Spin friends, and SMAD.

Hey!

My friend Loren text me over the weekend to see if I would meet up with her to work out Monday morning.  I told her that I usually spin on Mondays, and she was totes down to join me.  We caught up on all things school and life,  She used to teach at my school, so I got to fill her in on how some of her fave students were doing and such.

At one point, Loren had to jump off to go shower and get ready for her day.  At that point, "Eye of the Tiger" came on my phone (we were just spinning randomly to the "80s Cardio" Pandora station), and she jumped back on to sprint her heart out.  It was really the right thing to do!

Loren was spinning so fast, the camera couldn't catch her!

And seriously, I dare you not to rock the hell out of your workout when this song comes on.

I finished up my sesh and got ready for "work".:D

I dressed up as a fancy P.E. teacher today.  School's only open three days this week, so I figured I could dress up pretty for a couple of days.:)

LUNCH = one of my faves!  In fact, anything with sweet potato and guac is going to be my fave.

If you ever wondered what P.E. Teachers and Tech Coordinators do during lunch...

I had a vitamin C break in the early afternoon.

It was around this time that one of my friends in the school informed me that something Nutella-related existed, and I had NO clue.

THIS was brought to my attention yesterday.  I AM SO SAD MAD SMAD.  Harry and I were JUST THERE a couple of weeks ago!  Words like "HOW?" and "WHY?" come to mind at the moment, but I'm sure we'll visit it soon enough.  And I'll write the best post of my life about it, I'm sure.

And yet another example of how I'm such an eight year-old at heart.  We rocked out our bulletin board SO HARD.

This is the last of the broc salad that I got away with the other day.  I was sad to see it go...happy to taste it leave.

I hope you have an awesome Tuesday, friend.  It's pretty chilly outside, so I might bundle up a bit more for my run this morning.:)

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Workout buddies:  Do you have one?  Some?  Many?  How often do y'all train together?


Truth:  Other than pizza, what's your fave kind of leftovers?
-I'm notorious with the Thanksgiving sammich -- IT IS MY FAVORITE OF ALL TIME.  It's THIS GOOD.

Are you a Nutella fan?
-Please say "yes", BFF.

Any special projects that you're proud of from work or blogging?  TELL ME ALL ABOUT IT!

RAIN OR SHINE - Bike the Drive 2015

Let's start the new week with some Marvelous!


Harry and I + Adam and Teri did Bike the Drive yesterday morning.  Rain or shine, it was happening.

And for some reason, I wore a sleeveless jersey.  The only reason I can think of as to why I chose this was because I thought the sun was going to come out from behind the clouds.

But that never happened.

I didn't really mind riding in the rain all that much, especially when we don't have to worry about vehicle traffic.  Adam, Teri and I took off, while Harry hung back.  His right shoulder has been bugging him for a couple of days, so he planned on taking it easy on the ride.

We were pretty much drenched about twenty minutes into the ride.  I don't think that any of us really cared; if anything, it made the ride more enjoyable.

The rain stopped for a little while, and we slowed down a bit.  This gave me a chance to snap some pictures.  Hey, pretty.:)

Oh my gooses, I love that I live here.  I'm never over it.

We all met back up at Teri and Adam's, then went to get breaky at one of their favorite spots in their neighborhood.  After 30.5 miles, we were all pretty much going to dominate any food in front of us, but this place was

And the moment I saw "Nutella" on the menu, I just HAD TO HAVE IT.  My Delighful Crepes.<3

The rest of our Sunday ---------------------------> Being lazy.  Seriously.  We watched "The Simpsons", I napped, we had leftover pizza for dinner, and that was about it.

It feels nice to do that every once in a while.:)
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*BRAIN HUG*

Meanwhile, in Texas...

o.O

Many lakes and creeks are flooding, especially in Austin.  Please keep them in your happy thoughts.
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Have you ever been to an event like Bike the Drive?  Local peeps -- Have YOU Biked the drive?

Have you ever cycled in the rain?

Favorite breaky item?

Have you ever lived or visited a place where they had extreme weather changes?

This Takes FOREVER, and TWO.

It officially takes me no more than ten minutes to get dressed before I leave for a run in the very cold mornings.  Below, I have illustrated how many layers I put on for anything that "feels like" negative temps:  An ear warmer, paired with a beanie, two pair of gloves, and my Buff, that Fearless Leader Greg and Solemate Steph got me for my birthday.  THAT THING is a LIFE-SAVER!  It ROCKS.  I don't really like wearing my balaclava -- my head gets way too hot too fast, and I just plain 'ole don't like breathing through material.  The Buff allows me to still cover my ears, my chin and parts of my cheeks, without having to cover my mouth and nose.  I don't feel trapped, and that's a good thing while you're running.  Clothing wise:  I've got a pair of running tights with a pair of thermal pants on top, a compression shirt (long or short sleeve, depending on how - that number is), and a long sleeve thermal top over that.  Socks = SmartWool.

Also, sorry, honey...I've been using your gloves.:)

And with this type of temperature (plus wind gusts of 18-20 mph), I needed some WICKED TUNES.

Another reason why I *steal* these gloves -----> There's a clever place to put your house or car key.

 It's been so long since I've taken pictures while running, since my fingers are seriously in danger of freezing off if I take off my (+Harry's) gloves.  So yeah, as you can see, I'm out of practice.

Two fantastic things happened:

1.)  My eighth graders wooted and hollered about how they wanted to do the FitnessGram PACER test over and over again.  THAT made my heart smile!

2.)  My spirit was lifted sky-high when this song came on while the second graders' Fitness Hoops activity.  My favorite thing to do is join my students in their activity, especially if it's sporadic movement throughout the gym.  When this song came on, I nearly---lost---it, and it made the kids soooooo stoked.

Two delicious things I ate:

1.)  I got home, told Harry about my day (since the Kid worked from home so he could go vote [Chicago Election Day]), and had a yummy snack before heading to the gym.

2.)  Harry had some miles to run on the dreadmill, and I had Yoga class.  Since we religiously celebrate Taco Tuesday, we rolled over to the Chipotle for some dinner afterward.

And while I needed a few things from the grocery store, of course we left with four or five bags of groceries --

-- that Harry never lets me carry.  I swear, we live three blocks from the store, and I ask the whole way home if I can help, or if I can carry something.  Noooooooooooope.

 Two truths:

1.)  Because Lord knows that'll happen again.

2.)  I struggle.

Two Nutella-related pictures:

1.)  <3

2.)  <3 <3 

Two things that enhance my happy:

1.)  Getting mail from this store.  <3 

2.)  Scripture about running.

Toodles for now, friends!
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Does it take you forever to bundle up before leaving the house where you live?

QUICK:  Tell me two things about your day!  Please.:)

SWEETS:  Do you crave them? 
-Always.  Just always.

The Power of "What If...?"

First:  THREE FACTS.

1.  Leftover spaghetti and turkey meatballs are so------de-----lish-----!

2.  If you ask 20 Kinders to do 100 *Gym Floor Angels*, they will do it, and count out loud.  Together. 

3.  Wanna know how to make them stand up FAST?  Of course...play THIS.

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"What if...?" is probably the best AND worst beginning of a sentence.  It can create havoc in a woman's mind (holla if you hear meh, even if the last time it really bothered you was when you were 20 years old), or it can inspire a plethora of ideas, goals, or life changes.

The level of curiosity that these two words can spark is hilarious to me.  For instance -- "What if...

...?".  Answer:  It was so delicious.

"What if...?" can evoke near-spontaneous life events.

I have embraced this city as my home, 100%, after 33 years of being a Texan.  I swore that I would never leave my State; I never ever wanted to leave.  Go figure that meeting one person changed every single aspect of that, and that influenced a 1,000 mile journey to one of the greatest cities on the planet.  "What if...?" came across my mind once, and that was when Harry and I were walking to the car so he could drop me off at the airport to leave Chicago, after our first date in December of 2012.  Five months later...!:)

"What if...?" can help encourage you to reach a goal.

My latest "What if...?" has to do with a spot that I haven't participated in since last year.  I also haven't raced this distance ever, so it's certainly goal-related.  I'm pretty sure that this will be my 'A' race next year, and I think it's kind of exciting to know this early that I want to participate in it:  The Border Wars Half Triathlon.

I have raced in Sprint and Olympic triathlons for a couple of years, but this seems like a pretty big leap for me, since it has been a while since my last tri.  I have to establish some things, such as time goals for each discipline, which excites me even more.  I'm planning on racing several more smaller tris next year to get me back in the groove, then going for this in October.

Some obligatory, encouraging words to enhance my point.

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That being said, I'm slightly under the weather!  My sinuses are getting clogged, and I'm coughing up some gunk (...too late for the TMI alert?).  I'm taking another rest day, although Harry and I have a ton of stuff today.  I'll see how I feel tomorrow!

Speaking of "What if...?".  I had a hankerin' to watch "Sleepless in Seattle". 

 

Coffee, lots of water, and lots of tissues on this gloomy day.

Have a wonderful weekend, friends!

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Give me a small "What if...?"!  It can be delicious, too!

What about a BIG "What if...?"?!  

RANDOM:  Name something blue that you can see right now.