I'm bitter

13.1 miles turned into 10 miles. Not complaining, but you know. I was coughing a lot towards the end, so I guess the bronchitis is still there. Hopefully I'll be able to get a run in tomorrow if we have power. 3 or 4 miles would be good.

And why do I say that? Oh well, Connecticut is in the middle of a snow storm right now. I kid you not. 5-10 inches of snow. And since it's really heavy and wet and we still have leaves on our trees, we could lose power. It's flickered on and off several times already. Honestly. It's October. What did I do to piss off Mother Nature? I mean was it the whole I hate you and I want to move to Arizona thing? If it is , I still mean it and I still want to do it. After all, it's October 29th, Halloween is 2 days away and I may have 10 inches of snow to clean off my car tomorrow. Bitch, please! Not to mention it will all melt when it warms up during the week so it's all a really big waste of our time.

I'm bitter. We had a rough winter last year and I'm not over that yet.

Moving day.

I'm exhausted.

This day...I can't even begin to explain it. We did the whole office over at work and it was just exhausting. I was on my feet all day.

This is not much of an update, but I know I'll be in bed soon.

Besides, I have 13.1 miles to run tomorrow. Today probably wasn't the best day to do this at work today, but I didn't have a choice in the matter.

Why, Mother Nature, Why?

You know what the date is right? October 27th. So sit back and think about that. October. October. Not November. Not December. Just October.

So now look at this:This is going on outside my apartment. Right. Now. No. Lie.

I dislike snow very, VERY much.

So October 27th, 2011 and it's snowing. Mother Nature, you heartless bitch.

I'm feeling better today

I have bronchitis. I sucked it up and went to the doctor yesterday and that is what I have. I'm feeling much better today, but last night I had a fever of 102 and was miserable. Which is why I didn't update my blog.

Forgive me?

I haven't run since Sunday. My doctor told me the bronchitis was brought on by my running. Even though I'm out in the garage, I'm still in the cold weather. But I hope to get back to it tomorrow. I'm supposed to run 13.1 miles on Saturday. I'm not too sure how that is going to go.

I'm so behind in my work I brought some home with me. Which I guess that is why I have a laptop now. So I can work from home. I will get paid for it. But still...

My Mom is on facebook. This amuses me. I don't know why.

I hadn't planned on getting sick but who does?

So, as I posted early, I'm home sick today. And the cough medicine I'm taking tastes like gasoline.

I'm bored out of my MIND!! And what do I do when I'm bored? Um..I eat. So today is not a good day for me eating wise. But, I've already forgiven myself for this. It's not a big deal. I'm over it already. It's not worth it to beat myself up at all.

I say this now, after I was really upset with myself with what I ate. But sometimes these things happen and I'm human.

I almost put on my running clothes and hit up the treadmill. But I was hit with a fit of coughing and got my senses back.

No matter how I feel tomorrow I am going back to work. I have a lot to do and it's end of the month and want to get it done. I can work from home now but since all my work is at work right now I can't really work at home without someone bringing it to me. I most likely will put in some hours this weekend (after my 13.1 miles that is).

Home sick

I'm home sick today. Not much else to blog about. I'm finding it hard to not inhale everything that isn't nailed down.

Thank goodness it's a rest day because I don't think I could run with all the coughing.

Sunday coughing

I had a nice 3 mile run this morning.

I have been coughing like crazy since. Not cool. And now I feel like I'm getting sick again. If this is still going on by Tuesday, I'm calling the doctor and going to see what's going on. The coughing is so bad that my chest hurts.

Not cool.

So, now all I'm going to do is cuddle up with my husband, my kitties and some ginger ale. I don't drink soda but when I'm not feeling well, I do.

I hope everyone else enjoyed or is enjoying their Sunday.

12 miles or bust

I had 12 miles schedule for today. I was excited for it. I was ready for it. I took my water bottles, my Powerade, my Shotbloks, and my Gu out to the treadmill and was ready to go.

My phone was acting up. I listen to my music with my phone. It froze up on me. My Slacker Radio was being annoying (I have a station that plays nothing but songs I programed for running). I was coughing and coughing from being sick last week. I was coughing so hard my chest hurt and it wasn't pretty what was coming up. And I was tired. So tired.

I stopped at 10 miles. I guess sometimes it's just not meant to be, right?

But 10 miles is great. If you told me last year at this time I would be running 10 miles I would have laughed in your face. I would have.

Now I'm going to go make myself a smoothie and head out to the Sugar Shack with my husband. It's this place that sells Maple Sugar stuff. I'm not a huge fan, but he loves the stuff. So don't worry about me eating anything. It's not my thing.

If every day was like today

Today was one of those days that I really love.

I ran 3 miles and loved it.

I put on a pair of nice comfy jeans and a shirt and felt good in them and wore them to work.

I paid $2.41 a gallon for gas (thank you Shell and Stop and Shop).

I got a large coffee from Dunkin' Donuts on my way to work.

I enjoyed a morning snack of almonds.

I made one very upset patient very happy.

I made one very upset soon to be patient very happy.

I loved myself and felt like good about myself.

I wish every day was like this.

The one where I get a new laptop

After 11 years, I finally have a laptop!

At work that is. I've been really hinting around for the past 2 years or so that I wanted a laptop so I could work from home. It would be so nice to be able to be sitting in my pajamas's on a Saturday morning and working instead of going into the office. Or if we have bad weather I can stay home and work. Right? Right.

Today I finally got my laptop. Now if I could just get that cell phone...

In exercise news, I couldn't climb out of bed this morning, but that's fine. I figure the 12 miles I racked up between Monday-Wednesday were good and the fact that I have 12 planned for Saturday were pretty awesome, too. Plus I will run 3 tomorrow. So we're all good.

I have been counting my calories again with Sparkpeople and I think my body is super happy with that. I always forget I don't get enough fat in my diet and I need to eat more. So more almonds it is!!

I am so happy Friday is tomorrow. This work week has been crazy!! I haven't been able to get much done at all.

I am looking forward to my nice long run. Plus, my husband has worked it out so that I can watch some "Mad Men" while I'm running on the treadmill out in the garage. Isn't that awesome?? He's a keeper.

when do peanut m&m's not look good?

I ran 6 miles this morning before. 6 miles. Now some of you may not think it's a big deal, but it's the most I have ever run before work. I was pretty proud of myself

Until around 3pm at work when I starting crashing. HARD!

Oh and the fact that I kept eyeballing the vending machine at work every time I went into the warehouse at work. I pack plenty of snacks so it's not a big deal, but when do peanut m&m's not look good? Exactly.

I went to the chiropractor today and I needed it. It felt good to get my adjustment. I don't talk about my back pain much anymore because it isn't much of a problem. I usually see her once a week now instead of the three I started off with. But some weeks I need it more. Today was one of them.

My boss comes back to work tomorrow after 2 weeks off. Should be interesting. It's been fun to say the least with him gone. I sort of feel bad for him. He's going to be slammed with issues. I tried to work hard today, but it was busy. What can you do??

I lost a toenail

I apologize for not doing a real update yesterday, but I was still upset about the Indy race and the loss of Dan Wheldon. I don't watch a lot of Indy races but I do watch them when I get the chance. But I happened to be home and able to watch that race and it was just so horrible.

Things are back on track for me running wise. I took a break Sunday. I just wasn't feeling it and needed a rest. In fact, I didn't do any exercise at all and I was fine with that. I actually ran 3 miles last night when I came home from work and as much as I didn't like it, it was okay. I ran 3 miles this morning and tomorrow I have 6 miles planned. So I think my short break was good for me. We'll see how it goes for now.

I am extremely sore from my weight workout on Saturday. STILL! My abs are the worst. I guess it's a good thing.

I haven't stepped on the scale since Saturday. It's tucked away in the garage and I'm happy about it. My Birthday is one month from today.

I lost a toenail! I an only assume it's from running.

I watch way too much television. I watch so much television that I can't watch it all when it's airing so I have to watch it later in the week.

I also miss "Breaking Bad" and it's only been off the air for a week. It's my favorite show.

RIP Dan

Dan Wheldon 1977-2011

Thank you

First off, thank you for the comments about my last post. Perhaps I overrated. I shouldn't have gotten so worked up. Because, like Pinky said, I am not a number on a scale. And I know that.

And that is why I have decided to not weigh myself again until my Birthday. Which is November 18th. So that is just about a month from now. Every time I do that (go a month) it usually works well.

I have also decided to back off on the running a bit. I'm not stopping, but I feel like I need to do more. Which is also why I went to the gym today. I need to do that more. I ran 4 miles and I did another mile on the Elliptical and I did 20 minutes of weights. I truly need to tone up and I think that will help me feel better in the long run.

I took my measurements today for the first time since July and I pretty much am the same. Except I went to down half an inch in my waist. Not bad. I'll take that. That was enough to make me smile.

And the awesome coffee I picked up at the local health food store I stopped to get my kitties their treats at after my workout. It was pure heaven. I should make that my Saturday thing.

Mucinex

I'm pissed. Really pissed. Why? Well, according to my scale I am 167.4. What the hell is that??

I know that I had Chinese food last weekend. So I figured I would gain a little this week. But 5.4 pounds? Absolutely freaking not!! I wanted to put my foot through the scale.

So last week I was closer to 160 and this week I'm closer to 170. This is a bunch of bull.

The only thing I can think of is that it's because I've been taking Mucinex all week because I haven't been feeling good. I read some stuff about it and yes, it can cause weight gain.

I'm so mad I can't even think straight. I don't deserve this much of a gain, if I deserve a gain at all.

This is exactly why I am not going to Weight Watchers anymore because I can't handle this kind of the thing with the scale. I'm incredibly upset right now and crying at a WW meeting is just not something I want to do. I can do that at home (which I did).

I guess I stop taking Mucinex so I can not gain anymore weight.

Seriously??

I feel like crap!! It's not fun to be sitting at your desk at work feeling like your going to pass out because you can't stop sweating.

I really don't know what is going on. If my body wants to get 100%, it had better do it. Or I'm going to throw myself out the window of our apartment. I can't take this feeling much longer.

I also ran 5 miserable miles this morning.

Blech!!

Just pinch me.

I've been obsessed with reading other peoples running blogs. Suddenly my updated blogs are full of people who run and love to run. Is there anything wrong with this? I think not. I enjoy reading them and makes me want to run more.

I am feeling much better tonight. I felt terrible this morning when I got up, so I skipped my run. But I will be back at it tomorrow. I told my coworker it's all the cough drops he kept leaving on my desk. Whatever it is, I'm just happy I'm feeling better.

I found a couple of pictures that kind of blow my mind. This first one is from Halloween 2008. It's my sister and me. Obviously I'm a the one on the right. I don't even know what I'm wearing or what I'm doing, but I'm sure alcohol was involved. I was supposed to be a vampire. I have vampire teeth. But the shirt? I don't know.

The second one was taken in December of 2009. Yes, I am wearing crocs. I know my weight was around 245 pounds here. When my coworker was taking pictures I tried so hard to avoid them. I guess that didn't work so well. This was my "favorite" outfit. Size 22 pants and a size 26/28 shirt. Sometimes, I just need to pinch myself.

Still feeling terrible

I'm still feeling pretty crappy. I still managed to run 3 miles this morning, but I'm wondering if it did me more harm then good. I'm supposed to run 5 miles tomorrow, but I'm not sure if I will or not. I'll have to see how I feel when I get u in the morning.

Do you want to know how I know I'm sick? I don't have much of an appetite. When I don't want to eat, I know I'm sick. Because I always want food. I did go to the Chiropractor today and she did a few adjustments to try and help me not get sick. Or sicker. But I still feel like crud. Blech.

So my coworker told me I look like Christina Ricci. This is not the first time someone has told me this before. I blame the fact that we both have large heads.

Have you seen her waist on "Pam Am"? Seriously. She puts her hands on her waist and they almost touch. Insane.

Nope, not me

Repeat after me:

I am not getting sick.
I am not getting sick.
I am not getting sick.

There. I think it worked. It better have because I don't have time to get sick. I have to save my vacation time for when my Mom comes to visit in December. Who has time to get sick? I have stuffed myself silly with medication and now I'm in my pajamas watching Jeopardy.

I am NOT getting sick.

May I suggest that you go check out Cely's post about the Chicago marathon?

I love Eeyore

Why yes, Eeyore is wearing a Santa hat. Why do you ask? I got so excited when I saw this last night at the grocery store. I want it. I will have it. I know this Eeyore will be mine. I have to have him. Oh yes, yes I do. Isn't he just too adorable? What? I know, I'm 35 years old, but Eeyore is my favorite cartoon character in the entire world. And I have a huge collection of Eeyore stuff. HUGE. Trust me on that. It's pretty darn huge. I still insist on wearing my Eeyore winter coat that is about 3 sizes too big for me. I need to upgrade to a big girl coat as my husband tells me.

Ignore my husband's finger in this photo.

I find it very sad that there are Christmas decorations out already. Halloween. My Birthday. Thanksgiving. Christmas. In that order. You didn't know my Birthday was a national holiday? Where have you been? November 18th. Mark it on your calender. Target gift cards are what I want this year. Ha!

My Mom has booked her flight. She comes in December 14th and will be here until January 4th. I have a guest room to get ready!!!

A year ago

At my heaviest recorded weight I was 287 pounds. A year ago today I hit 186.6 pounds. I remember getting on the scale, seeing that number, getting off the scale and getting back on again. Just to make sure. It was pretty surreal.
I had started of 2010 around 250 pounds and by October, I was 186.6 pounds. I was amazed at how "easy" it was for me to start eating clean, get back to the gym and cut out the junk. In July of 2010, I gave up diet soda and again, that, too, was easy.

Yesterday, I weighed in at 162 pounds. The past couple of months have been a little rough for me weight wise. I haven't given up or anything, but I've been trying to figure out what I want to do. Do I want to stay around 160 pounds? Do I want to lose another 10? 20? I finally decided that 160 pounds was a good weight for me and if I do decide in the future to lose another 10-20 pounds, I can do that, too. What I really want to do is tone up and fit comfortably into a pair of jeans. Muffin top be damned.

Ironically, the same day I hit the 100 pound mark, I also started running. I told myself that I wanted to because of my friend Kelly and because I missed it. At that time, I could only run for 2 minutes. In March I ran my first half marathon. Yesterday I ran 10 miles. Today, just for the heck of it, I ran 4 miles. Just because I wanted to. Running has sucked me in and I'm obsessed with it. It can do that to you. There are some days I hate it, but once I'm out there I'm fine. But most days? Most days I absolutely love it.

I love my life. I really do. I have a wonderful husband who loves me for me and doesn't care what my body looks like (I have some fantastic battle scars from the weight gain and loss), I have an amazing family who I would do anything for and a sister who is one of my best friends in the world, I have a job that despite a lot of bitching, I actually really do enjoy (most of the time and I'm finally getting some recognition) and I'm healthy. I'm not afraid to enjoy myself when it comes down to it. Sit down and have a piece of cake or whatever. I know that it's not going to cause me to gain back 100 pounds. I know that the next day I'll be back on track and eating healthy again. I love shopping for clothes again. I love that I was able to pull out most of my clothes from when I was smaller and wear them again. I love dresses. And high heels. I love exercise clothes. I love crossing my legs. I love the reaction I get when people see me for the first time in years and they ask "How did you do it?" when really, it's a simple thing. Eat less, exercise more.

Oh and Weight Watchers. I can't thank them enough. They did this for me. I wouldn't have lost the weight without them.

10 miles

I ran 10 miles today. I feel, well I feel amazing. I could use a nap right now, but I still feel amazing. It's hard to believe that in a year (a year ago tomorrow) I've gone from running two minutes to running 13.1 miles (well I did run my half in March so...). Crazy. Just crazy.

I'm also 162 pounds today. Woohoo! I lost weight. I saw 164 yesterday so I wasn't sure but I knew in the back of my mind it was all TOM and that the scale was going to go down at some point. I also burned over a 1000 calories according to my Garmin. Double crazy.

Have I mentioned how much I love this beautiful lady?
This is Molly, and I love her. She is so beautiful and sweet and loving and I just want to kiss her and love her and hug her. I usually do. She's my princess. My baby. I usually wake up with her snuggled into my arm pit or on my stomach or somewhere close to me. Currently she is sleeping on her Peep. I have a stuffed Peep that she has claimed as hers and she sleeps on it. Too adorable.

Also, this whole NASCAR thing, where my driver, Reed Sorenson, lost his ride? Did I mention I like him enough where I named my cat, Bradley, after him? Yep. Well, there you go. The whole thing makes me so made I want to punch puppies. I had to stop reading about it. I would actually never punch puppies because I love animals, but you understand how angry I am when I read these things right? Right.

My husband told me the other night when we saw a commercial for the show "Whitney" that I remind him of her. Or she reminds him of me. The whole sassy attitude thing. I was like What? Whatever. I think the show is funny but I didn't believe him. So we watched it and I almost died. She and I are exactly alike. Holy crap! I don't know what to think of that. We could be twins! Ha!

Tomorrow's post is going to be fun. I can't wait. I get to reflect on the fact that I've been running for a year and kept 100+ pounds. Good times, right? Be here or be square!!

Happiness to Spare

After trying on pants and tops last night because I needed to figure out what the heck I was going to wear to work today (it is suddenly winter here in Connecticut-I kid you not it was like 30 degrees this morning with frost on my car) I was feeling really sorry for myself. I hate my stupid stomach and the muffin top and the extra skin it gives me. And then I saw this on facebook:

October 6th, 2011

Fact: I have only run 3 miles this week. And I have 10 miles planned for Saturday. I'm a little nervous about it. I've been having a hard time in the morning. I don't know if it's because I didn't feel well for the past couple of days (Tuesday I ran but didn't feel well and Wednesday I still wasn't feeling right) or because it's been cold in the morning, but I've had a rough time getting up. Either way, I don't like it.

So, I decided to sleep in my workout clothes tonight so I don't have an excuse. Yep. You heard me. That way, all I have to do is get up. brush my teeth, put my hair in a pony tail, put on my Garmin and my sneakers and I'll be ready. No excuses.

I hope it works, because I'm really looking forward to those 10 miles.

October 5th, 2011

I had some sort of stomach thing all day yesterday. I got up, did my 3 miles, showered and headed off to work. My normal Tuesday to routine. But somewhere on my ride to work, my stomach starting bothering me and I spent a good chunk of my day in the bathroom.

Sorry. But it's the truth. And we all know it's not a very comfortable feeling. It's not like I spent 20 minutes at a time in there, but I was in there. A LOT!! And it wasn't fun.

And it went like that when I got home, too. I didn't sleep too well because of it last night either. Thankfully my stomach feels almost "normal" today but I missed my 5 miles that I had scheduled for today. But that isn't a big deal. I'll pick that up tomorrow.

I'm not sure what caused my stomach to bother me, but thank goodness it's done.

Tonight I made the most amazing meal. I got it out of Runner's World magazine and it's called Unfried Chicken. It was fantastic! Even my husband enjoyed it. You can find the recipe here.

I'm off to try to warm up. I'm freezing right now. It's supposed to deep into the 30's tonight. Seriously, I am not ready.

October 4th, 2011

This blog post interrupted by the fact that one of my favorite NASCAR drivers has lost his ride.If you follow me on twitter you will see I kind of lost my mind over this today when I heard. I've been a fan of his since 2004 and the boy just cannot catch a break.

So tonight I am scratching my head (why dump your driver when he is 3rd in points), mad as hell and have a heavy heart for Reed Sorenson. Someone needs to give me a ride.

He deserves it.

Tomorrow I will get back to my normal blogging.

October 3rd, 2011

I quit you Weight Watchers.

Yes, you heard me right. I quit. At least going to meetings. I'm over it. I'm done with it. I'm OVER it. Going to meetings weekly makes me all bat shit crazy over the scale. And I hate it. I hate how obsessive it makes me. I hate how sometimes I just can't handle gaining 0.2 at a meeting and yes, I don't really like the new program all that much. I tried, I really did. But I lost my weight following the old program and that is just what I want to continue to do.

So, I quit you Weight Watchers.

But I know what you are thinking. Sarah, didn't you just go to your doctor and get a note to say your weight should be 160 pounds? Well yes, yes I did. But now I can be whatever weight I want and not pay for anything at all.

If going to the meetings right now makes me bat shit crazy with weigh ins, what is it going to be like if I might be at goal and I might GAIN?

THE HORROR!!!

And with that I leave you with the things that made ubber happy today:

Running 9 miles on Saturday
The 10 mile run I have planned for THIS Saturday
The size 8 pants I wore to work today
The fact that my best friend is coming to visit this week
I saw Blake Shelton in concert!!
"Breaking Bad" (the most amazing show in the world!!)
Suzi ran her first marathon

Day 2 of 31 days of Blogging

I don't think I ever laughed so hard at a concert. Blake Shelton is a funny, funny man. It was probably the best concert I have ever been to. My sister had no idea Blake was so funny. I told her, but I guess she just needed to see and hear him for herself. He put on a great show and I am so glad that I finally was able to see him in concert. Plus, the ran held off. It was freaking COLD though. I hate the cold. Not ready for it yet. Sigh...

I didn't eat any fried dough. In fact, I didn't eat anything but the snacks that I brought with me. I was going to have a Bison burger, but they were sold out of it. So whatever. There was food EVERYWHERE. Fried cheesecake, bacon covered chocolate, cream puffs as big as my head, cotton bandy, turkey legs, french fries, ice cream, etc., etc., etc. It was hard to stay clear of it all, but I did it. What is the fascination with deep frying everything? As if cheesecake isn't bad enough for you, they go ahead and drop it into a deep fryer? Ha! There were a few "healthy" options. There was a Subway there. But I didn't see that until we were heading out. I picked up some Pure Maple Sugar Candy for my hubs in the Vermont building. It smelt like apple crisp in there. Each New England state has their own building and they have what they are "known for" in there. Vermont also has Ben and Jerry's ice cream. WTF? Really?

We also road the Elephant. Ha! My sister wanted to do that because she loves elephants. We got a picture of that but I look ridiculous. I have the dumbest look on my face.

Today I am beat. Everything hurts. I ran my 9 miles yesterday and walked all over the fair last night. I don't even want to move a single muscle. I'm not working out. I can't. My feet hurt, my calves hurt, my back is sore and I just need to rest a bit. Tomorrow is supposed to be a rest day and the start of a new week, but whatever. I took an extra day this week already, but today is going to have be a rest day anyway. At least I know what is in store for me the day of the Guns and Roses concert on November 19th (I have 16 miles in the morning and a concert that night-can we say NAP?!).

We probably will go run some errands later though.

I tracked all my points from yesterday today. What?! I know, but I tracked them. I haven't been tracking anything lately. Good way to start off October. And I've already started tracking today. Except I haven't eaten yet. I earned 19 AP's from my run yesterday. That is mad crazy.

I won't be making it to meet Olivia from The Biggest Loser. That is okay though. I'm too tired. I'm still in my pajamas. I slept until 10am. I was up until 1am. It happens. Moving on.

So I'm just going to take it easy today and enjoy my Sunday. I also learned my best friend will be here next week and I haven't seen here in over 7 years. I can't wait!!

31 days of Blogging!!

As promised, today starts day 1 of 31 days of Blogging. I did it a few years ago and I really enjoyed it.

Tonight, I get to see this guy in concert!!
For those of you that don't follow concert music (what the hell?!) this is Blake Shelton. I follow him on twitter and he is so funny I sometimes almost wet myself I laugh so hard. I have been wanting to see him in concert for a really long time and tonight I am finally getting the chance. As long as the rain holds off and the show doesn't get canceled. I will be really, REALLY pissed off if that happens.

The show happens to be at The Big E up in Massachusetts and it's full off fun stuff. Please pray that I stay away from this:

For those who call it Elephant Ears and not Fried Dough...just no. No. I'm trying so hard to eat healthy right now and not shitty. So let's hope I can stay away from the Fried Dough tonight. I'm bringing my own snacks. Yep. My own.

Today I ran 9 miles and thought my toe might fall off. It still hurts but it's getting better. I really want to nap but I don't have time for that. Next Saturday I have 10 miles. My husband is amazed I can run that much. He came out and was talking to me while I was on the treadmill and I enjoyed that. It made the time go by. I was having a hard time for the first few (6) miles. I burnt off a lot of calories, too. I feel good though. I love that my body lets me run like that. I love it.

Tomorrow I get to meet Olivia from The Biggest Loser. I'm really excited about this. My husband? Not so much. And after that I've been promised my first trip to Ikea. Oh yes. I've never been there.My Mom is coming to visit in December and she is going to be staying with us. I have to fix up with guest room and I hope to find a few things there. So, that means instead of going to New Orleans with the husband, I will be saving the rest of my vacation time for when my Mom comes here. I want to do both, but I don't have the PTO time. Bummer, but I hope there will be another time.

Also, I had my review at work and it went well. I won't say much more, but I was pleased.

I'm only happy it's October because Halloween is my favorite holiday. Time to break out the decorations!!