October Ultimate Coffee Date!
Hooray! It’s officially spooky/cozy/pumpkin season! Since it’s the first Friday of the month, it’s time to link up with Coco and Deborah for the Ultimate coffee date. Let’s all sit down with a delicious cup of Earl Grey tea (what? That’s not what you’re drinking??? Hmm!) and have a nice, autumnal discussion. Yesterday I returned to my favorite trail for a long run- I haven’t been there since March. Imagine my excitement when I saw that The Girl Next Door podcast “Fall Extravaganza” episode had dropped! I actually remember running on this trail last year and listening to the 2024 Fall Extravaganza episode. In this year’s episode, Kelsey and Erica did an apple taste test. They rated each one, described the characteristics and gave them names. I was laughing so hard because they named the honeycrisp “Jenny”! They said there’s nothing not to like about Jenny- she’s sweet, but there are just too many of them. She’s also that “basic” person who gets way too excited about Pumpkin Spice Lattes. Hahahahahaha… Moving on. I got an interesting piece of mail the other day! Engie sent me a card to celebrate our newest family member, Foxy! The interesting part was, the envelope was damaged, so the post office delivered it to me in a larger envelope with a “sincere apology.” Well! Lucky it arrived intact because Engie included a Starbucks gift card, with instructions to enjoy my Earl Grey tea on her and Zelda. What she doesn’t know about me is that, when I get a gift card, I love to buy something special. I did get an Earl Grey, but I also got this… I love it so much! Did I NEED another fall mug? Er… that’s debatable. I gave my husband one of my old ones, so it all evens out. I don’t have my Halloween decorations out yet- that’s happening this weekend. But our house is fully pumpkined, and Foxy is enjoying this Muffin hand-me-down. It’s a little weird that we kept it, since Muffin hasn’t fit inside it for five years now. I guess I just knew we would have another kitten in our lives someday. Is your house decorated for fall and/or Halloween? Do you like to drink out of seasonal mugs? What’s your favorite apple? –Mine is honeycrisp, aka “Jenny.” Top photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash
Books!
My reading really slowed down in September- I read six books, as opposed to ten in August. BUT! My last book of the month was a winner. This was a mystery/police procedural, and the best book of this genre I’ve read all year. Why was it so good? Well- it had everything I want. It’s not a fast paced thriller (I don’t like those because they make me too anxious) but there were some suspenseful chapters, and of course the whole story has a sense of urgency, because there’s a serial killer out there who must be stopped. There’s a creepy feeling to this book, because the bad guys are REALLY bad. There are also scenes that are very intense and fascinating, including one incident where the main detective smokes opium, and a couple descriptions of a key witness (who can’t remember anything) undergoing hypnosis. The characters are really well developed, AND, best of all- there was a twist at the end that I absolutely did not see coming. My only complaint is- and this is definitely a “me” problem- this is the eighth book in a series. It stands alone, but there is an ongoing story with the main detective that I was ignorant of. Reading the series from the beginning would probably be a good idea- but then I don’t know if all the books are this good. This one was outstanding for me. As soon as I finished it I dove into this one: The description is “A burnt-out writer’s retreat at a fancy Swiss hotel is interrupted by a murder mystery in this metafictional, meticulously crafted whodunit…” OH YES GIVE IT TO ME RIGHT NOW! This sounded so good- but unfortunately it suffers from following so closely on the heels of The Mirror Man. It’s just not as good, although so far (I’m 80 pages into this 574 page book) it is fun and interesting enough to keep me reading. What are you reading now? – My copy of The Joy Luck Club is in at the library! Don’t forget to join Engie’s book club! Top photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
Tuesday Topics- The Blogging Community
Hey guys! I’m excited to join Jenn in hosting Tuesday Topics! Today is a free topic, and I figured it would be a good time to talk about what I love about our blogging community. I only have to mention an issue I’m having, and my comment section is full of advice. Here are three recent scenarios where commenters really made a difference in my life: A couple weeks ago, I talked about my low back pain. This is an issue that comes and goes for me. Sometimes it’s merely annoying and sometimes it’s REALLY painful. Last spring I suffered with an aching low back for months, and finally found relief from chiropractic adjustments. The thing is… my insurance doesn’t cover it, and it’s also just kind of a pain to make the time to get to the chiro (and it usually takes several treatments to do the job). Wendy recommended that I try a Yoga With Adriene video. Well! It really, really helped! Sometimes I still feel a little pain, but it’s absolutely manageable, and I can tell that yoga needs to be a regular part of my life. I now have a tool to fix this problem, thanks to a blogger comment. Last week, I mentioned that I just can’t find the motivation to do upper body strength. In my comment section, Birchie had a great suggestion- pick ONE move and do it regularly. This is brilliant because, as they say, the best workout is the one you’ll actually do. I’ve picked overhead press with dumbbells as my move. It’s perfect because, unlike bench press or rows where I need to go to the gym, I can make this “heavy” just using the dumbbells I have at home. Eventually the hope is that I’ll expand on this, but just doing this is so much better than nothing. It’s a compound lift that works multiple muscles, and… I’m actually doing it. On a non-fitness related front, you’ll remember my cat Muffin was sick a couple weeks ago. She stopped eating and we were SO worried about her. The vet couldn’t find anything wrong, but as the days went by we were starting to panic- it’s dangerous for cats to go too long without eating. I got LOTS of great advice in my comments (in addition to ideas from my sister, who was frantically googling solutions for me). I ended up combining a couple different ideas. I got some chicken broth, but Muffin still wouldn’t eat it. Then I tried dipping my finger in the broth and letting her lick it off. She did do that, and it seemed like that was the turning point. We moved on from there to me dipping my finger into chicken baby food and letting her lick that off, and the next day she started eating the baby food on her own. THANK YOU TO ALL WHO COMMENTED on my sick cat posts! Have you gotten any great life advice lately? Welcome to the new Tuesday Topics, hosted by Jenn at Runs With Pugs and Jenny at Runners Fly! Once a week, we come together to share random topics about running, fitness, and life! Use the weekly prompt or write on your own topic! A few things to keep in mind:• Make sure to comment on both hostesses’ posts. • Visit at least two of the other linked posts – the more the merrier! Remember to come back for later linkers!• Mention you are participating in this linkup and use the Tuesday Topics Linkup badge in your post.• Provide a link back to each host as well.• If you don’t play nice and are not able to follow the rules, your post will be deleted from the linkup. Next week’s topic: What’s in your running kit? You are invited to the Inlinkz link party! Click here to enter
Weekly Rundown- Hamstring Reset
Hi there! Thanks for stopping by the Weekly Rundown, hosted as always by Kim and Deborah. I ended last week with a very cranky hamstring- this is an issue I know VERY well, and I was pretty sure it just needed a short break from running. There were plenty other activities, and also some much-needed naps in this busy week. Let’s get into it! Monday I started the day with Caroline Girvan’s deadbug workout and then headed to the gym for leg day. The good thing about having a recurring hamstring issue is that I know exactly what I need to do. Things that hurt it include: stretching, and any strength work where the hamstring is elongated, like lunges or split squats. Things that help- back squats and all of my hip stability exercises. Tuesday I slept HORRIBLY! Luckily, there was no school because of Rosh Hashanah, so when my alarm went off I got up, fed the cats, and then went back to bed for two hours. After work I went to the gym for 45 long minutes on the Stairmaster (which also helps my hamstring). I failed to get a photo, but that’s okay- Stairmaster photos are boring. Here’s a picture of Foxy instead: Wednesday I started the day with the CG deadbug workout again, and a little bit of upper body strength. After work I got in a 3 mile walk. Thursday Back to the gym for leg day #2! I’m really working hard on my squats so my daughter doesn’t get TOO much stronger than me. At night it was our homecoming game! It rained in the afternoon, so I knew the field would be too wet for the band. But, the evening was clear and our team won 53-0. Fun night- but I got to bed way too late. Friday Finally- let’s try running! I did 3 miles and the hamstring felt good. See, I knew it just needed a little rest. At night- homecoming dance! My daughter went with a group of friends… … and it was another late night for me, as the kids came over to our house afterwards. I’m feeling very melancholy because I realized… I only have one homecoming left. Nooooooo….. Saturday Okay, seriously- I need sleep. I slept in as much as I could before work, and then took a nap afterwards. But I had to do SOMETHING today, so I fit in a short upper body strength workout before dinner. Sunday On tap for today- 5 mile run (long run has been moved to Wednesday). And then- we’re going to a Marlins game! They’re playing the Mets and our friends are huge Mets fans. They invited us to go with them to the game- the question is, will they play or will it be rained out? Fingers crossed! In other news…starting Tuesday, I’ll be joining Jenn in hosting Tuesday Topics! This Tuesday is a free topic, so write about anything you like! I’ll probably be rambling about cats, books, football, pumpkins… you know, the usual. Join us for a fun linkup! Top photo by Aleksander Saks on Unsplash