1. It’s no secret fall is my favorite time of year, however the past month has felt more like WINTER. Too dark, too dreary, too much rain, daylight savings kicked my butt, and my motivation for nearly everything has gone down the drain.
However, one thing that gets me jazzed every year is a holiday cup from Starbucks. It’s an instant nostalgic mood boost.
2. I know once the holiday festivities are over, and the days get even shorter I will want to permanently keep my head attached to my pillow. In an attempt to mitigate such behavior I have signed up for another spring half marathon. Training for one this past year during Jan/Feb/March was a helpful way to stay active. I also love having a goal to look forward to.
Having a focus and training regime for the upcoming winter will keep me from turning into Jabba the Hutt. I think this will be a new annual routine for me.
3. Since we’re on the topic of running, I went for a trail run recently. While it’s not normally my thing, I didn’t hate it. I enjoy running solo, but I won’t trail run solo, so I don’t trail run. (That and I don’t love giant hills.) My friend who will also be running the spring half marathon (his first one!) likes trail running, so I accompanied him on a 5 miler.
The run felt good, but the sight I came home to afterwards felt even better.
4. After a routine trip to Sprouts recently I noticed one of my back tires was low. I drove to Costco to fill it with some air, where I discovered the tire had a screw in it. Ooofff. I thankfully managed to drive to Discount Tire where I was jazzed to discover I had a warranty on my tires. I got a new tire for free, but I was bamboozled by the guy helping me.
He asked me when the last time I changed my wipers was. I told him it had been a looonnngg time, and that I knew how to do it, but I was being lazy. He told me he could make me a great deal, so I told him if he could replace them for under $20 I was in. He said he could, and I was shocked. He manipulated his computer to get the $50 pair for just $19, but they are AWFUL.
Note to self: not all wipers are created equal. At least I got a free $118 tire…
5. Speaking of saving money, I officially had to buy a new pair of Merrell’s. I bought a pair of Move Glove shoes in 2021 and beat the ever living life out of them. I refused to buy a new pair until the pair I had were shot, and I think having a hole in the heel I can fit multiple fingers through counts as getting my moneys worth.
6. Duncan and I are going to a candlelight Vivaldi concert in two weeks, and I am beyond excited. I had seen the candlelight concert ads for years, and always thought they were a scam. Then I had a friend who went to one, and she confirmed it was no only NOT a scam, but a wonderful experience.
The candles are most certainly not real, but the ambiance will still be lovely. I haven’t been to a classical concert since I lived in Europe.
7. Little free library boxes bring me so much joy. I recently commandeered THREE books (two of which I already wanted to read) from three different ones. I don’t know who first started this trend, but I am so thankful for the pockets of joy. Once I finish these three I will return them to another box, and the cycle will continue.
8. Speaking of books, I set a goal to read 25 books this year. Then that goal was bumped to 30, then 45, and then to 60. I have decided to leave the goal at 60, even though I have surpassed the goal (currently at 65 books.) This may not be many books for devout readers, but as someone who only recently got back into reading for hobby I am quite chuffed by this. My favorite books of the year thus far are:
- I’m Thinking of Ending Things – Iain Reid (Psychological)
- It Happened One Summer – Tessa Bailey (Romance)
- The Great Alone – Kristin Hannah (Emotional)
- Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal – Mary Roach (Science)
- The Tattooist of Auschwitz – Heather Morris (Historical)
- Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers – Mary Roach (Science)
- Educated – Tara Westover (Memoir)
- And Then There Were None – Agatha Christie (Mystery)
- The Women – Kristin Hannah (Historical Fiction)
9. I’m not one to collect many souvenirs, but one thing I try to get from every national park I visit is a pin. I’ve kept all my pins in a small box, and when I told my friend Caitlin this she offered to make me something to display them on. She hand sewed some felt pieces together, and it turned out so adorable.
The best part is that she gave it to me with a pin already in it. I didn’t get a pin in YOHO National Park back in September when she and I went, so she found me one online and bought it for me. What a pal, I am so thankful for her.
10. I ran a Turkey Trot this year against my better judgement. It was a 5k, and while 3.1 miles is a respectable distance to run, for me it’s my baseline. Because of this I don’t like paying to run a 5K. Paying for a 10K or higher pushes me to train longer miles, and therefor is justifiable to pay.
I digress.
This trot was only $20, so I decided to sign up after a friend told me he would be running it. I arrived early the day of the race to pick up my running bib, and the poor volunteers were deep in the storm of chaos. I registered the day prior, so I gave them grace when they couldn’t find the bib attached to my name. I assumed I didn’t have one because I signed up too close to the day of the race.
The woman helping me then handed me a random running bib, and with no further direction said “ok, here you go” (after expressing she could not find mine.) Thankfully I overheard another volunteer tell someone else the random bib’s were not attached to anyone, and we would just have to look up the numbers for results under anonymous runner.
OK, no big deal.
I run the race, and I end up quite proud of my time (29:56), and while I know my name won’t be on the results page I still want to see my number for my official chipped time. Lo and behold, the number I ran with was attached to a Mr. Mark Kimball. I decided to type my name in just to see, and SURE ENOUGH, there was a bib attached to my name and SOMEONE ELSE RAN WITH IT.
I am aware this is the epitome of what’s considered a “first world problem” (this is a confession posts after all), but I was admittedly bummed because I like collecting the running certificates with my name and my times. Duncan convinced me to reach out to the people who ran the event, and they were able to attach my name to the number I ran with and all was well in the world. It’s ok if you judge me for this confession.
Q: What’s your confession? Favorite books this year?
Blissfulbritt 