Welcome! I’m Caroline
follow me
Subscribe By Email
Search The Little Things Blog
Follow Me On Bloglovin’
Categories
Archives
After weeks and weeks of searching and not coming up with anything that would work, Melissa found a house that had just been posted that day online, and I immediately contacted the owner. It turns out that we had several mutual friends/co-workers/acquaintances in common, which I think we both appreciated (I was nervous to get into a bad renting situation with someone).
I sped through the application process and found out in the middle of my bike ride on the Monon in June that I had gotten the house! I was filled immediately with relief, as the current neighbor situation had gotten to a very difficult place, and I was spending only 2-3 nights (at MOST) a week at my apartment. As you might remember, I ended up spending the end of June in Minnesota, the week of July 4th in Kansas, and part of a week in New York a few weeks ago. That obviously didn’t leave much time for packing. When I got back from Minnesota, I was only at my apartment for 6 hours- I had to unpack from that trip, repack for Kansas, and try to squeeze in some apartment packing as well. Needless to say, July turned out to be a hectic and crazy month, and I wasn’t sure I was going to get it all done.
Wearing my Buff while moving a ridiculous number of boxes.
My parents helped me move about 80% of my boxes over the house in the middle of July (the owner let me move quite a bit in 2 weeks before I started renting- I just couldn’t have access to those boxes during that time), and a group of friends helped me move all my furniture and remaining boxes the last weekend of July (it was my first time renting a UHaul!). (Words can’t express how thankful I am to all of them for giving up hours of their lives to help me out- I couldn’t have done it on my own!) I spent a few days cleaning out my new house and my apartment, and my hands are in rough shape now from all the digging and chemicals- yuck!
Turning in my keys Friends style…
I’ve turned in the old keys to my apartment now, and it’s a surreal feeling. When I walked into that apartment, I could only dream of what it would be like to be a counselor (I hadn’t seen a client yet at that point!). I would’ve still said that I hated running, and I had no intention of ever getting on a bike again. While in that apartment I started this blog, fell in love with running, fell in love with biking, and worked hard to become the best counselor I could be. I got over my fear of public speaking in that apartment, even traveling internationally to speak. I treasure the memories there, the hard situations that taught me great lessons and grew me, and the person I became while there. It was hard to let that place go.
Also- these amazing morning sunrises!
But sometimes holding onto something that’s dysfunctional and unhealthy just because it has some good memories and it was a good thing isn’t the right decision, and I realized that. I’m now renting a cute little house with quite a bit of character, and besides the mountains of boxes that I’m living in right now, I’m pretty happy. The change wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be, but it hasn’t been completely easy either.
My personality type is one that doesn’t love change- I desire stability and a sense of order to my world. Moving includes none of that, so as I’m unpacking I’m trying to find a reasonable order for things.
There are some perks of moving! I’ve finally fixed my internet so I have wifi again (my wifi broke a few years ago and I never bothered to fix it- so I’ve been plugging in for those years- ridiculous, right?). I bought a FLAT SCREEN TV (I’ve previously been using a huge old box TV) and can now watch Netflix on the TV. Because of that, I cut down my cable, and am saving about $45 a month (meaning that TV will be “paid off” in less than a year). I’m enjoying some of these new conveniences, and my friends are getting a kick out of watching me enter into the modern technological age (one text I got said “welcome to 2007!”. hahaha). Mostly I’m hoping that this will be a place of peace, where I’m not woken up by screaming, throwing, dogs yapping for 5-8 hours straight, and where I don’t have to drown my life out in noise to avoid listening to my neighbors’ every moves. I now have a yard that I’m in charge of, and have mowed for the first time this millennium. 🙂
So that’s what’s REALLY been going on in my life. Underneath the traveling, working each week, biking, running, and hanging out with friends, this summer has really been defined by moving- by packing, unpacking, forwarding mail, and changing my address (OH MY GOSH- the list of places I have to change my address for is ridiculous. I don’t understand how people move every few years!). This summer didn’t turn out exactly like I thought I would, but hopefully all this additional work and stress will lead to a more peaceful and calm year!
I’ve also concluded I have way too much stuff. Yikes.
Now it’s your turn to share! When was the last time you moved? To you enjoy the process of moving, or does it overwhelm you?
I’m thankful for cleaning products. I love all the options for various cleaning products that I have access too. I’ve used a ridiculous amount of cleaning product this week, and it’s sure made my life a lot easier!
I’m thankful for good weather this weekend. Sunday was an important day with lots of outdoor time scheduled so I was hoping that it wouldn’t rain and make for a lot of difficulty. We had great weather this weekend, and I was thankful for that!
I’m thankful for game night! This summer I’ve gone to game night almost every weekend (that I’ve been in town) and it’s been so much fun! I’ve loved getting to know people better through that.
I’m thankful for audiobooks. I haven’t had TV or internet most of this week, so I’ve listened to hours worth of audiobooks and podcasts this week. I’m thankful for the easy access I have to things like that.
I’m thankful for nuun. It’s been a hot and humid week and I’ve been moving around from the time I wake up until the time I go to bed every day trying to get a lot done, so nuun has been a lifesaver this week!
Now it’s your turn to share! What are you feeling thankful for today?
We went after a long day of touring the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and walking all over the city, but I felt energized as soon as I entered the park. On running blogs I’ve read for the past few years, I heard quite a bit about the Bridle Path, so my goal was to run on that. I loved being able to run on a softer pathway, and immediately felt jealous of the trees, the path, and all the people watching that the park has! I definitely don’t have the opportunity to run in anything like that!
Seriously- how pretty is that?
We passed a lot of great things as well once I left the Bridle Path, and it was fun to explore while running! I passed the spot where they filmed the theme song for Friends, but I guess that they replaced the fountain a few years ago? I think it still counts!
Then I passed by the Bethesda Fountain, which I knew of only from movies I’d seen. It was absolutely beautiful! Right behind where I was standing a man was playing songs on his cello, and they echoed around in beautiful melodies. It made for a breathtaking moment.
I ended my run with some time to just sit on a rock in the park and watch people walk by. I don’t think I could ever get sick of the people watching there. Running in Central Park was something that I wanted to do for the last few years, so I’m so glad I was able to fit it in on this visit!
Now it’s your turn to share! Have you ever had the opportunity to run in Central Park? What’s one of your favorite ways to explore a city?
I did an out and back that took me the first 17 miles, and absolutely loved all the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the road. I even stopped on a hill to take a picture of some (I regretted it a little bit when I had to go from 0mph to biking straight up a hill!).
Once I reached the point that I hopped on the trail, I headed out in the other direction, excited to see the progress of the cornfields over the past month. I excitedly biked for about 4 miles (I really like that part of the trail!) before I noticed something shiny on the trail up ahead.
As I got closer I realized it was a large puddle (like- roughly 10 feet long and completely covering the trail), so I hopped off my bike and walked on the grass around the puddle.
The flooded trail.
I hopped on my bike again only to find another puddle up ahead. This time I tried to bike slow, which worked ok, but with it being 2+ inches deep, I wouldn’t be able to keep going long like that. I guess this is a new first- biking through a small body of water!
A mini pond on the trail
As I was hitting my third area of flooding, a woman biked towards me and told me to turn around because it was even worse ahead. So, this left me in a bit of a pickle since it cut 25-26 miles off my planned route for the day. So, I turned around and then took the first country road I came to, deciding that it was a good day to explore some new roads.
While I didn’t like it as much as I liked the other roads I’ve biked this summer, it worked out really well and I was able to make up all the mileage I needed for the route. I hit a windy patch for about 6 miles and ended up grinding it out slowly, which is frustrating. One mile I clocked in a full 6 minutes for that mile, which was really frustrating. My speed dropped and my legs were shaking as I pedaled against the wind.
I ended my ride with exactly 50 miles, which I was really happy about! Besides the small wind patch, it was a beautiful, sunny day without much wind resistance, making for a pretty ideal ride. I listened to “The Help” on audiobook the entire ride. I started it last summer, but ended up having half of it to go and I just didn’t listen to it at all over the winter biking season. I remembered recently that I hadn’t finished it, so it was great to actually get to wrap that book up!
Here’s what I ate and drank:
- mile 8: 3 berry shot bloks
- mile 18: one honey stinger waffle
- mile 28: 1 gu
- mile 38: 3 berry shot bloks
- mile 44: 1 handful of dried craisins
- drank: 50 ounces of electrolyte water with nuun plus in it (for extra carbs).
I try to soak in as much of summer, nature, and sunshine on these long summer rides because I miss them the rest of the year. I’m glad that, after a hectic month of travel, I was able to find the time to get in a ride again!
Buffs are something that I’ve been interested in trying over the past few years, primarily as a means of stopping so much sweat from getting in my eyes while running in the summer. However, I never actually took the leap to purchase it, so when I was given the opportunity to test one out from Bibrave, I immediately jumped at the chance! Since I don’t wear hats (they make my head feel way too hot!), this seemed like the answer to my problems.
Buff USA has a crazy amount of designs and colors to choose from, and since I was feeling nostalgic for the long summer days I had growing up in Minnesota, I got the Minnesota Buff. I tried it out two days after I got it, and was SO excited to go on the run. I wasn’t, however, so excited about the heat and humidity that existed that day! I guess it was the ideal weather to try out the buff, right?
I ran a quick two miles that morning, and my immediate thought was “oh wow- I love how this buff is working out!”, but I wanted to test it on longer runs as well!
Fast forward to the next week when I got out far too late for a run. I was sweating three minutes in as the sun beat down on me. Gross running weather, right? However, it gave me a great chance to try out the buff. 3 miles later my buff was definitely doing it’s job, which I was glad about! Without the buff I would’ve been stuck rubbing sweat out of my eyes for the last mile or so, and who wants that on a run?
I love that I can fold the buff so that it’s really wide or more narrow, depending on what my needs are for the run! I’m also really excited to try it out in the winter and see what it might be able to do for me then.
The one thing that bothers me just a little bit about the buff is that I feel like it suffocates my forehead a little bit. I think the benefits outweigh this, and I think it’s something I’ll get used to, but I wanted to mention that it is something that I have thought about. I wore it on a 5 mile run at the end of last week, and it worked wonderfully. I love that it blocks most harmful uv rays as well, making it an especially great product! I’ve slipped it down to protect my neck while outside as well.
I also found a bonus use for the buff: it’s great to wear while moving during the hot and humid summer!
I would definitely recommend getting a buff for yourself, and honestly can’t believe that it took me this long to get one! If you’re interested in getting your own buff, you can check out their website here.
You can also find them the following places: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Now it’s your turn to share! What’s one of your favorite summer running products?
Source: the email they just sent out!
Race price includes a bib, pint glass, Run(317) sticker, and free beer at the finish line! Hard to beat for the $30 race price (before the discount code). Click here to register! If you don’t live in the area, feel free to share this with your Indy Runner friends!
Here are a few random facts from the week:
1. Last Friday I flew home from NYC, and while the first part of the flight was great, we got notified towards the end that, due to weather, we were being re-routed to a smaller airport. I ended up landing in Cincinnati, where they said we would be for about 20 minutes until the storm passed. We ended up sitting there for 6 hours. I wasn’t so thrilled. HOWEVER, the people in my row were fantastic, and by the end the guy I was sitting next to was calling the 4 of us “the breakfast club”. I’m glad I had a group of people to hang out with for half the day. It made a frustrating situation quite a bit of fun.
2. I wish I could employ a secretary for just a few hours a week to do all the stuff that I don’t want to do- like calling companies with questions. I hate wasting 20 minutes of time on hold waiting to ask a two minute question. I love the companies that allow you to leave a message and hang up while keeping your place in the placement of calls.
3. I’m listening to 19 Minutes by Jodi Piccoult right now, and a few nights ago I had the craziest dream where a shooter was chasing me. It was terrifying and I woke up with a start and couldn’t go back to sleep. It was one of those dreams that was so bad that I was nervous to go to sleep the next night!
4. I went to this restaurant more than once while in NYC, and I miss it greatly!
5. I’m just going to say it again: I am deeply obsessed with goodreads. If you haven’t set up an account yet, please do so as soon as you can 🙂
Now it’s your turn to share! What’s one random thing from your week?
I’m thankful for a great trip to NYC. I had such a great whirlwind trip, and I’m so excited to share a little more about it with you all. I made great memories and got to see and experience some pretty incredible things.
I’m thankful for beautiful lightning bugs. They seemed to be at a peak a few nights ago, and I just stood outside on my porch enjoying the glittering light. It was absolutely beautiful.
I’m thankful for frozen food! When things get busy, I rely on frozen meals that I previously made to get me through the week in a healthy manner. This week I’ve been enjoying pasta and homemade soup, and the most I’ve had to do is stick it in the microwave and wash the bowl.
I’m thankful for donuts. I am thankful for fun donuts! My dad got this for me the other day, and I got a good laugh from it. It was also delicious 🙂
I’m thankful for a great trip to New York! I wrote a general post about my trip yesterday, but I have a few more coming your way. Any time I travel I feel so lucky, and I truly had a fantastic time in the city.
Now it’s your turn to share! What are you feeling thankful for today?
This is below ground right next to the footprint of one of the old towers.
The new WTC building completed
We walked through Times Square, Broadway, Central Park (I’ll be sharing more about that in a future blog post!), and the Body Worlds exhibit (pretty cool but I had to mentally work at checking out of the fact that these were once living people whom others love and care for… it disturbed me too much if I really thought about it). I got my first opportunity to eat at Shake Shack, which was delicious!
I saw Wicked on Broadway and was so overjoyed.
I drank coffee every morning from a nearby coffee shop and enjoyed pastries from a cute Parisian shop around the corner.
truth.
I ended every evening with sticky rice and mango from a little place called “Little Thai Kitchen” around the corner from the hotel I stayed at.
I had a great time getting to see the Statue of Liberty! We took the ferry from Battery Park to the Island, and spent a few hours there walking around. I saw some fantastic views of the Manhattan skyline as well.
I was amazed how much detail I could see from the ground. It was really impressive.
NYC skyline
Then we headed off to Ellis Island. Most of the museum there was pretty mediocre to me, but I did really enjoy seeing the processing room. It’s amazing to think of how many people sat there, hoping deeply for a better life, and hoping with everything in them that they would be allowed into the US.
And I went to the Today show as well! It was so interesting to see some of the “behind the scenes” things there! I watch the Today show most mornings during the week, so it was fun to stand there and get to see the hosts!
I’ll do a few posts on some specific things about this trip, but wanted to do a quick overview with some pictures for all of you to see! I had such a great time in the city and loved my time there. We got up early and didn’t eat dinner until late, so I came home pretty tired, but that’s the way I enjoy vacations 🙂
Now it’s your turn to share! If you’ve been to NYC before, what’s your favorite thing you’ve seen or done there?
The Rosie Project is a story about a genetics professor, Don, on his quest for a wife in “The Wife Project”. Don has a strictly scheduled and predictable life, but his quest for a wife turns his schedule upside down as he begins to learn that not all things can be neat and tidy. Don begins to open himself up to various relationships around him, and this takes him on a deeply meaningful journey. I found myself wanting to shake Don or cheer for him at multiple points throughout the book, and found myself hooked from almost the first page.
Don reminded me quite a bit of Sheldon Cooper from Big Bang Theory, which made him endearing to me from the start! He has many of the same quirks and mannerisms as Sheldon does. This book was an incredibly quick read, and I loved it from start to finish. The sequel to this book just recently was published, and I already have a hold for it at the library as well!
Here are a few quotes:
“Fault! Asperger’s isn’t a fault. It’s a variant. It’s potentially a major advantage. Asperger’s syndrome is associated with organization, focus, innovative thinking, and rational detachment.”
“And it dawned on me that I had not designed the questionnaire to find a woman I could accept, but to find someone who might accept me.”
“You considered me as a partner?’ ‘Sure,’ she said. ‘Except for the fact that you have no idea of social behaviour, your life’s ruled by a whiteboard and you’re incapable of feeling love – you’re perfect.”
I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars on goodreads, and don’t really have any complaints about The Rosie Project. If you’re looking for a quick and fun summer read, this book is for you! I’ve also heard that this movie is going to be adapted into a screenplay, so if you like reading books before seeing the movie, you might want to add this to your “to read” list as well.
If you’re looking for other book reviews or suggestions, check out my book reviews page!
