A Surprising Weekend and the Start of Thanks

I expected this weekend to be pretty mellow, since I'm on my own and had zero plans for Friday and Saturday (the school where I sub had an inservice, so it was a day off for me). But last night and today turned out to be plenty exciting!

I'll back up to yesterday morning: I realized I've been taking it pretty light on my cardio lately, which is fine, but almost all of my "runs" have been jogging and walking. Thursday, for example, I did:

• 2 minutes jogging
• 1 minute walking
• 3 minutes jogging
• 1 minute walking

Repeat four times. It was a decent workout, and I am certainly not above a good run-walk. But I haven't done much continuous running in awhile, and I guess I wanted to see what I can still do. So I set out to run three miles, no walking. It was harder than I expected (I haven't run three miles since we were in Europe!), but I did it! I followed a four-mile route, but I still stopped at three miles and just walked the rest of the way home. I also got to enjoy some lovely people-watching, which I always love. Here's my Facebook status: 

I hit the people-watching jackpot on my run today, including a super burly guy in ultra-tight, bright blue Lycra running pants (they were so shiny!) and a couple breaking up outside of an apartment complex (awkward). 

It was awesome. And also a gorgeous day:

Last night I watched the UCLA game, during which one of my best friends from college was proposed to on national television! It was so exciting to see the moment, and I'm so happy for Jamie and Nick. I also got to see them tonight--more on that in a minute.

Today I went to my friend Heidi's for a long walk together. Her neighborhood has plenty of hills, so I was panting the entire hour while we walked. It was so fun to catch up and hear more about her pregnancy, too! Then we grabbed lunch with her husband and our other friends Katie and Corey and their baby Ainsley. We all had a blast catching up and celebrating Heidi's birthday. Also, if you're out in the Newbury Park area, I highly recommend Stella's. My burger (complete with guac, grilled onions, and Swiss cheese) was phenomenal!

Later in the evening, I headed to BJ's in Westwood for dinner with more friends. The aforementioned and newly engaged Jamie, my roommate from college, was in town visiting (she lives in Hawaii, her hometown, now), so a few of us got together. It was so fun to spend time with old friends and celebrate the engagement. I'm just so happy for Jamie, and I loved seeing her so happy!

And now it's time to wind down for the evening to prepare for the week ahead. Since it's November, a bunch of bloggers are jumping on the 30 Days of Thanks (check out Amanda's post, for example) bandwagon--essentially acknowledging one thing you're thankful for each day through the month. Here are three for the first three days of the month:

November 1: I'm thankful to live in an era where, if Terry and I have to be 3,000 miles apart for a month, at least we have various means of communication. We chat on the phone, video chat via Google Hangout, and e-mail throughout the day. It's still tough, and I miss him like crazy, but at least we can talk.

November 2: I'm thankful for my little pet. Scout has become my constant companion, and I still find myself looking forward to seeing him every day when I come home from work. He's hilarious, adorable, and so sweet. I know he's "just a cat," but somehow I feel better when he's around, especially if Terry has to be away.

November 3: I'm thankful for the amount of travel I've done in my life. I feel like it has opened my eyes to other cultures, customs, and cuisines, and I have learned so much from those experiences. Traveling with my family when I was young got me started; traveling with various dance groups made me more independent; traveling with Terry has in many ways defined our relationship. Now that I've found my lifelong travel buddy, I can't help but get excited about all the places we'll go together and all the sights we'll experience.

What three things are you thankful for today?