, on Thanksgiving Day! Here are some race day shots! Starting Line Finish Line Post Race Sillies!