Carpe Diem; Seize the Coffee

 

As the saying goes, carpe diem. 

Seize the day, and seize the drink...just make sure you grab something warm.

Holy frigid freeze-out, Batman! It's been cold, even by Iowa standards. It's a good thing I have a hearty supply of chai on hand. Rest assured, I'm drinking it hot (I can't imagine drinking anything on ice, given the current sub-ZERO feels-like weather conditions).

Anyways, it's that time of the month for gathering and chatting over coffee (or any beverage of choice). I have my chai latte' in hand and a few things to share...

Shall we start?

If we were chatting, I'd first tell you how excited I was to see the noticeable change in daylight upon our return to Iowa. Granted, there may have been a similar change that occurred in Florida as well. When I'm in a strange place, though, everything looks and feels different. Looking back, it feels like we were gone for a long weekend (and not almost five weeks). Having the much increased daylight (that currently lasts almost to 6:00 p.m.), amidst the cold, made for a nice welcome back.

If we were chatting, I'd tell you about the ordeal in getting my swag from the Key West Half Marathon. Since I opted to run it virtually, I had to transfer my registration as such (and paid an extra $20, and change, to do so). Not knowing when the packets would be mailed, I provided my Florida address. We'd had our Iowa mail forwarded to Florida, so I didn't want to risk the packet going to Iowa, only to be forwarded to Florida, and then forwarded - a second time - back to Iowa. Well, I was in a panic, come Thursday (of last week) when my packet still had not arrived (two weeks after the race). Upon arriving back to Iowa, low and behold, there it was...waiting for me in the mailbox. Apparently, they went with my Iowa address (from my original registration) because there weren't any forwarding labels on the package. Crisis averted! 

hands down, two of the snazziest pieces of event swag...ever!

If we were chatting, I'd also tell you about my walking progress (remember my saying I was hoping to log 100 miles of walking each  month?). Well, I also was hoping to do daily walks. The daily walks came up one day short (due to the weather and all the extra biking miles). The mileage came oh-so-close, at 89. Also not a crisis, because the 100 miles/month is a ballpark ideal (ultimately propelling me well past 1,000 walking miles for the year). Those miles will most likely be much higher during the warmer months, so it's far too soon to obsess over it. Now that Milly is "out of rehab," I can do some walking with her on the especially cold mornings or evenings as well.

If we were chatting, I'd share my January totals. I ran 3-4 times each week, but kept the miles fairly conservative. My hip flexor still was feeling a little cranky, at times, so I knew not to overdo it. Plus, I  was planning on a lot of walking and biking, so running wasn't my one and only means of outdoor fitness.

Finally, if we were chatting, I'd share my continued confusion with Twitter. My Twitter following is nothing grand, nor do I spend much, if any, time on there interacting with anyone. One evening, a couple weeks ago, my phone kept dinging with notifications. Come to find out, a randon person had liked (and commented) on 40+ tweets of mine. A few days later, I tweeted about the Florida frost (below), and that almost went viral for my itty bitty account. As this post goes live, there's now over 230 likes on that tweet, my following has increased substantially and there's been a lot more daily activity. And, I still have no idea on the appeal of Twitter, nor do I have any interest in figuring it out. Anyone else?

Ahhh, I'm about due for a refill (it's been in the single digits all week, and sub-ZERO with the wind chill). I haven't even been back a week and I'm already over winter, LOL. Thankfully, we have "warmer" temps in the weekend's forecast, and there hasn't been any snow or ice. 

What would you care to share, if we were chatting over coffee? Would you actually be drinking coffee or something else? Have you noticed a significant difference with the increased daylight? Are you a Twitter fan?

 Since it's the first weekend of the month, I'm linking this with Deborah and Coco for the Ultimate Coffee Date.

I'm also linking this with Michelle, Renee, Darlene, Jenn and Zenaida for the Fit Five Friday Link-up.

By the way...are you following me on social media?

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