theinbetweenismine

just a girl living the expat life

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Archives for September 2018

Monthly Favorites | September

September 28, 2018 filed under: monthly favorites

1. I am usually not a fan of pre-packaged oatmeal (I’d rather make it fresh), but these Strawberry Raspberry Oatmeal* cups from Trader Joe’s definitely work in a pinch and when you’re on the go. They’re low in sugar and pretty tasty. I brought a couple of them along on my field trip last week.

2. I’ve been using the Maybelline Super StayⓇ foundation* the last few weeks and it’s become one of my go-to drugstore foundations. It says it’s full coverage, but if you apply it lightly, it doesn’t look like full coverage at all. It just nicely evens out my skin tone.

3. I really enjoyed the TMAC20 Fitness Challenge* this month. It made me want to put more effort into being active EVERY day (20 minutes should be doable most days!) and also work on a positive mindset and I’ve decided to continue with the 20 minutes workouts on the days when I don’t run.

4. I admit I haven’t really been consistent with foam rolling, but I’ve been using my T-pin Vector* foam roller more this last month (making an effort!) and I love it, especially because it’s been helping me to release muscle tightness or trigger points after a workout. Have you been using a foam roller to help in the recovery of your muscles after workouts? It’s truly been a game-changer.

5. I’ve been living in my Birkenstock Gizeh* sandals all summer. They’re my favorite, most comfortable summer shoe and I think next year I have to invest in a new pair. I also wear a pair of Birkenstock Arizonas around the house.

6. Asada Burritos. Do I have to say more? We’ve been on a burrito kick around here lately and it’s our once-a-week takeout treat. I usually get a lunch for the next day out of it, too, because the burritos are so huge.

7. Mrs Meyers Dish Soap* has been our go-to dish soap for a while. It’s made with plant-derived cleaning ingredients and its concentrated, biodegradable formula is tough on grease. I usually soak my pots and pans for a few minutes and then just have to rinse them clean. I personally love the basil fragrance for the kitchen, but they have others to choose from.

What was one of your favorite things this month?

* #notanad, This is not a sponsored post. I have not been compensated by the brand or anyone else for linking the websites.

16

Thinking Out Loud #25

September 27, 2018 filed under: Thinking out loud


Hi friends. It’s been a little while since I checked in with you. Today I am going to catch you up on my world by linking up with Amanda from Running with Spoons for Thinking out Loud.

+ As you might recall, I was in the desert for work for 7 days (and I got to play with drones. Yay!). Including the 2 days in the office, before I left for my field trip, I worked 9 days straight and I accumulated 32 hours of overtime. Needless to say, we put in some really, really long days. I am not sure if you’re interested to know what a field trip at my job entails, but let me know in the comments and maybe I’ll blog about it sometime.

+ I’ll be off for the next few days (thank goodness, I need it!) before going on my next field trip on Sunday.

+ I had no coffee for the 7 days I was in the field (except for one iced coffee, I remember now). How I survived the week without coffee, I don’t know, but the hotel coffee was terrible and there was no easy access to the only coffee shop close by (Starbucks) because we worked such long days, so I went without it. The first cup of coffee back home yesterday was pure heaven in a cup.

+  I completed the 20-day fitness challenge last weekend. I wasn’t sure if I was able to finish successfully as the last days of the challenge happened to coincide with my field trip, but I made use of the hotel gym a couple of times and my fieldwork involved some hiking, so I was at the very least able to get my steps in. I am going to recap my experience in a different blog post, but for now, I’d like to say: it was a really fun and motivating experience! Thanks again to my friend Susi for inviting me to the challenge.

+ The Red Sox clinched the AL East playoff berth against the Yankees as the best team in the history of the franchise. Yes, yes, yes, amazing! There are a few more games left, but it’s been a really fantastic season for our team! Now on to the World Series!

What is on your mind right now?

16

Currently | September

September 20, 2018 filed under: currently

HANGING OUT | in the Mojave Desert for work. NBD. If you follow me on Instagram, keep your eyes out. I hope to post a few pictures there.

FEELING | a little rushed right now with two field trips back to back. Don’t get me wrong, I love getting out of the office, but two week-long field trips back to back can be, well, long and exhausting.

WEARING | my new running shoes. Did I mention that I won another pair of running shoes through an Instagram giveaway? Best timing ever, as I was looking to get new shoes soon anyway.

EXCITED ABOUT | leaving the windows open and shutting off the AC more! It’s been so, so nice around here. Warm during the day, cool at night and I love it.

READING | Turtles all the way down by John Green.

EATING |  raw almonds. I go through phases, but I am into them right now.

DRINKING | Vanilla Honey Chamomile Tea. It’s not quite fall here yet (when I will start drinking huge amounts of tea!), but a cup of chamomile tea in the evening helps to calm me down before bed.

(always) LOOKING FORWARD TO | seeing my giraffe friends on my runs!

ENJOYING | my 20-minute morning workouts. I am planning to write a post about my experience with the 20-day fitness challenge, because it’s been really good.

TRYING | hard to keep up the good new habits that I formed over the last 2 1/2 weeks!

LISTENING TO |   Pod Save America. I’ll never be an avid podcast listener, but I’ve been listening to episodes of this podcast on and off lately. Maybe because it’s an easier way for me to stay on top of the news without actually following the news.

What’s up with you currently?

7

September Link Love

September 17, 2018 filed under: link love

Around the Interwebs

Did you read this response by David Frum to the anonymous Op-Ed article in the NY Times?  On point.

So you wanna work in America? Have you ever thought about how hard it is to get a visa for the US?

Sitzfleisch: the German concept to get more work done.

How America killed transit. “[…]better service will attract more riders.” Duh.

Fundamental attribution error: why we make terrible life choices.

Don’t be paralyzed by idea debt. Don’t (over)think, act.

Are audiobooks as good for you as reading? As someone who doesn’t really do audiobooks, this was an intriguing read.

The recovery threw the middle class dream under a Benz.

Around the blogosphere

What can a high performing fitness tracker do for you? Do you use one?

16 ways to reduce your spending that actually work. Well, true. But what do you do when you do most of these already?

Ultimate Guide to Shopping at Trader Joe’s. Not that I need any help with this. Ha.

For my runner friends

How to jog: a guide for women. Basically this.

How to stay fit forever: 25 tips to keep moving when life gets in the way.

How accurate is the indoor run mode on Garmin?

Deliciousness

Are potatoes good for you? Yes. Yes, they are (if prepared right).

Please tell me I am not the only one…  how to CORRECTLY open a can with a can opener.

Herby buttered balsamic mushrooms ravioli. Give me all the mushrooms!

Breakfast zucchini cookies. Intrigued.

Share a good link with me in the comments!

16

Thinking Out Loud #24

September 13, 2018 filed under: Thinking out loud

I am linking up again with Amanda from Running with Spoons for Thinking out Loud because apparently I need a little kick in the butt this week when it comes to blogging. I haven’t been around here in a week. Ahem. No better way to restart here with a little bit of a brain dump.

+ On Sunday was my 17th California-versary. I wrote a little bit about this life-changing move for me here a couple of years ago and about the decision to come to California in the first place here. I still can’t believe I’ve spent such a long time in this country already. Sometimes it feels like I just got here yesterday, and then again, it feels like I’ve been here forever.

+ I don’t know how to put this in words, because we don’t have adequate words to describe what I am about to share, but I’ll try anyway. Sometimes, when I look back at the time that I lived here, I get glimpses of how I first “saw” this country as a foreigner when I had just arrived. It’s like, I see the same things now, but I don’t see the same things, if you know what I mean. There’s been a shift in my perception and it’s really hard to put in words what that actually means. A few days ago, I was talking with J about my first night in the US, when I came to stay for my exchange semester, and I told him that I felt scared and overwhelmed and that I asked myself “what the hell I was doing here”, and he asked “why?”. I think, unless you have traveled or moved to a different country all by yourself, this is just really hard to explain, but I’ll just say, talk about getting out of your comfort zone.

+ My 20-day fitness challenge is halfway done and I am still going strong. I didn’t really know if I could make it happen, but so far  I’ve hit my step goal, did my 20-minutes workouts, meditated and made my bed every morning for 10 days in a row. I also ate healthy(-ish), which I am trying to do  most of the time anyway.

On days, where I don’t run, getting 10k steps in is surprisingly hard. You have to be really intentional with moving around every day. But hey, you know what, it feels pretty good when you do accomplish your goals… and since they say that it takes about 21 days to form a habit, I might end up with some new habits when the challenge is over. Win-win.

+ I recently sold a couple of things on eBay. I hadn’t had much luck with consignments stores or ThredUp and some of the things I wanted to get rid off, I didn’t want to just give away (although I’ve done plenty of that as well). I am really happy I got a little bit of money by putting them up for sale on eBay.

+ My employer covers 50% of my gym membership and I think that’s awesome. I just got a nice little reimbursement on my last paycheck. Woot! Does your employer sponsor your physical health in any way?

What have you been thinking about today?

14

What I read in August

September 5, 2018 filed under: books

August was a good reading month for me. I read eight books last month! I didn’t think I’d be able to catch up but I am well on the way to reach my reading goal for this year!

I really enjoyed all the books that I read this month, some a little more than others, but none of them was disappointing, so that’s always a win!

An abbreviated life by Ariel Leve (★★★★☆)

Talk about the importance of early childhood development and for kids to learn to love and trust in close personal relationships. Ariel tells the story of her upbringing by an eccentric, mentally ill mother in New York’s artist scene and mostly absent father, who chose to leave the relationship early on. Her story explains vividly why “Children who are exposed to trauma and stressful situations become hypervigilant as adults. So they’re always scanning, looking for danger. It’s hard to settle down and feel secure if you’re wired to always be on your toes. You can wind up with a mismatch if the world you live in is much more benign than your childhood. And so you may be overreacting and over-interpreting stimuli because you’re wired in that way.” (Quote from the book.)

Swear on this life by Renée Carlino (★★★★☆)

I started this book and I couldn’t put it down. I finished it over a weekend and I thought the writing was really compelling and the setup of the story so cleverly thought out, but halfway through the book there were a few things that just didn’t sit right with me.

I am a sucker for a good love story and I still gave this book 4 stars, because I loved the way how it told two stories at once that somehow somewhere started to merge into one. I just felt that the second half of the book was a bit anticlimactic.

Text me when you get home: the evolution and triumph of modern female friendship by Kayleen Schaefer  (★★★★☆)

This book was heart-warming in so many ways. I can’t tell you how often I kept nodding when Schaefer described the incredible (often invisible) bonds between women. Some parts were a little long-winded, but ultimately they were necessary to completely describe the evolution of modern female friendship which seemed to go hand-in-hand with female empowerment and liberation over the decades. She tackles many social stereotypes, such as that  girls are “mean” or always just “compete for men’s attention”.  This book celebrates the intimate ways in which women support and love each other and made my heart explode with all the love and adoration that I have for my female friends. 

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne (★★★★☆)

This book was cleverly written and entertaining, although a bit predictable. It’s a classic tale of two people who started out thinking that they have to “hate” each other, only to find out that the opposite might be true. Surprise!  I am not mad I read it, it was funny and entertaining (I gave it four stars after all), but I didn’t really gather any more wisdom from this book, and maybe I didn’t have to. If you want something light to read in between heavier books, this is a good choice. 

Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi (★★★☆☆)

I was very intrigued by the setup of this story. The book centers around Ada, a young Nigerian woman, who – as far as I can gather – has some sort of split personality disorder (if we want to label it in medical terms). However, the story is told from the perspectives of three distinct selves that battle for attention at the forefront of Ada’s mind. As much as this premise was intriguing, it was very confusing at times. It was hard to fully connect with Ada as her life unfolded and seemingly nobody seemed to notice what was happening to her, even as the demise of entire relationships in her life were narrated, but not fully shown in action. If you delight in stories that are a little cryptic and abstractly executed, this book might be for you.

The story of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg (★★★★☆)

Oh, this was such a sweet story. I highly recommend it if you’ve been reading some heavy books recently and just need something lighter in between. This story is about Arthur, a 80-something widower, who visits his deceased wife at the cemetery every day. (Are you “aww-ing” yet?)  This is where he meets Maddy, a teenage misfit, who’s trying to find her place in this world. The unlikely friendship develops into a deep bond and reveals all the sad, but also sweet circumstances of life and will restore your faith in humanity and kindness.

The Gunners by Rebecca Kauffman (★★★★☆)

A group of childhood friends reunite after one of them commits suicide. “The Gunners”, as they called themselves, after the name on the mailbox of the old, deserted house that they used as a meeting place, might have gone their separate ways as adults, but there was still something that kept them connected over the years. When Sally broke away from the group in high school, nobody knew why and the question has haunted them all.  So when they gather a decade later for Sally’s funeral, everybody gets the chance to relive their childhood memories and draw conclusions on what might have happened. In recounting the past, it becomes clear how much, and at the same time, how little we know about the people we are closest to, and how everyone perceives the world a little different. 

This was a delightful read about friendships, about  the seemingly little things in life that can affect us in different ways, and secrets that, once revealed, might change everything.

Upstate bei James Wood (★★★☆☆)

When Alan Querry receives word that his oldest daughter Vanessa has fallen into a depression, he and his younger daughter Helen, travel from England to Upstate New York, where Vanessa teaches at a college, and spent six wintry days trying to reconnect.

The book raises some interesting questions as Vanessa and Helen have dealt so differently with their parents divorce and subsequent death of their mother.  Why do some people find living so much harder than others? Is happiness a skill that might be learned or a cruel accident of birth? Is reflection conducive to happiness or an obstacle to it?

The book was little bit slow for me in the beginning and it didn’t really come to a culmination at the end. I wish there would have been a little bit more substance to this pondering, because I thought the questions were intriguing, but ultimately the author leaves it up to the reader to decide. 

 

What did you read in August? Anything you’d like to recommend? Leave a comment, and then add me on Goodreads to keep in touch.

20

Hello September

September 4, 2018 filed under: about me

And just like that, it’s September. Did you have a good Labor Day weekend? I was lucky to have Monday off, so we had a nice extra-long weekend. We didn’t have any plans though. We went out to dinner on Saturday and otherwise just hung out at home. I shredded three garbage bags full of old documents, wondering why we were still hanging on to them, finished a book and started a new one, and watched some baseball.

Here’s to a new month and what will be going on in September:

+ I’ve actually managed to get my bullet journal set up before the new month started (that’s a win!) and I’ve gotten a few questions how it’s been working out for me. I definitely have some thoughts on the process and I am planning to write an update on my bullet journal journey soon!

+ Susi talked me into the 20-day challenge hosted by tmacfitness.com and even though I’ll be having a somewhat busy September, I decided to join. I like a good challenge. Transform your body & mind in just 20 minutes a day!  Everybody can find 20 minutes in a day, right? Get ready to SWEAT, EAT CLEAN, and get your #MINDRIGHT. Expect me to be a bit more active over on my IG account (@san_runs_in_ca).

+ Nerd that I am, I really enjoy starting a new budget every month. Just me? I ‘closed out’ August on Friday and now we have a new blank slate for September. As you might recall, I’ve been using YNAB (for over 3 years now) and have reviewed it here before.

+ We’ll be enjoying the end of the baseball season and hope that the Red Sox will win the division again this year (it’s looking good, but there are still some games to go). Then, it’s off to the World Series, if all goes well. 

+ I’ll be going on a field trip (at work) to the Mojave Desert later this month. That should be interesting. The only downside is that I’ll be working over a weekend, but I get comp time, so it’s all good. 

What’s up with you in September?

20

Hi, I am San – German native, dual-citizen living in beautiful Northern California. Runner. Knitter. Crafter. Reader. Writer. Proud aunt, sister, and friend.

I’ve been blogging since 2004 and don’t intend to stop any time soon. If you are looking for personal content and making a  genuine connection, you’ve come to the right place.

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