Party Weekend and the Ugly Sweater 5K!

.  Hi everyone!  So this last weekend was quite a blur, what with work parties Friday and Saturday night and then a 5K run mid-Sunday morning.  Don't get me wrong though, it was a blasty blast.

Saturday was a complete whirlwind.  I took part in organizing the party, which was an end of the year bash for a group I'm a part of at work.  So Saturday was spent finishing desserts, putting together goodie containers, and whipping up a decadent Coconut Hot Chocolate.  Oh yeah, and forgetting to put my bread pudding in the oven [no joke, I seriously did that and had to bake the thing at the hosts house!].  But all in all, the party went over extremely well, which included some hilarious Minute to Win It games, an ugly sweater contest, karaoke, and of course, too much food to handle.  And I couldn't have asked for a better night with a more genuinely special group of people.

OH!  And I can't forget to mention the goodie bags [containers] that I made for the party, too.  Hollyann and I spent numerous hours rolling and dipping Christmas Cake Truffles and Apple Cinnamon Truffles to put in the cute little candy cane-striped boxes you see above for everyone to take home.  Needless to say it was quite a bit of work but very worth it.  Better to give than to receive, right?!

Then came Sunday morning and the Ugly Sweater 5K.  And what a great time that was!!

I ran the race with some of my most favorite people, Jess, Bailey, and a new found friend, Katie, and despite the winter chill, we all thoroughly enjoyed the time we spent together!  The course was great, with unique picture taking stops at every mile [e.g., trees and man-made snow, hot chocolate booths, and Clark Griswold's front lawn!] and lo' and behold, it actually started snowing the moment we crossed the finish line.  A Kodak moment, I would say.

So since so much went on this last weekend, I thought it'd be fun to once again share bits of my life with you in pictures.  Pictures say a thousand words anyway, right?  Enjoy!

P.S. check out Jess' blog, Blonde Ponytail, for her recap of the race day activities.  She's pretty much a beast [in a toned, outrageous body kind of way] so if you're looking for some New Year's Resolutions workouts, that's the place to stop!  .