RECIPE: Roasted Tomato & Garlic Soup with Barley

I'm not a huge fan of tomatoes, but this is one of my very favorite soups ever. The roasting tomatoes and garlic in olive oil will make your home smell like HEAVEN.

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Roasted Tomato & Garlic Soup with Barley

Ingredients:

1 (28 oz) can petite diced tomatoes
2 medium onions, chopped very fine
6 cloves garlic, minced (or 6 tsp. minced jarred garlic)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
4 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth to make this vegan)
1/2 cup pearled barley (not quick-cooking barley)


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 F.  Drain the tomatoes, reserving the juice (squeeze the tomatoes a little to get a lot of the juice out... you want them to be a little dry going into the oven).

Combine the tomatoes, onion, garlic, and olive oil in an 9x13 baking dish.  Bake uncovered at 425 F for about 35-45 minutes, until the onion is soft, stirring occasionally to keep it from burning. In a pot, combine the roasted vegetables, the chicken broth, and the reserved tomato juice and bring to a boil. Add the barley and reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer for about 30-35 minutes until the barley is cooked through.

Makes about 4 servings. Serve with garlic bread.

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Family Vacation Ideas That Will Also Hit My Travel Goals

A couple of years ago, I wrote a list of 40 goals to accomplish by the time I turn 40 years old. At the time, I had about four years to get them done, which I felt was plenty of time. And now, almost two years away from turning 40, I'm starting to get a little worried that I might not do it. I really need to start planning out some of the tougher, long term goals. (Just getting through the book of Numbers in the Bible is nearly killing me! hahaha)

Travel is the most difficult goal. It requires time and money, and with only two years and two months to go, I am not going to have much of either. So, I've been trying to come up with some plans that may help me achieve this goal.

My travel goals are 1) To go to all 48 contiguous United States, not counting the ones I'd already been to (flying over them doesn't count); and 2) To travel abroad. A third isn't directly related, but it will require traveling: To see an orca in its natural habitat.

That's a lot of traveling! My current status on my visits to the United States:

The colored ones are obviously the ones I've been to. It's hard to see, but the ONLY state in the east that I haven't been to is Delaware *groan*. I'm not sure if I'll make a special trip out there just for the sake of this goal. (Coincidentally, my mom just got home from a weeks-long trip there to visit a friend! So random.)

I'm thinking I can tackle the rest of the United States with two long road trips. My kids haven't seen much of the country at all, so we can do a family trip this spring break in April and another in spring break of 2021. I spent a long time yesterday working out logistics for this coming spring break--a very long road trip across the south.

For this, we would fly into Pensacola, Florida. From there, we'd rent a car and drive the three hours to New Orleans and stay two nights.

Then we'd drive to Texarkana, to hit up Arkansas and Texas in one fell swoop. From there, we'd head to Dallas, just because it's a major city in Texas and we've never been there. Then head up to Oklahoma City.

Then we'd drive due west to Albuquerque (I spell that wrong every time!). We watched Breaking Bad as a family, and the kids thought it'd be fun to go there (they even have a Breaking Bad tour). Usually I avoid tourist attractions (I like to do more local things) but the kids would love it.

From there, we'd drive up to Denver and stay a couple of nights before flying home from Denver. (Actually, now that I look at the map, Cheyenne, Wyoming is only an hour and a half from Denver. So, a short trip up there wouldn't be hard to hit up as well.

It would be a long trip with a lot of driving, but when I showed Jerry and the kids, they all loved the idea. The expense would be pretty big, though--it would use up all of our tax refund (going to Punta Cana--all expenses paid--was cheaper!). But I think it'd made for great memories. National Lampoon's Vacation-style.

Probably my favorite quote from any movie, ever. 😂

(One of the biggest expenses is actually the car rental, can you believe it?! It's roughly $25-30 per day to rent a car, but then they tack on $700+ to return it to Denver instead of where we rent it from!)

Another option is just slightly shorter, cutting out a couple of cities in order to hit up the states but also spend a little more time in the places we would really like to visit.

This would cut out Dallas and Oklahoma City. Do any of you live there? Are they places that are a must-see? The main places we wanted to go to are New Orleans, Albuquerque (spelled it right on the first try this time!), and Denver. This would still be a long and expensive trip, but... memories. The kids love road trips (as do I) and it'd be fun to see all these places.

Finally, as a last resort, I came up with a much cheaper and shorter option. This would eliminate the huge fee of the car rental, and we would spend most of our time in New Orleans. We would take a couple of days to do a loop before heading home. This however, would cut out New Mexico and Colorado.

If we are able to do one of the longer trips, then during spring break of 2021, we could do a trip to the northern states--the Dakotas, Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming. I was thinking we could fly into Seattle and do a whale tour on the coast so I can (hopefully) see an orca and cross that off the list. Then we can head east and fly home from one of the Dakotas.

I have no idea what to expect from those northern states! Maybe some of you who live there can enlighten me ;) I looked for trains, but the routes aren't ideal for what I want to do. I really want my kids to see Portland and Seattle at some point, so it would work out to add it into the road trip. And Eli would LOVE to fish in the Pacific.

Finally, that leaves Delaware. Hahaha! I am sure I would do that as a solo trip. I'm not a beach person, and my mom said it's a big beach area. I do think I'd like a boardwalk though, and she mentioned that as well. If any of you live there and want to meet up, I think that'd be fun, too!

My kids haven't seen NYC, and I'd like them to see that as well. So another idea would be to take them on a short summer trip (I can only handle NYC for 2-3 days max) and then drive down to Delaware for a day or two before going home.

Anyway, these are all just initial thoughts. If I don't hit my goal of all the contiguous states by 40 years old, it's really not that huge of a deal. But if I can make it happen, it'd be pretty fun!

As for traveling abroad, well... I'm thinking maybe Becky and I can do a short trip to Europe (I can use a buddy pass). She's been there a trillion times and I think she'd be fun to go with. Then again, her kids are so little, so I'm not sure if she'd want to do that. When my kids are a little older (late teens) we can all go as a family.

So... any input you all have is welcome! Any must-see places or things to do in the areas I mentioned? Would anyone be interested in a short meet-up someplace?

Well, my friend Emily is coming over and will be here soon, so I've got to do a quick clean of my house!

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Halfway Done! A Recap of 3-3-3 Running, Week 6

Look how fat one of my squirrels has gotten for winter! 😂 (This is Charlie. She comes around the most--obviously!)

Only nine days into November, and I already missed two days of writing! I'd hoped that this would be my 30-day challenge for November (to write daily). Since my energy level has been all over the place lately, I have been feeling either wide awake or super tired in the evenings.

I really miss having Jerry work nightshift for several reasons--one of them is that I am typically a night owl, and that is when I'm my most productive. I liked to write my blog posts at night, work on projects, do laundry, clean, etc. Now that he works days, I still spend my day driving my kids everywhere, running errands, grocery shopping, etc like I usually do; only now, I feel like I should spend my evenings with Jerry, so it's hard to make time for my blog.

Anyway, the 30-day writing challenge is going to be more difficult than I thought. I need to change my mindset from thinking that my posts all have to be novel-length. It's okay to write a post that takes two minutes to read! Once I start, though, I just tend to get going and don't stop.

Since I didn't write yesterday, I'm going to start over with the 30-day challenge today. (One of the items on my 40 Goals by 40 Years Old List is to do a 30-day challenge). So, my posts my be short, they may be boring, they may be completely off topic, and they may be completely random. But I'm going to write!

I used to have a fill-in-the-blank book of lists somewhere (top 10 lists) and I thought those would be fun to work on. I have no idea where the book is, but I'm sure I can find a trillion ideas for lists on Pinterest. So, you may even see some of those lists.

Today, I'll just do a "quick" recap of my 3-3-3 training... (it's never quick)

Yesterday, I reached the halfway point! (The 3-3-3 training, if you're new here, is simply a way of saying that to get back into the habit of running, I'll run 3 miles, 3 days a week, for 3 months). Yesterday was Week 6, Day 3.

Last week, I mentioned how exhausted I've been lately, and that I had such a hard time mustering up the energy to do the runs. At the beginning, I told myself I'd run on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays--no excuses. Well, on Monday of week five, I could barely walk I was so tired. I actually took a nap! Something I never EVER do.

So, I skipped Monday. I ran Tuesday, Thursday, and then, in the eleventh hour for the week, Sunday. I got in all three, but it was really difficult. I knew if I skipped that third one, I'd be likely to quit the whole 3-3-3 challenge, so I didn't want to do that.

I wanted to get back to Monday, Wednesday, Friday running this week, so even though I ran on Sunday, I still did a run on Monday. May not sound like a big deal, but it was for me! It felt really good (mentally) to get to that point of no excuses.

I did all three runs on the treadmill (I just feel most comfortable doing that for some reason right now. Maybe once running feels easier and I'm able to keep my heart rate down more easily, I'll do more outdoor runs).

I've written a lot about this in my recaps, but I decided on a resolution for it, so I can quit bitching about it each time.

Here is what I know, and then what I'll do about it when logging my runs:

- The timer on my treadmill is off--it runs fast. (Regardless of the speed, the timer will consistently be faster than "actual" time, something that can't be argued.)

- I believe that the speed on the treadmill is accurate, or at least very close to it.

- The Garmin's estimation of speed and distance on the treadmill (with or without the foot pod) is extremely inaccurate. The only thing the Garmin is good for, really, is the timer and my heart rate (my heart rate is the most important thing right now, so I'm going to continue to wear it).

- The Garmin doesn't recognize incline or decline on the treadmill at all, nor does it pick up changes in speed unless it's a huge leap, like from 4.0 to 8.0 mph.

- I always start the Garmin's timer 10 seconds after I start the treadmill (to allow the treadmill to get up to speed).

So, with all of those things considered, here is my solution for now:

- Use the Garmin for the timer and the heart rate data.

- Use the treadmill to get distance data.

- Since I start the Garmin's timer 10 seconds later than the treadmill, I'll have to add 10 seconds to my time when I adjust the data on Garmin Connect.

So, for this week, here is how it went:

Monday

1:27 pm. (I'm wondering if I can see a pattern between time of day and my heart rate). I wrote about this run already, but I decided to test out the foot pod and see if it made the Garmin readings more accurate for the treadmill. Instead, it made them much worse. There is no possible way I was "running" a 14:00+ minute mile! So, it was after this run that I decided to make the adjustments I explained above.

Original data from Garmin: 43:19 for 3.00 miles.
Original data from treadmill: 44:13 for 3.21 miles.
Adjusted (to what I hope is accurate): 43:29 for 3.21 miles (a 13:33 pace; 4.4 mph)
Average heart rate: 144 bpm

Wednesday

8:48 am. I felt better during this run, and I'm wondering if it's because I ran in the morning before taking my medication. Something to keep track of, anyway. It could just be that I ran in the morning instead of the afternoon, though. I kept the speed between 4.5 mph and 4.8 mph and I didn't have to lower the incline at all to keep my heart rate down (an improvement).

Original data from Garmin: 42:08 for 3.00 miles.
Original data from treadmill: 42:39 for 3.25 miles.
Adjusted (to what I hope is accurate): 42:18 for 3.25 miles (13:01 pace; 4.6 mph)
Average heart rate: 143 bpm

Friday

5:10 am(!). I woke up at 4:45 and felt wide awake. I thought it'd feel good to get my run done before I even woke the kids up for school so I managed to get on the treadmill and start by 5:10 am. Instantly, I noticed I was able to go faster at my MAF heart rate (maybe because of the time of day? Or that I hadn't taken my meds yet? Or that I hadn't eaten anything yet? Again, I'll look for a pattern.) I kept the speed between 4.5 mph and 5.0 mph and the incline at 0% the entire time. Pretty happy to see the improvement.

Original data from Garmin: 37:57 for 2.71 miles.
Original data from treadmill: 38:25 for 3.00 miles.
Adjusted (to what I hope is accurate): 38:07 for 3.00 miles (12:40 pace; 4.7 mph)
Average heart rate: 142 bpm

Looking at the adjusted data, I feel very confident that it's correct. As I run, I keep a mental note of the speed as I adjust it on the treadmill to keep my heart rate at MAF, and it's pretty spot-on with the adjustment.

Even if the adjustments are not 100% accurate, at least I'll be able to see consistent improvements (or lack of), which is the most important thing anyway. It also keeps me from being frustrated when the Garmin is showing me that I'm going 3.3 mph when the treadmill reads 5.0 mph!

By the way, I started watching Jack Ryan, per the suggestions of several readers. I am only halfway through the second episode, but I think it's going to be perfect for treadmill running! Thanks for suggesting it.

I can't believe I'm already halfway through the 3-3-3 plan to get back to running! And I'm not dreading the runs nearly as much as I did in the beginning. I hope that in another six weeks, I'll be content enough to add a fourth day. I'm starting to feel excited at the prospect of being a "runner" again ;)

Here is the weekly data from the last six weeks. It's not entirely accurate, because I wasn't able to adjust several of the treadmill workouts, but hopefully the next six weeks will be more consistent.

It's kind of funny... my best (and most accurate) week was the week of the 14th, where I did all three runs outdoors. With Joey! haha

I'll be excited to see consistent paces in the 12:00's... that feels like a good milestone to look forward to.

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A Chat About My Weight (The elephant--haha!--in the room)

(All photos in the post were taken within the past year)

If you haven't noticed, I haven't been writing much about my weight at all on my blog lately. It's not that I'm trying to keep secrets or anything--I've already talked about my weight gain, and how I'm the heaviest I've been in eight (err, nine) years. That's nothing new.

And really, I haven't written much about it because there isn't much to write! I still weight myself occasionally (not every day, like I used to--maybe about once a week). When I write it down in my little calendar book, I don't really think anything except, "Ugh, I really need to do something to drop these extra pounds."

Yesterday, after I weighed in, I decided to flip through the book and see how long it's been since I was at my goal weight (or close to it). When I started gaining weight. All of that kind of stuff.

And I noticed the most unbelievable thing.

I have actually been within a five-pound weight range for OVER A YEAR. (Let me just add that this is the info I got from my weight log; so if I happened to mention a lower or higher weight in that time, I'm sorry, it's not intentional. I may have dipped a little higher or lower for a minute).

Anyway, when I wrote that post about being the heaviest I've been in eight years (that was in September 2018), I weighed 162. I remember being a little stunned that I'd gotten back up into the 160's. I wasn't proud of it, but I knew it was from emotional eating (and alcohol). I wanted to take it off, but I didn't care so much about the number. I changed my weight goal (without looking back at the post, I want to say 145?).

Throughout the last year, I've given half-hearted attempts at losing the weight, but I just can't seem to get myself into that mindset. It's not that I don't care--I do--it's just that I am not in such a rush and I'm not willing to sell my soul to be thin again.

Yesterday, my weight was 166. I going to have to go back and plot my weight for the last year or so on my Happy Scale app so I can see a graph, but I've literally been in a very small weight range for over 12 months now. Who would have thought that was even possible?! I certainly wasn't trying to do that.

Part of me starts to wonder about the theory of "set points" for our bodies (the weight that our body naturally gravitates to, where it's hard to gain or lose from that weight. I always hoped that if that was true, my "set point" would be about 130 ;)  Apparently, my body likes my weight in the mid-160's.

Keep in mind, however, that I hadn't been running more than a couple of times a month until almost six weeks ago, so that may have something to do with my weight staying up. Also, I gave up alcohol (for a year as an experiment--I'm not going to claim that it's permanent yet!) and admittedly, replaced it with comfort food when I'm anxious.

Other than the few semi-attempts at losing the weight, I've literally been eating whatever and whenever I want, however much I want, for over a year now. I think if I saw the scale continuing to climb, I would probably make more of an effort. But since the scale isn't really moving, I'm kind of loving that I don't have to count calories.

I'm sure many of you have heard of The F*ck It Diet by Caroline Dooner (Amazon affiliate link). (Also, I despise that title) It's basically the most anti-diet diet that is out there. She writes about how you basically don't have any rules whatsoever--eat what you want, when you want it, how much you want, and fuck everything else. We are not slaves to our weight.

I love the idea, but I wasn't consciously following that. It made me too scared to gain more weight on top of what I'd already gained. But looking back, that's pretty much how I gained it in the first place! I'd not heard of it at the time, and I wasn't intentionally eating that way, but I just had a "fuck it" attitude and thought I'd worry about my weight later, when I wasn't so stressed.

(Side note: Noah going to the community college has been a big stressor for me. That and Jerry's depression happened around the same time, and I was super worried and stressed. And anxious. Always anxious. I started drinking more to alleviate anxiety, which caused me to eat more and gain weight, and then I made the decision to go a year without alcohol to hopefully find other coping mechanisms for anxiety.)

The stressors haven't gone away, and sometimes I wish that life had a pause button, to allow me to catch up while the world stops. I am still working on finding ways to cope with anxiety (my favorite is still the games I play on Lumosity while I chew ice). Actually, a lot of the things that I do to avoid binge eating also help with anxiety.

There really isn't a point to this post! I just thought it was very interesting that I've maintained my weight for over a year without even trying, and even though it's about 20 pounds more than I'd like, I'm very thankful not to have gained everything back.

As far as my plans from here? I want to try to lose the weight, but in a different way. I don't want to count calories or make things overly complicated. I know where my problems are--I use food to relieve stress, and of course, it's never salad. Ice cream has been my go-to. I believe that if I made just one change--drastically reduce the ice cream (coupled with my return to running)--I will probably see a noticeable difference on the scale.

Yes, I change my mind about this all the time (hey, I'm bipolar!) but I'm allowed to. I can change my mind as many times as I want. And I am the one that lives with the consequences and who learns from my actions as far as what works and what doesn't.

I'm *starting* to feel little tingles when I think about running again (crazy, I know!) and so after my 3-3-3 running plan is up (3 miles, 3 days a week, for 3 months), I may set a running goal. Maybe a half-marathon or something. I don't care about my finish time (PR's are not on my mind), but it would be nice to work toward something other than my weight.

I have to say, the ODDEST thing about all of this is that I haven't had to buy new clothes. When I bought jeans to fit me last year (size 10), I never expected they'd fit me a year later. That's never happened. However, I'm wearing a pair right now. This is madness, I tell you! ;)

For the Cliff's Notes:

- My weight has stayed within a five pound range for over a year (mid-160's)
- I want to drop 20 pounds, but I'm not in a hurry
- If I do lose weight, it's going to be in a way that I am willing to do FOREVER. Something I've always preached!
- I'm looking forward to continuing with running and I'm hoping I'll set some future running goals once I'm done with my 3-3-3 running plan
- Being "thin" isn't as important to me anymore (maybe it's my age); I really want to be healthy and in shape

I'd like to update on this once in a while. Since I'm not going to be "dieting" or counting calories or anything, I don't know if I'll have anything to update. But if I notice anything changing (especially now that I'm running again), I'll post about it. I feel good about my decisions.

Right now. As for tomorrow, who knows?! hahaha

Here are a few photos of me throughout the last year. Some I hated and didn't post because I felt like I was "too fat". Some I thought were more flattering than others. But you know what? It is what it is. I am who I am. I'm at where I'm at.

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RECIPE: Split Pea Soup (in the slow cooker)

(I am currently revamping some recipes from way back in 2011, and making them easier to read and more printer-friendly. I apologize that this will bombard your blog feed! I'll try not to do more than a handful at a time until they are done.)

Now... split pea soup.

Yes, it looks disgusting. I agree. However, despite how gross it looks, I LOVE this soup. If you ask my kids what their favorite dinner that I make is, they will (honest to God!) tell you that it's my Split Pea Soup. They request this all throughout the year. And because it's done in the slow cooker, you can just forget about it for 6-8 hours while your house smells heavenly.

Here is a printer-friendly version!

Split Pea & Ham Soup

Ingredients:

1 (1 lb) bag of dried split peas
1/2 cup pearl barley (not the quick-cooking)
3 carrots, chopped*
1 onion, chopped
10 oz. of potatoes, peeled and diced*
1 (8 oz) package of diced ham
8 cups chicken broth (I use bouillon with 8 cups of water)
1 bay leaf

Directions:

Place all ingredients in the slow cooker, cover, and cook on high for about 4 hours (or low for 6-8 hours) until thick when stirred. Makes 8 servings, approximately 1-1/2 cups each. Make sure you remove the bay leaf before serving!

*I like to cut the carrots and potatoes into rather large chunks because they tend to break down a bit while cooking and after stirring.

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RECIPE: Loaded Baked Potato Soup

This is my really fast and easy dinner when I don't know what to make but I'm starving. It tastes just like a loaded baked potato, and it's really not too bad for you! (Depending on the toppings, haha). *See notes below recipe

Here is a printer-friendly version!

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients:

2 tsp. canola oil
1 onion, chopped
1 bag frozen potatoes
1 quart chicken broth
1/2 cup milk or cream
1 cup sour cream
Toppings, like shredded cheese, bacon, chives, green onion, etc.


Directions:

Heat soup pot over medium heat and add oil. Add the onion and sauté until onion is soft. Meanwhile, put the potatoes in a colander and run under hot water to thaw a little.

When onions are soft (not brown) add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add potatoes and return to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low, and simmer until potatoes are soft. Add the milk and let it heat through on medium heat (don’t boil the milk, to avoid curdling it).

Sometimes I purée the soup with a stick blender at this point, but you don't have to—it just depends on the texture you’d like. Stir in the sour cream and warm through on medium-low heat (again, don’t boil it).

Ladle into bowls and add your toppings. Makes 4-6 servings, depending on how hungry you are!

*I like to use the crumbled bacon you can buy pre-cooked in a bag, but of course, this would be delicious with freshly cooked bacon.

*If you're not worried about calories, it's amazing when you throw in a handful of cheddar cheese and stir until melted before you ladle it into bowls.

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RECIPE: White Chili

Chicken, white corn, and white beans make this a nice change from the usual chili made with ground beef and a tomato based sauce. This was my first time using coriander (when I was a beginner cook just after getting married!) and I loved the flavor of it. It's a necessity for this recipe.


Here is a printer-friendly version!


White Chili

Ingredients:

2 tsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp coriander
2 Tbsp lime juice
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp hot sauce
1 can white corn, drained
1 can great northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 pound chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

Directions:

Heat oil in a soup pot over medium heat, and cook onions and garlic until onions are soft.

Stir in remaining ingredients except chicken. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Add (cooked) chicken, and simmer 3-4 more minutes until hot. Serve with crusty bread. (Makes about 4 main dish servings)

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RECIPE: Lasagna Soup

I'm going through recipes and revamping some of them, so I hate to bombard you with several recipes in a row. But here goes!

This Lasagna Soup is very simple, but for some reason, it tastes so complicated and GOOD. I love to serve this with warm garlic bread on a cold day.

Click here for the printer-friendly PDF

 Lasagna Soup

2 tsp. olive oil
1 pound lean ground turkey or beef (I like turkey)
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. dried parsley
4 cups beef broth
1 can crushed tomatoes
1/4 tsp. Italian seasoning
4 oz. uncooked pasta (I usually use rotini or egg noodles)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

In a soup pot over medium-high heat, cook onions in olive oil for a few minutes. Add the ground turkey and garlic, and cook until turkey is browned and onion is soft. Drain turkey mixture, and add parsley, broth, tomatoes, and Italian seasoning. Bring to a boil and add the pasta. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until the pasta is done, about 10-12 minutes. Serve with parmesan and garlic bread.

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The Best $50 I've Ever Spent

Ugh, I am still having problems with my energy, and it's driving me crazy. Sometimes I feel totally fine and others I feel dead to the world. I think stress has a lot to do with it, but now that things are settling down, hopefully I will see some consistency.

I did my run yesterday to finish off week five of my 3-3-3 running plan. My weeks are from Monday through Sunday, so I waited until the last day, but I got it done. Ideally, I'd like to do Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

So, even though I ran yesterday, I decided to get back to my regular M-W-F schedule today. Very unlike me! However, I perked up a little in the afternoon, and decided I might as well get it done before my energy was zapped again.

I chose to run on the treadmill today. I really should go outside to run, because it's perfect fall weather! But I feel a sort of comfort from staying in and doing the 'mill.

The only real problem with that is that I can't see my progress (or lack of) over time. My Garmin and treadmill read two different sets of data and it's frustrating. The timer on the treadmill is off (for example, 1:00 minute in "real time" may say "1:02" on the treadmill). Since time is constant, I know that the treadmill's timer is off. The Garmin's timer is correct.

The distance on the treadmill versus the Garmin is different though (mainly based on the motion of my left arm, which is where I wear my watch). The Garmin doesn't really register the changes in speed when going from 4.4 to 4.6 mph, for example. It barely even recognizes big changes such as 4.2 to 5.0 mph! Today, I decided to give the old foot pod a try and see if that was more accurate.

That was a big fail. The Garmin (from the foot pod) read that I was "running" at 3.3 mph, when the treadmill was set at 4.5 mph! I only wore the foot pod for a mile, and then after I took it off, the pace was still wonky. The only semi-accurate mile was the final one.

The treadmill was at 4.4 mph - 4.6 mph for nearly the entire 3 miles. The foot pod didn't register that at all. Which made my average pace completely wrong.

Today's run was just frustrating. I want to be able to see progress, but to do that, I'd have to consistently run outside. So, I'm going to aim to run outside at least once a week to see if I can spot any noticeable changes.

---

Anyway, to the point of this post. I hate to even write about this, because it's going to sound like one big advertisement (or at least a sponsored post). This is NOT a sponsored post--I just bought something that I am so excited about I'm dying to share.

When Jerry and I got married and bought our house, my mom gave me her very durable, good quality vacuum cleaner... that belonged to HER mother before she passed away. In other words, it was very very (very) old. However, because of the quality of it and it still worked very well, there was no real reason for us to get a new one.

Last week, I realized I'd run out of bags for the vacuum. I hate buying bags for it, because they are $20 a pack. With two cats and a dog, the bags fill up more quickly than I'd like. Just for the heck of it, I decided to look at vacuum cleaners on Amazon instead of buying new bags.

Because we switched to hard floors throughout the house (we have carpet in the bedrooms and a large area rug in the living room, as well as a couple of small rugs in the kitchen), we don't need a super fancy vacuum. I didn't want to spend a fortune on one--just something that would do the job.

I found a deal on one by Black & Decker for $49.99 (regular 79.99, but Amazon has it listed as a limited deal right now). You can find it here (Amazon affiliate link--it just means if you buy it through the link, I may get a small commission for referring you. But like I said, this isn't a sponsored post and I'm getting nothing for raving about it!).

I love Amazon's new next-day shipping, because I literally got it less than 24 hours after I ordered it! It had very good reviews, so I was really excited to try it out. First, I decided to do the orange area rug. I had just vacuumed it the day before, so it wasn't too dirty.

The vacuum is super easy to use and I had it ready to go in no time. The second I turned it on, I knew I was in love. I can't even describe the suction power on that thing! It made my rug look brand new--it even pulled up the spots that were matted from walking on it.

And--this is both horrifying and SO satisfying at the same time--just look at what two minutes of vacuuming the rug pulled up! *cringe*

Can you believe it?! I was so excited that I actually took pictures to send to Jerry and my mom 😂

Then I did a quick job of Eli's room, Noah's room, and my room, respectively. I emptied the canister after each room, and LOOK AT ALL THE DUST. This is AFTER I vacuumed the day before. I was so stunned.

I realize that $50 is cheap for a vacuum, but even if this thing only lasts a year, it'll be worth it. I was going to spend $20 on the bags for our other vacuum anyway.

Anyways, I realize this sounds like a big ad, so I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves. But if you're looking for a vacuum, I am in love with this one. (It even comes with an attachment for furniture, particularly for pet hair!)

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By the way, any suggestions for fast-paced very action-packed shows to watch while I'm on the treadmill? Sadly, I've probably watched everything you will suggest, hahaha. But I need something to make me excited about hopping on the treadmill for a run!

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Weeks 4 and 5 Recap of 3-3-3 Running, and Halloween (Bar) Tricks

(This water bottle and note were waiting on the porch for me when I got home--I love when Jerry makes little notes like this!)

I was feeling super sick for a little over a week, and I still don't feel 100% back to normal. I didn't really feel like I was getting a cold or anything, but I just had zero energy and the worst headache (a tension headache) that refused to go away, even with ibuprofen and acetaminophen. I also felt weak and shaky, for no reason at all. Actually, I felt like I had a hangover (which isn't possible, because I haven't had a drink in over 10 months).

It made getting in my runs very difficult this week! I typically try to do my runs on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Well, on Monday I was SO tired that I actually napped from late morning to early afternoon. I only nap about once or twice a year, when I'm very desperate! I just couldn't bring myself to run.

I told myself I'd do it on Tuesday, and I knew that if I didn't get it done Tuesday, I'd end up quitting altogether. Thankfully, I had a great morning with plenty of energy, so I was able to get it done. I ran again Thursday and today. So, I got in my 3-3-3 workouts (3 miles, 3 days a week, for 3 months... today marked the end of week 5).

I didn't do a recap last week, so here is a very short one from the last two weeks:

Monday - Ran with Joey outside. Managed to get a 13:02 pace with an average heart rate of 142 bpm. I think that's my best run so far.

Wednesday - Ran on the treadmill. Nothing really notable. Stayed at about the same heart rate for most of the run.

Friday - This is the day I started to feel really sick. No energy at all, and my resting heart rate was up. My heart rate was up through the whole run, and I was lowering the pace and then the incline so that I could keep my heart rate low enough. It was frustrating.

Tuesday - Wished I'd done the run on Monday, so I could take Tuesday off ;) But on Monday, I was feeling way too tired and my headache was relentless. I was definitely feeling better today, though. Did the treadmill. Here is my blurry treadmill selfie:

Thursday - Felt like crap again. No idea what is going on! I keep waiting for it to turn into a full blown cold, but it's still just the headache and exhaustion. I'm going to try to figure out how the Garmin compares with the treadmill. It's kind of annoying that they don't match! Again, I did the treadmill.

Sunday - I should have done this yesterday, but I wasn't in the mood. Jerry was off work all weekend, and I love hanging out with him when he's off, so running wasn't on my short list of things to do. Today, however, was the last day of my fifth week, so I had to get it done before week six starts tomorrow. I did this one outdoors by myself, and I can't even tell you how many times my watched beeped to tell me my heart rate was too high. I felt like I was running as slowly as I possibly could! I wanted to take my heart monitor off and throw it in the road. My pace definitely reflected it, too, as I had a mile in the 14:00's today!

It's hard to see any sort of pattern yet. Dr. Phil Maffetone says to give it 12 weeks before looking for improvements, so that's what I'm going to do. When I looked at the monthly stats, thought, I was surprised to see that there is a slight downward trend in my pace, which is a good thing.

It's also hard to keep track of the differences when some runs are on the treadmill, some are outside with Joey, and some are outside alone. Those are three very important variables. But I'm not going to overanalyze anything as of yet. I will definitely keep it nerdy at the end of three months, though ;)

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Aside from running, we had a fun Halloween on Thursday. The weather forecast looked HORRIBLE: temperature in the low 40's (wind chill in the low 30's), winds of 20 mph with gusts up to 70 mph, and RAIN. There really couldn't be worse weather.

Thankfully, it wasn't nearly as bad as expected... but it was definitely very cold and windy and rainy. As we have for the past few years, we went to Brian and Becky's house (it was their last Halloween in their current house--they move to their new house very soon). We had tacos for dinner, and then the kids went trick-or-treating and we sat in the garage (it was too windy to sit outside) and passed out candy.

My kids are definitely on the older side for trick-or-treating, but I love to see teens out with costumes on. Trick-or-treating is innocent fun for teenagers when they could be out doing so many not-so-innocent things.

Eli wore the same costume as last year (a burglar) and Noah and his girlfriend, Ashley, dressed in neon 90's exercise stuff.

Noah, Ashley, and Eli went out trick-or-treating together (Eli came back before Noah and Ashley, and he said that they were moving too slow, so he want on ahead without them, haha). They got a TON of candy.

They even want out a second time shortly before trick-or-treating was scheduled to end, and even though people recognized their costumes, they wanted to get rid of their candy. So, the kids wound up with even more.

Luke and Riley were adorable as always--I LOVE those kids!--but they are so hard to get pictures of because they are constantly on the move. I managed to get a quick picture of them with my parents, but the kids were not patient enough for a decent one ;)

My mom somehow came across Mickey and Minnie Mouse costumes, so she wanted to dress up with my dad. My dad says he looked like a drunk Mickey Mouse, hahaha. Accurate.

After trick-or-treating, we went inside to chat and so the kids could sort through their candy. My brothers are always impressing us with new bar tricks they learn (so random, I know!), so Brian attempted a new one (with the dollar bill and beer bottles) for the first time. And Nathan showed us one with a grape (they didn't have olives, which is typically what you'd use in a bar trick, so he improvised) and a wine glass. I mashed the videos together in a 1-Second Everyday video:

It was a super fun night! 

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