theinbetweenismine

just a girl living the expat life

Archives for September 2017

September Favorites

filed under: monthly favorites

1. Well, it probably won’t come as a surprise that one of my favorite things this month were the National Parks. I visited Zion, Bryce, Arches, Canyonlands and Yosemite in the last couple of weeks and I also saw a couple of State Parks and other natural beauties (including Lower Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend (my favorite!), Monument Valley, and the Goosenecks). Exploring the beautiful landscape of the U.S. Southwest must be one of my all-time favorite things.

2. I’ve recently bought Schmidt’s Natural Deodorant (Bergamont & Lime) and it’s the best natural deodorant that I’ve tried, hands down.

On a sidenote: I almost ordered this from Grove.Co* (and you guys know, I am a big fan of Grove because they have great products, great prices, and great customer service), but sometimes you still have to compare. They’re selling this deodorant stick for $8.99 (discounted from list price $12.00), which sounds like a solid deal, right? But it’s misleading, because you can get it for $8.99 on Schmidt’s company website. However, I snatched the stick at Target for $4.99, which is almost 50% off. I MEAN. How is this kind of price difference for the same product even legal?

3. I mentioned in one of my previous posts that I won a giveaway for some Momentum Jewelry goodies and one of the pieces was this “runner girl” necklace. I love it.

4. I don’t want to go into the nightmare that it is for someone like me to find a good fitting bra or bikini top (small band-size, larger cup), but let’s just say, I try to avoid shopping for bras and bikini tops until I don’t have any other option. Why is it so, so hard to find some decently shaped and sized tops for all sizes of women?  Anyway, since the last bikini I bought must be – oh, probably around 10 years old now and it’s not in that great of a shape anymore, I ordered this bikini top on a whim on Amazon (because it looked like it might work… and you guys. IT WORKS.

Is it the greatest, best-fitting bikini top ever? Nope, but for about $20, I’ll take it. The trick is that the band-size is completely adjustable with the way the back-tieing works and that’s just what works for me. PLUS, this is not a halter top (which are always uncomfortable) and the cups are only lightly padded (no push-ups!).

5. My cousin brought a little care package from Germany from my Mom and she included some of my favorite chocolate, Ritter Sport Yogurt. It’s so creamy and delicious. I am usually more of a salty-snack-kinda-girl, but I make an exception for this chocolate.

6. My cousin got me into Arizona Iced Tea on our road trip. Granted, I am already a big fan of iced tea, so he didn’t have much convincing to do. They also have an Arnold Palmer variety, which I love.

*The post does contain affiliate links. If you decide to join and try out Grove Collaborative via this post, you will receive $10 towards your first order and I will receive a $10 credit on my account.

Currently | September

filed under: currently

reading Close enough to touch by Colleen Oakley.

watching wildlife (we saw a bear at Yosemite!) and beautiful scenery on our road trip. So much better than TV ;)

(still) enjoying some precious family time with my cousin B and his girlfriend M. It’s so nice to have visitors from back home!

wishing there was more time (and money, ha!) to explore this beautiful world. The last couple of weeks have been so amazing. The National Parks are near and dear to my heart and I hope to spend more time exploring old and new ones!

loving the Bench Mark magnets that I got at the National Parks. Aren’t those cool?

stoked about a new PR in the half marathon. I ran the Napa Half Marathon last Sunday with B + M and while I am still chasing the elusive 2-hour mark, I was able to improve my previous PR by 2.5 minutes. I’ll take it, woot!

savoring a week off from running (it’s nice to take a little break).

eating Gunther’s ice-cream! It’s still so hot here in California and I had to introduce B + M  to a local ice-cream shop. I don’t go there very often (because it’s kinda pricey), but it’s so delicious!

drinking iced tea. 

looking forward to the World Series. I am really hoping the Red Sox will make it this year!

feeling slightly shocked about the results of the German elections. While I am super-relieved that Angela Merkel will remain our chancellor for the time being (a steady leader is what we need right now), I am shocked that even in Germany the right-wing party (AfD – Alternative für Deutschland) got enough votes to get seats in the German parliament. WHAT is wrong with people? 

anticipating fall and everything that comes with it. I am looking forward to drinking more tea again, going to the pumpkin patch, visiting the apple orchards and dressing in layers again!

What’s going on with you currently?

Thinking Out Loud #7

filed under: Thinking out loud

Hey, I am back from my first leg of the road trip that I am doing with my cousin and his girlfriend and wanted to pop in real quick to say hello and give you a quick update. What did I miss?

+ The last six days were amazing. I can’t describe how thankful I am that I got to spend these days exploring national parks again. It was a whirlwind first part of our trip and I will take some time and process the experience before I blog about it, but rest assured, there are going to be some recaps in the near future. Again, you can follow along on Instagram in the meantime.


{Angel’s Landing – Zion NP}

+ Vacation time in the US sucks. There, I said it (again). I get 10 paid vacation days per year (and yes, I am lucky that I also get most federal holidays off.)  In Germany though, the minimum required vacation time is 20 days (and most people I know get more than that). It just makes traveling (and visiting home) so hard, if you only have 10 days per year.

+ Arizona Iced Tea is delicious. New favorite road trip drink.

+ I saw not one, but TWO tarantulas in the wild last weekend. I had just told my cousin’s girlfriend that yes, we do have unusual (for Germans) wildlife around here in the Southwest, but I had never seen a tarantula – or snake for that matter – with my own eyes. Well, and then we came upon the tarantulas. One is apparently quite lucky to see one, as they are nocturnal and are usually not out and about during the day, so I guess, we can call ourselves extra-lucky! Ha! We also saw mule deer, rock squirrels, chipmunks, and bighorn sheep and of course ravens and falcons. We also heard (but didn’t see) the owls at Zion.

+ Speaking of luck, I also won not one, but TWO giveaways on Instagram and blogs this week. I am so stoked. One giveaway was for Momentum Jewelry (which I am slightly obsessed with!) via Carlee’s blog and the other one was for a pair of bluetooth sports headphones from Jaybird (which is just awesome because I wanted to try wireless headphones for a while, but didn’t want to shell out the money!) via Susie’s Instagram feed. I guess, just entering all these awesome giveaways pays off sometime!!

+ I was horrified to hear about yet another hurricane pummeling the Carrebean and also the earthquake in Mexico City. Mother Earth is quite angry right now, isn’t she? One feels so helpless in the face of so much destruction and suffering. I guess, I should set up a recurring donation to the Red Cross.

What’s a random thought on your mind today?

I am linking up with Amanda from Running with Spoons for Thinking Out Loud.

Thinking Out Loud #6

filed under: Thinking out loud, this and that

It’s another Thursday and I am linking up with Amanda from Running with Spoons for Thinking Out Loud for some random thoughts again!

+ Last Saturday was my Californi-aversary. It’s been 16 years since I came to California for an exchange semester and then practically never left (I mean, besides flying back and forth for some visa adjustments for a few years, ha).  Blame it all on this guy. It’s crazy to me how fast these years flew by, they almost feel like a blink of my eye and here we are 16 years later.

il_570xn-283388985

{source}

 

+ Last year around this time, I flew to Vegas to meet up with one of my oldest friends, Cathy from Australia. When I mentioned it to J, he couldn’t believe that it has already been a year. Once again, where does the time go?

+ Yay, I got my Stumptown Coffee this week. Is anyone else as excited about coffee deliveries?

+ I’ve been pretty worried about all my friends in Florida the last few days, but everybody seems to be okay (which is a huge relief). The wind and flood damage in parts of the state seems to be significant, especially in the Florida Keys, but I am hoping that people will come together to support the relief efforts. I’ve already donated – again – to the Red Cross.

+ I’m off work today (for the next five days) to explore some National Parks with my cousin + his girlfriend and I am beyond thrilled. It’s going to be so much fun. I could really use the time off too. So, it’s probably also a little quiet over here for a little while, because I didn’t plan ahead and didn’t schedule any posts.  Follow me on Instagram in the meantime. See you next week!

What’s a random thought on your mind today?

TotR | How I became a morning runner

filed under: fitness, linkup, running

Remember when I said that ‘no way in hell’ could I ever work out before work in the morning? I was pretty set on the fact that I am an afternoon/evening runner and that there was no way I could switch to a morning workout.

Well, turns out, that was then and this is now: I work out 2, sometimes 3 times per week before I start work at 7:00 am in the morning and I also often run in the early mornings on the weekends now. On weekdays when I run, my alarm goes off at 4:15 a.m. and I am at the gym by 4.45 a.m. to get a 60-75 minute workout in.

I had to work myself backwards to such an early wake-up time because I first underestimated the extra time I’d need in the morning, but now I really don’t mind it all that much.

I honestly don’t even know myself anymore. But, I have to say: I love it.

Ok, ok, truth be told… I am not really a fan of the getting up early at-the-crack-of-dawn-part, but once I am up and at the gym, I never regret it. What definitely helps is not doing this every day of the week (kudos to all of you who do this every day! It’s impressive!)

But, I also don’t dread the early morning wake up calls like I thought I would and I definitely feel pretty accomplished when I am on my way to work (the anticipation of a big hot cup of fresh coffee helps, too. Always!).

The decision to ‘try’ the early morning workout really came down to two factors:

a) if I wanted to get workouts in during the workweek, I could either go to the gym before or after work, and

b) I refuse to run outdoors by myself because there are no real good running paths around my neighborhood where I would feel safe in the dark ( and I am also lacking the proper gear).

Going to the gym after work would mean that I basically don’t have any time with J in the evenings. I work until 6 p.m. and wouldn’t be home from the gym until 8:30 p.m. On top of that, having the gym lined up after 10+ hours of work basically just begs for you to find excuses to just go home instead. So, I had to bite the bullet and give this early morning workout a go.

You’d be surprised to see how many people work out so early in the morning and it’s a real motivation factor to know that so many others get up early for this.

Here are a few tips that have helped me make (my) morning workouts easier:

1. Pack your gym bag and get everything ready the night before, so you can sleep as long as possible.

2. Put out your running clothes the night before (or even sleep in them).

3. Go to bed early. (I try to get at least 7 hours of sleep before a workout, so that means if my alarm goes off at 4:15 a.m. I am in bed by 9 p.m.

4. Do the early workout on set days during the week (it helps me to know that I don’t have to get up that early every single morning).

5. Have something you look forward to afterward (like I mentioned: coffee!).

6. Remember how you feel when your workout is done for the day when you’re heading to work and remind yourself that you did this so you don’t have to tag on a workout after your workday!

7. Make workout friends at the gym. It’s harder not to go when people expect you to be there. (In my case, there is this older gentleman, for example, who always walks on the treadmill next to mine – and he’s there every day! He greets me every morning at 5 a.m. with a smile and he always inquires in case I didn’t show up.)

8. Have a workout plan. It’s much easier for me to go the gym when I know what’s on my training schedule than just deciding in the morning what type of workout I am going to do.

Do you run/work out in the morning? Does it come naturally to you?

I am linking up with Erika, Patty and Marcia  for Tuesdays on the Run again.

Friday Five | Post-run snacks & meals

filed under: food, Friday Five, running

I will admit, part of what is great about running is the post-run snack/meal. I would lie if I said that I don’t appreciate the extra calories I can allocate after a hard workout, besides the fact that refueling right after a workout is so important for recovery.

Here are some of my favorite go-to post-run snacks.

1. Chocolate milk – One is never too old to enjoy a nice, big glass of ice-cold chocolate milk, am I right?

2. German Apple pancakes – when I am home after a run and crave something sweet, I’ll throw together some pancake batter and make German pancakes with apples (or other fruit). They always hit the spot.

3. Light & Fit Yogurt Drink – I pretty much have these on hands for days where I don’t have much time, but want to get some protein in right after my run. They’re high in protein, low in sugar (none added) and pretty tasty.

4. Ozery Morning Rounds – I love these muesli bread rounds with a cup of coffee. I can eat them just plain, don’t even toast them, because they have good flavor by themselves.

5. Ham + Egg Sandwich – if I really want to treat myself, I make a “Strammer Max”, a ham (off the bone) + egg (over-easy) sandwich on fried bread. It’s a German ‘recipe’, which I have previously shared here.

Honorable other mentions: steel-cut oats, smoothies, yogurt with granola and fresh fruit, and fried potatoes with veggies. These also are frequent post run snacks for me, but this link-up is called Friday FIVE, so I had to stick those in a sidenote. Ha.

What do you eat after a run? My favorite post-run snacks & meals #fridayfive Click To Tweet

What’s your favorite snack after a hard workout?

I am linking up with  Running on Happy and Fairytales and Fitness for the Friday Five 2.0 Linkup

Thinking Out Loud #5

filed under: Thinking out loud, this and that

+ I had planned to write a Labor Day Weekend recap, but honestly, there wasn’t much to recap (because we didn’t do anything exciting, besides enjoying a very laid-back weekend), so the few little highlights I will mention here.

+ It was super-smoky/hazy in Sacramento last weekend, mostly due to the wildfires around the state, and on top of that we were still in the middle of a heat wave. Except for running the usual errands on Saturday and my long run Sunday morning, I tried to stay indoors and stay cool.

+ I did stop by the Fleet Feet Labor Day Sale on Saturday though hoping for a steal on some new marked down running shoes, but no such luck. I stocked up on some Nuun and Honeystinger Waffles instead and got some 50% arm warmers for the fall (whenever fall decides to show up around here).

+ On Sunday, I found a baby squirrel on my long run. I didn’t want to put a picture here (the newborns look pretty fragile), but if you want to know what they look like… don’t you agree that they almost look like little puppies? Its eyes were closed and it didn’t have much fur to speak of yet, it could have only been a few days old, but it was breathing and trying to move around. No Mama-Squirrel was nearby. I knew that I couldn’t just leave it there to die (I think I have watched one too many episodes of Bandit Patrol), but I also didn’t have anything with me to pick it up and I was pretty much halfway out from my run, so I decided to finish my run and then come back with the car and a cardboard box to rescue the baby squirrel. I knew I was taking a  chance of it dying in the meantime, but what could I have done? Sadly, when I returned about 35 minutes later, it had indeed died and I am so heartbroken. I wish there was something I could have done, but I don’t think it would have made it either way.

When I told my Mom, she laughed and reminded me that as a kid, I had always picked up animals and birds in the woods behind our neighborhood and took them to our vet next door. No surprise that I wanted to become a vet for a long time. Have you ever rescued a wild animal? Did it survive?

+ I haven’t been very creative lately, but in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, I designed some #texasstrong cards for my Etsy shop. My friend Dina, the other half of our shop, lives in Houston and while she was lucky that she didn’t have to evacuate, my heart breaks for her city. All proceeds will go towards Texas flood relief efforts.

+ I had a pretty rough night on Monday. Do you ever lie awake and think about all the things happening in the world? The what-ifs in your life? I think about events that (apparently) I still haven’t completely let go off. I think about things that I wish were different. Man, I hate when I do that. I mean, why? It made me feel awful and I tossed and turned the rest of the night. Let’s just say that the next morning I didn’t feel exactly rested and I had an early morning workout on my schedule. At least, running my heart out made me feel normal again.

I am linking up with Amanda from Running with Spoons for Thinking out Loud again.

What I bought on Amazon | Favorites 2016-2017

filed under: linkup, review, shopping

Be honest, do you also love – and shop often – on Amazon? If you like to share the deals you grabbed on Amazon and also check out what other people have been snatching up, you want to keep reading.

My blog friend Lacey has started this new link-up where every first Wednesday of the month, we will highlight Amazon finds that we’ve been purchasing.

This is going to be a summary of some of my favorite Amazon purchases from the last 12 months, because there are a few things that I probably won’t buy again anytime soon, but that I want to share with you. I am a regular Amazon shopper, but I don’t buy ALL my stuff from Amazon, so we’ll see how much I can participate in the monthly link-ups (depending on my shopping habits during the previous month).

Here are some of my favorite, more recent, Amazon* purchases.

Knitter’s Pride Dreamz Interchangeable Knitting Needles – These are my favorite knitting needles to work with. I prefer wood over plastic or metal needles, because they have a warmer touch (and they don’t clatter) and the stitches move smoothly, but don’t really slip easily. I also love that they’re interchangeables, so you can exchange the cords and needles sizes on exisiting projects.

Sebamed Hand-Creme – This is hands-down the best handcreme. I usually get a couple of tubes from Germany (because it’s way cheaper there, I think one tube is 3.95€), but if I run out, at least I can get it on Amazon. It absorbs pretty quickly and doesn’t leave a greasy or sticky feeling.

BraceUP Ankle Support – I bought this in a pinch when I was dealing with some ankle pain before my half marathon this summer and it worked pretty well and helped stabilize my ankle.

Balega Ultralight No show Running Socks – These are one of my favorite pairs of running socks. I highly recommend them. Running socks don’t come cheap, but you can score a good deal on Amazon.

CodeFit Yoga Power Flex Dry-Fit Pants – I bought these a while ago (back in March), but I need to share them here today, because I really love these pants and many people have complimented me on them over the last few months and I won’t have another opportunity to let you know about them (unless I buy another pair, which is totally possible, but then I’ll just tell you about them again. Ha.) They’re like a stretchy-compression-like material and super-comfortable.

Cuisinart Automatic Burr Mill – We had a Capresso Burr Grinder before and the operating button broke, so we had to look for a new one. I wanted a burr mill grinder again because it grinds more evenly and I can also use it to mill whole grains (which I occasionally do for bread baking). This Cuisinart Burr Mill has proven itself very useful.

Blowfish Bungalow Gladiator Sandals – J actually picked out these sandals for me and I am so glad I ordered them. They’re comfortable and cute and I’ve gotten quite a few compliment on these sandals.

Mirity Womens 3/4 Sleeve Boat Neck Cute Solid Shirring Dolman Drape Top – I’ve had good luck with ordering the occasional basic t-shirt from Amazon. This boat neck top is a little bit fancier than just a plain old t-shirt and works well with jeans or skirts.

Cambond® 6.6ft Nylon Braided 8 Pin Lightning to USB Cable for iPhone 6 and up – I was looking for a longer, sturdier iPhone charger cable for travel and I came across this one.

Caravan Sports Infinity Oversized Zero Gravity chair – I wish they were a little prettier and didn’t give off the camping vibe, but we needed something quick to enjoy our backyard in the summer and these chairs fit the bill. They are very comfortable, I have to add, and affordable.

‘Flopsie’ Plush Toy Otter – I was looking for a little Californian souvenir for my niece and nephew when I flew back home earlier this summer and I saw these toy otters and thought they were perfect.  They’r super-soft and cuddly and my niece and nephew thought so, too.

SaltStick FASTCHEWS Electrolyte Replacement Tablets – I bought these salt tablets after a running friend recommended them to me (because I deal with heat-related swelling and occasional cramping). If I go for longer runs, I take 2 tablets every 3-5 miles and I have noticed an improvement. They taste pretty much like dextrose with a bit of a salty aftertaste (not bad though).

LUVVITT iPhone case – If you want a sturdy, but affordable phone case, you want to look into the LUVVITT clear cases. I’ve had one for my iPhone 5s and have repurchased the same case for my iPhone 7. I tend to drop my phone occasionally, but with this case as protection (it goes around the edges of the screen), I have never cracked it.

Lifefactory 16-Ounce BPA-Free Glass Water Bottle – I admit I bought this water bottle because it’s so pretty, but also because I wanted a glass water bottle. I have a bunch of Nalgene bottles that I still use daily, but I wanted a pretty bottle that is not too big and that I can just stick in my purse.

Did you buy stuff from Amazon recently? What would you recommend?

I am linking up with Lacey from perksofbeingajap.com for The What I Bought on Amazon Link-Up.

* I am currently not affiliated with Amazon and won’t be earning any commissions on purchases you may make through my links. I am just sharing the links so you can see the exact products that I purchased and reviewed here. All opinions are my own.

What I read in August

filed under: books

Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong (★★★☆☆)

This book has really high reviews and I wanted to like it, but as so often with books that touch on a serious subject, it didn’t go deep enough for me. I was expecting something more, … different…? I don’t know. The story was a little disjointed and random at points and I had a hard time getting really invested in any of the characters, most of all Ruth’s father, who suffered from Alzheimer’s, who should have been the person towards which I should have felt the most emotions.

Where’d you go Bernadette by Maria Semple (★★★☆☆)

Another book that didn’t live up to the hype for me. Soooo many of my friends gave this book 4 or 5 stars, but I can’t for the life of me understand why. I honestly didn’t know, and still don’t understand, where this whole story was going or what the point of it was. Can someone explain? I did give it three stars, because I – apparently – finished it and was temporarily intrigued here and there, but overall? What was the point of this book?

Marlena by Julie Buntin (★★★★☆)

This was a captivating story about friendship between two teenage girls, Cat and Marlena, whose characters couldn’t have been more different. It’s a story about bonding, peer pressure, and coming of age. I really enjoyed the story, told in retrospect, by Cat as a grown woman as she’s trying to make sense of her unlikely and short-lived friendship with Marlena. The book touches on a lot of societal problems, especially such in rural America. Addiction, poverty, loss. The only reason that I subtracted a star, is that the narrator jumps back and forth between past and present and sometimes I was a bit confused or felt like I missed a piece of information that was eventually revealed in a later chapter, which made it tough to follow at times, but it’s definitely a book I would recommend you read!

Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine by Gail Honeyman.(★★★★☆)

There was a lot, a lot that I liked about this book, but there also was a lot of eye-rolling… and worst of all, I was suspecting the whole time that this book was about mental illness (which – spoiler alert – it didn’t really turn out to be) and it had me preemptively hold this grudge towards the story (because the whole time I felt it didn’t do such a heavy topic justice).
I also felt that Eleanor’s (mostly lovable) quirks seemed a little bit TOO unrealistic for this day and age. (Do foster kids really not know how to use a cellphone or a computer? Do they not know how to behave at all in a social situation, or when they go to a restaurant/bar? Eleanor also seemed excessively naive for a 30-year old woman who after all had navigated foster care, managed to go to university, and had already worked many years in an administrative job.
Oh, and did I mention she’s disfigured and has scars all over her face?  Do they not have counselors for traumatized foster kids? If they do, they didn’t do a very good job. She apparently figured out how to drink on weekends to shut out the outside world.)

Ok, I stop ranting or else you start wondering why I still gave this book four stars, because despite all that criticism, I ended up liking Eleanor’s character quite a bit and I was rooting for her and Raymond throughout the whole book. I was hoping she’d be able to change, to open herself up, to work through her issues, and come out on top. I was also relieved to find out that the book wasn’t supposed to be primarily about mental illness.

Holding up the Universe by Jennifer Niven (★★★★☆)

I am not a huge YA literature fan, but some part of me really enjoyed this book, because it had such a positive message. Yes, it was a little bit ‘too good to be true’ and I felt like juxtaposing popular Jack’s prosopagnosia (face-blindness) and outsider Libby’s problems of being an obese teenager (each of which could have been the center of its own story and there would have been plenty to write about) almost a bit too much. The story was also riddled with common high school stereotypes. It was almost not believable that these two characters would end up not just finding respect for each other, but falling in love with each other.

Still, the way the story unfolded and how the lives of these two teenagers were interwoven from the beginning was heart-warming and gave me so much hope. I also thought Niven’s writing to be excellent.

What was your favorite book this month? Leave a comment, and then add me on Goodreads to keep in touch.

Hello September

filed under: about me

Goodness, it’s September. I am so. not. ready. And almost-fall doesn’t seem to be on board either, because we have a continuing excessive heat warning in effect for the next few days!  I am not about to complain, because having flood waters in your house is infinitely worse, but it’s just another reminder that the weather is a little out of control.

Here’s what’s going on in my world this month:

+ First and foremost, my cousin and his girlfriend will be here in a couple of weeks and we’re going to be busy spending time with them. I am looking forward to taking some short road trips with them and showing them around Northern California.

+ It’s the last full month of baseball season (not counting the World Series, of course) and I’ll be enjoying the heck out of these last few weeks. My team, the Red Sox, are doing pretty well and I hope they’ll finish strong this year!

+ My Mom is spending most of this month at a rehabilitation facility after her big surgery last month and I am so glad she got approved for that again. They really take care of you in Germany after big health issues. The coolest part: my dad can accompany her (for a small additional charge) for a week, which is like a little mini-vacation for the both of them.

+ I am working today (as you might recall, I usually have Fridays off), but I still get a 3-day weekend (thanks to Labor Day) and I am saving up comp-time for some roadtrips with my cousin (see above!)

+ I am excited to check out our local Fleet Feet Store this weekend for Labor Day Sale. Hooray!

+ I’ll also be running the 10K  #runfortexas  this weekend and there is still time for you to join me and donate!

What’s up with you in September?