Gooooood morning and happy Monday to you! How was your weekend? Filled with lots of holiday cheer? I sure hope so!
My weekend was great””pretty low-key to start (lots of rest and relaxation), but it picked up yesterday with a fun 5K that I ran with some lovely ladies from KFIT. That said, here are some pics from my weekend!
Day 13: Get holiday beverages from Starbucks. <— My new favorite is an iced decaf Americano with a splash of eggnog. It’s the best of both worlds: strong, bold espresso + creamy, sweet eggnog. Perfection.
LOOK WHAT CAME IN THE MAIL ON SATURDAY! Holy cow! I am so excited!
We had our first fire of the season.
And Quinn had a BLAST playing with some newspaper, which we soon switched to wrapping paper since he’s little hands were instantly covered in newspaper print. (Clearly, Murphy did not understand why we thought this was so adorable. I mean, it’s not that cute when he plays with newspaper. Poor Murphy. There are so many double-standards with this baby that he doesn’t understand, like how Quinn can poop in the house, but he can’t.)
I ran a holiday 5K yesterday and then drank a million beers. <— recap coming soon!
Health News & Views
In the next few weeks leading up to the holidays, your weekends will likely be jam-packed with opportunities to eat, drink, and be merry. Of course, it’s the most wonderful time of year (you should enjoy yourself), but if you’re not careful with your choices, weekend splurges can really add up and wreak havoc on your health and your waistline.
Even though festive holiday get-togethers might be the perfect excuse to let loose, you probably don’t want your healthy habits to fall by the wayside all together. I mean, no one wants to ring in the new year a few pounds heavier, right?
Photo: Getty Images
Here are five tips to keep in mind when you’re enjoying yourself during the coming holiday weekends: 5 Tips for Keeping Off the Weekend Weight!
Question of the Day
I saw this post on Buzzfeed the other day and loved reading it so much. It brought back so many memories about awesome toys I wanted as a little girl back in the 80s… many of which I haven’t thought about in a good 20+ years! I thought some of you guys might enjoy reminiscing too, so please feel free to play along in the comment section!
What awesome toys did you want back in the 80s?
My favorites:
- Girl Talk Date Line Board Game: I wanted this game so badly, but my friend Jenn had it, so every time I went over her house, I would ask to play. It was a pretty awesome game back then (it talked to you!!), so she was always up for playing!
- Fashion Plates: I had these and loved them! I loved any sort of arts & crafts project back then. Still do!
- Get In Shape, Girl!: I had 3 or 4 different sets and used them all the time. My love for fitness started early on!
- Popples & Pound Puppies: I loved both of these stuffed animals!
- Jem and the Hologram Dolls: I loved Jem (truly outrageous)! I remember asking for these dolls one Christmas, but I’m sure my mom Santa realized I didn’t need any more dolls in my life. Haha!
Sounds like Quinn needs a crinkle book! I bet he is teething, too, so it would double the fun. It is literally my daughters #1 toy. The second she hears the sound of the crinkle paper, she is looking every direction to see it…so much fun.
He has a crinkle penguin and monkey that he is obsessed with. It’s so darn cute how into he gets! Haha! I bet he would love a crinkle book!
The buzzfeed article was so right! And anything Girl Talk I remember wanting so badly. Also not girl specific but new Super Mario games for Nintendo was a must back then. I spent days playing it! I also loved Jem, I think my first lunchbox had Jem on it 🙂
I had the Jem lunchbox too!!
I remember so many of those toys. Low tech fun for hours!
I had quite the collection of Cabbage Patch Kids and they are sitting in a box in my parents’ basement!
Man all I can think of now is those Pound Puppies! I was also obsessed with anything Jem.
I loved all the American Girl Dolls. I read all the books and had Kirsten the pioneer doll. I just bought a Samantha doll and clothes on eBay for my little girl. I’m so excited for it! I hope she loves it as much as I did 🙂
Polly pockets, all the way.
I love this unique take on gift guide posts – Um Girl Talk Date Line?? Amazing! I probably still have this somewhere, how funny would it be to bust that with some wine.
Jill
Haha oh poor Murphy life just isn’t fair that the baby can poop inside the house but he can’t ha.
My sister sent me that article recently too. I have such great memories of Barbie, American Girl Dolls and Cabbage Patch. 🙂
Although I was born in the 80’s (’87), I have no idea what any of those toys are – I guess I missed all of that. My toys are more from the 90’s, like tomagachis, the Pretty Pretty Princess game, Polly Pocket, etc. Oh how I miss the 90s, thank goodness leggings came back in style, I had so many pairs of stirrup leggings with matching sweaters and headbands/scrunchies. And saddle shoes!
I still have some of my Barbies, my monchichi and the original Simon. I miss my Barbie Townhouse. My kitten at the time may or may not have gotten free elevator rides.
I am so excited to follow along with your Boston training!! What an awesome experience. For me… ALL THE BARBIES. It’s so uncreative, but I just loved them. Also, Alf.
I’m now realizing how spoiled I was– I had alot of the toys on that list! But my favorite was my Cabbage Patch Kid and my Barbie Dream House.
i was totally into anything Barbie til i was about 10, and even more obsessed with My Little Ponies and Care Bears when i was younger. i remember having a slew of all those little tiny dolls too…Wee Wild Things, with the crazy hair who lived in a car that opened up into a house? nobody i talk to remembers these but i loved them!
Ah! Thanks for posting that Buzzfeed link! What a trip down memory lane! I think my sisters and I had 75% of that stuff (there was 4 of us!). My favorite was definitely Strawberry Shortcake (I loved the smell!)
I had Girl Talk too! Loved it! And Mall Madness. And my Barbies. I lived for playing Barbie. I would still play Barbie now as an adult if I had a daughter lol. I loved my toys so much that I worked in the toy business for a bit (in research and development for Mattel and another toy company) back in my early 20’s. Such an experience.
I wanted the slushie maker Mr Frostie! I also really wanted that Girls Talk boardgame!!! Before the days of mobile phones when a cordless just seemed so cool, even if it wasn’t real!
Care Bear Stare! I Had so many of these toys, by far my favorite was my Popple that turned into a football and 1-2-3 Roller Skates! Was it really that long ago?
Oh my gosh, Fashion Plates were the bomb! I still have mine. My daughter (11) plays with them although she does say some of the clothes are weird. I used to make “catalogs” where I’d write descriptions of the outfits and prices. I have one of the pages still and I had some pretty reasonably priced goods I must say. One of my girls looks a lot like Taylor Swift, weird but true. I was also crazy for Barbie and Strawberry Shortcake dolls.
Wow, that buzzfeed post was perfect! I had a keypers that I didn’t even remember until now! I loved that thing! And popples, and well, all of it!
I loved poppies and pound puppies! I was born in the mid 80s so I was more of an early 90s kid. I remember loving puppy suprise and my little ponies.
The boston marathon?! Congrats! That is SOOO great! I hope to run a full marathon this year, I’ve only done lots of half marathons! Happy Holidays!
All I probably wanted in the 80’s were teething rings and little play toys. I was only 1 1/2! I can’t wait to read your recap on the run! Your Instagram photo looked like it was so much fun!
I loved jem!!! You know they have a movie coming out?!? Rainbow brite. Cabbage patch dolls. My little pony. Punky brewster. She-ra….i could go on and on. Loved the 80s and 90s!!!
I loved Caboodles…the big plastic, brightly colored jewelry type boxes where you could keep all your “make up”, hair stuff,etc. I also HAD to have the Corn Silk Kid Cabbage Patch Dolls. Real hair was a must since the older ones had yarn. 🙂
OMG, I LOVEEEEEDDDD my Caboodle! So much.
That Buzzfeed post brings back so many memories! I loved playing with Fashion Plates, Pound Puppies, and Sweet Secrets.
Murphy’s face in the picture with Quinn is priceless. Pugs just have the best expressions!
When I was reading your post, I didn’t remember what fashion plates were, but when I saw the pic, it all came back!! I totally wanted those!!! (And I’m so excited now that, apparently, if they showed up in my stocking this year, I’d be thrilled! Haha. What a dork!)
Cabbage Patch Kids and Strawberry Shortcake for sure.
Congrats on the marathon acceptance.
C.
Great weekend recap! Oh and I LOVED Girl Talk. Happy Monday to you:)
true story. i still have a working Girl Talk game. I’ll bring it to Blend 2015 if you come. 🙂
I will totally play with you! Haha!! 😄
I was a huge fan of Jem and had about everything covered in her name and picture, ha!
O man! I love flavored Americanos and also make a point to grab a starbucks while traveling. I am flying home today and know exactly what I am going to try!
Congrats on qualifying for the Boston marathon! I bet that excited your day more than your Americano. 🙂
That article cracks me up on the 80s gifts! I’m pretty sure I owned the Get Fit Girl once.
I loved fashion plates!!
One game I remember playing alot after I got it for Christmas was Mall Madness, my little sis and I got SO into it!
Fashion Plates were the JAM! OMG – A few years ago, I almost bought one on eBay for a ridiculous amount!
Mall Madness!!!
I can’t wait to hear about your race!! Oh and your fire look so cozy 🙂
Congrats on qualifying for the Boston Marathon! You are awesome.
Thank you so much for little articles like this one! I am nearing the end of my weight loss journey (only about 3 pounds left to go) and something I’ve been struggling to figure out MAINTENANCE… I have returned to a lot of articles like this and your book on advice for that. I’m getting to a point where I no longer fear food, and I appreciate the example you set with that!
I wanted girl talk! And I def loved my american girl doll!
Congratulations on you qualification!! that is so exciting!
Total Jem fan here! Also cabbage patch kids and caboodles…I think I had about 5 different ones! I also loved pound puppies!
Ummm you definitely need to add Mall Madness to that list!
Congrats on the Boston acceptance!
I love BuzzFeed lists like this! I got a couple Strawberry Shortcake dolls for my birthday one year, but my mom gave them all away and replaced them with furniture for my Little Tykes Dollhouse because by the end of the week the strawberry smell was making my dad sick, haha. Random story!