Happy Monday morning to everyone!!
I want to first apologize for how long it’s taken me to write a decent post!!! Let me tell you, my life has been CRAZY this past week and a half!!! Some good, some not so good…. but I will get to all that!
Unfortunately, last Sunday we found out that Chad’s Uncle passed away. It wasn’t really a shock but it was a lot sooner than we thought! You see, Chad’s Uncle was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease about 10 years ago, when he was only 52!!!! It slowly got worse and worse, but we only see him maybe twice a year so we didn’t see the direct affect it had on him. Last summer however, we shared a condo up north with him and his lovely wife of 28 years! We then saw first hand how horrible the disease was and it was SO sad to see! He was doing well physically, but couldn’t keep his balance, had no sense of direction, had lost a lot of his independence, among many other ailments. Since then, it’s gotten progressively worse, up until a few weeks ago when he could no longer eat and was starting to forget people, etc. We weren’t sure if he was going to make it to Christmas……and then we got the horrible call.
So last Thursday we had the funeral, which was easily one of the hardest funerals I have ever been to! It was SO hard to watch his wife, knowing that after 28 years, she was going home alone. They also have 2 daughters that are younger than me, so the thought of losing a father was just heartbreaking as well! Needless to say, it was a LONG, SAD day!
I always knew that Alzheimer’s was one of the hardest diseases that a person (or a person’s family) can go through! However after seeing the toll it took on the family, I really saw that firsthand! Chad’s Dad and us even decided this year instead of getting each other Christmas presents, to donate that money towards Alzheimer’s research so hopefully one day, something can be done!!!
Anyway, enough sadness for the morning!!! On to happier thoughts!
First, I will start with this past weekend which was AWESOME!! On Friday night, Chad and I had date night and went out for SUSHI!!! We both have a huge love for sushi and we just got a brand new Sushi restaurant in town! YUMMERS! After that we went home and just wanted an easy, relaxing night at home watching a movie. Unfortunately I was so pooped from the day before that I fell asleep on the couch at 8:30! OOPS! 🙂
On Saturday, I participated in the Frostbite Run!!! It’s very appropriately named because well, it’s in December in Wisconsin!!! And let me tell you, it was COLD! I was kind of nervous because one of my good friends was going to do it with me, but she backed out last week because she had something else going on. I almost backed out too because I really didn’t want to do it alone, but then I figured what the heck?!? I’ve ALWAYS wanted to do it but ALWAYS chicken out, so I figured I might as well! Well Saturday morning, someone that I always see at the gym and am friends with on Facebook, said that she’d do it with me if I wanted! I was excited because we’ve never actually really met, and I thought it would be a fun way to get to know each other!
So we met up ahead of time and went together and let me tell you, we had SO much fun together! We talked non-stop and had a blast! It was great getting to know her! Chad and I see her and her husband at the gym ALL the time so it’ll be nice to have more friends there! Plus not a whole lot of our friends are into fitness, so it’s really nice to meet people who are and we have that in common with!
We also talked Chad and Baylee into coming into town to meet us at the finish line!!! I was so happy he came to support me! Unfortunately we were faster than I thought we’d be and we beat him there 😉 oops! But he showed up within seconds and we got to see him. It was so neat sharing it with him! Here is a pic of us with Baylee 🙂
The whole thing was 5 miles but we were really cold at one point so cut a tad off and ended up doing 4.5 miles! We finished in 56 minutes and I was really, really happy with that! Karen, who’s the one that did it with me, can run 3 miles straight but since I’m just starting out again, said that I’d have to walk most of it. Well, I was in the zone and the inner competitor came out in me and I ran more than I should! We probably ran a little over half?? I think. And my ankles are killing me today and were horrible yesterday! I think I overdid it! Oh well, I got a great workout in 🙂
That night we drove to Appleton to do some shopping at go out to eat at Red Lobster! Good Times!
Other than that, I guess I will now back up to Thanksgiving! It seems like forever ago but I haven’t really posted since then! It went great though!
Thursday we went to my parents house and had a huge meal with 20 other family members. It was a blast and the girls spent the afternoon looking at shopping flyers for Black Friday!
Friday I got up nice and early to do some Black Friday shopping! I didn’t get there extremely early, but still ended up lucking out and getting the TV we wanted for our living room! Score! I also got 95% of my Christmas Shopping done! Then that evening we drove to Chad’s Dad’s and had our meal with him. More fun.
Saturday was the big event where we cooked Thanksgiving for Chad’s mom and her boyfriend! It was a blast chatting and cooking! As I’ve mentioned, I get along really well with Chad’s mom and we’re like girlfriends hanging out when we get together 🙂 It was a long day and I was exhausted by the end because we were just so busy on Thursday, Friday, AND Saturday, but it was such a great time!
Here are some photos of Saturday’s feast!
The dinner table set and ready to go!
The AWESOME Hungry-Girl stuffing that I made!!!!
The sweet potatoes and banana after cooking in the oven:
….which turned into THIS:
AH, the sweet potatoes were SO good! I tried a new method after hearing some new ideas on the radio a few weeks ago. I roasted some sweet potatoes in the oven for about an hour. During the last half hour, I threw in a banana. When everything was done, I put the pulp of the sweet potatoes and the banana in a mixing bowl and mixed it with a little milk and a tad bit of butter and brown sugar. Then I basically mixed it like mashed potatoes. I then put it in a casserole dish and topped it with mini marshmallows and baked it until they were warm and gooey. The banana in it made it SO good and sweet!!!! They were awesome and the 4 of us gobbled it up quickly!!!
And last but not least, The lovely HAM!
and all cut up…
YUM – my mouth is watering just remembering it 🙂
So there you have it, my monster catch up post!! Again, sorry for being MIA lately! Work has been CRAZY busy so usually I can’t post at work anymore and my nights are just swamped. I will post as much as I can though and then after New Year’s, my personal and work life slow down considerably!!
P.S. I just found out that we’re supposed to get another 6-10 inches of snow tonight!!!! EEKS!
so glad your back and I’m very sorry about your Uncle 😦 It sounds like you had a great holiday!! Great job on the run, I love meeting gym friends for the same reason, already a common interest! Have a great day!
Sorry to hear about your Uncle.
I actually worked at a Alzheimer’s office last summer, and it was a great experience. That was a great choice in donating to research.
And great job on the run! You go girlie. And yep, we are flooded with snow too!!
Carolinebee – Thank you! I know, it’s such a fun thing to have in common too!
Sharon – Oh wow, I can only imagine!!! That must have been interesting, sad, frustrating, and rewarding all at the same time!
WELCOME BACK, MELISSA!!!!!! 😀
My thoughts and prayers are with you and Chad over the loss of his uncle – it’s terrible to lose a family member. Thank goodness though you’ve had a lot of HAPPY occurrences during your absence!! 🙂
Tons of snow here too!!
I’m so sorry about your loss 😦 It really is a terrible terrible disease!
Glad to have you back in posting! Congrats on the run!! How exciting!
Thanks for catching up, I was wondering where you disappeared to.
so busy! all the food looksgreat and sushi is the perfect date night in my book!
Kelly Turner
http://www.groundedfitness.com
Hi! I just wanted to know what you thought of the hungry-girl stuffing. Thanks.
I am sorry about Chad’s uncle. My grandpa has alzheimers and I know it can be a scary disease.
Whitney – I LOVED the Hungry Girl stuffing!!!!!