A Little Bit of Bragging, and Happy Monday!

Hello!

To start, my usual round of number crunching:
Today's run: 8.4 miles
Week to date: 8.4 miles (Happy Monday!)
Month to date: 50.68 miles

I am overall pretty pleased with that last number, and with the first one, too! It certainly wasn't a speedy 8.4, but it was 8.4! I knew I wanted to go 8ish today because I crunched all the numbers yesterday, and that was what I needed to hit 50 miles on the month. (Actually, it was 7.7, but I rounded up.) I took off way more time than I should have in January, so I wanted to make up some ground and hit that 50 point.
And, what a day to do it in, eh?

I know the tagline for my blog here is "Up North Running Adventures", and I felt like today definitely fit that bill:
-I was wearing 4 layers on top, 2 on bottom, thick socks, a hat, gloves, and a bandanna over my face.
-3 inches of standing snow on the Lake Walk trail.
-Jumping in to the snowbank to not get hit by the plow clearing the trail.
-Running during yet another weather alert.

Oh, what fun. :)


In other news...

I've decided to start something new here. It's no secret that Mondays can be kind of a downer at times, especially coming off a good weekend. With that thought in mind, I bring you "Happy Monday!", in which I post a short list of things that are making me happy at the moment. Big things, small things, silly things, serious things, any thing that I find bringing a smile to my face can be on this list.

So, here are a few things that are making me happy this Monday!

1. dearblankpleaseblank.com

My sister sent me a link to this site last night, and there went my evening. I can't even really accurately describe it, you just have to check it out!
2. Pop/Soda

I know, I can hear the healthy living bloggers and health experts nationwide groaning at this. For the record, I haven't been the biggest pop/soda drinker in my life. However, I cut out all beer/wine/spirits after the new year until I'm done training for Bayshore (and perhaps longer, we'll see). I felt very left out at one point last weekend when Brandon bought himself a really good craft beer we both enjoy, so I was given this as a consolation gift. It's a Jamaican style ginger ale, and it's really different and pretty good. We also tried a red apple soda that was good but maybe just a hair too sweet. And, I'm not drinking these everyday--I'm treating them like a dessert, so one every couple of days. Also, when I have a pop/soda these days, I'm trying to make it a unique, craft soda, not your standard big name ones.

3. My Kindle

(Yeah, it's sideways. Oh well.)
Anyway, I received this little guy for Christmas from the inlaws-to-be. I know a lot of the English major community has kind of shunned this device, but you know what? I never fit in with that crowd anyway. I love it. I absolutely love this thing. I already have a bookshelf that is groaning and bursting at the seams, so to be able to have a device about the size of a small notepad that I can pack full of even more literary goodness is awesome beyond knowing. I've gone through 2 books since I got it (Unbearable Lightness by Portia de Rossi and Once a Runner by John L. Parker) and I'm working through 3 more right now. Like I said, the Kindle is book nerd love.

What's making you smile this Monday?