recent victories

i just had to come here and let you all know about my recent victories.  in no particular order . . .

• i have been cooking every night, and josh and i have been enjoying different, healthy, and delicious meals all week.  i even found the time to make some whole grain muffins for mornings.
• i went on a decluttering rampage, and now there is absolutely nothing in our house that i don't either love or use regularly.  this includes my wardrobe, which is filled with staples that fit perfectly.  i look forward to getting ready for work every day.  i love how clean and spare everything looks
• i am having a fantastic time running lately, and i've been strength training regularly.  i wake up every morning just eager to get my workouts in, and annabel never wakes up while i bust it out on the treadmill at 5:30 am.
• thanks to your suggestions, i now follow a pampering skincare routine, including regular moisturizer, eye cream, sunscreen, and overnight treatment.  and i never break out!
• i have organized all of the photos on my computer, and ordered three photobooks:  best of blog photos, durham memories, and annabel's first year to be printed, with captions and all!  can't wait for them to arrive.
• at work, i am at the peak of focus.  i have been powering through my paper and have a draft ready for my boss to review.  i am so happy that i kept my data, methods, and samples SO meticulously organized over the past 3 years.  it's just so easy to create new figures and do additional studies this way.
• i have developed a household routine that allows me to keep a clean and organized home while being entirely present with annabel.  in fact, she has learned to help me with the laundry.
• i am spending time diligently studying every night.  i have taken notes on the first 10 sections of the peds endo content outline.
• even with the studying, i've had time for reading every night.  i have a list of 20 books i'd like to get through in 2013, and at this rate, i think i'll get through.
• i'm really looking forward to weekly date nights scheduled for the next couple of months!  i decided that josh and i really needed to enjoy the rest of our time in durham together, so we booked a weekly babysitter and will be hitting all of our favorite restaurants/concert venues over the next 2 months.  
• i cured diabetes today!  that's right, i just figured it out while sitting in front of my computer in lab.

OKAY EVERYONE, if you haven't figured it out yet . . .  i made all of this up.  i have nothing to wear [or at least it seems that way], haven't started studying, thinking about my paper gives me hives, and josh and i haven't been on a date in weeks.  and i didn't even come up with the idea.  but man, that was a fun exercise.  and on the upside, i really DID fit in strength training [once] this week.  although i feel ashamed that i haven't tackled my photos/created books to print despite having it as a goal for at least the past 6 months.

try it, if you're game.  at the very least, it gave me a blueprint for what my idea of unattainable perfection would look like.  and i'm even slightly motivated to work on organizing my photos.  but i'm sure that will pass shortly . . .

5 notes about running lately

1.  i'm using my paper running journal again after a brief hiatus.  i actually really like being able to see trends in my pace this way and there is something just so satisfying about marking a run down in ink.

trends i have noticed from looking at the log:
- stroller runs are getting gradually faster
- i skip a fair number of runs but overall i have been pretty consistent with at least 4 runs/week.
- i am extremely consistent re: cross training.  as in, consistent about skipping it!  oops.

2.  i'm still planning on getting a GPS [likely garmin].  after i start my new job.  i hate being excited about splits on mapmyrun but knowing that they're likely inflated in my favor by at least 2-3%.  yes, i suppose i can still see trends but i really like having trustworthy data.

3.  i want to get faster, and i don't even really have a race on the horizon.  i'd like to find a 5K and i want to go sub-23 again [my PR is 22:53].  and then i want to get faster than that.

4.  josh keeps talking about training for a marathon after we move back to miami . . . perhaps in early 2014?  i'm not sure yet since i just don't know what our lives will be like, but i'm not ruling it out, either.  and i think it would be fun to train together.  [of note, i know that i will have to cut way back on running when we're ready to try for #2, but i'm really not feeling ready for that yet -- just enjoying annabel and life as it is now.]

5.  i have two pairs of athleta running shorts that i love - the dash shorts from last year.  i went to order more, and they don't exist anymore!  i may try the stability shorts [shown below] instead, but they somehow look a little flimsier to me.  has anyone tried these?

from the athleta site.  [ie, definitely not me]

recs for shorts with a flat waistband?

now is important

forgive me if this post is a little disjointed.  i've just been cooking and thinking and enjoying a delicious glass of dolcetto, and my thoughts are a bit of a jumble -- but a happy, grateful one.

today was ordinary.  josh left before i woke up.  annabel woke up at 6:30.  i took her to day care and went to work.  we had our usual work meeting.  i picked her up.  we had a fleeting hour together, and then it was her bedtime.

three stories tonight:

ernie's cheerful smile [this book rules, by the way]

the poky little puppy [abridged by me]

time for bed

then our lovely 2 minutes of lullaby rocking.

and then, at 7:15 pm i forced myself to do a jillian michaels workout knowing that there was wine available as a reward.

then cooking while drinking said wine, followed by eating and cleanup, all while listening to the vampire weekend station on pandora.  i read the latest zen habits post as i ate dinner.  josh is still at work, so this was alone time.

today was ordinary, but it was beautiful.  and something about having a little one makes me acutely aware that i will never get to experience today again.  annabel changes so quickly, and i am so much more aware of the passage of time.

if you can't tell, i spend a lot of time overanalyzing the past and thinking about the future.  goal setting.  schedule creating.  always worrying about how things will work in the next stage [during my maternity leave, i was preoccupied with going back to work; now, i am preoccupied with how our lives in miami will take shape].  

but i can honestly say that i truly did enjoy today.  and inspired by leo's post tonight, i will list the reasons i am smiling tonight -- inside and out.

1) dinner was really good and i actually had a really relaxing time while making it [yeah, the wine helped].  i am thankful for the availability of fresh food and glad i spent the time making it.

2) i love the tracks i've heard from vampire weekend's new release and the album comes out this week.

3) annabel was in a great mood all day and just makes me want to melt.  she has learned to give kisses "mmmmm-wa" and is obsessed with hats.  sometimes i wish i could just freeze time because the stage she's in is just so cute, but it's also so much fun to watch her learn and grow.

"Haaaa-T!"

4) i am about to snuggle up in bed with a book and will probably get to sleep at least 8 hours.  and if i'm lucky maybe josh will make it out of the OR to join me at some point.

5) i just feel like this current life stage is pretty great, and that there are exciting things up ahead [job, move, being near family] that have the potential to make it even better.  

here's to now.