* Right now I am sitting at my desk with a bag of ice on my left knee… this is the fourth time I have iced it today… toward the end of the marathon it felt like my IT band was causing my pain… Sunday and Monday it felt fine.. a little tender but that’s all - so Tuesday in following the post marathon program I walked a mile… felt fine - this morning it felt agitated… I was going to ride the bike at the Y but Alison told me when her IT band acted up the only thing that made it better was ice and doing NOTHING… which is very hard for me to wrap my head around but I don’t want to really injure myself so nothing it is… (You IT band basically runs the length of your leg on the outer part of your knee… and makes bending your knee - especially stairs painful)

* Lexington’s Your Town live broadcast at 6:00pm tonight was a success - the city looked like a winter wonderland complete with a throne and all of the misfits from Rudolph gathered around it - Rudolph is by far one of my favorite Christmas movies of all time… so I thought the set up was particularly cute… I think I might like Yukon Cornelius the best… I love his never fading optimism that he might actually throw that pick up one day and hit gold…

& Thanksgiving is next week already!!! I will be going to Matt’s parents house for dinner - I am going to try really hard to make some good sides to go with the meal - my contributions to the McGuire holiday dinners have been less than stellar in the past - I think last year it was suggested that I just bring some crackers and cream cheese with pepper jelly (I know this is because my mother-in-law didn’t want me to have to spend a lot of time making something) but I couldn’t help but think back to the Christmas when I decided to make sausage balls healthy.. using low fat sausage… 2% cheese and light Bisquick… the grease is what holds those things together and makes them soft… mine were as hard as dog biscuits… I am planning to redeem myself this year with a Crab and Swiss Quiche and a French Vanilla Cake (ala Betty Crocker) or a Salted Chocolate Ganache Cake (from scratch) - I think I should probably let Ms. Crocker help me on the desert - we’ll see…

* I have not purchased one Christmas gift… a facebook friend posted that his wife had been done since March and that perhaps he could hire her out to help me with my shopping… I am seriously considering taking him up on the offer or just boycotting gifts all together (not really) - I am considering baking a bunch of cookies and sweet treats as gifts - I am better at baking than I am at making sausage balls…