Current Obsession: Gratitude Journal

In 2019, I have committed to a daily gratitude journal. According to my journal, I attempted to start it in February 2018, and abandoned the practice after one day. Awesome. I started it up again in late January, and my friend Courtney's posts about hers served as a daily reminder for me to record mine as well. Sometimes I can be negative, and I don't like that about myself. I find myself distancing myself from friends, co-workers, acquaintances that have black clouds hanging over their heads, and I want to be someone that people seek out for my positivity. I had hoped that looking for the tiny moments of the day that I am grateful for, will help me let go of the negative. So far so good. It's really a treat to have a huge long list some days, and to even have a handful on days that I wish I could do over.


So far I'm on a month long streak, and don't see myself quitting anytime soon.

Current Obsession: The Office

Kyle and I started re-watching The Office around Christmas time. I was obsessed with the show when it was on until after Steve Carrell left, and Kyle and I don't have a ton of overlap in tv shows that we watch. So when he mentioned that he'd be up to rewatch The Office from the beginning I was very happy--especially because the earlier seasons are so freakin' good!

So if anyone needs me between now and six months from now, I'll be spending all of the spare minutes with my Netflix and Kyle.

Current Obsession: 90 Day Fiance

I have another obsession to share with you all. It is the terribly wonderful tv show, 90 Day Fiance on TLC. I started watching at the start of the most recent season, as a podcast I follow, Bitch Sesh was raving about it. I was hooked. And then my hairstylist informed me that previous seasons were on Hulu. OMG.

So I basically caught up on a season a weekend, since you really don't need to be super focused on the show to still get what is happening. :P I have since paused a bit since The Bachelor came back on, and my training has ramped back up for my upcoming spring halfs. So I'll say see you later, not goodbye to my crazy, wacky friends until a recovery weekend, I guess.

Who else is obsessed with this? Favorite season(s)? I've yet to get into the spin offs, but I'm sure those will happen during long-long run recovery days. Can't wait!

Current Obsession: Bowerman Track Club

I am obsessed with the Bowerman Track Club. Specifically the women's team. During the 2016 Olympics, I saw teammate after teammate make the USA team in their various events, and as they started being featured on various running podcasts I became even more obsessed! These chicks were badass teammates that trained together, often lived together at altitude, but also supported each other as teammates which elevated them as a squad. Legit squad goals. The fact that one of the runners, Shelby Houlihan, is from just south of here didn't hurt either. That's basically like we South Dakotans had an Olympian heading to Rio repping us!

And of course, Shalane and Amy are total badass marathon chicas, so obviously they've been beloved forever as well. But being a track girl at my core, I am full on obsessed with the speedy distance track girls: Shelby, Courtney, Colleen, Emily, and newly added gals Marielle and Kate. I basically want to go back in time and become a steepler because of Colleen and Courtney!

Fingers crossed it's nice enough weather for me to sport my Bowerman Track Club tank to support Shalane in the Boston Marathon *next* Monday!

Image from this article about the Bowerman Babes

Current Obsessions + My Running Doesn't Suck Anymore

I think I've mentioned this before, but I have a fairly obsessive personality, as I'm guessing most endurance runners/athletes do.  I've been working with my new co-workers for about a month now, and one gal already caught on that I eat essentially the same 3-5 lunches everyday.  I'm so predictable.  Anyway, I thought it'd be fun to share some of my current obsessions.

1.  Compression socks.  Extra points if they have argyle.  Since "fixing" my running form, my calves are tight ALLOFTHETIME.  I'm foam rolling like a mother, but the compression socks help while I'm lounging around, or even the first couple of hours at work before we open to the public.

2.  Pug kisses.  This will probably never change.  Bad breath and all, I love em!

3.  Fat Tire beer.  I was obsessed with this beer when it first came to South Dakota a few years back, and have been craving it non-stop the last month or so.  I know some consider it a "bad" good beer, but I love it.

4.  5 or 6am runs.  Who would've thought this one was coming??  This summer has been pretty brutal weather wise, save for a few nice weeks, so the early morning runs were a must.  However, after getting in to an early bedtime routine, it's pretty easy to wake up before the sun, and get my miles knocked out before work.  I'm also finding I have way less tummy issues first thing in the morning, so that's a huge plus.

5.  Breyer's Heath ice cream.  I had one half gallon in my freezer on Friday.  I no longer have that half gallon in my freezer on Sunday afternoon.  You do the math.

6.  Modern Family.  #obsessed  I don't know why this didn't get added to my TV watching schedule a few years back, but I'm kind of glad that it didn't because I'm tearing through the seasons one after another.

7.  Ice cold showers.  There was a particularly steamy long run last week that ended in a freezing cold shower, and my pleasurable outbursts were so frequent that Kyle came in to the bathroom to make sure I was alone in there.  True story.

8.  Watermelon.  There have been runs that the only thing that has gotten me to put one foot in front of the other is the promise of super cold, juicy watermelon waiting for me.  God I love watermelon.

9.  Audiobooks.  Sometimes.  I enjoy listening to audiobooks while I'm driving because I feel like I'm accomplishing something other than just getting from point A to point B.  But man there are some terrible narrators out there.  So I've learned to not be afraid to give the audiobook the ol' heave-ho if necessary and pick up the book copy instead.

10.  Coffee mugs.  I haven't drank black coffee in months (insert tears here).  Oh wait!  I did have a few sips of it on Friday morning!  My poor tummy seems to revolt from black coffee, or perhaps it's drinking the black coffee on an empty stomach that is doing the trick.  Either way, my beautiful coffee mug collection has been sitting in the cupboard, sadly waiting for me to come back to it.  I do have some more mug designs to do as soon as I get my hands on some plain coffee mugs.

And now for what I'd like to call, "Stop trying to make ______ happen."

Stop trying to make pumpkin beer happin, Jerbear.

I love pumpkin.  I LOVE beer.  I keep trying every breweries take on the pumpbeer, and I just end up disappointed every time.  Just drink your PSLs, and your Fat Tires, and come to grip that these two items will not co-exist in one beverage for you.

(Ok, with that being said, if you DO have the magical pumpkin/beer combo that will cause me to retract this statement, I'd totally be on board.  My dream pumpkin beer would be a stout with a hint of pumpkin and spices, but I'm guessing that either a stout is too heavy for a light pumpkin flavor to show through, or pumpkin beers are marketed at girls who tend to like to drink light fruity beers, and I'm not a light fruity girl.  Le sigh.)

Oh and in other news, I knocked out 46 miles this week, my highest weekly mileage since February 2012.  Not bad for comeback Jerbear.