August 2012

August, you will be good to me.  I know you will.  I have high hopes and a hair cut scheduled, oh and shopping.  At any rate, today is cold-ish and it has been so hot lately that I am embracing the chance to wear jeans.

"Oh darling, let's be adventurers"

Chit Chat

So...I finally figured out what has been keeping me from this blog.

Happiness.

I'm happy.  Work is on the right track, even if it is keeping me busy.  I am a better, faster runner than I was at the beginning of this journey.  I love it.  I love how it makes me feel and look lol.  I'm reading, on and off.  Sometimes books get boring, and I get busy.  My husband is amazing and we celebrated our 2nd anniversary this month.

Let's face it, I'm in a good place and while this outlet has been amazing, I feel bad not posting.  I feel worse promising to post and not posting.  So...I'm on a break.  Officially.  I'll post sometimes, but nothing serious.

It feels good getting it out there.

On Our Nightstands: #8

I am an escapist.  Whether it is books or movies or T.V. shows, I like living in someone else's life for a brief time.  My brain is always turning over problems and solutions or how to have a conversation I've been dreading and being able to be someone else for a while quiets the storm.

So...here is a list of books I want to read this summer:

1. Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness
     I am reading this one right now and like it so far.

2. Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter

3. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

4. The Mists of Avalon books by Marion Zimmer Bradley

This is just the beginning of my list.  At some point I want to read Les Mis. and re-read the Harry Potter series and Lord of the Rings.  We will see how far I get for now lol.

What are you reading?

July 2012

July promises to be a month of HOT weather, longer runs and bike rides, more hours at work, good books and nights in with the man I love.  I cannot wait to conquer July.  I have a feeling it will need to be conquered, but I am happy to do it.  I have my knight in shining armor to help me when I need it.  

Since my quote for the month is about books I feel like I should mention what I plan to read this month...and that will be my next post.  Today is all about fun and purging last months ball of stress.  

July is about popsicles, or at least it should be. So wish me luck!!

P.S. sorry I am a lazy poster lately, hopefully I will get my groove back

June 2012

June, I have been waiting for you; for the sun, good books and blonde hair.  Oh, and movies.  I love summer movies.  Basically, I love June.  The weather isn't too hot, but it is warm enough to wear shorts (well after this week anyway lol).

June is always filled with promises of a great summer to come.  So that is what I am looking forward to.  The promise of fun and MAGIC and running and reading and watching movies.

Books, Books and Books

I have been reading a lot lately, both with my friend at work and on my own.  I attempted to read The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, and I have to say, I was not up for the challenge.  I wanted to appreciate the interesting writing style and realize how important the book was, but I just didn't.

So...I moved on.  Since, I am all into running and finding peace in it, I took the suggestion of the lovely Elise Blaha and read Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes and the Greatest Race the World has Ever Seen by Christopher McDougall.  It was amazing and inspiring and made me feel small and like an uber small time runner (I still struggle with whether or not to call myself a runner).  I loved learning more about running and what I could be capable of.

From there, my pal and I moved on to Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.  It was petty darn good.  I liked following Ender through Battle School.  Parts were hard for me to read though.  The brutality of it all (yes, this is the same girl that loved the Hunger Games).  I guess I didn't like children that young fighting for a cause they didn't understand.

Now we have moved on to Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card.  So far I like it.  It is more involved than Ender's story, but follows a different young boy and his journey to save the world and find out more about himself.  Sometimes the stres of the book makes me not want to read it.  I think it is a summer thing.  I love reading random love stories and calm "beach novels" once summer hits.

As a result, I am slowly plugging my way through Ender's Shadow while also re-reading The Time Travelers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.  It is possibly one of my all time favorite books.  It does a great job of mixing romance with the impossibility of time travel.  It can be crude sometimes, but the story captures my heart.

So, what have you been reading?  Where do you get ideas on what to read next?  I have been checking out this site and making a list of other books I would like to read this summer.

April Running/Jogging/Walking

That's right...there are 20 pictures there.  Over the course of the month of April, I walked/ran/jogged/biked 53.57 miles.  I even managed to get a buddy on a few workouts, plus bike with Nick.  Nick isn't a big runner, but loves to bike, so we borrowed bikes from his family and have been out a few times.

Running has become so much fun over these two months.  I love getting out there and letting nothing matter but my stride and breathing.  Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not good nor am I some guru.  I have just learned to love the freeing nature of it.  I can get out and just listen to tunes or think and pretend that I'm good at it.

On the health side of it, I have lost roughly 10 pounds; which equals 2 inches from my hips and 1 1/2 from my waist.  I love knowing that it is working and that it means more than losing weight.  Running has become more about being healthy.  We have been focusing on eating out less and eating fewer processed foods.  It doesn't always work out, but we are trying.

I can't wait to finish this next month of workouts.  I have slowed down a tad over the past week, due to my yucky infection, but I have been doing 3-4 jogs a week.