One down, 10 to go!

This is totally me! Well, some days anyway. Some days I don't dread my run, and some days I actually enjoy being out there. Today was a mix of the two. I was still stiff from Saturday's long run in the snow, so planned on a slow, easy, shake-out sort of 6 miler. I expected it to be uncomfortable and difficult, and the first few miles were certainly not pleasant. I loosened up by mile 3 though, and flew through the final mile in just below 11 minutes. I love running, when I'm flying. It's obvious I'm getting stronger and faster. Marathon goal = check!

With the snow gone and the temps in the 40s, I'd planned to finally fix the storm windows on my front and back doors. These are a bit of a pain. I don't like screens open on the bottom, because hands tend to go through them there, so flipping the storms was my solution. Unfortunately, that means twice a year I have to take them off their tracks and put them back the way I want them, instead of the way they were designed. You know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men, right? Yeah, switching the storm windows didn't happen. Instead, I discovered one of my furry friends has been pee'ing on the rug in my closet again. Luckily, with my closet in the basement, this is an area rug on top of concrete. I was able to soak it with Oxy Clean and vinegar, then run it through the washer with the same concoction. A second run through the washer with regular laundry detergent, and the rug does not smell like pee. I spent some time cleaning the concrete, then sprayed it liberally with Lysol, and my closet does not smell like pee either. Now if I can just get them (him. I'm pretty sure I know which one.) to stop pee'ing there, I'd be much happier. Housekeeping goal = check!

Today was the first weekday since I finished classes, where I didn't go to my Mom's to work. Instead I puttered around, read emails and blogs, got my run in, then got to studying. I've found a slew of tutorials on Youtube, so went through a couple. I downloaded and installed a free version of MySQL server, and took some notes.

Apparently it's impossible for me to learn without a physical notebook. Also, the notebook has to be new. I have a few lying around, with only a few pages used. Apparently those were not good enough. I found myself hopping in the car with no clear idea where I was going or what I was looking for, and ended up with notebooks. I knew about my fascination with office and school supplies. This did not surprise me. It did amuse me. Learning goal = check!

As I lay awake at 2am this morning, trying to get to sleep, my brain pondered a conversation I'd had with my mother the other day. We were talking about food, about eating plans. I'd brought up something Ninja had posted on his Facebook, about pre-packaging his meals for the week so they are 1) ready and 2) he knows what he is eating on any given day. He and I did this before he moved out, and it worked for both of us. The conversation with my mother surrounded her planning out meals on a daily basis, where Ninja was planning his weekly. 2 am this morning, my brain finally put 2 + 2 together and reminded me that preplanning like that DID work for me. I've sort of been doing it already, hard boiling eggs and putting my veggie bags together. The epiphany was to combine what had worked for me before, but was not really working now, with what works for my Mom. I got up this morning and planned out my food for the day. As the day progressed, I knew what I could eat, and had choices from the menu I'd planned. Oatmeal at 11:30? Sure! Tuna and egg salad at 4? No problem! A stop at Chipotle? Not on the menu today. Now, at the end of the day, I have nothing left on the menu, so cannot eat any more tonight. I do, however, have probably a quart left of the gallon of tea (yes, I said GALLON) I made. I can't remember when I've been this well hydrated, and I'm liking it. Weight loss goal = check!

I did stretch today, but I've kinda been falling off this goal the last couple days. Technically, what I did qualifies. I did a real stretch of my thigh/hip area. One stretch. I really want to get that routine in the morning going, as well as random stretches throughout the day. That didn't happen today. Maybe tomorrow. Stretch goal = half check?

On a side note, I found out today I somehow slipped through the cracks of the Run With Jill 2nd Annual Blogger Gift Exchange. I sent in my email as requested on 11/28, but apparently she never got it. I didn't think anything of it until, again, 2-ish am this morning. Sad panda. I would really like to be part of this blogging community, but somehow never quite seem to fit in. Maybe I'm trying to fit into the wrong section of the blog world. Maybe I'm trying too hard. Ah well. On the plus side, I don't have to worry about mailing yet another package out. I think I made my last trip to the post office today, with my loan deferment request. I was afraid I'd have to send in a hard copy request for my diploma, but was able to do that on line. Yeah, all the formalities regarding my degree are officially complete. One goal down, 10 to go!