I think Valentine’s Day is sort of cute. Of course, like many of you, I don’t see how showing love one day a year is better than showing it, say, when the car has a flat on I-25 on a snowy Saturday afternoon. But nonetheless, it’s cute. As it turns out, some people need the reminder– though I obviously don’t know anyone like that. Obviously.

Perhaps shallowly, when I think of some of what I love right now, I think of stuff. Along with gestures and sentiments and sap to make me happy, there’s stuff. Stuff so good I’d sing about it. If I could.

Food. Oh, yes, there’s food. Like my favorite snack (and one of the top five reasons I like to go out for sushi), edamame. There is an irrational edamame love over here, people. It started, oh I don’t know when, but I blame my sister. She and I would go for sushi when she was here last year and stuff ourselves on edamame long before anything else would arrive. Then, without even telling me, she started having edamame at home! Wow! What a concept! Steamed beans any time you’d like. And pay no attention to the amount of fat that may or may not be in edamame. It is bean fat, bean fat is good fat. Plus! Protein. And! Seasalt! Which everyone knows is much better than any other sort of salt. La la Laaaaaaa! (Sorry, sometimes it just comes out.)

What I’m also a little too thrilled with myself about right now is my many variations of lettuce wraps. I started making these mostly because, hey, it’s past January now and time to get serious about the running again. No more of these wussy little four mile runs and calling it good. Well, not so much that but more so the five mile race I had last weekend and the three (and counting!) days of soreness that followed. It was a sad but well-needed wake up call. So, yes, lettuce wraps.

Summary: so easy and good. We are advanced cooks around here, remember. So I bake chicken ahead of time, use the chopper also known as awesome (seriously, click on the link and look. I will wait. Because who would have thought something “As Seen on TV” could be so wonderful? Well, not me. But my mother did and she got me one and wow, we likey.) to chop the chicken and then heat it in a pan with a little olive oil and a few other things you love like salsa, or black beans, or maybe soy sauce and shredded carrots. And then pile it all onto a big leaf (or three) of lettuce and eat it. And love it. And never feel bad about one bit of it.

Me + Lettuce Wraps = La La Laaaaaaa…

And for no particular reason other than I am proud of myself, I’ll also show you that I made my own pizza. It may have just lasted that one night, but oh boy did I feel awesome. Then, to maintain that buck-up-girl-it-ain’t-January-anymore attitude, I got all nostalgic and made “dessert” something healthy from my childhood: apples with cinnamon. Yeah, I could have baked them and used sugar and all that. But who really needs that after four pounds of cheese and mushroom pizza?

And you know, it wasn’t even difficult convincing the men in the group that this was good.

Of course, that might also be because I was showing off my newest, bestest, most adorable, intuitive Valentine love so far.

I cannot lie, I love it. Not only does it do everything but bake pizza, but it’s a good reminder of my addictive personality and probably one of many good reasons I never tried drugs. Phone, email, pictures, music, internet, maps, movie listings, whatever, all right there when I want it. Instant gratification has never been so intuitive.

It’s a good thing I have this little piece of convenience around, otherwise I might spend all my time in my house, sitting on the couch with my computer, wearing one of two of my other favorite things I’m in love with:

My feet are cold when it’s seventy-five degrees. Imagine how they might freeze and fall off when it’s thirty-nine.

I am so thankful it is my friend, Gail, and not me living in Fairbanks. I would surely die. No cute, westerin-ish non-Ugg boot would save me from that. La La Laaa-choke, cough, lungs freeze, die.

Yes, that says -46 FAHRENHEIT. And they actually leave the house on days like that. They get up, shower, dry their hair, put on clothes, take the kids to school, grocery shop and everything else. I have no idea how. It’s twice as warm here and I could care less that we’re fresh out of maple syrup, you will not get me out of the house.

But if you did, if the grocery store was calling, I’d be wearing these wonderful Under Armor pants and a baseball cap. Not that you care, but these pants are awesome. No matter what you’re doing, no matter how the cold wind is blowing, you will be warm. Rarely do I think spending money on clothes that never go on sale is worth it, but in this case, because I could still feel my legs after a run, I do. They are worth it. And it doesn’t hurt that they’re so comfortable you just want to live in them.

And, oh yeah, I do happen to be in love with these, too. La La Laaaaaaa!

Are you in love with any stuff, or is it just me?

Sometimes I wake myself up talking in my sleep.

Sometimes I give unhelpful advice.

Sometimes I bite my tongue.

Sometimes I do not care about washing my hair.

Sometimes I yell at the dog for licking too loudly.

Sometimes I don’t tell the whole truth to save someone’s feelings.

Sometimes I have gas.

Sometimes I obsess about flossing.

Sometimes I cry when I’m driving.

Sometimes I procrastinate.

Sometimes I can’t sleep.

Sometimes I want to throw up what I just ate.

Sometimes I pray selfishly.

Sometimes I fall in love with ideas more than people.

Sometimes I am surprising.

Sometimes I have something important to say.

Sometimes I am loud.

Sometimes I will run away.

I think a lot over the course of a run. It helps the miles go by, sometimes.

Okay, well here we go. One step, two steps… ten steps. Oh, lost count. Keep going. Wait, does my knee hurt? Okay, no, it’s good. Just stiff maybe. Is my shoe untied? Did I remember to hit the start button on my Garmin? Yep, I did. Okay. Keep going. Look ahead, not toward the ground. It’s a beautiful day. Look at all the people out. Geez, I can’t wait for spring. And then summer. Oh summer. I wish it were hot right now. I love running in the heat so much more than the cold. What is that? A dog? Run a little faster. Go. Go. Go. Okay, enough of that. You won’t make it past mile two running like that. In fact, stop thinking about running altogether. Don’t think about the run. Stop. STOP.

Alright, well what else to think about. Let’s see. Ah, life. That’s it. Let’s ponder life. Who will get the Democratic nomination for President? Who will get the Republican nomination? I’m so tired of people thinking they know what they’re talking about when they refuse to listen to any other side than their own. I am not one of those people. Most definitely not. Am I? I don’t think so. I try. I educate myself. I know the issues. I know my issues. No one is perfect. It’s too bad there are no candidates you can agree with 100%. But there are no people you agree with 100%. That’s life. Heck, good thing I’m not waiting around for that.

Speaking of waiting around, what am I waiting for? Well, I’m not waiting, I’m living. But why do I answer the phone when I know I shouldn’t? Why do I keep thinking about people I shouldn’t? It must be because there is no one to take their place right now. Yes, that’s it. It’s simple. The mind sometimes wanders due to the absence of something, not necessarily the presence of it. That’s all. You are smart. Gee, thanks. Sure. No problem. And besides, there has to be someone worth thinking about. Yes, definitely.

Someone who will sit on the couch and watch you do homework because that is all you do right now? No. I wouldn’t want anyone to do that. Of course not. But should the opportunity arise? Okay, fine. Man, I have a lot of homework to do. I like it though. I can’t believe how much I like it. I hope this all works out. Just a little more time. And I have a goal. Not everyone has a goal. That’s important! Really important. I know, I know. It does feel good. It feels good to be good at something. It feels good to be learning more about it. Yes, for sure. I think I might be able to see the future. Yeah, well not that way. Just as a path. A path I want to be on. A path I might have some control over. As opposed to all the other paths that are going to intersect. They definitely will. But I’ll have this one too. And I’ll be okay.

Geez, it’s a nice day. Finally. I’m so glad we have sun here. I’d die if I lived in a place that’s overcast all the time. That would be awful. I’d be grouchy. And violent. Mmm, pizza. What? Pizza for dinner. Keep running. Keep running and you can have pizza. Not a lot of pizza, but still. It’ll be okay. You will not gain weight from pizza. Just keep running. Keep going. The mile is almost over. Step. Step. Step. Is my shoe untied? Does my knee hurt?

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 Update:  Congratulations to one of my blogging BFFs, Anne, at E.B.’s World and her Mr. Magoo.   They’re now fiancés!

Yes, as a matter of fact, I AM supposed to be doing homework.

He just sits and waits…

Waits as if he doesn’t have an agenda. Not a care in the world…

And then… it’s go time.

Here, fishy fishy fishy. I’ll find you…

Come on. This entire ocean… there’s got to be a fish somewhere…

And before you know it… GULP!

Down the gullet.

And now it’s time to digest.

This morning, that is. If you heard something that sounded like a girl, an angry girl, yelling at a bathroom scale in the wee hours of this Wednesday morning, it was just me. There might have also been something along the lines of “well, I guess this is not Super Wednesday, now IS IT?!” and, possibly, there was some murmuring like “This cannot be the product of an extra tablespoon of peanut butter!” Because I am super rational at 4:00 a.m.

The reality is, I’ve put in more running miles in the last nine days than I had in the previous fourteen. In my mind, that should not equal numbers moving up. It should mean good things, or what I consider to be good, anyway. It takes me a minute, though, to figure out things like this. For all the years I’ve been running and training I still haven’t learned. It seems as though all logic and memory escapes me and I think, crap, I am never going to win this battle.

What I know, though, is that with increased training, weight often increases. There are a lot of reasons for this, the first being when you begin demanding more of your body, it instinctively holds on to all the energy it can. In my case, that energy translates to COMPLETE FAT ASS. Oh, wait, excuse me! I just drifted back to 4:00 a.m. for a second. Anyway, the other reasons vary from water retention to, gasp, hormones. Yes, this is more true for women than men but even so, the extra effort we expend on increasing miles directly effects the chemistry in our bodies and how we feel. In other words, this is an adjustment period.

You have to give your body time to catch up with your mind. You have to give it time to get a handle on the work load, the demand, and the routine. When I remember this, I’m fine. When I remember this, I know that it’s actually healthy. It’s not bad. And, to get even a little poetic about the human body, my human body, I might even say that it’s an amazing thing. Our bodies will do what we ask of them, we just have to be reasonable. We just have to give it some time. Meanwhile, don’t worry so much about the peanut butter toast and, for goodness sake, put the scale away for a week.

“People are weird here,” he said, as he rolled his eyes and sat tall with his surfer-like blonde hair and story telling attitude. “I have been here six weeks and I haven’t met anyone.”

“You’re trying to convince the wrong person,” I responded. “I think if you’re not meeting anyone you’re not leaving your house.” I’m thinking here’s this young kid “temporarily” in a place full of the same kind of people, all here for some definition of temporary, and he can’t meet anyone? In six weeks? I was here six minutes and made friends. And it’s not just me, they make it really easy for you. That’s just how it is.

More likely, it was his attitude. He might have thought the same thing about any place he’d visited, any people. If you act as if you’re alone, there is a good chance you’ll stay that way. For me, though, it has been the opposite. For me, there has been nothing like that island to remind me that none of us actually is one.

We are connected. We are in this together and, in fact, we need it that way. Guilty as we all can be from time to time of making decisions as if we impact nothing, the reminders that we do not stand alone are all over. Maybe you need a reminder. Maybe you always remember this when you act. Maybe you don’t. Maybe now is a good time to start.

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(Note: Yes, Tom, I will talk about running again very soon.)