purging

i've been purging. not the bad kind. the good kind. i guess spring cleaning happened a little late for me this year.

1. i cleaned out my closet - five garbage bags of clothes. i haven't even looked at my shoes yet. cleaning out your closet is like oxygen for your lungs. it feels so good. my closet usually organized, color coded & seperated by workout clothes (yes - a whole rack of these, they are my everyday clothes too), going out clothes (dinners, weddings & wanting to take it up a notch for the mr.) and then everyday clothes. They were all on wooden hangers but found myself buying more plastic hangers - i was getting new clothes and getting rid of nothing. ahhh....

2. i cleaned out my pantry & made a list of dinner ideas that i taped to the door with the food we have in the pantry. it's all organized just the way i like it.

3. I took all the outdoor furniture and washed it in preperation for winter. it makes me a little sad that we were so busy this summer that we didn't even have one day where we sat on our deck and chit chatted over a couple bottles of beer. we did however get to see a lot of friends and family that we hadn't seen in a long time - and that always feels good.

4. i cleaned out the garage - and even scrubbed the floors w/ clorox outdoor cleaner. i took a putty knife and scraped up the oil. it really was the last thing that needed to be done in the house for me to feel like we were finally moved in. it felt so good when i was done.

the moral of the story - is that less is more. more seems like fun for a little while - but then it becomes overwhelming and you start to forget what's really important. love, safety, family, good healthy food, my camera & a treadmill are about all this girl needs to be really happy - well ok - the internet too - i could live with out it - i just don't ever ever want to.

routine

i eat the same thing. all the time. 31 days in a month - i eat the same exact thing for breakfast for 30 of those days. one piece of toast, one egg and 1/2 slice of cheese. i know what i like. i know what i don't like. drives me nuts when i try something new (that's the real issue) and i don't like it. i can't help but think - what a waste of money, i'm still hungry & what a waste of time. i've been in a bit of a rut - eating gluten free can have very minimal challenges when you are eating from home - however eating out - can be a big pain in the butt - therefore - we rarely go out to eat - it's just easier - but my rut comes into play because i'm sick of making the same food all the time... so i tried something new! AND - it was terrible! I ended up having tator tots and a cookie for dinner - guess i can't complain too much. anyone have any dinner ideas they love?

running

half marathon #5. done. personal record. check. no blood. check. back to my normal running schedule. check. ready for #6. check. 30 pound weight loss. check. bragging. check. gluten free has far exceeded any expectations i had. my body has not been in this good of shape since i was 17. i haven't felt this good in a long time.

i ran the half with my friend carri & the hubby. well - adam ran ahead of us - and carri ran with me until mile 9. we ran chicago together. i don't run well with others. ask adam - i usually end up walking - feeling defeated - but carri & i run like pb & j. i felt good the whole run. i got emotional at the end. teared up when i crossed the finish line - and even gave a little jersey shore fist pump. i'm not exactly sure where that emotion came from - but for the first time - i was really proud. i worked my ass off. bring it on.

proud wife

here's an article that was written for the milwaukee journal sentinel - an interview with my husband :) how lucky am i?

http://www.jsonline.com/business/102269319.html

more news to follow hopefully today on what we've been up to - think photography, crafts and half marathons!