Bits and Pieces - the Summer Edition

1.  Life has fallen into a lovely summer rhythm.  My baby girl LOVES to be outside and so we go as often as possible.  I usually run around 8:00 a.m. with the jogging stroller and my new partner, Peaches OR on the treadmill OR a little earlier without the stroller if my mom comes.  It works and I'm enjoying it.  I'm meeting the challenge of running in the heat head-on, determined to get acclimated so I can continue throughout the summer.  On rare occasions I start at 5a.m. and I'm working on making that less rare too.

2.  So my new partner, Peaches!  Well, she's awesome and so much fun.  She pushes me and I like it.  I whine a little, but in the end I'm always grateful.  I went to her house this past Sunday afternoon to do a boot camp of sorts and she just about killed me.  For real.  In good ways and in bad ways - my back didn't know what to do with me the next day!  I've got to ease into her torturous methods (i.e. flipping tires and logs). Still, it helped kick-start my weight training, which I plan to do on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays...for now.

3.  Clients!  They are coming fast and furious, and the funny thing about that is I have done ZERO promoting.  I did a few health fairs in the spring but that was it.  Most of my advertising has been free word of mouth and I have truly enjoyed getting to know and work with so many runners!

4.  My baby girl... where to start.  She is amazing.  Every day she brings me such joy I can hardly contain it.  Sure, she still gets up in the night once in a while, but I think that is mostly attributed to teething...which I feel like we are going to do forever.  No teeth yet, but this girl is doing every thing else!  She is pulling up on everything, crawling at the speed of light, jabbering 90 to nothing all the time. We have conversations that crack me up.  Sometimes I mimic what she has says to me and sometimes I say actual words back to her.  So far she has said, "Dada," "Mama," and I THINK I heard "baby" the other day but she won't repeat it now.  The stinker.  She has learned to clap her hands and to wave and I get the biggest thrill every time she does it.  And the first time she said, "Mama," I cried.  You never know how precious that word is until your own child says it.  My goodness me!

5.  We have a vegetable garden and it is thriving!  I'm growing tomatoes, peppers (for Jason), squash and zucchini.  I'd say I'm also growing broccoli but I'm really just feeding the neighborhood bunnies with it.  I also have some herbs and some gorgeous flowers.  Staying at home with Eloise allows me the time to really take care of all my little green friends and I LOVE it.  She loves it too, especially when I let her stick her hands in the hose as I water everything.

6.  Training - I've officially begun.  My goal race is the Nashville Ultra on November 2, 2013.  I've got my sights set on the 50 mile and I want to run it well.  I might like to run the 7 Bridges Marathon in Chattanooga in October too, but I haven't made plans to do that yet.  This month my goal is to average 6 miles a day for a total of ~ 42 per week.  And it is just about running (I'm TRYING to ignore the sadness of my summer pace).  Next month I'm going to bump up the mileage for all but one week. That will be a rest week and I will have one lower mileage week out of the 4 weeks each month so my body can adjust.  I'm not really focusing on speed, although for the summer I will be joining a group on Thursday nights for speed work.  In the fall I will have to give that up in order to teach Walk/Jog/Run at UAH.  I'm pretty pumped about that!

7.  Tonight I tried a pinterest recipe - Lime Meltaways and I got the recipe here. They aren't bad, but they aren't overly fantastic.  The last time I made cookies with lemons I felt there wasn't enough lemon zest/juice so this time I added and I might have gotten carried away.  But it was fun to try another new recipe.  I also made chicken gyros, something Jason and I used to make all the time.  They were DELISH!  A perfect summer time supper!

8.  That's it for now.  I guess.  I mean there always seems like a lot I should write about - races and summer fun and Eloise and running... but I am so BUSY these days with everything else that I feel bad sitting down at the computer to write when there is laundry, dishes, dust, gardens, playing with Eloise, etc.  I just bought a book for the first time in ages so I've been spending a few minutes during her nap time reading... ah, Heaven.  A good book is such a great thing.  Anyway, I'm one busy mama these days but I love it.  I was telling a friend the other day that this job is suited to me and my personality. Perfectly.  No bosses, no co-worker drama, no deadlines (except with my clients and I love those).  No high heals and work attire.  Lots of running and random push-ups whenever I want.  Unlimited time outside, Fridays off with Jason, hanging with my mom and sister... it just doesn't get any better.

I hope you are ALL having a wonderful, happy, golden summer!