26 Years!
Yesterday my husband and I celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary! I started the day with a long run… … and then I went home to take a 26-year-long nap. Just kidding, but I did relax in the bed for a LONG time! At night we got takeout and watched The Age of Innocence. The movie is so good! I thought they did a great job keeping faithful to the book. And Winona Ryder was excellent. My husband surprised me with some presents (we don’t usually exchange gifts for our anniversary). LOOK AT THAT MUG! Remember how I said I was looking for a nice, big mug to fit my tea ball? He found a great one! I thought we did pretty well, considering our anniversary was on a Wednesday. Some years we barely do anything to celebrate, but this year was a fun one Have you seen the movie of The Age of Innocence? Did you like it as well as the book? Do you celebrate wedding anniversaries if they fall in the middle of the week like this? Top photo by Natalie Kinnear on Unsplash
Tuesday Topics and FIGS!
It’s time for Tuesday Topics, which I host with Jenn from Runs With Pugs. This week’s topic: What does “springing forward” mean for your mindset this year? SIGH. Okay, I’m not going to belabor it. I hate turning the clocks ahead, but protesting is like arguing that the grass shouldn’t be green. It is what it is! But I’m still going to grumble when we’re driving to school in the pitch dark. Instead, let’s talk about FIGS! For the month of February, Elisabeth has hosted her “FIG Collective” (FIG= Finding Joy in Gratitude). Check out her blog for FIG roundups, where dozens of bloggers share their FIGs from each week. This past week I leaned into sensory experiences. Bath and Bodyworks was having a sale, and it was time to update my fragrances (we just finished up all the peppermint hand soaps from Christmas). I LOVE smelling all the candles!!! Sadly, the ones with the best names never smell that great. I wanted to get “Book Loft” but… blech. I ended up with this one: … and new peach hand soaps for the bathrooms. Washing your hands should be fun! I love taking an extra moment to smell the soap each time. When I went to hear SHU speak at a local library, we all got some pretty cool swag: Just like washing your hands is more pleasurable with great smelling soap, it’s FUN to write with pretty markers! The highlighters are especially cool. Speaking of colors… I need a new Garmin. My old one works well, but the battery life is not good enough to see me through my race this month. The one I’m looking at has three different options for the band- black, white, or aqua. HMMMM! Should I get wild and go with the aqua? Will I regret it? To clarify, I usually only wear my Garmin for running (I can’t wear a watch when I’m working, so I generally don’t wear a watch at all during the day). So it’s not like it’s going to clash with my outfits… I think I have to go for it. Another FIG- I can’t not mention the cats. They have been SO PRECIOUS. On Sunday I was reading on the couch and here’s what they were doing: Meanwhile, Muffin has come around. She’s affectionate towards me, and neutral towards Sylvie (“Fine- you can live in my house. See if I care.”) I wonder if her attitude towards Sylvie will change at all as Sylvie grows up, but if not, it’s okay. Everyone is happily coexisting. One last giant FIG goes to our fearless leader, Elisabeth! She’s brought so much joy to our lives this month, not only by encouraging us to look for FIGs, but also rounding up everyone’s FIG’s into a weekly post. It’s a tremendous amount of work for her- THANK YOU, ELISABETH!!! Join us next week —> How do you bring more balance to your busy days? Link Up With Tuesday Topics Welcome back to Tuesday Topics, as Jenny, from Runners Fly joins Jenn at Runs With Pugs to co-host this link-up! Please join us every week for a new topic! Write on our weekly prompt or choose your own topic! Make sure to add your post to the link up, link back to your hosts, and comment on the other shared posts! You are invited to the Inlinkz link party! Click here to enter Top photo by Jocelyn Morales on Unsplash
Weekly Rundown- Just a Regular Week
Helloooo! Thanks for stopping by for the Weekly Rundown, hosted as always by Kim and Deborah. This week felt a little blah with no long run. The most exciting thing that happened was my son and his fiancee have set a date for the wedding- July 25. GAHHH! It’s real! I mean, it was always real, but now it feels real-er. Anyway, let’s just see how the week played out, fitness-wise. Monday In the morning I did my hip stability exercises, and later in the day got out for a 4 mile run. Tuesday I started the day with Caroline Girvan’s stellar abs workout. The plan was to then do an upper body strength session, but I was nursing a sore wrist (occupational hazard.) I quickly realized that picking up dumbbells was a bad idea, so I let it rest for the day. Wednesday Long cardio day at the gym! I did 30 minutes on the bike, 30 minutes on the elliptical, and then an hour running on the treadmill. Last time, Deborah asked why I do the run last. I’m trying to replicate the feeling of running on tired legs, which I will for sure be doing in my race! Mission accomplished.` Thursday Hip stability exercises, lower body strength, and Caroline Girvan tucked abs workout. Friday My wrist is still sore, but I have to do SOMETHING for my upper body, so I don’t end up looking like a T-Rex. I was able to do a little lifting without straining anything- hopefully enough to at least keep me from getting any weaker. Later in the day, a 4 mile run. Saturday Another day where I slept as late as possible before going to work, with a planned run later in the day. Except that in the afternoon it was 87 degrees, super humid and with scattered thunderstorms. Fantastic- I guess it’s summer now. I took myself to the gym, where I ran 4 miles on the treadmill. Sunday On tap for today… YOGA (whatever happened to that, anyway? I need it!) Next week will be my LAST LONG RUN before my race (eek!) My main goal right now is to keep myself healthy and whole. How was your week? Do you wish it were 87 degrees and humid where you are? (GRR!)
Random Friday Things
I started a “Runfession” post yesterday, but my evening descended into chaos- my daughter and her boyfriend were at our house hanging out (which I love) and then one of her friends texted that she needed to come over because… her cat died. OMG. Yes- come right over! It was so sad- her cat had a stroke and it sounds very similar to what happened to our cat Charlotte in December. This girl, by the way, is the whole reason why we now have Sylvie! She was the one who put us in contact with the woman who was looking for a home for the kitten. Anyway, after a session of tears, she cheered up slightly by holding and playing with all three of our cats. I made Christmas Crack, which everyone LOVES. I’ve made it many times since Christmas (we now call it different names, like Birthday Crack or Valentine’s Crack) and it seems to always come out well, even when I mess it up (the first time, I burned the toffee mixture and everyone still ate it). I make it with vegan butter and dark chocolate chips- it’s really simple, but watch that butter/brown sugar mixture! It’s easy to overcook it. By the time our friend left, we were talking about all the cats out there who need good homes… she’ll have room in her life for a new one (soon…) Now we’re at the weekend! I have… no plans. But I’m not complaining! Tonight I’ll be the only one home, so I’ll get Chipotle and read my book (sigh- I wish there were Olympics to watch!) I’m reading and enjoying Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. Tomorrow I work, and at night we’ll talk to my son. He wants to discuss logistics of the upcoming year- lots to think about. And, this weekend will start The Cleanup, or, as I’m calling this project, Make the House Great Again. The house has gone to rack and ruin- you know those nagging things that break and stay broken for a really long time until you just get used to them? We have those. Plus, a deep, deep cleaning is in order. If we start now, we MIGHT be done before Paul and Isabel come at the end of March (just to start with- his bedroom became the Kitten Room and has never quite recovered). So that’s life right now! What does your weekend look like? Have you ever read Project Hail Mary?