Running Medal Hangers

If you are anything like us, you have running medals ALL over the place.

I scrap-booked my first ever medal from my first 5 k race - wow I was so proud! but the rest, including my personal best's for the Tely 10 and half-marathon are lying around somewhere.....waiting........

So I googled "Running Medal Hangers" and found a very cool site called Allied Steel Fab that makes really neat medal hangers, and even customized options!!!

A couple of days ago their facebook group posted a New York Running medal hanger. ooohhhh!

I also like the basic runner hanger. There are so many options to choose from!

Check out lot's more photos (including lot's of creative custom ideas!) on Allied Running Medals Facebook page or visit their online catalogue

My Inspiration Wall!

Remember when I was talking about creating an inspiration wall like this?

Instead of ordering these from Ikea, I did my own thing. I went to the local hardware store and got 2 very similar-looking small curtain rods and matching clips. The result is pretty much the same thing! I'm extremely happy with the result, and it means there are no thumbtacks from a bulletin board lying around.

What's on my wall?

Top row (L-R):

1. A little love note from my husband from WAY back in 2005

2. One of my favourite photos: me at the Berlin wall in 2004

3. A reminder: It begins with ME!

4. A wonderful quote: Happiness is a way of travel, not a destination.

5. My training schedule for my upcoming goal race: the Tely 10 (mile)

6. An image of displays of vintage cameras - inspiration for our home

7. A photo of me as a little girl, with my first dog, Jade (a Welsh Corgi)

8. A postcard from the fabulous Two if By Sea cafe

9. A flyer for cake decorating classes. One of my best friends is amazing at cake decorating after just level 1! I want in on this action.

10. Paint chip ideas for our living room/entry way (painting scheduled for sometime this summer)

Bottom Row (L-R):

1. Magazine cutouts of my ULTIMATE goal race: The New York City marathon

2. A list of movies (mostly documentary/foreign/non hollywood blockbuster) that my friend Jill shared with me and that I am slowly making my way through

3. A postcard of a painting that I really liked from Musee d'Orsay (basically, my art heaven) in Paris. It's called Le Lit (the bed) by Toulouse-Lautrec.

4. An image from Tuscany (*sigh*) with the quote "Is it, in short, ever well to be elsewhere when one might be in Italy? - Edith Wharton

5. American money - waiting for my next adventure (don't rob me, it's only a few 1's)

6. Inspiration for a Christmas craft that I've been meaning to do for the past few years - will have to start early this year!

oh and tucked in behind is my current/ongoing "to-do" list!

Where do you keep your inspiration?

This week I'm thinking about....

1. Creative ways to make our front entrance less cluttered with shoes. I'm loving this idea, found on The Queen of Re

2. My friend Geoff shaving his head in the "Shave for the Brave" for Young Adult Cancer Canada. This is to honour his wife and one of my BF's, Janice, who successfully kicked cancer's ass this year. Click on the link to donate! They have raised over $500 in just 2 days....AMAZING!! We are all behind you 100%.

3. Showing my Canadian pride with my brand new Vancouver 2010 Olympic jacket!

4. Ballooning in Tuscany. I'm REALLY trying to make this happen.

5. Adding a vintage camera to our home decor. This one from Etsy seller Slothart

6. The AMAZING photography "stories" on Pictory. A picture says a thousand words. That's what I love about photography!

Creative Cross-Training

Have been feeling like an adventure lately, and came across this on Facebook this morning.

International Pillow Fight Day

Held in cities all over the world. How FUN is that??? Some groups then donate the pillows to charities - for example, the pillow fight in New York City is donating to animal shelters to make beds for the animals (melt my heart NYC!). Very jealous of my dear friend Jill, who is probably attending this event. Jill - photos!!!

This would make a super fun cross-training workout for the arms! Does anyone else feel like we could get this off the ground in NL....I do!

From the NYC site, I stumbled unto something else near and dear to my heart - passion for photography, and these VERY cool events held by Newmindspace in Toronto and New York. Everyone shows up with a camera at a predetermined time and place, and starts snapping, uploading photos to Flickr afterwards. So cool. Other events include blanket forts and bubble battles.

My Public Service Announcement for today:

You are never too old to LIVE, be creative, have fun, and act like a kid.

Creative Christmas Gifts for Runners

Since Christmas is just around the corner, I thought I would share some interesting/different gift ideas for that potential runner in your life!

1. Have someone in your life who has recently run a marathon or who plans to run a marathon?

How about this marathon scrapbook from Etsy seller apicketfencelife? (I am addicted to Etsy)

2. If there is a new parent in your life - how about this hilarious onesie from CafePress?

3. Treat those feet with........A FOOT SPA

4. Magazine Subscription

My first thought was to suggest running magazines. But many of us already have a subscription to Runner's World or Canadian Running (but if that special person in your life doesn't have a subscription - they're great!)

No, I'm thinking, a great creative idea is a magazine subscription for yummy, delicious food. and did I mention easy?

I don't know about you, but running several times a week makes for a hectic eating schedule in our household. I'd love to have more ideas for meals. How about a subscription to Rachel Ray's magazine?

5. Pampering

Anything in the Christmas Collection from Tval Skincare. For those tired feet, the hands that get dry from being out in the cold! Yummy, yummy soaps, candles, lotions etc. More to come on my favourite items from Tval in a future post!!

6. Create A Memory Frame with their latest race medal, a race photo, and any other memorabilia (or use items from the race that means the most to them).

Anyone else have any great gift ideas for runners? Please share them!

H20

Dear Readers,

I have been absent for a few days. It's that time of year again, yep, final paper writing time. I have just pressed send on my final paper for this term of my Masters program. Fab-u-lous!

Today is Sunday so that means I had a 10 km run this morning.

We are running in pace groups and I miss my running buddies who are mostly running with other pace groups :( This is what happens when you try to take running half-seriously.

The topic today is H2O. I don't know about you, but I really have a hard time drinking water. I really have to force myself, EVEN THOUGH it makes my runs SOOOOOOO much easier.

I decided to Google (seriously, isn't google your best friend? What on earth did we ever do before google?) and see if I could up with some creative ways to spice up my water!

Suggestion #1

Make flavoured ice cubes to

go in your water! Cool - I'm thinking cranberry juice! However, I don't usually buy the groceries in this household so, hint, hint to husband!

Suggestion #2

Why stop there! What kind of cool ice cubes trays can I get for making these flavoured ice cubes? hmmmmmm more google. Take a look at what I came up with!

SHOES!!!

ok now just think about this for a second.

Cranberry Juice = red = red shoe ice cubes!

LETTERS!!!!

I could spell my name....or whatever I feel like, depending on mood!

You can visit the site where I found these 20 Unusual and Creative Ice Cube Trays for more options, including a more "manly" selection, including Tetris, Legos, Guitars etc. if that is more to your liking!

Do you do anything to make H2O drinking more enjoyable?