December Updates

Why hello there! Long time no see!

My husband mentioned to me earlier that I hadn’t blogged in quite awhile. And he’s absolutely right (mark that one down! ). I informed him that not much has been going on lately that I felt was “blog-able.” But looking back, there have been plenty of things that have happened since turkey day. So here you are: a NwaP update!

Right after Thanksgiving there’s typically a surge of Christmas shopping. Black Friday, Cyber Monday, etc. Well, something similar yet completely different came along this year, in the form of a brand new hashtag. #GivingTuesday is a campaign geared towards encouraging charitable activities and giving back during a time of receiving. I decided to do my part by donating to various charities on behalf of myself and my family. The picture above names all the projects that I contributed to. I swear I would’ve stopped sooner, but the giving back just felt so good. It’s probably the most productive I’ve been in the “shopping” department all season!

Last weekend, I made a long-overdue road trip up to Michigan. I spent the majority of Saturday at our family’s bowling alley helping Mom festivize the main bar. Then I just putzed around while they finished up their work. After a quick trip to the mall with my little bro, back to Five Star I went to hang out with the parents while they bowled on their league. Good times as always!

Sunday of that weekend was our annual cookie extravaganza! This year we set up shop at Terrie & Joe’s home because of,,,, double ovens!! This seriously expedited the cookie baking process and we actually finished in record time, wahoo! It was so great seeing all of the girls ~ Danielle (& James & Jack!), Ashley, Terrie and Auntie Anne. Though the time flew, it was time very well spent. With plenty of sugary goodness

This past week was Sussy Week. Meggie and I brainstormed after a run a few weeks back and decided we should dedicate an entire week to sussying with the help of our Sussy Squad. So we rallied the troops, put together a spreadsheet, and a-sussying we went! Everyday the squad emailed us snippets of the greatness they had done and either Meggie or I put them in blog form. I encourage you to check out the website (http://thesussyproject.com) to read all the details.

To conclude Sussy Week, yesterday we held Sussy Day! A handful of the squad met up at Starbucks in Monument Circle around 11am. The weather was quite frightful (rainy and cold), so our initial plans to walk around outside were quickly thwarted. Instead, we cozied up in the coffee shop and did various things including making TSP tags for candycanes and signing gift cards for a sick boy in search of a world record. During this time, we also bought a Starbucks gift card which the employees were instructed to use for all the patrons coming in to buy coffee. Many people who received a free coffee came over to thank us. But there was one woman in particular who made a significant impact on our day. She not only thanked us for the coffee, she appreciated our genuine kindness in light of yesterday’s events.  Quietly, we all thanked her back while holding in the tears. Small acts of kindness making the biggest impacts on both the givers and receivers.

After Starbucks, we walked over to Circle Center Mall where we handed out our candycanes in addition to various $25 gift cards. We all decided that everyday should be Sussy Day. Such a success. Nominate someone here

Today, I ran the Santa Hustle 5K with my work-friend Nadia and her husband Jason! It was held at White River State Park in downtown Indy. As we arrived bright and early, we couldn’t help but giggle at all the Santas walking down the streets. This race is more along the lines of a theme run, in that they give each participant a red shirt, santa hat and a beard. The sight of all the Santas bobbing down the trail is quite hilarious. This morning happened to be amazingly warm (50+ degrees!) so we took full advantage of the fresh air and fun times. And the ease of a 5k was MUCH appreciated given my recent lack of motivation.

Allie & I sporting the beard

Nadia, Jason & I

In motion!

Well, there ya have it! My December updates to date. Will hopefully be a little more diligent over the weeks to come. I’m sure much more exciting things are on the horizon

Happy Sunday!