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Isn’t it absolutely gorgeous? The color is so rich and has an almost-hint of sparkle within it which gives the color a great depth. The picture above has two coats of polish as well as a base coat; I hadn’t put on a top coat yet when this picture was taken.
Here are some random facts from your week:
1. I thought that I might be craving Mexican food for a week or two after getting back from Mexico, but I’m still craving it SO much at almost every single meal. Speaking of Mexican meals- at the hotel I stayed at right at the end of the trip, they had quesadillas and fajitas out on their breakfast bar. They were delicious, even early in the morning 🙂
2. I’m not really sure why, but if I ice my legs at all in the evening, I’m way more likely than not to get really sleepy and relaxed, even though it’s so cold! I’m not sure if I’ve conditioned myself that those ice packs are connected to “almost bedtime” or if it’s another reason, but it’s kind of weird!
3. Major Confession: I still have a baby pumpkin that I bought in September, and it hasn’t rotted AT ALL yet. It’s been on my desk in my office since I purchased it at the start of fall, and I check it every week or so, but it’s still in great shape. At this point I feel weird holding onto it, but I sort of want to see how long this little guy is actually going to last.
4. I can’t wait for Truest to be published in a few months! Yes, I got an advanced copy (in PDF form), and YES, I’ve already read it, and YES, I loved it, but I just can’t wait for a physical, hard copy of the book to land in my hands!
5. I bought plants and potted them this past weekend (that’s what’s behind my nail polish in the picture above). Plants are one of my happy places, so I’m thrilled that they are lining my porch again!
I was so excited that all my friends on snap chat received this snap. 🙂
Now it’s your turn to share! What’s one random fact from your week? Is there a book that you’re really looking forward to being released?
I’m thankful for a really good year at my job. As I’ve mentioned in previous years, my primary job ends around the end of May and doesn’t really start again until August, so I have the summers “off” (from that particular job, not from some of the others). I’m so thankful that the year I’ve had at that job has been so fulfilling, that I’ve seen huge growth in my clients, that I’ve made solid connections with co-workers, and I’ve had so many other random, excellent opportunities that have popped up along the way. I’m so thankful for the year that I’ve had.
I’m thankful for the Hallmark Channel. Normally I don’t watch the Hallmark Channel much except for Christmas, but for some reason this weekend I got pretty sucked into it, and watched it while I was cleaning and doing random chores most of the day on Saturday. I’m thankful for a little thing to keep me entertained as I worked.
I’m thankful for my clothes rack. I air dry my clothes most of the time (I figure why waste money, energy, and wear and tear on clothes when I can do the same thing for free?), which I love, and my clothes rack (which I’ve had since 2008 or 2009) makes that so much easier. I love to put it out on my porch and let the sun dry my clothes if I can, but if not (like in the winter or on rainy days) I can put it in any convenient location to let me clothes dry. What a neat little invention.
I’m thankful for good books. As I was packing up my office (we’re moving to a different building next year) I pulled out a couple of good books that I wanted to make sure are with me this summer at my other job. Just looking at them makes me smile 🙂
I’m thankful for fluffy clouds. I don’t love completely cloudy days, but I love days of sunshine where there are picture perfect fluffy white clouds in a beautiful blue sky. Sometimes it’s easy to be so busy with life that I forget to enjoy these types of little things, so I’ve been making more of an effort to pause and stare up at the sky for a few moments as I walk to my car, into a store, or wherever I’m heading.
Now it’s your turn to share! What are you thankful for today?
The first week out of the race was absolutely gorgeous outside, and a lot of my clients, when given the opportunity, will choose to walk outside for their sessions, and I didn’t want to deprive them of that opportunity (and I REALLY wanted to be outside as well). I ended up walking 19 miles in the first week after the race. That’s a little more than I normally would’ve done, but my legs felt great moving that much, and being out in the heat and sunshine was fantastic.
I did my first run post-race on the following Saturday, and did a 5k. It felt… fine. It wasn’t amazing, and it wasn’t really bad. What made me nervous was that my posterior tibial tendinitis flared up a bit later that day (on BOTH legs), and it was still bothering me a bit on Sunday. It did this after my half marathon in November, and it took about 3 weeks to really die down, which was bothersome.
My runs are fueled by color.
The whole next week I biked and walked a bit (not as much due to more rainy weather though) before heading out for another run this past Saturday. I wanted to try to go at least 3.1 again, but if the tendinitis was bothering me than I was planning to cut it short (since I don’t HAVE to run much right now, I don’t want to push it if things aren’t going well). My legs felt HEAVY the first two miles, and I was left wondering why my legs were heavier 2 weeks out from the race than they were a week out. Somewhere around mile 2.5 I must’ve finally loosened up enough because things got MUCH easier after that, so I decided to run a bit longer. I hit 4.2 miles before it started pouring and I darted inside (luckily I was already on my street when it started to rain), but I would’ve probably gone somewhere between 4.5 and 5 if it hadn’t rained.
It’s so weird to me how runs can be so different, both from week to week, but even within the same run. Overall I think that recovery has gone pretty well from the race, and besides for my tendinitis being a little more flared up than I’d like, I really can’t complain. I’m feeling pretty good heading into my summer season!
The first half was fairly slow and not so interesting, and even when I was 40% done, I wanted to quit (but thought there must be a reason it’s so popular so I kept on reading). The second half, to me, was MUCH more interesting and moved a bit faster, and that half held my attention. I gave it a 3.5/3.75 out of 5 stars on good reads.
As I like to do in my reviews, here are a few great gems from the book:
“Don’t you want to be alive before you die?”
“A real diamond is never perfect.”
There are, of course, other superb quotes, but I didn’t giveaway any bit of the plot line beyond what I wrote above, so I decided to leave it at that. Overall I’d definitely suggest the book, even though I couldn’t give it 4 or 5. As I’ve mentioned before, WWII is an era that I’m really interested in, so I liked that the book was set in this era.
*For other book reviews, check out my books/book reviews page.
Now it’s your turn to share! Do you have an era that you especially like reading or learning about?
And then Bibrave sent out the races they were partnering with for the second quarter, and Run(317) was part of it! I immediately requested an entry into the race, and I got it!
Disclaimer: I will be given a free bib to this series as part of my partnership with Bibrave as a BibravePro. All opinions will be my own, and no other compensation will be given.
Run(317) will be a 3 part series of 5k races, and you can sign up for each part individually or all three races together. The races are the following dates: 6/18, 9/3, and 10/22, all in different locations in the Indy area. Here’s a great perk: if you sign up for all three right now, you’ll get a free 1/4 zip Run(317) pullover. You’ll also get 10% off if you sign up for all 3 races right now!
Even better- each race is benefiting a local non-profit : School on Wheels, Humane Society, and Keep Indianapolis Beautiful. If you’re in the Indy area, I’d encourage you to consider signing up for one or all of the races in the Run(317) series!
(just a touch of glitter on my ring finger!)
Lighting- Outdoors but shaded
The polish is a little on the more liquid-y side, and there were a few little spots where two coats didn’t seem to cover the nail well, but overall two coats was definitely enough. It’s such a pretty color! One day I may get to the point where I can get all the polish on my nails without getting it on the skin around my nails… today is not that day :/
Throwback Post: 5 years a counselor (Wednesday I crossed the 6 year mark, and I echo these sentiments that I posted last year!).
Here are some random facts from this week:
1. For 4 or 5 years in a row growing up, I chose to have fires for my birthday in the evenings- I love them. So, I look for every opportunity I can to enjoy one, and I’ve been in luck because the last two weekends I’ve gotten to! I’ve made smores with friends as we laughed around the fire, and I’ve loved it!
2. When I worked at the nuun booth at the Indy Mini expo, I snagged my first container of Nuun Energy (I got the cherry limeade flavor!), and was eager to try it out. Last Friday I was out way too late with friends, so when I got up to run on Saturday morning, I was struggling a bit to wake up. I thought it was the perfect time to try Nuun energy, and I loved it! It kept me going through my warm up and run, and it tasted delicious!
3. I added a new tab under the header of my blog called “little delights” (I didn’t necessarily know what to call it). There are two sub pages here- one for nail polish, and one for book reviews. If you’re interested in either of these two areas, make sure to check them out!
4. As I mentioned above, this week I celebrated my “6 years being a counselor” anniversary. I laugh every time I remember that first session that I had. I forgot my name and what I was going to school for, and I remember thinking well… this is not how I planned this out… Needless to say I have no problems remembering my name when I meet new clients now, and I absolutely love being a counselor. I love being a counselor more and more every year, which is surprising to me since I already loved it before I graduated from grad school!
5. I’m starting to think about putting my road tire back on my bike so I can head outdoors, and while I’m excited about that, I’m a little sad to lose the ability to read and watch TV as I bike. The bigger issue, though, is this: I have almost fallen off my bike trainer twice this winter (how this has happened is absolutely beyond me!), which makes me nervous to head out on the road!
6. I had a crazy run in with a bird this past weekend. If you missed the story, click here to check it out!
Now it’s your turn to share! How many years have you done the job that you are currently doing? What’s one random fact from your week?
I’m thankful for a job where I have the freedom to go outside. While I spend most of my time in a windowless office, I have the freedom to go outside with clients when it’s nice out, and I absolutely love that! This past week I spent a few hours every day (during the work hours) outside either walking or sitting on benches with clients. I’m so thankful that I have the option to do that!
I’m thankful for days full of sunshine! Every time I go… anywhere really… I can feel the upbeat moods around me. It feels like everyone has come out of the fog of winter, and people are smiling, laughing, and just seem to feel lighter. I’m thankful for sunshine and for the sweet way it can turn things around.
I’m thankful for almonds. Almonds are some of my favorite healthy snacks, and they are so convenient that I keep them in my desk drawer and my purse! I just got some dark chocolate covered ones that are delicious!
I’m thankful for half price fraps! I look forward to the beginning of May for one reason primarily- Starbucks half price fraps! I drink more fraps during this week than the rest of the year combined, and I’m happy about it 🙂 They’ve gone really well with the HOT weather we’ve had!
I’m thankful for long days of sunlight. The sun is up when I wake up for the day, and it gets dark just a bit before I go to bed, which I absolutely love. I prefer to live my life when it’s light most of the time, so I’m happy we’re at this time of the year 🙂
Now it’s your turn to share! What are you feeling thankful for today?
Have you ever seen Alfred Hitchcock’s movie “The Birds”? My mom felt like it was a good idea to show us that movie growing up, and while I was nervous about birds before hand, this definitely has heightened my nervousness. I had a very scary situation with a goose as a 2 year old (that’s for another post), and my mom got a little chunk taken out of her finger by a family member’s parrot when I was in middle school. Needless to say, the fact that birds have the advantage of the air, and can swoop down and peck away, makes me a little uneasy.
Ok- so that’s the background to this story, which happened this past Sunday night. I was sitting on my couch typing up a blog post, and a baby bird (maybe about 2-3 inches tall) flew into my living room (I had my porch doors open since it was so beautiful out) and landed briefly on a book shelf before flying into my kitchen.
I immediately ran and closed all the other doors to other rooms in my place so that it couldn’t go anywhere but the hallways, kitchen, and living room. I left the door wide open, hoping it might fly out on its own. I crawled around my kitchen (I wanted my head down lower in case it chose to fly around- I didn’t want it to hit my head!) hitting things with a fly swatter hoping to scare it out, but I heard nothing. I thought maybe he had flown out while I was closing all the other doors.
I went back to typing (with the door open), and about 15 minutes later I heard what sounded like a bunch of the pans in my sink shifting (I had a bunch of pans set up drying). I figured that the bird had climbed into the pans to hide- he must have been scared (but it’s really up to debate as to who was more scared- myself or the bird!). I went in with a pillow over my head (there’s no way I was letting that bird near my head or face) and stuck my hand up over the edge of the sink to start grabbing pans. The bird chirped loudly and I screamed and dropped a pan, but in a quick moment, it was all over and the bird was free and back outside where he belongs.
It provided a very entertaining, if not at moments nerve-wracking, Sunday evening for me. I proceeded to tell my parents, who have witnessed many little freak outs with birds, and told them this story. They laughed at me. Oh well- what are parents for, anyways? 🙂
There’s a random little story for you on this hump day! Do you have a short little story to share with me?
Me Before You is part love story, part family dynamics story, and part “searching for the right path in life” sort of story- a great mix if you ask me! The story is about Lou, a woman in her upper 20s who takes on a job as a care taker for a wealthy young man who had been in an accident. Lou realizes along the way that she hasn’t really lived deeply in her life (even wondering what she really wants), but Will, the man she is caring for, has lived deeply, fully, and was adventurous before his accident. The book follows both of them as they deal with the ups and downs of life, and follows as Will challenges Lou to live as fully as she possibly can.
I absolutely loved this book, and there were moments that I smiled and moments that I cried (or even sobbed) as I read the book. I finished the book and immediately added many other books by Moyes to my “want to read” list.
Here are a few quotes from the book that stand out:
“The thing about being catapulted into a whole new life- or at least, shoved up so hard against someone else’s life that you might as well have your face pressed against their window- is that it forces you to rethink your idea of who you are. Or how you might seem to other people.” (p. 58)
“You only get one life. It’s actually your duty to live it as fully as possible.” (p. 194)
“I hadn’t realized that music could unlock things in you, could transport you to somewhere even the composer hadn’t predicted. It left an imprint in the air around you, as if you carried its remnants with you when you went.” (p. 164)
“They say you only really appreciate a garden once you reach a certain age, and I suppose there is a truth in that. It’s probably something to do with the great circle of life. There seems to be something miraculous about seeing the relentless optimism of new growth after the bleakness of winter, a kind of joy in the difference every year, the way nature chooses to show off different parts of the garden to its full advantage.” (p. 105)
For other book reviews, check out my Books Page.
Now it’s your turn to share! Have you read any books by Jojo Moyes?
(running on the speedway)
I called my parents as I was driving home from the race, still in shock of the race that I managed to pull off that morning. My dad asked “so what does this race tell you?” I paused for a moment, remembering the last line that I had engraved on my Road ID at Christmas: “Stronger Than Before”.
I said “It shows that I’m stronger than I was before. That even with worse training my overall base is better than it was two years ago. I’m stronger than I used to be”. He said “exactly”… and then we continued to talk about the race.
But my mind stayed there. I AM stronger than I was before… not just in running, but with POTS overall. With POTS, gains and progress come in small little steps, and they are often easy to miss. I get caught up in the frustrations that POTS cause in running, and sometimes I forget to step back and see the bigger picture- that I am making gains, even if they are very small.
I am stronger than before, and today I want to celebrate that.
Now it’s your turn to share! How are you stronger than you were before?
