This Week's Highlights in Pictures

I'm not sure how many of you follow education news in states (or countries) other than your own, but state testing has officially started for us this week and it has been hectic. For as type-A and structured as teachers like to be, we sure do need to be flexible!

In the midst of the insanity, I've been finding joy in the little things.

1. Groceries. I actually hate grocery shopping but I love putting everything away and then having a neatly stocked fridge and pantry. Matt and I are both monitoring our eating lately; he's trying to gain weight and I'm trying to "snack healthier". (Basically I'm trying not to eat a cup of Nutella with pretzels after work every day.)

Highlights include microwaveable soup (a lunch made for teachers), fresh fish, tons of fruit and yogurt, and salad fixings.

2. Quality dinners. Matt agreed to take over some of the cooking this week, and I was very impressed. Plus, Kristin and I met to go shopping Tuesday and she surprised me with gluten free Teriyaki sauce, so I tried my hand at homemade stir fry!

I know it doesn't look that appetizing but it was so simple and really delicious. I used bell peppers, baked chicken, eggs, and brown rice.

I'm rediscovering my love of dinner salads. Matt cooked these shrimp to perfection!

3. Running. As usual, the more stressed I am, the more motivated I am to get my runs in. I ran with Matt early in the week and was treated to this lovely sunset. (I can tell DST is nearly over because it's been sunny when I start my runs, but still dark by the end.) My calves were screaming on this run and I've started Flonase so I thought maybe that was related...maybe Flonase and Mucinex have similar results?

Such a pretty pink and purple sky!

Then later this week, I ran the same bridge (with better results) under the full moon in all its glory. No Flonase today, no leg cramps. Hm.

The moon is brighter than the streetlamps!

4. Time with friends. Like I mentioned, Kristin and I went shopping this week. I got a new bag and wallet, and this was an extra highlight because I used my birthday gift card from my MIL so they were basically free! I haven't had time to go shopping just for fun in so long, and it was really nice to spend time together not running.

The wallet has a wrist-chain and a slot inside for my phone, so it can double as a clutch!

Kristin also got this stellar photo of us finishing the Gasparilla 15k together!

5. Pampering myself. I recently switched from my usual face wash, etc, to using the Mario Badescu line. I'm really happy; so far my skin seems calmer and less broken-out, and the drying face mask is seriously miraculous.

The company's website has a questionnaire you can fill out and they'll send you free samples. Technically this isn't a "this week" highlight, but I wanted to wait a few weeks to see how I really liked the products before I posted.

What have your highlights been this week?

 Who does the cooking in your household?

What's in your grocery cart every week?

 

ABK

Dynamic Planks & Volleyball

As runners, we know that core strength is essential to avoiding injury. "Core" doesn't just refer to abs; it includes our glutes, hips, and back muscles as well. If you find yourself slouching forward during runs, especially during long runs, your core may be in need of strengthening.

I am definitely one of those slumpy runners.

Photo evidence: totally slumped over during the last mile at Spacecoast.

Many of us turn to planks as an easy go-to strengthening exercise, but planks are fairly static. Even as we increase our time (I'm always blown away by people who can hold a plank for over three minutes!), we're still just holding there.

Definitely check out the full routine here.

I found this set of dynamic planks a little while ago and finally began doing them recently. My first impression was that they were incredibly more difficult than I expected! I was dripping sweat and panting as I went through the moves.

I completed 5 of each plank (per side in the case of the side planks) and did the entire routine twice. I think I'll build up to completing it three times.

As with any body-weight exercise, purposeful movement is key. It's important not to rush so that you're truly targeting and engaging your muscles.

My form needs tons of work, but I know it will improve as I get stronger!

I'm definitely looking forward to seeing the results of adding these planks a couple times a week to my usual workouts.

The rest of my weekend can be seen in the background: papers I graded and laundry I folded. I was very productive!

In other weekend workout news, we had our faculty volleyball tournament this weekend! Despite only practicing three times before the big day, our team held its own...

We didn't exactly win, or even place, but it was a ton of fun and we raised $1000 to send to a sister school of ours in Haiti.

I really want our team to keep meeting after school because I miss playing volleyball so much, but maybe I'll look for a Meet Up group to join if it doesn't interfere with weekend long runs.

(I took last week off from running because of all the travel/jury duty/classroom catch up/rest from Gasparilla weekend...but this week it's back to training as usual for my next half on March 15.)

 On a random note...I know quite a few of you liked Serial. Are you watching The Jinx on HBO? It's like Serial but about Robert Durst. I actually know one of the actresses who plays Kathie Durst in the reenactments (she's my best friend's sister), which is why I started watching, and now I'm hooked.

I had seen the movie All the Good Things about Robert Durst a couple years ago and find him really intriguing. This documentary is super creepy, and Durst himself sat for interviews throughout the series. He's a truly unsettling character.

How's this for a totally random post?

Do you do planks?

What is your favorite sport to play besides running? (Can you "play" running?)

Do you like the true-crime genre?

ABK

Bring on the B12

This week has been insane. Gasparilla, an overnight work commitment in Coral Gables, and then, for the first time ever, my number came up for jury duty.

I was #113. Also, can we take a minute to judge the County Clerk's Office for using "thru" instead of "through"?

 It was actually a pretty interesting experience at times, but mostly it was boring. The redundancies and the weird analogies the judge and lawyers went into drove me nuts. I didn't get chosen for the jury because as soon as I heard what the case was I knew I'd be too opinionated/biased to remain impartial.

It wasn't until Thursday evening that I hung up my race medals, and I realized that I only have one more hook on our shelves!

One lonely hook...It will have its own medal come March 15!

 I guess I'll have to start doubling them up sooner than I anticipated!

Remember a few weeks ago when I had some blood tests run to figure out my exhaustion? I had my followup this week. The good news is that everything is generally normal.

The one thing that stood out to my doctor was that my B12 was a little low. Nothing drastic, but low enough that she's wondering if I'm having some absorption trouble. So I'm going to start taking 1000mg a day to overload my body and try to force adequate absorption.

I wonder how quickly I'll see results!

In other news, I watched this video from The Onion and gave myself the hiccups laughing.

Do you have any experience with taking B12?

What are you running from?

ABK