Archives for February 2020

Monthly Recap | February

February 29, 2020 filed under: my so-called life, recap

I feel lucky that we’re getting this extra day in February this year (every extra day is great in my book, haha!) and I am taking advantage to post my monthly recap today. Do I sound like a broken record, when I say, that February disappeared as quickly as it came? Or, is it just me?

READ

I finished ROAR: How to Match Your Food and Fitness to Your Unique Female Physiology for Optimum Performance, Great Health, and a Strong, Lean Body for Life by Stacy Sims. I thought it was very good and had a lot of valuable information and I can see myself referring back to this book a lot going forward.

COOKED

We made turkey cutlets with homemade sweet potato fries and roasted veggies quite a few times this month. So easy, so satisfying.
When we love something, we tend to make it over and over (do you do that, too?). Same goes for a heavily adapted, lighter version of Zuppa Toscana (I won’t even link to the original recipe, as we changed it quite a bit, but needless to say, it was a favorite around here). I am committed to making soup as often as I can before it gets too warm for hot soups (haha, I am typing this as our temperature hit close to 80F yesterday).

WATCHED

I watched part of the Academy Awards at the beginning of February and realized that I hadn’t seen any recent movies in, like, forever. To remedy that, I watched “Marriage Story” on Netflix and am hoping to catch up on another few that won awards. Which ones have you seen and would recommend?

LISTENED TO

I listened to a few guided runs on the Nike Run Club App. I also listened to a lot of NPR this month. They always have such good coverage of the day-to-day news. Do you listen to your local public radio station?

BOUGHT

I bought a couple of new workout clothes on sale at Old Navy, running tights and a sports bra. I also got a BlenderBottle® (as I am experimenting with some protein powders) and some underwear from Target (TMI, ha). Oh, and we got flights to go down to SoCal in March.

RAN (and cycled)

I ran 55 miles and cycled 59 miles in February. This is up from January and I am happy about it. Let’s see how March goes.

GOING-ONS

+ In case you missed it, I finally (settled on) and shared my One Little Word® for this year: Cultivate. What’s yours?

+ There was some girl time this month! I got to meet my long-time IG and blog friend Kathrin for the first time (after following each other online for quite a while) and I also got to see my friend Susi again and reunite with Ute, when she was visiting the Bay Area.

+ I mentioned in one of my Five Things Friday posts that I attended an author training class at work earlier this month and it was so, so valuable. At my work-place, publications are super-duper important and I honestly don’t know why nobody (as in, my supervisor(s)) had me take this class earlier).

+ I started half marathon training again a couple of weeks ago. I “merged” two training plans that I found online to make a plan that fits my schedule and goals. I have to admit, I am so, so happy to finally be following a training plan again. I do pretty well without a plan, but I just love the ease of not having to think about what kind of workout I’ll do on any given day, when I can simply follow a plan.

+ I enjoyed the beautiful spring weather that we had here in Northern California (although it was also one of driest Februarys in history and that’s never a good look!). I was able to run in t-shirts and get out my sandals.

+ Are you at all following the primaries? I know, some people are tuning out and I am going back and forth between trying to stay in the know and just waiting to see what happens. I am so glad we’re part of Super Tuesday voting this year. California deserved a more prominent voting spot in the primary season. I already cast my ballot, but I can’t wait to see what happens.

How was your February?

Monthly Favorites | February

February 28, 2020 filed under: monthly favorites

1. I LOVE my new running tights* that I picked up (on sale!) at Old Navy. A lot of my workout clothes come from places like Old Navy, because they’re affordable and hold up pretty well (in my experience so far). And IMHO, pretty workout clothes are huge motivation boosters. Am I right?

2. Someone on Twitter recently asked about affordable, all-rounder make-up options and I have been pretty happy with the Covergirl + Olay Simply Ageless Foundation with SPF 28*. I originally bought it for travel (because it’s a compact foundation and not liquid – although they do have a liquid make-up option for this!) and I loved it. I’d say it’s medium coverage, but holds up well throughout the day.

3. If you’re looking for an app where you can search exercises by muscle group (with a short instructional video), the JeFit App* is a great resource. It’s been super-easy to use if you want to switch up your strength training routine with new exercises.

4. I don’t eat them very often, but we picked up some fresh (Poppyseed for me, cheese-jalapeño for Jon) bagels at the store twice this month (for lunch) and they were delicious.

5. Are you picky about your pens? Do you have a favorite? I keep coming back to Pentel R.S.V.P. Fine* ball point pens.

6. I’ve been on the hunt for a protein shake or powder that I can use as a quick refuel option after harder workouts. It’s been surprisingly hard to find something that tastes good AND has low sugar content AND has a pronounceable ingredient list without artificial ingredients. I’ve landed on Vega Protein Made Simple Powder* (Vega sells different kinds of protein powders, so you have to pay attention!) because this one has only 5 ingredients and no artificial sweeteners. Plus, it actually tastes like chocolate milk.

7. I can’t believe I am saying this, but I am warming up to Trader Joe’s (Crunchy No-Salt) Peanut Butter* (I like creamy, too). I didn’t grow up with Peanut Butter and for the longest time, didn’t really care for it (especially not as a spread on bread), but I think almond butter has helped me transition to liking peanut butter as well. Do you like peanut butter? Crunchy or creamy?

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 | February

February 25, 2020 filed under: currently

READING | All the flowers in Paris by Sarah Jio.

EATING | fresh bread from the International Market, because #breadisnottheenemy. Can’t stop, won’t stop.

DRINKING | Trader Joe’s Well Rested tea (peppermint + camomile, turns out is the combination of two of my favorite teas!).

LISTENING TO | NRC Guided Runs. I am building up my mileage again and tried Nike Run Club’s Guided Runs for my long run last weekend. It was nice to have a ‘coach’ in your ear that would periodically check in with you and encourage you to stay focused.

WORKING ON | a more regular blogging routine.

ENJOYING | some girl time with my friend Susi and our mutual friend Ute (who was visiting from the East Coast).

LOVING | the spring like temperatures that we’ve been having around here. I’ve been getting out the sandals and have been running in t-shirts already. But in all honesty, we need some more rain. This will be one of the driest Februarys on record, if we don’t get any rain this week (which right now looks very unlikely).

WEARING | my Birkenstocks! February usually has a few warm days before it cools down again.

WATCHED | “Marriage Story” on Netflix (after I realized that I hadn’t seen any of the movies that were nominated for the Academy Awards).

KEEPING | busy at work (which is great) and I am really enjoying the project that I am working on right now. It’s a more visual task, which is a nice change from a lot of previous excel work (although I usually don’t mind that either).

LOOKING FORWARD TO | March, my birthday month (although I can’t believe that it’s already March! Someone, slow the clock down!).

What’s going on with you currently?

Why I am abandoning my bullet journal (for now)

February 24, 2020 filed under: bulletjournaling, planner, real life

With a little bit of a heavy heart, I made the decision to abandon my bullet journal for 2020. It wasn’t an easy decision, because deep down in my heart, I love the bullet journal approach, but I came to one eye-opening conclusion last year: when I used it, it worked great, but the truth is, I didn’t use it consistently.

I loved having the freedom of using every new blank page as I pleased, but I often got behind in creating my weekly layouts, then felt like I had to “catch up” on the weeks that I had missed. I know, this is completely NOT the point of a bullet journal, but having a journal with missing “time periods” made me more anxious than a dated planner that I didn’t fill out for a few weeks (if that makes sense). Yes, you guessed it: I am a bit of a perfectionist. Which can be good and bad.

I am not ready to give up on bullet journals completely, but when the new year was approaching I had to make a very quick decision: do I want to try and keep up the bullet journal or should I cave and buy that pretty (and might I add, very affordable!) planner* I saw at Home Goods?

Well, I decided to buy the planner at Home Goods and use this dated planner in 2020 to establish a more sustainable (for me) routine in using it again. I understand now that I put a bit too much pressure on myself, thinking that I had to create elaborate layouts or trackers or whatnot, even though I know better. I mean, I talked about it previously how you have to make your bullet journal work for you, how you don’t have to use trackers, if you don’t want to, that you don’t have to embellish your pages like crazy to be successful at bullet journaling. But of course, my perfectionism got the best of me.

Or should I say, my desire to do everything 200%? (Insert eye-roll at myself.)

It’s a slow process, friends, but I am learning to let go a little at a time.

The inside of my new planner looks like a lot of basic planners. I fell in love with the pretty cover and the spiral binding. You must know, before I started with bullet journals two years ago, I was a die-hard fan of the Inkwell Press planners. I loved that planner, the spiral binding and the muted color schemes. Unfortunately, they switched their planners to a disc-bound planner system in 2018 and I am just not a fan of the discs (insert sad face). I can’t really explain why, but they are too “bulky” to me. That’s why I gave bullet journaling a try for the last two years.

Well, my new planner has spiral binding and a muted pastel color scheme, so that was part of what sold me on going back to this basic planner. I also really like the simple page layout. I am not crazy about bold colors and too many embellishments. Here’s my new planner’s layout for March. I love the monthly tabs and that each month starts with an inspirational quote.

The monthly overview is great for some general planning.

So far, the weekly layout has provided enough room for all the things I wanted to write down and track, and it even had space to attach my weekly training plan at the top.

I do miss – on a theoretical level – the blank pages of my bullet journal, but every month has a couple of empty notes pages in the back, for anything extra I might have to write down, and so far that has provided me enough space. I don’t really ‘journal’ in my planner, so if I am honest with myself, I don’t really “need” more than a couple of completely blank pages.

And then, there is a double-sided pocket insert in the front that holds my geometric template ruler and some stickers. Very convenient. The only thing this planner misses is a bookmark, but I repurposed a bookmark from an old (Inkwell Press) planner, because it fits the spiral binding. (You can see it poke out just a little on the top there.) Win-win.

So yeah, so far this planner has absolutely served its purpose and I have been using it consistently since the beginning of January, which I am really happy about. I don’t really need a (paper) planner for work (we’re all using Outlook Calendar at my office), so this is strictly a planner for personal stuff (although I will write down field work or other out-of-office work-related appointments).

I am tracking workouts, water intake, and meal planning in my planner, and write down weekend plans and appointments (although I’ll put those in my calendar app on my phone as well, because I love setting reminders.)

So, there you have it. Let’s see if I can keep this up.

Do you bullet journal or use a regular planner? Or are you all digital at this point?

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

Five Things Friday Vol.8

February 21, 2020 filed under: Friday Five

Five Things Friday: just five things I’m thinking about or things that made my week, or things that I otherwise feel like sharing.

I had high hopes of getting some more blog posts out this week, but alas, life got in the way. Work got busy, I had some long days, and just didn’t have the time to write. Maybe this weekend. So for now, you get another little update Five Things Friday-style. (I actually quite enjoy this post format on other blogs, so I hope you do, too.)

* * *

Did you watch the Democratic debate on Wednesday night? Man, that was one fired up debate. I must say that I hadn’t been vocal about my front runner, but I loved Elizabeth Warren from the start. Looking at her record, it’s just obvious that she’s a fighter, and I’d love to finally have a woman president.
I was pretty bummed that she didn’t do better in the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary, because I really felt that she was one of the two front runners (where did Mayor Pete get his momentum from?). Social Media was all over her the next day! Of course, some people criticized her for being “too mean” or “too angry”, once again showing how women are perceived and judged differently than men. Nobody would say that about any of the male candidates. But honestly, if you haven’t been angry the last 4 years, you probably don’t have a pulse. I really think the debate on Wednesday gave a her huge boost, she had an amazing fundraising effort over night, and I really hope she’ll continue to soar.

* * *

Have you started on your taxes yet? I am trying to get ours done this weekend (because why wait, if I have all my tax documents in hand?) and from my first run-through, it looks like we’re getting a refund. Yay! Our tax situation is fairly simple, so I do my own taxes. I also try to re-assess our tax withholdings every year to make sure we’re not paying too much and ‘lending’ money to the government interest-free, but of course, it is nice to get a little bit of money back instead of owing anything when tax day comes around.

* * *

I bought some new running tights on clearance this week and I am in love. They’re so pretty. It’s true what they say (at least for me): pretty workout clothes really boost your motivation.

* * *

I started half marathon training again this week. I am excited about it because I love having a workout plan to follow. It takes the guess work out of your training and I just have to wake up and show up. I am up to 6 workout days per week, which is high for me (I used to do 3-4 days), but I have to take advantage of my current motivation to cross-train more and the need to up my mileage.

TGIF!

February Link List

February 17, 2020 filed under: link love, lists!

Around the Interwebs

A must read, if you care about the election 2020: the disinformation campaign.

Also, knock it the fuck off. Agreed!

What if there is no swing voter?

Yup! Lessons we learn too late in life.

There’s more than one way to age. How are you doing it? This is a fascinating new approach to understanding aging.

How to make hard life decisions.

How to Stop Wasting Your Life Watching TV and Do Something Worthwhile With Your Downtime. I’d like to state for the record that I watch very little TV (or stream shows), but I still found this article intriguing!

Why don’t people return their shopping carts? (Pet peeve of mine. Do you return your cart?)

We’re already throwing out very little food, but here are some good times on how to reduce food waste.

9 pieces of practical advice about bullying.

Around the blogosphere

How to raise gracious kids.

Age is nothing but a number. I loved this post by Angela and I couldn’t agree more with her attitude. I feel like I am in the best shape of my life.

The 8 dimensions of wellness.

As someone, who has never been on a diet, I am super-intrigued by this book: Why everyone should read Anti-Diet. I am not sure if I’ve been just lucky, or if I’ve always been intuitive about eating, and I clearly feel like I can’t have an opinion about dieting because I never really had to, but I also believe that intuitive eating sounds like a really healthy approach to food and well-being.

Craftiness/DIY

Make your own DIY dish scrubber.

A colorful DIY spring pom-pom garland.

That looks cozy! The Home Girl Crochet Sweater.

For my runner friends

The forgotten art of squatting. I actually find it comfortable and should do it more often while I can.

7 tips to succeed with morning workouts.

Your guide to fartlek workouts.

Deliciousness

The soup for mushroom lovers like me: Creamy Hungarian Mushroom Soup.

How to roast garlic.

Omenakakku – Finnish apple cake with herbs. Sounds delicious, Tobia!

Oven Fried Cajun Popcorn Chicken with Creamy Honey Mustard. These look so good!

Share a good link with me in the comments!

Five Things Friday Vol.7

February 14, 2020 filed under: Friday Five

Five Things Friday: just five things I’m thinking about or things that made my week, or things that I otherwise feel like sharing.

Excuse the absence, friends. My host server was undergoing a migration to a new server (which hopefully will finally solve some of my page’s loading problems, because I don’t think the problem was on my end), but I couldn’t really update my blog while the migration was in progress (I think I already lost some comments in the process, because I thought there were some more comments on my recent book post, but they disappeared. If it was yours, I am sorry.)

* * *

I made this delicious 1-pot Tuscan-style Beef & Lentil Stew this week and you should definitely consider making it sometime before the cold(er) season is over. The combination of ground beef, lentils and kale might seem a little odd, but I promise you, it totally works! Jon has been requesting it again already.

* * *

I attended an author training class at work last week. At my work-place, publications are everything (well, not everything, but pretty important and I’ve only been co-author on some publications so far.) In all honesty, I should have taken this class a long time ago. I can’t believe I have been here so long and nobody ever suggested I take this class. Just one more thing I missed out on when I was a contractor, I guess, but I am really glad I was finally able to take it. So much valuable information.

* * *

You know what the trick is to get 5 miles in on the treadmill before you go to work? Getting to the gym early enough, which means not hitting the snooze button and actually getting out the door and to the gym by 5:15 a.m. at the lastest, so you have time to run and shower and make it to work on time. Mind-blowingly simple, am I right? I’ve been shifting around my workout routine a bit and now have time to run 5 miles before work (on Thursdays) and I like it.

* * *

Highlight of my week: On Tuesday, I had the pleasure to finally meet a long-time IG and blog friend in person. Kathrin lives in the Bay Area with her family and we’ve been following each other online for quite a while. She was on her way to Tahoe on Tuesday and so she asked if I would be able to meet up for a coffee around lunch time. Of course, I said yes! We took a walk around the park and chatted away for about an hour before she drove on to Tahoe and I went back to work. It was really great to finally meet her in person! #URLtoIRL

TGIF!

P.S. In case you noticed: I didn’t mention Valentine’s Day. We don’t really celebrate it around here, but if you do, have a great Valentine’s Day!

What I read in January

February 10, 2020 filed under: books

I read three books in January, which is a good start into 2020.

I liked my life by Abby Fabiaschi (★★★☆☆)

This book had a lot of 4 and 5 star reviews and I’ll admit that it had some good moments and a few bits of real wisdom scattered along the way, but overall I wasn’t a big fan. First clue: the book didn’t engage me, I had to keep pushing to pick it up. For me, that’s not a good sign.
The plot was intriguing enough: Maddy has apparently killed herself and is now looking on from the afterlife and is trying to meddle with her husband’s and daughter’s coming to terms with her death and moving forward without her.
The book is written from different perspectives with alternating chapters narrated by Maddy, Brady (her husband), and Eve (her daughter). While this setup works sometimes, I generally don’t love this writing style much. There were also a couple too many side plots going on that didn’t really contribute to the main story, IMHO.

Oh yeah, and I didn’t care for the ending. It felt a bit too forced to me, but I leave this for you to decide.

The love prison made and unmade: my story by Ebony Roberts (★★★★★)

This book was heart-breaking, but ultimately very realistic. Well, it’s a memoir, so realistic or not, it’s someone’s real story. This is so much more than just a love story between two people, but a critical look at the justice system and its effects on prisoners and their loved ones. Growing up with an abusive father, Roberts vows to not make the same mistakes that her parents made. As a strong-willed and educated woman, she works to improve prison conditions and then falls in love with an incarcerated man, despite her better judgment. Her story shows that intellect doesn’t always win over the heart and that love and hope can make you throw all caution out the window.

While the title gives away how her story ends, it was a special treat to follow Roberts’ journey. I have felt a lot of sympathy for her situation and the hope and steadfast belief that she felt throughout the telling of her story.

Everything happens for a reason: and other lies I loved by Kate Bowler (★★★☆☆)

This book was intriguing because the title really spoke to me. People throw around that “everything happens for a reason” so often and nonchalantly in a failed attempt to offer comfort, but I am a pretty strong proponent that actually ‘nothing’ in life really happens for any reason.
The book was religion/faith-heavy, as Bowler, a history professor at Duke Divinity school, grapples with a devastating health diagnosis. She’s the author of a book about the history of the ‘prosperity gospel’, the controversial religious belief among some Protestant Christians that financial and personal blessings are always the will of God, and she discusses her diagnosis against the backdrop of these religious beliefs.

I guess I was hoping for a little more of a concise message; her writing meanders a bit, but I liked that she used some dark humor and funny anecdotes to lighten the mood and she shared good tips on how to support someone with terminal illness.

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

Monthly Recap | February

READ

COOKED

WATCHED

LISTENED TO

BOUGHT

RAN (and cycled)

GOING-ONS

Monthly Favorites | February

Currently | February

Why I am abandoning my bullet journal (for now)

Five Things Friday Vol.8

February Link List

Around the Interwebs

Around the blogosphere

Craftiness/DIY

For my runner friends

Deliciousness

Five Things Friday Vol.7

What I read in January

Blogging through the COVID 19-crisis: Are you ready to ditch the mask yet?

3: Things you didn’t know about me

30: The 2017 Holiday Cookie Swap

Tuesday Topics | When the world goes to hell in a handbasket, or why I caved and finally got a Peloton

Where did the time go?

The day I met Jon

6: The 6th annual Secret Santa (Mug) Swap

A snapshot of my day | 8/10/2021

Currently | June

Tuesday Topics | 2021 mid-year review