AuburnChick's Adventures

Can I just say how marvelous it was to wake up yesterday and know that I didn’t have to go into work?

Hold up, lest you think that I didn’t get up until late in the morning.  I had actually set my alarm for 6am because I wanted to get a couple of things done before I headed out the door.

First up was a 2.5 mile walk to finish out my Sirius Half Marathon, a virtual race hosted by the Hogwarts Running Club.

It only took me four days to cover the distance, but who cares!  What matters is that I did it!

Next up on my agenda was physical therapy.  I’ll talk more about that when I post my weekly update.

I had a few errands to run after that before returning home to work out.

Since I had finished a round of Piyo on Sunday, I’d been debating if I was going to do another eight weeks of it.  I discussed it with my physical therapist, and he said that I could lift weights if I was careful not to go too heavy for lower body workouts.

Hence my second try at Body Beast, a Beach Body workout program.  I’d tried it the beginning of March but had one of the worst weeks ever with my ankle, so I had to stop.  I’m going to try to ease into it this time.

After working out, I looked around and wasn’t really sure what to do next.

When ten months of each year are dictated by a 45-minute bell schedule, you aren’t used to having “free time.”

I had so many things on my to-do list that I had a difficult time choosing.  I felt like I had ADHD, not to make light of this, but seriously!  There were so many things I wanted to do!

I decided to tackle a small project that really needed doing . . . replacing the door handle for my laundry room door.  The thing had been coming off every time we shut the door lately.  I’ve got a few new handles in a closet, so I grabbed one and went to work.

This is a chore I’ve done quite a few times, so it didn’t take me long to finish.

Next up was a much-needed task . . . bathing all three dogs.  Gambit had been stinking to high heaven!  This was not something I was looking forward to, though, because I didn’t know how much my ankle would be able to take.

I started with Gambit because he’s always been the hardest to wash.  He surprised me by walking up to me willingly and, for the most part, standing still while I scrubbed him down.  Truth be told, I think he realized that he was getting the best scratch of his life!

Molly was next, and she was definitely the hardest to do.  Her fur is THICK, and she did not want to stay put.  It made me nauseous to feel clumps of her hair on my fingers as I worked.  I need to remember to use gloves next time.

I saved Pele for last.  He LOVES his baths . . . always has!  In fact, he’d stood near me the entire time I was washing the other dogs, even allowing me to spray him with the hose.  What a strange dog!  He sat down and did not move while I scrubbed him.  He looks kind of pitiful in the picture below, but he was smiling a few moments before I snapped it.

By the time I got Pele toweled off and got in the house, where the other dogs had been waiting, I found a huge mess of hair.

I think Molly and Gambit had streaked through the house trying to dry off.  Molly had also rubbed up against the couch, as she’s wont to do.  Sigh.

My last order of business was cooking.  I wanted to make another batch of  Vegan Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies.  These are seriously easy to make, and the texture is PERFECT!  You’d never know that they’re vegan.

I knew I’d be in trouble if I didn’t bake something for the Mr., so I put together a Peanut Butter Cake for him.  I frosted it later, after the cake had cooled.

I had one more recipe I wanted to make before calling it quits for the day . . . Vegan Peanut Butter Date-Sweetened Cookies.  I’d seen this posted on Detoxinista’s blog earlier in the morning and knew I’d be making it.  They turned out pretty good and are tasty!

In between the baking, I managed to cook up some chicken thighs for the Mr., because I can, occasionally, be a good wife.

By the time I was finished cooking and cleaning the kitchen, I was beat.  My ankle had been hurting for awhile, so I knew that I needed to get into my recliner, put the STEM electrodes on my ankle, and ice it down.

I don’t normally like my days packed with so much activity during my vacation, but I think I felt some kind of pressure at having to do “stuff.”

I’m going to try my best to slow down a little bit more and not try to complete as many tasks in one day.

Still, I think it was a good start to my summer break!

Filed under: Teaching | Tagged: teaching |