December + more Florida fun + home!

First of all, I cannot believe that it is already December. This year is absolutely flying by! Does anyone else feel that way, too? It blows my mind.

I haven’t had Wifi for a little bit, so I haven’t posted as much as usual. We are currently on our first plane, headed to Chicago! We will be home a little after 10 AM. I have some pictures to share from the last few days now that I have Wifi. I love that you can get Wifi on planes now – I am going to knock out my to-do list before I even get home!

I got caught up on some magazines during our flights Tuesday – I think Jaake wrote this article just for me. I HATE rest days, but I know they’re so important. I am actually taking the next 25 days off form running – I’m NOT happy about it, but I have got to get this hamstring healthy before my marathon training starts Christmas Day. Ugh. I might be a little grumpy over the next few weeks! I’ll talk more about that later.

I have talked about how funny my Mom is, but this cracked me up! She pulled out this eye mask our first night in Florida. She couldn’t stop laughing as she showed it to me. She kept saying it looked like a doll’s bra. What the heck! I guess my Dad ordered it for her. And as weird as it looks, it is SO comfortable.

Of course, I HAD to try it out! I think it kind of looks like Batman’s mask…minus the eye holes.

These pictures are from Wednesday morning, before my presentation. Our hotel was gorgeous. I wish we would’ve had more time to stay there!

I got my first rental car on this trip! I was pretty excited. My Mom stayed busy on both of her devices while I attempted to navigate Tampa traffic. The traffic was TERRIBLE.

Here are a couple more pictures of Craft Street, the awesome restaurant/brewery that my grandparents took us to on Wednesday night. All their desserts sounded so good!

The food was SO good. We shared flatbreads and some skillet cornbread.

How awesome are these flights? I think they would be super easy to make!

They used wine corks on the bottom, screwed lids onto the top of an old license plate, and used big baby jars as the glasses. I loved it!

My Grandpa was drinking his morning coffee out of a cup from my Dad’s office. They’re supporting him from hundreds of miles away!

I went out for a 6 mile run Thursday morning. I had to cut it short because of my hamstring. I ended up getting 4 in, but decided I needed to take a legitimate break from running. I’m beginning to think I have some tendinitis where my hamstring connects to my sit bone, so I am going to give it some time to heal. I HATE not running, so this is not going to be easy. I’m going to focus on yoga, lifting, spinning, and swimming. I keep reminding myself that I’d rather take some time off and heal than be forced to stop running due to a serious injury. I’d love to hear any great workouts you love – other than running! : ) I loved all of the new views I had during my run!

After my run, I came back and made breakfast before we headed to the pool. I had a fried egg and ham on an English muffin. Plus some fruit! It was delicious.

Then it was off to the pool! My Grandma lent me a cover-up. How cute is this?? I almost didn’t’ give it back! Also, when injured runners layout, they get super sweet tan lines from their Rock Tape…I’ve been trying to keep tape on my hamstring 24/7.

I finally had time to start a book I’ve been wanting to read FOREVER. I got 11 chapters read while we were at the pool! It was amazing. I also chowed down on this delicious BLT.

We stayed at the pool for most of the day, then went back to my grandparents’ house to relax and eat dinner! They cooked up some delicious food for us! My Mom and I had to leave their house after dinner to get to our hotel in the airport. Our flight this morning left super early, so we needed to stay close to the airport. I love my Grandma’s China. It’s simple and beautiful.

We had pork tenderloin, BBQ baked beans, applesauce, broccoli salad, and a tomato/avocado salad. Mmmm.

So yummy! My Grandpa is the best at choosing red wine, so I know we will always have amazing wine when we visit them. He sure knows his stuff!

Look how big this bag of coffee is – I need it.

I got this text from Jake last night – I sure miss my angel babies! I cannot wait to see them SO soon!

My Mom and I left my grandparents’ shortly after dinner, returned our rental car, and got the shuttle to our hotel. We spent a little time in the concierge lounge before heading to our room for the night. Check out all the sweet stuff they had!

I was craving something to snack on, so I had some nuts and part of a cookie. On Sunday, I’m going back to no sugar and no dairy. I’ve been having some skin issues and acid reflux. I found that when I cut those things out, I don’t have those problems, so I’m going to go back to it!

I saw this on Instagram and it made me laugh!

We didn’t sleep all that well last night. I think we both got into bed around 10:30 and needed to be up at 4. I remember looking at the clock around midnight and thinking how hard it was going to be to get up. When my alarm went off, it kind of scared me, so that woke me up pretty quickly! We threw clothes on, made some coffee, and headed to security. We got all checked in and grabbed some breakfast before our flight.

Our friend Brandi, who is a photographer, sent us our family photos this week! Both my family and Jake’s had our photos done about a week and a half ago. I’ll share some of them with you. They turned out SO good. Brandi is SO talented. Her photography page is BG Studios Photography. Check her out – she’s running some amazing holiday deals right now, too! She’s on Facebook and Instagram.

Here are some pictures with Jake’s family! <3

My Mom and I will get home a little after 10 AM this morning. I cannot wait to squeeze my girls and see Jake! I might hit up a yoga class when I get home – I always feel gross after traveling. Jake has an event tonight, so depending when he gets home, we might decorate our Christmas tree! We are having Friendsgiving at our house Saturday, so I can’t wait to see everyone!

Have a wonderful weekend, friends!