10 Things

My friend posted "10 Things I'm Loving Lately" on her blog and I figured that copying her would be a good way to get out of this blogging rut (i.e. laziness).

So, 10 things I'm loving lately:

1. New running shoes

I got my last running shoes (Asics) for my birthday in 2010, and I have put a lot of miles on them in almost-4 years.  Of course, not all running (my running habit is very erratic).  But, in 2013 I ran about 100 miles and walked 225 miles, and in 2012 I ran 60 miles and walked 230 miles. I have already run 35 miles since the beginning of 2014 so I knew it was time to get new shoes (well, mostly it was because there was a hole in my left shoe).  My sister recommended the Nike LunarEclipse, but they have gotten really expensive recently  for some reason, so I bought some Asics on sale instead.  After putting about 6 miles on them, I knew I had to exchange them for something else.  My knees ached and it just didn't feel right. My feet are really similar to my sister's, so I trusted her and bought some Lunar Eclipses online (buying shoes online makes me nervous so I made sure to buy some that could be returned at a local store).  They were hard to find!  For some reason they are really expensive, and it's hard to find my size as well (9 - pretty common!).  I finally did find some blue ones (couldn't find pink, sadly), and I figured that spending $$$ now on good shoes is better than spending more $$$$$ down the road on knee surgery.  I LOVE them and haven't had any problems with achy knees since I got them.  Definitely worth it.  Thanks for the recommendation, Emma!

2. Grapefruit

I love grapefruit season.  Growing up in NH, our youth group would sell cases of grapefruit and oranges every winter for our girls' camp/scouts fundraiser (or maybe just the scouts sold them?? I don't even remember if I did or not).  Anyway, my family always bought 2 cases of oranges and 1 case of grapefruit.  Of course, I always ate grapefruit with a special grapefruit spoon and some sugar on top.  However, I've never been able to find grapefruit spoons so I've gotten into the habit of just peeling them like an orange and eating them that way (no sugar).  So good..... reallly messy (besides peeling off the rind, I peel off most of the bitter "skin" too).

3. The "Frozen" soundtrack

Oh man, I can't wait to see this movie!  The music is soo good and we listen to it multiple times a day on Spotify.  The girls know every word and I do too.  Even Olivia sings along!! (I will sing "Let it..." and she says "...go!"  and a few other words. Adorable).  Abbie has seen the movie (with a friend), but we will all go see it in the theater when it goes to the cheap place (hopefully soon)!  Did you know that the movie is based on the story of "The Snow Queen"?  I used to love that story growing up.

4. Roasted red pepper hummus

Always delicious.

5. Grocery shopping at Walmart

Okay, I'm not loving this. Our SuperWalmart is 30 minutes away so I don't make it there very often (ever).  I normally just go to Publix because it's only half a mile up the road (plus it really is a very nice place to shop!!).  However, I just did a giant grocery trip at Walmart and I just couldn't believe how much money I saved.  I did still go to Trader Joe's for a few things (some produce, meat, tortillas).  Anyway, I'm planning to go to Walmart again in February, for sure.  Just last night I had to make a quick trip to Publix for some milk/bananas/eggs/bread/lunch meat/apples (you know, the stuff that's hard to stock up on and runs out fast).  I grabbed a couple other things too, and I ended up spending SEVENTY dollars, and that was AFTER the bogo deals (saved $17!)!  Ugh.  Still can't get over how expensive groceries are here.

6. The Biggest Loser

I've always loved this show.

7. Going to bed earlier

I've been going to bed before 11 (sometimes even by 10:30) and it's so refreshing!  I'm getting nearly 8 hours of sleep a night!

8. The weather

Okay, it's actually been REALLY cold this week, but it's supposed to be 80 degrees this weekend.  I'm so excited.

9. My "groups"

One thing I really love about living where we do, is that there is such a big variety of activities going on all the time.  We have a book club, girls nights out, running groups, playgroups, a "homemade" group where we make different things each month (face cream, laundry detergent, candles, pickles, etc), ... just to name a few.  It's not out of the ordinary to get a mass text in the evening from someone saying that they are going out somewhere fun, inviting anyone who wants to come!  I'm technically "in charge" of the book club (I send out the reminder emails, host the welcome party every summer when new people move in, etc).  I used to go to playgroup religiously, but now that the older girls are in school, Olivia naps in the mornings so I don't go anymore.  I go to the "homemade" group, and I run with friends usually 2-3x a week.  I love my "groups", and now that Garrett is studying every night for boards it's nice to get away sometimes so he can study in peace and I can talk to some adults.  I do have to be careful though, because I could truly be gone at least 3 nights a week if I participated in everything!  That being said, I did just start a new group that I'm really excited about.  I started a "small business group".  We meet once a month or so (in the morning) to talk about our businesses (I talk about my quilting) and bounce ideas off each other, and we are going to start having reading assignments and stuff about growing your business, etc.  There is a girl at church who owns a very successful etsy shop (she has had over 8500+ sales), so she and I kind of started it together, along with my good friend who is an interior designer.

10. Catherine's Spicy Chicken Soup

I know I have shared this recipe on the blog before.. but it's worth sharing again.  I love it so much, and it's perfect for winter.