The 'average' runner

I read an article online about a year ago about running and thinking. And how much it differs between men and women!

We know that half the battle in running is your own mental attitude. Yes, there is physical training involved. Running is hard on your body. But the mind is the most powerful part of the body.

Anyways, this article said that on average, men have around 30 different thoughts in the time it takes to run a mile. Women, however had over 150 different thoughts over the span of a mile. I don't know how they measured that or how they based the experiment, but it stuck with me.

So, tonight, I thought I'd share some of the thoughts that went through my mind on tonights 4 mile run!

***first of all, yes, mom, I ran alone. And yes I took my knife with me. ***

Mile 0-1: 

"What a pretty evening" 

"Dang, there are people everywhere tonight" 

"Ow. My calves already are sore"

"There's the stoplight...I'm not going to stop..muahahaha!"

"I hate this road!"

"Look, a pencil!"

"Look! A shoe! ..that's a nice shoe..too bad there's only one."

"What a nice flower garden that house has"

"I can so do this. I'm not even tired yet"

Mile 1-2:

"Yeah, I'm feelin it."

"It's goin' down...I'm yellin' TIMBER!!"

"WHY did I pick this sport?"

"Ooh! Another runner is coming towards me"...(runner passes) " Mmm he smells like cologne...wonder what I smell like? Eww..."

"Calves..burning.."

**(insert guitar solo from Don't stop believin')**

"Hey roller skating dude, take a picture. It'll last longer"

"Am I to the halfway point yet?!?!!!?!"

"Gross dude. Who sprays rustoleum spray paint on their lawn?"

"I wonder why firetrucks are red.."

"Left..right..left..right"

Mile 2-3:

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"I have sweat in all the wrong places"

"Seriously, whose idea was this?!"

"Am I even going anywhere?"

"Hey! I can't feel my legs..when did that happen?"

"Try our new Wendy's chicken sandwich"

"Chicken...FRIED chicken. Mmmm I want that." 

"Do you want to be in last place for the office challenge? Didn't think so."

"Someone honked at me..wonder if I knew them"

"I wonder how many chemicals I'm breathing in car exhaust right now"

"I need to eat healthy"

"I want ice cream"

"I really regret forgetting my sunglasses"

Mile 3-4

"Hill. I hate you. Go die."

"Last mile!"

"Am I dead? ..no? Ok keep going.."

"Shake it off, shake it off, cause the players gonna play play play..."

"I wonder how Micah's night class is going"

"Fried chicken...I want you."

"I wonder which of these thoughts I'll put in my blog post tonight"

"Chicken..chicken.."

"Hey, maybe I can do this!"

"Oh, nope. There comes the feeling in my legs"

"That drop of sweat has successfully gone all the way down my back now."

"I'm gross"

"Still regret those sunglasses.."

"I wonder what I look like to the cars driving past me"

"My husband is calling me.."

"I can see my house!!! Its still a whole block away :( "

Mile 4.01: " I did it!  I'm not dead! ..do another mile? NO. Go inside. Fried chicken!!"

I don't know if I had the 150 thoughts that the article said the average female runner was supposed to have, or not. Regardless, I got my evening run in and have 4 more miles in for the month of August.  

Well, at the end of it, however far I end up going, I just have to remember that whether I run 10 miles or just 1, its worth smiling bevause I have accomplished something. 

 I hope you enjoyed some of my "supposed" 150 thoughts/mile. I wish I could find the link to it so you could read it too but I don't remember the title or who wrote it.  

I'll leave you with this post run selfie, and now, I'm going to go fry some chicken. :) 

An uneventful, much needed Saturday morning

I love mornings like this. It is not very often that my husband and I are home on a weekend. We like to stay busy, visiting friends, having friends visit us, going out and doing something fun, or running errands.

This morning, however, I got to sleep a FULL HOUR past my usual alarm time! I have done a load of laundry, and now it is pouring rain (which I love the smell of).

I did my toes! (Which very rarely ever happens)

I also cleaned up our bedroom and living room. For those who have read my "moving pains" entry, here are some of the updated pictures I promised to show you of our new apartment. 

 our bedroom is small, but functional. I wish it was a tad larger so we could put some decoration in it, but that's Ok I guess I don't need to decorate every room, right? 

 this is the living room, where we spend the majority of our time most evenings. 

I wish I could work on my scrapbook to finish the rest of July and most of August. For the last 4 years I have been doing an online scrapbook with CVS's photo website. They are a little cheaper than Shutterfly, and I like how customizable things are on it. Throughout the year I update it and at the end of the year I send it in for printing. This way, I have a year's worth of pictures that takes up...what, the size of a children's book? 

I would highly recommend doing this to anyone who likes to take pictures. If you keep up with it, it doesnt take much time to do. I can spend 30 minutes uploading a month's worth of pictures and then arranging them how I want them. You can separate it into months like I have and go through a whole year,

...or I have also made separate books just for one occasion. For example, in the first picture of the books, you can see the one on the bottom left is our wedding book. I also did a whole book for our honeymoon. 

No, there aren't any actual prints, but in a world that is becoming more and more digital, this is a good outlet for me to express some creativity while preserving memories. By the time I'm done at the end of the year, they end up being around $50, sometimes $60. Still, for a whole year's worth of pictures and memories, this price is worth it to me. 

Too bad CVS's photo website has been down for like a month now. 

:(

So the rest of my morning is spent doing something else I love, planning our next adventure! We are going SOMEWHERE over the labor day weeekend. (September 4-7) we just aren't sure where yet. 

Looking at our map, which is something else I've put together, we are thinking of going somewhere in either: Kansas, Arkansas, or Iowa. 

But where? 

You can see our map:  

- the idea is that each state we visit as a married couple (married in 2014) we take a picture inside the state and then cut the photo to the shape of the state and paste it onto the map.  I'm trying to convince Micah that I need a bigger wall and a world map..

I'm so glad I got this morning to sort of relax at home...This afternoon is a big one for me: we sign the deed to my childhood house over to the new buyer. I still have mixed feelings about seeing my home go to someone else. But in reality, I am not going to be able to live there anymore...so it is better that someone else uses it.

The next post will be more exciting. We have some fun things coming up in the next few months. Pretty much every weekend is booked except for one, between now and the middle of October. Also, my husband starts his classes Monday morning.

 Life doesn't slow down..I just have to keep up with it and enjoy the ride.

My favorite place in the world--London, England

I'm a little late posting about this trip, but as I sit here and think back on it, here are my favorite memories from our last visit to my legitimate favorite city. We last visited in April of 2014, for our honeymoon.

We stayed at The Grosvenor hotel, right in the middle of downtown. The room was small, but it's London...kind of what they're known for. We were greeted with a bouquet of snacks and a wonderful postcard.


One of my favorite things to do it just wander around, walking the streets and taking in the sites. Our first day in London, that's just what we did. Not to mention we were a little jet-lagged from the 9 hour flight we endured earlier in the day, so we didn't feel like jumping in and running through the city trying to find what we wanted to do. We just walked around leisurely until time for our hotel room to be ready for us.  We landed around 8am local time, having been up all night. We dropped our bags off at the Grosvenor and realized...we were starving! Our flight had left from the States later the evening before, and we had flown through the night. London was a +6 hour time difference for us, so the 8am felt like 2am to us. We ate at a delightful little English cafe and had a delicious breakfast.
 I love that the crosswalks tell you which way to look for oncoming traffic.

 My husband was rather excited to see a gold Ferrari parked on the street :)

 I would have loved to go into Harrod's, however they were closing in 10 minutes, so I didn't want to be rude and walk in to check out the 4 floors of department store

 I highly recommend the Borough market. It takes place every Saturday morning and you can get some of the freshest, most delicious food. Everything from cheeses, breads and other baked goods, to smoothies and BBQ, and cuisine from several different countries. 

Our first stop on our "tourist day" was a visit to Windsor castle. There were surprisingly not that many people there. But then again, the flag was up, so the Queen was there! This also explained the armed guards.. Still, a very cool castle.

       

Our next stop on the tour took us to the roman baths, in...you guessed it! Bath, England. They were Ok. Neat to see, but I ended up walking down the street to a local shop and having a sandwich while waiting for the rest of our tour to be ready to go..

Now, what I had been waiting for..Stonehenge!! My husband was looking forward to this one the least. He said something like, "why do we need to waste a day going to see a pile of famous rocks?"

....joke is on him! Once we got there, he LOVED IT. The actual monument is back off the beaten path, and they take you there on these little tram-golfcart things. It is very quiet at the monument, and our bus was the only bus there so we were able to spread out and it was like we had the place to ourselves. You can walk a 360 around Stonehenge, however you are no longer allowed to get very close to the monument.

Most places inside the city we walked to. We did, however, buy a 24 hour bus pass and spent 2 and a half hours riding around the entire city on the double decker bus. It was quite chilly in the mornings, but in a country famous for being cold and rainy, we only had the cold. It only rained once, and it was the day we left. 

I can't say enough--I love this city! 

No trip to London is complete without a trip to the Tower of London. Her Majesty's crown jewels are housed here, but for me, personally, I had already seen them and my husband didn't care enough to stand in a 3 hour waiting line to get in to see them.  Instead, we went to the four story weapons museum. We didn't do it this trip, but I would recommend the night tour of the Tower. Be prepared for lines though.

 Included in our 24 hour bus pass was a river cruise. The pick-up and drop off points are the the Tower's grounds and right in front of the Parliament Building/Clock Tower (Big Ben). We got off the bus at the Tower and decided to take the cruise before our ticket expired...we thought the tour would take us down to Parliament and come back so we could do our Tower tour..turns out the cruise was only one-way. We got off the cruise ship at the other end of the city and realized we had 3 minutes left on our bus pass. We ran. The nearest bus pickup was a few blocks away and WE MADE IT! There was a bus waiting to leave the pick up point and we got on the bus with 1 minute left to spare. As long as we were on the bus before our pass became invalid, we could ride it as long as we liked. So, naturally, we rode the bus around the city again and when it stopped at the Tower of London again, we got off and ended up taking the Underground back to our hotel. 

 Of course you have to ride the London Eye. I absolutely recommend buying your ticket to the last ride of the evening. The views of London all lit up against the night sky are simply amazing. The photo is from my phone and simply doesn't do it justice. We took more pictures with our DSLR camera, but unfortunately I don't have those handy. 

We also got to see a few scenes from the dress rehearsal of the play being performed at the Globe Theater. That was a bonus! 

As a tennis player, I was looking forward to going to see Wimbledon, but we just simply ran out of time. We also didn't go to Buckingham Palace. Our hotel was seated at the back of the palace, so we walked past it several times during our week-long adventure, but we never really stopped at it.

We did stop at the Sherlock Holmes museum, it was surprisingly crowded, but it was cool to see some of the original Sherlock Holmes books and an original English home. 

We tried to jam pack a lot into a week. I wish we could have stayed longer! I like London because: 

1. The city is clean.

2. We wandered around after dark several nights and never once felt unsafe. In a city where there are people EVERYWHERE, this surprised me. 

3. You will never run out of things to do. There is so much to see and do, I could live there for years and still not see everything

4. Stores aren't open all night. In fact, other than the pubs, most things close down by 8pm so that people can go home to their families. I like that. Plus, for people like us who like to just walk around in foreign cities, many of the "tourists" leave when the stores close, freeing up a lot of the streets. 

I can't wait to go back!

What should I be when I "Grow Up"?

We've been told all our lives to "do whatever makes us happy" and/or to "pursue a career that interests you". We spend 12-18 years of our lives in school, where we are supposed to be preparing for the workforce and the " adult life". For some, this is easy. For me, however, I was not one of those children that knew they wanted to be a doctor when they were 10, or chose a path in high school and took classes accordingly. Shoot, I still have no idea, at 25 years old, what I would enjoy doing to bring in a paycheck for the rest of my life. I'm to the point where I need to decide, do I pursue another degree and work a job in an office like 80% of America, or do I branch out and try to pursue a hobby that I enjoy?

" Do something you like!" "You can do anything you put your mind to." 

Ok, um...I like to... Well crap. What do I like doing? What am I good at? 

I like to take pictures.

I like to travel.

I like to cook and bake.

I like to play tennis.

I like to watch baseball.

I like to play vintage video games.

I like to read.

I like to write.

I like to quilt.

I like to eat food.

Alright, so I can think of a few things I like doing. However, let's break it down even more. 

I like to take pictures...of landscapes. I don't think I would be patient enough to try to photograph people and families. I'm no professional, and let's be honest, the market for things like event photographers and freelance photography in general, is a fierce competition. There are 1,000 photographers to 500 events. You have to be superb to even get your name into the ring for anything that might actually pay you. Not to mention the pay wouldn't be steady. So, a hobby it will remain. 

I like to travel. Ok, I LOVE to travel. I have yet to find someone to sponsor me to travel the world for them. I'm not holding by breath on this one. I'll just jeep doing as much traveling as I can, as far as I can, for as long as I can. I will see the world or die trying. 

I like to cook and bake....for my friends and husband. No way would I like doing it all day every day like if I was to have my own restaurant or bakery. If I had my own bakery, I'd weigh 400 pounds. It wouldn't be good for my health :) 

I like to play tennis and watch baseball. I have played tennis since I was 7 years old. I've missed the prime for "making it big" in tennis, as most of the new athletes competing in Wimbledon are 17/18years old. I'm too old :( also I wouldn't want to train for 8 hours every day and be away from my family for months at a time to play tournaments. Also, watching baseball isn't going to be a money maker. If anything it costs me money to buy tickets to watch it! 

I like to play vintage video games. No Xbox, playstation, none of that. We have a Nintendo (NES) and I am the tetris master. And the master duck hunt-ist. 

I like to read. Anyone pay me to read books all day? Nope? Didn't think so. 

I like to write..about me. Things I've done, places I've went, etc.  I have kept a journal since the 2nd grade. Ive had it in the back of my mind that one day when i get old, i might like reading about the silly things in my day to day life? Confession time, I've toyed with the idea of trying to write a book (fictional, probably some kind of love story/comedy or a girl who has lots of mishaps in her daily life) I've also thought about writing a devotional book for teens.

 However, when I started researching publishers and all that it takes to even be CONSIDERED is ridiculous. And many publishers want you to have a masters in English or a literature discipline. And I am not studying "literature" for 6 years of my life to maybe have a book considered for publishing. 

I like to quilt. Occasionally. When in get a cool idea. Not something I would have the patience for to do all day. I have made a T-shirt quilt, and three regular quilts since I was 18. So...in 7 years I've produced a whopping 4 quilts. If I'm not inspired to do it, I don't. Not a good prospect for a job.

 I've thought about putting it out there that I can make T-shirt quilts, as those are "in" right now, but at the same time, I don't want to mess up someone else's clothes that they are wanting to preserve. And what if I don't do a design that they like, or ultimately what if I put all this time into making a quilt and they don't like it at the end? I don't think I could handle that. 

I like to eat food. Yeah, if someone could just pay me to eat like they do on the travel channel, that'd be great. But I'm NOT going to eat any of those 'bizzare foods'. 

Ah..ultimately, I can't complain about a single thing. I have a roof over my head, that 'roof' has air conditioning and a dishwasher :) ,  a husband that I love, friends, both my family and my in-laws, a job to go to, clean water to drink, and food on my table. If this is the most pressing thing that I have to think about-- it's going to be just fine.

 So I'm 25 and don't have a career yet. Oh well! I'm going to just keep doing what I'm doing for now. 

........Until my husband gets through school and gets an amazing job where he can work remotely from home. And he will make so much money that I won't have to work and can spend evey day eating bon-bons in my candle-lit jacuzzi..on the beach. Private beach. You know what, make that my own island. And I want my groceries flown in to me every week so that I never have to leave. Friends and certain family can come visit through our underwater secret tunnel. And Micah will have a lair inside our island's dormant volcano. It will be called the man-cano. Like a man cave, but waaaay cooler. Yeah, this is totally going to happen. Never mind, problem solved.