My brain is running faster this morning than my legs will ever dream of running.
Not much of an intro today, just thoughts taken right from the source to the web. Thanks for hosting this much appreciated Thinking Out Loud link-up, Amanda!
1. When I said a few weeks back that I was having trouble waking up early, I didn’t know what I was talking about.
Sadly, it has gotten worse. It is now feeling straight-up torturous to wake up at 5:15 to get out of the house by 5:45 to run. The running itself is not feeling torturous, by a mile in I feel the same as I always do on a winter run, and I actually like the feeling! But, my mind is not making this connection when it’s time to drag myself out of bed.
I told my husband how I’ve been feeling and he just sort of laughed. I think what he was trying to convey is that what I was saying was no surprise. Welcome to the land of the other humans who don’t love getting up in the morning. Meh, it sucks. But I will push through, knowing that once the sun is rising early I won’t be able to stay in bed long enough. I think my body wants to hibernate but the extra need for rest isn’t really jiving with my schedule, goals, and plans. Such is life. I’ll cry myself a river so don’t you bother.
2. On a random note I’m not sure if I’ve ever told you my husband and kids’ names.
If I haven’t it was not on purpose. They are, in age order from oldest to youngest, Adam, Diana, Emily and Drew. And if you did know this information I’m sorry to be repeating it!
3. When you run in the dark, even with a headlamp, trees turn into people really easily. Or rather, people turn into trees. Or actually both.
This will never change. You see someone walking their dog in the distance as you’re running along, and as you get closer they turn into a bush or a tree. Then, you see a tree in the distance and as you get closer it turns into someone waiting for the bus or walking their dog. This happens every winter, and at this point it only freaks me out a little bit. I prefer when the person turns into a tree. Somehow that’s less scary.
4. I get so annoyed when someone (kids or husband) won’t eat something I cooked because there is ONE SINGLE THING in it that they don’t like.
Does a little green leaf or even a green speck really ruin the whole thing for you? Yes, it does, I get that and that’s why I’m annoyed. Of course, it’s more about not even giving the little green leaf a chance rather than the whole thing genuinely being ruined. I am not picky so I don’t know these things for sure. It’s just hard to please everyone all the time.
Sometimes in life, there will be a green veggie thing in your dinner and you will have to make a choice. The choice is yours. And I will save and reheat your leftovers should you choose to remain stubborn.
5. My son is off from school today for parent conferences. Think he’ll do yoga with me? How about barre?
I think today might be one of those nighttime yoga days given he’s home. Or maybe he’ll do a few hip opener stretches with me. Kids are really flexible before the age of 5 I’ve noticed. I’m sure he’ll appreciate all the benefits.
That’s about all I have for you right now. Time to take the spot that’s saved for me on the couch! Being home with one child is actually really nice now. Not that I don’t like being around my kids, but, you know how it can be when they’re babies! No babies of course means we talk all day though. It’s one big “thinking out loud” party 🙂
What’s on your mind today?
I just realized its crazy that I didn’t know your kids names! I knew your husband’s name but thats probably just because I met him, Im not sure if you mentioned it on the blog.
I hate when people turn into trees or trees into people! I think its way more common for people to turn into objects while I am running…sometimes Ive thought I saw dogs that were really garbage cans.
My sister is 23 and she still won’t eat her food if there is a spec of something in it she does’t like- particularly cheese. She is like the one person in the world who hates cheese but loves pasta so when we eat out she will specify no cheese, and then if she thinks she sees any she’s done. Im sure i used to be like that as a kid but luckily I have grown out of it and learned to eat around whatever it is I don’t like:)
Sending a dish back for a speck of cheese is pretty extreme! And I often think I see a dog that turns out to be a garbage can or fire hydrant!
I put spinach in my son’s turkey meatballs yesterday and I guess I didn’t chop it small enough because he kept asking what the green thing was. I passed it off as oregano.
That would never fly over here. We have very picky green leaf haters 🙂
Haha! That is so true about running in the dark! Things easily turn into things they’re not. I thought it was just me especially after my husband says I just don’t see it.
Yes! It’s funny to read the comments and see that this happens to a lot of us!
I’m not having a hard time waking up, but I am having a hard time getting myself motivated for work. When I think about it, I feel overwhelmed and exhausted before I’m even there. All I want to do is sleep all day lately. I think my injury has made me lazy or something else is going on. I just don’t feel like getting stressed out by work deadlines and long commutes. This probably makes no sense but I know stress has played a big role in my hormone imbalances & I’m just tired of feeling stressed and anxious always.
Hormone imbalance might be to blame or even just psychological/physiological burnout from all that you’ve been stressed over! I know my husband goes through feeling that way with work though. It seems to come in waves. Also for normally intense people it’s sometimes just tough to keep up that level of caring all the time. Try to enjoy your weekend!
Your son cracks me up every time. I love his outfit in that picture!
He does actually have a really funny personality 🙂
I used to be HORRIBLE with refusing to eat things because of specks when I was younger. Totally horrible. My mom still won’t let me live down the fact that I was a nightmare to cook for, and I’m thinking that she’s secretly hoping I’ll have the same kind of problems with my kids so I’ll know what it’s like 😆
It does seem like some kids are just naturally picky and sensitive about little things in food! I am with your mom on that 🙂
I think I know which of your kid’s names is my favorite 🙂 I used to be really picky when I was younger but my mom did a good job at making vegetables. Somehow broccoli is one of my favorites now!
Good roasted broccoli is probably the most kid friendly cooked veggie. Anything else is raw carrots and peppers and cucumbers 🙂
We had no picky eaters in our family! As a kid I would eat any and everything! People were always shocked by what I would eat as a little girl!
I have a fb friend who often brags about the exotic food her daughter will eat! Some parents definitely luck out with that!
I don’t know if he will do barre with you, but your son is totally adorable. Have a good thinking out loud Thursday! 🙂
No barre for him but he does allow me to stretch on my mat 🙂
I am at a conference at a resort outside of Austin. I ran last night at dusk on the golf course. There were deer EVERYWHERE, but a dusk, I often couldn’t tell if they were deer or large rocks and they didn’t move until I got close, and then they would jump and run. Scared me every time!
Pickiness bugs me in general…especially when people don’t try things or won’t try it because they think it may have something in it. I can tolerate it in kids, but in adults find it rather unacceptable. I have a brother-in-law who WILL NOT TOUCH ANY vegetable because of a bad childhood and a horrible mother. A fleck of an onion or a hint of vegetable will send him to the nearest McD for an alternative meal. Really? At 50, he is overweight, out of shape, etc. Get over it or get therapy!!
In a new environment I can imagine that being an even bigger problem! And yes, my husband is unfortunately picky with food and I agree at some point you must get over that! Your brother-in-law sounds extreme though, way too much!
Oh, and whoever has recommended, that hip opener yoga class. THANK YOU!!! I have done it three times this week. Love it and it has saved me:)
I love that class. I’m now borderline obsessed with opening my tight hips!
Ok, my kids are NOTORIOUS for not eating something because they see a speck of something that they think is something..and you get the idea 😉 Haha. And I agree- it’s muss less scary when people turn into trees- people in the distance in the dark freak me out. Every time.
My daughter picks her meat apart looking for parts she doesn’t like, I’m mostly used to it but it still drives me crazy sometimes, especially if I’m exhausted after cooking!
Thankfully my husband’s not a picky eater (except he won’t eat quinoa, but I don’t eat that anymore either).
I’ve had a hard time getting up early in the mornings also. It’s just so dark and cold outside, at least running in sunshine makes the cold better.
It does feel unnatural for me this winter to step out into the dark! I think I’m overthinking it beforehand, I used to put the dark and cold out of my head and now it’s hard to do that.
I am totally with you on the trees looking like people! I am also an early morning runner! I scare myself sometimes while I”m out there alone ha
So true! In the winter I stick to very familiar routes and even still I start seeing things.
Wedding planning is on my mind today. I want to make it stop, (no SERIOUSLY I want to make it stop,) but it won’t.
I can’t get up in the morning lately either. And I also dislike working out at night. I’m having a bit of an identity crisis over it. I was thinking that it’s slowly getting lighter out earlier in the morning, but then remembered that daylight savings time will ruin that, probably right when it’s perfect. Oh well.
I’ve noticed that it’s now light enough by the end of my run, the problem is the stepping out in the dark part! I’ve never been able to workout at night, my body just rebels.
I feel the same way when I run in the dark. Lately running in the fog has done that too. Actually it’s more like surprise and they pop out of nowhere!
Fog is pretty scary!! I’ve only been really caught in it once that I can remember, and really hope I never do again.
I love this post. I am EXACTLY the same way (about getting up early, running in the dark, picky eaters, being home with one child rather than all of them). Great post!
Funny that you relate to all these things! Always good to know I’m not alone 🙂
You know, I don’t think I’ve ever realized that I didn’t know your kids/husbands names…WOW. Well color me surprised! awesome thinking out loud! 🙂
I feel you on the food annoyances! When someone doesn’t like something i have cooked, yet they seem to NOT possess the ability to cook for themselves—i could light a fire with my glare. SO aggravating!
Little one snuggles are the BEST! I miss when Aly was 4-6…it was the BEST- snuggles all day every day!!. Now it’s like she is 8 going on 14…and i do not like it as much! So i say soak up all your little one that you can! And someday, when i have babies, I will need you to remind me of these things, please and thank you!
It struck me that I always refer to them as first, second, whatever and never by name! And yes, when that person depends on you to make them food it is very aggravating! My oldest, Diana (names now!) is 7 and it feels like she’s a teenager already and all her friends act the same. Definitely a reminder to saver the preschool years 🙂
Yep. Running in the dark….I’ve totally ran into a trash can before. Aaaaannnd it left a bruise. Early Morning Running Problem #43
Eek, I’ve never hit a trash can, but the worst I’ve done is run into a branch. They sneak up! Too many early morning winter running problems to list!
Love all of this randomness! I am pretty generally critical of so-called ‘TOL’ posts (actually I tend to barely skim ANY link-ups at this point, to be honest because … well, I’ve talked about that) … but when they are REAL – they are awesome! Like this!
I thought you were specifically not naming names – for the general reasons of security and pseudo-anonymity. It is like some people who will use an initial, or BF/GF (boyfriend/girlfriend … not gluten-free 😉 ) or ‘The Wife’ or hubby or non-name identifiers. Or how people won’t post run-maps to avoid providing exact locations, and so on. But it is cool to put names to the people who are so central to everything in your life.
And I had to laugh about the ‘tree people’ … I mean, I have about 6 or so ‘main’ running routes, with variations that can get me anywhere from 2.5 to 25 miles. In the winter on cold weekdays I have ONE main ‘trunk’ with ~3 variations and 3 ‘sub-variations’ that will get me from 5 – 10 miles. But basically – it is all the same areas (I love how the development loops in our area are almost all ~0.9 -1.1 miles).
And yet … that mailbox ALWAYS looks like there is someone there – and since there are a few dog walkers I see nearly every morning, there actually WILL be someone there occasionally. And hydrants look like dogs, and trees, and on and on. It is funny stuff 🙂
I have been lucky out here in NY – never hit a branch with my face or anything else like that. Back in Mass there was a tree that was unpredictable – it was a soft birch and the large branch would move based on season and wet/dry and I was SO glad when they pruned it back and I no longer got whacked! 🙂 The worst was one May that a bat flew right into my underarm and got tangled up with me! haha … I can laugh now 🙂
That post was a true “tol” post, maybe the truest I’ve done 🙂 I think when I started blogging it didn’t feel natural to refer to my family members by name, and then I just never did! Also with 3 kids I find myself needing to specify ages (oldest, middle, little one) I’m going to try to use names now though!
Agree I also think I see people next to mail boxes, and also that sometimes there really is someone there. Weird stuff!
I see tree people when I wear a head lamp also! It really freaks me out lol. I haven’t gotten used to wearing the head lamp and it may be the one I have. But it makes me dizzy :/ oh well I just try to run in the streets and dodge any early morning drivers 🙂
Yes it bugs me too if I cook something and it’s not eaten due to something minute, but I have the opposite issue these days. My husband eats anything and then tries to gobble mine! Major no no lol hope you had a great week Michele! !!
As much as I hate the pickiness I think trying to eat my food would be just as bad! And be careful in the morning and wear reflective gear!
Growing up, I couldn’t eat my food if it touched anything else on the plate. Also, I hated almost all meat and had a tough time chewing lettuce. Truthfully this continued well into my teen years and now my parents are astonished I have a food blog. Hell some days I am too.
So I drag my weary carcass out of bed around 5 or 5:15 a.m. so I can blog before going into the office. On those days when I’m feeling extra sluggish and just drained, I opt for the extra sleep. It actually ends up being better for me in the long run and then I get back to posting when I have the energy and motivation. Makes for better writing too. It’s quality as opposed to quantity. 🙂
5am is just early! I tried to blog at that time to see if it was possible and it wasn’t working. My body seems to wake up while running and my mind needs a little bit longer. You are sounding like my middle one Emily. Things do not touch on her plate and meat is not a favorite!