running miles and making prezzies!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!  i did.  I ran the Huffing for STuffing 10k (which was actually 6.7 miles) and then we hosted dinner at our house.  It was very fun and we had great food and great company.  I had FOUR days in a row off!!!!  This is unheard of for me--if I have that much time off I am usually afloat on a river or not in Montana.  I was so excited to use the time for some sewing.  I have been wanting to make several gifts and the time seems to be flying.  I had to make several baby gifts during the last few weeks--I may have posted pics of these:

These are some baby kimono slippers and burp cloths. The kimono slippers I followed a tutorial http://www.niftythriftythings.com/2011/06/kimono-baby-shoes.html It was super easy to follow and these are VERY fun to make.  I added Rik Rak to a third pair and they are darling!

Next up was some pajamas (lounge wear as she calls them) for my mother.  She loves bright colored cozy pajamas and I found this fun contrasting flannel.  I wanted to make two pairs of pants, however, the coral was cut soooooooo crooked I was shorted almost half a yard.  Alas, my mom is tiny in size so I could at least eke out a pair of shorts.

These were fun and super simple to make.  I think I need to make more!! :)

Today is my mother in laws birthday.  I bought her some very nice earrings off of ETSY (aahhhhh uuuuhhh aaaauuuuuuhhhhh--that's angels singing--I LOVE Etsy!!!).  Ben chose a nice scarf and I wanted to make her something.  She likes birds and I had this fabric I had bought with her in mind and I followed a tutorial for this bag--the olivia bag--from DixieMango.com.  Again, excellent instructions/pictures etc.

This bag was super fun to make and comes together quickly.  It is a great size not too big, not too small.  I hope she likes it.

Also this weekend I have been working on fabric flowers--they are for a project that will be revealed later (I hope! :/).  And I wanted to try my hand at the English Paper Piecing of hexagons.  They are a great way to use scraps and I can do it anywhere (i.e.: not holed up in my sewing center). They do not, however, make fast work.  We watched a movie and I did five.  How the heck do people make entire quilts of these things???  Someone may receive a coaster, then next christmas the mate.  These are a slow go.  But I do see the attraction...

So that is what my hands have been up to.  The legs have been running shorter faster runs and NTC and bootcamps.  I need to start training for a half marathon in February.  I am looking forward to being in training officially again!!

What have all of you been up to?  Running or craftwise???

Fitness through the Holidays

This time of year is often hard for people to stay on task when it comes to their fitness.  There are so many social obligations so time is even MORE restricted and workouts may fall to the wayside.  Also, at these social engagements calories are consumed via foodstuffs and beverages.  I am vowing to stay on task.  i need my workouts so I can manage the stress this time of year brings.  For me, I need to make that commitment to myself or I may snap!!  Again, this year, Runner's World is having their running streak challenge: run at least one mile/day from Thanksgiving through Christmas or New year's (now i forget!).  I may try this... although I do believe in rest days, a mile won't put my body over the edge.

I was also thinking of creating my own challenge of completing 30 days of yoga from the weekend of thanksgiving through christmas.  Right now I am attempting to run 100 miles during the month of November and 600 min of NTC.  I am about halfway through miles and minutes--I need to step it up; the week before last I was pretty lax on running -- did some spin sessions and yoga.  Yesterday I headed out with the intention of 5 miles and ran 8.5! :)  it was a gorgeous day.  After having been snowed in last weekend, it was 55 and sunny.  It was windy but that kept my temp down since I had on a running jacket.  It was delightful and I figured since I needed to make up some miles--KEEP GOING! :)

I know my time has been consumed with a crazy busy work schedule and also trying to find time to sew some presents.  I have been up late/waking early to find time to sew.  I enjoy it very much, so it is not hard to convince myself to wake up an hour early to do so. But, I also know I need to exercise so I mentally feel better.  It seems the busier/stressed I get the more I crave my exercise. I feel very fortunate that I have the ability to exercise, the means, safe places, beautiful views, great four legged partners, etc.  When I put the spin on how great it is that I CAN do this, it makes me want to that much more!  

Who else is partaking in a challenge during the holidays?  what are your goals?

Exciting News!

It may not be THAT exciting.  Definitely not as exciting as some of the Nike news, etc.  It is, however, something for me to look forward to.  Sunny (@itsallaboutme) and I are going to Big Sky the weekend before Christmas to meet Tony Horton.  I must admit, i did my first P90x video yesterday.  Kenpo--and I survived.  I didn't really sweat, but I am not much of a sweater (???) and today I feel as though my shoulders are dead.  

And I LOVE it! :)

Sunny is a HUGE fan of Tony (ya, I'm going with the first name basis) and this has put a fire under her butt!!  i am hoping I can keep up--she has turned into a maniac.  I love it though--it is a fun way to stay motivated through this cold dreary time we seem to be having.

I am pumped to meet this amazing athlete for sure.  I am also psyched to go to the fondue restaurant at Big Sky!!! I love Big Sky--it is a phenomenal ski area/resort with so much going on and festivities and it is only 1.5 hours away.  They opened this restaurant two seasons ago and I have been dying to go.  Sunny is a bit nervous about how this food will affect our workouts--I'm willing to risk it! 

I have NO IDEA what I need to bring/wear/etc.  There is a meet and greet friday with some sort of lecture I believe.  Should I bring a notebook? dress up for meet and greet? do I need my own mat?  I wish that when you registered they had a "what to pack" list.  When I become a famous fitness guru I will definitely provide that info. *wink*

Anyone else going to this event?  Or have you been to something similar?

Oh--I almost forgot!  I am a featured runner on Doug's blog!!!!  
check that post out here: http://www.dougcassaro.com/2012/11/runners-spotlight-meet-elizabeth-rehmer.html

Snowed In... Snow day Sew day Ski day

For two days it has been snowing.  Friday was about one foot and we woke to approximately another foot this am.  It also has been very cold, 7 degrees, and very windy.  This miserable combination is not pleasant to be outdoors or drive because it causes these drifts that can swallow my suv.  So i have been homebound!  I have gone on two x-coutry ski treks with the dogs (today's went better than yesterday's!) and have been spending some time in my SEWING CENTER!!!!!  :)  That is what I call my sewing room.  I love it.  I allocated it last spring from the Hubbee.  

This is Fenway (weiner) and Wrigley (lab) in the snow.  They were hilarious.  Wrigely had never seen this much snow and couldn't handle Fenway disappearing into the depths and she would try to figure out where he was going to surface, where she would then whitewash the poor guy.  

I have several friends that just had babies. And also with the looming holidays I have a lot of sewing to do... so I scoured the internet to find some more creative items to make for babies rather than time consuming quilts.  I came across these cute burp cloths:

They were from danamadeit.com.  It is a super easy, fast, fun item to whip up.  And very practical.  I made a set of three to give with these cute little kimono slippers:

These came from homespun-threads.com  also a great tutorial and easy!  

In lieu of showering yet another day I am going to get back to sewing!  Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

November is here!

I am relieved the election is over.  I am over the wasteful mailers and foolish ads.  I have two races (small ones) this month.  On veterans day I have a 5 miler and on Thanksgiving, The Huffing For Stuffing 10k.  My fitness goals for this month are:

1)  run 100 miles

2)  600 minutes of NTC

These may not seem too lofty--however I am always wanting to do more spin sessions and pilates reformer/mat workouts.  

Also with the start of November I am working on some sewing projects!!! Yay!! Now that I am not in training for long distance races I am hoping to have some time to work on some sewing.  I have several dresses I want to complete, but really I need to work on some xmas gifts.  I am making my mother some cute flannel pajama pants and working on a wall hanging, and I thought these napkins would be fun and easy.

I love rik rak!!!  I love the vintage vibe it brings to projects.  

what are your workout goals this month?  Any fun homemade gift ideas?

sad news:  we did not make it into the Hood to Coast Relay.  But Karen and I are willing to join another team if anyone is interested/needs two fun, run-loving girls!!!!! ;)