Archives for January 2019

Monthly favorites | January

January 31, 2019 filed under: monthly favorites

As a surprise to nobody, my favorites’ list includes a bunch of food related items again, because I like good food and I like to share it with you. You’re welcome.

1. This month I’ve really enjoyed some nice, hot cups of peppermint tea*, have you?

2. I am currently on a Wasa Whole Grain Crispbread* kick. Most people think these are crackers (you can find them in the snack aisle), but no, this is considered “bread” in Germany (and other European and Scandinavian countries). It’s also one of those “healthy” breads with a very short ingredient list (Whole Grain Rye Flour, Yeast, Salt).

3. I got some running tights* on sale from Old Navy a few weeks ago and I love the pop of color. You can really score some good deals on workout clothes at Old Navy.

4. I went to the Delicatessen store the other week and bought Liverwurst* (which I eat on my crispbread) and it’s so good.

5. I currently live in this Fleece Jacket*, which I got – basically for free – with a Kohls Cash Reward. All I am saying is: thumb holes!!!

6. I pledged to continue (or should I say, re-start) my bullet journal* this year and January has been pretty successful, if I dare say so. Don’t know if that had to do with the free time that I had on my hands, but I hope to keep it up!

7. It’s January, it’s winter (or what we call winter in California) and it’s the best time for a warm steel cut oats* breakfast in the morning. I make overnight oats and then just top them with fruit and warm them in the microwave when I get to work. It’s perfect.

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 products/websites.

Tuesday Topics: How do you deal with stinky running clothes?

January 29, 2019 filed under: linkup, running, Tuesday Topics

Photo by @Andyfitz on Unsplash

Let’s talk about stinky running clothes or workout clothes in general. If you work out on a regular basis, you know it’s a problem. I sweat a lot when I work out and typically you can’t wash your running clothes right away. I usually do a load once a week, but that means most of my workout clothes will sit in a hamper for the better part of the week. Not really ideal, but you can’t do laundry every time you work out. My approach to deal with stinky clothes is multi-layered.

Spray your workout clothes and shoes with Febreze.

Since I often go to the gym during the week before work, my clothes (and towels) inevitably sit in my trunk for most of the day. I bought a Febreze* spray bottle to deal with the immediate smell of running clothes, because they usually have to first sit in the car and then in the hamper for a while. I spray my shoes, clothes and towels after my workout and it really helps take down the nastiness a notch or two!

Wash your running clothes separately.

I admit that sometimes I have lumped regular clothing (socks, underwear, undershirts) with my workout clothes, but I usually try to wash them in a separate load. It’s just better to separate the really stinky stuff from the regular stinky stuff, ha. I do one load every week and I usually have enough dirty workout clothes by the end of the week to warrant their own load. I also almost always wash my workout clothes in warm (instead of cold) water, because I believe warm water just cleans that much better.

Use a sports wash detergent.

I use – and love – Molly’s Suds All Sport Laundry Wash* for my workout clothes. I feel it really makes sure they are clean and fresh when they come out of the washer. It’s advertised as preserving wicking capabilities, breathability, SPF and water repellency of your clothing (which is important to me). It is formulated with non-toxic, food-grade ingredients and without the use of UV brighteners, harsh chemicals, or synthetic fragrance.

Let you running clothes air-dry.

Except for my socks, I air-dry all my running clothes on a drying rack. Not only does that help with keeping my workout clothes in good shape, it also makes sure they keep airing out after the wash. I use this collapsible drying rack* from Ikea.

How do you deal with sweaty workout clothes? Share your tips and tricks!

This week, I am linking up with Kookyrunner and Zenaida for Tuesday Topics.

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

Currently | January

January 28, 2019 filed under: currently

EXCITED | to be back at work (at least temporarily, as it seems) after 5 weeks of furlough. Not going to lie though, it was hard to get up this morning. It’s amazing how fast your body adapts to a different wake-up time.

GRATEFUL | that we were able to weather the shutdown-storm and have felt less of an impact than a lot of other federal workers and contractors.

EATING | this absolutely delicious European bread that I found at the International Market. It’s really more of an Asian Market (I’d say 70% of the store is Asian foods), but they have a decent selection of other international groceries. I will continue to bake at home, but OMG, it is nice to have found a place again where you can buy a decent loaf of bread.

DRINKING | coffee. Looking forward to it every single morning.

WATCHING | Salt Fat Acid Heat with Samin Nosrat. I came across this four-part documentary on Netflix by accident, but it’s super-intriguing (if you’re into cooking, which I am). I recommend you check it out. Samin also wrote a book with the same title that I am dying to read now.

READING | This is the way the world ends: How Droughts and Die-offs, Heat Waves and Hurricanes Are Converging on America by Jeff Nesbit. You guys, I haven’t finish this one yet, but everybody needs to read this. Science is real.

LOVING | the Californian winter. Cool, but not freezing, temperatures and blue skies! It’s the perfect season to run (when it’s not raining, ha).

WORKING |on my bullet journal.

PREPARING | for a potential work trip to Denver (which was canceled because of the shutdown, but now might be back on. I’ll find out in the next few days).

WISHING | I could be with my friend who is going through a hard time right now. Distance sucks, especially in these kinds of situations.

What’s going on with you currently?

Things I want to do in 2019

January 24, 2019 filed under: goals, good things

I promised you ~~last week~~ two weeks ago that I was going to share a ‘things I want to do in 2019’-list, so here I am. I am still a little wary to put a list together, but I also like the process of making a list and subsequently, checking things off that list.

Go to Germany.

After last year’s plans were thwarted, I made new plans to visit my family this year, no matter what. This is my number one priority. I haven’t seen my family for almost two years (hard to believe) and it’s time. Obviously, if I would have it my way, I would see them more often. I hope they’ll come visit us again here in California soon (and I know they’d love to!).

Get rid off stuff.

Before our move, I purged quite a bit of stuff, so we didn’t have to move it (I also wasn’t sure if we were going to have enough space for storage). I already felt a thousand pounds lighter, but still, there is more stuff that ended up in boxes in our garage and I am planning to go through this and truly get rid off everything we don’t want or use anymore.

Improve my fitness and break the 2 hour-mark in the half marathon (gasp, I said it).

Is this year going to be the year? Running a sub-2 hour half marathon has been a goal, well, I guess since I ran my first half marathon. The first race was just to prove myself that I can run the distance, then my ambition was tickled and I started trying to improve my pace. While I had two more PRs last year, I still haven’t broken the 2 hours. My current PR is 2:02:39 (so I am literally 2:40 minutes away from my goal), but you’d be amazed how freakin’ hard it actually is to improve only a couple of minutes over a long distance like that. Back to more cross-training and running more miles, it is.

Run 3 half marathons (again).

I am a much better runner, if I set goals and having a race on the calendar is definitely great motivation. I liked having three bigger races, conveniently spaced out in spring, summer, and fall, to look forward to and work towards last year. I think I want to do this again this year.

Find at least two healthy new recipes to try per month.

I’d like to think that I am already eating pretty healthy(-ish), but I am always looking to add more, new exciting recipes to the mix.
I believe that cooking at home (mostly) from scratch with fresh ingredients (and control what goes into the dish) and an attitude of “what can I ADD to my to your diet, instead of take away” is more important than restricting my diet and eliminating certain foods entirely.

Read 52+ books.

Last year, I set a goal of 60 books (which was 1 more than 2017) and didn’t quite make it. But I read 52 books (which is one book a week on average) and my goal is to just keep that up. Any extra books are going to be a bonus.

See new places.

I am rephrasing my “travel more”-goal from last year. You don’t have to travel far to visit and explore new places and there is so much in my immediate vicinity that I haven’t seen, so I’ll be making an effort to be more of a local tourist this year.

Did you set any goals for 2019?

Tuesday Topics: How do you fuel for your run?

January 22, 2019 filed under: fitness, linkup, running, Tuesday Topics

This week, I am linking up with Kookyrunner and Zenaida for Tuesday Topics.

This is a new link-up. Kim and Zenaida took over the weekly link-up spot that was previously taken by the “Tuesdays on the Run”-link up, which ended in December. I am happy to see someone took up the torch.

Today we’re talking about how we fuel for a run.

I have to admit, most of my runs are run on an (almost) empty stomach. I usually have a glass of water before I work out in the morning and sometimes a string cheese. My main fuel comes post-run.

However, I always fuel before a race (or runs that are longer than 8 miles). I figure that it gives me an extra boost of energy to conquer the distance, but I don’t get very fancy. I usually have steel cut oatmeal before a race, sometimes it’s just a protein bar or a banana.

I am still very much a newbie to fueling during a run and I have been experimenting with different things: Honey Stinger waffles, ProBar Chews, and simple things like pretzels or gummy bears. I didn’t want to believe it, but it actually works and gives you a boost right away. I know lots of people swear by the gels, but I am just not a fan of the texture.

Post-run, I immediately re-hydrate with electrolyte and magnesium tablets. I also try to eat something within 30-45 minutes. On the weekends, I make scrambled eggs + veggies with toast, or pancakes or steel cut oats with fruit. During the week, when I have less time (or commute from the gym to work right away), I either have overnight oats ready to be heated at the office or sometimes I just reach for a Greek yogurt or a Perfect Bar to get in some protein.

What is your easy, go-to fuel for your run? I am always open for new ideas!

January Link Love

January 21, 2019 filed under: my so-called life

Around the Interwebs

4 foolproof rules for taming your inbox in 2019.

91 (and counting) very real affects of the partial government shutdown.

Why Smart People Make Stupid Mistakes.

Do you work with Excel, you might know these already, but also, maybe not? 10 Excel Functions Everyone Should Know.

Can you pass this financial literacy test?

Psychologists Explain The Benefits Of Baking For Other People.

Genetic portraits of mothers and daughters. Fascinating.

Share a good link with me in the comments!

Thinking Out Loud #28

January 17, 2019 filed under: Thinking out loud

Puh, I am still in a bit of a funk (can you tell?), but I am trying to get back to a more regular routine and that includes blogging. I am still catching up from after the holidays, but since we’re actually halfway through January, I thought I’d do a little check-in with you guys by linking up with Penny from Penny’s Passion for Thinking out Loud .

+ I am still furloughed, in case you were wondering (and if you haven’t followed the news). And just FYI, it’s not like vacation and being forced to sit at home is slowly but surely getting old. Of course, I feel worse for all the workers who are forced to work without pay and contractors and other collaterally impacted workers (who will also most definitely not going to see back pay). All this to say, this shutdown needs to end. Soon.

+ Looking at my pay stub this week (Net Pay: $0.00), made me want to weep into my morning coffee. It’s surreal and infuriating at the same time. I don’t really know what to do with myself (and this coming from me is practically unheard of, because the word ‘boredom’ is foreign to me). It’s not like I don’t have things to do, I can easily keep myself busy, but nothing ‘feels right’. I’ve had time to run, work on my knitting and my bullet journal, and various other little projects, but I still feel like I am just ‘floating’ right now. Does that make sense?

+ I might be entirely too excited that I received my Mom’s Christmas package this week. I mean, it’s three weeks late and I had so many bad experiences with the postal service in recent years that I was convinced it was either lost or would arrive ripped apart and with half the contents missing, BUT it’s here, in one piece with all its contents and I am the happiest.

+ We’ve had on and off rain in the last couple of weeks (not complaining, we need it!) with some heavier storms mixed in between. I love this season for the fact that it gives me an excuse to cook ALL THE SOUPS. I made a modified version of this Tuscan Lentil Stew this week and it was so, so good.

What’s on your mind today?

Year of running 2018

January 15, 2019 filed under: my so-called life

I know, I know, I am little late with everything, but I would still like to link up with Courtney from eatprayrundc.com to take a look back at my year of running. Courtney hosts this link-up annually and it is open through the end of January, so go and check out everyone else’s year of running!

I feel pretty good about my running year. I was injury free and even though my training was thrown off a couple of times (because LIFE), I still had fun logging many, many miles.

I ran…

680 total miles (not quite what I had set out for, but I focused more on cross-training which was a good decision).
4 officially timed races – 3 Half Marathons, one 10k,
2 virtual races,
1 new PR.

Best race experience: This is a tough one because I ran three really amazing half marathons last year, but I think the best race experience was the Moo-nlight Run that I ran with my friend Susi. There is just something about just running for fun with a friend.

Best run: I can’t pinpoint one best run that stands out in my mind, but I always love the runs that clear my head and feel easy. I feel like a million bucks afterwards!

Best piece of new running gear: I won another pair of Brooks running shoes again in a giveaway and I love them. The colors are so cool.

Best running advice that I received this year: If you fall off the bandwagon, just pick yourself up and start again. It’s easy to feel defeated when your training cycle is thrown off and you miss a few runs, but the best way to compensate is just to keep going.

Most inspirational ~~runner~~ walker: My Mom. Well, technically my Mom is not a runner, but she started walking (almost) daily last year after a longer recovery from surgery and I am so proud of her that she managed to pick up a new routine that gets her moving every day. We connect via Garmin Connect and Runtastic to support and cheer each other on!

Favorite picture from a race:

Race experience you would repeat in a heartbeat: The Urban Cow Half that I entered after being thrown off my training cycle and where I still pulled off my fastest race yet. Sometimes it pays off to not worry too much and just let your legs do their thing.

If you could wrap up your year in a couple of words, what would they be? Commitment. Fun. Gratitude.

I just felt a lot of love for running and was looking forward to my runs around the neighborhood. I didn’t run a whole lot of races (I am not someone who signs up for a ton of races, but rather pick my races carefully and appropriately spaced apart), but simply enjoyed (almost) every logged mile and I am so thankful that I was able to run and to stay injury-free.

Thanks for all the support this year.

How was your year of running?

What ‘s the best running adviced you received?

Hello 2019.

January 10, 2019 filed under: this and that

{via unsplash.com}

Oh hey, it’s 2019.

In all honesty, I haven’t had the mental space to wrap my head around yet another ‘new year’. It surprises me, every time, that it just was Christmas and bam, another year is gone.
While I usually look forward to the time between Christmas and New Year’s as a time of slow-down, reflection, and anticipation, it has also brought more nostalgia and melancholy in recent years.

I am pretty convinced that it has to do with multiple factors: a) we haven’t been with family for the holidays in a few years, b) my niece and nephew are growing like weeds, and c) time just seems to pass by so damn fast that I always feel like a couple of steps behind these days.

I usually like the idea of a new year, a blank slate. New goals, new ideas, new possibilities. But then this happens: look, here we are and I am welcoming the new year and it’s already January, 10 and we’re 1/3 of the way through the month.

On top of that, I should be sitting at my desk at work right now, but as you might know, I am a federal employee, currently furloughed with the partial shutdown going on day 20. What better way to use my unexpected ‘free time’ as to ruminate about past, present, and future, am I right?

I don’t know what 2019 has in store for us. I am planning to post a list of goals next week, as I did last year, but part of me is afraid to make too many plans because what if none of it actually happens?

I know, I know, there is a lot I can do to make it happen, but last year, I had some of my goals thrown off and I felt kind of defeated there for a while… but then again, that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t make any goals in the first place. Goals are good. I thrive on goals and I know it.

So, let’s do this, 2019. I am ready (or trying hard to be).

Our Christmas 2018

January 7, 2019 filed under: my so-called life

You don’t mind that I spend a good part of the beginning of the new year recapping the end of the last year, do you?

Even though I had a hard time getting into the holiday spirit this year, this year’s Christmas was so much better than last year’s just for the fact alone that J and I weren’t awfully sick. I guess getting the flu shot early this flu season paid off (fingers crossed).

We had planned to spend Christmas cozily at home, but got a last minute invitation for cheese fondue for Christmas Eve. I mean, you can’t really say ‘no’ to that, can you?

We skyped with my family in the morning (who was gathered at my sister’s house again) and then in the afternoon we got ready to go over to the house of some (potential new) friends. It was a nice change from previous years and we had really great evening.

Christmas Day we did spend cozily at home.

We had coffee in the morning and did our Christmas the “American way” by opening the presents that had arrived in the mail (we usually open packages on Christmas Eve or split it between Christmas Eve and Christmas morning). We went for a nice Christmas Day walk around the State Capitol in the afternoon, because it was a beautiful cold, but sunny day!

In the evening, I cooked the dinner I had originally planned for Christmas Eve. Filet Mignon with mushroom cream sauce, homemade Semmelknödel (bread dumplings) and green beans and Brussels sprouts. Yum.

It was the first time I made my mom’s recipe for bread dumplings and they turned out amazing. The reason I hadn’t made them before was that the recipe calls for “stale rolls”, which I usually don’t have lying around, but turns out that Safeway sells stale bread as unseasoned stuffing and that’s just what I needed to make these. They were so good!

I also insisted on watching a Christmas movie in the evening. “The Christmas Chronicles”, a new Christmas movie on Netflix. Have you heard of it?

December, 26 is an official ‘second Christmas holiday’ in Germany and so I always try to treat it as such. I had planned to take off the day originally, but since I am currently (still) furloughed, I had the day off either way.

I spent most of the day on the couch and indulged in some good old German movies that are traditionally shown around the holidays, like “Sissi” (this is a very popular trilogy from the 1950’s about the Empress of Austria that I happen to own on DVD). Always a treat!

One thing I noticed: mail deliveries get worse every year (or so it seems). My mom’s package (which she apparently sent at the beginning of December) still hasn’t arrived. Quite a few cards came after the holidays. I don’t know if the postal service is just hopelessly overwhelmed over the holidays (I secretly hope that this is the reason) or they’re just screwing with people.

I sent all my overseas mail on the same day and while my aunt (who lives next to my parents) has received her card, my parents haven’t received theirs. How is that possible?

As always, I loved all the holiday cards that I received over the last few weeks.

Quite a few cards arrived after the holidays (or are still in transit), so if you don’t see yours in this picture, it doesn’t mean I didn’t get it.

How were your holidays? Did you see family? Did you have a good time?

Archives for January 2019

Spray your workout clothes and shoes with Febreze.

Wash your running clothes separately.

Use a sports wash detergent.

Let you running clothes air-dry.

Go to Germany.

Get rid off stuff.

Improve my fitness and break the 2 hour-mark in the half marathon (gasp, I said it).

Run 3 half marathons (again).

Find at least two healthy new recipes to try per month.

Read 52+ books.

See new places.

Around the Interwebs

Around the blogosphere

Craftiness

For my runner friends

Deliciousness