Onto the next one

Better late than never! It’s time to welcome July with a quick look back at June.

1. Get my mileage up! (2/4) I did pretty well with this for most of the month. Even though my mileage wasn’t as high as it needed to be, I was pushing for long runs and running more often. The last week in June definitely suffered after Buddy’s accident. I’m looking forward to really kicking up a notch in July.
2. Weight train (at least once a week). (4/4) They may have not happened once a week as planned, but I did get (at least) four strength training sessions in. Sometimes it was just arms, sometimes it was the P90x “Ab Ripper X” dvd, sometimes it was both. I can’t wait to continue this and see my running and fitness continue to improve. 
3. Read three books that are non-fiction or classics. (4/3) I crushed this pretty much. Books: The Dirty Life by Kristin Kimball, The Good Soldiers by David Finkel, Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, and The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
4. Get Laptop fixed. Seriously, Anna. I did get an external hard drive for our fading desktop computer and I got a wireless USB thinking that might fix our laptop connectivity problems. But, unfortunuately, it still doesn’t recognize our home wireless even though all our other electronics do. 
5. Make a savings plan for summer fun trips. Hubs and I knocked this out pretty quickly. We’ve been following it successfully as well. 
6. Make four new recipes. (3/4) Again, I think I could have nailed this if we hadn’t spent the past week in a daze/frenzy after Buddy’s run in with a car. Still, three new recipes isn’t shabby! Quinoa salad for lunches, pound cake, and Thai Chicken Soup — I would make all of these again!

Time to look at July!
1. Try out four new recipes. I already have at least one in mind for next week! If we’re staying in with the hound for “house arrest” we might as well eat some good things!
2. Run 45 miles in July. After my Saturday run, I “only” need 42.5 more miles!
3. Read six books, three non-fiction or classic. The Kindle has been spurring on my reading. And with “hound house arrest” I should be able to read even more.
4. Share at least two book reviews. I’ll aim for our current book club pick and something perhaps a little fluffier.
5. Complete six strength training sessions for the month. I like seeing my body get stronger and my running get better.
6. Post at least 10 times this month.

What are you up to this month? Any suggestions for books to read or recipes to try? I’m all ears!

Reality Check

It’s a long holiday weekend and Hubs and I were supposed to head to TN with friends to enjoy five days of relaxing, good food, drinks, fireworks, bands, hot tubs, reading, fishing, and more. Obviously, Buddy’s current situation requires us to be at home. A lot. One of us is in the apartment at all times and we plan to keep this up until at least July 13th. (That’s the day Buddy’s staples come out and his surgical collar comes off. Until then, he could potentially be a hazard to himself and/or chew on his wounds and pick at his staples.)

We’re pretty bummed that we’re not sitting on a huge deck in TN, sipping cocktails, and watching our little hound dog run around with a new doggy friend. But, at the same time we’re so thankful to still have our little dog and that tempers the disappointment some.

We’ve been alternating running errands so that neither of us gets stir crazy, but I have a feeling that I’ll be SO READY to leave the apartment together in a few days. Hubs is playing a new video game and I’ve been telling myself that this is a chance to blow through some books. I even got excited about working out today.

My last run (and workout) was last Sunday when Hubs and I did two sweaty, hilly, fast (for me) miles which I then followed up with some more time in the gym. The DC Metro area has an air quality warning today, so I kept it indoors. I did 2.5 gloriously enjoyable miles on the treadmill and then another mile of (walking) hills. It was a nice break to the monotony of the apartment and it was so nice to see that a week of no running didn’t throw me off too much. I plan to try again for another run tomorrow! I will miss running with Hubs for a few weeks; but again, I’d rather give up a little running time with him to take care of our little dog.

Buddy continues to do better. He’s wolfing down chicken, rice, and canned doggy food but he’s still snubbing his normal kibble. Better not get spoiled little dog! He’s only whiny every once in a while and his pain pill consumption is at the low end of what he’s allowed instead of the high end. Buddy is super confused about why he has to stay in his cage. Poor little guy. We can’t wait until his staples and the cone are gone so we can give him his favorite nylabones and some yummy stuffed kongs to keep him busy. Until the cone is gone though, he can’t really use his paws to hold things so we have to bide our time.

6 days of recovery down, 50 days to go!