Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Podcasts, Books, Miles and Looks of December

Greetings and Happy Wednesday!  We are already 6 days into the New Year and I'm just getting around to sharing my monthly recap. As you might have noticed, I made a slight change to my recap as instead of sharing a song I am loving, I'll be sharing the best or most intriguing podcast I listened to during the prior month.  I've been struggling to come up with new songs to share every since I starting listening to became obsessed with podcasts so it makes sense to make this shift.

Podcasts:

Freakonomics:  Is Migration a Basic Human Right - This podcast about immigration was the most interesting and thought provoking podcast I listened to last month. It covers many aspects of the topic of immigration with a special focus on the economic impact of immigration on the countries the immigrant is leaving and migrating to. It's definitely worth a listen!


Books:

Wow, this was my lowest reading month of the year BY FAR.  I only managed to read 2 books!  It was a very busy month, though, with lots of social obligations and shopping and wrapping and fa-la-la'ing. And then towards the end of the month I started a 771 page book...  so yah.  Not a big reading month for me but that's ok.


Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown - 3 stars
Inside the O'Briens by Lisa Genova - 4 stars

Miles:

My mileage was also really low this month as I only ran 30 miles. That's pretty pitiful but I am trying to give my body a bit of a break before marathon training starts in February. My total running mileage for the year was 924 which is pretty good.  Instead of focusing on logging miles in December, I did more strength training workouts (10), and went to 13 yoga classes, 7 of which were yoga sculpt classes (high intensity strength training + cardio). All in all I feel good about the month!


Looks:

The first look is from a friend's wedding we attended in early December. The lighting in the photo is pretty bad and it's not our best photo but it was my favorite dress that I wore this month (which I got at Banana Republic 2 years ago). I love that it has sleeves!



My second look is the dress I wore to Phil's work holiday party.  It's a pretty simple dress but again, I like that it has sleeves!  I got it Ann Taylor 2 years ago (yes, I do own a couple of non-BR items of clothing).

 

17 comments:

Charis Faith said...

I love both dresses!!! Not only does the BR one have sleeves it also has stripes! You look so pretty in both pictures!!!

I'm training for a March half so I'm working on increasing mileage but also incorporating a lot of strength training. My brother and SIL got me the body beast workouts that I asked for and I plan to do a workout tonight and see what I think.

I'm so glad that you finished 2015 strong! Looking forward to the adventures of 2016!

Marlys said...

I love both dresses, too! That striped one is really perfect for you.
I think it is amazing that you actually read that much in December as it seems there is so very little "spare" time during December! I love Christmas but it is good to be back in a normal routine again!

Linda said...

love the lines of the first dress!!

will give the podcast a listen to during work. <3

Nora said...

Dresses with sleeves are so wonderful, especially in the winter.

I'd say I'd run with you when i visit in March but I'm SLOW. Exciting that you're running another one :)

Also, love the term fa-la-la-ing. I may have to borrow that later this year.

Jenny said...

That immigration podcast sounds really interesting. It's crazy that because I was lucky enough to be born in New Zealand I am a citizen and even though I'd never lived here I was able to move here with my husband (who is becoming a citizen). While my sister who lived here from age 5 to 12 and went to school here, can't get a work visa because she doesn't meet the immigration requirements!

I so love your dresses with sleeves, especially the first one - it's so hard to find one with sleeves and without a very high neck line. I'm going to have to see if Banana Republic do international shipping!! :)

Gracie said...

I just started listening to Sawbones, which is a doctor and her husband discussing medical history. It's kind of corny, and it's definitely from the layperson's perspective (ie, I'd like more detail), but I think that kind of thing is so interesting: all those old medical practices we used to abide by.

Kelly (She Wears a Red Sox Cap) said...

I love the dresses! :)
I am totally obsessed with podcasts too and every once in awhile I have to remind myself to listen to music ha ha. Lately I've been trying to do music when Max is in the car just because I know he loves music- but this doesn't always happen if I'm in the middle of a good podcast lol

Jeanie said...

Guess what -- at least in December you are allowed to run and read less! The dresses look fabulous!

katielookingforward said...

Sleeves on dresses is so important, but so far to find a good fit (at least for me). I haven't been running in the last couple weeks, but I did finally buy a fitbit, so I'm making sure to go on a walk each night so I get my 10k steps.

Amber said...

Definitely don't feel guilty about your low mileage - you did A LOT of cross training last month which was just what your body needed after your marathon training cycle last year! It is so good to cross train and will help you enter the next training cycle even stronger!

I love that striped dress!

Stephany said...

I'm excited for the podcasts section of this monthly review! I used to listen to Freakonomics, but I think I deleted their feed when I found I kept skipping episodes. I might have to add them back in - I do miss their thought-provoking topics.

Raquelita said...

You really rocked the yoga classes last month. I think I only made it to one last month -- in part due to final exam grading and in part due to travel, but still....

I love both dresses! I wish I could find more that have longer sleeves so that I didn't feel like I always need to wear a cardigan so I don't freeze.

Abby said...

You had some gorgeous "looks" in December! I love that picture of you 2 at his Christmas party. You look so classic.

That's a smart way to go into marathon training! PS - I found a yoga sculpt studio! I also tried the most insane yoga class ever this week, the room was 115 and it was as power flow class. Omg. Let's just say I was dry heaving after class. My blood pressure doesn't do well in that kind of heat apparently ;)

Kyria @ Travel Spot said...

I have not listened to that Freakonomics episode. I did just listen to an interesting one on whether or not women actually DO only get paid 77 cents on a man's dollar for doing the "same job". It was interesting and talked about how hard it was to actually measure whether or not that is true. I always listen to them while running or when I am on the bus/train home and don't feel like whipping out my book. I barely listen to music anymore either!

The Many Thoughts of a Reader said...

I have been catching up a lot on Happier podcasts this month. I go from being super annoyed by Gretchen's voice to being intrigued by it. ha. I've also listened to a lot of old episodes of Dear Booknerd and I am trying to decide if I like the new Serial topic or just Sarah's voice.

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

I like sleeved dresses too, and I actually picked one up last week. It was super cute, wintry, and perfect for our wine and cheese party. And, yes, I looooove hot pepper jelly with cheese. We had some on the table, along with a mango preserve, and honey. I love putting hot pepper jelly over goat or cream cheese - mmmm!

San said...

The striped dress looks fabulous on you. And don't be too hard on yourself because you "only" ran 30 miles in December... remember, you told me that anything more than 0 is an accomplishment! :)