Today I am grateful that I am done traveling for a little while, doing Yoga this am, a Green Monster for breakfast, not having to freak out when things don't go my way, making different mistakes, having health insurance and flexible spending, guilty pleasure magazines, having a homemade grilled cheese on hippie bread with grape tomatoes from the CSA for dinner, and for all of the awesome people I love who live far and wide who I was able to see and hug on my travels this month.

Double Digits!

I've been training for a half marathon this spring and summer, though it's been more challenging than I expected due to the unprecedented heat this summer. I usually swim when it's too hot (I'm not running in heat advisories) or when it's pouring rain.

This weekend I went for my first ever double digit run - 10 miles! And when I say run, I mean walk/jog. I was going to do it on Saturday, but I woke up with a headache so I went back to sleep until it went away but then it was too hot. So I got up early on Sunday, everything was all laid out and ready. My water, Gatorade, and snacks were already packed and ready to go, and went out.

It had been over a month since my last long run (9 miles) so it was cooler in the morning. I didn't bring enough water for the last mile and a half so that wasn't great. I also walked a lot more than I usually do, but mileage is mileage.

The Last Time I Was Me

The Last Time I Was Me by Cathy Lamb was an okay read with characters that almost broke through their stock expectations. Note to chick lit writers: enough with the shoes already. Rather a lot of sub-plots (one of which was foreshadowed throughout the whole novel which I found unbelievable), this was a sometimes entertaining story surrounded by random mishmash. 58/100

Traveling Fool

No, I didn't fall off the Internet. I have been a traveling fool this month!

On the first flight, when I sat down in my airplane seat, I cracked open Laurie Notaro's Spooky Little Girl, which was $1 at the used bookstore. It was an adequate one-buck read, and I left it in the seat pocket for the next person to enjoy. 57/100

I often take cheap books with me on travels so that I don't have to bring them home. My Heart's Desire has pointed out that I could probably travel with just a carry-on if I had an electronic reader, and he's not wrong. But I hate the idea of reading books on a screen. I'm a tactile person, I need to feel the weight and heft of a book. I read mostly because I enjoy it, whereas staring at a screen feels like... work.

Today I am grateful for: library used book sales, easy and inexpensive public transportation, single serving Honey Nut Cheerios that pass for an adequate dinner when the Subway flatbread sandwich is really bad, trashy magazines (even when I don't know who most of the people are), that CVS has an As Seen On TV section, comfy shoes (I broke down and bought a new pair after 2+ years with my old standbys), staying in touch with my favorite people, no matter how far away they are, songs that remind me of a specific time or event, that I live nowhere near homemade New Orleans beignets, and that the best things in life are free.

On Writing

In January, my writing group decided to read On Writing by Stephen King, which is one of my favorite writing books. My copy was a gift from my mom.

In 2007 I got it from the library and listened to it (on a road trip to Gettysburg for a friend's wedding) but haven't read it since. Even though my writing group hasn't gone back to it yet, I wanted to give it another read.

King advocates four to six hours a day of reading and writing, every day. Which sounds about right, given Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 hour rule. 20 hours a week for 10 years is 10,000 hours.

I'm a big reader and always have been, I've easily read more than 20,000 hours as an adult. But writing? That's a different story. I wrote that much for the three years I was in my graduate creative writing program, but not since. I write for work, but for me that doesn't count since it's professional writing. This book definitely put a bee (and a clock!) in my bonnet. 56/100

2010 Goals: July Progress

I set specific 2010 goals so here's an update on my July progress.

Read/Write/Blog
1. I read 7 books this month, raising my yearly total to 55. I'm almost done listening to another. I am confident that I will meet my goals of reading 100 books this year!

2. My writing group scheduled a meeting in September. I wrote an essay for Real Simple's contest and one of the writing group members is critiquing it for me, then I will revise and submit to Real Simple.

3. Submit... I had no idea that this would be as cumbersome a chore as it is. Well, I'm setting a goal: submit at least one piece one place in August. A little something is better than a whole lot of nothing!

4. This is my 119th post of the year, so I will easily post 200 times this year.

Healthy
5. I will be run/walking a half marathon! This is a really ambitious goal and I have been training, my longest run so far has been 9 miles. My weekly training consists of two short runs (for speed) and one long run (for distance). The last few weekends have been so very hot that I haven't been able to go for my long run. On those days I swim laps or do a variety of indoor cardio machines, like treadmill, bike, and elliptical. I'm also setting a workout goal for August: 31 workouts! Run/walk, swim, elliptical, yoga, walking - I'm planning on having an active month.

6. I exceeded my goal of eating vegetarian meals 90% of the time by eating veggie 96% of the time. I found out that replacing lean meats with dairy is not very healthy, which is what I have been doing, eating lots of cheese, yogurt (you know I love Fage), and milk. So now I'm reevaluating my kibosh on eating meat regularly and trying to figure out how I can be healthier. A hippie store near me sells clean meat, including organic, grass-fed beef and pastured poultry. Yes, it's expensive, it's also meat I can feel okay about eating.

Fun & Friends
7. The new thing I did this month was go to a charming town on the seashore for my cousin's wedding with my mom and My Heart's Desire. It was nice to get away and celebrate love.

8. Seeing friends. I saw lots of friends and family at our fourth annual Fourth of July cookout. I love this tradition! We host a fun, low-stress event every year with yummy food, great people, and celebrate America's birthday. Some people even brought patriotic desserts, which everyone got a kick out of. What could be better? I also went to a farewell brunch, had dinner with a friend at a hippie restaurant, had a friend over for dinner with my mom and me, went to a brunch with lots of wonderful girls, and took my honorary grandmother to see The Kids Are All Right, which I liked and she loved.

9. My Heart's Desire and I had a lot of fun this month. We both enjoyed the 4th of July cookout and the weekend away. We also went to a movie.

10. Photo taken of My Heart's Desire and I? Nope.

11. Bonus! It's All Relative. My mom came to town and I took a day off from work. We went shopping (and by that I obviously mean thrift), went out to lunch and to the movies, browsed for books, and had frozen yogurt. I also hung out with my aunt and uncle, cousins, and met my cousin's adorable sons.