happenings ’round these parts

While there hasn’t been a lot going on for me lately, there have been a few key big ticket items that packed a punch.  Without further ado, I shall elaborate:

1. I put my name in the lottery for the New York City Marathon!  Yay!  I’m beyond hopeful this becomes my reality.  I know it’s a long shot but the thought of it is too dreamy for words.  It’s on my bucket list of races, along with the Flying Pig Marathon.  I’ve talked about this one before because it’s so fantastic.  My optimistic plan is I will do the Flying Pig and then spend the week hanging out with my Michigan family and then wrap up the vaca with the Kalamazoo Marathon.  It will happen.

please, oh please!

2. I decided I am going to do the 1/2 marathon of the North Olympic Discovery marathon weekend.  In a prior post I said I was going to do the full, but I haven’t started any kind of training yet.  While in the past this wouldn’t have stopped me from jumping in feet first (so to speak), however, after putting my poor knee through the wringer during the Detroit 26.2 I am going to play it smarter this time around.  I know, who am I?!  Not to mention, it’s even cutting it close to be starting a 1/2 marathon training plan.  I live on the edge.

3. I caught the plague (only slightly exaggerating here).  It was that nasty influenza that seems to be running rampant.  It hit our town – I swear, every other facebook post was about families being down and out with the flu.  I didn’t/couldn’t get off of the couch for 6 days.  I did have to make one trip to the post office for work and I came home and napped for a few hours, I was so exhausted.  And it’s still lingering a bit.  So, if at all possible, stay healthy!  A fellow LuLaRoe consultant in town and I were talking and her family caught it.  Her hubby walked around the house with a mask, haha!  I laughed, yet now I think he was brilliant as he didn’t get sick.

my sweet baby niece – poor little sicky!  she is the one who passed along the illness.  this is also my “I don’t do mornings” face!

4. I turned 39.  I love aspects of my birthday; the numbers are sequential, I love being an Aquarius, I love having a winter birthday, and I don’t shy away from the attention.  I do have troubles with the aging piece.  It’s a surreal experience for me.  My niece and I were talking the week before and she said, “aren’t you going to be 40?”.  I paused and my heart skipped a beat.  Was I going to be 40?!!  For a moment, I wasn’t sure – did I mention at my doc visit before I moved back from MI I thought I was 37?  I told the nurse she was wrong when she was trying to confirm my 38 status.  Her response, “the computer does the math” when we were talking about what year I was born.  I felt like I lost a year of my life!  Then when my niece said 40, I panicked that I lost yet ANOTHER year!  I’m not ready to be 40.

5. Now, the Sunday before my birthday, I was babysitting my sweet baby niece (this was also the day of my contamination).  I walked into my sister’s kitchen and my feet went out from under me – their floor was like a freakin’ ice rink (and apparently walking is dangerous for me) and I went down.  HARD.  I was holding an unlit jar candle that came crashing down as well, (I think) crushing my pinky finger, and bouncing up to smack me in the face.  I laid on the floor for a moment, in shock.  Then I almost threw up and passed out.  I got up and moved to the couch where I spent about 10 minutes trying to stay conscious and vomit free.  My poor pinky turned purple immediately and blew up.  I was convinced it was broken.  I no longer think this, I think I smashed it.  It still messed up and have a feeling the healing will continue to be slow.

6. Did I mention I caught my bout of influenza the day before my birthday?  Instead of enjoying some festivities, I was on the couch.  Some perks were, my dad made me pancakes in the morning and then later brought me my favorite dinner from a local place, my sister dropped off two cupcakes, and my grandma made me a lemon pie-like dessert.  It was quite sweet of them.  I also started watching Justified.  I dig it.  What this does mean is the week leading up to my birthday (my poor hand was a disaster) and the 2 weeks after it were a rude beginning to this upcoming year.  I’ve decided it’s the universe’s way of purging the toxins from my life to ready me for an epic year ahead.  Probably starting around March 1st.

a tall cool drink of water – perfect for those sick days!

Please agree with me with regards to the universe’s plan for me.  Much obliged.

 

real life

The last I left off, I was moaning and groaning about how much stuff I had, and the whole packing saga.  I ranted about Ariel and her hoarding; she made it look cool in the movie but in reality so.much.stuff. is overwhelming when it comes to packing … or sometimes even in everyday life.

Silly me!  I didn’t realize Simon’s middle name was “Cat” until the vet visit.  Poor guy – he desperately needed some “sedagives” for this trip.  

Anyway, I jumped in my (overflowing) car about 6 days after my goal leave date.  I was on my own, well, Simon-Cat was my co-pilot, I shouldn’t discount his presence.  It was a harrowing experience.  The whole drive was fraught with danger – no seriously, one blown out tire, and 3 others that “should’ve blown out as well”, Simon-Cat’s Houdini escape during Chicago traffic and tornado winds in Montana.  Not to mention, my previous (completely unrealistic and just plain stupid) plan to make it back to WA in 4 days.  Oh, let’s not forget how I don’t like to drive.  The title of my blog makes more sense everyday.

Simon-Cat found very strange places to sleep at hotels and while we waited for our tires in 95+ heat, we sat in the car for over an hour with the AC on full blast.  Since I had to take a few different routes, I kept resetting my destinations and here is the Little Orange Bug That Could sitting all pretty on the ferry ride to home!

I got back in 7 days.

It was also filled with multiple meltdowns by Simon-Cat and me.  Hotels that got worse and worse as the days dragged on; the second to last one had hallways littered with stains.  I’m certain the staff simply gave up because one particular vomit stain was merely wiped up – I avoided this landing all together.  And I know my stains, living with college students for 13 years means an extensive, albeit at times unnatural, educational experience.  The Motel 6 was my last stop and with this one I used a tissue to utilize the remote control.  Trust me, you would’ve done the same.

My brother says I will be proud of myself one day.  I will look back and feel empowered by my 2,500 mile trek across a number of states.  I’m not so sure about this.  The jury is still out and I’ve yet to get that warm, fuzzy feeling of accomplishment.

I’ll never recover from this.  Front and back of the treacherous tire.

When I got back I was able to rest for a whole 5 seconds before attempting to finish pulling together our 20th high school reunion.  This too, came with a whole bundle of chaos and my already rattled nerves were shot by the end of the 2 1/2 weeks until event time.  After which, I slept for DAYS.  The rest of July was spent recovering from 2 1/2 months of stress, anxiety and the non-stop questioning of “did I make the right choice for Simon-Cat and me”?  You see, Simon-Cat threw up at least once everyday for about a month.  It was no fun.  He still is more pukey than normal and his new nemesis is the garbage truck.  He is not yet sold on being a Washingtonian.

high school and bestie reunion FUN!

August rolled around and I started to realize the freedom I now had since I’m no longer part of the higher ed world.  It was nuts.  I made plans for a weekend in August without checking 3 different calendars!  Such a luxury – seriously, I’m not exaggerating.  I’ve been involved in before school starts higher ed activities since my sophomore year of college.  It was/is BIZARRE.  Job searching also commenced.  My original plan was to head over to a bigger city nearby but after spending time with my family, I am currently looking for options here in town along with our neighboring one.  I like the idea of being closer even if the one further away has a Trader Joe’s.  So far, my options are slim – even in the bigger city.  This is a bit of a downer.

Which takes us to the last couple of weeks.  It’s quite strange to be unemployed.  I’m aimlessly going through the days and have become an official insomniac.  There are a ton of complications from the outside world that come with not having a job; for instance, I don’t get a regular paycheck anymore.  Boo!  I miss this!  Nor do I have medical insurance currently and guess what?  Prescriptions are spendy!  I kind of feel like I’m in a bounce house with a bunch of hooligan kids who enjoy making me lose my balance and fumble onto the floor and against the sides.  This has happened before so I am literally familiar with the feeling!

hopefully, it’s clear this isn’t me, I wanted to provide a visual to drive my point home!

During these last two weeks, I decided to officially become a LuLaRoe Fashion Consultant.  I’m currently hanging out in the que (it takes about 4-6 weeks to become a consultant) but my mind is constantly swimming with ideas, doubts and excitement about this adventure.  There are times when I can’t sleep (part of the aforementioned insomina) because I am putting outfits together in my brain utilizing this versatile clothing line along with pieces I already own.  While I want to get started right now! I also realize the wait is good so I can get myself organized.  I will be doing a full post on becoming a business owner and what this entails in the near future.

When I type all of this out, it seems like there has been a lot happening.  And realistically, there has, but life is so up in the air that it’s hard to see where I’ve made progress and where I need to concentrate my efforts.  One thing is absolute:  I made the right decision to move back the great Pacific Northwest and to be with my family.  I am still finding my way here, this much is true.  Nevertheless, it is where I belong.

Truth

This here, is a recap of the last 3 months in a Reader’s Digest format.  I know anecdotes (mostly humorous) will find their way into future posts as I seriously skimmed through a lot but this is a good start to returning to my love of writing and blogging.  Happy to be back!

 

some wkend oopsies

This weekend I made a few mistakes.  I shall detail them for you in hopes I can help you all avoid them in the future.  Also, I’ve included a couple of things I actually got right so I don’t sound so grumpy.

1.  Running – the oopsie:

A) Way overdressed-I was wearing long sleeves & capris.  It was about 65*.  Not a smart plan.

I bet they were as toasty as I was

B) I didn’t bring any water.  I didn’t exactly hydrate all that well during the day so this kicked me in the bum.  Speaking of lack of water, I also did a crummy job with fueling.  For some reason, I didn’t eat much prior to leaving & I was extremely hungry during the run.  By the way, I repeated the hydration mistake on Sunday too and I didn’t have to use the restroom for 10 hours.  Yeah, ridiculous, I deserve to have a crappy run.

C) You know, it would have helped if I had done some decent running during the week.  I have some excuses (of course) but really, I could’ve pushed through on some of those days and I didn’t.  Lame.

2.  Watching lots of teen angst tv – the oopsie

A)  I found a CW series on Netflix & it seriously had some drama.  But I couldn’t pull myself away.  AND there is only one season so I am going to end up disappointed!  Did that stop me?  Nope.  I haven’t quite finished the first season and I’m committed; however it fed into my feeling all emo.  Excellent – this is what I refer to as not the best life choice.

3.  Spending a holiday weekend alone – the oopsie

A)  Ok, so this isn’t an abnormal thing for me but it did make me feel kind of blue.  Needless to say, number 2 didn’t really help with this.

4.  Going to the store when feeling said blueness – the oopsie

A)  I spent $30 on incidentals.  It started with some coconut oil mousse & it blossomed from there.  Then there was this candle warmer thing that I convinced myself I should purchase since it was Easter & I needed a giftie.

What did I do well?  LAUNDRY!  Yay!  Good gravy, my laundry situation was ridiculous!  It really is such an amazing feeling of accomplishment to get it done.  I seem to forget this…  Please feel free to remind me!

Going to the grocery store!  Yes, this does contradict my previous statement but I had two prescriptions to pick up & I really wanted to put off going-like I had for the last two days.  I’m terrible about just getting it done despite it meaning I’m out of meds.  So again, an “I’m proud” moment.

Running. While Saturday’s run was fairly miserable, I did get up & do it.  There was about a mile in there that was enjoyable & so at least there is that.  Then I ran yesterday as well.  Eh…  I started out wearing my old shoes since my Hokas are giving me blisters (more in another post).  Within the first few steps I knew this was a giant mistake and went back to change.  Different shoes helped despite my blisters getting worse.  I am attempting to give myself props despite the runs being lackluster.  Oh!  I did follow some Runner”s World advice!  I read an article about hills and pace. They advised not trying to keep the same pace rather keep the same effort.  It’s difficult for sure but I could feel the difference.

I guess that’s it.  I allowed the feeling sorry for myself-sometimes I think it’s important to just feel the emotions rather than pushing them away.  I also indulged in an alcoholic beverage which may or may not have helped but whatever.  AND I picked out my outfit for this morning.  Not sure why this is noteworthy but I going with it.

With that, I will spare you any further time commitment to my angst.  I hope you had a lovely holiday wkend (if this is your thing) & the beautiful weather that seemed to descend over everyone. I’m CONVINCED we have seen the last if the snow-enjoy!

extra! extra! read all about it!

Today’s post is brought to you by the best cup of coffee I’ve made in weeks.  And my strange shirt with deer on it.  Oh and my tasty cookie with frosting that I had for breakfast.

I’ve had some interesting happenings this week and I figured saving them for one post was a good idea.  That way it seems like I am whining less… hopefully?  The other day Simon woke me up at 4:30 am.  This is not unusual, however, he comes up and walks by my face and IT SMELLED BAD!  Great.  TMI but Simon is a long-haired kitty and at times poop gets stuck to his bum.  I figured this was the issue and quickly got up and scrubbed his bum.

this is a fair assessment of both of our feelings… btw when I looked up “cleaning a cat’s butt” an article stated that a cat’s behind is his health barometer. weird.

Later, I came home and found poop on the floor.  I do feel sorry for the little guy though because about a 1/2 hour later he puked his guts out.  Kitty stomach flu.

(Strange pic ahead!!!)  Then my (male) co-workers and I were discussing birth and the placenta.  We had a disagreement so I looked up placenta online.  And I found this

yep, it’s a teddy bear made from the placenta. I am now torturing my co-workers with it because that’s the type of person I am

I showed my other male co-worker and he said at first he thought it was a pastry teddy bear that just needed some powdered sugar.  I took so much sick delight in telling him what it really was!

The other night I was attempting to balance my beautiful BLT (minus the L), with a can of pop while getting Simon’s toy for him.  In slow motion my BLT hit the carpet.  So sad!  And no, I don’t do the 10 second rule on carpet especially with a pet.  Plus there was the aforementioned poop issue!

this is exactly how I felt – james you get me

There was some stress at work this week hence the cookie for breakfast.  Wednesday, I got home and locked the door behind me.  It was hermit time.  Thursday when I got done at noon(!!), came home, took care of some things and left for a run.  10 big fatty miles!  It was a great run that boosted my Dopey training confidence.  It was also amazing weather 39* and dry.  To not run would be slapping mama nature across the face!

To be honest, I was tempted to hang on the couch again but then two things happened: a) my friend texted and helped kick my butt in gear and b) I realized I didn’t like the underwear I was wearing so I would get to change it after running and then showering.  I am absolutely serious.

It’s been a strange week.  Monday was the two year mark of my mom’s passing.  I wrote a post about it but not sure if I will ever hit publish.  It’s easier this year than the last and I have conflicted feelings about this.  I know healing is important and I am grateful for it but…

I’m looking forward to heading back to WA on Monday!  I’m going to stock up on my favorite blend of coffee, smother my family in x’s and o’s, run and relax.

premature tapering

Typically, when I write about other topics and don’t touch on running it’s because I’ve been slacking.  However this isn’t the case!  Wahoo!  I’ve been running like a good runner in training should.  On the treadmill no less, which despite all of my previous whining has been a huge asset.  You see, it’s been snowing here in Kzoo.

this was my experience  last week

So thankfully, my good ol’ ‘mill has been seeing some action.  My Kindle has been a big helps as well and I figured out that if I open my window it makes it much less stifling.  Now time for a related topic… Awkward transition…  Throughout the course of my longer race training history an interesting pattern has evolved.  I call it premature tapering.

No picture here as I am not even willing to do an internet search!

I’ll be running and running and then the 3 weeks BEFORE I am supposed to taper, I start the tapering process.  I’m not quite sure why but I do think I start to get bored or burned out.  Then after these three weeks are over I give myself a quick swift kick in the bum, freak out and go full throttle with training again.

I wonder if Disney will allow me to have one of these?

This is a most excellent plan.

Since I can’t remember doing it a different way (I’m sure it wasn’t like this when I did the running camp but my memory fails me) it hasn’t been too detrimental.  I did it for my first full and I’ve done it for most of the 1/2’s I’ve run.  I’m sure doing it the way I’m “supposed to” would be helpful although the concept of tapering freaks me out.  And you know, it’s too late now.

Am I worried?  Eh – I don’t know.  Since this race has been on my mind for months I’m to the point where I know it’s going to happen.  I’m 75% confident I will be able to complete the whole thing.  I have no worries about the first three races; it’s just that dang full at the end!  But if I don’t complete the full I won’t get the Goofy medal, the Dopey medal or the 26.2 medal.  This set of races is really about the bling!  I’ve also told everyone I know (repeatedly) about this race and I’m not thrilled with the idea of saying I didn’t finish.  Oh yeah, and you know my personal pride!

okay, so I kind of feel like this on the inside sometimes!

I am also getting excited to go to (warm) FL, stay in a Disney hotel, buy some treasures and run!  The minibreak aspect of it will also be welcome.  I do plan on busting out some snowy, cold miles on Thursday and Friday when I have time during the day.  Then next week I’m headed out to visit the fam and it is a balmy 40ish degrees!  I find this splendid.  While the weather will be ideal my test will be to get out there and run as opposed to sitting on the couch.  While I would like to declare my intentions of running all the miles we all know this isn’t a solid guarantee.  Haha, stay tuned!

Are you good at tapering?  If not, you have found a kindred spirit!

get your holiday craft on!

Holiday gift/wish lists are going up on blogs everywhere.  I’m sure others are doing what I’m about to do but I thought I would flex my creative juices along with getting some use out of my pinterest obsession.

Even though I procrastinate like crazy, I love making Christmas gifts.  Finishing them is a completely different story but the following are some ideas I’ve come across or done myself.  Maybe they will provide some inspiration for the person who is difficult to buy for or even the person who already has what they need/want.

1.  Sprinkle or confetti ornament:  I love this idea.  My mom had TONS of sprinkles at the time of her passing and my sister and I divvied them up.  They are crazy cute so this would be a great way to use them.  The clear empty ornament balls are approximately .99 each and sprinkles are $1-$5.00.  This giftie can be used year after year and is easily customizable considering the wide variety of sprinkles.  The link and picture shows how the blogger coated the inside of the ornament with a varnish.  I’m simply going to fill the bad boy with sprinkles or confetti.

ooooo – so pretty!

2.  The tie-flannel blankets:  Yep, these are a great standby!  It has appeal for all sexes and all ages – I think this is one of the reasons I like it.  The flannel isn’t always cheap but JoAnn’s and Hobby Lobby have weekly coupons.

aww – my sweet niece and I making my sister’s blanket

3.  T-shirts:  at least 6 years ago, my student staff wanted to make t-shirts for a team event.  They got the t-shirts and took a Sharpie to them.  I still have mine and the ink is still visible.  Designing your own t-shirt is easily personalized with a fun saying/design.  Like I said, Sharpies work, I’ve seen bleach pens, and spray paint also works.  I’ve used cotton t’s but tech t’s are also possible.

3b.  Pillow cases, tea towels or any other fabric-y item:  two years ago, I inked some pillow cases for my student staff.  I used fabric pens and a stencil.  They looked good, if I do say so myself.  I actually got this idea from my mom years ago when we did this at one of my birthday parties as the activity and party favor.  Some of my friends still have theirs!

I made 12 of these bad boys!

4.  Glasses (plates, bowls, whatever):  I’ve seen stemless wine glasses on pinterst that have been painted and they look awesome.  The wine glasses are nifty and mugs are very cute.  The key here is to get the right Sharpie pens or the ink smears and disappears.

5.  Photographs:  My brother is a professional photographer and I LOVE his photographs.  I’ve asked for plenty of them for gifties in the past.  But you don’t have to be a super pro!  My niece also has the eye and has taken some beautiful shots.  If you’ve captured a cool picture, print it and frame it.  Who doesn’t love some art?

get it? she has “the eye”? yep, I’m a dork

6.  Photograph words/letters:  I feel badly for the person who first came up with this idea because now I’m ripping it off… but so have a bunch of other folks so my guilt is mitigated a bit.  Have you seen the collages of words or names spelled out with photos of objects that look like letters?  They are really neat!  This does take some creativity and time but is well-worth it!  My friend sent me the bottom set of pics two years ago after everything with my mom.  There are TONS of ways to create your message!

6b.  I also love taking a framing mat and cutting the inside out of it in a certain shape or letter.  I made these for my staff once – I took the mats down to Hobby Lobby’s frame section and they cut out a block “W” (this was done very quickly and cheaply by the way).  Then I put pictures and copies of funny memories of the year in the negative space.  Popped it in a frame and yay! a neato gift!  I love a good monogram!

7.  Framed recipe cards:  I love this idea and my friend recently did it in her kitchen – she framed recipe cards that family members had created in the past.  What a wonderful way to honor a relative’s/friend’s memory!  I am so doing this for my own apt with some of my mom’s recipe cards.

8.  Medal hanger, cute decoration and other subway lettering wall hangings:  okay, so that was a TERRIBLE title but bear with me.  A medal hanger really isn’t that tough to make if you aren’t looking for a metal one.  Some wood, and twist in hooks and shazaam!  A medal hanger!  Then you can personalize it however you want!  Even if it isn’t capable of holding 20 medals, who cares?  I also see very cute wooden creations with song lyrics, poems or quotes on them in stores all the time.  Again, these can easily be crafted with a trip to the hardware store and then a craft store.  Did you know Lowe’s and Home Depot will cut the wood for you?  I know you can get the wood pieces at the craft store as well but make sure it isn’t warped.  Sometimes they aren’t in very good shape.

9.  Scrubs, bath bombs and aromatherapy:  There are quite a number of recipes for scrubs and bath bombs online.  I made the scrub/bath salts two years ago and they were adorable.  Aromatherapy is also a useful idea!  Bath and Bodyworks sells this lavender spray to spruce up your linens before bed – it smells wonderful and gives bedding a sense of luxury.  Not to mention lavender promotes relaxation.  But guess what?  It isn’t cheap.   Make it yourself!  Lemongrass has a calming effect, peppermint energizes – the list continues and can be made into spritzes, bath products or a sachet.  What I like about these ideas are once you buy the supplies, you can make several gifts from the stash.

10.  Lawn games:  Have you heard of bags a.k.a cornhole?  This lawn game is wildly popular here in the midwest so a few years back I made my boyfriend at the time his own set.  I did have some help as I don’t have ton of tools.  Then I asked my artsy friend to draw the logo of his favorite football team on it.  Great scott!  It looked fantastic!  You can also make a ladder golf set or a game of washers.

11.  Create an exercise dvd:  either film yourself doing some workouts (this would definitely take a lot of time!) or put together a dvd filled with a variety of routines and/or videos from a bunch of sources.  I’m sure there are some copyright issues here but maybe if you aren’t selling it?  Look into it a bit <— yes, this is my “legal disclaimer”!  But seriously – how is this any different from making someone a mixed tape in high school?!

I wouldn’t say all of these presents are super cheap, which I think is a common misconception concerning homemade gifts.  That being said, there are ways to keep some of the suggestions  on the lower end of the expense scale.  The dollar store has quality options or online stores provide decent deals.  The other expense is your time!  I tried to pick ideas that wouldn’t require weeks of work.  In fact, the lawn game idea is what took me the longest (and cost the most) out of all of the above suggestions.  Oh wait – the word photographs could take some time too.  The other trouble I find with making presents is many options are geared toward women.  A couple of the above are an anyone option but this is tricky.

mine will be a bit better than this!

The biggest thing is not to add more stress to your holiday!  I’m making some this year because I was stumped on gift ideas beyond items that were completely out of my price range.  Or I did find something and am using a homemade gift as a stocking stuffer.  I enjoy the creative process so this is my idea of holiday cheer!

surviving the holiday part 2

I hope yesterday’s post wasn’t too debbie downer.  I typically feel extremely guilty when I can’t/don’t feel as joyous as it seems everyone else is around me.  My hope is by putting it out there it helps me and others  accept it and work with it rather than fighting it.

and then it gets better again – nick miller just gets me!

I figure my action plan for not succumbing to holiday depression is going to be ever-changing.  It dawned on me there is no way I am going to be able to know how I will feel 5, 10 or 15 days from now.  Typically, I like to face things as they come BUT I thought I would give having an outline a shot.  Kind of like running, you know?

1.  I organized a cookie exchange at work.  So far there are 12 or 13 of my co-workers participating!  I’m looking forward to getting some new recipes and doing a bit of baking.

2.  I’m avoiding the holiday weight gain freak out – well to the best of my ability.  In a completely unscientific science experiment, I weighed myself the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.  Then I weighed myself on Sunday.  Guess what?  I didn’t gain an ounce.  I definitely fall into the hype of “don’t gain weight during the holidays” and start to panic followed quickly by guilt and then their bestie self-loathing shows up.  Sounds super healthy, right?  How am I going to do this?  Stick with my training for Dopey, keep eating normally, putting the scale away again and giving swimming and Jillian Michaels a shot.  Oh and I am going to try not to eat all of my feelings!  I also refuse to let holiday goodies have power over me – if I want a cookie, then I will eat a cookie.

3.  Christmas isn’t the end all be all.  I hope this doesn’t sound harsh but I have the Dopey Challenge to look forward to in Jan!  Last year it was also a trip to WDW and the year before it was a trip to New York.  I think having something planned for January is a good thing for me.

4.  Heading back to WA to visit the fam.  Can’t wait!  Slumber parties, coffee, lots of laughs – it will be a grand ol’ time!

5.  Purging more stuff and moving other items to storage.  My apt is too chaotic.

6.  I’m making a few fun Christmas presents this year.  I’m excited for them – pictures right after Christmas!

7.  Keep in mind a bad day doesn’t mean a bad life.

8.  I’m not going to set myself up for failure.  This means no plans to make cookies for everyone I work with and their extended family, or collect all the supplies to decorate my apt with homemade pinterest-y things or say I’m going to do the runstreak when I know I won’t be able to stick to it.  Looking at all of the supplies for cookies or decorations or tweets about the runstreak just reinforces how I didn’t get it done.  Basically, I don’t want to make promises to myself I don’t intend to keep.

one of my most loved quotes ever!

9.  Watch a ridiculous amount of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Love Actually, Easy A, Pitch Perfect – whatever movies make me laugh and I really enjoy.

10.  Ummm… hmmm… what else?  Basically, I’m going to take it easy and simplify my holiday.  A good chunk of shopping is already finished, I’ve been careful about committing myself to extra activities and I’ve carved out time for myself.

Overall, I like this action plan.  I want to add other fun items but don’t want to make an all out “bucket list”.  These fun things will include going to the Hobbit when I get home with my family, celebrating my friend’s birthday this weekend, meeting my friend’s new baby and who knows what else.  Whatever it is, I am determined to put things in perspective that may be challenging and enjoy what the season brings.

speak it manny!

I ran! & it’s time for pie!

As I’ve whined about lately, I’ve been under the weather.  It seems like I’ve been sick forever but in reality it’s only been two weeks.  I think this is fairly normal for a virus, right?  I am thankful  I didn’t have to deal with a bunch of cold symptoms along with the cough.  Although, I will admit, I diagnosed myself with both pneumonia and tuberculosis at one point or another.  I wish I was joking.

Last night I wanted to give the treadmill a shot.  I thought I would hack my way through some miles and barely be able to run.  Alas, I didn’t give myself enough credit!  My legs and lungs hung on pretty well for a nice 3.5 miles.  I even increased the speed a few times!  Since I was slightly worried I would be crawling through one mile, hitting three was a nice boost to my motivation and ego.

not sure why but this cracked me up

Other than that, there are only 4 hours until a long weekend.  I.can’t.wait.  Two of my friends and I are both far away from our families so some dinner will be had and then we have some items to pick up out and about.  My goal is a new iPod (yes, the one I “saved” from the rotten banana is no longer with us), a mini carpet cleaning machine, maybe a cute new pair of boots and some cheapo gloves for running.  I swear, I go through those suckers crazy fast.  Oh and a cat toy for Simon – I do sometimes buy things for others.  Dyson vacuums are on sale at Target including their stick vac.  My parents have one and I will admit to hinting to my dad if he didn’t want it anymore I was open to taking it off his hands!  I’m such a good daughter.  BUT it’s $200 and I don’t want to spend this much total.

My original plan was to run a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving but the only one in the area is a prediction run and since I’ve missed the deadline, I don’t want to pony up the extra funds for late registration.  It isn’t a fortune but it’s not what I was looking for so I’ll run on my own.  I’ve run on Thanksgiving for the last several years now and it’s always a peaceful run so I’m not worried about bailing.  Not to mention, this way I can sleep in a bit on my first day of vacation.

hottie-mc-hot-hot and I have pie in common… this is enough to build a relationship on, right?!

Oh and even better?  PIE!  Yay!  Pie has been on my mind for months!  I’ve been too lazy to go and buy and/or make a pie and thankfully my favorite holiday revolves around it.  By the way, I figured out why I love Thanksgiving so much – it’s in the middle of the two biggie holidays.  It’s like the middle child of holidays and since I’m a middle child Thanksgiving and I share a kinship.

Thanksgiving and I both seek comfort in pie…

Happy turkey day folks – don’t forget your elastic-waist pants!

time needs to stop now!

Ugh – Monday and Tuesday I continued to feel under the weather.  I couldn’t figure out why I was feeling so lethargic and it dawned on me that pain killers probably aren’t keeping me bright eyed and bushy tailed.

Yesterday, one of my fellow Dopey runners posted the following on my fb timeline: “Only 70 more sleeps!”.  I think I threw up a little in my mouth.  Remember how yesterday I said I should chill out because I’m not in peak training?  Well, that went out the window as soon as I read that!

So, I watched “Spirit of the Marathon” last night.  It really is such a good story and is so inspirational.  My favorite runner is Lori O’Connor.  It didn’t tell her finishing time but I was finally able to locate it (yes, I was a stalker) and she finished in 4:21.  I just really liked her determination and her confidence in herself.  She knew she had put forth the training and come race day she was ready.  I’m excited to feel this way!  And I know I’m on my way!

be prepared – this will be used again!

I also want to put a shout out to my baby brother!  It was his birthday yesterday!  This whacky kid (adult) ran his first marathon when he was 12 or 13.  He thought the finish line was closer than it was and basically sprinted the last few miles.  He ran that puppy in 3:30-something.  I know, AMAZING!

here is my mom and an almost baby kevin!

kevin was 8 months old when he started walking! he is already wearing his marathon shorts!

everyone used to think we were twins – I loved it

Happy Birthday Kev!

sunday things that are rattling around my brain

My sister called me the last day I was home and wanted to cook me “my last meal home”.  What did I want for dinner?  I didn’t know – I told her to pick.  She told me she would pick something really garlic-y.  I don’t do garlic real well.  My body doesn’t seem to process it and I smell like garlic for days.  I don’t do “being the stinky kid in class”.  My mom made sure of this and all of us are a bit neurotic about it.  This neurosis is being passed to the next generation – we are a smelly-good family!  I don’t see this trend ending anytime soon!

this will never be us

What did I pick?  I had a menu epiphany!  Grilled flank steak – thanks dad!, mac & cheese and asparagus.  Super tasty!  Heid also made a little sauce of browned butter, soy sauce and balsamic (maybe this is more of a reduction?).  I want to bathe in this sauce!  It was light, tasted mostly of balsamic and would probably taste good on ANYTHING!

Kev and Sabrina played some of their tunes that are popular in France right now.  The same artist remixes all of the songs but has different artists sing them.  Kev sent me all of their playlists and they are amazing!

Last night I didn’t want to get off the couch.  It’s been an exhausting last two and half weeks and we are only gearing up for a typical crazy August.  Finally, I pep-talked my way into a 5 mile walk.  I’ve started to realize I’m good at putting things off (ADD?  My own weirdness?) and my answer to this are MIND GAMES!

I’ll probably be using this gif again…

For instance, when I want coffee in the morning, I have to do any dishes that are in the sink.  When it’s time to run or work out, I tell myself a shorter distance (a highly recommended technique!) and then end up out there longer.  I also tell myself as soon as I get back I can do something fun (yes, this includes hanging out on the couch and watching New Girl!).  Slowly, it’s starting to work.  I read some meme a bit ago that talked about how good habits are as easy to make as bad habits.  Not quite sure I believe this since often times the “bad” habits seem to take less effort and are more fun but hey, what I do I know?

this is how my good habits and bad habits interact with each other

I found the funniest cards at a small store.  My favorite one read, “I just joined Hoarder’s Anonymous.  I got this card for you.  Keep it forever”.  I started laughing so hard and honestly, I can’t make up my mind whether to frame it or send it to someone.  Yes, my problems run deep.

oh look, this house is VOMITING stuff!

I don’t have too much else for this random post.  Although, here’s a nifty product – my sister pinned coconut flour tortillas.  I’m a giant fan of tortillas but the lowest calorie count I’ve been able to find (that I still like) are 110 calories.  These babies clock in at 46!  Sweet!  I need to do the taste test but these bad boys already have a leg up on the others.

Hope it’s a restful Sunday for y’all!