The Microwave

After having a very good friend share this link with me I'm going to keep a tally of my microwave use for the week. The microwave has never had a huge appeal for me. When I went to college the apartment I lived in didn't have a microwave and I sure wasn't going to buy one. So I went without. But I'm curious as to how often I use it now.

After reading multiple books and blogs about hair care, last weekend I decided to actually start trying apple cider vinegar in my hair. So far I'm pleased with the results! But my-oh-my do I ever need a trim! My split ends are looking awful.

Fun Weekend

 Ever have a day where you want to run away? Start the week over? Find the deepest darkest hole and hide? Feel like the biggest schmuck in the world?

Yup, happy monday to me.

Saturday was a WONDERFUL day. We went to check out the adoptable cats at petsmart, and said hi to the cat that looked like Harriet. Then Levi took me out for chips and salsa at Qudoba! I thought that was a fun treat and he said he had two surprises for me!! What? Me? Really?? The first surprise was getting to go see Act of Valor at the movies! We even got a snack to share :) Act of Valor was really good but I have to say parts were a little hard to watch without feeling choked up. After the movie we stopped for a second treat! Levi took me to the cutest place to get a glass of wine and a cupcake! What a great husband :)

I also got the book I won on Saturday! There are so many fun projects in here, I can't wait to get stared!

Dallas and the weekend

We had a fabulous weekend! We went to Dallas on Saturday for a little day trip. We first stopped at REI and Levi got himself a pair of vibram five-finger shoes. We then went to Chipotle and the Zoo! We really like going to the zoo. Generally it's pretty cheap and hours of entertainment. It was raining so we only really got to see the reptile house. We also saw the otters and the tiger. After getting down-poured on on the way back to the Jeep we decided to swing past Whole Foods Market. We had a fun time walking the rows of food. Who knew food was so interesting?

Sunday I had a sad morning thinking of everyone I was going to miss once we moved... We bummed around town and then went to petsmart. Sometimes we'll go to petsmart to visit the cats up for adoption. There was a cute cat that looked just like Harriet! We felt very sad. One thing turned into another and I had complied what felt like an enormous list of things I missed about our home. Anny, Harriet, our coffee pot, the bamboo floors, waking up in Kensington on saturday morning and making coffee, letting Anny out, and making breakfast in my kitchen that had everything I needed.

Bonus! It was a three day weekend! Always nice to have an extra day to relax and hang out.

Running report: taking an easy week, mostly just going to the gym. Healing a few injuries. Looking into more minimalist running. I'm not sure if my feet will handle it but I'd like to give it a shot.

Reading report: Still reading Born to Run, busy week last week and didn't get it finished.

Also, I've been watching Downton Abbey. So. Good. I highly recommend it! But really, has PBS ever let us down? We also started watch Prison Break on Netflix. I like it but some parts are a little scary!

Running

Levi and I have been training for a half marathon. I feel like a fake saying that. I've never been much of a runner, biking has usually been my strength. Running intimidates me. I even backed out of a 5k at the last minute last summer and made my little brother take my place. That's how much I try to avoid running. Usually at the end of runs my feet are in pain, my lungs feel like they have all but collapsed, and I usually have a headache. My feet have issues. In college there would be mornings I would get up, after having soccer practice or going on a 1-2 mile run the night before, and literally hobble all the way to class my feet hurt so bad. Not an enjoyable experience! Which lead to my avoidance of running.

While Levi was gone at BMT I started running a little (helped with stress and kept me occupied), not paying attention to time or distance and toyed with the idea of a half marathon. When I moved down to Mississippi I kept up the running and then Levi and I started running together in the evenings. I'm pretty slow but Levi has been such an encouragement. He doesn't complain about the slow pace and always cheers me on. What a great guy! So then when we moved to Texas we started following Hal Higdon's training plan. By follow a training plan I mean we usually run 3-4 times a week and go to the gym twice, in no particular order. We treat the training plan as a guideline. 

My feet haven't had a really bad day yet (knock on wood). Sometimes they're a little sore but nothing serious. My breathing has gotten better, I've noticed that somedays my breathing is fine and other days I'm choking to death on phlegm. I'm going to do research on that. I'm also going to do more research on feet and running health. Levi has started doing research on minimalist running so we'll see where that takes us! 

Germany and Texas

We're moving to Germany! We have practically no details yet but they will come sooner or later. I've been doing a fair amount of researching in the past week since we found out. Here are a few things we've discovered. Houses/apartments in Germany rarely have carpet!! This is exciting for me as I'm not a fan of carpet. I'm super excited to buy a cute pair of house shoes to wear in my carpet-less house or apartment. Most houses/apartments come with a balcony or patio/backyard. Can we say cute breakfast area!? I currently have no idea (besides USAjobs.com) how to get a job in germany. I decided (after an afternoon of frustration) that I'll just wait until we get to Germany to worry about it (there will be access to more resources).

Texas has gotten better. Well, the state hasn't gotten better but my attitude has. I've finally settled into a routine and have begun to like my weeks. Mondays and wednesdays are library/school days, tuesdays are cleaning/organizing/craft days, thursdays I usually go to a friends house to chat and play with her two cute kiddos, and fridays are for errands and then pick up Levi. Obviously there are variations each week but that's the gist of it. The library here is great! 80% of the books I want to read are in the library. And the corner of the library is perfect for doing homework. Lots of math. Every assignment has either been on math or statistics, which I'm really liking.

I've also been catching up on my reading list. Last week I read the book Boundaries in Marriage by Townsend/Cloud (highly recommend). This week I'm reading Born to Run by McDougall.