Thursday thanks retrospective

2012 has been an excellent vintage. I ran. I traveled. And the world didn't end last week. (Who'd have guessed that Mayan calendar thing was all wrong... I mean, if you look at the typical American wall calendar, the end of the world should occur on December 31 every year!)

My year started out in Barcelona...

Parc Guell

...and I returned to the states to discover that I'd been quoted in Runner's World! (Maybe I should do tequila shots before run-streak runs more often?)

I enjoyed another glorious magnolia season in Florida.

Magnolia blossom

I had to decline attending a conference in Sweden because the travel costs were sky-high, but that opened up my schedule to accept an expenses-paid invitation to speak at a conference in Washington, DC.

I survived the second-worst flooding Pensacola has had ever.

Speaking of water... I found a $10 bill while snorkeling.

I went to a bunch of outdoor concerts, and the best photo was this one...

Dragonfly decided to rest on my finger

I met dozens of kind and considerate people.

And as always, I'm thankful for the things I get to do (even when they sometimes seem like things I "have to do.")


What was the highlight of your year?

Thursday thanks

Dear readers,

I'm in San Diego... wrapping up loose ends at work, stuffing myself with Mexican food, keeping up my run-streak, listening to my favorite radio station, catching up with some of my friends, visiting family for the holidays, and looking forward to attending a very happy wedding.

If those things aren't enough to make a girl smile, I'm not sure what is.

I hope you're all having as good a week as I am.

Love,
B.

Thursday thanks (end of semester edition)

This week I'm thankful for the end of the semester. While the ending of each academic term is bittersweet, the wrap-up week of classes always feels like a huge accomplishment. I practically float through the week after the last exam is graded.

Old Schoolhouse, Fort Walton Beach, FL

In many ways, each semester is like training for a long race:

• 16 weeks of preparation.
• A detailed plan that serves as a guide for each week's work.
• Goals! Both teaching and race-training have a clear goal at the end of the cycle.
• A mix of really great days and not-so-great days.
• Doubt. (Can I really get all this work done in 16 weeks? Am I doing this right?)
• Successes.
• Setbacks.
• The flurry of activity right before the finale.
• Carbs! (On the final day of class I usually host an in-class meal of some sort.)
• A feeling of accomplishment (and exhaustion) when it's over.
• A good, long rest when it's all done.
• A week or two later, I'm planning the next one...

Yep. Teaching is just like marathon training.

And during the winter break, I fully intend to enjoy a well-deserved rest...

Are there parallels between your work life and fitness life?
What are you thankful for this week?

Thursday thanks

Ah... friendship!

This week I've had many reminders of the wonderful friends in my life... late night text messages, newsy emails, a Thanksgiving note in my mailbox, chats via the world wide web, dinner invitations, and confirmation that I'll have the company of one of my oldest friends on a trip I'm taking in a few weeks.

There is an old Girl Scout song about friends new and old... something about silver and gold. But that's too hokey for my tastes. Instead I'll just acknowledge that when I first moved to Florida, I felt like I left my friends behind to live in a barren, friendless desert...

Today I'm thankful that's not the case.

Thursday thanks - 20 things

I'm a little saddened by the #20things (I don't like) phenomenon trending on Twitter. Why focus on the negative? I greatly prefer the #5things (I find attractive), but why stop at only 5?

In response, here are 20 things I'm thankful for today:

1. Hot showers
2. Cool weather (perfect for running!)
3. Good books (just started Slaughterhouse-Five last night. So tragic, but such brilliant writing!)
4. My runstreak
5. Hot coffee with hazelnut milk (not hazelnut creamer, though I wouldn't turn that away either!)
6. The Daily Show
7. Day trips to explore new state parks
8. The pile of beach sand on the floor of my car



"Toes in sand. Nose in book. Life is good"
Sign seen at a gift shop in St. Augustine

9. Peanut butter
10. The end of the semester (which is always bittersweet, but there's such a feeling of success from wrapping up 16 weeks of instruction)
11. Weeknight dinners with Hubby
12. The smell of pine trees
13. 3-mile runs (my favorite distance. period.)
14. When one of my Examiner articles gets promoted
15. Pedicures
16. Being running-injury free
17. An auto mechanic who will fix anything that goes wrong with my car and return the car to me the same day without charging me a small fortune (seriously it's like I found a previously unknown species of animal)
18. Great blogs
19. Comfortable running shorts
20. Good friends and family

What are you thankful for today?

Giving thanks

Still life with winter squash

Thursday Thanks is on vacation this week while I spend time being thankful for good food, good friends, good health, and all of the many other little bits of luck in my life.

Some days life is so good you don't want to spend the time writing it down, so...


To my American readers:

I hope your Thanksgiving is that good.

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!


To my other readers:

I hope your week is full of delights big and small.


To all:

May your holidays be happy and may your plate be full.

Thursday thanks

Last Saturday night I walked off an airplane and drove home, finishing my 6th week of back-to-back out-of-town trips and my 7th week out of 8 of spending at least one night away from home.

Having my own bed, my own pillow, my own coffee mug never felt so good.

(And, I'm not gonna' lie, it was pretty nice to end that whirlwind of travel and know that I get to spend every day of the next month with Hubby and Peanut, too.)


On Sunday I slept in, stayed in my PJs for most of the day, and puttered around the house doing things like laundry and enjoying a leisurely breakfast at my own kitchen table. (I did get out of the house long enough to keep my running streak alive, but just barely.)

I love my wandering lifestyle, but I've never been so happy to be home in my life.

What are you thankful for this week?

Thursday thanks

Sitting here, in another hotel room, composing this week's "thanks" I started whining thinking:

"I'm tired of being on the road. I just want to be home goddamnit. And I'm just bloody tired. I don't wanna write. Maybe I'll put thanks on vacation this week."

(Cue world's smallest violin playing a sad song just for me.)

But if I'm honest with myself. If I peel away the layers of travel-weariness, the past six weeks have been an adventure. And when I look back on this period of my life many years from now, I'll have no regrets that I missed any opportunities.

Source: beautifulnomad.com via Claire on Pinterest

From Atlanta to Williamsburg to a tiny town in northern Rhode Island to Fort Walton Beach to Tallahassee, and last (but certainly not least) San Diego, I've traveled for work and play every single week since September.

In my ping-ponging from home to hotel and back again I've seen at least half a dozen places I might never have seen otherwise. Seriously, Williamsburg was not on my list of 1,000 places to see before I die, but it probably should have been. I'll forever be grateful that a conference dragged me there. After all, it's not every day you get to sleep in the same hotel as the Dalai Lama and your run through town takes you back in time 300 years.

At some point in my life I might not have the mobility I have now. At some point I might not have the resources to take off for a weekend on a whim. At some point I might not be able to attend conferences or be invited to guest lecture...

So I need to quiet that whiny little part of my brain that's saying "I miss home."

I need to remember to relax and enjoy the ride.

I need to re-read Kristin Armstrong...

"Instead of thinking or saying, I have to finish this project or I have to pick up my kids, I stopped myself and tweaked my language: I get to work on this... I get to do speedwork... I get to go on a long run... Since then, I've shared the idea and gotten inspiring feedback. A friend told me she felt more joy while taking care of her kids. Another told me her running group spoke in I get to language for an entire run. A woman and her friends wore "I Get To Run" T-shirts on race day. A woman running the Turkey Trot in Santa Barbara on Thanksgiving morning came up to me and said, "What a beautiful day. Aren't we lucky we get to run? Gratitude is contagious. It's the smallest thing, but it has the power of something big. It's a shift in perspective that can open your head and your heart. And if you want, you get to try it."
Kristin Armstrong, blogger and columnist for Runner's World

I am thankful that I get to do this.

What are you thankful for this week?

Thursday thanks

Thank you notes I should have sent last month...

Dear Flight Attendant,
Thank you for being chipper and helpful, even at 5:30 in the morning. Most of us were sleepwalking and grumpy, but your enthusiasm made for a particularly pleasant flight. It was nice to hear announcements that had a little personality and weren't strictly scripted, and we passengers noticed the extra little details you put into making our trip as easy as possible.
Sincerely,
Frequent Flier

Dear Dog-walking Lady,
Thank you for keeping your dog on a leash while you were out for a walk. Your enthusiastic puppy looks like a handful, but with your kind guidance, I am sure he will grow into a fine adult. In the meantime, I am very thankful that you kept him from snapping at my shoelaces!
Sincerely,
Sunday Runner

Dear Grocery Store Baker,
Thank you for taking the time to find out why I was buying my pastries, so that you could tailor the order for me. The birthday recipient appreciated the extra attention to detail, and I appreciated your helpfulness.
Sincerely,
Sweet Tooth

What thank you note do you wish you could send this week?

Thursday thanks

I've suffered a bit of "thanks" writers-block the last couple of weeks.

I have nothing to complain about, but I'm exhausted.

Teaching + work + conferences + consulting + travel to-and-from all of the above + keeping up with day-to-day chores has worn me out. How do people do this once they have kids??? Maybe they skip the conferences? Get no sleep? All of the above?

Anyway...

There are things I'm thankful for, but skipping the blog to squeeze in a 2-mile run or to get another 20 minutes of sleep has seemed sooo very much more important lately.

Then it occurred to me that the harried times are when "thanks" matters the most.

So... I'm thankful for this habit. Because even when I don't want to take the time to write my thoughts down, I spend every Thursday morning (and sometimes Wednesday night) ticking off a mental list of all of the things I have to be thankful for.

Officially I'm sorting through ideas for blog content.

But how can you think about life's little pleasures without feeling grateful?

Source: goo.gl via Rowan on Pinterest

The thanks-blog habit helps keep things in perspective.

What are YOU thankful for this week?

Thursday thanks

This weekend, instead of work travel (for a change) I'm spending time with family and friends.

Completely unplugged.

Thankful.


Happy Thursday, friends!

Thursday thanks

I'm not even sure how this all started, but "things that make me happy" lists are cropping up in the blogosphere like pumpkin-spiced-goods in coffee shops...

Here are a few things that make me happy:

• Strong, hot coffee. (Loved best with skim or hazelnut milk. No sugar... but really I'll drink anything as long as it contains coffee.)
• Before-dinner walks with Hubby.
• Pumpkin anything.
• A nap after a long run and hot shower.
• A hot shower.
• Good, non-fiction books.
• Cool, crisp days.
• Sunsets so colorful you stop what you're doing, no matter what it is, just to watch.
• Magnolia blossoms.
• Bumble bees.
• Watching pelicans dive for fish.
• Watching geckos climbing around the outside of my dining room window.
• Learning new things.
• Watching my students learn new things.
• Running. (Duh.)

(Thanks to Kate and Miss Zippy for the inspiration!)

What things make you happy?

Thursday thanks

Sometimes really awesome things happen.

Like this.

In the middle of De Luna Fest (where I got to see the amazing Florence + The Machine) a there was an incredible swarm of dragonflies. One of the dragonflies landed on my index finger, and Hubby got this amazing photo.

What are you thankful for today?

Thursday thanks

Here are a few things I'm thankful for this week...
Alt. Title: "You know you're an adult when..."

Thankful for: Running 4 miles pain-free on Tuesday.
The older I get, the more aches and pains I have. But I'm still going to blame them all on "running injury" there is no such thing as "old age" in this house!

Source: images.search.yahoo.com via Beth on Pinterest

Thankful for: The arrival of our new vacuum cleaner.
I think this fits squarely into the category of "you know you're an adult when..." you are happy about buying a new vacuum cleaner. But hey, the old one was dead, the new one works like a champ, and this house would be a bloody mess if we had no way to pick up the twigs, leaves, mud, and other evidence of our outdoor adventures!

Thankful for: Happy hour with my buddies, then staying out waaaaaay past my bedtime last Friday.
I'm decidedly not thankful for the ensuing hangover. Why is it that hangovers last all day once you pass the age of 30? Let's just say it was an unpleasant flight back home on Saturday...

Thankful for: Sleeping in this morning!
Ok, maybe this one makes me sound more like a teenager...

Source: happyshe.blogspot.nl via Beth on Pinterest

What are YOU thankful for this week?

Thursday thanks

Just when you thought I had skipped Thursday thanks...
I'm back with a big, toothy grin!

Today I'm thankful that my dentist appointment wasn't nearly as scary as I thought it would be. My filling was just a filling and did not turn into an emergency root canal. (Overly anxious, indeed. But better to prepare for the worst, and wind up pleasantly surprised, no?)

In fact, my face is now only half numb. Life is good!

Image source

I am also very thankful that my dentist is a master.

Proof of this fact: I'm only one of dozens of his patients who moved away... but still return to Mr. Master Dentist to get a cavity filled.

If that's not something to be thankful for, I don't know what is.

What are you thankful for this week?

Thursday thanks

This week I'm thankful for a couple of treats...

First, I stopped in at a coffee shop yesterday to get my first pumpkin-spiced beverage of the season. (Cliche, I know. But I love 'em. There are worse habits to have...) When I ordered my drink, and handed over my re-usable coffee mug, the barista started a chatty conversation that kept me smiling for a good hour after I left the store.

Thank you coffee lady!

Second, my friend Miss M pinned a recipe for oatmeal peanut butter cookies.

Source: whatsgabycooking.com via Beth on Pinterest

I noticed the pin, thought "I love peanut butter and I love oatmeal cookies. Why not?!"

As soon as I wrapped up my work for the day, I was in the kitchen whipping up a batch of peanut butter goodness. And I am not a baker by any stretch of the imagination.

The recipe was easy to follow and the cookies were delicious.

Baker's note: I used half the amount of sugar called for in the recipe, since I'm not a fan of sweet peanut butter cookies. I also used natural you-have-to-stir-it peanut butter. As a result, the texture of the cookies was a little flakey -  more like a scone than a chewy cookie - but I will definitely make them again.

What are you thankful for this week?
Are you a baker, a cook, both, or none of the above?
I normally consider myself a cook, but after many years of prodding by friends, including Miss M, I occasionally follow a recipe and bake something.

Thursday thanks

Please pardon the interruption:
This week's Thursday thanks is postponed to bring you a long-overdue, good, long run, courtesy of four weeks of rest and cranky plantar fascia.

Thursday thanks will resume at its regularly scheduled time next week.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have some running to do!

Thursday thanks

Is it too cliche to say I'm thankful that all I got from Hurricane Isaac is a collection of minor coastal flooding photos?

Fishermen sitting on a flooded pier in Pensacola after hurricane Isaac

Pensacola headlines the morning after

Best wishes to all those in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama who are still dealing with icky Isaac.

PS - I installed a new comment system. Please send me an email  - coffeeb123 (at) yahoo (dot) com or message me via Facebook or Twitter if you have any trouble commenting in Disqus!

Thursday thanks

Life has been good this week.

My day job is in the glorious August lull during which I can actually get work done instead of being on conference calls about all the work that needs to get done...

Between conferences, work, and family visits, I have quite a lot of autumn travel coming up... balancing this travel schedule with my teaching schedule will keep me on my toes. (But in a good way. I live for the weeks that keep me on the move.)

The weather has finally, mercifully started cooling off here in Florida. Yes, this happened just as I had to take a break from running, but...

My PF-ing foot had no aches or pains this morning. All of the wonderful suggestions I received seem to be working. I'm going to hold off on running again until the weekend. (This 2-week break will be my longest in years, but I'd rather wait a few more days than rush back into running and have to take another couple of weeks off.)

That said... I am going to go for a long walk this morning to test out my foot and to enjoy the weather. If I make it through the walk pain-free, I'll be working a 6-miler into my weekend. If not, it will be back to the pool for me!

What are you thankful for this week?

Thursday thanks

This week I'm thankful for the online community...

Bell Telephone switchboard circa WWII
Image source

I truly appreciate all of the advice and encouragement on yesterday's injury post. The support of the blogging community never ceases to amaze me.

I also appreciate a random tweet from a total stranger. This tweeter liked an article I wrote for Examiner.com. That 47 character note plus re-tweets tripled my daily article traffic. Given that Examiner's earnings (like so many other web-writing-gigs) are largely traffic-based, the bump was a pleasant surprise.

I also just cracked open a book on the history Family, Sex and Marriage in England* that was recommended to me by a friend of my friend, through a chain of "please send me your best reading recommendations on this topic" emails. Forty pages into the book, I can already see why this text comes so highly recommended, yet it turned up in none of my earlier searches.(*The book is material for this fall's Sociology course...)

Love. The. Power. Of. Networks.


What are you thankful for this week?