disney world

Last Workout Recap for 2018!

This last week in workouts for 2018 (!!) started out in Disney World. I LOVE the hotel gym at the Hilton Bonnet Creek Resort so I always go down for like 30 minutes first thing in the morning before we go to breakfast.

It’s worth acknowledging that Disney is a walking, active trip so in my eyes, the entire trip is a workout! This year I’ve really learned to enjoy a nice walk so I definitely didn’t mind how active our Disney trips was, even though it’s always so thoroughly exhausting. I wore my sneakers and totally appreciated the Florida weather this time of year. It was beautiful!

It really is so crazy that this is my last workout recap for 2018. I’m still in awe of how my workout routine changed this year after dropping that shampoo bottle on my foot during New Year’s weekend 2017. I am forever grateful for that situation because it helped me to make the change to running less. We will discuss this a little more tomorrow as I’m planning a 2018 recap!

Monday – Hotel Gym

30 minutes on a different elliptical from the one I’m used to and I really appreciated the change! Each type of elliptical feels different, you know?

Did a few upper body free weight exercises too.

Tuesday – Hotel Gym

I started on the elliptical but wasn’t feeling it so after 5 minutes, I switched to the treadmill for some incline walking. I went into this trip knowing I would NOT bother to run on the treadmill as I could use the break/Disney is so active that running just isn’t necessary.

I’m not sure how long I was walking on the treadmill (maybe 20 minutes?) before I switched to weights and squats and things like that.

We did a ton of walking both around the parks and around the hotel. I love to walk between the Hilton and Waldorf since they share one property.

Wednesday – 35 Min Run

We had a late night flight last night. I woke up exhausted but knew I needed to finish up the laundry and get back to routine. I opted for a run by time rather than track distance and pace workout. 35 minutes running outdoors was more than enough and then I walked another 25 minutes. I love a good walk.

Thursday – 5 Miles

I was up/out late last night but somehow this run went really fast even though I was tired. By the end of the run, I was wide awake and really could have kept going!

Friday – 45 Min Pure Barre

I don’t think I ever did this specific Pure Barre On Demand workout — I liked it!

Saturday – 7 Miles

It was 50 degrees and sunny this morning so I had to run outside! I think I even overdressed! I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do but ended up with something like this:

1 mile warm up + 2 miles of 2 min hard x 1 min easy + a few more miles of figuring out if I wanted to keep running for an hour or cut it short. I ultimately ran 7 miles and then walked for 20 minutes as a cool down.

Sunday – Pure Barre

Just a quick reminder to check out what’s left at Henri Bendel — they are clearly closing soon as very little is left!

[bctt tweet=”Last workout recap for 2018 on the blog today! #running #purebarre #workouts #disneyworld @pure_barre” username=”cookiechrunicle”]

How was your last week in workouts for 2018? Are you planning to continue the same routine in 2019 or are you shaking things up/training for an upcoming race?

Disney World 2018!

We are back from our Disney World 2018 trip!

Somehow we hit all four parks during our stay and survived. It’s a busy time of year in Disney but I never go with the mindset of needing to see and do it all. We are happy to walk around and keep things light rather than stress over fast passes and wait times for rides. We have been to Disney so many times, especially this time of year, that it’s quite okay with us if we miss something!

I didn’t miss the picture of Cinderella’s Castle though. In fact, I don’t think you can go to Magic Kingdom and not stop for a picture of the Castle.

Always one of my first stops in Disney is for my chocolate covered apple with chocolate marshmallow Mickey Mouse ears.

I made them cut the apple for me so I could easily eat it while walking around Main Street.

One night we went to Hollywood Studios. Only picture worth sharing is my pizza.

We hadn’t done Animal Kingdom since 2011 so it was time. The safari ride is actually pretty cool.

We saw a ton of different animals including the above giraffe and below hippopotamus.

Love to see the elephants.

We had lunch at the Rainforest Cafe in Animal Kingdom. I remembered how much I liked their onion rings so we had to order them.

The veggie burger was very good.

Epcot at night.

I made dinner reservations in advance for Via Napoli in Italy. It was delicious! We ordered the garlic focaccia bread plus a salad. And my pizza.

We spent one day solely at the hotel. I went for a massage in the Waldorf Spa (it was amazing!) and we sat by the pool people watching. Oh, and we had lunch by the pool too.

Regarding the hotel, we stayed at the Hilton Bonnet Creek once again. I believe this was our fourth stay here! I really do love this hotel. It shares the property with the Waldorf, has a lazy river and water slide, good food, a nice gym, is located inside Disney and offers the shuttle buses to all of the parks.

I love the walking path between the Hilton and Waldorf.

And the breakfast buffet is our favorite! While I’m a bit of a waste at a breakfast buffet since I don’t take advantage of all of the foods offered, I do appreciate the unlimited oatmeal and their toppings, various yogurts, fruits, and little muffins, croissants, cinnamon rolls, and scones.

This year they had different types of juices. I really liked the green juice.

I also took advantage of the candy bins at the hotel. I made a few candy bags during our stay, mostly of Hershey’s Kisses, M & M’s, and Reeses Pieces.

When you are in Disney, you think you need everything. LIKE MINNIE MOUSE EARS. I really wanted to get them while in the parks but realized how not necessary they are, especially once you get home. Unless you are going to play dress up.

Instead, I played with Snapchat which gave me my ears for free. 🙂

In case you missed our other Disney Trips, here are those recaps below. I’ll include my hotel gym workouts in Sunday’s workout recap!

Disney World 2016

Disney World 2014

[bctt tweet=”Recapping our Disney World 2018 trip on the blog! #disneyworld #disney #magickingdom #disneyworld2018″ username=”cookiechrunicle”]

How was your holiday? Are you off this week or back to work?

Have you been to Disney World? What is your favorite thing to do/eat there?

New Pure Barre + Floorplans + Disney! (Friday Favorites a little early)

Friday Favorites on a Thursday! I figured I would share my favorites from this week a little earlier as we are all ready for a holiday break, even people like me who don’t celebrate Christmas!

New Pure Barre On Demand Workout:

I am always thrilled to receive a Pure Barre email letting me know there’s a new Pure Barre On Demand workout available. And, when it’s a 45 minute workout, I am even more excited! I tried this new 45 minute workout on Tuesday and totally loved it. In fact, I liked it so much that I think I will repeat it tomorrow morning rather than switch the workouts up as I usually do. While I think it’s important to always do something a little different, it can’t hurt to run through this specific workout again and then next week, I will go back to rotating my Pure Barre workout routines.

Working on the Surprise Party Event Spotlight:

We are still in the afterglow from my aunt and uncle’s surprise party! And then there’s me, who takes it to another level by focusing on writing up the event spotlight for AllSeated. I am still working on the article though, especially as I wait to see the pictures from the photographer.

I do have the floorplan screenshots ready and wanted to share them with you just in case you are planning a wedding or event — you need to be using AllSeated to create your floorplans! The online tools (which are free) make life so easy and efficient not only as the host, but for your vendor team too. If you need my help or have questions, please let me know. 🙂

How cool is this screenshot from a section of the 3D floorplan! It’s so life-like, sometimes even I can’t believe it. You truly know what your event will look like, even before you get there.

It’s worth noting that you can change your linen colors and build tabletop too within the floorplan, we just didn’t do it for this event.

Chopped Veggie Salad from Emilio’s:

I last had this awesome chopped veggie salad from Emilio’s over the summer so I was super happy to have it again the other day for lunch.

Remember how they serve it all neatly packed and then you break it apart?

Off To Disney World!

I don’t think that I mentioned that we are off to Disney World this weekend! Long time readers may recall that we head down to Disney in a pattern that has become every other December break. This trip was planned a little last minute but I surprised my son on Hanukkah with a Disney Gift Card. He was totally confused for a brief moment before realizing the Gift Card was the signal that we were going to Disney World and he could use the gift card while there! Chocolate covered Mickey Mouse apples, here I come!

Flashback post: Our Disney Trip December 2016.

Quick Henri Bendel Note!

BIG sales still going on at Henri Bendel. You really want to take advantage before they close after the holidays! Check this post and this post for some of my picks!

I’ll have my workout recap up Sunday morning and beyond that, I’m sure I will update Instagram while we are in Disney. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and happy holiday week!

[bctt tweet=”Friday Favorites a little early on the blog today! #purebarre #bendelgirl #allseated #favorites #Disneyworld #salad #floorplans #ontheblog @henribendel” username=”cookiechrunicle”]

Any fun plans or trips planned for next week?

Are you still shopping for the holidays or shopping the sales for yourself?

Have you been to Disney World? What do you like to eat when you are there?

Favorite Moments 2016

2016 was a huge milestone year in our lives because of my son’s Bar Mitzvah back in October BUT there were other memorable, fun moments too!

I decided to pick the first few things that popped into my mind as my favorites from 2016.

Half Marathon PR!

I ran the Long Island Half Marathon for the fourth year in a row and achieved a new half marathon PR thanks to Laura’s coaching! My last PR was actually my first Long Island half marathon in 2013 so it was nice to surpass it finally in 2016.

I am absolutely not in the race planning frame of mind right now (no reason really, just don’t feel like it!) but if I decide to run the Long Island half again in 2017, it will be my 5th year in a row!

I can only hope that if I run it, I get lucky on the weather again because the overcast dreary and drizzly morning was perfect for this race. There’s no shade on this course which means sunshine and warm temps can make this a dreadfully hot race for me.

Our Trip To Hershey Park

While it feels so super long ago, we had a blast at Hershey Park while staying at The Hershey Lodge back in June. You can read the recap of our trip to Hershey here.

This picture of me trying to survive the Super Dooper Looper still makes me laugh.

Out of This World Dessert Display

So this may seem weird for some but since you know me by now, you know that it is completely normal for me to pick a dessert display as a highlight from my year!

I absolutely still talk about this incredible dessert display from Michael Scott Events which I had the pleasure of diving into at a work event at the Melrose Ballroom over the summer. You can read the event recap here which goes into more detail on the desserts (there were like eight of these dessert displays in every corner of the room for me to attack!!).

I also really liked the cute and simply black dress that I wore to this event so let’s include it as a favorite. I don’t normally love a cap sleeve but this dress just worked. It’s now a staple in my summer wardrobe. 🙂

My Son Coming Home From Sleepaway Camp

This was definitely a favorite moment for the year. As much as he tortures me sometimes, I was never so happy to see those camp buses pull up to bring my baby home. The scary thing is, we are already up to planning his summer for 2017! It will be here before we know it.

The Bar Mitzvah

Of course the Bar Mitzvah made it to my favorites.

I mean, it basically consumed my ENTIRE YEAR if not the last two years or really, the last 13 years just knowing it would eventually approach!

There was just so much to be proud of and so many fun memories, even if I had some tough moments to deal with, I survived and I am stronger because of it.

And still my favorite picture from the Bar Mitzvah of Heather and me…

I knew our trip to Disney would close out our year on a high note! Even though we both ended up sick with stomach viruses during and after the trip (I am starting to feel normal again), we just love going to Disney.

I just shared the recap of our trip the other day but it’s here if you missed it!

Looking Forward To…

I am absolutely NOT the goal setting type nor am I a resolution maker or January challenge participant. Please keep all of that away from me for the next month while it’s plastered everywhere!

However, I am looking forward to 2017 so that I can begin writing in my pretty new Henri Bendel planner to start my real countdown to March and spring weather.

I am ready to start dining outside again!

Salt became my new outdoor dining favorite this year but there are many more outdoor restaurants already on my list for summer 2017!

Wishing you a very Happy New Year! Have a great weekend. 🙂

[bctt tweet=”top favorite moments from 2017! #halfmarathon #Disneyworld #HersheyPark #events #dessert #fridayfavorites #running” username=”cookiechrunicle”]

Do you have your race calendar set for Spring yet?

Favorite food/restaurant/meal from 2017?

3 things you are doing this weekend?!

Disney World 2016 (What We Did & What We Ate)

Time to recap our trip to Disney World!

It was our fifth time down to Orlando in the last seven years during Christmas Break. I guess you can say that going to Disney this time of year is our thing!

Where We Stayed:

We stayed at our favorite hotel in Disney World, the Hilton Bonnet Creek Resort. The Hilton Bonnet Creek is not a Disney hotel but is on Disney property which means its super close to all of the theme parks. The hotel provides free transportation to all of the theme parks just like the Disney hotels do.

It’s such a beautiful property!

It’s really special to always return to the same hotel because we know where everything is and really look forward to the food, the service, the gym and the pool, which has a lazy river and water slide. Since the Hilton and Waldorf are basically sister hotels on this property, you can easily walk through the hotel to the Waldorf side for the Guerlain spa which I have done in the past for a great massage. 🙂

What We Did:

Since we do come down to Disney World fairly often, we do not try to see everything during our trip which makes life in Disney World a whole lot more relaxed.

We were in Disney for four days and three nights which I find to be more than enough!

I chose a three-day park pass with intentions of going to Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom (we didn’t do Animal Kingdom in 2014 which is why we chose it for this trip over Epcot).

While I debated the park hopper option which allows you to bounce between any of the parks on any day, I chose against it because I just didn’t think we would need it for this trip.

I am super glad that I made this decision as we definitely wouldn’t have made it to multiple parks every day if we had the park hopper pass as things did not totally go as planned for us during this trip which I will get to in a minute!

The first theme park of our trip was Hollywood Studios, the day we arrived in Orlando.

The weather was BEAUTIFUL and perfect the entire trip but felt especially nice when we first got there, that’s for sure.

We saw the Stars Wars fireworks show and I survived the Aerosmith rollercoaster at night too which I swear feels faster and worse with every year that I age.

It was after breakfast Friday morning, as we headed to Magic Kingdom, that my son couldn’t decide if he didn’t feel well.

All morning at Magic Kingdom he just felt overly full from breakfast and kept saying maybe he ate too much, maybe he was tired, maybe he would never eat eggs or bacon again.

We decided to leave Magic Kingdom early to head back to the hotel to sit by the pool and then figured we would return to Magic Kingdom later in the day to finish up our fast passes and walking around.

Well, we never made it to the pool and never returned to Magic Kingdom on Friday.

My son GOT SICK ALL OVER ME on the shuttle bus ride back to our hotel (and then I caught his stomach bug when we got home but hey, at least I didn’t have it in Disney or for the plane ride back!).

Thankfully my motherly instincts kicked in which kept me from caring about myself and caring only about how he felt while assuring him that these things happen and he would be fine.

We spent the rest of the day/night at the hotel where I took all of our clothing to the concierge to be cleaned because no way was I traveling back to New York with our clothes covered in sick like that!

By Saturday morning, he felt better so we spent some time at the pool before making the decision to head back to Magic Kingdom to walk around. We originally planned fast passes for the day at Animal Kingdom but he wasn’t feel up for that.

It was totally fine by me because we had unfinished business at Magic Kingdom in the form of my favorite giant chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich.

The only menorah I found in Disney World happened to be at our hotel which they lit for the first night of Hanukkah right before we went to Disney Springs for a few hours to walk around at night.

What We Ate (The Highlights):

I love the elaborate breakfast buffet served every morning at the Hilton Bonnet Creek but I am a creature of habit and stick with oatmeal, peanut butter and fruit.

I always refill my oatmeal and take more fruit. One morning I even added eggs to my plate and tasted a few of the muffins too.

The first dessert of the trip was at Hollywood Studios basically as soon as we spotted the sweets shop!

You know how I love the chocolate covered apples.

I allowed them to slice it for me so that the chocolate covered apple would be easier to eat while walking around Hollywood Studios.

I also had this brownie covered in m&m’s < – no such thing as too chocolately!

We ate at the hotel a lot more than usual because my son had been sick.

Thankfully the food at the hotel is great! We had this pizza two times actually, it was so good.

This salad contained chick peas and candied nuts.

I had this spa salad twice by the pool which had grilled onions, edamame, egg, candied walnuts and feta cheese.

This chocolate chip cookie at the hotel was really good the night that my son was sick. I got it for myself while getting him bottles of water and dry cereal.

Actually, the only theme park restaurant we went to during the trip was the 50’s Prime Time Cafe in Hollywood Studios where we have dined in the past but probably won’t again.

It’s a bit pricey for what it is and they don’t really have many options for meatless eaters.

I had the vegetable lasagna. It was okay, fairly small yet expensive.

Although the point of the restaurant is to make you feel like you are in a 1950’s kitchen with the waitresses treating you like you are their children, we found it annoying after a while. Our waitress had my son stand in the corner for a really long time because he kept putting his hat back on his head. HA!

Even though this trip didn’t exactly go as planned with my son being sick for a bit, we still had a great time. The weather was a major highlight for us and I am already missing the mornings by the pool right after breakfast.

I also didn’t open my laptop the entire trip which was a really big deal. I had a much needed break from routine and technology!

While I used my phone from time to time to post to Instagram, I was definitely unplugged on this trip more than ever and would do it all over again.

Previous Disney Posts:

Disney Week Workouts

How We Do Disney (2014)

Merry Christmas From Disney 2014

[bctt tweet=”recapping our trip to Disney World! #Disney #Disneyworld #vacation #recenteats #magickingdom #Hilton #disneylife” username=”cookiechrunicle”]

Favorite foods in Disney World/Disney Land?

Do you have a favorite Disney theme park?

Have you ever been sick on vacation?

Disney Week Workouts

Between being on vacation in Disney World, Hanukkah and Christmas falling over the weekend and me posting my workouts from the week today instead of yesterday, I am so very confused as to what today really is!

I think it’s Monday. So, hi. I hope you had a nice holiday weekend.

Let’s take a quick look at my workouts from the week and then I will be back another day to recap our trip to Disney World!

Monday – Pure Barre/30 Min Elliptical

I started with the Pure Barre Mile High DVD (30 minutes) before heading to the gym. The plan was to run a few easy miles on the treadmill but within a few steps, I saw I was completely uninterested in running so I switched to the elliptical machine instead for 30 minutes.

Tuesday – In The Gym (6.2 Miles)

2 mile warm up < – I felt so much better than yesterday and knew it within a few steps on the treadmill!

off for free weights

3 miles < – speed intervals (between 6.8 – 8.0)

off for free weights

1 mile speed intervals plus short cool down

Wednesday – 6 Miles (Treadmill)

Nothing much to report here, just a routine treadmill run.

Thursday – Travel Day

We had a super early morning flight and were settled at the hotel by 11:00 am.

We must have walked several miles through Hollywood Studios though as we ended up there for the rest of the day and night!

I wore my Saucony Ride’s every day for park walking while packing my Adidas Energy Boosts for the gym. It turned out to be a great decision for my feet.

Friday – Hotel Gym (3.25 miles)

I think I mentioned in a post last week that I keep my vacation workouts short. I ran 30 minutes on the treadmill which came to 3.25 miles and then played around with some weights before heading up to shower and get ready for the day.

Saturday – Hotel Gym (3.25 Miles)

Another 30 minute treadmill run overlooking the palm trees. The weather was so perfect for our trip!

Sunday – Hotel Gym (4 Miles)

One of the things I love about the hotel is that they have various fruit waters available all day, right outside the gym area. I filled up several cups after my workouts and then again whenever I passed by!

In case you missed my treadmill round up post earlier on last week, here it is again. I really like the treadmill lately and I want you to like it too!

[bctt tweet=”Disney Week Workouts #running #vacation #Disneyworld #workouts #treadmill” username=”cookiechrunicle”]

How was your holiday?! Are you confused as to what day it is today too?

Do you like to use the hotel gym when on vacation?

Lots of Yogi Tea & Leaving For Disney! (TOL)

I didn’t mean to skip a What I Ate Wednesday post yesterday but I hadn’t taken one picture of what I have been eating since the weekend so there went that.

Something inside of me has clearly changed because I am no longer the winter loving New Yorker that I used to be.

Winter was always my favorite time of year – between the chilly air, Hanukkah and hockey season, I could never get enough!

These days however, rather than enjoy the season, I am busy counting down the days to March while walking around constantly cold and annoyed by the weather.

Things are only made better when a) I am wrapped up in my blanket b) I carry around a hot mug of tea.

Yogi Tea’s Kava Stress Relief is my tea flavor of choice. It’s a decaf tea which works really well for me as caffeinated teas tend to make me dizzy.

I think I refilled my mug yesterday with hot water a good four times before noon!

And the cute little messages that Yogi Tea gives me are nice too.

Yesterday’s tea message was “what belongs to you will come to you” < – I like that.

We are leaving for Disney World today!!

The weather is looking nice in Orlando (80’s!) and my friends will be in Disney too so we are really excited for this trip.

Oh yeah, and Hanukkah begins at sundown on Christmas Eve! It’s always nice when Hanukkah is later in December and falls around Christmas so the fa la la feeling lingers for us along with everyone else.

My plans for posting over the next few days is a bit undecided.

I want to pop in with a few pictures to say hi at least once while we are away but Disney World, as you may know, is so much fun but also SO TIRING that typing up a post may not happen so fast.

Please follow me on Instagram where I will do my best to share our fun and of course, what we are eating (desserts!!).

As for my workouts, I will use the hotel gym (it’s a really nice one!!) but I cap my vacation workouts at 30-40 minutes tops. There won’t be a long run for me this week and I am more than okay with the break! I sometimes think that Disney World walking is a lot harder on me than running 13 miles.

On This Day:

12/22/15: Running on Treadmill: Pro’s & Con’s < – This post was also included in Tuesday’s Treadmill Round Up!

12/22/14: Chocolate Bar Blondies < – Ironically, I shared this recipe for chocolate bar blondies two years ago today which was also the day we left for Disney World in 2014!

If I don’t speak to you before the weekend, have a very Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas!

[bctt tweet=”Hot tea & leaving for Disney!! #thinkingoutloud #Disneyworld #yogitea #winter #vacation #Disney” username=”cookiechrunicle”]

Are you a tea drinker? Do you like Yogi Tea? Which variety?

Which season is your favorite? Has your opinion changed over the years?

Who isn’t done with their holiday shopping?

Why do I make such a mess with popcorn & going to Disney soon! (TOL)

Thank you for your kind comments and emails regarding yesterday’s post. It was definitely my story to tell and I am really glad that I told it. Not only did it truly make me feel better and help me to move on even more, I am learning that I helped a few of you out which means a lot to me!

I feel really weird when I miss a What I Ate Wednesday post so here’s an English muffin with peanut butter to make things better.

Talk to me about popcorn, specifically HOW you eat popcorn. Is it possible to eat just one piece of popcorn at a time or do you shove handfuls into your mouth and make a huge mess all over yourself because you can’t get the handfuls, even the little handfuls, into your mouth all at once?

Please tell me I am not the only one.

Lately I buy the purple bag of the reduced guilt air popped popcorn from Trader Joe’s and I get popcorn pieces everywhere to the point where I wonder how any popcorn actually lands in my mouth. Is there something wrong with me? Am I doing something wrong?

I don’t think I mentioned it but I am going to mention it now that we are going to Disney World two weeks from today for a quick and sort of annual holiday season trip!

Who remembers the last time we went to Disney in December 2014? I think I am most excited for the chocolate covered apples. Or maybe my favorite giant chocolate chip cookies from the bakery!

I already made us a bunch of dining reservations at some of our favorite places in Disney but I am also preparing myself to not make the food mistakes I made in Disney last time. What am I talking about? Well, as a meatless eater, sometimes you get caught up in being away and forget that you need to concentrate on ordering and eating foods that will fill you, like meals that contain protein.

I forgot to get my protein in at breakfast (hello too much fruit and oatmeal) and my salads were filled with veggies while the rest of me filled up on sweets. I was hungry/sugar crashing often. I will be sure to pay better attention to what I am eating in between bakery stops this time!

On This Day:

12/8/15 – Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pancakes < – Ohh, these pancakes were terrific

12/8/14 – Samoa Cookie Dough Bark < – Known as one of the best desserts I ever made!

12/8/13 – Life Without The Scale Part Two < – A follow-up to one of my most popular posts about the scale

[bctt tweet=”thinking out loud! #popcorn #Disney #onthisday #thinkingoutloud” username=”cookiechrunicle”]

Be sure to check out what everyone else is thinking about today!

Do you have a favorite restaurant and/or dessert in Disney World or Disney Land?

Do you make a mess with popcorn?

What’s on today’s workout agenda?

Thinking Out Loud 12.24.15

How do you feel about Facebook’s time hop feature? Like, sometimes I love it and laugh and reshare the post and then sometimes I see things I would like to forget.

Facebook reminded me this week though that a year ago, right now, we were fa la la-ing in Disney World and I was basically in heaven eating my favorite chocolate covered apple with marshmallow ears in Magic Kingdom.

We love Disney, especially this time of year. It’s so festively fun that even if you don’t celebrate Christmas (which we don’t), you learn to feel the holiday spirit, even if Hanukkah has already come and gone.

While we won’t be in Disney this Christmas, we will be in Boston next week which we are getting really excited about. It’s a short little road trip adventure which means no flying which means pack as much peanut butter as you want (you know, in case of emergency) because there’s no airport security to tell me what I can and can’t travel with.

Did you see this toy list that every 80’s girl wanted for Christmas? I had every toy listed (gosh I miss my Barbie house!) except for Teddy Ruxbin which is still a sensitive issue if you must know the truth. I don’t even want to talk about it but you can be sure I will bring it up again today with my father who was in charge of the toy buying and for some reason, still left unexplained, he decided I didn’t need this talking teddy bear.

Only child syndrome at it’s finest right here.

I turned out okay, really I did. My son on the other hand, I don’t really know how he is going to turn out as it can’t be anything other than downhill from here now that he has decided that breakfast isn’t important.

In fact, he told me just the other morning on the ride to school as I tried to verbally force breakfast down his throat, “No one even eats breakfast anymore mom. I know, it starts something up in your metabolism or whatever but I am not hungry and like, no one I know eats in the morning.”

I do not know who this child is. He cannot be mine. Not hungry in the morning? What does that even feel like? I have never missed a breakfast in my life unless I was sick with a stomach bug.

I have tried making him smoothies for breakfast, even sharing my frozen blueberries and Skoop to trick him into drinking a meal. I have followed him to the car with English muffins covered in peanut butter and actual plates of waffles with syrup and banana.

And the syrup drips off of the plate onto the seat when he leaves the entire thing behind as he jumps out of the car. Don’t even ask, I need a car wash.

I have resorted to waffles in baggies too thinking how portably creative I am but he leaves it behind. It’s not like the other kids can tell it’s a Trader Joe’s blueberry waffle I tell him but whatever, it’s a hopeless cause at the moment.

Luckily I don’t have to chase him down with breakfast for almost two weeks < – another reason I appreciate winter break.

I took out my new 2016 Erin Condren life planner last night because Amanda’s all gung ho about starting anew and it’s slowly rubbing off on me. I have been hanging tight to my 2015 Erin Condren notebook but I have decided to slowly start breaking this pretty new planner in anyway. I hate to start writing on the crisp clean pages — What if I make a mistake? Use the wrong color ink? I don’t want to ruin it yet!

Use this code to save $10 on your first Erin Condren purchase < – referral link, I receive a $10 credit in my Erin Condren account if you make a purchase using my link.

Okay friends, time for me to eat and run. Merry Christmas to all that celebrate 🙂

Don’t forget to check out what everyone else is thinking about today!

[bctt tweet=”thinking out loud #Christmas #Disney #erincondren #lifeplanner #breakfast #thinkingoutloud @runwithspoons”]

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Do you wake up hungry for breakfast?

Do you use a planner?

What are you doing for the holiday? What are you cooking?

Running Round Up

Thank you so much for your kind comments on yesterday’s post. You guys are the best 🙂

I can’t believe that today is the last day of June and the first day of July is already tomorrow! I was just thinking about our recent trip to Disney World which was, um, over six months ago already.

Time is just flying.

Looking back at this picture makes me want another giant chocolate covered apple right about now even though it’s super early in the morning — I see nothing wrong with an apple for breakfast.

During our time in Disney, I shared a roundup of my favorite running posts from 2014.

Since then, I have written lots of other running posts that stand out in my mind so I figured I would round them up and share them with you again today all in one neat place.

Treadmill Running Series

I know that you think you hate the treadmill but trust me, it isn’t so bad.

In fact, lately I have been running indoors once in a while (including this past Sunday morning) just as a reminder to myself that I like the treadmill! I don’t want my mind and body to slip into old ways of thinking that I hate it, because I don’t.