totally random thinking out loud

Is it just me or did something recently change with Instagram? It stopped giving me the most recent posts in my feed and instead shows me random posts from random times. I do not like it at all which must explain why I stopped scrolling through my feed.

Don’t think I didn’t notice that the sun is rising later and later with each day that passes. It’s not that I don’t wake up anyway, because I do, it’s the whole waiting to run until it’s light enough that gets me. I don’t run in the dark. Treadmill mornings are approaching aren’t they, this summer is going way too fast.

In happier news, I love my new pair of Energy Boosts. I ran in them both Monday and Tuesday morning and then went back to my usual running shoe rotation plan yesterday which means I get to wear my Boosts again today for my 8 mile run.

There’s nothing like running in a fresh pair of your favorite running shoes!

I realized that I have a free pass for a SoulCycle class waiting to be used. They gave me the free pass back in June when I took my first SoulCycle class. I can’t decide when I want to use it. Maybe one morning next week before my son is back from camp.

Speaking of my son, I spoke to him Tuesday night on the phone. He asked what was going on at home and the only thing I could come up with was telling him that I am still finding chia seeds in the kitchen from when I dropped the chia seeds bag on the pantry floor. At least he knows he is missing nothing important, you know?

Aside from still vacuuming chia seeds in my kitchen (seriously, I am) I have been busy cleaning and organizing drawers, cabinets and closets. I am on a mission to do one a day before my son gets home so that I feel refreshed and ready to go for the school year.

Have I ever told you about the ball bin I have in my laundry closet?

It used to be just the bin I used to store cleaning supplies but then it slowly became the place I stash the balls that get confiscated when my son is caught throwing or bouncing a ball in the house.

This process started years ago. I would grab the annoying ball and tuck it away in this laundry closet bin on a high shelf so that my son couldn’t find it. I now discovered, under all of the cleaning paraphernalia, the ball collection has grown in a ridiculous way.

Please don’t tell my son where all of the balls have been hidden. I really don’t think he knows about this. As a side note, what’s with the random Brittany Spears CD? I don’t know how it ended up in this bin.

Thankfully I get to view photos online each day of my son happily bouncing balls somewhere other than here. I love that he is wearing a sweatshirt. My favorite summer camp days were the days that were cool enough to wear a sweatshirt with shorts to camp!

I tried a new nail salon yesterday. Nail salons are a dime a dozen in my area but a really good one is a gem of a find.

I think I liked this place. Not only was the manicure and pedicure EXCELLENT, they had tons of colors to choose from and the bottles were all new.

Oh, and they offered lollipops. You gotta stand out in this area if you are going to become the go-to referred by everyone nail salon and little things like lollipops will make you a little bit more memorable.

Totally random questions:

Did you happen to catch The Hills marathon the other night on MTV?

School supplies: Were you the type who liked individual binders, one for each subject, or were you the kid who bought one giant binder to hold all of your subjects?

Have you ever forgotten you had a half eaten gel from your run in your pocket only to find it after you washed your running clothes? Yes, this happened to me this week.

Don’t forget to check out what everyone else is thinking about today. 🙂

[bctt tweet=”thinking out loud today! total randomness #thinkingoutloud #running #runningshoes #soulcycle #random” username=”cookiechrunicle”]

 

 

Crowd Pleaser Sundae, Cleaning Closets & Other Stuff

 

Linking up with Meg’s Week In Review today…

Last week was the last full week of school for my son! I am looking forward to this being a shortened school week of final exams with our little trip to Hershey Park and camp approaching on the horizon. No more yelling about homework or making browned bagged lunches until September!

Speaking of camp, I am getting through the rest of the packing list as best as I can. Only a few things left to purchase, several more items to label and then we can pack up the trunks. Luckily he doesn’t leave for a few more weeks so I have some time. He has a couple of weeks of sports camp before leaving for sleepaway camp which I appreciate because playing ball in the summer makes him tired and less likely to throw balls around the house…or at my head.

Would someone please remind me that the zipper that keeps my wallet closed broke the other day? I meant to bring it to Saks on Friday after dropping my son off at a friend for the night but I skipped that idea, came home to take a hot shower and went to bed early. You can’t go wrong when you choose to sleep a bit more, right?

The Bar Mitzvah.

Oh, the Bar Mitzvah. Always popping into conversation randomly and yes, the Bar Mitzvah deserves the bigger font because in my head, it’s in huge letters all of the time. The remaining planning left for this affair is always a topic in my brain like a to do list that just won’t go away.

My wedding was not this complicated! I swear these Bar Mitzvah parties are so much more detailed and difficult which I guess makes sense because I have to entertain something like 120 kids who are mostly 13 years old in addition to the adults.

The time spent on finding the right stamp for the invitations is time I want back from my week. I really have no patience for tedious tasks and teeny details so thankfully my dad has been helping me with the monotonous parts of the planning process. I have put him in charge of stamp placement on the envelopes because he has the patience to make sure they aren’t crooked.

Even with so much on my list right now to do, I chose to instead clean out closets and organize the house on Saturday.

Sometimes, doing the things that don’t really have to be done can make doing the things that do have to be done that much easier to do. Please tell me that makes sense.

I went through my worn out running shoes plus my son’s sneaker collection and put together 10 pairs to donate to Soles4Souls. It felt good to drop them off and get them out of the house!

Next up was my son’s bookcase. He has a really nice Pottery Barn 4-shelf bookcase filled with a wonderfully abundant collection of reading material but a lot of it needed to be weeded through as so many books are now too babyish.

I haven’t cleaned out his bookcase in a few years now so I removed 70 books or so to donate and made a small pile that  I just can’t part with yet. Or ever.

I had a midlife crisis moment when I looked at Clifford’s First Day of School because it was my son’s favorite book when he was two years old.

Look what else I uncovered in one of my drawers. My blackberry was so small and light! I sort of miss it.

I treated myself to a Red Mango parfait after running and cleaning on Saturday.

Saturday afternoon was the last Little League game of the season. This was our seventh Spring Little League season in a row. Wow, that went fast.

Remember when I said my son and I planned to celebrate the end of Hebrew School with a Friendly’s Crowd Pleaser Sundae? Well, it finally happened!

Friendly’s Crowd Please Sundae = 12 scoops of ice cream + 6 toppings…You know you want to hang with us.

We ordered:

We went with three ice cream flavors: cookie dough, chocolate chip and hunka chunka peanut butter fudge ice cream.

Toppings: M&M’s, peanut butter cups, hot fudge, peanut butter, cookie dough, and gummy bears (on the side because I hate gummy bears, especially in ice cream).

We haven’t had one of these Crowd Pleaser sundaes in over a year! Friendly’s is one of my favorite places from when I was a kid. Just had to throw that in here.

It rained like CRAZY Saturday night but we saw a rainbow and I was all fascinated. Aren’t rainbows amazing?

Yesterday was gorgeous so we went down to the beach for a bit. I had my first acai bowl of the year from one of the food trucks.

We ate while watching the men play volleyball. My son is on his school’s volleyball team so this was exciting to him. I was just happy to be eating outdoors in the sunshine.

Yesterday was really overshadowed by the attack in Orlando. Listening to the news, watching the news…so awful. I try not to listen or watch much when my son is around but the truth is, he is on top of the news and receives the alerts on his own. I feel bad that he has to grow up this way, always wondering when and where something like this will happen. I didn’t have to think about these things as a kid.

And now there’s no right way to end this post.

My foot is totally back to normal so I think I will head out shortly for my run.

[bctt tweet=”crowd pleaser sundae plus week in review #friendlys #icecream #weekinreview #weekend #barmitzvah #beach #acaibowl #redmango” username=”cookiechrunicle”]

How was your weekend? Did you get to spend time outside?

Favorite place to eat when you were a kid?

Which toppings would you have picked for the Crowd Pleaser sundae?

 

 

Thinking Out Loud – Cookies, Keurig and Cold Running

 

 

I didn’t plan on participating in today’s Thinking Out Loud link up fun but then I woke up and needed to share my thoughts on something that bothers me on a daily basis:

Yes, that is my Keurig machine. What you can’t see in the picture is the FLASHING BLUE LIGHT TELLING ME IT’S TIME TO REFILL THE WATER TANK.

The last thing I need to see, especially when I am busy cleaning the kitchen, is something else requiring my attention. And endlessly flashing a blue at me is not the friendliest way to get my assistance.

Does anyone else get annoyed by the blue light? I feel like all I do is refill that thing. Granted I drink a lot of coffee and use the water for tea but still- every time I turn around it is yelling at me in blue code.

You know what else requires a lot of attention? Children.

I did my best with the boys yesterday baking and decorating sugar cookies. Can they appreciate that the cookie dough and frosting were both made from scratch? Nah.

Let’s zoom in on my toppings:

Sprinkles, m&m’s, a mix of chocolate chips and peanut butter chips and Rolo’s.

I got all excited to fill up my toppings server but then thought better of it – the more I filled it, the more they would eat. So, I only filled half-way.

I pretty much collapsed after the baking, assisting and cleaning of the cookie decorating process. Although, I am looking around right now and notice flour handprints on the chairs and sprinkles in random places throughout my kitchen.

I was so tired that I even laid down for a while and closed my eyes. I believe I slept for ONE MINUTE.

You see, when a mother falls asleep, a silent alarm immediately goes off alerting her child which is his cue to wake her up because he is hungry. And how he could have been hungry after eating more cookies than he decorated I haven’t the slightest idea.

I think what made me so tired wasn’t even the cookie experience. It all started after my 5.25 mile run in the frigid morning air.

Is it just me or is running in the cold that much harder on the body?

I used to think it was harder in a sense to run in the heat but the last two runs in the cold, even though I feel great and my pace is amazing, have left me drained in a whole new way.

It must have something to do with the energy we use to keep our bodies warm and I think something to do with the energy we use to warm the air we are breathing in? If anyone has the answer, please fill us in!

Don’t worry, I pulled myself together in time to go out for “Christmas” dinner. I never miss a meal.

We opted for Ben’s instead of Chinese.

I always loved Ben’s but as a vegetarian now, my options are a bit more limited. All is right in the world though when onion rings land on my plate.

I couldn’t have been more excited when I saw 16 Handles was open. It is always super thrilling to notice something opened on Christmas, especially when that something involves hot fudge.

Today is supposed to be warmer outside so I am hopeful for a less exhausting run. If I find I have the energy and patience, I may even battle the crowds for the after Christmas mega sales going on this morning.

Speaking of Christmas, please tell me all about your holiday! How was it? Did you get good gifts? Eat fabulous food? Have a new recipe to share with me?

Make sure you check out everyone else’s Thinking Out Loud thoughts today by clicking here!

 

 

 

 

Granny Smith Apples And Hershey Park Cookies

Fairway Market and I have officially made up. I will happily walk into Fairway today as if nothing negative between us ever happened.

It was about time they put my beloved Granny Smith apples back on special.

I have been getting by with purchasing my apples from Trader Joe’s and while those apples served me well, Fairway apples hold a special place in my heart. A really  large place in my heart because they are gigantic.

You know what else holds a special place in my heart?

The Hershey Half Marathon. Although I will not be running it this weekend, I did run it last year and it was a great (and delicious) experience.

Have I mentioned that the Hershey Half was my first half marathon? All the more sweeter.

I will admit that I am feeling a bit sad that I opted out of running this weekend. Although no, I do not regret my decision.

Hershey is not around the corner and since I really lost my desire to race for a bit, I will not get upset with myself for going with my true feelings.

There will be plenty of other races and I am thankful that I can run 13.1 anytime and anywhere without having to be registered for an actual race.

You can be sure though that tomorrow’s long run will be in the form of 13.1.

Since I will be missing out on some fresh from the park Hershey’s chocolate and the contents of the best post race goody bag ever, a double dose of delicious desserts are on my agenda for the weekend.

See this giant cookie all wrapped up? Last year’s race goody bag contained a jumbo oatmeal chocolate chip cookie and somehow I snagged two of them.

Hershey Park oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are so beyond amazing that I just couldn’t eat the only other one that I had. So I froze the remaining cookie for safe keeping to be eaten at a to be determined later date.

I still have it and may eat it this weekend just because. Like when you freeze the top layer of your wedding cake and then eat it on your first anniversary.

Since I am considering eating the cookie this weekend, I should also consider cleaning out and organizing my freezer. I swear I open it to take one thing out and everything falls on me.

I crack myself up with these ecards. Have a great weekend!

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I NEED TO KNOW:

Are you running in a race this weekend?

If you have been married, did you freeze your wedding cake and eat it on your anniversary?

Is your freezer always a mess like mine?

 

 

 

 

Mental Cleaning

You see this? Hmm. I wonder if the people at Verizon saw yesterday’s post and are trying to toy with me.

They must know that I hate retrieving my mail from the mailbox so why not torture the poor girl with useless flyers in her front door.

I must say, writing up yesterday’s post made me feel so much better regarding the whole poor customer service situation.

As a writer, I have learned that getting my feelings out in written form is a total stress reliever.

Writing and running. That’s what works for me.

Speaking of running, I ran an easy 4 miles yesterday and a few the day before. I am definitely feeling better but I can’t say 100% percent myself.

In addition to being  a little tired physically, I am a bit tired mentally I think.

I have not been able to tackle the work I have on my plate this week. And that is really OK. I am not operating with an approaching deadline for anything I am currently working on therefore I am trying to give myself the chance to relax rather than waste my time trying to accomplish something that isn’t going to happen.

If you know me though, you know I can’t just relax. Nope. Not capable. So, my form of relaxing yesterday involved cleaning out drawers and closets.

You must think I live in some mansion with the amount of cleaning of closets I speak about. Not the case.

I just constantly feel like getting rid of stuff lately if we haven’t used it and I am trying to better organize and make use of space.

I also think I do this as a form of mental cleaning if that makes sense. Sometimes organizing closets and drawers helps to organize the mind as well.

If you are wondering what this odd picture of a ball collection is, I will explain.

As I cleared out a bin in my laundry area, I discovered at the bottom of the bin every random ball I have taken away from the little boy over the year.

You see, I can’t stand when he throws balls in the house. Against the wall, up in the air and occasionally, yes, at me.

I actually discovered random stashes of these balls in several different places throughout the house. Please people, stop giving my child balls. I do not buy them, somehow they get here and we don’t need them. Life isn’t safe or sane with balls flying around in my house.

Anyway, I was officially exhausted by the time I was done which coincided perfectly with the dinner hour at which I didn’t feel like cooking.

Do I really need to say where we went?

I am telling you, I could eat this salad everyday for the rest of the my life and never get tired of it.

Rumor has it The Cheesecake Factory launched some new menu items yesterday. Don’t ask me what they are because I don’t know. I never really read the menu.

I only know there are new items because that is what the waiter blamed the kitchen errors on – he said they were so focused on the new dishes that launched that they were screwing up everything else.

In addition to making my salad wrong, they screwed up the little boy’s salad that comes with the half sandwich, soup salad combo. A few times. I don’t even recall all of the issues surrounding the salads but he ended up taking the final version, which became a Caesar salad, home to eat today.

As long as dessert is right I don’t mind the kitchen errors.

In fact, if fudge cake is wrong, I don’t ever want to be right.

**********************************************************************************************************

I NEED TO KNOW:

How do you relieve stress?

Do you have closets waiting to be cleaned?

Do you order your salad dressing on the side? I always do. I can’t stand my salad dripping in dressing.