Coffee Talk - December edition

Happy Friday, everyone! My calendar got hit by a bulldozer this past week so I'm playing catch-up on blogging yet again.

I am linking up with Fairytales and Fitness and Running on Happy for the Friday Five, and will be linking up with Coco and Deborah for the December edition of the Ultimate Coffee Date.

The Ultimate Coffee Date link-up asks, "If we were having [insert choice of beverage here] together, I would tell you..."

Here are five things I would share:

1) You are who your Facebook pictures say you are 
I enjoyed attending one of Adam's high school reunions with him last Friday night in Pittsburgh. At the event, the organizers had old yearbooks on hand to peruse. They also showed original video footage from senior prom, etc. It was a hoot to see how different the styles were back then! To sum it up in a single word:

MULLETS!!!!!!!!

Jaromir Jagr had a fantastic mullet!!!

Mullets aside - Adam has told me a lot of stories about his classmates, so it was great to put faces to names. On the opposite side, when I would introduce myself to others, I received a very consistent response. Almost all of Adam's old classmates would invariably say to me, "I've seen pictures of you on Facebook - you're a runner!"

WOW! I'm not sure which photos they all saw??? Obviously some are worse than others, as we already discussed.

YEAH BABY!!!!!!!!

The good news was that nobody ran away screaming and/or laughing (at least, not to my knowledge). So that was a relief. =)

In any event, I was both surprised and flattered at the consistency of the responses. I like being a runner, of course. (Incidentally, sometimes I like the idea of being a runner more than I actually like running - but that's a whole other story.) Through the magic of Facebook, I am happy to portray that image and be identified as such!

2) Weddings are fun

Last Sunday, Adam and I attended the wedding of his cousin, Matthew, to Matthew's long-time girlfriend Teresa. It was my first time meeting Teresa in person, and she is very sweet. She and Matthew are perfect together. I am very happy for them!

The wedding festivities took place at Adam's aunt/uncle's house in Maryland. Everything was a blast. It was the first time I'd ever attended a wedding and reception at someone's home, and I loved how personal it felt.

Here are some snapshots:

The ceremony

Bridal party

Adam and me

With the happy couple

Congratulations and Mazel Tov to Matthew and Teresa!!!!!

3) It's time to bake the doughnuts

I love doughnuts but rarely eat them since they are typically fried and not healthy. However, Kelly has talked a few times about making homemade baked doughnuts, and Amy brought homemade baked doughnuts to book club last summer. All looked amazing!

My ears perked up at the concept of being able to control the ingredients and bake instead of frying. Therefore, yours truly has invested in a doughnut baking pan!!! It arrived in the mail earlier this week. I hope to test it out over the weekend.

This is the one I bought

Homemade doughnut baking aficionados - if you have any recipes, suggestions, or tips, please share!

4) All points, all the time

Recently, some coworkers talked about taking nice vacations by opening credit cards to obtain new-account specials. For example, one colleague said she received two free nights at a 5-star resort during peak season just for opening up a hotel-branded credit card.

I was intrigued by the stories. I asked how they found out about these deals. The answer: Reading blogs that are specifically focused on them.

Since then, I started reading The Points Guy. I am a big fan! It keeps me up to speed on so many travel deals, and has taught me a lot about maximizing loyalty programs. Even for folks who don't travel a lot, it can be a real game changer! I really wish blogs like this existed back in the old days when I used to do a lot of business travel.

5) Next year

I am completely, thoroughly, 1000% enjoying not having to train for any races right now. I got a Groupon for another barre studio membership deal which I plan to redeem next spring. I also want to continue rolling with my strength-training momentum, which has made me extremely happy. Beyond that, I've got no specific fitness plans or goals for next year - and it's the best feeling.

Similarly, my race calendar is still a completely blank slate for 2017. I truly believe next year is going to be very much more about quality versus quantity (which is what I've long wanted to do but have repeatedly had trouble executing). I am considering trying to hit some more Rock N Roll destinations, maybe doing the Soldier Field 10 again since I will be in town over Memorial Day Weekend, and in a dream world running something in Hawaii. It'll be fun to see what ends up standing out!