Hey there! Happy Thinking Out Loud Thursday! Be sure to check out yesterday’s recap of the running analysis I did a few weeks ago. It was a super valuable experience, and I think you should come visit me and get one, too. 😀
Anyway, now let’s talk about what’s been happening in my life and mind lately. Thanks for the link-up, Amanda!
1.) I sat down to write this post and couldn’t think of anything to say. What have I done this week?!? And then… it all hit me. Like, duh. Please tell me you have those moments, too. I’m only 20. I can’t forget everything just yet.
2.) My friends and I went hiking on Saturday. We (unintentionally) chose the hottest weekend of the summer and it was supposed to storm, but it’s when we could get together. So, we decided to go early and leave Hocking Hills around lunchtime.
{Hiking pictures from Sanjana and Amalia because I was more focused on not falling than snapping pics. Bad blogger. 😛 }
The thing is, I think we all kind of dreaded it at some point in the week leading up to our little trip. We aren’t super outdoorsy people, don’t love the heat, and usually just eat snacks, chat, and watch movies when we’re together. Why did we suddenly feel the need to go do things?
But we had fun! We took pictures and climbed a lot of slippery stairs and had fun.
It wasn’t terribly hot, since we were in the woods and were only actually hiking from about 9:30 to 11:30. And, thankfully, it didn’t rain. Afterward, we grabbed lunch, drove back, got ice cream, and headed to our respective homes to shower and cool down. We were excessively proud of ourselves for actually going somewhere and not just having a lazy day of hanging out. And it’s a really good thing we went in the morning, because it got ridiculously hot later in the day.
3.) I managed to spend two hours in humid woods and not get a single bug bite. A few nights ago, I spent a half an hour on a walk around the neighborhood with my dog and I have two massive bites on my shin. Cool.
4.) I’ve been running on my own in the mornings, but have been taking things pretty easy due to some hip issues. On Sunday morning, though, I slept in a bit and waited to run with my dad. Turns out, my hip issues aren’t that bad and I can totally run faster when someone’s pushing me a little. Yay for negative splits on crazy-humid mornings! So, I guess I could use a morning running buddy 🙂
5.) I used the knowledge that I can run a little faster without killing my hip to actually do it on my own on Tuesday. It felt good!
6.) “Throwback” time: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is coming out this weekend, and my mom and I are actually contemplating going to the midnight release party for the sake of nostalgia. The problem is, I don’t stay up till midnight ever and might fall asleep. We’ll see.
7.) You may (or may not) have seen that sweet potato toast is a trend. Well, guys, it’s delicious because sweet potatoes are delicious. Also… it should be attempted with nice, long sweet potatoes.
See, I have some smaller sweet potatoes from the 2-pound bags I get from Trader Joe’s, and I thought I’d slice one up and toast it to soak up the runny yolk from my eggs (which I fried in bacon grease, and I 100% recommend that). The problem is that I didn’t look in the toaster to see exactly how far apart the wires are. Though the sweet potato was not shorter than the distance between the wires, since the slices got turned a little bit, two of them fell into the depths of the toaster.
I was all set to buy my parents a new toaster, since I tried to retrieve the slices with a fork (fail) and tipped the whole thing over the sink (fail) and my food was getting cold. However, my dad is something of a saint and he managed to dig them out while I ate my no-longer-hot bacon and eggs.
7.) Easy chicken marinade/sauce: 2 parts tahini, 1 part balsamic vinegar, 1 part maple syrup. It’s nutty and tangy and a hint sweet. Do it!
8.) I’ve been saying I want to read more for ages, but now I’m making it a goal to get through one (audio)book every two weeks. I can “read” while I walk Pippa, get ready in the morning, and do dishes. That’s a realistic goal, right? Originally, it was one every week, but I’d still like to listen to my podcasts, too. I think this will allow me to do that.
9.) The Gilmore Girls miniseries is being released over Thanksgiving weekend! I’ll be chilling on the couch all full of food and happiness if ya need me.
10.) And now I want to leave you with some of my favorite recipes + reads from the week.
- I want to eat these every day, forever. –> Mini Zucchini Pizzas
- Casually craving PB&J. –> Peanut Butter & Jelly Crumble Bars
- Because you know you want chips + guac with every meal. –> Healthy Walking Tacos
- The kitchen doesn’t have to be scary. –> Overcoming Fear of Failure in the Kitchen
- Such necessary tips. –> How to Balance Work and Life without Going Crazy
Your turn:
Do you prefer to work out on your own or with other people?
What was your last kitchen fail?
Anything else I should know?
I’ve been eating random veggies at night with a random protein (like cottage cheese). Randomly delicious, but I should probably up my game. I like to do random outdoorsy things every now and then. But I definitely need to be in the mood. Heat would not help, so you are a champ for getting out there!
I mean, veggies and cottage cheese sounds tasty to me 🙂 No fails possible there!
Gotta workout on my own!
Are you one of those people prone to getting eaten alive by bugs? I am! O man! Haha! So is my dad…runs in our blood 😛 My mom and brother never have a problem!
That tahini sauce/marinate sounds DElish! Rebecca-approved 😉
I am SO prone to bug bites. My mom and I went to the park last night and bugs attacked me and ignored her. Blah. I guess I’m just especially delicious to mosquitoes. Haha I thought you might like that sauce 🙂
Not looking forward to hiking?! You crazy, girl! It’s one of my favourite things to do! I’m glad you guys had an awesome time though and managed not to get eaten alive by bugs. That’s seriously the worst. And they’re getting nutty these days! Like… I’m legit getting bitten THROUGH MY PANTS. Freaking super bugs.
I really do like hiking! I was just not looking forward to it being 95 degrees with a likelihood of severe thunderstorms 😛 Fortunately, the weather wasn’t that bad! And yes. I definitely get bitten through my clothes, and it’s not cool. How do they even do that?!
I totally want to go to the midnight release in honor of my ‘younger’ days, but for some reason the idea of bringing a toddler and and infant to a midnight book release makes me want to cry 😉
I can’t imagine why 😉
Hocking Hills? I went to OU and I think that’s are close by! I always love the idea of and photos of a hike, but sometimes actually during it, it’s not always the greatest time with the hills, heat, and sun. I have yet to try sweet potato toast but I keep seeing it too. I have two so I might try it tonight 😉
OU is pretty close, yeah! And yes, pictures always seem like a great idea, but then I get caught up in the experience and forget to take the pictures. There are worse problems to have! I hope your toast is more successful than mine 😀
I prefer to do some workouts – like stationary bike or the stair stepper – alone because I’m usually multitasking (aka, studying, reading for class or writing a blog post on my phone!) But I LOVE taking walks and hikes with friends – such a great opportunity to talk and catch up!
College definitely made me a workout multitasker 😛 But yes, some workouts are meant to be social. walking with friends is such a nice way to spend time together!
It depends on my level of motivation for a workout, but I love working out with others especially for a long run. They do keep my pace up when running, so it usually pushes me beyond what I thought I was capable of.
I’ve never made sweet potato toast. Now I’m curious to see if it would work in our toaster.
That’s pretty brave of you to go and hike in 95 degree weather. I would just want to sit inside by a fan. 😀
I love the camaraderie of running with others. And believe me – chilling by the fan sounded like a great idea on Saturday, but I’m super glad I opted to venture out. Leaving your comfort zone can be a good thing 😀
I love working out with other people! Especially when I run, it’s so great to have someone pushing me. As for my last cooking fail, probably a batch of vegan brownies I made a while ago. I strayed from the recipe into dangerous territory, and they taste horrible and have a weird texture. They’re still hanging out in my freezer though because I hate wasting food 🙂
I had quite the brownie fail a couple weeks ago, too. So disappointing, since brownies can be SO DELICIOUS. Oh, well. Just an excuse to try again!
Good for you girl! I really need to get my booty out and walking more often, I’m in florida so there are no mountains to hike but I know, that’s no excuse. Oh and btw I’m counting down the days for Gilmore Girls!!!!
Also, you have crazy Florida heat as an excuse to not go outside! I’d totally use that 🙂 Yesss to Gilmore Girls! Can’t wait!
If you enjoy Tina Fey at all, listen to her audiobook! I just did and absolutely loved it! She narrates which makes it all the better.
Thanks for the recommendation!! I just finished one that Shonda Rhimes wrote and narrated, and I think that’s such a lovely way to do it. No one knows how a book was meant to be read quite like the author 🙂
Thanks for sharing my link, girly! Your Saturday sounded like so much fun and I feel like I’d have a disaster if I tried sweet potato toast too. I feel like all the juices would ooze out and cause a disgusting burnt mess!
Of course! And yeah… I have no idea how people do sweet potato toast successfully 😛