October disappeared on me. Anyone else? I am sure it had to do with the fact that we traveled for the first half of the month, but man, how is it already Halloween-week? 

LOVING | that I was able to spend some precious time with my parents, my sister, and the munchkins. It feels like it’s never enough, but I take what I can get. 

LISTENING TO | the wind outside my window.

THINKING ABOUT | the holiday season that lies ahead and how it’s going to be a busy, but also my favorite time of the year.

EMBRACING | fall with its cooler temperatures, longer evenings, and colorful leaves.

GETTING BACK | to making overnight oats and then warming them up in the morning for an easy, but tasty, warm breakfast.

TRYING TO | get back into my running routine. I feel like I’ve said that a lot lately, but it’s mostly because I took some “unintentional” breaks in the last few months. I mean, I still ran, but I wasn’t following a plan or working toward a goal and that always makes me feel like I am not in my routine, if that makes sense.

EATING | homemade apple pie (including homemade whipped cream – screw that bottled stuff). This was so easy and quick to make. Will have to share this recipe soon!

DRINKING | peppermint tea.

ENJOYING |  all the candles and lights around our apartment in the evenings now. They always make the darker season a little bit brighter.

LOOKING FORWARD TO | going to a play at the local theater. We haven’t done this in forever. 

CELEBRATING | a bunch of October birthdays, including my Mom’s (on the 3rd) , Jon’s  (on the 18th), and Greta’s (on the 21st). 

WEARING | skinny jeans –  all day, every day.

HOPING | for the winds to die down and the fires to be put out here in California. Last year was devastating and it’s been a tough fire season again this year. While we haven’t been impacted by planned power outages and/or threatened by the fires directly, it’s always a scary time living in California when wildfires are raging all over the state. 

FEELING | overwhelmed by the fact that there are only 2 months left in this decade. Let that sink in, friends. 

EXCITED ABOUT | NaBloPoMo. Yes, it’s that time of the year again, where I blog my way through November. Are you joining in?

What’s going on with you currently?

LISTENING TO | This American Life. I downloaded a few podcast episodes after catching a few minutes on NPR the other day and it’s been nice.

MAKING | a fall bucket list. I can’t wait for all the things “apple”.

HOPING | to spend a few more weekend mornings in our backyard. 

THINKING ABOUT | which race I can put on my calendar next. I need something to look forward to. It’s probably going to be a Turkey Trot.

(still) FEELING | a little frustrated with my work situation. I am still kinda low on work, which in itself is fine and not a problem, because it happens, work ebbs and flows for everybody (I assume) and I know how to keep busy, but if you have to charge every single hour to a project, but you didn’t have any project work, it becomes a bit nerve-racking. 

ENJOYING | the time we spent with some good friends this month.

EATING | a BALT. So good. The avocado on the classic BLT is everything.

DRINKING | coffee. 

READING | in bed. Way to start weekend mornings.

WEARING |  my New Balance sneakers. 

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

LOOKING FORWARD TO | my cycling class on Tuesday mornings.

LOVING | the first hints of fall. I enjoyed the heat, but now I am ready for cooler temperatures, the occasional rainy day and scarves and sweaters. We had a couple of rain showers already in September (which is kinda early for where we live), but they were so nice! 

KEEPING | a secret, will fill you in soon. 

What’s going on with you currently?

Phew. August has been a month. Let me give you the scoop about what’s currently going on over here.

HAPPY ABOUT | the weekend trip that J and I took to the North Bay. We hadn’t gotten out for an overnight trip in a while and it was good that we did.

EXCITED ABOUT | my first tomato this year finally (!) turning red. It took forever. I got the tomato plant a little later than I had planned in mid-June  and this is the first tomato to actually ripen. I hope it tastes good!

FEELING | a little bit off this month. I took three weeks off of running after my half marathon and I’ve been slowly getting back into the swing of things, but I have not been feeling 100%. Not exactly sure why, but I am just hoping September will be better.

TRYING TO | stay motivated, because work has been really slow the last few weeks and there is nothing more frustrating than sitting around with not much to do. I’d rather have too much than too little work, because man, 10-hour days can get really long if you’re just constantly trying to create busy-work for yourself.

EATING | milk rice. So tasty, so satisfying. 

DRINKING | more water. (Always a work in progress.)

LOVING | our backyard  and just hanging out there on Saturdays mornings. I cannot  tell you how happy that space makes me.

READING | You think it, you’ll say it by Curtis Sittenfeld.

WEARING | my favorite boyfriend jeans.

HOPING | for some moderate temperatures. We had a few nice days in August, but also also some really hot days (and nights, where it didn’t really cool off at all) and I can’t believe I am saying this, but I am kinda ready for fall.

LOOKING FORWARD TO | the four-day weekend. Do you get Labor Day off?

What’s going  on with you 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?

TRYING | to get back to this blogging thing. It’s not that I don’t have anything to write about, it’s just that my time management is poor right now. Mainly because I’ve been…

WANTING | to do all the things (which is nothing new really). My friend Susi asked why I hadn’t been blogging and it was mainly due to some stress at work (I often draft blog posts on my lunch breaks and that didn’t happen) and because I’ve been wanting to do all the other things in my free time (crochet/knit, read, run, walk, sleep, sit in the backyard, etc). Just me?

READING | is still going incredibly slow due to the point above. There are just not enough hours in the day.

WEARING | my new Birkenstocks (I got a new pair of my beloved Birkenstock Gizeh sandals while I was in Germany, because they’re like 50% cheaper there than they’re here. Can you believe that?)

EATING | homemade tuna salad baguette.

DRINKING | iced tea.

HANGING OUT | with my friend Caryn and her husband in Napa for the day (recap to come), which was such a treat.

CRAVING | ice-cream. I’ve been good and didn’t buy any on my grocery shopping trips the last few weeks, but I am afraid this will have to change pretty soon. Summer is almost here.

FEELING | a little sluggish with my running lately, but trying to keep my half marathon training on track.

LOVING| the delta breeze.

ENJOYING | coffee in bed, because why the hell not.

LOOKING FORWARD TO | our first BBQ this season. I don’t know why we haven’t gotten out the grill already, but we’re planning to use it this weekend.

What’s going on with you currently?

FEELING | emotionally jetlagged. I’ve been thinking about writing a whole separate blog post about the phenomenon. It’s so real every time I travel internationally. 

CHERISHING | all the precious memories I made the last few weeks.

TRYING TO | get back into my routine at work and with my workouts. It’s always hard to come back from vacation, but I think it’s also worth it to have that down time where you can just be in the moment and don’t worry about work and routine.

EATING | Mettbrötchen (roll with raw minced pork and onions). Trust me. It’s so good.

DRINKING | peppermint tea.

READING | Maud’s Line by Margaret Verble. I just started this book, because I didn’t get around to reading much while I was in Germany. It’s going to be another slow reading month for me, but at least, I have finally picked up a book again.

WEARING | a new-to-me pair of jeans (my sister and I swapped some clothes while I was there. Do you ever do that?).

NEEDING | lots of coffee right now.

LOOKING FORWARD TO | Memorial Day weekend. It’s a long weekend for us and we’ll be celebrating our anniversary. 

THINKING ABOUT | what I want to buy at the gardening store this weekend. I am planning to get our backyard in shape. 

WORKING ON | a new knitting project. I brought back some new gradient yarn from Germany and I am excited to start a new project.

WATCHING | new episodes of 90-day fiancé. Being an international couple ourselves, it’s interesting to see those couples navigate their relationships. Luckily, ours was never remotely as turbulent as most of these couples’. Oh boy.

What’s going on with you currently? 

STOKED | about receiving my confirmation letter that I’ll be officially starting my permanent position at my job on 4/28. My co-worker was joking that I am doing this absolutely right, by being on vacation when the effective date hits – way to start a “new” job!

HOPING TO | get some stuff finished (or to a good stopping point) at work, before I go on AL, but I am also really

LOOKING FORWARD TO | to being off work for a few weeks soon. I am ready for a proper vacation (although visiting back home never really feels like a vacation vacation, if you know what I mean).

LOVING | our new-to-us outdoor furniture for the backyard. I’ve been wanting to get our backyard summer-ready, so we can sit out there (at an actual table) and have our coffee there in the morning and BBQs in the evening.

WEARING | a necklace that I haven’t worn for a long time.

DRINKING | decaf French press coffee.

EATING | Thai food. 

TRYING | different kinds of soy milk in my morning coffee (what’s your favorite?).

READING |  A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. STILL. Gosh, I need to finish it.

WORKING ON | some blog posts to schedule for the time when I am away. I don’t want to leave you completely hanging ;)

ENJOYING | the cycling classes I’ve been going to on Sunday mornings.

What’s going on with you currently?

STOKED | that I finalized my travel plans and booked my flight to Germany. I’ll be heading home in about a month and I am so excited.

FEELING LUCKY | that I scored a sweet hotel deal for my July half marathon weekend in San Francisco. San Francisco hotels are notoriously expensive and it’s really hard to stay anywhere downtown for less than $200, but it makes attending the race so much easier when you’re not driving in from far away. I do keep my eyes open on deal websites and sometimes I get lucky.

EATING |  marble cake. I bake one every year for my birthday. It’s my favorite pound cake.

DRINKING | peppermint tea. I am still on the peppermint kick.

LOOKING FORWARD TO | some girl time with my friend Tanja next weekend! We’ve been talking about meeting up for months and we’re finally making it happen!

WEARING | sandals for the first time this year (but  we also still got quite a bit of  rain this month!).

READING |  A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. 

WORKING ON | some new small crochet projects.

TRYING TO | finish my triangle scarf before I go to Germany, so I can have my knitting needles ready for a new color-gradient yarn cake.

LOVING | my new coffee mug, a birthday present from my bff! (It reads “you’re more than a friend, you’re a part of my life. You’re the best”.)

ENJOYING | riding my new bike. OMG, I forgot how much fun it is to have a bike and to be able to go places without a car that would take forever to walk to.

What’s going on with you currently?