A Little Extra

I woke up super-early today at 4:30 a.m.  I like being awake before other people so much, but I almost always forget that when I’m in my cozy bed.  This morning, though, I had a mission: I wanted to surprise the boyfriend with coffee and breakfast because I know that he was bumming having to work so early this morning (and he’s a morning person! A morning person who doesn’t like working early in the morning?! No wonder the rest of us dislike mornings…).  Surprise him I did! He never suspected that I would have my act together enough to deliver eggs and coffee – HA!

    After that ambitious feat, I then bummed around reading blogs and catching up with the world.  Mainly I was getting inspired to go have an awesome run and waiting for the sun to really be out because I’m pretty much afraid of the dark.

     Once 6:30 rolled around I got ready for my run and planned my attack.  My plan was 60 minutes with the goal of maintaining a steady pace.  My typical “push the pace and then scale it back to a snail’s pace” hasn’t been bringing in the kinds of numbers that I want to see, so I really wanted to pony up and see what I was capable of.  Here’s a screen capture of my Nike+ at the end of today’s workout: THAT was a HUGE surprise!  I felt so good I even posted a post-workout picture of myself on Twitter – something I have been feeling very chicken about!

Don’t mind the fan/vent outlet or the crazy eyes or the sweatiness.  That’s ME! And I’m so excited because of my beyond-awesome-for-me RUN!  No walk breaks!  I even had enough in the tank to take a cool-down walk around the block listening to my favorite podcast, The News from Lake Wobegon (seriously, I am so glad that I found that in iTunes! I’m sorry if you’re sick of hearing about it! It resonates with me because I’m so familiar with the people and places of Lake Wobegon. Come visit if you want to experience the blissful Lake Wobegon life…)

     Well, after my run it was time for a little clean-up of myself (a.k.a. shower) and my stuff (a.k.a. laundry).  Then it was time to make some bad decisions…

I avoided this fridge full of healthy produce and meat:

And treated myself to this:

I wish I was referring to that delicious bottle of Argentinean Malbec, but no, that’s still on the counter.  I’m talking about the macaroni and cheese, the Reese’s ice cream, and the chocolate sauce.  What am I, 5?!  And no, I do not have kids.  I just have junk food accidentally-on-purpose.  I don’t know how it gets into my cart!  And then I just ended up at a burger joint having a bunless buffalo burger and chips with my family for dinner.  Days like that just happen sometimes, right?  I hope somebody understands blunders like this after a kickin-keister run.

     The day wasn’t a complete wash, though, because I decided to take care of some good business, too.  I gathered up more stuff for the Salvation Army truck, which is coming next Wednesday or Thursday (I don’t remember which.  Add that to tomorrow’s to-do list.).  From the looks of it, I am clothing a small country.

 

I think I am going to take all of those old running shoes to my running store, because I know that they collect shoes for kids in Africa and other places around the world without running shoes.  I think they might even offer a discount if you bring in a donation!  Anyway, can you tell that I don’t clean out often?  It feels so good to have this stuff out of my closets!  I can’t wait to have it out of my house!  All I need to do now is tabulate what is there for tax purposes and decide on a few more items (jeans that might fit someday, anybody?).

     I also took care of a few other things:

Thing 1: Kristin' Armstrong’s book Mile Markers.  I am really inspired by her writing, and this reads just like her blog.  Sometimes I get frustrated because her stuff always wraps up so neatly, and she seems to have better luck at looking at running as prayerful and transformative than I do.  On the flipside, though, I want to learn to be more aware to my feelings and emotions, and that’s part of why I want to get more comfortable with distances again.  That outlet makes me a happier person, and as I mentioned in my About page, I have been seeking out more happy! 

Thing 2:  RealSimple Magazine.  I love this magazine, because along with happy my life needs more simple. I have thought about getting a subscription to it on my NookColor, but I really like flipping through the pages and saving them forever, and I’m afraid that it would take up a lot of space on the Nook.  Thoughts on this?  Anybody subscribe to magazines on their NookColor?

Thing 3:  Crest Whitestrips.  I mentioned my cousin’s upcoming nuptials and my grandma’s ability to make you feel sub-par.  What a perfect time to get my teeth sparkling!  On a similar note, I found and cleaned my retainers, because looking at photos I’ve realized that my teeth have moved a bit and I’d like to stop that trend.  So I popped an Excedrin and wedged those babies in.  I hope that I can sleep in them without too much trouble (or drool).

Do you see my snazzy retainers?

Now, on a very creepy note, I was home this afternoon in my kitchen (eating mac & cheese or some similarly nutritious thing found behind the healthy food in my fridge/freezer/pantry), when I heard a sound.  I always hear sounds, and they always freak me out.  Well, this one was legitimately weird…  Someone was trying to turn the doorknob and open the front door.  CREEPY!  I was paralyzed, debating between trying to go outside and see who it was, opening the door and saying hello (or spraying whoever it was with pepper spray), or hiding out of view.  I chose option three and stayed completely still.  I really hope that it was just a neighbor kid having a friend over who went to the wrong house or something.  I have no idea.  I went nowhere near the front door for about two hours after that.  I hate creepy sounds!  Anybody else a major wimp?

Since I don’t like ending things on a bad note, if you have 4-and-a-half minutes, enjoy some laughs from Brian Regan, my favorite comedian.  Given how I blew my paleo-ness today, I think the topic of nutrition seems appropriate.  So go ahead, laugh!  Enjoy!

Now I need some reader help:

I am a bridesmaid in my friend’s wedding next week, and I have to go in for my final alterations tomorrow or Saturday.  The dress is a floor-length black gown. 

Which shoes do you like better?