Marvelous Monday: Week 8

It's Monday, and that means five marvelous tidbits to begin the week:

1) Yesterday was a great day with family and friends. We spent the afternoon at my parents' house for my sister's birthday celebration, which had been pushed back to Sunday because of the snow that fell on Thursday night. One of Wish's favorite things in the world is my parents' fenced-in backyard, and this time, my mom had stomped down a big figure-8 path with her snowshoes so he could run back there in the snow. I thought this was a little bit funny until I saw him try to run outside the figure-8 and plunge into snow that's possibly deeper than he is tall (or at least close to it). He loved running around back there.

And one of the whole crew around the cherry-chocolate-cream torte (we love the timer function on cameras now):

On our way back home, Josh dropped me off in time to catch the last part of book club (less book club and more baby snuggles for me, but I heard the book was discussed) and then we met up to celebrate another friend's birthday over pizza and the closing ceremonies.

2) On Saturday I got back to my long run routine and got eight miles in. I wore my Yak Trax over my shoes for the first time this winter, and the run was infinitely better because of it. (Total credit for this goes to my husband, who asked if I was wearing them as I headed out the door!) Most of the sidewalks were shoveled, but the Yak Trax were great for the sometimes-loose and sometimes-packed snow. No speed records were broken, but I caught up on some podcasts and felt good about the run.

3) Per last week's Marvelous Monday, over the weekend I did assemble our holiday cards into a little keepsake book with the help of a three-hole punch and some ribbon. Thanks to Natty for the idea!

4) Josh and I finished the fifth and final season of "Friday Night Lights" over the weekend. Not marvelous: it's over. Marvelous: I loved it. Next up: I think we'll circle back to the final season of "The Wire."

5) It's almost March, but temperatures are going in the wrong direction this week. I am glad to be buoyed by the prospect of another run outside today (and maybe Wednesday) and some fun plans this week with friends.

What's nice about the start of your week? What are you looking forward to in the days ahead? Do tell!