Couch Day

I made it to the gym today, but that was probably the most productive thing I did all day.  Go me.  I maybe ran off a slice of pumpkin cheesecake, but that was it.  I challenged myself to see how far I could make it in 30 minutes on the treadmill...2.41 miles (roughly 12.5 minute/mile).  Considering I'm more of a spinner than a runner, I don't that's too bad.

Afterwards, I went to some drugstores to take advantage of some deals.  CVS for a roll of paper towels (buy for $1.99 and then get $1.99 in Extra Care Bucks) and the Riteaid for some lotion ($2.99 and then get $2 in Up rewards).  Practical stuff, so nothing exciting or colorful.

I was happy to get my contact lens order in the mail this afternoon, but what I was really hoping for were my Shutterfly order and my Target gift card.  I was watching this news clip yesterday about jerks stealing packages from people's doorsteps.  Well, I hope that's not the case with this Shutterfly order.  The tracking system says that it was delivered on Wednesday, but I haven't seen it yet. Customer service said that I should wait until COB on Monday if it still hasn't shown up.

Other than that, today was a couch day with RJ and a NCIS marathon on tv.

Black Friday Shopping

Since Thanksgiving is officially over, I didn't feel bad putting up the holiday wreath that Mom made me a few years ago.

After hanging it up, I made some oatmeal for breakfast and started looking for deals online for Christmas presents as well as Ebates.  I purchased something from the following stores: Bed, Bath and Beyond (4% Ebates cash back) and Groupon (10% Ebates cash back), which took care of my Secret Santa, Steph, Robyn, and my parents.

Around 10:30 AM, I went to CVS and the mall to walk around.  I'm not sure if all the Black Friday shoppers already got their deals at the stores or they did their shopping online like me, but I didn't think the crowds were that bad.  Surprisingly, I came out with nothing and didn't feel bad about that. I can't promise how good my restraint will be once I get my Target gift card that I got with credit card points, though.

Julie came over earlier this evening to watch the Redbox movie that I rented yesterday, X-Men: Days of Future Past. I had seen it over the summer, but really liked it. Plus, I had a free Redbox movie code.

Turkey Chase and Thanksgiving

Volunteer Activity #10 of 2014: I woke up at 5:45 AM to volunteer at the 32nd Annual Turkey Chase, specifically packet and t-shirt pick-up.  Wow, was it cold!  They even had portable furnaces (think propane-fueled tiki torches), but you had to stand really close to them to feel any heat.  Good thing I had running tights, a fleece jacket, and a hat.  It was cool to see so many runners of all ages.  I recognized a classmate's wife picking up her packet, a coworker's husband and sister-in-law, as well as a friend that I went to elementary/middle/high school with.  She currently lives in California, but is home to see her family (C, are you reading this? It was good to see you!).

After the race, I went over to my parents' house to get something to eat and then I headed to Safeway for a Redbox movie (X-Men: Days of Future Past) and some ice cream, and then a much needed nap!  When I woke up, it was time to get ready and head to my parents' house for Thanksgiving dinner.  Paihan and Emily were not able to make it to dinner tonight (Paihan is in Boston and Emily is in Taiwan/Japan).  However, CT brought his girlfriend and another friend to dinner. 

The apple pie that Mom got at Costco was 4.68 lbs!  CT brought 2 containers of flan. I brought my pumpkin cheesecake, which was all eaten or given away by the end of the evening.  My cousins and I picked names for this year's Secret Santa exchange, which is great because now I can plan out holiday shopping with all the online Black Friday deals. :)  Happy Thanksgiving!

Volunteering and New Nails

Volunteer Activity #9 of 2014: I went to City Sports this morning from 9:30 AM to 1:30 PM to volunteer at the Turkey Chase packet pick up.  Snow was coming down around 11 AM in big flakes, but the weather wasn't cold enough where it was sticking anywhere.  It was pretty to see through the store windows though.

New Nails: I was feeling inspired by the snowy weather today and my other manicure was chipping so I did my nails with a snowflake pattern.  This is Bundle Monster Plate #323 with 2 coats of China Glaze's Little Drummer Boy for the base coat and Sally Hansen in White On nail polish for stamping

I also made my pumpkin cheesecake in preparation for tomorrow's Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' house.

Books and Chocolate Mug Cake

I tried to do 2 spin classes this morning, but I ended up doing the later class and 2.5 miles on the treadmill.  I'm still at #3 on my Fitbit leaderboard, but I'm hoping that I can catch up by tomorrow.

Books #5, 6, 7 of 2014: I borrowed the Kindle version of the Crossfire series by Sylvia Day from the library.  Yeah yeah, it's 50 Shades of Grey-ish, but I found Gideon and Eva more likeable than Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele.  I could only get through Book 1 of the Grey because I thought it was so poorly written, so this was a nice change of pace.  Book 1 and 2 of the Crossfire series were good, but Book 3 felt like filler.  Looks like the sentiment is shared in the reviews on Amazon.  I guess this series was intended to be a trilogy, so I can see why fans would feel jipped because there was a lack of closure at the end of Book 3.  I hope Book 4 and 5 will have more substance and offer these troubled characters some much needed help with their jealousy, stalker-ish behavior and dark pasts.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Mug Cake: I tried this recipe tonight, but I think this previous one that I tried was better.  The one I tried tonight had you mix everything together, but I kinda like having the blob of peanut butter in the middle like the previous recipe offered.

New Hairdo (Again!)

I was looking at other tutorials that Twist Me Pretty had to offer on her YouTube channels, and I found another one that I wanted to try today.  It's the 5-strand Dutch braid.  It took me about 1.5 hours to get mine to a point where I'd go outside with it in public.  Wow, were my shoulders aching afterwards! But hey, it's the price of success.

Mom gave me food to bring to the office for the food drive and I used one of her grocery bags.  After my hair battle this morning, I went over to return it and also do some grocery shopping.  I went to CVS to see if they had anything that I liked on clearance, but I walked out with nothing because, really, I have enough!  I probably have a similar color somewhere and I don't really need a new eyeliner (I have 3 black eyeliners that I'm working on finishing...I'm almost there!) or mascara (working on a tube and a sample and I have one waiting after those 2 are done).  I guess I like to look at pretty things.  I ended up going to Starbucks and got a Salted Caramel Mocha...yum!

When I was at my parents' house, Mom was like "You have makeup on.  You don't need to wear makeup on the weekends."  Eh, I feel like you can wear makeup whenever you feel like it.  I was rocking winged liner (revisiting Maybelline Line Stiletto, which is starting to grow on me) and Revlon Matte Balm in Sultry.

I came home to eat and then I went back out to the mall to get some steps in.  I'm really slacking on my Fitbit leaderboard.  Usually I'm at #1 or #2, but because I was lazy and didn't go to spin class during the week, I've fallen to #3.  Grrr.  I went to Target (but didn't buy anything because I'm waiting for a Target gift card that I bought using credit card points), Macy's (got bombarded by several perfume saleswomen.  I'm just browsing, thank you!), Joann's (got a bottle of glue with my 20% off coupon), New York & Company (nothing), and DSW Shoes (nothing there either).

I had my eye on Gucci Guilty at Macy's, but I was hoping to find a deal on it online.  So I ended up logging onto Ulta.com when I got home and bought it in a pen spray form as well as Clinique Happy rollerball and Marc Jacobs Honey pen spray with the buy 2, get 1 free rollerball/spray.  I also got the Ulta serving set free because of my purchase and free shipping.  And 8% Ebates cash back.  Whoo hoo!  :)

New Nails and Hairdo

It's too cold to be outside today, so I decided to switch up my manicure and try a new hairdo.  This one is the Cheeky A plate and I used 2 coats of Sally Hansen in White On nail polish and Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Gray by Gray for stamping.

I saw this Halo braid tutorial on YouTube (source: Twist Me Pretty) and wanted to try it out myself. It's tough because it's one braid all the way around and at some point you have to switch hands. And then your arms also get tired. But I did it! I don't think I have it mastered enough to do it to wear it to work, but practice makes perfect!  I'm determined to keep my long hair, but I wanted to learn more techniques so I can be more creative than a ponytail every day.