Five Things Friday Vol.7

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.) 

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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. 

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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.

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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. 

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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!

  1. Ooh beef and lentil soup sounds amazing. It’s been very cold here lately so I’m all about the soup recipes!

  2. I’m not a big fan of the holiday either but B just ran out to pick up dinner from our favorite spot and that’s pretty much the way to my heart any day of the year ❤️

    Awww yay for new friendships with ppl you meet online! And also I love learning…. it’s so important especially as we move in our careers to stay updated with all the latest industry happenings.

    Ooofa. I totally need to wake up earlier to get out the door and workout. My sleep has been awful lately but I miss walking on the treadmill. And early workouts are the best ❤️

  3. That author training sounds interesting. I bet you learned a lot of useful things for your blog, too.

    I hate the commercialized Valentine Day thing. I refuse to take part in any of it. I’d rather do something nice on another one of the 364 days in the year. On our wedding anniversary, for example.

  4. How great that you met a friend from the online world for some real facetime. It’s such a great experience. I’ve only ever celebrated valentines day once during my exchange student year in the US. Well and since I got engaged on valentines day because it was the day I at least expected it you can never top that anyhow. so no valentines day here either.

  5. I love it when I have the opportunity to meet up with a blogger or IG friend in person. The running community is great for that isn’t it? Way to get those early morning runs done!

  6. I’m more a Galentine’s Day fan than a Valentine’s Day one. LOL I just hang out with my mom and sister. That’s awesome you were finally able to take that class! And yay for meeting a blog friend IRL.

    -Lauren

  7. It was so lovely to finally meet you in person!! Thanks for spending your lunch break with me. I hope we will see each other again soon! I will actually be in SAC on 3/15 again. The lentil beef stew sounds delish, I will totally try it soon. You know, I love a good one-pot recipe. And I’m jealous about the author training, sounds very good. I’ve been thinking about taking creative writing classes, if I’d have only the time…. but I did get some writing done in Tahoe. :-)

  8. That lentil stew sounds right up our alley! We LOVE lentils! I made lentil enchiladas for my Valentine on Friday as that is his favorite meal. We are not big valentine’s day people but I usually make enchiladas for Phil around the holiday. I think I’ll like Vday now that I have a child. I bought him a book for Vday so we kept it pretty low key but he loved the book!

  9. I’ve been trying to make an evening workout routine work for me so I could sleep in a bit in the mornings but I’ve quickly realized I love morning workouts the most. The gym is quieter and it’s nice to have the workout out of the way for the day!

    I might have to give that beef and lentil soup a try – sounds yummy!

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