Eh ... an ok day.

I was SOOO excited when I woke up the first time this morning and realized it had SNOWED! It was only a light dusting ... but SNOW! Since it wasn't time for me to get up yet, I rolled over and fell back asleep for another hour and a half, hoping it'd still be there when I went out for my run. No such luck. It was completely GONE by the time I got up again. Grr. I wasn't in any hurry to get up and go out for my run after that, especially since dad and brother left the house early to go donate blood [which means mom and I had a nice quiet house].

My training plan called for 4 steady miles today, but I wanted to go for 5 since I knew my 6-mile run next Saturday will be nixed in favor of racing the Winterfest 5k. I decided I didn't want to look at my Garmin at all and covered it up with my sleeve as soon as I got going. I knew the distances along the village streets and trail cross-roads well enough that I could approximate how far I needed to go before turning around. When I finally did uncover my Garmin, I was already at 4.68 miles. Awesome. For not watching my pace at all, I'm not disappointed in my mile times. I know the first mile should have been slower, but I had to sprint across a couple roads and driveways in the village downtown area.

I've tried 3 of the Zipfizz flavors so far: Orange soda, grape, and citrus. I don't know that I'd go out of my way to buy orange soda or grape, but I really liked citrus. It reminded me of lemonade that someone snuck some orange juice into. I THINK I noticed a boost in my energy, but I've still been drinking my Diet Coke in the mornings. I'm going to try it tomorrow WITHOUT my normal morning caffeine kick. We'll see what happens. I'm going out tonight so I'm going to be TIRED tomorrow if I don't sleep in late enough. I AM loving the bottle, though. When not filled with Zipfizz, it's been put into the rotation of my water bottles with measurements on their side (making sure I drink enough water during the day).

Did you join in on Fab Ab February? I think I've settled into at least 4 reps of the written workout. Today's is 25 sit-ups (I've been doing bicycle crunches), 6 push ups, and a 20-second plank. I've been switching up regular and side planks.

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2.3.12

I am proud of my ...

Heritage. I'm very proud of my German/ Czech/ Irish/ Native American background. A little closer to present day, I'm honored to be the granddaughter of 2 Korean War veterans, 3 if you count my father's mother who worked in the armory while waiting for Grandpa to come home from the war. I don't know a LOT about my family's earlier generations, but these things I do know and I'm very proud of. It saddens me that I've learned more about my Grandparents since they passed than I did in the time I had with them, but I'm still so thankful I had them in my life for so long. I had all 4 of my grand parents and my great-grandmother up until my freshman year of college. My childhood would have been completely different if they hadn't been here. Every little thing I learn about them just makes me appreciate them and the time I had with them all the more.

Who I appreciate ...

Whoever invented pinterest. It's the newest time waster, but a great way to share recipes, crafts, giggles, ideas, and motivation! I can spend HOURS on there just looking. If you want an invitation to join (and don't want to wait around for an invite from pinterest itself), let me know. Or, if you're already on the bandwagon, click the button on the right sidebar and check me out!

2.4.12

I like that I can ...

Easily make friends with just about any remotely-friendly animal. I suspect it's a trait I picked up from my dad. Most of the dogs in the neighborhood love me (and wait for me to pet them when I go by on my run). Also, I'm always hanging out with the horses when I'm up at camp. It's natural for me to be found wherever the animals are. lol. Our last dog was SUPPOSED to be a "family pet", but he was more attached to my dad and I than anyone else. He was super-protective of both of us and ran to us when a thunderstorm or something else bothered him. When one of us wasn't home, he'd wander back and forth between the person home's side and the front door, waiting for the other.

Who I appreciate ...

Gustav Heineman, the founder of Heineman Winery. They make my favorite wine of all time, Lake Erie Pink Catawba. It's local, delicious, cheap, and STRONG. Oh, and it's award-winning. :) The grapes are grown on the Lake Erie Islands and the nearby mainland and the wine can only be purchased directly from the winery out on South Bass Island (Put-In-Bay, Ohio) or from the Anderson's stores in the Toledo area, as far as I know. And the winery will ONLY ship to Ohio. If you go in person, there's a really neat crystal cave beneath the building that you can tour too! My day can be absolute crap and one glass of this while curled up in bed reading or watching a movie and I'm a deleriously-happy girl. I hadn't had a bottle in a couple weeks, but mom came home with some the other night because she knew I was having a really stressful day at school (stupid inter-departmental mail LOST my graduation application and several other grad students' thesis paperwork). I'm slowly working my way through trying ALL of Heineman's wines, but Pink Catawba will always be my favorite (even if it's just because the memories of this wine and my 23rd birthday out at PIB (-: )