Wednesday: A Much Better Day!

I finally got some good sleep- 8.5 hours! It was actually weird that at 4:30, I woke up convinced I could hear a cat crying. It sort of sounded like it was coming from under my bed. I got out my flashlight and looked... nothing. Then Christmas and Jelly trotted into the bedroom to get fed. I guess the cat crying was a dream or something!? Luckily, I fell back asleep until my alarm went off at 5:30!

The real feel was 36, so I did a 6 miler around my neighborhood. It felt great to be out there! I have been spending too much time on the treadmill lately...

Before I left for work, I got to play a game many pet owners have played... "Dirt or Poop?" I saw some brown spots on the floor in the kitchen. I wiped it up and I'm pretty sure it was dirty. Score!

My day at school was awesome. The students at my school are awesome. Sure, there are difficult days, but for the most part the kids are fun, respectful, curious, and kind. 

During one of my first grade classes, I was being silly and laying on the jokes. "You're so funny, Ms. Michael!" a little girl told me. I love making kids laugh! I think it's a great compliment if someone tells you you're funny, whether it's a child or and adult!

I got home at 4 and just had another chill night at home. I watched the news, wrote this post, and then watched a couple episodes of You on Netflix. Just living the dream...

Sorry, I know these daily posts are probably boring. I guess it would help if my weekday life was more interesting!

Are you funny?

Ever play "Dirt or Poop?" or a similar gross game?

My trazodone is being a BITCH!

Oh man, what a weird day! My trazodone is being a bitch and is only letting me sleep like five hours a night. One night with five hours of sleep is fine, but several in a row? No thanks.

I got up at four. I was craving a soda for some reason. I drove to the nearest grocery store because I needed a couple other items, but unfortunately they didn't open until 6. It was 4:50.

So I headed to Sheetz and got two coconut Bais, a Diet Dr. Pepper, and a Pepsi Max. I love Bais but I never get them because they are expensive.

Because I got to the gym a little earlier than normal, I had time to grocery shop on the way to work. When I am stuck waking up early, I feel like I may as well use the time wisely.

Work was rough. I taught a trombone lesson in the morning but I just couldn't focus due to the lack of sleep. But I made it through, and actually enjoyed being outside at the end of the day for crosswalk duty because the weather was so nice!

After work, I taught three piano lessons. Then I finally had a night at home with nothing to do, so I reconnected with Christmas..... Here he is now, laying right beside me on the arm of the couch while I type this post and watch Morning Joe.

It was nice to have a night at home!

What is your favorite thing to do when you have a night at home with nothing to do?

Giving on the fly a try!!!

While I am making my final decisions on a new blogging schedule, I'm giving "on the fly" posts a try. I didn't know people liked those! I mean, it makes sense... I like those kinds of posts. I love just hearing about someone's day and seeing pictures of their every day life.

I am nosy!

Oh, and this post is super on the fly because I'm typing it at 5:30 on Tuesday morning!

Work was fun yesterday. I love Mondays. I had a group of girls for a flute lesson in the morning and they are just so funny and positive. Adding band lessons to my schedule is stressful but it is totally worth it. I do love the time I have with the small groups of students.

I also banged out a bunch of lesson plans first thing in the morning. I was so proud of myself for being productive!

It was a warm, beautiful day but unfortunately I was stuck inside all day. If I was an after work runner, I could have totally enjoyed the spring like temperatures! It's going to get up to 61 today but I'll be stuck inside again with work and then piano lessons. It's crazy... just last week we had off school because the real feel was -17!

Sleep has not been good these past several nights. I really, really need a good solid nine hours tonight! I hope I can catch up.

That's all! Sorry this post was all over the place... I'm sleep deprived!

Weekend Wrap Up!

 

It was a fun and productive weekend!

Here's what I was up to...

My day started like most days... alarm at 5:30 and gym at 6:00. I was due for a lifting session. The gym was pretty dead.

Work was work. I was very impatient and not the best teacher. Oh well, we can't be wonderful every day, right?

It was snowing all day, so I was nervous for the drive home. Luckily, I took it very slow and I made it home safe and sound.

After work I bit the bullet and dyed my hait. I hate dying my hair, but my greys were showing big time. I just use a $7 box from the drug store. My hair is short and grows out so quickly that it would not be worth the money to get it done at a salon.

That evening, Paul and I had an epic card battle.... Dutch Blitz, Monopoly Deal, Rummy and Casino. He won!

Even though I cooked a lot of food the day before, I made a new dish for Paul and I to try- Ham and Cheese Tortellini with a Garlic Butter Sauce. I'm not sure where I found this recipe but I've had it bookmarked for a long time and we finally tried it! Yes, it did only take like 15 minutes and YES IT WAS DIVINE!!! 

I made too much so now we have leftovers. I don't mind having leftovers of healthy things, but when it's something not so healthy it's tough!

The rest of the night was spent doing my nails and watching the news. A wild and crazy Friday night!

I got up dark and early at 5:37 thanks to my baby Jelly. I laid in bed for awhile, then finally got up to face the day! I did my normal weekend morning routine... coffee, blogging, and catching up on the news while folding laundry. I actually love folding laundry!

Jelly had a lazy morning too... I mean, must be nice to be able to fall back asleep!

Then I went out and about to TJ Maxx and Marshalls. I needed PANTS in a bad way. I found two pairs and they were $12.99 and $14.99. I can't believe people go to Express and pay $80 for jeans when they can get a pair just as good so much cheaper!

I was trying to decide whether to hit the treadmill or run outside. I opted for outside and did two four mile loops around my hood. The roads were mostly clear but there were some snow covered spots that were really slippy and I had to be careful. I didn't check my pace until I was done running and I was very happy with what I saw!

All of my progression runs have been paying off! I wasn't even trying to hit a certain pace on this run, I was just running comfortably!

That afternoon was spent doing an epic cleaning out of my closet and my bedroom. It was actually super fun. Outer order, inner calm, right? I even washed my sheets and made my bed.

I'm on a 40 day streak learning Spanish with an app called Duolingo. I have to show you one of the translations from this morning...

I barely slept the nigh before, so I spent the morning lazy in bed. After practicing Spanish, I binged on a couple episodes of You. It is so good! I only have 5 episodes left to watch. I will be sad when it's over!

Then I went on a run on the AT. Luckily, it was not an ice rink and I was able to get in 6 beautiful miles!

I saw three deer bounding down the trail. I pretty much followed them for about a mile! They would run ahead, I would catch up and scare them, then they'd run ahead again! They were so beautiful. It was a great run. I didn't even listen to any podcasts. Just alone in the woods with my thoughts...

I'm sure you know that I did not watch the Super Bowl!

Do you like folding laundry? Is there a household chore you enjoy?

Who's going to try that tortellini recipe!?

Did you watch the Super Bowl?

I'm trying to decide what to do about my blog...

Here we go... my nearly twice monthly post lamenting on what to do about this little blog of mine. I feel like I have nothing to share anymore. I feel like I am struggling for content. I mean, there is always a lot going on in my life, but a lot of it is not for the blog!

After 2071 posts without skipping a day, is it time to call it quits?

I'm such an all or nothing type of person. I normal person would just be like, "Okay, I'll blog 3-4 days a week instead of 7 days a week." And honestly, I think that is the best solution. A schedule something like this...

Monday- Weekend Wrap Up
Wednesday- Free topic
Friday- Weekly Wrap Up
Saturday- Weekly Workouts

There would be less content, but it could possibly be more quality content.

The other option is to change the blog into more of something I write daily on the fly. Like talking about my day or whatever is on my mind. I know a lot of bloggers do that and people like reading it. I don't know what you guys like reading. And I'm not tech savvy enough to figure it out!

One of the coolest things about having a daily blog for so long is that I have a REALLY FREAKING GOOD record of my life for the past 6 years. I mean, I can go back and read posts about events or thoughts I had that I would never remember if it wasn't for my blog. It's a really cool thing to have. I should probably back it up, shouldn't I? (Did I mention I'm not tech savvy!!??) Maybe my brother can help me... Hey Tyler, call me!!!

Oh well, this was a very "thinking out loud" post but I feel like my frustration with posting daily has been going on for so long that it's time to make a decision...

1. Continue posting daily.
2. Stop the blog completely.
3. Post 3-4 days per week.

I promise I will stop going back and forth on this soon and make a decision...

Do you have opinions on what I should do?

Weekly Workouts!

35 miles for the week! I think that was just perfect...

Saturday- 6 mile progression run on the treadmill. My old paces are getting easier for me! Maybe I'll be in "racing" shape for the spring!?

Sunday- 1 mile trail, 3 miles road. I drove to the trail but it was a sheet of ice so I had to bail and go home and run in my hood. I was so tired because I only got a couple hours of sleep the night before. It was an all around terrible day.

Monday- 8 mile progression run at Planet Fitness. Everyone listens to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the gym, right???

Tuesday- 3 treadmill miles and a deck of card workout on steroids! I say it was on steroids because I added in 60 push ups, 60 inverted rows, and 120 stability ball pull ins!

Wednesday- 8 mile progression run on the treadmill. I warmed up for 2 miles, then did 3 miles at an 8 minute pace. Then I spent a mile working my way up to a 7:30 pace. Ran a 7:30 pace for my 7th mile, and then for my 8th mile I bumped up the speed by one notch every 10th of a mile so I was running a 6:30 by the end!

Thursday- 6 mile progression run. Not as crazy as the day before.

Calf stretching is a must!

Friday-  Lifting! I wanted to run but I was due for a major lifting session, so that's what I did!

How were your workouts this week?

Friday!

Hey all! I am linking up with Fairytales and Fitness. 

It was a weird week of work...

Monday was a full day

Tuesday was an early dismissal (snow)

Wednesday was a delay (snow/cold)

Thursday we were closed (EXTREME COLD)

Friday... I am assuming we are having a full day!

Today I'll share with you what I did on my day off on Thursday! It was nice because we knew the night before, so I will admit, I stayed out pretty late...

Since I stayed up so late on Wednesday night, I slept in until 11 on Thursday morning! I never do that! But the late night plus the lack of sleep the night before set me up for a solid 11 hours of sleep!

Jelly was on my belly when I woke up...

And Chrissy was sitting on the floor next to my bed, staring me down. He was hungry.

I just relaxed and drank coffee. It was a lazy morning!

Eventually, we went to the gym. I did a six mile progression run. It felt great!

Game face!

I got to break in a new pair of sneakers!

I bought about 7 pairs of Wave Riders on sale a couple years ago. This is my last pair!

After cleaning up at home, I did some major grocery shopping. I planned to cook when I got home...

... and cook I did! Here is the aftermath to prove it!

I made some hard boiled eggs, roasted potatoes, a cold cauliflower rice salad, some turkey sausages, and three quiche!

Spinach, feta, chicken sausage

Broccoli, cheddar, onion, mushroom, bacon

Broccoli, cheddar, onion, ham

How does one decide what to ear for dinner when there is so much good food available??? You try a little bit of everything!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What are the temps like in your neck of the woods?