theinbetweenismine

just a girl living the expat life

Archives for July 2019

Monthly recap | July

filed under: my so-called life, recap


READ 

I finished two books, you guys! I am so stoked. Little by little, the bird builds its nest, am I right? One was a novel, the other a more scientific book. Recap to follow.

COOKED

I made my own pesto for the first time, and OMG, why haven’t I made it before? It’s so easy and so much tastier than the store-bought kind. I am trying to get my basil plant to grow again, so I can make more. 

WATCHED

You must be wondering why I keep this category, because I rarely watch anything besides Friends reruns and 90-days fiancé these days. I did take a peek at the Democratic Debate again yesterday (and probably will today), just to stay informed. Are you watching?

LISTENED TO 

I listened to a couple of episodes of the “Pod Save America” podcast. What else is new?

BOUGHT

We didn’t really buy anything but a ton of food this month (we totally blew our eating out budget, ahem. What can I say? We like to eat and we ate out with company a few times, so it added up). I also paid for my travel to San Francisco last weekend, obviously, but not much other frivolous spending for the month of July.

RAN

I ran 65 miles / 105 km this month. The number is not too shabby. It’s an average number for me and I always want to run more, but I also like my current workout schedule. I sacrificed some monthly mileage when I decided to go to cycling class on Tuesdays instead.

 GOING-ONS

+ This month felt jam-packed and went by in the blink of an eye. I can’t believe we’re right smack in the middle of summer.

+ We had a little bit of a scare when my Mom was hospitalized two weeks ago with a stress-related heart condition and I am not going to lie, I was pretty worried there for a moment. My Mom is back home now and feels fine, but I really hope we can implement some changes to reduce her stress level going forward. She herself says that she didn’t really feel that stressed, but let’s be honest, she has a lot on her plate and she needs to realize that she doesn’t have to say “yes” to everything (sound familiar to anyone?) and that she really has to take care of herself first before taking care of others. 

+ I had two races on my calendar this month. The Davis M00-nlight Run 5k (with J!) and the SF (Half)Marathon last weekend. They were both fun in their own way. Recap of the half marathon to come soon.

+ We hosted J’s friend for a week and it was nice to have some company. Would have also been nice if we still had that extra bedroom (dang it), but at least we made good use of our outdoor space. 

+ We tried a new plant-based burger place in town that was recommended to us by some friends. I was positively surprised how good it was. And the herb fries were excellent.

+ I am embarrassed to say that we’ve lived in Sacramento for so long and we’d never been to the river beaches. We finally changed that. I know, there’s really no excuse or explanation, because I complain about the fact that I wished we lived closer to the beach all the time. I mean, the river is not the ocean, but it’s close enough, for sure. Must go back.

+ It’s been 8 months since we moved from our house to the new neighborhood and while I like my new running routes, I also kinda missed my old stomping grounds. J had suggested numerous times for me to drive over to our old neighborhood, park the car at the park and go for my run there, but I felt ‘weird’ about it (hard to explain). This month, I finally got “over it” and decided for two of my long runs to take me back to our old neighborhood and to the zoo to see my giraffe friends, and of course, I had the best time. It’s about a 10-12 mile run round-trip, so I can only use my long runs for a visit, but it’s better than getting in the car and driving over there. (I know I won’t do it – it’s much easier to lace up my shoes and just run out the door.)

How was your July?

Tuesday Topics:  What are your favorite summer drinks to stay hydrated?

filed under: linkup, lists!, Tuesday Topics


{via Unsplash}

Well, summer is definitely here in the Central Valley of California and it is hot. It’s imperative to stay hydrated every day of the year, of course, but it’s especially important in the summer and even more important if you’re active in the summer heat (like we runners tend to be).

I usually prefer hot drinks over cold drinks, so I usually do much better with hydration during the winter months (because I can drink pots and pots of hot tea), but I also try to stay on top of my drinking game in the summer, of course. 

So today, I am linking up again with  Kookyrunner and Zenaida  for Tuesday Topics and share some of my favorite summer drinks to stay hydrated.

Water

I don’t think that needs much explaining. I (try to) drink tons of water during the summer months and it’s definitely my main source of hydration. While I like the idea of adding lemon, cucumber, mint, or something like that to the water to make it a little more interesting, more often than not, I just reach for a glass of plain ice-cold water. 

Apple Juice or Lemonade Spritzer

In Germany, mineral water mixed with any type of fruit juice is a very popular summer drink. So popular and common that you can buy any type of juice spritzer in bottles. The most common one is Apple Spritzer and it’s so refreshing. I don’t know what it is about the carbonation, but it really quenches my thirst.

Tuesday Topics: What are your favorite summer drinks to help you stay hydrated? #Runchat #SummerRunning #TuesdayTopics Click To Tweet

Grapefruit Juice and Coke (60/40)

Ok, bear with me here, this might not sound like something you have heard of, or even would consider trying, but I beg you: do yourself a favor and try it. It’s a super-duper-thirst-quencher. I won’t have more than one glass of this (because of the sugar content, obvs), but it’s so good. 

Funny anecdote: in my hometown in Germany, we call this drink “Erftwasser” (Erft is the local river and it’s pretty muddy most of the time and the color of the drink matches the color of the river water to the point).  You can basically walk into any restaurant and ask for “Erftwasser” and they’ll know what you want.

Iced Tea

I mentioned earlier in this post that I drink a lot of (hot) tea during the winter months, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that iced tea makes it on my list of favorite summer drinks. It’s a pretty good source of hydration, because I drink it unsweetened and don’t feel guilty downing a couple of glasses of it (just try to be careful with the added caffeine when it’s not an herbal iced tea).

What’s your favorite summer drink?

Monthly Favorites | July

filed under: monthly favorites

At the end of each month, I share things that have made me happy, new discoveries, or recommendations that I find worthwhile. Enjoy.

1. As  previously mentioned in another blog post, I recently invested in a pair of Lululemon Speed Up Shorts* (partly paid for by a gift card, mind you) and I  am so, so happy with them. They’re  so light,  moisture-wicking and all-around comfortable.

2. I love a lot of vegetables, but I think if I had to pick one vegetable as my favorite, it  would  be tomatoes. They’re so versatile and so flavorful and  I could just eat them all summer long (and every other season for that matter, but they’re most delicious in the summer).

3. I go through phases with which mug I prefer for my coffee, and right now I am using our giraffe mug (that I originally bought for J at World Market a few years ago, but he doesn’t mind sharing it with me). Might or might not be related to my recent visit with my giraffe friends when I ran by the zoo.

4. It’s summer and it’s hot and it’s time for Outshine Fruit Bars* (Lemon). So refreshing!

5. Have you ever looked for an image online and wished there was no annoying background (like the images I need to put this post together)? Or have you spent oodles of time removing backgrounds from images? Then you should check out Remove.bg* because it’ll make your life a whole lot easier. 

6. We bought these String lights* for our backyard. They’re solar-powered and look so pretty and they have really transformed our outdoor space into a space where I want to hang out. 

7. I had wanted an armchair for our living room for a long time (because tbh, I slouch when I knit on the couch and it makes my neck hurt). I had been  eyeing the Storsele Rattan Armchair* for a while and when it recently went on sale (are they discontinuing it?),  I had to seize the moment. I love the design, it’s very comfortable (with a cushion of course) and it gets extra points for making me sit up straight.

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.

Currently | July

filed under: currently

WORRIED | about my Mom who was admitted to the hospital last week. It sucks to wake up to a slew of text messages in our family WhatsApp group and not being able to exactly grasp what’s going on (and nobody has called you yet because they know you’re still sleeping). Ugh. Well, turns out, she had a stress-related heart condition, but fortunately, things are better now. She’s back home (as of last night) and what it comes down to is that she has to try hard to reduce stress in her life (which is easier said than done, as you can imagine).

THINKING ABOUT | how much it sucks to live so far away from home and how sh*t can hit the fan at any moment. I try not to focus on that, obviously, but sometimes you’re reminded that life is fragile and you never know what could happen next. 

(always) FEELING | better when we take some walks at the park.

TRYING TO | stay positive. Always. ‘Positive’ is basically my middle-name.

EATING | German pancakes. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve seen them a few times recently. They’re so ridiculously easy and quick to make a great post-run breakfast, and I pretty much always have the (three!) needed ingredients on hand.

DRINKING | lemonade + sparkling water. 

READING | my Runner’s World magazine and just finished my one book for July (I am setting my bar low these days).

WEARING | my Saltwater sandals.

VISITING | my giraffe friends again. I planned for two of my long runs this month to go back to our old neighborhood and by the zoo on purpose,  so I could  see them because I missed them.

LOOKING FORWARD TO | my weekend in San Francisco. I am running the SF half marathon again this year and I am planning to have fun! It’s going to be a solo-weekend again for me, but I don’t mind spending some time in the city by myself.

What’s going  on with you currently?

Awkward & Awesome

filed under: awkward & awesome

I used to regularly post this kind of post, but it’s been (almost three) years since I last used this format I thought it would be fun to revive it. See the archives here.

AWKWARD

+ Have you bought stuff off of Facebook Marketplace? Or NextDoor? What is it with people? Why do they not have the decency to respond or tell you that an item has sold after you’ve been sending messages back and forth and you’ve been trying to schedule a viewing? I do not get it. Common courtesy, anyone?

+ When people come to cycling class and leave midway through the class. Why? Why do you do that? There were people who couldn’t get a spot and you didn’t even stay for the whole class.

Okay, I understand that maybe there is a time where you have to be somewhere and maybe you gotta leave a few minutes early this one time, but 60% of people in my cycling class last week left before the end of the class. Some left after 30 minutes. I mean, come on.  It’s rude and it’s disrespectful, not just to the people who didn’t get a spot in class, but also to the instructor! 

+ I’ve been getting the “Parents” magazine in the mail for the last two weeks. I am so confused why, because I do not have kids and I definitely didn’t order it, so I have no earthly clue why I would be getting this magazine, but it has my name and address on it. What’s happening??!

AWESOME

+ Even though I had an unpleasant experience dealing with people on FB Marketplace last weekend, we also did score a new-to-us coffee table for a reasonable price. I win.

+ I just found out that the book “The Art of Racing in the Rain” by Garth Stein, which was one of the top 5 books I read in 2017, was made into a  movie. I am usually a bit sceptical to watch the movie, if I loved a book a lot, but for some reason, I am intrigued to watch this one when it comes out on August, 9th! Have you read the book, and do you want to see the movie?

+ ICYMI, J walked the Davis M00-nlight Run 5k with me two weeks ago and I’m so proud of him.

+ Scored a $5 for 10$ Starbucks eGift Card via Groupon. I always take advantage of those offers. I don’t go to Starbucks very often, but this way I also make sure I never pay “full” price when I go.

+ When co-workers, friends, and gym buddies bring you the bounty of their vegetable gardens and you don’t have to buy produce from the store. So far, we have been given zucchini, cucumbers, beans, tomatoes, peppers, and herbs. We’ve also been able to eat everything up and that feels awesome. (Zucchini Scones anyone?)

Tell me something awkward or awesome!