Sunday Seven 3/3/2013

It's been a couple weeks since I've done a real Sunday Seven.

You know, all kinds of things cutting into my blogging time...you know, like life. :)

So you are going to get a random assortment of all the things I've been loving these past 3 (wow, has it really been 3??!) weeks:

1. This little lady graced the world with her presence.

Meet my newest niece- Gwendolyn Mae. Already a Hawkeye fan!

2. I made a 4 course meal for T for Valentine's Day. It was so fun to take a day off and cook and clean and do something super yummy and sweet for the day of love.

I made beet and goat cheese hearts for salad with BLT tomatoes, an antipasto tray, pasta puttanesca (thanks for the recipe Lisa!) and my very first cheesecake. It was fun and tasty.

3. I did some volunteering with the American Heart Association.

It was a great excuse to wear bright red lipstick!

I also started volunteering 2 times a month at the local youth shelter- serving an afternoon meal. I cannot tell you how much I LOVE it. It is probably the most rewarding experience I've ever had to date.

4. I have been having some GREAT runs. I'm keeping close to about 20 miles a week and the random 45 degree days here and there are a blessing.

After a great 7 miles in the warm Sunday sunshine. 

5. I got to spend some time little people. T and I took my nephews and one of my nieces to lunch and to the Science Center. It was fun and chaotic and crazy. 3 kids under age 6. I have no idea how people do that!

I love this picture. Perfectly captures the day. 

Little girls are slow walkers and get free rides. from Uncle T. 

Someone loves the camera!

Then we all went to my sisters house where the kids played and played and I got to snuggle this one. It was a great day! (I was asleep by 9 PM on a Saturday night- I'm so old. HA).

6. I met a girl named Deena through my run group. We clicked and became fast friends. But now she's getting married and moving to Mexico! We still sent her off in style- girls night at Louie's Wine Dive complete with mini cupcakes!

The delicious butternut squash flatbread I had

Mushroom soup- SO GOOD

Our little run group! (horrible pic by waiter)

Because every celebration needs cupcakes!

I am so glad I met Deena- she's the coolest! Check out her blog about training for a 100K!

7. We've had a lot of snow lately. And wind. And ice. I'm over. it.

Roxy is sick of it too

What happened to that fat groundhog and his spring predictions???
Hmmm.

What have you been up to? 

Can you believe it's March already??

Living in the Gray

Lately, I haven't had much energy.

My alarm goes off at some hour much before light and I'll roll over to see the temperature and it's always cold. 'Feels like' freezing. Even when the sun does rise, I can't see it, the sky an endless and varying shade of gray so that at any given time during the day- it all looks the same. Only at night does it turn black.

I find myself hitting snooze more frequently.

I'll lay in bed mentally going over my day and wondering if I even have to get out of bed. 

Or if I can just lay there and doze. 

Hibernate until spring. 

Because this is real life...

I'll tell you that I'm not at my best right now. 

I'm hungrier. Sleepier. Grumpier.

Even Roxy is a little SAD

Blah.

That's how I've been feeling these past couple weeks.

I had a teacher in high school once suggest to me that I had SAD (seasonal affective disorder). I was promptly offended  by her comment and suggest she not give out advice she knows nothing about (it being February and all and I was just FINE).

But as years have went on, it has become apparent to me that she may have been on to something. 

Last winter was unseasonably warm for Iowa and I was able to run outside almost everyday, walk my dog and breathe the fresh air.

This winter the dangerously cold temperatures and freak weather have kept me pretty isolated.

It's a feeling I don't really enjoy.

I'm not a stranger to depression.

I've been depressed. Pretty severely at times. I've been medicated. I've seen a therapist. Mental illness is not new to my family- we have a history.

I remember being 19 and dragging myself to the doctor and telling her I don't know what's wrong with me but I'm not okay. Help me.

Being so desperate after weeks of no sleep, no appetite and a slew of various emotions often followed by angry outbursts, crying jags or both. 

I remember getting the number for the therapist and taking the pills as scheduled. 

I remember them changing the brand and changing the dosage. 

And I remember me.

Becoming the opposite of depressed at that point. 

Numb.

Medicated enough to where I wasn't sad, but where I didn't care much at all about anything. 

So I stopped.

Quit taking those little pills.

Worked with the therapist on ways to cope when I was feeling overwhelmed or anxious. 

I told myself: I make the choice everyday about whether it's going to be a good or a bad day.

Therapy speak, for sure.

And it worked. 

Works.

Having that mindset that I choose to make each day good or bad regardless of circumstances, to focus on each day one at a time and just to let go a little bit (more therapy speak). 

But lately.

When each day is an endless shade of gray- a cold, dreary vast of blahness- it's hard to remember the sun still exists.

When things in my life are seemingly undecided and have no clear resolution, it's hard to see how it will all end up. 

I KNOW everything will be okay.

That in a few weeks the sun will be shining again.

That a plan will emerge from the various 'unknowns' in my life.

I just gotta hold on.

Until the sun is shining again and the future doesn't seem so murky, I'll keep these words close to my heart and mind:

A cheerful look brings joy to the heart;

good news makes for good health.

Proverbs 15:30

I can choose a cheerful outlook. 

I can wake up and smile and wear bright colors and laugh and enjoy the small wins found in everyday. 

For the despondent, every day brings trouble;

for the happy heart, life is a continual feast. 

Proverbs 15:15

Nothing is ever the end. 

Even when the future seems hazy, every day is a chance to get it right. 

I can (and will) find the happy in even the smallest moments- strong coffee, a good run, warm hugs. 

A glad heart makes a happy face;

a broken heart crushes the spirit.

Proverbs 15:13

No matter the weather, no matter the ambiguity, my heart is not broken. 

My glad heart will make a happy face. 

See?

How do you cope with living in the 'gray'- weather or otherwise?

Sunday Seven 1/22/12

'Ello there!!
This week was sort of busy...and not that exciting.
Iowa winter is officially here which means more time inside staying warm instead of out and about finding things to write about...

1. I saw these page tabs on the Franklin Covey website and I think the Alaskan theme is so appropriate to how the weather was this week!

source

2.This week has been cold, dreary and a little snowy.  I saw this quote on our work intrawebs this week and it made me miss the warm weather and the morning walks Roxy and I were enjoying.

“A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for an unhappy but otherwise healthy adult than all the medicine and psychology in the world.” —Paul Dudley White

3. In fact, Roxy didn't get walked once this week. :( And it was her Birthday!

She turned 42 years old! (That's 6 in people years). I think she was okay with being curled up to nap on her little puppy bed.

4. I signed back up for the gym this week. I used to belong to Aspen, but let my membership lapse after I did GIM. I've been gym shopping so I could have access to a treadmill when it's too cold. They contacted me this week for a special deal for a M/W/F/Sun membership for $20/month. Seemed like a good deal to me!!! The very next day I went there to do my training run. It was windy and 13 below outside...no thank you.

5. My friend Holly sent this to me this week.

 It's really interesting (and true) I've been thinking a lot about my next career steps.

6. In fact, my 10th Anniversary at my employer was Friday. 10 years I've worked at the same place. That's longer than any relationship I've had and longer than any place I've lived at. Just got me thinking about what path I'm on and if this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I know I've brought this up before...but I think I'm at a point to take some kind of action. More to come on that!!


7. I'm on week 3 of no drinking. And I can honestly say, at this point, I don't miss it. I haven't really been in many social settings where everyone is drinking and I'm not though (like a happy hour). I'm not worried though. When something does sound really good to me, I'll have it. But for now- I'm all good with my root beer.

*T made me this dinner of vegan chili and root beer. The chili did have a little beer in it but we discussed and determined all the alcohol gets cooked off. :)

Workouts this week:

Monday- Resistance Training. 3.11 mi in 28:41
Tuesday- Kickboxing
Wednesday- Resistance Training. Run -4 miles. 36:49 on the treadmill. This was a tempo run so I had to run 2 miles at 9:06. Running on a treadmill is so different. I feel like I go slower because I can't move up and down on speed at my own pace.
Thursday- Kickboxing
Friday- Resistance Training
Saturday- REST
Sunday- Run 8miles 1:13:30. I ran outside (because it was above negative! Yaaa!!) and worse some of those track dealies on my shoes- you know those rubber things you wrap around your shoes with spikes on them? They worked pretty good in the snow and slick areas. They are noisy though- it's like running in cleats. Felt good to get outside and breathe fresh air though!!

What have you been up to this week? How is the winter weather cramping your usual style?



Morning Walk

On Sunday morning, Roxy and I got up in the dark, bundled up and headed out for a quiet stroll.

It was crisp and beautiful. We chose a route through the cemetery not far from my house.

I think it's such a peaceful and picturesque place.

It's filled with rolling hills and lush landscapes

Watching the sunrise over the hills was stunning.

There's also a section that is dedicated to the Masons. It's filled with old and elaborate stones.

Roxy liked heading out for exercise. Normally we don't walk much farther than a mile or two together.

She was a trooper- we did almost 5 miles and I stopped for coffee.

Hard to believe it's almost mid January and there were still dry leaves blowing around like fall.

It was a beautiful start to a great day. I think this will definitely become part of our routine.

For what human ill does not dawn seem to be an alleviation?  ~Thornton Wilder