Christmas

It's Christmas day, the one day I do not go to the gym. My gym is closed! I would go if they were open though.


I could actually do something like sprints at the track across the street, but let's put things into perspective, I have a child and although he may be 17, Christmas morning is still special to him. Just like this is the one day I skip the gym, it's the one day he gets his butt out of bed early! I can't run in the dark and I can't very well hold up everyone to get one workout in when I have 364 other days to do it right?

Tradition, tradition!

So just what does a self proclaimed fitness freak do on Christmas day? Well, I can guarantee you that many, many other folks are fulfilling their fitness needs and staying with their program, while I am not doing that. It's not that our family is religious and has to go to church, but we do have our family traditions.

Christmas Eve started out with a mysterious email from a woman researching her family tree on the Wilce side. Could we possibly be related? I had fun emailing back, half of my house is furnished with Wilce antiques, and I have old china, jewelry, silver, pictures, and even a bible from 1889! I took some photos to send her chronicling births, deaths, marriages. Her family comes from Scranton, just where all my belongings came from, this should be a very interesting relationship!


Then in the late morning Virginia stopped by to deliver duck fat. She stayed for sparkling wine and then Mark, (wondering where his wife was for so long) pulled up and brought oysters and more sparkling wine. I did my prep as we all talked and laughed.


Late in the afternoon Stacy stopped by. She brought homemade cookies from a recipe her mother used to make, wine, chocolate, a roast (for later) and we talked. 


Christmas Eve the family came to my house and I made Prime Rib, Yorkshire Pudding, Roast Potatoes, Gravy, Peas and Salt Caramel cupcakes. I took over the family holidays many years ago when my mother decided she had done it long enough. I don't mind, I enjoy cooking quite a bit and can make whatever I like for myself if I don't want to indulge in all of the other stuff! My mom passed away a few years ago, and she is missed, especially at the family gatherings. We will always laugh and tell some funny story about her though. 

Lauren came by and gave us a gift she made. It was an ingenious idea, wine glasses with a special black chalkboard paint on the bottom foot portion of the glass, so you can write your name on the glass! She included a small container of chalk too. 

Christmas morning Cooper will open his gifts, David and I don't give gifts to each other, we found through the years that it has helped us to actually enjoy the season and reduces stress. Our gift to each other is our annual trip to Mexico in February.

We then hop into the car and drive to my father in laws for the day and night. My mother in law passed away in February so this will be our first Christmas without her. We will be going out to dinner and this will be the first time in my 50 years I have eaten dinner out on Christmas, another first. 

We will come home on Monday and I will be training with Roy on Tuesday instead of Monday so I will hit the gym on Monday afternoon when I get home. 


My holiday is and was special for many reasons. 


Virginia, who just stops by and delivers a much needed item, because she knows I need it and decides to bring it to me instead of me driving to her.


Lauren, for being so thoughtful and actually creating something with us in mind. She put a lot of thought into our gift.


And Stacy. She wont be eating the cookies, but she made them knowing we would love them. We have grown into each other, I think it's the best way to say it. It is hard to create new friendships as you become older. People are paired off, or very much into work and just don't have time for relationships. We have known each other for 8 months, but in those 8 months we have learned more about each other and about ourselves than most people will learn in a lifetime.


I feel very fortunate for the wonderful people in my life. 

However you celebrate, enjoy the time with friends or family and as my husband says to my son EVERY SINGLE TIME HE WALKS OUT THE DOOR:

Be safe!

Merry Christmas!

I am enjoying the holidays, this year it is so relaxing for me. Usually I play hostess to the entire family on Christmas Eve, but almost everyone went their own way this year!

I am celebrating the time off with David and Cooper, that's it! We are not religious, so we just enjoy the time together, nothing formal or structured.

Christmas Eve I made what Cooper requested : "Prime" prime rib from Shaubs Meats in Stanford (meaning it was really prime, not just the cut but the grade), Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, peas and gravy. No dessert, it's all about the meat and potatoes. I had a cocktail before and wine during dinner.

We had a little break at Enoteca La Storia in Los Gatos. We are enjoying some wine and snacks. They have wonderful wines by the glass and great Italian delights to nibble on.

Christmas and the following day are about the only two days I do not go to the gym or exercise. It's not that I am making a concerted effort to skip it, I would go to the gym if they were open!

I will get up and have coffee and breakfast, and my son will open his gifts, then off to the in-laws we go and stay the night. I won't return home until late Sunday afternoon, most likely too tired to go to the gym.

Monday I will wake up bright and early and hit it all over again!

There is no need to feel guilty, we should all enjoy the time with friends and family and have some good food.

A lot of people struggle with skipping workouts and the holidays in general, so they don't enjoy themselves. I still do, I just don't go "hog wild". At least, not for long.

It is important to remember that while we may have a specific goal of weight or fat loss, we all have lives and interests outside of our fitness world. We need to remember to enjoy life!

So, we gain a couple pounds. Unless you are an Olympic level athlete, get over it! You will be fine in a few weeks.

If you skip a few workouts, it's OK! Just get back into the gym as soon as you can. Forgive and forget!

If you are feeling like you have failed in some way or another, remember that we all fail at times. I read this on another blog recently and thought it was a good reminder (the Internet spreads things like a sexually transmitted disease you know).

You've failed many times, although you may not remember. You fell down the first time you tried to walk. You almost drowned the first time you tried to swim, didn't you? Did you hit the ball the first time you swung a bat? Heavy hitters, the ones who hit the most home runs, also strike out a lot.


R.H. Macy failed seven times before his store in New York caught on.
English novelist John Creasey got 753 rejection slips before he published 564 books.

Babe Ruth struck out 1,330 times, but he also hit 714 home runs.


Don't worry about failure. Worry about the chances you miss when you don't even try.

So enjoy the day, then feel good that you had the opportunity to share it. Get back into the gym and then bust your butt.