A life lesson...and other pics from my phone.

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but sometimes a little insider information helps it make even more sense. So that's what you're getting with all these pictures from my phone that reveal what's been going on in my (and my little family's) life lately.

I'm up to 25 minutes on my runs. And still pain free.

Sometimes I multi-task while cooking. Boiling eggs for breakfast, dinner in the crockpot, and roasting veggies for lunch.

Another batch of pumpkin muffins. Baked and consumed.

Lots of pics of peeps dissolving in glasses for Grace's science fair project.

Pumpkin ice cream. 

Pumpkin cookies.

This. Shirt.

And a good life lesson.

Speaking of...food (and other stuff)

So I'm easing back into running. I got in 10 minutes last Thursday. Grace ran with me the whole time, and I kept having to tell her to slow down. Ellie and Scott came along on their bike and scooter, respectively. Then I celebrated my birthday and my gradual return to running on Saturday with 15 minutes on the treadmill.

When this is your view, you don't mind running on a treadmill.

Add that to the the fact that the view was the result of my friends (and hubby) surprising me with a girl's overnighter for my birthday, and the result was a pretty great run!

Monday's 17 1/2 minutes were a little harder because my stomach was rebelling after ALL. THE FOOD. Apparently for me, a birthday means I eat everything in sight. Which included my two friends and I polishing off a carton of ice cream and all but a few bites of a mini (because that designation makes it not quite as bad) cake. 

That's actually one of the things I love about Megan and Janae though. They eat like real people. And never judge the fact that I can out-eat just about anyone.

Speaking of food, here was my Costco haul earlier today. Most of these are pretty typical things I buy at Costco:

Rotisserie chicken: ALWAYS.

Eggs: Because we go through at least a dozen every week.

Cottage cheese: When you eat as much as we do, you buy it at Costco.

Cashews: Because they are the king of the nuts.

Yogurt dip: Trying to eat more veggies is easier with dip. And this one is yummy!

Raspberries: Because my girls love them.

Pomegranate arils: Tis the season. Love them in my yogurt and salad. And I extra love that there is no work involved in getting them out of the pomegranate.

Salad: No salad I make at home ever tastes quite as good as what I order at a restaurant, so this is the next best thing.

Sliced turkey breast: Trying something new. I love how thick the slices are.

Cheese: Because we are almost out of cheddar.

Also speaking of food, I have been trying lots of new recipes I've found on Pinterest lately. Like this one that everyone at our house gave a thumbs up last night. And speaking of Pinterest, HERE is how I made it my friend.

Lessons from NOT running

Before I start running again (today!), I want to share some things I have learned and the good that has come from being injured and NOT running.

What happens in the kitchen really makes a difference. Have you heard the saying "abs are made in the kitchen"? I now understand where that saying came from. And while I wouldn't claim to have abs (except maybe when I lie flat on my back, flex like it's my business,  and make sure the lighting is just right), getting my nutrition figured out and on the right track has made a difference in how I feel physically. I don't know if anyone else can see a difference, but I can. And that's who I am doing this for, so I'm fine with that.

Strength training can be fun. It is also a great way to feel strong, look leaner, and maintain fitness. I will always love running, but I've definitely found a place in my heart for strength training over the past three months!

Life goes on, even when you aren't running. I survived the weekend I was supposed to be running a marathon, I made it through some tough life events, and I haven't turned into momzilla without my runs to help me through it all.

Real life happens in real life, not on social media. I took a step back from social media when I was first injured because it made me sad and sometimes mad that I was injured and not out there running and racing. But I found it was actually good for me emotionally and mentally. I still love being inspired by everyone and keeping up with their victories, but I've liked having some distance from the not-so-great stuff out there.

My non-running funk...

I've been in kind of a funk the last few days. Monday I struggled all day with frustration about my ankle. Then our dishwasher broke that evening, which actually made me a little depressed. Especially after our fridge had problems and had to be repaired just a few weeks ago.

I gave myself a little pep talk that night about what is really important and tried to focus on how lucky we are that Scott can fix almost anything, which saves us a lot of money.

But my funk has lingered. Washing all the dishes that were in the full dishwasher when it stopped working, plus all of Monday's dishes, and then all the dishes from making a moon cake for a project Ellie had due on Wednesday didn't bother me as much as I expected. Yet the funk was still there on Tuesday.

The two hours I spent with Megan Wednesday morning were funk-free. But then it came back as soon as I got in my car to head to my girls' school.

I just can't put my finger on why I feel this way. Normally I would attribute it to not running. But I haven't been running for the past 90 days, so it clearly doesn't make sense for that to be the reason at this point.

This funk makes certain things harder to deal with than normal.

Like my girls fighting non-stop after school yesterday. I may have lost my cool at one point.

And like feeling not my best about my body...even though lately I've made progress mentally, have noticed positive changes physically, and have really dialed in my nutrition over the past month. Yet, I have been really frustrated and discouraged about how I look and feel the past few days.

But I did realize one good thing in all my funkiness. Instead of consoling myself with multiple pieces of pizza I picked up for the girls for dinner the other night or feeling like a huge Dr. Pepper would make me feel better (which would have ultimately made me feel worse and like a failure because I haven't had soda in over two months) or picking up and inhaling multiple cookies at the new Sodalicious 1/4 mile from my house because cookies make everything better, I haven't turned to food for comfort.

My relationship with food is changing. For the better.

Maybe the reason for this funk was so I could have that realization. At least that's what I'm going with. Which means the funk can now head on uptown.