Shouldless Days: April

I really did not think I was going to get a shouldless day in this month since my to do list is OUT OF CONTROL these days.  But I needed one more than ever this month.  Between wedding planning and being as busy as I've ever been at work, it feels like I'm going 90 mph all day every day.  And I'm not sleeping very well.  Probably because of the stress of being so busy, but my low dose of steroids (which is keeping my RA flare under control/making sure it doesn't come back before the wedding) certainly isn't helping.  All this is to say that life is wonderful right now, but I'm kind of stressed/tired/overwhelmed!!

So yesterday was a shouldless day.  Phil went to his mom's on Saturday so I got to spend my shouldless day with him which was wonderful. It's a taste of what is to come after the wedding is behind us!  I'm excited for the wedding but boy am I excited to just be MARRIED.  Here's how I spent the day!

I was up at 5:30 am.  Le sigh. So I went downstairs to the couch and read for a little bit. This is my April book club book and I'm kind of struggling with it because the protagonist is such an awful person and the other minor characters aren't likeable either. As the book unfolds I can see that she went through some terrible things but it seems like she was a manipulative person when she was younger, too. I'm not saying she deserved anything that happened to her.  I just struggle with really really unlikeable characters. I'll be glad when I finish this book and can move onto something else.

Luckily after 30 minutes of reading I was able to fall asleep on the couch for another hour.  My body desperately needs sleep right now so I'm trying to sneak in couch naps whenever I can!  When I woke up I had breakfast and enjoyed coffee in a new mug I got from my cousins at my wedding shower. I know I'm not a Mrs. yet, but I figured I'm close enough.  The mug is so pretty and has the perfect handle (comfortable handles are so important!!).  In the background you can see the Wusthaf knife block that the CEO and CFO of Phil's company generously gifted to us for our wedding!  Looooove those knives!!

When Phil got up, we turned on Face the Nation.  Oscar jumped on my lap for some cuddles...

and settled into to get caught up on the week in politics.

After that, I headed out for a run.  It was a beautiful day! 

Running along Lake Harriet = my happy place!

 My run went super well. This was the first run since my hip surgery where I felt like I am back!

I walked into the house to the smell of brunch cooking! Phil usually makes brunch one day of the weekend. He makes eggs and hashbrown squares with shredded pork tamale on top (he gets 2 tamales for lunch one day most weeks and saves one for our brunch).  It's delicious!!

After that I did some meal prep for my lunches for the week and the dinner we'd have that night.  Then I headed outside to read and enjoy a mocktail (beet and ginger concentrate with diet tonic water - yum!).

After that, I went to a barre class which was so hard and so good! There were only 2 students in the class so we got a lot of form corrections which are always helpful. Then it was time to head home and start dinner. Phil grilled chicken for the salads I'll have for lunch this week.

I love grilled chicken! I flattened it to an even thickness and marinated it in lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and herbs

Then Phil grilled the veggies for our dinner.

The peppers and onions were multi-purpose. Some will go on my salads, the others were seasoned with cumin for the tacos we had with some leftover pork that I had in the freezer. Asparagus is an odd pairing but we had some left from the dinner we grilled on Friday so I wanted to use it up. We do not waste produce in this house!!

After dinner, we settled in and watched a couple of episodes of "Bill Nye Saves the World." I loved it, Phil thought some of the segments were drawn out. We'll be watching the whole season, though. Bill Nye's quirkiness is so endearing!

Yesterday was one of the best days I've had in a long time.  Don't get me wrong - life is good these days. I just need more slow-paced days like these full of my favorite things and people, and with time outdoors!