I had the weirdest night of sleep Sunday.
Happy Monday, all! As the first line may suggest, I’m in a strange state this morning. Around 11 I woke up from a really intense dream from which I couldn’t get myself into full consciousness. I scrolled through my phone, walked to the bathroom, and tried to ground myself through observing things I touched, but my thoughts were odd and scrambled and totally non-linear. I felt as though I was stuck between the dream world and the waking world for close to an hour.
I wound up wandering out to the living room and snuggling on the couch with my flock of sheep and stuffed pumpkins. I think I was in a nap state the whole time, sorta conscious but not fully aware. Around midnight J ushered me back to bed, and only then did I feel like I was smoothing out the transition from proper wakefulness to rest, rather than feeling some internal tug attempting to full me back into that disturbing dream I was having.
My run this morning, as a result, felt really strange, and afterwards (now, as I write) I feel so groggy that I could lean against my wall and fall back asleep. I hope when the sun comes up my mind will loosen up and I’ll feel more normal.
That’s my bizarre tale of the day.
Monday, after driving to the library to return some books due and halting in a parking lot to attend a call with my doc, I wandered into Willa’s for a quick cookie butter latte. So nice. It was a short pause but one I needed during such a busy day.
I took a few extra days off this week to take care of some Life Things, including an eye appointment on Friday. The doctor was right next to a Ben & Jerry’s so I grabbed a (VERY OVERPRICED) scoop of their Honey Graham Latte. It was such a gorgeous day out and I was garbed in my plaid scarf to celebrate the Florida Fall temps.
On Saturday J and I went to the Florida Aquarium to wander around and look at the fishies. I didn’t really take any photos, except this one he snapped of me by my grumpy fish friend. I always enjoy visiting this spot, and he got us memberships this time so we could stroll through whenever we please. It’s a nice, nearby mainstay and a lovely organization to support as well.
Sunday was a rest day, and rest I did. I snuck out for a midafternoon swim after finalizing a recipe I am pretty stoked to share this week, but otherwise kept inside by the Netflix fireplace reading and napping. Another sunny, dry day so I couldn’t pass up a little outside time even though I was fairly uninspired to do much else.
Good eats… Pumpkin curry salmon with naan and rice; pumpkin gnocchi with autumn pasta sauce, chicken sausage, and spinach; chicken bacon ranch wraps; birria quesadillas; cheeseboard nibbles from a dish I’ll be posting tomorrow; and autumn soup with chicken and avocado toast.
Back to the full-on work grind this week, so hoping to take advantage of the remainder of my Monday for rest, treats, and slow activities. Until next time, friends!
The Fuck We Cooking This Week?
…A loaded up broccoli cheddar soup variation!
…Another stab at a cozy fall latte.
…Some kind of maple-bacon flavored treat.
A Few Things I’m Digging
Sketching…I bought a new journal a few weeks ago and have mostly used it for cute photo-based entries and brain dumping. I’ve also slowly made my way back into more organized coloring on those pages! I get inspired mostly by fall scenes and hues and it’s a nice meditative activity for slow mornings or middays.
Body wash…Tree Hut’s Fireside Maple gel wash is a dream! Kinda makes me smell like a pancake, but not in a cloying way. I love all of their autumn collection and highly recommend their products in general.
Scarf…I usually twitch at buying clothes from Amazon but this cozy plaid scarf is such a lovely add to my wardrobe. It’s soft but not too heavy, the pattern is pleasing, and it adds a pop to any of my generally-simple, fall-hued outfits.
Notable Food Holidays
Tuesday, September 29: National Coffee Day/National Mocha Day (PERFECT excuse for a Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte!)
Thursday, October 1: Homemade Cookies Day (So many options but my favorite fall mainstays are Halloween Oreo Stuffed Monster Cookies, Egg Yolk Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Pumpkin Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies!)
Sunday, October 4: National Taco Day (Why is this on a Sunday? Regardless, some Crispy Baked Butternut Squash Black Bean Tacos sound lovely.)
This Week’s Menu
Meatless Monday…Stove Top Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese
Tuesday…Pizza Night Italian Chopped Salad
Wednesday…Weeknight Saucy Pumpkin Salmon Curry
Thursday…French Onion Bourbon Soup
Friday Happy Hour…Caramel Apple Bourbon Punch
Saturday Baking…Caramel Crunch Bar Brownies
Gameday Snack…Pumpkin Pretzels
Fall Dinner Party Styles
Five Cozy Recipes for a Cottagecore Fall
1. Sheet Pan Farmhouse Salmon Roast
4. Homestyle Pesto Chickpea Noodle Soup
5. Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits with Honey Bourbon Strawberry Jam
Week in Training
Monday, 9.21: 10.5 miles, 10:39 pace
My legs felt like bricks this morning – for some reason I’m always so stiff after a rest day. Regardless, ran a 5 x 1k over/under workout that actually went pretty well. The “unders” were performed at around what I’d like marathon pace to be. I averaged near an 8:32/8:33 pace which I’m happy with. Flanked the main session with 2ish mile warmups and cooldowns.
Tuesday, 9.22: 3.75 miles, 11:59 pace + 19 minute lift
Super humid but the breeze felt nice!
Strength:
- 3 x 5 biceps curl 25#
- 3 x 10 narrow seated pulldown 71#
- 3 x 12 step out squat 40#
- 3 x 10 row 30#
- 3 x 10 alt. single arm clean and jerk (press?) 20#
- 50 crunches
- 5 minute stretch
Wednesday, 9.23: 8 miles, 10:11 pace + 3.15 miles, 10:57 pace
100% humidity near choked me to death during this workout. All things considered, it went pretty well. 8 x 800m turned into 7 x 800m and 1 x 600m since during the latter I totally lost my rhythm while jumping through puddles and decided to just cut it short and start fresh on the next one. Averaged 7:48 for the intervals with my highest (the 600m) at 7:55. I’m impressed with what I managed what with the conditions working against me.
Evening run was also swampy but cloudy, and Little Miss Ba joined me once again.
Thursday, 9.24: 5.2 miles, 12:14 pace + 21 minute lift
Heavy legs after a quick turnover from Wednesday’s double, but it was far less stifling out so not too bad despite the snailiness!
Strength:
- 2 x 15 shoulder press 15#
- 3 x 10 ea. single leg deadlift 40#
- 3 x 12 ea. single leg hip dip 25#
- 3 x 10 bridge chest press 20#
- 3 x 12 OH triceps extension 30#
- :60 plank
- 5 minute stretch
Friday, 9.25: 4.25 miles, 11:47 pace + 15 minute mobility
FALL YA’LL! 70 degrees with a 64 dew point. Hellooo Florida autumn. Late night -> standard early wakeup and I was feeling groggy, so decided to scrap my hills for 6 x 100m stride with 100m walk recovery. Ended up running these hella fast, with my quickest rep at 5:09 average and top speed at 4:49. Half were with the wind and half against and I was very surprised by the outcome!
Saturday, 9.26: 12 miles, 11:45 pace
Still wish I could figure out why my easy paces are now so damn slow, but regardless, this was a lovely morning. Around 68, 65ish dew point, some wind – my hands were actually getting a little goofy from the temps! Really perfect weather for me.
Total running mileage: 46.8
