Ultimate Coffee Date

Nature finds a way: Runfessions January 2020

~ Chocolaterunsjudy ~ 34 Comments

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I’m runfessing and sipping tea all in one post. There wasn’t a whole lot of running in January, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have things to get off my chest. There always seems to be a steady stream of things to tell you and odd things going on in my life. I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours!

The Vitamix has been christened. It will be used a lot in the coming years!

I would tell you . . .
I’d been eyeing a new Vitamix for a few years. Mine is at least 12 years old, maybe older. It sees a lot of use. Mr. Judy found me a good deal, and it sat on the the counter. And it sat . . . and sat . . .

I had soups I wanted to make (I don’t use it as much for smoothies in Winter) but I just never could seem to find the time. I finally made a Potato Leek Soup and the new Vitamix is christened. Now to figure out what to do with the old one  . . . which still runs, by the way.

I runfess . . .
#thestruggleisreal when it comes to getting out the door in Winter. January was actually on the mild side, despite some snow, some freezing rain, and some bitter cold. But mostly it was unseasonably warm, including running in that skirt for one long run!

Finding the skirt? It was not something I expected to need in Winter, so it was packed away. But in which cube? Getting out the door is hard enough without having to go through the Summer running clothes!

I runfess . . .
Running on the treadmill usually means I do a more thorough warm up, because I’m not out there freezing my butt off waiting to get started. Things got intense mid-month, I was stressed, I was busy, I was tired. I realized as I was running on the mill one day that foam rolling never even entered my mind — I runfess that I didn’t do it afterwards, either (because it was already lunchtime and I was hungry!).

I runfess . . .
I did pretty good with food through most of the holidays. Until I spent much of the week between Christmas and New Years at my moms. Of course spending another week with her after my Dad passed was also a struggle, with more eating out and not many healthy choices available some days.

Who knew eating at a senior living community could be such a food struggle?

I shake my head every time I see this. It’s not the only one, either!

I would tell you . . .
We had a planter outside on the deck, and we brought it in knowing it would probably fall apart out there during Winter. It has pots with dead herb plants on it. In those pots, which have not seen a drop of water in months, these seedlings are growing — that’s what the subject of this post refers to. Seriously, how?

Have you ever seen plants growing without any water (other than cacti)? 

Have you had to haul out Summer running clothes this Winter?

Open stuff immediately, whether or not you’re ready to use it?

What do you have to runfess from January? Come join us

Runfessions

I am also linking up with:

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Coco and Deborah for the ultimate coffee tea date.

As well as Fairytales and Fitness

It’s a party this weekend!

There’s a little dog in all men: Tea/coffee Date January 2020

~ Chocolaterunsjudy ~ 38 Comments

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Mr. Judy and the dogs figure largely in what I’d tell you if we were meeting up for some hot beverages today. I’ll bet you’re really shocked — not!

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Pull up a chair and mug with Coco and Deborah and me for the ultimate coffee tea date, while I forgive the dogs for the disgusting things they do because they’re cute. And maybe Mr. Judy, too.

If we were enjoying tea/coffee . . .
I would tell you Mr. Judy was going through some old stuff, and came across some papers from his Dad (who also suffered with dementia).One was a list of passwords. One was JLITT.

We had a good laugh when at first I was puzzled about why he would use my name as a password. His first name was Jerry. I needed that laugh!

If we were enjoying tea/coffee . . .
I’d tell you that Mr. Judy got a bee in his bonnet about making latkes (potato pancakes) from scratch. Yes, Mr. Judy can cook, but doesn’t do it a lot, so it’s often filled with me finding almost everything for him and some swearing. If you’ve never made latkes, it’s a labor intensive procedure and this fell in the week we were moving my Dad to the nursing home.

I made the frozen latkes from Trader Joes — as did one of his aunts and his sister — but that wasn’t good enough for him. I runfess I’m glad he did it while I was away from home.

It’s a good thing they’re cute

If we were enjoying tea/coffee . . .
I’d tell you I came home from yoga last Sunday, put away the groceries, sat down and talked to Mr. Judy a bit. Got up to make myself some tea. Walked back over and . . . someone had thrown up.

Lola has done her share of “redecorating” as I euphemistically call it

My money is on Bandit. Lola had just gotten up on the couch, and I think we would have noticed if she’d gotten back off.  I don’t remember Bandit getting off his couch, but he is the one that randomly throws up.

I’m pretty sure it wasn’t there when I was talking to Mr. Judy, we didn’t hear anything (Bandit tends to do it pretty quietly). It wasn’t me and it wasn’t Mr. Judy. Good thing the dogs are cute, and at least this time they missed bedding, furniture, and carpeting.

If we were enjoying tea/coffee . . .
I’d tell you I have actually gone from someone who loved to bake, and often baked simply because I enjoyed it and found it stress-busting . . . to someone that doesn’t bake so often anymore.

Could that be part of the secret to being able to maintain my weight without tracking? It’s mostly been that I am just too busy with other things. You know how when you’re really engaged in something and you don’t even think about eating? Yeah, it’s kind of like that.

If we were enjoying tea/coffee . . .
I’d tell you that starting my YouTube Channel (you can check it out here) has been hard! I seriously knew nothing about editing video before I started. It seemed like with each new video a different problem would pop up.

In my latest video, I’d recorded an intro to it — at the moment I film using my Ipad — and for the first time, for whatever reason, the audio came out completely garbled. Unusable. Hence no intro to that video.

In that same video, I recorded the audio early one morning. It’s a longer video, clocking in at almost an hour. I finished, hit done, and poof! No audio. I simply didn’t have another hour to sit & re-record it. As I was venting to Mr. Judy, it finally appeared. I guess it just needed some processing time.

What was the last good laugh you had?

What was the last thing you had to learn that really challenged you?

What was something you used to really enjoy doing that you no longer do? 

I am also linking up with the  Fridays with Fairytales and Fitness from Fairytales & Fitness.

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Stranger Things with Alexa: Tea/coffee Date December 2019

~ Chocolaterunsjudy ~ 31 Comments

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If we were meeting up for a hot beverage today, I’d have a lot of things to tell you. None of them have to do with running. Some of them have to do with animals. Some of them might still involve the treadmill.

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Of course we’d still be talking about the snowstorm, too

Pull up a chair and mug with Coco and Deborah and me for the ultimate coffee tea date, where I tell you about the strange things Lola and Alexa do.

Bandit has been snuggling more than normal lately; guess he’s cold? He wriggles out of sweaters

If we were enjoying tea/coffee . . .
I would tell you that last week one evening we were getting food ready for the dogs for Thanksgiving Day: we were dropping them off at the pet sitter for the day, actually decided to leave them overnight so the day could be a *tiny* bit more relaxed for us — too many people in my parent’s small apartment for the dogs.

We’re not quite sure how she got snow all over herself

As I was doing yoga before bed, I heard one of the dogs in their crates. Just circling. And circling. And circling. Being downstairs I wasn’t sure who it was, but by the circling, I should’ve known it was Lola (maybe you saw my video of her searching for a spot to pee on FB?).

Apparently she thought she was getting a second dinner — poor girl! Birthday’s over, we’re working on 15 now, Lola.

If we were enjoying tea/coffee . . .
I’d tell you that your privacy and Alexa are definitely a concern. OTOH, I’m #teamalexa. Still love her. She does do some odd things, though. Like the time she gave a very convincing meow out of the blue. I seriously was looking around to see if a cat had somehow gotten into the house!

If we were enjoying tea/coffee . . .
I’d tell you I declutter when the spirit moves me, and it’s moving me right now. Going through clothes, getting them bagged up to donate. Not because I don’t like them or they don’t fit, but because I’m trying to declutter our living space. In fact, we’re also rearranging and trying to declutter our family/fitness room, which is where I teach yoga.

Since I have someone coming into my home on a weekly basis (and hope for more!), I need to make it a more inviting space. It’s coming along nicely, but not there yet, so no photos.

If we were enjoying tea/coffee . . .
I’d tell you I started a 40 Day Kundalini Kriya. A Kriya is a set of yoga poses. I’m definitely not an expert on Kundalini, so you might want to google it if interested or read the blog post here for a good, in depth explanation, but basically it’s trying to awaken the energy that is supposedly stored at the base of your spine and help you reach your full potential. The Kriya I chose was for disease immunity (figured I could use that at this time of year).

The entire Kriya, with the warm up exercises, takes about 30-40 minutes. I enjoy it, but 40 days straight? Let’s just say it’s been a challenge. Supposedly if you skip a day, you’re supposed to go back to day one and do them all over again for 40 days . . . I suppose it’s the Yogic form of a running streak.

I was just trying to get some steps in!

If we were enjoying tea/coffee . . .
I did my Soul Stroll (check out Soul Strolls for free here) on the treadmill because, you know, 2 feet of snow outside. I wore my Vibrams, which I hadn’t worn in a while. With injiji toe socks, because sometimes they irritate my heels.

Then I had some pain on the side of my foot. I swear it developed a callous overnight, and I’ve never had a callous there before. I eventually figured out it was probably the Vibrams — most likely due to the socks I wore with them — that were the problem. I’ve never had problems from them before. Every day is an adventure when it comes to fitness.

Do you ever do an exercise streak that’s not running?

Do you enjoy rearranging furniture in your home?

What was the best bargain you found so far? 

I am also linking up with the  Fridays with Fairytales and Fitness from Fairytales & Fitness.

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It’s more than Asana: Spilling over tea/coffee November 2019

~ Chocolaterunsjudy ~ 27 Comments

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Most people come to Yoga for its physical benefits. I am not an exception. Sometimes, if you practice long enough, you begin to want to learn more about it . . . and Yoga is about more than just Asana.

Confessions of a Mother Runner

Pull up a chair and mug with Coco and Deborah and me for the ultimate coffee tea date, where I talk yoga, racing, and traffic — because that’s probably what I’d tell you if I were meeting you for a hot beverage.

Counteracted all that driving with some walking around while we were visiting my Dad

If we were enjoying tea/coffee . . .
I had almost a two week break from being at my moms in the middle of October. I really needed that break. It also forced my mom to actually start taking rides from some people who live/work where she is — something I had suggested.

If we were enjoying tea/coffee . . .
I’d tell you that it’s kind of surprising to me how much my student is loving her private yoga sessions.

2 weeks . . . 3 races

If we were enjoying tea/coffee . . .
I’d tell you Fall is definitely my favorite time of year to race. I’ve had years when I’ve raced almost every weekend for a couple of months. There’s less likely to be snow during Fall (although it can rear its ugly head) and the temps are often my friend.

If we were enjoying tea/coffee . . .
I’d tell you lately if there’s a traffic jam, you can almost bet I’m in the middle of it. Traffic isn’t that bad here, as it’s a relatively small city, but there’s been a lot of construction on the major highway. I’ve lost count the number of times I’ve been stuck in traffic. Once coming back from my mom it took me literally an hour to go what normally takes 15 minutes. Thankfully this last visit I was able to leave early and it wasn’t so bad.

The worst part is that it changes from day to day, even from morning to afternoon so it’s always a guessing game what the best route is — a game that I seem to be constantly losing.

Yoga . . . it’s not just on your mat

If we were enjoying tea/coffee . . .
I’d tell you Mr. Judy and I had a discussion one morning about how my new “career” is great — because the antidote to stress can actually be found in Yoga (although Yoga teacher burnout is a real thing, too).

Stress out about demoing for the studio owner (it went ok, although I messed up a bit but she’s going to put me on the sub list)? Meditate on it! Yes, meditation is actually a part of Yoga. In fact there’s something called the 8 Limbs of Yoga; Asana is just one limb.

I thought it was a cool conversation because Mr. Judy actually recognized that Yoga is about more than the postures. Which is very true.

Have you been stuck in traffic more often lately?

Have you ever heard of the 8 limbs of yoga?

Is yoga all about Asana (postures) for you? 

I am also linking up with the  Fridays with Fairytales and Fitness from Fairytales & Fitness.

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Make today your best day: Spilling over tea/coffee October 2019

~ Chocolaterunsjudy ~ 21 Comments

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September brought with it the start of a new (Jewish) year. I’d like to say it started off well, but that wouldn’t be the truth, and I believe in sharing — the good, the bad, the ugly. So no one ever thinks that someone else’s life is all unicorns and rainbows.

Write it on your heart that every day is the best day of the year.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

There were still many happy moments in September:

  • Becoming a Yoga teacher
  • Teaching my first Yoga student
  • Getting my first medal for placing in my Age Group
Confessions of a Mother Runner

Pull up a chair and mug with Coco and Deborah and me for the ultimate coffee tea date, where I share what’s been good and bad in my life lately.

If we were enjoying tea/coffee . . .
I’d tell you that apparently chips and Greek yogurt are my go-to for the days I’ve spent hours in the car and don’t have the energy to reheat something.

I almost always have a plan for leftovers and all I have to do is reheat them. Yet 3 times (so far) I’ve come home from driving my mom around and had Greek yogurt and some type of healthy-ish chips.

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An act of kindness was rewarded

If we were enjoying tea/coffee . . .
Part of why I agreed to do the 5k with my friend on Sunday was simply because she’s been so supportive of me. She was my “student” for my practicum. That involved meeting several times to practice.

Then on the day we filmed it, it actually ran short. Like most of the students in the course, I obsessed about coming in at the right time, even though they assured us going over a couple of minutes wasn’t a big deal, and then It was actually a few minutes short!

So I asked her if she wouldn’t mind doing it again. It still came out short, but at least the second one was the one I submitted.

If we were enjoying tea/coffee . . .
I’d tell you that I’ve been messaging back and forth with one of the women about my age who also took the course (she happens to live in New Zealand). When I taught my first “class”, she asked me how it was, and I said it went really well.

She said she was extremely nervous to teach her first class. I was teaching just one person, and that was a person I’ve known a long time. I really didn’t feel that nervous. Plus I was teaching mostly Yin, which is holding poses a long time, so far less poses to remember.

My student really enjoyed it, and now will be a weekly student.

If we were enjoying tea/coffee . . .
I’d tell you I *think* I’ve given up the thought of another half for 2019. I don’t think I will have the time to train — not for a PR, but simply to put in the miles that *I* personally feel is necessary to be prepared to run 13.1 miles.

At this moment in my life I don’t want to put that kind of pressure on my running, which would take it from stress-busting to stress inducing, trying to find time to run without completely exhausting myself.

It does make me sad, I won’t lie. There is a time for everything in our lives, though, and clearly right now it’s time to take care of my parents — and myself.

Where’s mom?

If we were enjoying tea/coffee . . .
I’d tell you September was a really rough month and I’m exhausted — with no end in sight, really. I’ve split my time about evenly between home and my parents. The poor dogs never know if I’m staying or going (and neither do I, frankly). I often end up having to stay for longer than I plan for.

We had a setback this week, when I went down to stay with my mom for Rosh Hashanah, planning to take her to the rehab facility my Dad is in, and instead we ended up going back and forth to a hospital in CT (literally across the street from the rehab), as my Dad ended up there with non-life threatening, but painful, problems.

Do you believe no good deed goes unpunished, or what we put out comes back to us many times over?

Have you ever set aside your own goals to care for your loved ones?

Can you make today your best day? 

I am also linking up with the  Fridays with Fairytales and Fitness from Fairytales & Fitness.

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Rest needed, stat!: Spilling over tea/coffee September 2019

~ Chocolaterunsjudy ~ 30 Comments

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On Monday we spent the day with my parents. Despite the rain, the dogs were pretty good. Bandit (he appears here a couple of times) seems to particularly enjoy going to my parents — until it’s dinner time. We had a nice visit with my parents and some of their friends.

The next day my sister called to tell me my mom had found my Dad unresponsive on the toilet (sorry if that’s TMI) not too long after we left and he was in the hospital. They finally determined he has a blood infection and pneumonia. Yet he seemed normal Monday.

He’s tough, although quite frankly has little that makes him happy, and yes, we siblings have discussed that it would be a blessing if he passed quietly in his sleep. Sorry if that’s also TMI, but that’s our reality.

He doesn’t appear ready to go, though, for whatever reason. I am headed down there tomorrow — prayers & good vibes appreciated, but it sounds as though it’s not a dire situation, either. At 93, though, you never know.

Confessions of a Mother Runner

Pull up a chair and mug with Coco and Deborah and me for the ultimate coffee tea date — I enjoy hot tea year round, and just love curling my hands around a warm mug of tea. It’s so soothing.

I was going to video this soothing fountain on the patio, but the cars and occasional planes made me realize that it wouldn’t be so soothing to listen to. Still, it was a nice dinner!

If we were enjoying tea/coffee . . .
I’d tell you that Mr. Judy and I enjoyed an al fresco dinner at a very nice restaurant a couple of weeks ago. It was a lovely evening. While the restaurant is in a strip mall, they have tall shrubs surrounding it and it’s really quite nice.

We also had the patio all to ourselves. Despite the restaurant being busy, no one else chose to sit outside. Their loss!

Trails look so deceptively easy

If we were enjoying tea/coffee . . .
I’d tell you I enjoyed my trail 10k a lot more since I didn’t set out to race it and I had company for the second half. I would also runfess that I definitely wasn’t trained for that long on the trails, and I was tired by about mile 3! I finally runfess that I felt as though I had run a half by the time I finished, even though it was only half that distance (if you missed last week’s runfessions, they’re here).

Why is it that trail running, while so much slower than road running, feels twice as hard?

If we were enjoying tea/coffee . . .
I’d tell you that I am planning to take my YTT test today; nope, actually took it yesterday and passed with flying colors, although I didn’t think it was as easy as some did. I had wanted one more day to study, and to do it this morning when I wasn’t so tired (ha! didn’t get enough sleep last night), but I also want to get in a long run today and need to pack.

I submitted my practicum video on Wednesday; finished filming it right before the thunderstorms hit, thankfully. I’m pretty much assuming that I passed, but am waiting for my certificate and feedback on my practicum.

Bandit getting some Grandpa love — Grandpa didn’t act sick at all

If we were enjoying tea/coffee . . .
I’d tell you Bandit is a strange dog. I know, I know, they’re all strange in their own ways but he is probably the strangest one we’ve had so far. The last couple of times we went to my parents, he refused to eat dinner there.

I was prepared this time, and only offered a very little, and when he refused that I gave it to Lola who was happy to help. When I fed him when we got home, he still just looked at it. Until I realized that I’d put the glass bowl on the floor of his crate, rather than in the raised bowl I usually use; I was very tired. When I put it in the raised bowl, he chowed down.

The odd thing is that in the beginning we fed him by putting the bowl on the floor of the crate . . .  spoiled much?

If we were enjoying tea/coffee . . .
Poor Mr. Judy. He loves Bandit so. Bandit, who does like Mr. Judy, has made it very clear that I am his person. If I sit outside on the lounge chair, he almost always comes out and sits with me for a while — although with the cooling days, sometimes he doesn’t want to be outside.

He will go outside and lay with Mr. Judy — but only if I am not home. If I am home, and in the house, he stays inside with me.

What are some of your furkids quirks?

Do your furkids show a preference for one person or love the whole family?

Would you pick a trail race over a road race? 

I am also linking up with the  Fridays with Fairytales and Fitness from Fairytales & Fitness.

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Playing with those intervals: Spilling over tea/coffee August 2019

~ Chocolaterunsjudy ~ 16 Comments

bteaaug19

Ten years into running and I’m still experimenting with the best way to run for me. It’s one of the things I like about running — there’s always more to learn, and different things work for different bodies (the same could be said about yoga).

Confessions of a Mother Runner

Pull up a chair and mug with Coco and Deborah and me for the ultimate coffee tea date — in 2019 I’ve been experimenting with ditching my run/walk intervals (although I do take a short walk break every mile to drink some water). So how’s that going for me?

It’s all Nuun, all the time in the summer (although this was Savannah, GA in February)

If we were enjoying tea/coffee . . .
I’d tell you that I enjoy hot beverages even on hot days. Indoors, of course, in the AC. If I were outside it would definitely be a cool drink after a hot run — with some Nuun (Nuun Ambassador)in it, so I don’t cramp up.

Look ma, no walking!

If we were enjoying tea/coffee . . .
I’d tell you I didn’t set out to ditch intervals this year. It just happened organically. After being sick so much in the spring, I just felt that I needed to work on endurance. So far it seems to be working for me and in general, I’ve noticed that most of my runs have been faster than I was running last year at this time.

I’m sure some of that is due to reduced running in general (remember, I was training for an 18 mile race then, not so conducive to increasing speed). I also suspect when I train for a half, I’ll probably use intervals. Only time will tell.

If we were enjoying tea/coffee . . .
I’d tell you that at first it was hard to get used to no intervals! I’d been using them about 3 years. A mile seemed like a very long way. I found myself thinking man this mile is taking forever. I think I have mostly gotten used to it, though.

If we were enjoying tea/coffee . . .
I’d tell you should read my post on Tuesday here, because I thought the answers I got were really fascinating (and please tell me about your own journey!). It’s about your purpose in life, and many bloggers shared their purpose and their path to it.

Never forget — your purpose in life isn’t necessarily the same thing as your job.

She’s getting older . . . and quirkier . . .

If we were enjoying tea/coffee . . .
I’d tell you sometimes girls just want their mamas. One night this week we were having some thunderstorms. Typically I send Lola down to Mr. Judy at night, as otherwise she tends to want to get out of the bedroom when I go to sleep (letting in light, which means I have to get up and shut the door again).

After a few weeks of that dance earlier in the year I just made sure she always went down to Mr. Judy so I could go to sleep uninterrupted. Mind you, for about 13 years she went to sleep — usually before me — and just stayed put until morning.

This particular night she was in the bedroom as usual, and Mr. Judy took her down with him. Shortly afterwards she came back up and hopped back on the bed. Mr. Judy again took her back downstairs, but she came back up again; I hadn’t yet gone to sleep. I could sense she was going to stay this time, so I left her there — and yup, she never went back downstairs.

The next night she was back to being downstairs with Mr. Judy as usual. Actually, she did come back up at one point, but she never came into the bedroom. Sometimes only mom is good enough. 🙂

Do you like to just run or play around with the way you run?

Favorite ways to hydrate after a hot run?

As your furkids age, did/do they develop new, odd habits? 

I am also linking up with the  Fridays with Fairytales and Fitness from Fairytales & Fitness.

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