As most of you, it has been a rough time for me lately. I tell myself over, and over, and over again that it WILL get better, and life will sort itself out. It always does, when we keep the faith….right? Sometimes these conversations with myself can get a little heated. But I just can’t give up at this point in my life…

So Friday night I texted Andrea to see if she could run with me on Sunday. She too works crazy hours, but quickly said, “I hate you.” Followed by a reminder that she did heart me…lol

So it went like this…
We met up at Fabyan Windmill in Batavia for our scheduled 6 miler. I am semi-training for my half marathon in May by easing my mileage up, slowly…

The trails were covered with snow, but the beauty of the river brought me immediate peace.

A mile and a half in, Andrea got a bloody nose…seems all of our runs have some sort of tragedy that we overcome…asthma attacks, falls, and now blood. This run has been named #bloodrun2014 lovingly.

We did learn that snow makes for a great packing material to get the bleeding to stop…#whoknew

I offered to turn around, but she was determined to keep going…we got the bleeding to stop, and kept going.

Of course no run is complete without cartwheels, yet mine was a bit scary…

While heading back into downtown Batavia, we ran into Karen from Trading in my heels. How awesome it was to see her lovely smile.

And why is it, I ALWAYS choose the toughest path on the trails…this was about 4-5 inches of snow…whoops…I called it #crosstraining lol

We had about a mile to go, and I am so glad I took the time to look around and enjoy the beauty of the Fox River trails….looks like we had a visitor! I was so excited to capture this picture!

We finished strong, and my heart and soul felt a peaceful easy feeling of release…

I came home happy, and finished some housework, and allowed myself an hour to lay on the couch and relax.

Dinner consisted of Mediterranean inspired stuffed pork chops and sautéed veggies. Super easy, and healthy…

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
Season your (thick cut) pork chops with salt and pepper, and butterfly them down the middle. Set aside
For the stuffing:
In a sauté pan heat 2 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil, and lightly brown 6 mushrooms and 2 cloves of garlic. Season with Mediterranean oregano.
Drain the excess oil and place in a bowl. Add in one container of fat free Mediterranean feta cheese and a handful of green olives, chopped. Stir together, and stuff your pork chops, leaving some of the mixture to sprinkle on the top.
Sear each side until golden brown in a cast iron skillet, and transfer to your oven to finish cooking-about 35-40 minutes.

Serve with your favorite veggies, and ENJOY!

This weekend did my heart wonders, and although my alarm will be going off at 3 a.m. tomorrow, I will do my best to hold this joy in my heart this week!