Close Encounters of the Crittered Kind

Since the weather got warm freaking hot and I started to run outside, I've had several chances to get up close and personal with a few species of the animal kingdom. I run mostly through neighborhoods and down residential streets, so I'm constantly dodging squirrels and circling around dog walkers. I am definitely an animal lover, so typically I don't mind these encounters, but a few run-ins recently have been taking this a little far....

The most common confrontations involve a dog, a long driveway, and a surprisingly far-reaching invisible fence. At least once a week, I look up from the road to glimpse at least 50 pounds of fast, barky fur barreling towards me, looking for all the world like they're coming in for a tackle. Thankfully, every single time they've had the good sense to stop just millimeters from the road, knowing exactly how far they can skid without getting zapped. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't freak out and sprint across the street the first few times this happened, but now I barely blink. After several weeks of this, I know where the doberman mix lives, and I know when his parents let him outside in the mornings.

Being chased by a dog (who can't catch me) is one thing, but a few weeks ago I was practically run down by something I really wasn't expecting: a bird. When running around the little pond in my normal running spot one morning, I must have gotten a little too close to one mama's nest of chicks. I wasn't exactly paying attention, but all of a sudden I heard a squawk and heard the beat of wings just inches from my head. Looking behind me, I saw a mass of black feathers quite literally zeroing in on my head. I almost wish I'd had the presence of mind to glance at my garmin during the next minute or so, because I. took. off. Picturing being carried off by my hair or getting my eyes pecked out, I booked it down the trail and was fully prepared to dive into the filthy water while this bird followed me, cawing angrily, for almost a quarter of a mile. Finally the path took me under some trees and the kamikaze crow decided to give up her chase. Needless to say, I haven't run around the pond since.

My most exciting (and most painful) encounter with the animal realm, however, came last week as I finished up an otherwise excellent afternoon run. I was about a mile from my car when I ducked under a tree and a bug zipped right into my mouth. Before I could even think to spit it out, I felt a searing flash of pain and realized that whatever it was had either stung or bitten me... on my tongue. I can't claim to be an expert on pain thresholds, but I think I can safely say that this one was equivalent to an elephant stepping gingerly on your big toe... and then lifting its other three legs off the ground. Thankfully there was no one around to hear my squeaks or witness the desperate scraping of my tongue that ensued. I've never had an allergic reaction to a bee, but I was just waiting for my tongue to balloon and render me something like this:

Thankfully, though, my tongue remained a normal size (and my mouth didn't shrink), so I was able to finish my run with no complications beyond a little bit of lingering pain and a truly awful taste in my mouth.

I truly love being able to run outside, enjoy the scenery and the sun, and actually feel like I've traveled the miles I log. As my body has adjusted to hills, heat, and a truly astounding amount of sweat, I've found that most mornings, my legs crave a stretch of road over the neverending band of a treadmill. I suppose that the animal interactions are par for the course, and I should probably be thankful I've never run across anything more dangerous. I was thrilled find myself less than 25 feet from a huge heron on a cool morning a few months ago, I get a good chuckle from the crazy geese I pass each day, and I've certainly spied some adorable puppies, so really I suppose it's worth a little tongue pain to have the freedom to enjoy nature. Let me tell you, though: the first time one of those dogs develops a tolerance for electric shock, I'll be finding a new route every morning.

   Love,

    Meg

Crunching the Numbers

I feel compelled to share a few numbers that I am particularly fond of today:

500

As of this morning, I have officially run 500 miles this year. Exciting milestone! And considering I didn't run for most of January or February (thanks to knee issues + cold temperatures + having a fiance who was home every night + laziness), I'm pretty sure that I'm on track to meet my goal of 1000 miles for the year. Since my runs are getting longer, 1200 might even be a more realistic goal. Also worthy of mentioning: 11.1 miles this morning means I am only 2 away from the half marathon distance -- hurray! Today's run was hot and I crashed a little around mile 9, but I was able to pull it together enough to get back to my car (albeit at a much slower pace). Still, I'm excited!

10%

After what seems like a lifetime, this deployment is officially more than 10% finished. I'm pretty thrilled, even though every time I mention this to a friend, they give me a smile full of pity and struggle to suppress their urge to tell me that 10% is really a rather small number. I am fully aware that in the scheme of things, we've barely made a dent in this year, but luckily the percentage continues to grow slowly but surely.

2

I've had time to take two naps this weekend. I've eaten yummy Mexican two times (can you ever get enough chips and cheese dip?). I've had two delicious iced mochas. Gone for two lovely runs. And best of all? In just 2 more weeks, I get to see my handsome hubby! Apparently, good things come in pairs these days.

Hope your weekend has generated some equally pleasing numbers!

   Love,

    Meg

Friday Favorites

It's been quite a while since I've done one of these, and at the end of a long (even though it was only 4 days, someone explain this to me?) and somewhat lonely week, I could definitely use a little gratitude and happiness. So off we go -- a few things that have made my week lovely:

As I mentioned, I've had some yummy food this week! A few nights ago I piled cream cheese, smoked salmon, onions, and capers on yummy bread for a delicious dinner, and last night I had pierogi (the plural of pierogie). I've also rediscovered a love for dried apples -- they are healthy but just sweet enough to taste like a treat!

I was in serious need of a new pair of running shorts (2 pairs just wasn't cutting it now that I'm running practically every day) and picked these up at Dick's last week. They are super comfortable and I love the color -- hard to see but it's kind of a salmon-y pink and a light green. The only problem is that they don't have a little pocket for my key, cash, etc, so I won't be able to wear them on any long runs. Still cute though!

I received these adorable keyrings in the mail today, thanks to a lovely etsy shop. I finally decided it was time to retire my old wallet/keyring combination because I was tired of lugging around a heavy wallet everytime I pulled out my keys. These are so adorable and lightweight, and I'm excited to be able to switch up the patterns every once in a while. 

I am seriously looking forward to see this lovely lady tomorrow! She is a wonderful friend from college who also happens to share my name! She is home from Arizona (aka entirely too far away), where she's in graduate school studying super-smart science-y things. I'm so excited to make the trip down to my college town to see her while she's here!

 

I don't say this often, but I think it all the time: I am so thankful for all you awesome bloggers out there! I follow lots of blogs for lots of different reasons, and I am inspired and moved by each and every one of you: the women who write them. You are astonishing runners, incredible cooks, impressive photographers, fantastic mothers, and simply amazing writers. I feel so lucky every day that you ladies choose to share your lives, and I can honestly say that besides talking to my sweet husband, reading your posts is often the highlight of my day.

Happy weekend, everyone!

   Love,

    Meg

Good Eats

As much as I hate household chores, I find that you really can't beat the relief and accomplishment of having them finished. A few nights ago I tackled our bedroom and bathroom, I've been slowly catching up on laundry, and last night's challenge was the kitchen. Typically my kitchen stays in pretty good shape because I don't cook just throw everything in the dishwasher (I really do cook, I promise!) After a busy end to last week and spending most of the weekend out of town, though, by yesterday the piles of dishes had started to get ahead of me. Trying to find a clean glass was a bit of a challenge, and I knew that something had to be done. Luckily, I had the perfect motivation: my fridge was also remarkably empty, so after I finally finished cleaning up, I went grocery shopping to restock my freshly organized cabinets.

Confession time: I went to two different grocery stores last night. I started at our brand spankin' new Whole Foods (we've had one for years, but they recently moved and upgraded) and picked up tons of exciting things: butternut squash, mini eggplants, dried fruit, herbed cream cheese, pumpkin seeds, a fantastic loaf of bread, and other fresh and delicious-looking things. I decided to try shopping here this time around in an effort to infuse a little more healthy food into my diet. I have a tough time merging healthy eating with my allergies (peanuts, fresh fruit, and soy) and have to work a little harder to find foods that are good-for-me and also won't-cause-me-to-stop-breathing. It's a delicate balance. Soy can hide in the most unexpected places. I often ponder how much easier life would be if I were allergic to oreos and cupcakes and too much ice cream... but as much as I miss fruit, I'd never be willing to trade! So I was excited to poke around Whole Foods and come out with several healthy eats that I can actually eat.

Of course, on the way home I still had to hit up good old Harris Teeter (I do have sort of a love affair with that store, it's one of my very favorite places) for some staples: gatorade, my favorite yogurt, the pasta sauce I can't live without. I felt guilty going to two stores in one single night, but I knew if I didn't go last night, it would only be a matter of days before I caved in and went to the second store anyway. It's not unheard of me to run by Harris Teeter three times in a week to pick up a few things I need. I think that's why I love the place so much... it's a little like a second home.

When it was time to pack food for work today, I honestly couldn't decide what I wanted to eat first. Everything looked so yummy! I ended up with an english muffin for breakfast, topped with my favorite almond butter and raspberry jam -- so good! For lunch, I brought a few slices of the incredible Whole Foods bread (9 grain something I believe) with a little honey butter I whipped up that complimented it perfectly. I also brought some fresh pineapple (the only fruits I can eat are citrus) and cottage cheese. It's been forever since I've eaten this well at work -- usually my lunches look more like yogurt and pretzels or a boring salad. The best part of this, though: I spent less than I usually do on groceries. I was expecting to pay higher prices (for better quality food), but I was pleasantly surprised by the totals. Definitely beats frozen meals or going out for fast food!

So as much as I procrastinate on the household chore thing, I'm really looking forward to going home to a clean kitchen with all kinds of yummy options for dinner... even though tonight I have to vacuum.

   Love,

    Meg

In Which I Appear To Be A Boring 50-Something

(no offense to all of the 50-somethings out there who actually have exciting lives. You all put me to shame.)

Happy.... Tuesday? I think? Three days weekends always throw me off so badly... although certainly not so badly that I couldn't use one every other weekend or so. This week's only saving grace, so far, is that it will only last for four days. And that one of those days is almost over. Have I mentioned that my coworkers are driving me a little crazy? 5:00 can never come fast enough these days.

My weekend was surprisingly quiet for a holiday one, which I did appreciate. In fact, the past three days really bordered on boring. Not that I'm complaining: I was able to catch up on sleep and a few magazines, lounge around, clean the apartment, and knit myself a sweater vest (ok so I'm kidding on the last one, but I sort of feel that old....) 

Friday evening I stopped to purchase my first ever stick of bodyglide on the way home from work -- thrilling, I know. I read by the pool for a little while, ate a bowl of pasta, and went to bed super early. Really, I'm just a blast when I'm all alone in the apartment... I think even the cat has a more exciting life.

Saturday I got up super early and headed out for my very first double digit run. I had 10 miles on the calendar, and while it wasn't exactly easy, it was a lot less horrific than I expected. I was dripping from the heat when I finished and left little puddles everywhere I went (especially the floor of the Starbucks where I stopped for water... you know they appreciated that), but I made it through 10.27 miles. I am seriously amazed that in the past few months I've gone from struggling through two or three miles to running 10 without wanting to just fall into a ditch somewhere. This is definitely a good sign, considering (drumroll please) I registered for my very first half marathon this weekend. I've been considering this race for several months now, but finally got up the courage this weekend to make it official. My goal is simply to get through it in one piece, I'm not concerned about times or negative splits or anything technical. If I'm still able to smile at the finish line, I'll call that a victory. The race is two months from yesterday, so I still have several weeks to run long, and I'm hoping to build up to at least 14 miles a few weeks out so that I know I can make it the whole way. Any advice for first time half-marathoners? I could definitely use it!

After a nice long shower, I headed up to Washington DC to see my brother-in-law and spend some quality time with my sister-in-law, who flew in for the weekend. It was so great to get to hang out with her and my newest little nephew again. He is just the cutest! After a long day at the hospital, we grabbed dinner at a surprisingly good little mexican restaurant and headed back to the hotel where Dan's family has been staying.

Sunday morning I did a quick little recovery run on one of the hotel treadmills that looked like it was already outdated by the 1980's. I was just thankful I made it 3 miles without it flying apart! We made a dunkin' donuts run and went back to the hospital for the morning, and then I left for home around 2 and drove through a few crazy storms on my way back. After a quick stop to pick up a new sports bra (on sale!) I spent the evening being lazy, doing a little laundry, hiding from yet another huge storm, and generally loving the idea that I didn't have to get up for work the next morning. I could get used to that!

Yesterday I made myself get up at a reasonable hour (ie before noon) and headed out for a run. I was shocked at the difference in temperature between 6:30 (when I usually run before work) and 10:00. I was miserable and after only about 4 miles decided to pack it in and head for home. Of course, once I figured I'd take advantage of the heat and head down to the pool for a little while, the clouds came out and it got much cooler. Story of my life... but at least I had the pool to myself! Last night Toby and I went over to my dad's for an excellent dinner that I've been craving for quite a while -- nothing says 4th of July like hamburgers, hot dogs, corn, and strawberry pie! I ate so much but it was all worth it. I caught a couple flashes on my way home, but otherwise didn't do the fireworks thing this year -- Dan and I usually go together, and I just wasn't interested in doing it without him. Instead I headed home and finished up the laundry.... too exciting, right?

This evening is also going to be a wild party: I'll be hitting up the gym, getting groceries, and then curling up in bed with a good movie. Exactly what all 23-year-olds dream of, right? Luckily, I don't mind being boring... I just wish my hubby was here to be boring with me! I hope that all of you had much more exciting things to do this weekend! Hopefully you were able to eat some great grilled food, catch a few fireworks, or maybe even relax on a river (that's what Dan and I did last year for the 4th -- lots of fun and sunburns!). And here's to hoping that something will happen this week to infuse a little excitement into my life... just not too much!

   Love,

    Meg

Silent Sundays

*Thanks to a fun little power outage, this is actually posting on Monday. Hope that's not too confusing... Silent Mondays just doesn't quite have the right ring to it. But happy 4th of July everyone!*


Two things that have made my weekend just lovely:

I officially registered for this baby Friday night. I'm terrified and beyond excited at the same time. It's not until Labor Day weekend, so I still have 2 months to keep training, but my long runs are feeling great lately so I definitely think I'm ready. Can't believe I'm actually doing this though!

So happy I got to spend some quality time with this little guy (my youngest nephew) and his mom this weekend! There's nothing like a smiling baby to cheer you up after a long week at work!

   Love,

    Meg

Progress Report and Month 1 in Review

Holy July, Batman! Time sure does fly when you're... doing anything at all. I am completely in shock that July is already upon us and we're halfway through 2011. The past 6 months have gone by at warp speed, and I'm really hoping that this trend continues, at least until next June or so. Today also marks the completion of our first month of "deployment"... sort of. I feel like these first two months don't really count because Dan is still in the US and I get to talk to him pretty much every day, but he is away from home at least and we're just going to go with it. So in one super mixed up post, I'm going to take a quick look back at the past 6 months, check in on my 11 goals for 2011 (yikes...), and throw in a little we-made-it-through-the-first-month celebration. Off we go...


First, here's a little snapshot of what I've been up to the past 6 months:

The year started out on a rough note when my grandmother lost a tough battle with cancer in January. I still miss her like crazy every day!

I got back into running and have worked hard to stay with it, even through a few bumps in the road. As of this morning, I've run just over 450 miles in the past 6 months.

(I still do not have a single picture of me ACTUALLY running. A big race in a few months should clear that up though.)

I also started to prepare to say goodbye to my handsome 1st lieutenant for a year.

Despite the fact that he spent most of the past 6 months working or training out of town, we have been able to squeeze in so many wonderful memories, the best of which was a little wedding ceremony...

... and a quick beach getaway.

June 1 still came too quickly, though, and after a few days at home, we had to say goodbye (but luckily only for two months!):

So the first half of this year has been pretty full of happy things, with a few not-so-happy things wedged in there. I suppose it takes a little rain to make you really appreciate the sun, right?


At the very beginning of the year, I sat down to write out 11 little goals for the year. Since I haven't thought much about them since I hit "publish," I think I'm overdue for a check-up:
1. finish unpacking & decorating our apartment: Hmmmm... guess I should get started on this. I have quite a bit of donating/throwing away to do.
2. learn lots of yummy new recipes and cook more often: I've done pretty well with this, especially considering the fact that I'm cooking for myself now. I've made a few new recipes in the past 6 months, and I have a huge list of more to try!
3. save money: This was was a little tough thanks to some big expenses (car repairs and a wedding, for example), but I've been putting away as much as I can. I'm really hoping to do even better in the next 6 months though.
4. continue running: I'd say I'm doing pretty well with this one. Honestly, when I wrote these resolutions I don't think I had any idea that I'd be running (and enjoying it) nearly this much. I sort of recall hoping that I could manage two or three days a week at the most. I'm really glad I stuck with this one, though.
5. keep up with this blog: Again, so far so good. Some weeks are better than others but here I am, still writing! Hard to believe it's been over 6 months.
6. keep it together through Dan leaving and make the deployment as easy as possible for him: This one's a little hard to judge. I did pretty well saying goodbye the last time, but I feel pretty bad for the poor soul who has to sit next to me on the flight home from Indiana later this month. It's not going to be pretty.
7. ace the LSATs and plan for the future: This one is definitely a big fat fail so far. The prep book is somewhere on my desk, buried and collecting dust. I still have 6 months though...
8. watch more movies: I've been renting/Netflixing a lot since Dan left in an attempt to pass the time. I just finished watching No Strings Attached last night (because I fell asleep the first two times I tried) and I'm probably the most excited 23-year-old on the planet about the new Winnie the Pooh movie coming out this month. Opening night anyone?
9. spend lots of time with friends: I've made quite a few new friends in the past few months, and I've been lucky to spend lots of time with older friends as well. Thank goodness for these ladies who will be keeping me sane over the next 11 months!
10. get more sleep: This one definitely comes in waves -- sometimes I'm really good about it and sometimes I stay up much later than I know I should. I'm trying hard to at least a good night's sleep before long runs or stressful days. Some nights it's really hard to get to sleep/stay asleep in a bed that seems to be missing a certain someone, but I kind of expected that...
11. BE HAPPY: I sort of covered this topic here. In a nutshell: it's been a rough few months, but I've done pretty well so far at continuing to smile through it all. I'm learning how to keep my spirits up even when things get hard, taking time to be upset when it's absolutely necessary, and refusing to wallow in loneliness. This is only going to get harder in the next 6 months, but I'm definitely up for the challenge.


It's amazing how a month can go so quickly and yet drag by all at the same time. It seems like forever since I last saw my hubby, but at the same time, I can't believe it's already July. I'm crossing my fingers that the next 11 months go just as fast! I don't feel like I've gotten much done in the past 30 days (as evidenced by the lack of progress above), but I did manage a few good runs, two trips to see my bestie and my brother-in-law, and some quality time with friends and family. I've watched a bunch of movies, finished a really excellent book (review coming soon), gotten a great haircut, and written a whole bunch of letters. All in all it's been a pretty good month, and in the end, at least we're one month closer to the end! In celebration (and because this is what everyone else seems to do), here's one of my favorite old pictures of Dan and I:

taken at Dan's grandparents' house in the summer of 2006 -- we had been dating for about a year 

Happy weekend and happy July! I'm pretty excited to have the next three days off from work. I have nothing exciting planned for the Fourth, but I'm definitely looking forward to relaxing a little. I hope that everyone has a fantastic holiday!

   Love,

    Meg