Ho Ho Ho and... Stuff...

(2:10)

I keep starting to write, getting frustrated, and deleting it all, only to start the cycle over. That's how the past few days have been: at times I've been super-productive, getting things done that have been wasting away on my to-do list for weeks, but then suddenly a fog bank moves in and I'm sleepy, unmotivated, and crabby. I haven't slept well at night, but I'm pretty sure if I lay down to take a nap I might snooze for days. I've accomplished so much in little short spurts, but then I show up at the gym and after 10 minutes on the treadmill I'm ready to call it a day. I'm trying to indulge myself a little, reasoning that it's better to have an off week this week instead of the week before Christmas, but I'm also eager to snap out of it. In the meantime, here are a few non-life-altering tidbits:

For the first time in forever, I have now skipped two morning workouts in a row. I used to have such a tough time getting up and getting my butt to the gym in the mornings, but lately I've been so good about getting there pretty much every morning. Occasionally (once or maybe twice a month) I'll skip a day, so I wasn't overly concerned when I woke up not feeling great yesterday and decided to roll over and go back to sleep. I didn't even feel too terribly guilty during the day yesterday... and that's clearly where I made a mistake. This morning, all I could think was "skipping one day didn't kill me... skipping two wouldn't be so bad... maybe I'll just stay in bed again... I could just declare it a stepback week... Zzzzzz......" I actually did feel guilty and get up at one point, but when I looked at the time I knew that I'd never have time to get there for a decent workout before I'd have to get ready for work... so of course I went back to sleep. Tonight I'm planning to wear my mizunos to bed.

(another terrible food picture for your pleasure)

 It only took me two tries to figure out the easiest and most delicious cookie ever. My first batch was an awful mess, but with a little bit of tweaking (which made the simple recipe even easier), the second try worked like a charm. Try this on for size:
    1. melt one bag of chocolate chips in a double boiler (or the microwave, if you're brave)
    2. stir in a can of chow mein noodles
    3. as best you can, transfer in clumps onto a piece of parchment paper
    4. let sit for an hour or two (or pop in the fridge) to cool and harden... legitimately the hardest part of the whole process
(I can't for the life of me remember where I found this recipe first, but there are so many different versions all over the internet. Most include shortening, peanuts, butterscotch chips, etc., but after the first disaster I decided to try it with just these two ingredients and was pretty darn happy with how it turned out.)

Someone must have heard my cries when Panera made the terrible decision to serve their lemon chicken orzo soup only seasonally. Thanks, Progresso!

In one of my bursts of energy last night, I busted out a fork and tried this tutorial that has been floating around the internet. Even though my sweet husband said he kind of liked the result, I wasn't thrilled -- the finished product was not quite round/symmetrical and just didn't look like the pictures. I may string them on a garland, but wouldn't tie them to a gift or display them where someone could take a good hard look at one.

Although I'm rocking (and loving) the seasonal Pandora stations, I can't make the jump to all Christmas music all the time, because I'd miss this guy too much. Time for a holiday album, Peter?

There are so many books on my bedside table, movies in my netflix queue, and tv shows that I'd like to catch up on. How does one work full time, squeeze in a workout, cook meals, maintain a clean house, keep two furry creatures alive, and still find time to stay up to date with these things? I'm a little concerned that when I add a college class to the mix in January, I'll have to give up sleeping at night completely...

And what's a blog post without a picture of one of the furballs that we love so much?

   Love,

    Meg

Thursday Things

I was a little shocked when I realized this morning that it was not Wednesday, but Thursday. Did I sleep through yesterday? This week has flown by. In an effort to catch my breath and celebrate being one day closer to Friday, here are a few Thursday Things that have been taking up space in my cluttered brain these days:

 - I had a fantastic run last night -- my legs showed up for the party for the first time in a while, and I felt speedy and awesome. The cool breeze was a big bonus, and 8 miles ticked by with very little trouble. It was terrific right up until the end, when I discovered that I'd forgotten the whole use-body-glide-you-idiot step when I was getting ready. Let's just say that the cup of ice water I got at Starbucks after I finished was less for rehydration and more to hold between my legs on the way home. Ouch.

what a flattering picture, right?

- Speaking of Starbucks, who had this brilliant idea?

Why thank you, that's exactly what my drink needed: a huge, soggy sticker sliding along the side of the cup. Only one of the locations in my town does this, but I'd like to give whoever is responsible for the new practice a good plink right between the eyes.

 - My new goal is to cut out the shorter junk runs in my week and consolidate them into longer workouts. I know that some shorter speedwork is still important every week, but filling my calendar with lots of 3/4 mile runs really isn't making me a better runner. I'd like to see my average run somewhere closer to 6/7 miles. If we're being honest, I'm hoping that this will help me ease into higher mileage for my long runs, as well -- my ultimate goal is to slide into a few 13+ milers without thinking about it too much, so that one day I wake up and realize that another half would feel short and easy.

 - Apparently today is Flag Day. Shouldn't we get a day off for that or something? Today is also the US Army birthday, although I think we can all agree that they don't look a day over 236. Here's to many more years of last minute decisions, overcrowding and confusion, hurry-up-and-wait, always doing things the hard way, and somehow making it all worthwhile, Army. I'm not sure how you do it, but keep it up!

 - Recently I wrote that I was craving a long drive. Thankfully a 14-hour roundtrip to Charleston cleared that little urge right up, but now it has been replaced with something slightly trickier... I'm dying to fly somewhere these days. It's not even a matter of destination at this point (although I never say no to a good vacation), I just really want to get on a plane. That honeymoon thing sure is taking its sweet time...

 - Such a dangerous Pinterest find:

I have a thing for buttons and just so happen to have a big bag of red ones sitting at home. There are also these:

... and how cute are these??

I have a feeling it's going to be a busy little weekend...

 - And because it's been a while since the last Toby update:

... he's still just as sleepy (and photogenic) as ever.

Happy Thursday, everyone!

  Love,

    Meg

Friday Favorites

 I won't go into the gory details, but this week has left me in great need of a little extra patience, a lot of sleep, a brain reset, a glass of wine, new carpeting, a vacation, and a healthy dose of gratitude. Because sometimes, having a new dog is more exhausting than it is fun. Sometimes, having a full time job and also an social life is enough to make you want to quit one or the other. Sometimes, your hormones get so out of whack that you contemplate just sitting on the floor and crying for no apparent reason... multiple times a day. And sometimes, it's nice to stop and just be thankful that you made it through another week.

I realize that I'm more than a little late for this train, but I'm going to chase it on down the track. I bought several Tervis tumblers as Christmas presents this year in a burst of brilliance (breast cancer awareness for my mom, Marine Corps for my stepdad, US Army for Dan), but I've never had one of my own. After Christmas, Dan and I ran across a huge aisle of them in a store and I may have mentioned that now everyone had their very own tumbler that represented their passion... except me. He insisted that I pick out one for myself, so I got the cute little runner above. Oh. My. Goodness am I in love. I never knew it was possible to get so excited about a piece of plastic. These things are incredible though: bigger than a normal glass, always condensation free, dishwasher safe, great for hot or cold, and perfect for both home and the office (in other news, I should probably pursue a career in infomercials). I only made it about three days before I dragged Dan out to get 2 more -- now we have a "woof" and a "meow" to represent the other two members of our family!

This just speaks for itself. How cute is that last little guy?!

I'm not sure what I did all day before I discovered pinterest. I can (and do) kill entire hours browsing, squealing in delight, and adding things to my "crafty amazingness to attempt" list. Now any time I need ideas for gifts, recipes, decorations, or life in general, pinterest is my first stop. Strangely, however, I've realized that while I find a lot of amazing pictures, I rarely pin anything on my own boards. Guess we know what I'll be doing this holiday weekend!

My fantastic boss brought muffins for everyone this morning, and I snagged the last blueberry one. YUM.

My husband truly never ceases to amaze me. I've been begging this guy to be my gym buddy ever since he got home, and he has joined me a grand total of one time in more than a month. Until this morning, that is. When my alarm went off at the crack of dawn, it took just a few seconds of sleepy thought to decide "I'll just go to the gym this afternoon. I'm very comfortable right here, thank you." So I reset the alarm, turned over, and snuggled up to Dan's back. Our conversation went a little like this:

   "Mpf" (Dan)

   "Hmmm?"

   "Mpf"

   "Mpf?"

   "Aren't you going to the gym?" 

   "Not this morning. I'll go this afternoon. I'm sleepy."

   "What if I go with you?"

   "Ha. Ha ha. Hahahaha. Right."

   "No, really. I'll go with you."

Following this statement, my husband actually lifted the covers and proceeded to get out of bed all by himself . (By the way, sweetheart: that was a big mistake -- now I know it's possible.) And so with a bit of grumbling, I too pulled myself upright and we went to the gym. It was brutal, but now I don't have to go tonight, and for that I am infinitely grateful. 

Last but certainly not least, this week I am thankful for the package that is scheduled to arrive at our doorstep any minute now with very precious cargo. Dan has been texting me all morning: "It's in [hometown]!" "It's out for delivery!" "It left the post office at 9:30!" The anticipation is killing me. I promise to fill you in when it gets here!

Happy Friday everyone -- hope that you all had a week with such lovely things!

   Love,

    Meg