The D-Factor

Run
Today I woke up at 7:45 on a Sunday to make sure I made up for my "rest" day yesterday. A little crazy I know, but I had a scrapbooking date at 10 so I needed to get my run in. I started out around 8:15 hoping to run 1-2 miles and then do a Jillian Michaels workout on Exercise TV. For those of you that live in Ohio, it was a balmy 36 degrees which was great because it allowed me to run outside. I was motivated already this morning because I had a busy day but about 1/2 way into my run it started to rain/sprinkle and I was ready to stop. That is when the D-Factor as I call it set in.

I call it the D-Factor but it is really short for Dad. My dad passed away 6 years ago this week and I have been internally processing it a little more than usual. Sometimes when I run I remember when he first got sick he would always tell me, "Holly, do what I can't do." I don't think about this often but it hits me every once in a while when I am in a quiet zone, which is usually when I am running. One of the great benefits I think of longer runs. I call it the D-Factor because after I get to this internal place which is sometimes uncomfortable, I get this unbelievable push of motivation. Today I ran 3.5 miles on a drizzly day and felt like it was perfect out. I followed it up by a 22 minute Jillian Michaels workout and the enthusiasm from my great run this morning has lasted me all day.

Biggest Loser Power Sculpt
The workout I did today was the "Biggest Loser Power Sculpt workout on Exercise TV. It was 22 minutes led by Jillian and much easier than the last one I tried. My heart rate stayed up because of my run however you focused more on actual weight lifting mixed in with a few vinyasas which was a nice surprise. I think I will go back to the longer "beatdown" the next time. In my mind its more bang for your buck.


Scrap Date
After my run, I continued my scrapbooking mission to finish 2009 in January when its cold outside. I am close but have a few more pages to do. I posted the two pages I did today along with an additional Christmas one from Megan's visit. I used the Celebrations Crickett cartridge which I think I could do a lot more with. Thankfully I have one more birthday to scrapbook this year so I can play with it some more. The cupcakes were so cute! The other letters were done with the Lyrical Letter cartridge. Also on of my favorites because you get 4 fonts in one cartridge.

These pages show us in Tampa at the U2 concert :)

Dinner
Tonight for dinner we are having leftovers. Last night I continued with the planning for the week and made a Cooking Light Chicken and Dumplings Recipe. I am posting an easier recipe because the one last night took me two plus hours (you had to back the broth from scratch) and was WAY too time consuming. I will be using this recipe next time. The dumplings in the end were very good and worth the wait, but if there is an easier way, I will take it!

Quick Chicken and Dumplings

I also made turkey meat loaf which we'll eat later this week when our schedules get crazy again. It has a little spice to it so I am excited to try it. For now its in the freezer waiting for the stress of the week to kick in.

Its back to work now this afternoon for me, but the D-Factor definitely led me to an insprirational today. Thanks Dad :) I hope you enjoy the recipes and the scrabook layouts.