First of all, I want to wish the happiest 23rd birthday to Mr. Normally! Happy Birthday, husband!!

With that being said, he’s off enjoying his birthday on a business trip, while I’m playing “bachelorette” here at home. Ok, really the only two contestants are my dog and my laptop. And although I have no roses to give, I did share my bed with my laptop and not my dog, so I think we all know who won.

But really, in May Dave and I will have been married for TWO YEARS, and so it’s been awhile since I’ve lived by myself. So after exasperating both my foot and my patellar tendonitis by jumping rope last night, my schedule was run-free with room for activities usually neglected with a husband around.

So here are my four ways to spend a night in by myself!

#1 Yoga

Dave makes fun of my when I do yoga, so I enjoyed the giggle-free atmosphere. However, Dave usually preoccupies Dexter, so I didn’t appreciate the dog nose in my face and butt for 26 minutes.

#2 Baking

…amazing oatmeal cookies, to be exact. Now I don’t have to share them with “The Abyss”. Just kidding, they are actually for the office. And really, considering that I’m training for a marathon, I’m much more of an Abyss than Dave.

#3 Weird dinners

Weird dinners that don’t require cooking, that is. Like organic lentil soup that I dug out of the back of the cupboard. Probably hidden by Dave right before he insisted that we have nothing in the house for his lunch and we must go get some Campbell’s chunky beef soup. Extra beef.

#4 Indulgent desserts

Ok, it’s not really indulgent, but it sure tastes like it! I made myself some tropical soft-serve.

It’s easy. Take a frozen banana, handful of frozen pineapple and a handful of frozen mango, a dash of soy milk, toss it in the food processor and voila! ice cream! Seriously. I will never eat real ice cream again. And when I have kids, they will never eat ice cream either. GO MAKE IT NOW. You’ll understand what I’m talking about.

The only problem is that I bit my tongue and burnt the roof of my mouth today. So the sore and the ruptured blisters aren’t liking the acidity of the fruit so much. Oh well, so worth it. Especially because I ate it out of the cute bowl I got from Fitbloggin’!

What do you do with a night to yourself?

Thankfully tonight I didn’t have to study Greek! Now I can watch Lost and catch up on blogs!..oh, and RICE because I’ve got some runnin’ to do tomorrow!

Happy Mondayyyyy!

Dave’s out of town and I have a Greek Test tomorrow.

So tonight has been occupied my some of this…

A lot of this…

And way too much of this…

I lead a glamorous life, right?

Once I blog a bit, I’m going to do the prudent thing and take my Greek books and relocate to the bed. I studied in my bed all the time in college and graduated Magna Cum Laude, so I’m hoping that holds true for working adults who thought it would fun to take Biblical Greek 2 years after college.

It’s been tough to fit in studying, and one of the reasons is that it’s a busy time for travel at work!

One of the wonderful things about traveling for work is all of the rental cars I get! My mom went car shopping not too long ago and was calling me for my opinion on the cars that she was test driving. I have some pretty nice cars, and some cars that leave something to be desired.

Top 3 favorite rental cars:
1) Cadillac Sedan (I forget the exact model—but it parked itself!)
2) Lincoln MKX
3) Buick Lucernce (Yea, I know it’s a granny car, but it is the most comfortable car I have ever been in!)

Top 3 least favorite rental cars:
1) PT Cruiser
2) Dodge Avenger (its one giant blind spot!!)
3) Kia Rondo

There are also some notable mentions!

Shortly after beginning my job, my friend/co-worker Shannon and I had a trip to a community college about two hours away. We usually request our rentals through the business office a few days in advance, but somehow our request got lost in the shuffle. When we went to pick it up, the business office had to call the rental company and get whatever they had. Unfortunately, the only thing they had was a 12 passenger van!! I volunteered to drive it, but I had to stop at my apartment to get a pillow to put behind me so that I could reach the pedals! I think Shannon and I laughed the whole way there. I felt well prepared because I learned to drive on minivans and Buicks.

Also, I had a Prius once! I have to be honest and say that I hated the experience. For whatever reason I couldn’t seem to start it it. I would turn the key but nothing would happen, but I did manage to knock it into neutral. If I got it into drive, it was a miracle and I didn’t complain. One time, I was parked near the entrance of a parking lot and on a slight incline. When I tried to start it, I only could move it into neutral and it drifted back and blocked the ENTIRE parking lot. People were honking and I had no idea what to do. I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t cry. Because I did. A lot. And I couldn’t find any “How to Put Your Toyota Prius Into Drive” page in the manual. I have no idea how I got out of there.

Anyhow, even though I’ve driven many cars, I love my Civic! I had a 14 year old Civic in high school and fell in love! When Dave and I were car shopping this summer, it’s the only car I wanted. And it’s a manual transmission and I can’t imagine ever going back to an automatic. I love it!  OH, and I might have learned to drive a stick after we purchased the car

What kind of car do you drive and what is your dream car? Have you had any rental car drama before?! Please share!!

Believe it or not, mine’s a Civic! I LOVE Hondas and I never want another kind of car (except maybe that Lucerne). Although I’ll probably be rocking a minivan someday. Can I get one with a manual transmission?

GUESS WHAT! New Greenhouse post: Does God Care What We Eat?

Happy Saturday! Who else is feeling like a weekend warrior?

I logged 17.1 miles this afternoon! It took awhile to get moving this morning because it was cold out, but the sun was bright. Really, it was a beautiful day for a friggin’ long run.

Running wise? Not as pretty as the day. No, not nearly as enjoyable. The first 14 were fine. Tough at times, but not too bad. I had to walk a little around mile 12, but that’s ok. Even small walking breaks give your body time to recover, so I’m never mad at myself if I need to walk. Although I look pretty mad in this picture (but how can I be mad while wearing a Thriv shirt?)!!

Well, I know I mentioned it before, but after my 14 miler two weeks ago, I was having some serious digestive issues in the days following. I have such a sensitive stomach that I can rarely pinpoint exactly what makes my stomach upset. It could be the position of the sun in the sky or the color of socks that I’m wearing. Only God knows!

My dad played Mr. Sleuth and sent me this article and I had an inkling that my problems could be linked to Clif Shot Bloks. I maybe had them once before, but after stuffing three in my mouth, I felt that my stomach was just off.  I thought I ate too many too fast.

So today I still used the Shot Bloks, but I took one at Mile 9 and one at Mile 13. I was relying more on my water/Gatorade mix, but unfortunately, I used the last of it to wash down the final Shot Blok and continued on my merry way. Oh my gosh. I got so sick. Nothing really happened except the worse nausea I’ve ever felt on a run. I was concerned that something would happen, so I had to walk the last couple miles.

Yea, that was disappointing but I’m not kicking myself about it. It’s a training run. I know that Shot Bloks don’t sit well with me now, so I won’t be using them anymore. I’ve been hearing good things about Sports Beans, so I might try those, but do want to know my preferred running fuel? Gummy Bears! Cheap and effective! I’m kind of excited about going out to load up on gummy bears. Unfortunately Dave loves them too, so I’ll have to hide them!

So when I got home, I sipped some soda and took an AMAZING nap. Then I refueled with the best post-run meal ever:

A vegetarian burrito from Moe’s!

I think I’m going to do some foam roller and continue icing my foot. I think it might be time to get some new shoes. I have a hunch that mine are hurting my injured foot. Oh and watching The Godfather. We’ve never seen it! Yea, I know we’re a little behind the times!

So some questions for you all (or “yinz” as they say in Pittsburgh):

What is your preferred method of fuel during runs? 

and…

What is your favorite movie?

I’ve got a ton, but The Princess Bride might be the winner. But it’s reallllly hard to say. Dave and I watch a movie together every weekend, so we’re always looking for movies to watch. Last night we watched Men who Stare at Goats. It was kind of stupid, but has some really funny parts.

Oh, and hang tight! I’ll have a new Greenhouse post up soon!

Want proof that I need that extra hour? Here is Abby Normally’s Normal Week. You’ll notice that most social activities are absent. That’s what gets pushed aside when I am out of time. Oh, and I don’t have friends. So that’s a contributing factor too. I’m thankful that it’s hockey season, so my husband is, for the most part, preoccupied with FSN and NHL network. I’m trusting that my schedule will calm down by the Stanley Cup finals. That means he also doesn’t know that I’m currently blogging from bed—something that I won’t be able to get away with when hockey season is over.

Caitlin wrote a post of about race goals, which was timely because I was contemplating a 150 mile bike ride with Dave in June. Then I looked at this schedule. Being a newbie cyclist, training for a marathon and going on a week’s vacation in May make that seem impossible. So I’m saying no to that. We have to be aware of reality and understand what are bodies are capable of. I screwed that up with my last half marathon and ended up injuring myself. Glad I have since come to my sense. It amazes me everyday that I’m training for a MARATHON and that I can feel my body getting stronger!

Anyhow, without further adieu, my schedule (based on this week, but I may travel more or less for work):

Monday:
6:20 Wakeup
8:00 Arrive at Work
12:00 Greek Class
4:30 Leave work
5:45 Teach latin (dinner is included!)
6:40 Arrive home
7:00 work out/blogs/Greek homework
10:00 Bed time

Tuesday “Late day”
6:20 Wake-up
7:00 Running
8:20 getting ready for work
10:00 At work
2:00 Lunch–usually a trip to the grocery store
6:30: leave work
7:10 arrive at home/dinner/blogs
9:00 Lost
10:00 Bedtime.

Wednesday:
6:20 Wakeup
8:00 Work
12:00 Greek class
Afternoon/early evening: Travelling for work
7:15: Arrive at home
7:45: one hour workout
8:45 dinner/blog/Greek
10:00 Bed time

Thursday:
6:20 Wakeup
8:00 Work
12:30: lunch/blogs/trip to the store
5:15: Arrive at home
5:45 Running
7:30 Dinner/Blog/clean/Greek
10:00 Bedtime

Friday:
6:20 Wakeup
8:00 Work
12:00 Greek class
5:15 Arrive at home
Unplugged night
10:00 Bed

Saturday:
8:00 Wakeup
9:00 Long Run/getting ready
1:00 Grocery trip into the city
4:00 clean apt.
5:30 dinner
7:30 blogs/Greek/movie
10:00 Bedtime

Sunday:
8:00 wakeup
9:00 leave for church
12:30 Lunch
1:30 catch up on blogs/nap
5:00 Dinner
6:00 small group/night church (maybe)
8:00 Prep Latin/Greek homework
10:00 Bedtime

So there you have it. Yes, I teach Latin and take Greek. I love it but it can be time consuming. Well, the Greek is. I like Latin better anyway, so I enjoy molding young minds every week!

It seems like my only free time is Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. Sometimes my husband wonders why I don’t ever feel like doing anything. I’ll point him to this from now on for explanation.

What do you do to make personal time? What are you willing to sacrifice to avoid stress, and what are you not?

I don’t cut out running–it’s the best stress relief. I also make sure to sleep more because when I’m stressed, I’m always tired! I do cut out social time, though! Oh, and cooking.

This morning I tweeted that I needed more hours in a day and wondered who I could see about it. My husband was kind enough to tweet back with a suggestion to find a DeLorean, go back in time and ask Doc. Thanks, hunny. How much do you think we can get for your ‘99 Jeep that is currently boasting 280,000 miles? Because I’m not giving up my little Civic. Anyhow, if you have no idea what he’s talking about, then you either didn’t watch movies when you were growing up or only had sisters. Either way, I feel sorry for you (ok, just kidding—but brothers really are awesome).

Anyhow, I feel like I’m just struggling to get caught up with everything in my life right now. Work, marathon training, Greek, blogs, etc. I’m not easily stressed out, and thankfully I’m not to the breaking point yet, but it’s just a matter of time. So really I just sincerely apologize for my lack of commenting and blog reading. I’m hoping to catch up this weekend after my loooong run (by the way, I WILL NOT be running the 30k).

I have decided that I am going to post a typical week for me. I mean, the title of this blog is “Abby Normally” and so you might be interested it what my week normally looks like. You’ll see what I mean when I say I am a “nerd”, why I don’t cook, and probably why I always feel like I’m playing catch-up. For example, it’s currently 9:30 and I just ate dinner. Rock on!

That will take time that I don’t have. So, until then, here are some more running product reviews! I got to test these out on an 8 mile run. I averaged about a 10 min/mile and it was a VERY hilly run. I have no other option when I run in my development. Pittsburgh hills are killer.

First up: New Balance socks!

These were in the swag bag from Fitbloggin’, They were a timely treat, because after my amazing run on Thursday, I managed to get the two largest blisters I have ever seen in my life. I didn’t pull my compression sleeve up far enough, so the edge of it was sitting right underneath my two smallest toes. My two smallest toes ended up looking like my two biggest toes because the blisters seriously doubled their size! NUTS!

These socks were so comfortable. There was no friction or awkward running. Sometimes my feet get really hot at random points in my runs, but it didn’t happen this time. Hot feet=stinky mess.

The only downside is that I have a self-diagnosed case of mild dyslexia. Usually it doesn’t affect the way I put on socks, but now I’m going to be stressed that I’m wasting my all-too-precious time switching my socks because I still don’t have my “R” and “L” straight. Thanks for that, New Balance.

Next up is my C9 Running skirt from Target! I love C9: it’s affordable, comfortable and cute!

…Pardon the slight static issue I was having…

I bought this and just got it in the mail. I had been eyeing up running skirts for a long time, and let me say that it did not disappoint. It kept me sooo cool and I didn’t feel like I was flashing everyone! And I love the little booty shorts underneath the skirt. I was so happy with how it fit and there was no riding up or any uncomfortable wedgies from the shorts. There’s even a cute pocket in the back that fits my Blackberry!

Now I want a pair of booty shorts because I want to be Danica they are super comfortable. Can you help me out, Champion? Please?

Alright. I have some other things to do (surprise, surprise). Gahhhh… Can I have that extra hour back now?!