Christmas in Ohio

After days and days of cold and rain, we just spent a beautiful 60-degree day in the car driving 400miles from my parents' house in Ohio back home to DC. But, I suppose it's better than having to drive through that cold and snow and ice.

Anyway, I hope Christmas and the Santas in your life were good to you. We had a fun visit with my parents, brother and both of my grandparents, as well as a few hours with my aunt and uncle who drove up from Cincinnati. Lots of photos by the Christmas tree, good wine and way too much rich food courtesy of my dad's great cooking. He's an amazing cook, but doesn't believe in finding healthy alternatives for recipes that call for lots of butter or cream. So we'll be working off those calories for a while!!

Luckily, between my parents, my granni and my wonderful husband, I have no excuse not to be running and biking in warm weather AND cold. I'm awash in cold weather biking tights, jerseys, and a very pretty little balaclava number for those really cold days (not to mention some adorable warm weather things that now have me so ready for sunshine and tri season)!

Twice we bundled up and headed out for a cold winter run while we were there. Both times, back home before anyone else was even up. We passed horses, deer, and even a sign at a drivethru carry-out proclaiming "Cigs buy 1 get 1, and Huntin Licenses here". Ah, rural life! I've been fighting a cold all week, so the cold Ohio air was also a great way to hack up a lung and clear out my sinuses. According to the New York Times, that's the right tack to take, as opposed to staying at home and relying solely on chamomile tea and honey to make you feel better.

My family tends to go a little overboard at Christmas, so presents are a-plenty, and since my brother tends to sleep until noon, we don't even start unwrapping until nearly 1pm. As a result, gift giving and receiving is a day-long affair. Stuart claims this photo taken during present time is the best picture ever taken of me. It's not too late for Santa to take back his presents and put coal in his stocking! And considering his big gift was the finisher's jacket from IM Florida, I think he'll be reconsidering his commentary from now on. :-)

The boy dogs behaved well at the kennel, actually better than Ally did at my parents this year. She looked beautiful, but was way too neurotic. Now that she's starting to lose her sight and hearing and sense of smell, it's way too easy to lose track of me in my parents' house. So a few scratch marks and accidents later, she too survived the trip.

It was fun, but it's always good to be back in your own home. Time to unpack, get a quick workout in and settle in to a college bowl game tonite. Tomorrow's supposed to be 60 degrees again before the rain hits, so I see a bike ride in my new threads on tomorrow's agenda!!