Category: Thankful

moving forward, real life adventures, Thankful

Battling mid-life

Movin' it with Michelle

I am battling with being 46 years old, sort of…I am caught between looking back on my past, and looking towards the future. I’ve read so many articles where women boast that the 40’s are an amazing decade to celebrate because by then you’ve “got it all figured out.”

But I don’t. While I am getting there, I still know I am not where I want to be in life. I still have unwanted debt, student loans hanging over my head, and am in a career I didn’t choose for myself. Thankfully my husband I sat down and redid our budget and with some major fun cuts we should be able to have a handle on our debt within six months minus my student loans. Who’d think a 46 year old would still have student loans?

Do I regret going back to school at a later age to obtain my MBA? Sometimes, yes. It hasn’t helped me progress in my career, hasn’t launched me into a new career, and heck at my age it’s a little late to make a career change in all honesty. But am I proud of those three little letters in my signature block? You’re darn right I am.

Looking back, though, I can honestly say despite many challenges I sure did live my best life in my younger years. I lived it up with friends, I embraced my Air Force career, and I sacrificed a lot for my kids which is something I’d never change. This says a lot, because I used to look back and regret so many things, yet now I can celebrate all I overcame, and all I endured. It has made me who I am today.

My goals moving forward are to give all I can to my kids so that they don’t have to struggle like I did as a young adult. To keep dreaming big, all while keeping it real. My Mom recently asked me, “If you could make a career change, what would you do?” I struggled with an answer, but after much thought I can say this…I’d have my own restaurant, write a book or two or three, be a health/wellness coach, and most importantly do something where I could use my experiences to help others. Yup…that’s what I would do.

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Today I am thankful for:

  1. My past, for it made me who I am.
  2. Morning snuggles with my husband, for this simple act makes my day so much better.
  3. My daughters. They are amazing young ladies.
  4. My life. For it is short, and sweet, and I do my best to embrace each day.
  5. Sunshine. It truly soothes my soul.

What are you thankful for today? Do you have any regrets? If you could have one career in life, what would it be?

Cheers,

Michelle

Thankful

Frozen tundra

Movin' it with Michelle

Gosh, I can’t believe the weather across the Midwest (well, I CAN, I’ve lived in it for years having grown up in Minnesota, and having had been stationed in Alaska for three years, and lived outside of Chicago for almost 7 years, but STILL).

I had started to complain about our chilly temps until I saw the forecast up north. I’ll take mid 40’s of a low, and highs of 60’s this week. Heck, I ran in a tank top last night. While I do miss living up north for many reasons, I DON’T miss that winter weather at all. Check this out, so sad, stay warm my northern friends!!

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Today’s Thankful five:

  1. The longer days. During the winter it’s dark driving in to work, and getting dark on my way home. More day light means I can get more running done in the evenings. Score!
  2. Long showers. You know, the kind where you blast your favorite music, take your time, and even shave your legs!
  3. My husband. I know, I’ve listed him before. But he does all he can to get home from work in time to take our daughter to her Tues/Thurs jujitsu lesson so I can have an hour and a half to myself. Between deployments and work trips he’s gone a lot, so it means a lot that he always steps up to help when he’s here.
  4. Florida. My body couldn’t handle another winter, so I am so glad we live here where the coldest temps I’ll have to deal with is mid to high 30’s.
  5. My blog! 🙂 It feels good to be writing again, even if most of my posts are short and sweet.

How’s the weather where you live? What are you thankful for? THANK YOU all for reading and following along.

Cheers,

Michelle

half marathon training, Keto adventures, moving forward, running, Thankful

Half marathon training, week 9 long run

Movin' it with Michelle

Despite not sleeping well last night, I knew I needed to get my long run done for the 9th week of training as I didn’t get it done over the weekend due to being stuck inside on a very rainy Sunday.

Once I got home from work I immediately changed clothes and headed out for my neighborhood loop/running trails. My plan called for a 10k race pace but I had planned to go a little farther to make up the 3 weeks of training I missed due to bronchitis. (That nasty cough is still lingering but getting a little better every day). The first mile felt surprisingly well, and I couldn’t believe I actually had a 10 mm in the mix, as well as I kept under an 11 mm pace for the entire 6.5 miles. Over all I was thrilled with this run.

Not to shabby for this rusty runner

Splits! Check out that 10 mm!

My cheerleader!

Today’s thankful 5:

  1. Easy commutes. Today’s commute both to and from work were surprisingly quick with no traffic, accidents, or crazy people that haven’t had enough coffee yet.
  2. Smooth days at work. Today was one of the first “good” work days I’ve had this year, and man did I need it.
  3. Left overs. I baked a big batch of chicken thighs yesterday, so all I had to do for dinner was heat them up along with a bag of steamed cauliflower rice.
  4. My daughter being so excited about trying out for her school’s play. We reciting her audition lines about two dozen times tonight, and I pray she gets the part.
  5. Good runs. Man did I ever need tonight’s run. My right knee has always been my bad knee, ever since I popped it back in high school track. And it sure hasn’t been happy with me this month. I just ordered some new knee braces off Amazon.
This brace got me through 3 full marathons! Got two, one for each knee!

How is your commute to work? What’s your favorite thing to have for leftovers? Get any mileage in today?

Cheers!

Michelle

food, Keto adventures, Recipes, Sunday Supper, Thankful

Rainy days

Movin' it with Michelle

Today we had 100% chance of rain, and not just for an hour or two like normal Florida storms, no, it was going to rain from 4 am until who knows when. In fact, I think it is still raining as we speak. So both plans to go to Disney and my long run have been postponed. I will run my scheduled 6.2 miles after work tomorrow, and we can go to Disney another day.

Since it was raining, we figured it would be the perfect day to watch movies and relax. We ended up watching “Christopher Robin,” and we all enjoyed it a lot. It was light hearted but emotional all at the same time. Afterwards, we played the Disney version of Monopoly and I am proud to say after a several hour long game, I won!

 

Hubby and youngest daughter
I won!

Lastly, we cooked a simple Sunday supper. Pork loin that was cooked low and slow in the sous vide, and a broccoli mash (see recipe for my cauliflower mash but use a head of steamed broccoli instead and parmesan cheese vs. Italian cheese), and my daughter made us arugula salad with radish and mushrooms.

 

Sous vide (cooking in a water bath at a controlled temperature)
Hubby took my picture while I was making the mash
My daugher helping out!
Final dish, minus the salad

Which brings me to my thankful part of this post:

  1. Dinner with my family. As busy as our lives get we almost always try to have dinner together, especially on Sundays.
  2. Rainy days that force you to stay in, and having quality time while doing so. So often we get caught up with our faces stuck in our phones. This weekend has been nice and I’ve been mindful of not being on my phone so much.
  3. The fact that my husband has gotten on board with healthier eating. He was cleaning out his closet tonight and found his “fat jeans” (not that he was ever fat) and I am so proud of how he’s embraced eating healthier and exercising more.
  4. Sleeping in on the weekends. I don’t sleep very well, I never have, so I love that I have the weekends (especially when we’ve got no plans) so catch up on the little bit of sleep I get during the week.
  5. Wine on Sunday evenings to calm me down for Monday morning. LOL. I just had to add that in!!

Have you watched any good movies lately? What’s your favorite board game? Does your family eat together in the evenings when possible?

 

Cheers!

Michelle

 

 

 

moving forward, Thankful

Saturday unexpected fun and Thankful #9

Movin' it with Michelle

We had no plans this weekend which is sometimes fun. I have been battling bronchitis and now allergies for nearly a month and rest was something I welcomed. I woke up this morning with a cold pill hangover but was told my daughter had made plans to go to the mall with her friend. My husband told me they weren’t leaving for an hour so I quickly made some tea, showered and got ready. I wasn’t going to miss out on some fun. We picked up her friend, and headed to the mall. Once the kids went on their way, we grabbed some lunch and did a little shopping. What a fun day! We also had plans for my friend Kandice that I was stationed with back in Texas to come over for dinner, so we stopped by the store on the way home for some last minute dinner items.

Today I am thankful for:

  1. The fact my daughter is finally making friends here. Middle school age is hard.
  2. Last minute date lunches with my hubby. We don’t get much time just for us, so today was nice.
  3. 65% sales at Dillards. I got two super cute Free People dresses for 65% off. Winning.
  4. Dinner with friends. For the first time since we’ve moved here, we had a friend over for dinner. Steaks, sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onions, bacon wrapped  asparagus and my cauliflower mash were a big hit.
  5. Positive outlooks. While this year may have started out rough, I am hopeful for better days.

Do you make time for date time for your significant other? What’s your favorite dish to cook for others? Are you an “on sale” shopper?

Cheers!

Thankful

TGIF; Thankful #8

Movin' it with Michelle

Happy Friday, y’all!!!!!

I hope you all had a great week. Mine started out rough, but thankfully ended on a pretty good note. My recliner and I have a hot date tonight, so I’ll keep this post short.

Today I am thankful for:

  1. Operational Laboratory instruments. BOTH our broken down instruments were repaired today and up and running!  After several long weeks of manual procedures vs. automated, this girl is a happy camper.
  2. Weekends with no plans. While typically I love being busy doing fun things on the weekends, this weekend we are just winging it and may just chill at home.
  3. Kind people. Part of my job as a supervisor is to do daily rounding of each section to make sure the work is getting done and everyone and everything is running smoothly. I check on people, they don’t check on me (which is totally fine), but today I had someone come over and check on me as I was coverslipping slides (which I have been doing nearly 8 hours a day, every day, for the last 3 weeks). “Michelle, you doing ok? Hanging in there? It’s almost Friday!” she exclaimed. And my heart warmed. It’s nice to be cared about, too.
  4. Fridays. Simply said.
  5. Farmers Markets. I love getting fresh produce and products from local companies. Our hospital hosts one every other Friday and I love supporting our local farmers and getting healthy produce for my family.

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Do you have plans this weekend? Does your community have farmers markets? What are you thankful for today?

Cheers,

Michelle

moving forward, Thankful, Thursday

Is it Friday yet…and TF#7

Movin' it with Michelle

 

Anyone else feel like 2019 has been off to a rough start? Between 3 weeks of Bronchitis, getting slammed with a 500/month house payment increase  this year as a result of a mistake in our escrow last year (WTH?), and the never ending debt we have incurred due to moving to Florida (we didn’t get any relocation assistance and moving across country is crazy expensive), and ongoing vet bills for my Sammy (he had two bouts of cancer last year and I just found a couple possible more bumps), we just can’t seem to catch a break. I had hoped at my age I’d finally start to feel “comfortable” but nope…ah such is life. It’ll happen eventually, right?

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Which is a perfect Segway in to my thankful post…because I do always TRY to look on the bright side. So here goes…

  1. Bacon Cheeseburgers. Yup, this girl that eats healthy 90% of the time has a secret weakness for bacon cheeseburgers. It is my favorite comfort food paired with crispy French fries and after the week I’ve been having, I treated myself to this amazing indulgence today at lunch and had no regrets. Ok, I regretted it a little after I started to fall in to a carb coma an hour after eating it, but hey…it was worth it.
  2. Hot showers/running water. After a long day at work I love to take a hot shower and destress. Sometimes I cry, sometimes I sing, and sometimes I just shut my mind off.
  3. Rest days. My legs aren’t quite as sore today, but that good ole right knee that gives me constant issues still isn’t happy with me.
  4. Friends that check on you when you are quiet. These friends are the best, because they can hear you even when you aren’t talking. They just know.
  5. Rain. We had quite the storm roll in at around 3 am this morning and while I am not thankful for the early morning wake up call, our grass looks greener already.

How has your year started out? What is your greatest weakness in regards to food? Thanks for all of your likes, comments and shares. I love this amazing community!

Cheers,

Michelle

half marathon training, Thankful

Wednesday’s Thankful #6

Movin' it with Michelle

Ok guys, I am not going to lie. I am going to have to dig deep to not be a little repetitive in my thankful post today, because I am having a bit of a struggle compiling my list. Sunshine and my dog are a given. Today was a rough day at work, and I’ll simple put between instrumentation and staffing issues this year, I snapped. I snapped at doctors, snapped at coworkers, hell I even snapped at myself for snapping and quickly apologized to the victims of my snaps, LOL.

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My thankful post for today:

  1. My ability to still run off the stress of a bad day even when my legs feel heavier than the sandbags I filled for Hurricane Irma (click link to check out my first month of adventures in FL) back in 2017!!!! I’m in week 9 (having missed 3 weeks due to bronchitis) of training so I can’t quit now!
  2. My husband, who on days like today is extra sweet, extra supportive, and even had dinner ready when I got home from my run.
  3. The fact that my daughters come to me with their problems. The fact they feel I am a “safe zone” shows me I’ve at least done something right despite the struggle of the preteen/teen years.
  4. The roof over my head, and food on the table. I often find myself for wanting more, when really I have all that I need.
  5. HUMP DAY! We’re almost to Friday, y’all!!!

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What are you thankful for today? Do you have a favorite day of the week?

Cheers!

Michelle

moving forward, Thankful

Thankful #5

Movin' it with Michelle

Today was a pretty hectic day, so this post will be short and sweet.

Today I am thankful for:

  1. The ugliness in my life, for it helps me appreciate the beauty.
  2. Two years ago today my husband returned on U.S. soil after being deployed to Iraq for a year. So I am so thankful he came home safely, again.
  3. Quick dinners for busy nights. I made a large batch of meatballs on Sunday so I didn’t have to cook today! Winning!
  4. My dog. Even after the hardest day at work, he’s there at the door to greet me and he makes all the “yuck” go away.
  5. 70 degree evenings. I’ve my slider opened and am listening to the sand cranes wiz by while they sing their evening songs.
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My Sammy, begging for food more times than not, LOL

 

What are you thankful for today? Do you have pets? How is the weather where you are at?

Cheers,

Michelle

half marathon training, moving forward, Thankful

Week 8 long run/Thankful #4

Movin' it with Michelle

I have been down for the count for exactly 3 weeks. My last long run was Christmas where I was able to run 5 miles fairly easily as I’ve been running 3-4 miles for quite some time. I’ve only walked/ran a couple of times since then, so decided I either 1. get off my butt and run (even if that meant some walking due to coughing still), or 2. ditch the notion of running the Gasparilla half marathon on February 24th in St. Petersburg FL. My hubby is also running this race, but is three weeks ahead of me in training and I know he didn’t want to slow down to run my slower pace so I sent him off for his long run so I could run solo.

The temps were in the perfect low 60’s and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. There were however, left over winds from the crazy storms we got last night which took my breath away several times. I ran the first loop (3.2 miles) slowly but I felt quite strong. I started to feel a little light headed, so I ran past my house to fuel and take a potty break. I had a HUMA chia gel which are my go-to for long run fueling, some water, and I headed back out. I did ok until I hit mile 5 and this was my “wall” to today’s long run. I slowed to a pace of 11:54 and mile 6 was an 11:53. Thankfully I caught a second wind and my last mile was 11:14 with an average pace of 11:18. I am learning that it’s not always about pace, and that I need to celebrate the distance.

 

Today I am thankful for:

  1. Long runs=therapy sessions. I am thankful for the hour and twenty minutes I had to myself to think, process issues and just enjoy the sunshine.
  2. The ability to run as I get older. My knees have 30+ years of running in their  history and I often struggle with a short run. Thankfully supplements, creams, and knee braces are my saving grace.
  3. Sleeping in. I know, I used this one yesterday but having the extra day to the weekend did wonders for my sleep deprivation.
  4. Sunshine and perfect running weather.
  5. Perspective. I used to always worry about running faster and running farther. Now I simply try my hardest and enjoy every mile.

Did you work today? What’s your favorite way to release stress? Are you training for any races right now?

Cheers,

Michelle