Some life faves...

Well I had planned to make this post a recap of the Roots n Blues half marathon but the half marathon photos that were uploaded today from the race are taking forever to download...so we are going to pend that recap for another post.  In the meantime...here is a photo from the end of the race.  

Brad, Glenda, and myself.  Brad completed the 10k and Glenda and I did the 1/2.  Spoiler alert-it was awesome.  Don't ask Glenda...she will disagree.  More on that later.

After the run I came home and foam rolled, stretched, foam rolled, and iced my knee.  I thought I was pretty creative with getting the ice pack to stay in place!

While I iced the knee I enjoyed some post-race cuddle time with my favorite pup.  Since this post was going to be the race recap but I am saving that until I get the photos downloaded...I thought I would mention a few of my current life favorites.
1.  Fall weather.  It makes me very happy.  Especially just sitting reading a book with the windows open.  Or walking the dog without feeling like I am walking through a sauna.
2.  Decluttering.  I am in the process of decluttering my garage.  The more progress I make the more motivated I get.  So much STUFF that I do not need and will never use again.  Bonus of decluttering...it makes me shop less.  I do not have any desire to go buy new STUFF that will just need to be decluttered later down the road.  Decluttering makes me feel great.  It also makes me appreciate what I do choose to keep because I am keeping things I truly enjoy.
3.  Slowing down.  Just going with the flow and not rushing through life has made me happier.  Every day I have a list of things I want to accomplish after work and I usually give myself until 7pm to be productive.  After that, all downtime is acceptable.  Anything not accomplished on my to-do list can be pushed to the next day.
4.  Being present.  Along the same lines I'm working on being present in the moment I am in.  When I am walking the dog I'm trying not to think of everything I need to do and instead I'm focusing on enjoying my walk.  During my half marathon I tried to force myself to look up, stop focusing so hard and enjoy the scenery.  I want to be present and not just let life pass by while I forgot to notice.
5.  Strategic planning.  Along the same lines of slowing down, when I am planning out what I want to accomplish for the week I am trying to break it up throughout the whole week vs. doing ALL THE THINGS on the weekend.  This way I can be productive throughout the week and not end up exhausted because of all the things I had to get done on the weekend.
6.  No Spend Days.  Usually two days a week if not more I will plan out as "No Spend" days.  These are days that are just what they sound like...I can't spend money.  I may need to plan a bit ahead and if I know I'm going to need gas I'll get it on a Monday if Tuesday is a no spend day.  But having these days has helped me really think before I spend.  Example, a few of these days I thought to myself "I feel like driving to Sonic and getting a drink."  Then realized "Oh I can't spend that $2 it is a no spend day."  Know what happened as a result?  I started making iced tea at home again.  I haven't made iced tea in years.  In general, if there is something I want on a no spend day then I get creative.  This also helps me be more aware on the days that aren't designated no spend days when I am thinking of buying something...I really do think harder about it vs. mindless spending.  The other night I went to dinner with a friend and thought about getting ice cream after.  Then I realized for less than what I would spend on one ice cream out I could go to the store and get 2 half gallons of ice cream.  I didn't want two half gallons of ice cream in my house so I passed on both spending too much on one and going to the store for too much.

Those are my current life faves!  Headed to see friends I haven't seen in too long this weekend...excited for that!