Here we are at the 2nd week of Tuesday Topics! Don’t be shy, join in the link up with Kookyrunnerand Zenaida, get to know other bloggers and join in the fun!
This week we are talking about “What were your favorite gifts you received over the holidays?”
If you have been reading my blog at least the last couple of months you’ll know that we do not exchange gifts for the holidays so this is a tough topic for me. I will share with you a few things that happened over the holidays that were either related to “something new” or “christmas spirit”.
- We got a brand new car! Yep. This is the 3rd new car I’ve ever had in my life and the 2nd since I’ve been in the Netherlands. When I first moved here I had a brand new lease car arranged by my company which I was allowed to use while employed there. In between I had a Fiat Uno (which was sort of like a tin can on wheels) and a Rover Mini (my fave but the poor thing couldn’t deal with all the rain in the Netherlands). We had a Peugeot 206 that was unfortunately totalled in an accident 7 years ago and after that we had a Peugeot 207. We’ve had a lot of issues with the car and basically had had enough. So now we’ve gone with a private lease option and have a brand spanking new Peugeot 2008 SUV. Really happy and was a perfect “gift” (we picked it up on December 27th) that will keep on giving (or rather we will keep on giving each month haha!) for the next four years.
- While I was out with Dani and Tori before Christmas we were talking about our Garmin watches. I’ve had a Garmin 220 since 2015 when I bought it brand new from the Paris Marathon Expo and while it was working all right, it was just kind of outdated. My Vivofit is fairly new but not really great for running intervals, for example. There are so many new features and connections with newer Garmins (like with TrainingPeaks – which is what my running coach uses to load our workouts) that I felt like I was missing out a bit. It wasn’t in the budget though, a new Garmin, but Ron happened to find a 735 for much cheaper than I’d expected (I would love a Fenix, but no way can I justify that expense) so we ordered it and I had it the next working day! Very happy with my new Garmin, I’m now connected to TrainingPeaks and I’ve got my countdown calendar already on my watch face!
- Way before the holidays, I ordered the Sakura Pullover from Inknburn France and on Christmas Day my friend Babette came by and delivered it to me (we ordered together and split the shipping)! As I was seeing everyone (*ahem* like Wendy ) running around in their pullover before the holidays and feeling very envious, I pretty much had it on the very next day during our training run with Runiversity! I never pay full price for InknBurn (I have gotten lucky with sales, discounts and my InknBurn Monarch tech tee was actually found by my friend Wendy in a thrift store for EUR 4!) but this time I did and while it is worth it, I have put myself in the corner for at least 6 months now for InB purchases.
my precious
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So, it’s not like I got nothing over the holidays, in fact, I actually got three gifts that will keep on giving for some time!
What was the favorite item you received over the holidays? What was the funniest gift you received?
Love that top. I don’t have anything Ink n Burn. But I do like them,
I still have my original (for the 2nd time) Garmin 205. Call me old-fashioned.
We are getting our master bath re-done so NO gifts this year. But I usually buy whatever I want anyway.
The funniest gift was some tea-related stuff (from a gift exchange) and I’m a coffee drinker so I re-gifted it. The person who gave it to me actually got in the second gift exchange. She wasn’t mad because she is a tea drinker.
oh I was ok with my old Garmin but I couldn’t get any of the links with TrainingPeaks. now I can just download the run workout I need to do directly from TP to my new watch.
that is pretty funny about the tea!
Love that inkburn top I really need to check those out. The Garmin watches are pretty cool to have. Hope you enjoy yours
It’s a slippery slope Deb :) besides you already have such cool running shirts! Do you use a running watch?
I have a Garmin 225 that I love. I would also like to get a Fenix (so pretty) but I know that what I have is good enough for my runs. That is a pretty top! I have a few InknBurn tops but they’re somewhere in my closet. I love that they’re so colorful!
the Fenix is gorgeous but yeah WAY out of my price range. and the colors are what I love most about InB.
Love love LOVE the INB top! As much as I have oohed and ahhhed their stuff, I have yet to buy any of it. I am just too frugal. Besides, if I invested in any of it, I’d feel obligated to wear it for the next 5-10 years (I know the quality is excellent, but I ‘d get bored with it after that long LOL). I know, first world probs LOL Your new SUV is so sweet!!!!! ANd, the Gramin with the CHI countdown, how cool! You did quite well ;-)
Everything but this one item I’ve bought on sale actually. But I have gone a bit off the deep end lately with InB and ProCompression socks. But I have so many other shirts on rotation that I also don’t get sick of them. Thanks !
I have a Garmin Forerunner 35 which was on sale; I couldn’t justify the more expensive colour one but I’m really happy with it. Easy to set run-walk intervals when I’m doing that stuff, and a good long battery life that won’t turn off during a marathon.
that’s pretty much most important right – lasting through a marathon!! I don’t know what happened exactly but the 2nd time I ran Paris my garmin got “stuck” and shut down around 25km. ah well. I made it to the finish anyway :D
Oh no! My old Forerunner 220 got upset during my DIY marathon and died part way through – fortunately a friend’s one worked but she’d joined me part-way through so then we had to do mental arithmetic to work out when I should stop!
You got some awesome gifts over the holidays! I absolutely love that InkBurn top. i love that they always have really unique colors, patterns and designs.
thanks Kim! some of the designs are out there but some I’m like yesssssss wannahave!!!
Such great gifts and congrats on the new car! I just switched from Tom Tom to Garmin (Forerunner 35) – it took some getting used to but I am quite pleased with it now. I couldn’t find a place to comment on your “About Me” section but I really loved it. I love that Team Pie is made up of different nationalities! My mum is originally from Norway, and my dad is from Botswana – so I’m always drawn to mixed marriages!
Awesome gifts! This is only my third car, too. Well, I did have an old junker passed down from my sister in HS. But this is my third since we got married — and we’ve been married 33 years! I don’t put a whole lot of miles on my cars. :)