Flora y Fauna y Comida

I considered writing this post in Spanish, but figured no one but me would appreciate the work. How ungrateful!

As threatened, this is the post of vacation food, flowers, and whatever other randomness I can find. Because if I don’t memorialize it here, what kind of blogger would I be? Don’t answer that.

Sea Turtle Rescue, Tortoise feeding, and snakes/alligators

The above are all phone photos – apologies on the quality. Below are from my camera. Keep scrolling, you’re not finished yet!

My dearest mother in law (affectionately referred to as Nanners) would have chopped off her right arm to be able to transplant these back to N. Texas. Fat chance. With nightly rainfall, 148% humidity, and sandy soil, these flowers are best suited to their current conditions. Besides, it’s less for me to kill.

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I ask you –

Do you speak other languages? Bonus points for pig latin and smartassery.

How many photos of flowers do you have on your phone?

Coffee v Alcohol. Pick your poison!

Vacation Takeaways

The humor mini me imparts on every situation is too much. Example numero uno (with many more to come), upon seeing palm trees for the first time in her long lived 4 years, she proudly proclaimed they were coconut trees. Later she conceded to their proper name and adopted the term “coconut palms”. Not every battle fought must be won.

From angry mosquitoes to the forever walk – the extent of my exercise regimen involved using the stairs to climb 3 flights multiple times a day and running away from tiny hell creatures bent on sucking my blood.

I attempted to eat my weight in crustaceans. Surely the scale would agree.

The Gulf of Mexico has some of the warmest waters I’ve ever encountered. The sand bars are my favorite because just as soon as you lose sight of your feet they suddenly reappear again like magic!

Homemade tortillas and the hottest salsa on the planet. I could eat it every day.

As I re-tell these short vacation blips and use my photograph collection as a handy reminder, I believe I may have to write a separate post on just flowers and trees, as well as one on just food. Skip it if you care not.

There was alcohol, too!

On that note, I will be here reminiscing seven, short days in paradise. And nursing my sunburn.

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I ask you –

Did you vacation this year? Where? Staycations count, too!

Did you take vacations as a child?

Name your best sunburn remedy.

Grassy Colors

Just as often as I crave sweet treats, my body craves vegetables. Ok, maybe not “just” as often. I enjoy my workday lunch of grilled chicken salad. Really, I do! But as it continues to heat up outside, I find myself seeking out new recipes for Brussels sprouts, green peppers, and fresh corn. If I didn’t love meat and fish, I would find it easy to subscribe to a vegetarian way of life. The more colors the better! There’s very few I don’t enjoy; then again you can fry anything and I’ll most likely eat it.

Perhaps it’s way off, but I once had a headache for a month while on a long underway. 30. Straight. Days. Sure, the Navy isn’t known for being relaxing, but no amount of rest, ibuprofen, or caffeine helped. Eventually diagnosed with migraines, I thought for sure that was the end of it, but it took some time to realize my nutrition played a large role. Onboard the ship, the availability of fresh fruits and vegetables begins to lag as time goes on. Naturally things spoil. And no matter how much iceberg lettuce I would eat, the headaches would return. Much research has been done on the link between what we eat and migraine triggers, although I’ve heard more about chocolate and some “-hypnols” than anything else. Maybe I’m on to something.

Call it what you will: placebo effect, wishful thinking, whatever you like. However, intuitive eating is possibly more important than anything else. When my body has had enough cookies, I know. And when it says hold up lady it’s time for greenery, again, I listen. Thankfully I was raised with a deep appreciation for fresh-from-the-garden wares (although I suck at gardening). My parents would spend weeks cooking and canning fresh salsa, okra, and pickled everything. Oddly enough to me, many children aren’t exposed to this natural, live off the land upbringing now. Even then it was becoming obvious this way of life was falling by the wayside. Long gone times.

On a lighter note, my strengths include shelling purple hulled peas and endlessly complaining about ants. But…if you need some help pulling weeds or over-watering your plants, I’m your girl. Pay no attention to me stealing your vegetables.

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I ask you –

On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you love vegetables?

Name your favorite veggies!

Did you have a childhood garden or know someone who did?

Nuance. The Polite Term.

As promised (or threatened, whichever way you choose to see it), the inevitable post on things that annoy me. Pull up a chair. These are numbered only for you to comment on your favorites; in no way does it signify preference.

The populations’ propensity to legally plagiarize another’s words. As the saying goes: imitation is the highest form of flattery. I disagree. It’s okay to occasionally repost and republish memes, etc on your social media account, but if you have time to repeatedly do this throughout the day, then you have time to come up with something original.
A previously mentioned annoyance: wearing a mask the incorrect way. If your nose is uncovered, you’re doing it wrong. Look it up. Perhaps you could use your imitation time (See: #1) for self education.
Lack of common courtesy. Move yourself and your shopping cart out of the middle of the aisle. Give the right of way. Use some situational awareness! I actually see this more on the running trails and tracks than anywhere else. It’s not designed for 4 abreast. Get out of the way!
The amount of emails I receive is ridiculous. It’s mostly junk or advertisements, but what most annoys me is I signed up for these things! Sometimes I spend much longer than necessary debating should I unsubscribe. Then again, when we receive junk mail, for a minute don’t we get excited there was actually mail in the mailbox?
When I have to pee really bad and can’t find the tampon string. Sorry, maybe I should have put a warning on this one. Ladies, you get me.

The polite thing to do here would be to leave you with a tiny glimmer of my humility and good-natured humor. But what would a mostly complaining post be without some cynicism? I received the Newcomer’s Award during the 2nd Quarter Awards in my workplace. Truth: someone took the time and effort to nominate me and route a package. Cynic: with hiring at low levels, fairly certain I was the only option. Realist: I’m quite flattered and proud of my first award in what I hope amounts to a long line of many.

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I ask you –

Can you relate to any of my complaints? Which one really hits home?

Please share your additions to the above list!

What award are you most proud of? Extra points to something with the words “Guinness” and “World Record”.

Training Update

There’s a tiny voice inside me still not believing my fall marathon will actually happen. Nearly every week, I see reports of more races being cancelled. However, instead of letting that voice take over, I continue to train and follow my plan. Except for that one time a few weeks ago. Struggle city.

Currently, I weigh about 150 lbs. Never thought I’d disclose that outside of a doctor’s office. You see, I struggle with my weight; not on the heavy side but on the lower side. When I don’t like what the scale says, I just stop eating completely…so I’m having a tough time accepting this number because it’s only 10 lbs less than what I weighed when I gave birth. My mind tells me well if you’re not creating a human right now then why does the scale think you are?

The easy answer is I’m strength training consistently 5 days a week. Muscle weighs more than fat. Behind-the-scenes there’s a lot going on. Typically during a training cycle I quit lifting – usually because I don’t have a whole lot of time to devote to it, as well as my own personal belief that if you weigh less, it’s easier to run. I honestly don’t know the truth about it. Now I have time to do both. The only workouts I don’t do are lower body because I intend to keep my legs as fresh as possible. Soccer body.

I know as my runs get longer, faster, and harder my weight will find a new norm. And I will embrace it as best I can. Seeing as how I’ve never been able (or willing) to accommodate both types of training during a run cycle, there’s much to learn. Short of giving up on strength training to change a number on the scale, what could this really serve? Probably nothing.

I certainly don’t look like I’m any amount of time from expelling a human from my body (unless I eat a whole cake) so I’m good there! I quite like the easy way those dumbbells move overhead. My run pace is still on par with last cycle’s paces. And there’s still room in my day for cookies. Let this be a lesson in “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

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I ask you –

50/50 on the fall marathon chances? Or less?

Where did the term “food baby” originate?

Personal motto: “If I can’t fix it, I’ll break it!”

Fickle Life

I didn’t realize how short this post was until I got ready to publish. As much as I debated on editing this to make it longer, nothing came of it. Better luck next time.

Bad news. The mud volleyball tournament is cancelled. Well, rescheduled to Labor Day. Still gonna be hot so what’s the difference haha I was disappointed for a minute, then I remembered this past weekend’s long run went to hell within 2 miles so now I need to ensure the next long run doesn’t do the same. And if I was playing volleyball all day the chances of running anywhere except to get snow cones was nothing short of nada. It works out.

I’m just filling the time with activities until my mini comes back from her Tennessean summer with her dad. Typically we alternate months but after the stay at home order radically changed our plans we had to make up for it on the back end. Happy to report she’s healthy, happy, and spoiled. And she’ll be home in a few weeks, just in time for vacation!

PSA. Did you know the average person can’t answer 5 random questions on 5th grade anatomy? I made up the stat; thought I’d join the club. Seems par for the course lately. But this is clearly true because the amount of people who don’t know the nose and mouth are connected is staggering. Otherwise why would their mask be covering the latter and not the former?

Stay tuned for a post on things that annoy me, currently in development.

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I ask you –

Name your favorite flavor of snow cone! Dragon’s blood, I think.

Submit your thoughts on things that annoy you so I don’t sound like a complete ogre when I make my own list.

Should I go play volleyball by myself this weekend or run? Don’t answer that, I’m easily swayed.

Is there space for this?

Sometimes I have an overwhelming need to be in charge of things. And then I remember the freedom that comes from not being a decision maker. Personality flaw. Freedom from deep responsibility vs the notion if you want something done right, do it yourself!

In this case, the natural tendency to bark orders comes honestly, as we’ve discussed at length before. It’s a trait of the Type A’s. I excel at this. But more important than giving orders is the requirement to sit my bossy self down when it’s not my turn. Therein lies the problem.

I just can’t do it! Pre-dating the popular phrase “see something, say something” this is still my motto. Thankfully I’m now in a workplace where I don’t feel relegated to a corner, instructed to keep my mouth shut. In all fairness, this was a military-related issue, not a civilian workforce issue. On the opposing team, there are those happy to be told the who/what/when/where of life. Envious at best. Why can’t I be one of them?

Well, in a way, I’m forced to be such. No longer a boss yet able to make standalone decisions that impact others is a happy medium. A compromise, if you will. Though never intended it does give the day a certain amount of balance. And you know how much I love that word. I can easily defer to the decision makers… or wing it. If you can imagine a wild, sneaky smile, then you are accurately envisioning my face. I wholeheartedly believe in my uncanny ability to successfully wing it!

So I guess I really don’t do well with bowing out of orders. Big surprise. Good thing I share these thoughts with you all. Maybe it will help one person. If not, you know where to go when it’s time to get s**t done!

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I ask you –

Is it possible to experience the best of both worlds?

Should I stop winging it? Surely not. It’s going so well!

It’s not lost on me the symbolism of my catch phrase and the entity I work for. Get it, get it!