5 on Friday.

*Sorry for the excessive use of selfies this week.*

1.  This week I learned a new way to style my hair.

At 28 I finally learned how to curl the ends of my hair.  I'm thrilled.

2. Keep on runnin'
My mileage this week is around 20 miles, and will probably cap off around 24 after Saturday.  I'm running a 10K in less than 70 days.  Currently, my time to beat is 64:37 (this is the speed I ran a 10K on the treadmill this week).  I just had to read that twice.  I'm running a 10K.  Something I said I'd never do.  Haha.

3.  A boss lady at work showed me this this week,

and I laugh EVERY time I see it.  Sorry for the expletive use.

4.  No sugar,
is treating me really, really well.  I arbitrarily decided one afternoon a few weeks ago during lunch that I was done with sugar.  No final hurrah, no last treat, just done.  And it's going SO well.  Today there was one of my FAVORITE cakes in the breakroom and all I said was "swimsuit, swimsuit, swimsuit" and I successfully bailed.  For the record though, and this seems to surprise people, I am not considering alcohol to be a sweet.  Yes, I acknowledge I'd slim down faster with it, but I'll just take all the running and the no sugar to be my moves for now.  Maybe when that race is 20 days away I'll change my tune.

5.  Cold
I hate it.  Like, despise-with-every-beat-of-my-heart-hate it.  Today the skin on every finger on my right hand cracked open, so I went and found some plastic gloves from the kitchen to wear with lotion on underneath.

The pouty face because well, I'm wearing plastic gloves with hand cream on underneath.  I am expecting miracles by the time I peel off the gloves.

Desperate times, desperate measures friends.

Five on Friday! | 1.17.14

Five things I'm especially loving this week:

1.  Great dresses at bargain prices.

A couple weeks ago I picked up two dresses from Banana Republic for what ended up costing me less than $6 out of pocket thanks to them being marked down, two coupon codes, and a gift card.  This is one of them!  It's a "true" wrap dress, not faux-wrap, aka,  I'm glad it's a "wear with tights" dress at this point because there would have been some inadvertent flashing done.  I still have the other dress that I'm looking forward to wearing next week.  I'm breaking away from the idea of "saving" clothes for certain occasions, but I do spread out wearing new dresses/clothes over a few weeks so I may extend that "new dress thrill."

2.  New lunch option:  romaine with mustard.

I had to take a broccoli break (gasp!  I know.) and this has been this weeks option.  I do pair it with an apple and yogurt, and get a snack at around 3.  I've been really enjoying it, but I was told, "that looks like something you eat when you're out of groceries and desperate."

3.  Stopping the hate on Via packets

Unless I'm abroad, I do not do instant coffee.  However, I came across these at a Target for .90 on clearance so I thought I'd try them.  Oh.  My.  Goodness.  They are DELICIOUS.  And I'm sad I didn't get more.

4. Sparkling beverages

I drink a TON of water each day, but a couple weeks ago I got completely and totally disgusted by it.  I know it's only temporary, so in the interim I've been all about sparkling water with a splash of cranberry or orange juice.

5.  A new running plan!
I have a new running plan that I'm really enjoying, even though I couldn't hit my distance on a long run this week.  Whomp.

Resetting my cold meter

I hate the cold.  I'm normally ALWAYS cold.  One would assume that since I hate the cold SO much I would dress appropriately.  Not so much.  However, I've been corrected as of late and am doing better.

Previous thinking:  If the temperature is higher than 50, I don't need a jacket.

My reasoning:  100 is really hot, so half of that must be bearable.

Experience:  I'm cold without a jacket.

Still, my reasoning trumped my experience (...a lot of logic doesn't stick around with me) for the most part until I was explaining myself recently and was (gently) told, "No.  That is faulty.  A true 0 as far as temperature is 32, so therefore a better point between the two is 65ish."

And I've totally had my scale reset!  When I look at the weather if it is below 65, I grab a jacket.  If it is above, I do not.  THAT EASY.

I was really proud of this warm get-up:  coat, sweater, bottom layer, scarf, and gloves.  I don't do a hat because, well, have you seen that mop on top of head?  It's not easily contained.

Previous thinking:  I'm just running to the gym, I don't need pants/gloves/heavy coat for the drive over.My reasoning:  It's a 6 minute drive and my car will warm up.

Experience:  I'll make it.

BUT, as Erika pointed out, what if there is a car issue between the gym and home?  What if I need to run an errand?  What if there's an accident?  If any of that happened, I'd then be stuck in the cold in SPANDEX running shorts or capris.

And I've worn pants ever since.  And need to remember to put my car gloves (heavy fleece gloves only appropriate for snow) back in the car.

Menu-Planning Monday | January 13

Here is what is cooking this week...

Monday
Chicken and bean soup, served with Trader Joe's cibatta bread for dipping
Putting some variations onto this recipe, but following it for the most part.

Tuesday
Leftovers of aforementioned soup.

Wednesday
Baked salmon served with kale and cheese grits
Baking my salmon per these instructions,
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F for fillets or 350 degrees F for a dressed fish. You can bake the fillets at a lower temperature, if desired, but remember to increase the cooking time. Bake salmon fillets or steaks, uncovered, for 4 to 6 minutes per 1/2-inch thickness. For a dressed salmon, bake for 6 to 9 minutes per 8 ounces of fish. To test for doneness, insert a fork into the salmon and gently twist. The salmon is done as soon as it begins to flake. Be sure to test at the minimum baking time. When done, the salmon will be opaque with milky-white juices.  (side note, that is the nastiest sounding sentence ever--opaque with milky-white juices??!!  Excuse me while I go vomit.)


Thursday
Easy One-Skillet Lasagna with any leftover kale and green beans


Friday
Leftovers of one-skillet lasagna.

I love menu planning.  Do you love menu planing?  I usually sit down in front of pinterest and/or my recipe binder, and flip through till we find something that looks good.  I acknowledge I could do a better job of finding sales to plan my  menu...but I don't.  Usually the only guiding factors in making the menu are making at least two meals that will have sufficient quantities for leftovers, and one "stand-alone" meal where leftovers are not likely.  Soup usually shows up at least once every week, and I usually make a pot of it on Sunday afternoons, so as I like to say, "it has time to think about itself" and good get and tasty (aka the flavors have more time to marry) before serving it on a Monday night.  Tuesday nights are PACKED, so leftovers are essential.

A pattern to break.

12/31/12

After a crazy afternoon, I get home to rest a bit before going to a New Years Eve party. I notice that my mouth hurts.  Badly.  I chalk it up to a hard day, cancel on the party, and go to bed.  Next day I go to the dentist because my mouth still hurts, it’s wisdom teeth cutting through, blah blah.  Before I know it I have an IV started, some prescriptions in my bag, and I’m short 3.85 less teeth (there’s still a little bit of one hanging out back there thanks to me being a bleeder).

12/31/13

After a low key albeit enjoyable day, I keep doubling over with cramps and stomach pain.  I chalk them up to menstrual cramps.  I still keep assuming they are "normal" cramps, ignoring the the fact that during the day I took 11 advil, 2 aleve, and a beer without ANY relief.  After a sleepless night withering in pain, I go to work (after trying to exercise, #bullheaded), still thinking they are just menstrual cramps.  After the pain gets worse and seeing I have apparently most every textbook symptom for appendicitis, I take myself to the urgent care clinic, AKA a circle of hell.  

Yes, this picture is scary.  Urgent care is a scary place, and it's best to have a mask on you if possible.  A turtleneck will suffice in emergencies.  Emergency--the lady to my right was in with the flu, needing to get her steroid prescription adjusted (I know this because she was sharing her plight on a cell phone call) and the women to my left were in getting strep tested (I know this because they were commiserating over the test).

Urgent care doctor says that I may have appendicitis and wants to send me over to the ER for a CAT scan.  My pleas of "may I just wait it out till the morning" fall on deaf ears, and again, before I know it, I'm a visitor to the ER (my first visit!  milestone!).

My smoothies never taste this bad.

Fortunately I was not alone, and I had some great texting advice coming my way (looking at you Erika).  I didn't heed the advice of "be the squeaky wheel" all that well, and even with a botched IV kept quiet until the nurse and J noticed that tears were pouring down my face and I couldn't talk through the pain.  Oh yeah, what was wrong with me!  We don't know.  We DO know it was NOT my appendix and nothing is wrong with my ovaries.  What MAY be wrong was either a gastrointestinal virus, a ruptured cyst, or something gallbladder related.  I rebounded after a few days, and have been feeling good.  I'm eating normally again and running.  

But, seriously.  This is a pattern to break.  Two for two on being sick enough to go to the doctor two years in a row?  2015 will not be starting this way!

Purposeful

To the joy of my list-making, calendar-scheduling heart, it is resolution time friends.  While I do want and will have set goals, I also want to have a theme this year, and my theme is going to be "purposeful."

Purposeful | With my time

• On 1/1 I deleted the Facebook app from my phone, and if I didn’t have church responsibilities I would have deleted my account all together.  It's been refreshing.
• Trips, they are going to be put onto the calendar and planned for accordingly.

Purposeful | With my relationships

• Write more letters.
• (Actually) return phone calls.
• Being with a person in real life means that my phone will be in my purse.  Unless I'm taking a picture.  Obvi.  :)

Purposeful | With my money

• Spreadsheet, hi.  Here we go.
• I’m going to try a month of using the cash back rewards credit card (and not carry a balance) and see how that goes.  I know people who do this, and they 

Purposeful | With my body

• Y'all, I run like a fiend.  I log hours in the gym weekly.  AND I LOOK NO DIFFERENT.  Time to shake up the exercise routine.  
• And to shake up the diet.  Time for some changes.  I saw this pin about for a month eliminate these things--January, sweets; February, fried foods (haha, no trouble there); March, alcohol; April, Juice or soda; May, Gluten; June, Sugar.  To the inward groaning in myself I feel at this, I just have to ask myself--what would I rather have?  Less weight or those foods?
• Learn to rest.

I want to begin things that in a year I will be so glad I did.  I'm looking forward to in 11 months posting on this list about this theme went.  Happy 2014!