On My Mind

• My amazing, beautiful, brand new accent chair is here and looks perfect and I love it and I'm obsessed with it and I cannot imagine it ever not being there.
• After discussing my post with Garth yesterday I have to share some of Garth's insight on the nagging epidemic wives struggle with. Or is it just me? Giving credit where credit is due, here is what Garth had to say: "I would say as a man, sometimes we feel like our spouses want and expect us to lead, but in a way that reflects the way they would lead. It's like you're letting us drive, but you have your own set of brakes and steering wheels and every time you correct us or apply your own "training" brakes it comes off as nagging. It makes us think we can't drive and you don't trust us to drive, which ultimately leads to us to giving up control all together.  If you want us to lead, then you have to trust our driving skills and allow us to make our own mistakes once in a while.  Taking your hands off the steering wheel and showing trust and confidence in our driving abilities would lead us to be more open to 'assistance' or suggestions and what could have been interpreted as nagging changes into two people making the drive possible as a team together."
• Does that make sense? As a woman who does not always (or almost never) understands the man's ways, this helped make things click for me.
• I'm a summer girl through and through. I love the sunshine, smell of sunscreen, being tan, flip flops, watermelon & cherries, grilling out, eating dinner on the deck, summer festivals, carnival food, sitting on or near a lake or river, the smell of fresh cut grass, nighttime thunderstorms, baseball games, tank tops, floating in a tube.... Sweet summertime!
• Summer always flies by so I'm making every possible effort to enjoy and savor every single second of summer. Every moment and not spend a second thinking of the fall. I will love fall when it is here, but for now I want to just soak up summer.
• I'm not sure I want to bike 13 miles anymore this year. I biked two miles last night and my butt is literally hurting so bad from the dang bike seat. I may need to buy padded bike shorts ASAP. Why do they make bike seats so uncomfortable?! In other news, I think biking with Garth helps him run faster because he ran a 8 mile pace yesterday! So proud of him.
• Speaking of running, Garth has to run 15 miles on Saturday. Eesh! I do not envy him, but he is in the homestretch right now. He will be running the marathon in just TWO MONTHS. 
• I know I have not done a Fit Friday post in a while, but there is not much to tell. I've been maintaining lately which is good considering all I did was eat up north last weekend, and on my birthday.  I'm not even exercising everyday, but my eating has been a lot better this week. 
• How can you wake up early to work out when it is thundering and pouring rain? That is the best sleep ever and I could not muster the energy to get up and get going.
• Now that we are in the last two months of training (like I incorporate myself into his training?) we are cutting out pop and alcohol and eating as clean as possible so Garth can be at his best with these extremely long runs. It really is all about optimal performance because what you eat really does affect how you feel. We do well with a new diet to stick to and I proposed doing the Paleo Diet, but no dairy? I don't think I could do it!
• I have heard you either become addicted to marathons or never want to do one again. I predict Garth will fall into the latter category, but I could be wrong! We have talked about it and I do know this whole marathon thing has inspired him to be the healthiest he can be and get active, but I think he is going to join the local soccer team next year. It is a spark to many great things to come, like planning a mission trip. But I don't see more marathons in his future. 
• I would like to do something active together, but the soccer team is all men and the marathon thing is not MY thing. Maybe we'll sign up for a bike ride for a charity or around the wineries in Traverse City? Now, that is MY thing!
• I cannot believe I haven't really talked about the Olympics on here. I am obsessed with it, but it needs to end because I have to go to bed at a decent hour and get up at my usual time to work out. I love the gymnastics, swimming, synchronized diving (how do they even DO that?!), volleyball and, in an unexpectant twist, I'm loving track too. What are your faves?
• Is it just me or does anyone else think of the friends' episode when Joey finds about Chandler and Monica every time they say "in London" during the Olympics?