The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

This Christmas was so wonderful!  My big brother flew out from TN and my cousin flew out from London (it’s been 5 years since she has been here)!  Christmas Eve is our big celebration which is always at my parents house.  The whole family comes over, about 20 of us, and Dad makes his famous spaghetti and meatballs, which is an old Italian family recipe.  The evening was filled with delicious food, lots of wine, many laughs and great stories.  Growing up, Santa always called our house so we could talk to him and tell him what we wanted for Christmas.  Well, all the “kids” in the family are grown up now, so Santa hasn’t called in years.  This year, however, my little cousin is 4 years old, which is old enough to talk to Santa!  So Santa called the house and my cousin spoke with him and told him what he wanted!  He was a little shy about it at first, but then his face lit up with joy and he told Santa what he wanted.  It was very exciting!  The night continued with more conversation, laughter, and music.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve

The next morning, Sean and I hosted Christmas breakfast, a tradition my Grammie used to do.  After she passed nearly three years ago, Sean and I took over the tradition.

Our Christmas breakfast table

After a hearty and absolutely delicious breakfast of baked eggs and beef hash with gravy, we gathered near the tree to open presents.  I love watching people open their presents and seeing the delight on their faces.  After breakfast, we went to my in-laws to celebrate Christmas with them.  After spending a wonderful afternoon with my in-laws watching the Laker game, talking, laughing, eating, and opening presents, my hubby had to go to work, and I went to my Aunt’s house for Christmas dinner.  Our Christmas dinner tradition is lamb, potatoes and broccoli…yum!

Then there were more presents!  The best part was watching my little 4 year old cousin open his presents one at a time with such poise and thanks.  My other cousin received a flabongo, which naturally we had to test out immediately:

Christmas Dinner

Testing out the flabongo with my brother and cousin

My husband and family absolutely spoiled me!  Here is a montage of some of the amazing gifts I was blessed with:

1. Sam Edelman boots.  2. Halogen polka dot wallet.  3. “I Don’t Sweat, I Sparkle” workout tank.  4. House Targaryen fade out tee (I LOVE Danaerys).  5. Purple gemstone earrings.  6. Multicolored gemstone necklace.  7. Polka dot iPad neoprene sleeve.  8. Motorcycle jacket.  9. Sequin “Pink” tee.  10. VS sweatpants.  11. Lululemon running top.  12. Chocolate button Ugg boots.  13. Nordicware waffled pancake pan.  14. “Keep Calm and Run On” tank.  15. Alice in Wonderland shoe ornament.  16. Mickey police officer ornament.

There were more wonderful things I received too.  Like I said, I was spoiled and yet I didn’t ask for anything this year…my hubby and family know me so well.

Another amazing Christmas present I received was my doctor’s clearance to work out again!  I haven’t been able to workout for a month, and boy was I getting antsy!  Needless to say, I went for a run and it felt so good!!  I really missed being able to go for a run or lift weights and I am extremely excited to get back to where I was fitness-wise.

Christmas 2013 was absolutely wonderful.  I love my family more than anything, and the holidays are all about family.  We remembered loved ones we’ve lost, and embraced each other extra tight.

"Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.” – Norman Vincent Peale.

Merry Christmas!

A Very Busy Thanksgiving Week!

This year I didn't write a Thanksgiving post not because I didn't want to, but honestly because I was so busy.  Thanksgiving week was one of the busiest weeks I've had all year, and my time for writing a blog post slipped away.  My Thanksgiving week in a nutshell:

• Friday 11/22:  My baby bro passed the CA bar! 
• Saturday 11/23:  My big bro flew in for the week! 
• Sunday 11/24:  Sibling night with the brothers celebrating big bro’s birthday and baby bro passing the bar!
• Monday 11/25:  Doctor appointment then surprise birthday party for big bro with all the family!  This turned out to be one wild night!  So fun!
• Tuesday 11/26:  My boss’s birthday celebration at work!
• Wednesday 11/27:  JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE CONCERT!!  An early anniversary present from my wonderful hubby!!!
• Thanksgiving Day:  Turkey Trot; Thanksgiving breakfast and Duffy boat ride to Mom’s spot; Thanksgiving cooking; Thanksgiving with my in-laws; then Thanksgiving with my family!
• Friday 11/29-Monday 12/2:  Vegas with the whole family to celebrate my cousin’s 21^st birthday, my big bro’s birthday, little bro’s bar passing, and Sean’s and my anniversary!
• Tuesday 12/3:  Our 2^nd anniversary!!!  Dinner at one of our favorite restaurants followed by a gondola ride through the canals while admiring Christmas lights!

Needless to say, it was one of the busiest and most fun-filled weeks ever!!  I love my family so much, and we always have the absolute best times together, and I am beyond grateful for that.

Merry Christmas 2012!!

Merry Christmas!

Love The O'Neils

Labor Weekend Recap!

I hope everyone enjoyed their 3-day weekend as much as I did!  My 3-day weekend was filled with some much needed R&R as well as some fun events with family and friends.

Friday kicked off the holiday weekend with a Stella & Dot party at my house hosted by yours truly.  My hubby's work-partner's wife is a S&D stylist, and a while she reached out to me to host a party and I said "absolutely!"  We had so much fun trying on jewelry, drinking wine, and snacking on a bunch of yummies I made.

And our fabulous stylist surprised me with an incredible gift...for every Stella & Dot Tribute bracelet sold, 25% would go towards my marathon campaign, Imagine A Cure For MDS, for Mom and MDS!!!

Tribute Bracelet, $36 & 25% goes towards MDS
If you're interested, email me at Love2Mags {at} gmail {dot} com

Saturday night I had a wonderful dinner with my Sis.  She just got back from her honeymoon so we oogled over pictures for a good portion of the night.  It was so much fun catching up with her, talking, and laughing.  As we were leaving, we saw "our store" so we of course had to take a picture in front of it :)

Sunday I slept in until 10am!  I never sleep in past 8am, and it felt so GOOD to do so!  We then spent the day on the water cruising around in the Duffy boat before docking at my Aunt's house for a Labor Day BBQ.  The weather was perfect:  the sun was shining, there was a gentle breeze, and the water glistened like diamonds.  So many kayakers, boaters, paddle-boarders, and swimmers were out, it was great!

Monday we took our new bikes out for a spin!  So I've been eyeing this road bike, the Felt ZW95,

and Hubs has been wanting a road bike too, so this weekend, we bought our bikes!  I'm so pumped!  Naturally we had to take them out for a spin.  We rode an amazing 15 miles and stopped to meet our friends for lunch.  It was so much fun!  I do have to say, though, when there is road with barely a bike lane and cars are whizzing by you, it's a little scary!  I can't wait for our next ride!

How was your Labor Day weekend?

What did you do?

MDW 2012

This Memorial Day Weekend was a bittersweet weekend.


My big brother came into town for the holiday weekend which was so awesome!  We spent the entire weekend with family, BBQ-ing, taking the Duffy boat out around the bay, working out together, and sharing a lot of memories of Mom.

Me and my brothers 

Me and my cousin, R

Me and my cousin, S

Me and my hubby

We had so much fun all together.


Unfortunately, this weekend also brought some sadness.  Two weeks ago, our sweet Bagheera was diagnosed with a rare kitty disease called FIP, which sadly is 100% fatal.  We tried everything humanly possible, including an experimental drug, and for the first week he was happy and acting completely normal.  Unfortunately, he took a turn for the worst, and on Saturday our baby Buggy passed away.  He was 9 months old.  We were with him and kept him comfortable and loved.  I know Mom is taking good care of him now (Mom called him Biggie Smalls haha).  I miss our Buggy so much and it sucks.  Rest in peace our sweet Bagheera, I love you so much.

<3

Lent 2012 + Fat {Taco} Tuesday!

Happy Fat Tuesday!!

I’ve been thinking a lot about Lent and what I want to give up this year.  In the past I’ve given up meat (I actually did that for several more months), given up coffee, chips (I <3 salty snacks), and I even gave up alcohol (when I was in college no less).  One year I added meditation to my daily routine and I found that very cleansing.  So I got to thinking, “What am I going to do for this season of Lent?”

I was talking to my hubs about it over the weekend, and I mentioned how I wish I had more time to read for fun.  All my reading has been focused on text books for B-School.  Alas!  There it was!  My answer for Lent 2012.  I am going to read for fun at least 10 minutes a day.

There are so many books on my reading list, including Bossy Pants (which I downloaded onto my iPad almost a year ago), The Host (which I started a year ago and got about 1/8 of the way through), The Help, Running for Women (by Ms. Goucher), and The Fountainhead, among others.  I’m going to kick off Lent with the Host, so perhaps I can finally finish it!  I’m really excited to start this tomorrow!

As for Fat Tuesday tonight, I’m making slow cooker pork tacos for me and my hubs!  I marinated the pork shoulder last night and put it in the slow cooker before I left for work this morning.  By the time I get home it should melt right off the bone and will be delicious with corn tortillas and all the taco fixings’.  After our Fat {Taco} Tuesday we might even go see a movie…we’re thinking either the Descendants (with the Oscar’s on Sunday) or Safe House (which looks bad-A).

What are you doing for Lent?

Do you like to cook?

What movies are on your “to-see” list? 

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year!!!

2011 was an amazing year!  So much happened this year!!  I can't list everything, but here are some highlights:

• Flew to Walt DisneyWorld in Florida with my hubby
• Ran the DisneyWorld 1/2 Marathon (hubby's first 1/2!)
• Bought a house and made it our home
• Ran four 5Ks
• Ran the Disneyland 1/2 marathon (CA) without training (oops!)
• Completed Disney's Coast 2 Coast Challenge
• Completed 2 semesters of my MBA program with flying colors
• Celebrated our engagement with lots of festivities (Engagement party, 3 bridal showers, bachelorette party, rehearsal dinner)
• Gained a guardian angel.  I love you Grammie and miss you every day.
• Visited five states (CA, FL, MT, NV, NY)
• Danced with my daddy at my wedding
• Married the love of my life <3
• Honeymooned in Costa Rica (post and pics to come soon!)
• Welcomed two beautiful kitties into our family
• Celebrated our 1st Christmas as husband and wife :)

Two thousand and eleven was a memorable year.  The year started out tough with the loss of my Grammie, but she was with us every step of the way in all of our celebrations this year!  We had much to celebrate, and I just want to say thank you to my wonderful family and fantastic friends...you guys helped make this year what it was.  Cheers to 2012 being just as fantastic!!!!

Our First Christmas! + Our Kitties :)

Christmas came and went so quickly!  We got back from our honeymoon just in time for Christmas, so it was a whirlwind!


After celebrating Christmas Eve at my parents' with my family and my in-laws, and enjoying my dad's famous Pasta and Meatballs (an old family recipe going back generations that dad has perfected over the years), waking up on Christmas morning next to my husband in OUR house with OUR tree was pure bliss.


Every year, Grammie hosted Christmas breakfast.  This year, I continued her tradition and made her baked eggs and roasted beef hash.  It was bittersweet and I missed her more than you know, but at the same time I was happy because I know that she would have been happy.  And my breakfast rocked!  She would have been very proud :)


The day before, Sean and I picked up our babies!!  Meet, Tantalum (pronounced Tant-a-loom) and Bagheera (think Jungle Book):

Tantalum (left) and Bagheera (right)

Bagheera tuckered out

Tantalum ready to play

Their Kitty Condo!!!!  80" tall!  They LOVE this!!

With getting home from our honeymoon just two days before Christmas, then picking up our kitties, we weren't able to decorate our tree until Christmas morning!  So before I started breakfast and before my parents and brother came over, Sean and I played with our boys and decorated our first Christmas tree :)  **Thank you Dad for picking up our tree, otherwise we probably wouldn't have had time to get one!

After breakfast, we went to my in-laws and spent the day with them celebrating Christmas and opening presents, and of course, watching the Lakers!  Christmas is not complete without the Lakers (although I'm very disappointed in the outcome of that game...we lost the lead and the game with 4 seconds to go, grrrr).
Later, we went over to my Aunt's house for a Christmas dinner which was wonderful.  Lots of good food, wine, company, music, and dancing!  My little cousin who is 2 1/2 years old was rocking out!!!  He sure has some moves!


I feel so blessed for everything.  December was a very special month for me and my husband with our wedding, honeymoon, kitties, and Christmas.  It was a beautiful month and a beautiful year.


So from our family to yours,

24 Thanks on this 24th of November

On this 24th of November Thanksgiving Day, I decided to list 24 things I am thankful for.  Without further ado....

I am thankful for:

1.  My wonderful fiance who loves me and all my goofyness; you complete me in every way baby, I love you!

2.  My parents, who are always there to support and encourage me.  They were high school sweethearts (this picture is from their senior prom <3)

3.  My brothers, who make me smile no matter what, even when they make fun of me


4.  My entire family (aunts, uncles, cousins) – we are all so close and we love and respect each other and always have the best times together!

5.  To be marrying my soul mate and best friend in a matter of days now!!

6.  My health

7.  My ability to run, and my love for running

8.  To have a house that Sean and I call home <3  (We are homeowners!!!  Yay!!!)

9.  My kitty, Raja (he's the biggest cuddler and snuggle bug in the world!)

10.  Sean and I are getting our first furbabies as a married couple:  2 Bengal kitties! (post on this to come soon!)

11.  Food.  I know there are many people in the world who go to bed hungry, and I am so grateful to have food in my belly every day. I am especially thankful for the delicious meal I will be eating tonight for Thanksgiving (Grammie’s sweet potatoes-which I will be making this year, brocolli and cheese caserole, garlic mashed potatoes, stuffing, turkey, fresh cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, mmmm)

12.  Technology – I get to video chat with my big brother, sis-in-law, and two handsome nephews who live 2K miles away

13.  My friends, who are always there for me, and who all know how to have fun whether it’s a girls night out or snuggling up on the couch watching Sex and the City or Friends.  I have the best friends any one could ask for…they are family.

 14.  Being able to travel to as many wonderful places as I have (topping my list are France and Italy, and I can’t wait to plan more adventures with my soon-to-be hubby!)

15.  Living in SoCal with my second home in NYC (figuratively not literally).  I lived in NYC for 4 years and I am lucky enough to travel there several times a year to see all my NYC friends!



16.  My career – I have a wonderful job as an analyst in the healthcare industry.  This is a very exciting time for health care, not to mention I work with the best team ever!  Speaking of which…

17.  My coworkers – I work with some of the nicest, smartest, creative people I’ve ever met.  You guys help make coming to work every day FUN!

18.  My readers.  I really appreciate you taking the time out of your busy days to read this little old blog of mine.  Thank you.

19.  The opportunity to further my education through my Masters in Business Administration (MBA) program.

20.  To have a sense of humor and that I can laugh at myself when taking silly pictures of trying to speak in accents that sound like an entirely different accent than what I’m trying to do!

21.  My soon-to-be in-laws.  They are wonderful people and have welcomed me into their family since day 1 nearly 5 years ago.  I am lucky to have such kind and caring people for my in-laws :)

22.  Other runners who share their experiences and knowledge via the internet for other s to read.  I always find good advice and inspiration through the blogs I follow and new ones I discover.

23.  To be alive.  To experience the world and all it has to offer, to dream, laugh, and love so passionately.  Life is good :)

24.  Spending 25 memorable years with my Grammie.  This is our first Thanksgiving without her, and I know it will be very hard.  I have to remember she lived 92 incredible years, and I was blessed to spend 25 of those years with her.  I am also thankful to be named after her.  Grammie, I miss you every day and I’m so thankful you were such an influential part of my life.  You will always be a part of me.

What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?