Reading and Eating

I don’t want to say this injury is behind me, because that would be tempting fate a little too much.  But let’s just say “Everything is Awesome” from The Lego Movie has been running through my head, and life seems good!  I’m linking up as always with Kim and Deborah for this Weekly Rundown.  Here’s how it all played out… Sunday I walked one mile and ran 3. Everything felt good! Monday I did lower body strength at home, including single leg exercises and squats.  One of the (few) things I’m proud of from my work this summer is the progress I made in the one leg sit-to-stand.  It’s one of the foundation exercises on Sally McRae’s app and also one of the hip stability exercises from Brad Beer’s book.  You start sitting on a chair or bench, and stand up using one leg, then sit back down, stand up again, etc. only on one leg.  When I first started I could only do five reps on each leg- now I can do 36 reps!!!  At least something has improved. I also did Caroline Girvan’s deadbug workout..  I’m really tired of it by now! Tuesday I walked 3 miles… … and then did a different core workout!  I did Caroline Girvan’s Standing Abs Workout, and I liked it.  At least, I liked doing something different. Wednesday Again, I walked one mile and ran 3.  Still feeling good! Thursday I did my single leg exercises, and another core workout.  This one Engie recommended, MadFit Standing Core Workout..  I liked this one too!  Then I had time for 20 minutes of walking. At night we watched the Dolphins game, which was a complete fiasco.  We lost, and our quarterback got ANOTHER CONCUSSION.  The poor guy will be out for… ever?  The rest of the season?  I feel really bad for him, and now our season is a shambles after only the second game. Friday Gym day!  It was a very squat-focused workout, because I skipped deadlifts.  My low back is nagging at me again, and deadlifts sadly make it worse.  After squats and Bulgarian split squats I did some core (abs and low back machines.) At night I planned to go to our high school football game, but it rained so much that the band couldn’t play (so I didn’t go.)  They did manage to play in the rain and our team won!  This was our homecoming, and last year’s homecoming was completely rained out.  September outdoor events just shouldn’t be a thing in South Florida. Saturday This was a big day- I walked one mile and ran 4!!!  I’m getting there! At night we watched the Baylor game.  FINALLY.  A game where it didn’t rain, no one got injured, and we WON!  At least the football week ended on a high note. Sunday Off!  Sleeping in and waffles will be involved (obviously.) So, it was a good week.  Moving forward, I’m going to cautiously try running every other day.  Running every third day was great to get me back from this injury, but I can’t do that forever! How was your week?  Were there any moments where you sang “Everything is Awesome?” Top photo by Stainless Images on Unsplash

Hey, it’s Friday!  Pour yourself a beverage in your favorite fall mug (wait- you do have one, right?) and join me. Let’s talk about the weekend!  Tonight is another high school football game, and I will be there.  The last two weeks have been away games, so I’ve missed going.  But you know what that means- it’s time for Homecoming!  My daughter decided to go to the dance with a group of friends, and we started thinking about what she would wear.  But let’s back up for a moment… The high school concert band uniform is tuxes for the boys and long black dresses for girls.  When my daughter was a freshman last year, she said she would prefer to wear a tux. Now, I wasn’t entirely opposed to this, but I just preferred that she wear a dress… like all the other girls?  I told her that whatever she decided to do was fine, but there’s a reason boys usually wear suits and girls usually wear dresses.  Girls are more curvy, so dresses flatter them more.  My daughter is very curvy, and I thought a tux would just make her look kind of big all over. She decided to wear the dress, and I thought she looked lovely!  Then I was telling my friend about how well I handled that situation, and she thought I was VERY WRONG.  Why, she asked, did it matter how she looked?  Why did I make that the most important thing? Er- good question.  When it was time for New Year’s, my daughter wanted to wear a suit to the party.  I agreed immediately, and she actually looked kind of cute (not that it mattered!) Later I asked how she liked wearing the suit, and she said “I loved it.  I felt really confident.”  Okay then. Back to Homecoming!  My daughter said she wanted to wear a suit, and we got to work on her outfit (I was tasked with finding her some new pants, which was surprisingly hard.) Then yesterday she went to the mall to help her friend find a dress, and came home with… a dress, which she is now wearing to Homecoming. You guys, I can’t keep up!  Girls are so hard!!!  Boys are so. much. easier. Anyway, while my daughter is at the dance on Saturday night, my husband and I will be watching the Baylor game!  I have a fun fall-themed dinner planned, with some new things to sample from Trader Joe’s. One last thing- I’ve submitted my request for postponement of jury duty.  Weirdly, the request had to be submitted in writing, and by that I mean I had to write a letter and mail it through the U.S. postal service.  When was the last time you did that? I was so confused.  I couldn’t even really remember how to do it.  When I printed out my letter, my husband looked at it and said “You didn’t leave room for your signature.”  Oh yeah- I totally forgot.  Then I had to find an envelope and a stamp, and take it to the mailbox… I mean, don’t we have more modern methods of communication nowadays?  Anyway, I hope it gets there, and I hope I get my postponement (actually, I’m hoping they forget all about me, but if worst comes to worst I’ll take a postponement.) That’s it for this week! When was the last time you mailed a letter?  I don’t mean a greeting card or postcard, but like an official letter?   Do you think I was wrong to encourage my daughter to wear a dress?  How much does appearance matter? What are your plans for the weekend? Top photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

I finished Winter of the World, which will from now on be referred to simply as WOW.  It was so, so good, and I’m getting ready to start the third book in the trilogy!  It starts in 1961, where the second book left off. But let’s go back to last week- I had my trip to the used bookstore.  It was everything I hoped it would be (look away, Engie!  I’ve discovered that Engie does NOT like used bookstores!) As I hoped, I did leave with a stack of books. Some classic murder mysteries- I can never resist- and more Ken Follett.  I have no plans to read The Pillars of the Earth anytime soon, but I know I’ll read it eventually, and I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to get a used copy in good condition. Eating!  Once again, I did not do any meal prep on Sunday so we’re limping through the week.  The good news is, I think I’m training my husband and daughter to expect less and less in the dinner department.  I mean- we do eat.  It’s just not fancy. Sunday morning I made gluten-free pumpkin pancakes from Running on Real Food.  First, let’s look at a picture from the website: And here’s, ahem, mine. All that garnish aside, mine look really weird.  But they did taste good!  Chickpea flour is my new favorite flour.  By the way, if you’re making pumpkin baked good this fall, don’t forget the formula to make them really flavorful- double the amount of pumpkin spice, and add a pinch of cloves.  And whatever you do, do NOT forget the salt! What are you reading now? Top photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

I wrote in Sunday’s post that I’ve been feeling like my life is just a little off track.  Then I looked around my house and realized one of the reasons is that I’ve been half-assing my beloved Pumpkin Palooza.  I had some, but not all, of my fall decorations out, and then a summer-y wreath was lying on the table.  Furthermore, I hadn’t had one special meal or snack to celebrate the start of football season. This was all wrong!  I needed to rectify the situation right away.  I lit a fall candle… …and got out all the rest of my fall decorations while watching the first half of the Dolphins game.  At halftime I put together a little charcuterie board… …and then we watched the Dolphins come from behind to win the game.  Fall is back on track! Let’s move on to running.  SIGH.  So far, my calf seems to be better, but my race plans are in tatters.  Back in May, I signed up for a race on November 9th.  It’s a trail race, and you run as far as you can in a certain amount of time.  I chose the 12 hour option. Hahahahaha.  Even if everything goes perfectly from now on, I’ll have no business running a 12 hour race in two months.  I guess the good news is, it’s a 4.5 mile loop that you run over and over again.  I can go and just run a couple loops.  That would be kind of sad- but maybe less sad than not going at all?  I’ve already paid for the race so if I can run at all, I’ll probably go. Now let’s deal with this jury summons.  I know it’s our civic duty, but I think it’s unfair that it creates more of a financial hardship for some people than others.  Additionally, some people never get called for jury duty, and some people get called all the time!  Luckily I’ve come up with a great solution. My plan is, all registered voters would be required to submit a form every five years, indicating the time they would like to do their jury duty.  That way, people would be able to pick a time that works best with their work schedule, and have time in advance to arrange for childcare, etc. Of course, if everyone chose July of 2027 it would be a fiasco.  But I have solutions for that too!  People who are retired, independently wealthy, or who have a very flexible work schedule could volunteer to be “swing jurors,” willing to be called at any time.  There could be incentives for people who serve in months like December (which I’m guessing would be the least popular)- like if you sit on a jury in December, you’re exempt for the rest of your life. I’ll be submitting my request for a postponement- do you think I should include my detailed plan for an overhaul of the entire system?  Haha, that might get me excused permanently (“Don’t let this woman near the courthouse- she’s obviously a troublemaker!”) Anyway, I’m starting to feel a little better.  As long as I can continue to run and nothing else goes wrong, I think I’m back on track. How do you like my plan?  Would you volunteer to be a “swing juror?” Top photo by Redd F on Unsplash