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It’s a perfect weekend for….Spring Cleaning!
Okay, Mom, I get it. I’m sorry for rolling my eyes and secretly loathing chore day.I finally see that your neat-freak tendencies were actually warranted.
As a kid, cleaning up is such a chore. It wasn’t until I have my own apartment and live in my own space that I realized how necessary weekly cleaning is, and I actually do it by choice.
*My mom is going to go HA! at this post because I’m not quite on her level of clean. But she’s never lived with other 20-year olds who consider dusting “optional.” (And by optional, I mean never-gonna-happen.)
For my senior year of college, I’m sharing a three-bedroom apartment with two roommates. Living with other college kids is always a risk; your styles will certainly clash on some things. Cleanliness is one of those things. Now I wouldn’t quite categorize myself as “Monica” yet, but I am concerned about the state of our apartment more than ever. The environment that we live in is a reflection of ourselves. Just like a fit body is reflective of an active health-conscious person, a clean and organized living space is reflective of someone who takes care and pride in their home.
SO. During a particularly boring class yesterday, I jotted down several items I needed to tackle this weekend. Pretty soon that list was a page long, and I knew I had a mega spring cleaning weekend ahead of me. And honestly….I’m looking forward to it!
Okay granted, the cleaning process is not so fun. But I actually get a lot of satisfaction out of throwing out old junk and clearing space. And I’m pretty sure you will too. Here is my Spring Cleaning To-Do List. Some of these are normal weekly chores already, but others I have neglected.
Then treat yourself with some fresh flowers and new delicious candles! (The Glade candles are so inexpensive and yummy! I love grabbing a couple every time I go to Target and lighting them for a little as I’m getting ready for bed.)
Here’s another fabulous article that goes into way more depth that I found on Pinterest, if you’re interested: 30 Days to Domestic Bliss.
What else did I miss?!
A reunion, an anniversary, and a mistake
Every day I read “The Hungry Runner Girl” blog. I love her enthusiasm for running (and eating) and the pictures of her adorable 2 year old. She is currently training for the Boston Marathon, which I qualified for last year. Reading about her workouts always fills me with inspiration to start training for my next marathon. She honestly makes it look like FUN.
I don’t know what state I will be living in in 16 weeks and I don’t know what my medical schedule looks like, so picking an actual race to register for seems risky. (Although the Suja Rock n’ Roll in San Diego looks pretty awesome.) However my Sunday “long runs” have fallen by the wayside in the past year, so I figure it wouldn’t hurt to get back into a more regimented running routine that would keep me in optimal shape when I can finally pick a race and start training.
Sunday morning I reunited with my GARMIN. Since I wasn’t focused on specific pace or mileage, I left the GPS watch at home for the past several months.
I’ve blogged many times about my love for long runs. They were my favorite component of cross country training. In the peak of my collegiate cross country career, a “Sunday long run” meant 12-16 miles. I haven’t gone on a double-digit outting since last summer because….well, I have no need to! I decided I would start with 9 miles this weekend, and try to add a mile each Sunday.
Immediately after walking outside, I regretted wearing a tshirt. It was 39 degrees with 27 mph winds, gusts of up to 40. The sun was hiding behind some clouds and there was not a single other runner or bicyclists on my route. But I didn’t charge that watch for nothin’! I ran out against the wind for 4.5 miles, turned around and ran back with the wind on my side. Average pace: 7:36 per mile (at 7,000ft altitude, just sayin’.) Good enough for me :)
This week is my one-year-anniversary since I decided to chop my hair off. Okay that’s not a legitimate anniversary, but I look for any reason to celebrate ;) I’m growing it out now, and I can’t wait until it’s out of this awkward-length stage!
It’s also been one week since my birthday weekend, which was a non-stop food and drink fest. Such a blast, but I also feel like it’s time to get some good-quality nutrition back in my routine so I’ve stocked up on so much produce and protein. Starting with this dinner inspired by Gina’s The Skinny Taste Cookbook.
Except I made one little mistake. Rarely ever will I cook meat (strictly for my aversion to touching slimy poultry, not a vegetarian). Sooo I don’t have much experience at the meat counter. I asked for half a pound of shrimp. You can imagine my horrified face when I discovered that I had to REMOVE THE LEGS AND DIGESTIVE TRACT OF THE SHRIMP MYSELF.
I was so excited for cooking a clean, balanced meal so I decided to suck it up, watch a Youtube tutorial and ‘devein’ the shrimp like a grown-up. If you have not done this, I highly recommend spending the extra few bucks for frozen, pre-cooked shrimp because the slimy strings that came out of that crustacean were unappetizing.
But it does look good on the plate.
The snowy conditions here are making me slightly less eager to dawn some spandex and pound the pavement but I am determined to start a more structured running routine. Treadmills, Spotify and Pinterest quotes are winter workout necessities.
I love that! Have a happy Tuesday :)
Strong Like My Coffee 