Lazy W Marie

friday 5 at the farm, camera roll short stories

August 10, 2018

Because, as always, life is bursting with long, deep, worthwhile stories but also, therefore, are my days too full to properly tell them all, how about a quick look at cell phone snapshots from the previous few days? I’ll hit the high points.

Oklahoma Weather: Depending on your perspective and chosen activity, our weather lately has been either gloriously cool and wet or murderously humid. You have to admit, though, it is wonderful to be a week and a half deep in August sunshine and see the ponds and lakes overflowing instead of burning up to cracked-apart mudholes as so often happens this time of year. And we could easily be in triple digits again. Yes, we have mosquitoes, and yes, running and working outdoors can be challenging; but the gardens are bonkers! The hay meadows are lush and heavy with big round bales, freshly cut. And the Lazy W chickens are sure happy, too. Egg production is up from 4 per day to 11 or 13. I’ll take it!

Nourishment: So much great food. Every day I am learning more details and themes about what my body needs to feel great and not only get the most from my workouts (so different right now) but also stay feeling amazing for the rest of the workday.

Except for Tuesday, when I ate one million and a half cashews (fail number one), and Wednesday, when I let myself get too hungry during the thunderstorms and ate a third of a box of Triscuits (fail number two), I have paid good attention to nutrients and the size of my meals and just overall stressing way less about stuff. I will write more about this in an upcoming health post, but the whole shift away from running has kind of messed with my mind a little.

The photo below was from Monday, our traditional weekly pasta meal. Whole wheat noodles (LOVE them) with fresh garden tomatoes, mushrooms, zucchini, and some shredded chicken breast. Add garden fresh basil, obviously. So filling and tasty! And I felt that ticklish, content feeling while eating it with no regrets later. Unlike the day I inhaled the truckload of cashews.

Shameless Sweaty Selfie: Taken after a particularly exhilarating 9-mile run, fasted but well hydrated. Behold the blotchy skin and copious amounts of sweat. This was only one of two times this week that running felt really great, so I had to capture the moment. The funny thing was that my pace was only about 20 seconds per mile off from the day before when I felt like I was literally going to die, but this run was like flight. Bouncy, strong, filled with that lemon-juice-and-trampoline energy, you know? Endorphin City. (My car was parked.)

New Farm Animal Alert: Oh I forgot to tell you guys we adopted a big strong gorgeous boxing kangaroo! Smiling is his favorite. We love him so much it hurts a little.

And for the grand finale…

Jessica Turns 21: This is certainly one of those milestones that begs a long, fully explored, detailed writing. And I have tried, believe me. While writing for a few hours twice lately, attempting to wrangle the emotion, most of the words got stuck somewhere between my ribcage and my hands. Finally, it seemed like the words that did make it out were meant more for her, privately, And that’s ok. I know most people will understand that. But here is a snapshot of the three of us at dinner this Thursday, a very happy moment in the midst of a very happy life. And look at the words above our heads!! We got our baby back.

And I know in my heart that soon Joc will be joining us in these special moments. I feel it. We believe it.

Okay, onward to the next interesting project!! Handsome is home early today spraying paint on his big behemoth Cadillac. Klaus (the kangaroo) is napping between bouts of fetch and llama chasing. I have a pile of excellent things to do.

What is new in your world? What snapshots from your cell phone could tell some pretty great stories?

Happy Friday!! Thanks as always for checking in!

Redeem the Time
XOXOXOXO

weekend moments & a serious question

June 10, 2018

Friends, honestly, these days I am enjoying more fun and more overflowing love than any one woman deserves. I could blog all day every day and not keep up with the thousands of beautiful details.

My private notebook journal is filling up quickly with sketches of daily life, and my phone is loaded with snapshots from all the diems being carpe’d. I try to stop, breathe deeply, and soak it all up, try to somehow slow the clock, which only works a little. Life is full to bursting in the best ways.

My sister Angela recently celebrated not only her 40th birthday but, more importantly, her third year of sobriety. I cannot overstate the joy here, the refreshment and encouragement it brings our entire family.

So many swim nights!! Pup friends make it even more fun. And I love my husband. Gosh.

I want to share more stories from our family Seattle vacation. You deserve full and proper reviews of Radium Girls, a book Gen and I read in tandem (fascinating and disturbing!) as well as The Book of Joy and some peripheral reading I am doing about prayer and meditation.

Running and fitness are going pretty well, although I am not training for anything and in fact and going pretty easy on my schedule just to enjoy summertime. I’ll pick up a new marathon plan late July.

The gardens!! The gardens on every side of the farm are pure joy and explosions of life.

Lots to talk about and many good stories to tell, and not just the surface beauty. Our prayers are being answered in deep and stunning ways.

Here are a few more happy photos, then if you will stick around for a few minutes and indulge me, I have a serious question about something. It’s a long-standing curiosity I have had, and it appeared in the book I finished.

Our friends’ son Tanner, taking some chalk art very seriously. Cutie!!

We were all at a car show in Stroud, OK, and had lunch at the semi-famous “The Rock.” Fun!!

My running friend Marcia has just retired from an incredible military and teaching career, and she celebrated this weekend. I was so happy to attend her party. She is widely accomplished and much loved by her people, and I left having made a new friend! Such a happy event!!

This morning I joined three other running friends (all women I admire so dang much) for about 8 sweaty, low-heart-rate miles and then some Panera food and coffee. All four of us happened to order the exact same delicious whole grain sandwich with egg white, spinach, and avocado, ha! We caught up on the life stuff we don’t put on Facebook and wished Lisa well, who is soon relocating to Colorado. Tiny T posed for a Boomerang video but is still thinking hard about a worthy caption. I love mornings with running friends. I don’t do it enough. They are fantastic humans and very positive, healthy influences. STRONG HAPPY BOSTON QUALIFIERS!!

Here is the fascinating (to me) question:

Do you think the world at large is improving, or growing worse, or is it neutral? Why?

What about your individual, private life? Please tell me why you fee this way, if you can.

Okay, now Handsoem and I are getting ready to drive to OKC for my beautiful Mom’s birthday dinner. Nice and casual, just immediate family and a few of the grand-kids. We will feast on excellent Tex Mex food plus two homemade desserts per her request. She is 60 today and we all love her so much. Another topic worthy of its own deliberate blog post. My mom really is the best.

Thank you for reading and for sharing your thoughts on this topic, friends. I can’t wait to read what you write. And I will be sharing soon why it’s on my radar and what the book had to say. Super interesting stuff.

Happy Sunday evening!!

Carpe those Diems!

XOXOXOXO

mm: hansons week 6, aka what the fartlek?!

February 5, 2018

Hello and thanks for joining me again for Marathon Monday! I’m happy to say that week six of preparing for April was fruitful, definitely not because it was easy but because it served up a handful of challenges and good lessons. Also, finishing week six means we have already made it through the first third of this training cycle, very cool! I’m feeling great in so many ways, you guys. Happy to be here doing this. Grateful for this little experiment, even when I have a wonky week. Okay.

Before I tell you about my week, please help me give major congratulations to my friend Jeff who ran TWO back to back (and seriously fast) marathons last weekend to celebrate his birthday. On Saturday he ran a 3:30:11, and the very next day he finished in 3:39:29. How amazing!! He also raised money for Parkinson’s disease research for his birthday.

His family had these signs posted at their gate for his homecoming!

I have lots to learn from Jeff and am grateful that he’s an open book. He’s clearly talented but also honest when he doesn’t feel great or the conditions aren’t ideal, and he always pushes himself, which inspires me. His results week to week and month to month certainly prove that the effort pays off. Congratulations and happy birthday, Jeff!!

I also love Robin so much. She is the first person who clued me in to the Hansons method!

Okay. Week six:

Monday: The plan called for “6 easy” and that is exactly what I ran. 6.11 miles at a 10:27 pace, and I felt physically great the whole time, barring an annoying wardrobe malfunction. I wore thin, stretchy yoga pants instead of running tights, and the waist kept slipping so far down my hips I had to stop and tug and pull and adjust about every .75 miles, ha! Home to do yoga. My body felt good all day if a little underworked. But I had plenty to do around the house. And the point of easy days is to be easy. Let the nutrients of your practice soak into your body, as Adriene would say.

Tuesday: Speed day! I woke up so excited for this, based on how much fun it’s been lately, and how successful I felt last Tuesday. The morning was sub-zero frigid cold again, so I did my basic chores and tidied up the house and got my yoga session out of the way first, hoping to burn enough time to get to the mile loop once the temps were slightly better. But then I got hungry and ate a little more than I usually do this early before a workout, and I would regret that. On one hand, the time delay worked, but by then the wind had picked up a lot and it was cold for a whole other reason, ha! Oklahoma. Anyway.
I started my warm-up and my feet went numb. It just took forever for my body overall to feel warmish and loose and comfortable, then I felt annoyed and overstuffed by too many jackets so I took one off, then I got cold etc etc etc. Just not finding a groove, and my thoughts were scattered and kind of in a downward spiral, emotionally. ahhhhhh
Then I noticed a grave with fake poinsettias on the side of the track?? Is that legal? It really bothered me.
Long story short, those intervals were sloppy and awful. Not even good enough to call a fartlek. I only hit the prescribed 10k pace twice out of five times, and even then my running was all over the place. Too fast, then too slow, then too fast again, then winded. These workouts are supposed to be disciplined, and I was not. Total miles: 8.05 at a 9:34 pace, including the weird warm up. Boo.
But I am happy to have stayed at the park and tough it out even when I knew I had screwed up the workout. If there’s a silver lining here, it’s the learning experience: Warm up for longer if needed, eat more wisely before running hard, and do not listen to music that makes you sad, especially when you’re already battling negative thoughts. And stick it out. Finish even if it’s terrible.

Wednesday: Got my morning stuff done and laced up a bit earlier on Wednesday, and once I started running I really felt great. Thanks to my husband, I ran with fresh new music too, yay! I was aiming for 10 miles but stopped early with a sharp pain in my right foot, something much worse than just a sore arch. It became more painful throughout the day. That evening I stretched and iced and rolled it as much as possible, hoping to not be sidelined at all. 8.86 miles (10:19 fairly smooth steady pace)

Let’s agree that two disappointing days in a row were close to messing with my positive attitude. Have I told you how much I rely on running to keep me feeling cleansed, not funky, especially when my personal life is in turmoil?

Oh. Wednesday night I made a new recipe that was pretty great for me but something about it upset my husband’s stomach, so I doubt we will be repeating it except for a crowd.

Spicy shrimp peanut lo mein. Click here for the basic noodle sauce, and then add some lime-garlic marinated shrimp, roasted broccoli, plain peanuts, and siracha!

Thursday: This should have been my tempo day, but I woke up to excruciating pain in my right foot. So I took the day off and reminded myself how some smart prevention and a short break can prevent a much longer timeout and worse pain. After chores, grocery shopping, and yoga I spent the day walking, icing, rolling, stretching, and more walking, icing, rolling, and stretching. I resisted that old impulse to freak out. Zero miles.

Friday: I woke up feeling good enough to run and made it to the park for 10.01 miles at an easy pace (9:54 pace is about a minute slower than my MGP), celebrating gobs of crisp, bright sunshine. Friday renewed my hope, and I was so glad to have stuck with it day by day. I almost cried with relief.

Emotional rollercoaster much?

Saturday: I woke up hurting again but not in a stabby, pathetic, limping way. I could probably have rested, but with a small pep talk and green light from my husband I laced up and managed 6.54 quick miles. These got chalked up as more or less as my tempo for the week (9:14 average pace, which is about 15 seconds per mile too slow, but considering the sharp wind and my foot pain, this is where I say “effort is effort.”) By the end of this run I was in lots and lots of pain. Not just from tight tendons but also from that wicked blister that had magically invented its own blister on top and callous beneath. Very sexy.

On Saturday I did get weirdly happy about an alert on my Garmin saying my V02Max was climbing. So I had that going for me, ha!

Also, we spent the afternoon running errands in the Moore-Norman area, and a window-shopping expedition at OK Runner turned into purchasing some brand new shoes! On sale, too. I love them and am announcing publicly that they are a drop-dead awesome early Valentine gift.

Sunday, last day of week six: We slept so late that Klaus was freaking out, ha! Then we took our coffee outside and luxuriated in the hot tub foooorrreeevvver. It was pure magic, just watching the sky, giving thanks for some shifting energy in our family, and making good plans for the farm. I stretched and scraped my arch and heel against underwater hard surfaces as we chatted, gradually realizing it felt pretty good. The blister monster had healed overnight (thank you Neosporin!) and I was eager to close out the week’s 47 miles. Once we wrapped up Hot Tub Summit I found running clothes as quickly as I could and drove to the lake. 8.44 miles, very comfortable and deeply unwinding, at a 9:55 pace. I am loving that those easy paces are becoming difficult to keep easy, if that makes sense. That’s good, right? It wasn’t very long ago that I was celebrating an hour at 11 minutes per mile. But I re-read the “easy running” chapter before each time to internalize the physiological benefits, and I listen to calming podcasts on these runs to keep myself from sprinting all sloppy.

Total weekly miles: 48.01. I hardly “nailed” either of my SOS workouts, and this step-back week did not call for a long run, so I guess overall I’m just happy to have completed the miles and worked through the beginning of an injury that could have become much worse. And I am still so happy to be doing this!

10 Takeaways from Week 6:

Eat smart. Absolutely no milk before running.
Wear clothes that fit right. Duh.
Keep doing yoga but incorporate some strength work too (are weak hips contributing to chronic plantar fasciitis?)
Replace shoes more often to prevent wear and tear blisters, etc.
Take one day at a time, one workout at a time, and rest when needed.
And do not allow one funky day to snowball into a bad week. Most trouble can be salvaged.
Ice, roll and stretch regularly and as prevention, not just when you’re in pain.
Be thankful for every single mile…xoxo
Surround yourself with inspiring people!
Keep your thoughts positive to support good running. It matters.

How was your week of running? I really would love to hear. When my local running friends post updates I read them voraciously and look at everything I can on Garmin Connect, but I want the stuff that statistics don’t tell us, too. The motivation, the physical changes, emotional rollercoasters, new music. The weather! Tell me everything.

“Success isn’t owned. It’s leased.
And rent is due every day.”
~J.J. Wyatt
XOXOXOXO

marathon monday: why the hansons plan & recapping january

January 29, 2018

They say to never judge a run by the first few miles.

Never judge a week by how Monday goes, either.

I’m adding to this wisdom: Never judge a training cycle by the first few weeks. Because life is crazy, and sometimes the first few weeks of an eighteen-week plan need to serve other purposes in life, like bouncing back from an especially heavy holiday season.

This has been the case for me lately. While I’m deeply grateful for so much that has happened since life changed in November, it has been physically and emotionally draining. And our family life continues to be filled with uncertainty, so sometimes I lace up to run barely able to walk.

I needed much of January to feel like myself again, and certainly running helped. But I was just logging slow miles and crying a lot.

Anyway! What I’m saying is, the warm-up is over. It was good. And I am so glad I didn’t give up yet because this past week delivered a kind of a breakthrough that has me thinking about setting a very concrete and exciting goal for this year’s Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon on Sunday, April 29th. Time to get to work.

Why Hansons this time? In short, because the feedback is compelling. Since last summer I have read so many personal testimonials from competitive and recreational “age groupers” who used this method to become stronger runners who reach their time goals without dieting, without gaining weight, without getting injured, and without feeling burned out. Hansons runners are passionate and openly celebrate not just their success but also their health and happiness along the way. (Weird, right? To do something you love only to suffer unnecessarily along the way?)

Some of these folks I stalked online are competitive racers, which I admit is something fun to think about. But all of these runners want to run well and discover their own potential. That is for sure me already. Remember back in 2015 that I said I wouldn’t run another marathon until I believed I could do it “clean and strong?” No more dieting. No more sloppy, half-hearted efforts. No more hitting the wall and crossing the finish line in tears.

Well, this plan’s mileage already feels great. I’ve been building up that much since late autumn and it is satisfying overall, even before playing around with paces, which really is where the magic hides. I’ll share in the week five recap below, how the method is already helping me see results.

Besides the promise of improvement, I am smitten by the science here. It just makes so much sense. Chapter by chapter, the book explains what happens to your body over time as you provide it new challenges. It details the muscular, cardiovascular, and even cellular adaptations you make from week to week, and why each different workout is useful and important. It helps you visualize the draw of energy and the power of speed, the glide, the transfer of oxygen, and more. It’s beautiful, really. Reading each chapter then recalling key sentences while running, I can almost feel my body responding.

I am following the advanced marathon plan. If you are interested at all, please read the book. It’s fascinating! Until then, here are some key differences this plan boasts over others:

Higher weekly mileage, which is fun and satisfying, but most of those miles being easy effort (from 38 on week one up to 62 just before your race)
No long runs over 16 miles, even during peak, so fewer days lost to long hours on your feet, plus fewer days lost to extended rest and recovery
More “Something of Substance” workouts, which train you for strength, speed, and tempo running
Less of a taper, which in my mind mitigates race-week nerves and more importantly trains you to run under mildly exhausted conditions, called “accumulated fatigue.” This gets your strong for the second half of your marathon. No bonking!
Goal-specified training. I LOVE THIS!!! The Hansons plan helps you pinpoint specific paces for a long run (used to be my favorite, that might be changing), tempo run, easy days (surprisingly slow but luscious), and speed intervals (adrenaline!!). And it all helps you approach your race intelligently to finish in the time you want.
Race well and discover your potential, above just finishing. That’s the bottom line here.

My January so Far:

My mind and body have needed this past month to recoup. I am grateful for the time and resources to run most days each week, eat good, nutritious food, and rest well. The weeks since January 2nd have been fruitful in many ways.

Lots of warm winter salads loaded with vitamins, carbs, and healthy fats! Yes, please.

Week One: The plan asked for 38 miles and I ran 34 due to our extended break. Those were all slow and easy miles, letting the emotional holidays drain away. I also joined a luscious yoga series and started reigning in the treats. Shark Week for me was that week, and I complained about that a little in my training log, ha. (Ladies will agree with me that hormones can greatly affect running. That’s a whole topic for another day!)

Week Two asked for 41 miles, which I ran greedily, plus 0.61, haha! More yoga. My body felt better that week, but still no Something of Substance (SOS) workouts yet. This is where the self-compassion comes in, the part where I forgive myself for not pushing it because at least I got the time on my feet (TOF). It’s all contributing to a strong base like I had back in October (passed my 200-mile goal that month). A couple of weeks of easy movement and time to think also helped me shed that holiday bloat and heaviness. Overall I felt pretty good.

Week Three That week I ran 45.77 miles, just almost exactly what the plan called for (45). I did attempt one sloppy speed session of my own design, just a very casual “fartlek,” and honestly you guys, though it was nothing to brag about performance wise, it felt amazing. I had so much fun! Like a little kid, giggling and running and feeling perfectly free and happy. I am always amazed by days like this because so often people talk about how much speed work hurts. Surely down the line, I will learn how to work my body so hard it does hurt. But for now? For now, the speed play is fantastic. Anyway. Week 3 I kept up with daily yoga and focused on eating more vegetables and protein than anything else. Sleeping rough, also lots of bad dreams due to some emotional stuff. I’m looking forward to the gardening season and to cranking up mileage so my body is too exhausted to lay awake at night.

Week Four I missed one entire day this week due to extreme winter weather (my treadmill is a goner), and another day I did a shorter run than planned due to some special family events, so the prescribed 46 miles got whittled down to 36.31. I forbade myself from making it into a big deal because life is full and good and in the scheme of things, missing 10 miles this early in training is fine. Okay. Moving on. Winter is almost over! : )

A Quick Word About Paces: I hesitated for months to ask anyone for help in pinpointing my correct paces because I felt ashamed of my abilities. It was a lot like discussing weight or age, ha! Which is both silly and a double-edged sword. You will always find running friends who are faster, and you will always find running friends who are slower. So why waste a bunch of energy comparing? It does not matter. Even in competitive groups (which like a dork I have to remind myself I am not in), you have to focus on your own health and your own journey, staying happy and grateful for the current season you’re in.
When I finally reached out for some guidance, I was pleasantly surprised by how encouraging all my local friends and volunteer coaches in the HMM group were. The concept here is to discover your running potential and make measurable progress for yourself, relative to your own starting point. It’s definitely a long-term vision kind of thing, which I love love LOVE. I love it so much, the promise of running and improving for many years. That said, here is the list of paces I am following day by day for this training cycle. Huge thanks to Paul in our local HMM group for spending his time calculating these for me:

Week Five: Shark Week again. Thankfully my symptoms were mild this month, and for extra credit, the worst of all days happened to land on Wednesday, a planned rest day, ha! So no running. Just lots of rest and yoga and easy housework like ironing my husband’s shirts and sewing a few things. Overall this week, the plan called for 49 miles, and even taking Wednesday off it was easy to hit that number. I ran a total of 52.66 miles, including three true SOS workouts! The highlights of week 5 were running my first speed, tempo, and long run days at prescribed paces (see above). Each effort was completely different, and each one felt amazing. Seriously so much fun. After the long run especially (12.54 miles at a smooth and effortless pace of 9:29) I walked away feeling shocked that my body could move like that, keep that momentum, and feel strong and comfortable the whole time, with gobs of energy to spare. This is not what I am used to, you guys. I dare say this method works.

As I hit publish on this very long post (thanks for hanging in there), I have made a good start on Week Six with six easy recovery miles (41 to go) and some yoga. Whether I commit to the April 29th marathon is still a big question mark, but either way, I will certainly be enjoying the process. And I will post here on Mondays and on IG a little to track my progress.

Have you tried the Hansons method yet? What were your results?

Are you doing any fitness challenges for January? Anything you plan to stick with in February? What feels amazing to you lately? I would love to know. Everyone is different, and it’s so fun to hear how people discover health and wellness.

Take care of yourselves!!

“Comparison is the Thief of Joy.”
~Theodore Roosevelt
XOXOXOXO

post holiday thoughts gumbo

December 26, 2017

After so many days and weeks filled to bursting with activity, work, play, some bitter tears, and still more activity, my mind is swimming with loose trains of thought. Some things are solid. But those are solid enough to wait. The less solid thoughts need somewhere to go. I hope you’ll indulge me a while so I can sort of gather them into a boiling pot. Maybe if they comingle and simmer you add your own thoughts, we will end up with a gumbo of good stuff and the final product will be delicious.

Oprah’s Super Soul Sundays podcast has become my favorite. This is a surprise to me because I have never liked her, generally speaking. Just because the talk show thing has never been my thing. But this is different. This production offers tons of reliably good, nourishing material. One recently that I loved? An interview with former President Jimmy Carter. I loved hearing him talk about space in marriage, daily habits, and the Iran hostages. Weird combo maybe, but he ties it all together. Plus that well worn, gentlemanly southern drawl, ok? So nice.

Have you ever seen the acronym expression of EGO, meaning, “Edging God out?” Yikes.

I have for years thought that life is made worse by over-romanticizing relationships. Which is ironic, because the intention behind romancing stuff is to bring out the beauty, enhance it, press the details more deeply into our skin, right? Shouldn’t that improve life? But placing too much importance on certain relationships kind of sets us up for disappointment, that whole “appreciation trumps expectations” thing.

Maybe especially with parent-child bonds? because (as a better writer than me recently pointed out) claiming your child as yours is incredibly self-centered. Disturbingly ego-driven. And yet isn’t it’s part of our nature, the parenting paradigm? This is a lot of ground to cover, friends. Too much for today, but I welcome your thoughts.

I cannot get enough Christmas lights this year. And happily, our surrounding neighborhoods and parks have obliged. My husband did a great job festooning our own spot of paradise, too. It’s a modern luxury I won’t soon abandon.

I want to do a true study on the occurrence of eating disorders and body image issues among two groups: dancers and runners. I have noticed a disparity, but it’s so far anecdotal and I wonder if (as a runner) my opinion is slanted. Thoughts? Insight?

Made from scratch soft pretzels are incredibly easy and supremely delicious. Pillowy, warm, salty, chewy, satisfying. Amazing. Using this recipe, I am a homemade-soft-pretzel convert. No more waiting for that once a year $8 movie theater splurge! Of course, now I have to figure out the concession stand’s weird runny cheese sauce, but until then some yellow mustard will keep me happy.

Two brand new seed catalogs have arrived at the farm, and my youngest daughter has asked for both cooking and edible gardening lessons this year, so you can safely assume that my imagination is in overdrive. On that note, I am pretty happy about how last year’s compost system is working. So well, you guys. I’m looking forward to having time in January to continue filling, rotating, and spreading the fertile stuff.

Marathon training has started! I barely ran at all in November, for good reasons; and December has been low mileage (128 so far) but consistent. For the next 18 weeks, I’ll be following the Hansons’ Advanced Marathon Plan, aiming for the OKC full in late April. Very exciting! My local running friends have been a huge support and are full of wisdom, most of them Boston qualifiers. This past year I’ve changed my approach to running in lots of ways, so if that’s interesting to you, please check in here on Mondays starting mid-January. Marathon Monday returns!

I crave salad every day, probably my body’s way of saying, “Enough chocolate-toffee-shortbread, ma’am,” but it’s so cold in Oklahoma. Can you microwave salad? Maybe I should make more soup.

Ann Voskamp can probably do no wrong in my eyes, which clearly means I am on the verge of putting her on a pedestal, which clearly means I should take a breather before reading another of her books. Right? Just kidding. I already started it. A generous gift from a wonderful local writer. I think she wants to be anonymous. Maybe she doesn’t want to be known as my Voskamp enabler.

Enabling is not funny, though. We have had some excruciating decisions laid before us this year. This month. Just yesterday, in fact. It’s ongoing and very real. But prayer keeps up afloat even when we are at our weakest, emboldened on good days, clear-headed and hopeful.

“Welcome to Costo, I love you.” haha We don’t even have Costo in Oklahoma, but this is super funny. We do have Aldi.

Roasted veggies! Duh. When it’s too cold for salad and soup takes too long. Roasted veggies.

And this tea:

If you have 2 hours to snuggle up and feed your brain and imagination, I highly recommend the Netflix documentary called Cuba and the Cameraman. This is a cultural and anthropological indulgence, not a political statement. Pinky promise. Then, if you want to binge watch something beefier, please consider the related Netflix series on the revolutionary history of Cuba, which reaches all the way back to when European explorers “settled” there. Fascinating! Maybe a touch political.

My friend Kellie knitted me the thickest, most luxurious grey infinity scarf. I am smitten and get so many compliments on it. Thank you, Kellie!! Also, she recently agreed to a carrot cake cookoff. I’ll keep you posted. I hope to be in the mood for sweets again by February or March, haha.

Did you have a magical and peaceful Christmas weekend? I sure hope so. Christmas is meant to be magical and peaceful and more. It’s okay to enjoy all of it, every big and little thing.

We thank you for your love and prayers. I am trying to figure out what’s wrong with my blog dashboard, keeping me from responding to comments. But every single word you send is deeply appreciated. Truly.

“There are two types of beings in this Universe.
Those who dance, and those who do not.”
~Guardians of the Galaxy
XOXOXOXO

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