Ravenous

For reasons I will disclose below (nope, can tell you now... not pregnant...) I am absolutely starving today. It's really kind of absurd-- and in an effort to keep my hands busy (and out of the proverbial 'cookie jar'... which in my house really means tortilla chip bag ) I am going to spend some time with you, dear bloggies :)

Now, don't worry, I'm not going to talk any more about food or hunger in this post -my eats today wouldn't quite make a nutritionist's blood run cold.... but as I alluded to earlier, the quantity has been rather staggering... -- which is good because, as you know, food blogging isn't my schtick (except to sing the praises of good food, which I do with great gusto, as well as great frequency...) But I did want to talk about being ravenous. What a great word, right?! It's one of those words that I just love to roll around in my mouth-- it feels lush and juicy; delightful and delicious. Ravenous means deep aching, passionate hunger; in fact, Webster defines it as, “very eager or greedy for … satisfaction or gratification.” ...And I can say without hesitation that today I am ravenous for life.

Everything about this day just screams decadence: the sweet warm breeze; the scent of freshly mown grass (is mown a word? mowed?); the sparkly, pure sunshine. It's one of those days when I want to drop everything that I'm doing (if only) and head outside to just soak it all in; to race barefoot through the velvety grass; to lift my hands and face to the sun and just worship with all I am.

Enough fluff :) Happy Thursday, bloggies! While my week is going far from quickly (read: creeping by at a typical ‘summery pace’… sigh) it has been going well. Some ‘good stuff’s’ that have happened in my world lately include:

• J rescuing one of my favorite earrings from an untimely demise after I dropped it down the sink at 6 am yesterday morning. It wasn’t expensive at all (I believe I got them from AE last summer)… but as I stated earlier, they were my favorites – and more importantly, they were my wedding earrings. I am happy to report that the rogue bauble is safe, sound and sanitized – and J is my hero!
• And, we’ve officially entered training season.

Training season?! Let me explain: If you’ve been with me for a little while, you might remember reading this post about my very first half-marathon. Well, this year, I am going to do it again. I think I probably said this before—but the course is pretty much fabulous. It starts at Tuttle Mall in Dublin, winds past the tall ears of corn, through some really neat neat neighborhoods, and through Riverside Park. (Ooooh, getting butterflies in my tummy just thinking about this!!) This year the race is on August 29, and I am going to PR. Last year I finished with a time of 2:27:xx…. and this year, I would like to finish around 2:15 (ultimate goal is 2:10… realistic goal is 2:15. SOMEDAY I want to run a half in under 2 hours!) I do realize of course that this race is taking place on possibly one of the hottest weekends of the year… and it is possible that I may not run as fast as I’d like to. Still, this goal is a really good motivator and starting point for me :)

So. Excited.

And nervous, too… but mainly excited :) I’m also excited because, in an effort to hold myself accountable, I have created a training plan to share with you—which I will be updating daily.

AMY’s Half-Marathon Training Plan

Anyway, though…. to bring things back full circle: running makes me hungry—especially when I am ‘pushing it’ regularly, as opposed to “fun runs” (at most) once a week. Somehow I always forget that— how much it whacks out my metabolism, my sleep, and my appetite for about a week. I have been a cranky (sleep), lethargic (metabolism) snack-monster for the past few days. … And part of me loves these changes because—you know what—these ‘side-effects’ (if you will) are proof that my body is responding to the changes. …Still, poor J. I don’t take it lightly that my husband has the patience of a saint :) I plan to cook the man a wonderful dinner tonight in order to get back in his good graces…

Let’s delve into some more Good Stuff, shall we?

Good List

1. J. My husband, my hero. (“Awww moment” for you: J has been especially tender and snuggly with our fuzz babies lately… which always warms my heart. I know he’ll be a great father someday!)
2. New playlists (just for fun, I’ve linked my latest one here…. please don’t stop reading if you are appalled by some of the stuff on here *cough*MiLeY*cough*. I promise I’ll never sing any of these songs to you… That’s what Gracie is for.)
3. Sour gummies. I totally ate half a bag of SourPatch Kids today. … because somedays are just ‘half bag of candy = sugar crash at 2pm’ kinds of days…
4. The return of popsicles and other fruity, icy, summery delights. Bring on the ice cream, watermelon and margaritas!
5. A perfect (and I do not use that term lightly) Saturday: Last Saturday was abssolutlely wonderful … every single second of it. Laurie and I went shopping (and we may or may not have spent over half the trip in the bookstore), I came home a grabbed a much needed nap with Gracie, and then J and I went out for a dinner date. If I could live all the rest of you Saturdays in the same way, believe me, I would!
6. Beautiful, supple leather journals, that just make me ache to pour my heart out onto their pages. (A treasure found on Saturday’s 2+ hour bookstore stop!)
7. New books. (Why did I wait so long to read this one?)
8. Allergy medicine (sigh. tis still the season…)
9. Honeysuckle. That sweet smell never fails to bring me memories of childhood summers in PA.
10. “To see things in the seed, that is genius.” – Lao Tzu

All right… I need to get moving over here… Have a wonderful Thursday night, friends—celebrate—it’s almost Friiidayyyy!!!