Running
YAY!  I’ve managed to get my feet on the street since dealing with bronchitis.  I’ve been trying to force myself to go slow, take it easy.  :) I have been able to get out there, though – that’s what counts!  I even went for a 4 miler on Thanksgiving Day – though I admit, it helped a great deal that we didn’t have our celebration until Saturday.  he he he

I’m still hoping to at least beat my existing half marathon time in the upcoming Holiday Halfathon.  We shall see, anyway!  :)  Must remember to find jingle bells to wear again.  I’ll be in my VFFs again, so I’m thinking maybe a pin for them or a wrist band.  We shall see!  Last year, I had a couple people cheering folks on comment that I was the only one they saw with jingle bells on, which surprised me quite a bit.

I’m also getting in the habit of taking my tiny dog out for walkies in the evening – she’s developed a bizarre & complete reluctance to poop in the backyard AND she just gained 1.5 pounds in the past month.  Not a huge weight gain, except that she’s weighed 9 pounds for the past 2 years & really ought to be around 8 instead.  Now she’s ballooned up to 10 pounds, 6 ounces!  Not enough exercise, which we’re taking care of now.  She can handle up to a full mile for a walk – anything past that & she’s so tired, I end up carrying her.  LOL

Contest Winners & Holiday Stuff
So I know that I was going to have the manlets pull names out of hats for the 2 lucky winners…  but I totally had forgotten that ALL their spare time would be taken up by the Kiwanis Club tree lot now!  I took the route of using the random number picker to pick numbers of comments for the contest winners.  :)  Without further ado…

CONGRATS MiniPurlz & Dawn!!
I’ll be emailing you to find out which e-card you would like later.  :)

Speaking of the Kiwanis Club tree lot…  this charitable event is the really big annual tradition that the manlets had with their grandfather.  Every year, Dad would smoke a turkey & a ham on Thanksgiving Day.  He would bring them with him Friday morning when he came to pick up the manlets.  I would cook during the morning while they went & unloaded the delivery truck & helped set up the tree lot.  They would then spend all day & evening selling trees, only stopping long enough to come home for our Thanksgiving meal at lunchtime.  So Friday was a bittersweet day for all of us & one where I shed more than a few tears.  All the gentlemen from the Kiwanis Club were pretty emphatic in their wish that the manlets continue volunteering with them – and they were more than happy to do so.  They still love helping out there & they have formed good relationships with a couple of the guys that are always there.  We started a new tradition this year, in which they still spent Friday at the tree lot, but Saturday morning, we cooked our meal together & ate before they headed over to volunteer for the rest of the day.  It was a good day.  :)

Reading
So yes, I finished reading Mockingjay, as well as a couple more books my last post.  :)

• Mockingjay (The Final Book of The Hunger Games)
  (This is my review over on GoodReads & sums up my feelings perfectly, so I’m reproducing it here!)  Hmmm. The concept of this trilogy is a good one, really. It’s the concept that drew me in. It’s a little gritty & not a feel good type of story. My biggest disappointment is that after 3 books, I still feel no affection, warmth or even much interest in Katniss. It’s not that she’s cold, because she really isn’t. As the reader, though, you just never quite relate to her character – you never really empathize with her. She’s doesn’t show any growth at all, it’s more like just going through the motions. She doesn’t have her heart committed to ANYTHING – not to Gale, Peeta, the rebellion, her own mother. Just a small part to her little sister & a deep loyalty to her father. I pretty much expected the outcome in the end, though I admit that I hadn’t anticipated quite such a dismal ending. Sure, the rebellion is successful & all that, but you just have this impression that she’s just made do & settled for her life in the end, just as she’s just made do all along. NO growth at all, which is very sad.
• The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Book 5)
  The thing I love most about the Percy Jackson series?  It’s the series that totally got my youngest hooked on reading.  I’d given up all hope of getting him to read when he picked up The Lightning Thief from the massive collection of books I’ve gotten for them over the years (trying to entice them into reading!).  He began reading it for a book report for school…  and hasn’t really stopped reading since!  I cannot recommend this series enough if you have a young manlet of your own that dislikes reading.  ;)

  I had put off reading this final story in the series for a variety of reasons.  The manlet has nagged me for months to finish it & I finally did this morning.  It’s an excellent story in the series, as are all the others.  I’m a bit disappointed with the idea that there won’t be any further Percy Jackson stories, though I believe we’ll hear more about him with the new series.  I loved how the Great Prophesy was fulfilled and I loved even more that Tyson came into his own in this story.   This series conclusion was no let-down like the Hunger Games conclusion was.  YAY!  :)

• The Girl Who Could Fly
  This book is a really quick read, but it was fun.  Relatively light-hearted with dashes of evil that humans do, it’s a nice little read for young adults.  I wouldn’t recommend it to an elementary school aged child if he/she is sensitive or lacks maturity yet for more mature topics.  I totally would have read it as a 1o year old, but I was an advanced reader.  It’s a little predictable, but I would definitely suggest it as a fun read for tweens or even a little older readers.  :)

  Piper is a young girl (9, I think) who can fly.  Once it comes out in the community that she can, the family farm is besieged by the media until a group led by Dr. Hellion arrive to take Piper away to a school dedicated to kids with special abilities.  Think X-Men elementary school, but without the awesome Charles Xavier at the helm – a school with a completely different & much darker purpose than Mutant High.

Knitting
Thanks to my friend Chris, I discovered this really fun holiday sock yarn at Webs.  I ordered up a skein for me (Victoriana), a skein for the oldest (Snow Day) and one for the youngest (Gingerbread Man).  In my haste to order them, I totally missed the part where the description stated “with a touch of sparkle”.  Needless to say, the manlets prefer their socks like their vampires – NOT sparkling.  he he he

Imagine my utter delight at coming across this pattern, though!  PERFECT solution to this sock yarn I’ve got sitting around.  ;)

Today’s Ravelry Search
I thought I’d find some fun things for the holidays today.  ;)  Just click the picture to go to the Ravelry pattern page & remember – none of these are mine!

Another cute garland idea!

Sold as a kit - totally adorable!

* SO gorgeous! I love this throw!

Really cute idea for an ornament or holiday decoration.

* Cute holiday throw!

ZOMG, adorable!! The penguin is a separate chart, but still so cute!

Really cute idea for a centerpiece!

I really love this pillow - I wish the pictures were a little better for showing it off!

* Old school ruffled trees! Cute!

* Gorgeous tree skirt!

Cute idea for a holiday hat.

Another really adorable holiday hat!

* Free pattern!

Happy Sunday, everyone!  Hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving (if you’re from the States)!