A week of Thanks...

This week was CA-RAZY busy.  And stressful.  And I couldn't run. All of these things add up to Brittany the nut-case.  But, enough complaining!  There was PLENTY to be grateful for!

November 12: I am grateful for all of the selfless veterans that have served our country, especially my Grandpa Walker and his heroism.

My Grandpa died when I was in 7th grade and it was the hardest thing I had gone through in my 12 years.  He was always my bestest bud. We talked for hours on the phone, snuggled during thunderstorms in Utah, he listened to my wild child stories, snuck out to the garage when my Grandma wasn't looking to raid his candy stash (he had diabetes), and most of all, he just loved others more than I knew possible.  He was soft spoken, had a giant heart of pure gold, and gave the greatest soul-warming hugs.  All the things that are important in life. 

Family fun.

He fought in WWII and was sent to Hiroshima to clean up post-bombing.  Unfortunately, he was exposed to so much radiation in the process, he, years later, developed Leukemia (AML).  He fought the great fight and will always be my hero.  

Alaskan Glaciers with Grandpa.  

Don't be jealous of my sweet fanny pack.  You can be jealous of my awesome Grandpa though, he rocked. 

Grandpa, not a day goes by that I don't miss you!  Love you to the moon. Thank you for being my hero!

November 13: I am grateful for the supportive people in my life. That includes you.

I know you know those days.  The ones like this:

Those days that you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, you look in the mirror and say... "Wow! I'm a grump, but for some reason I can't snap out of it!"  Then you look at your To-Do list and contemplate going back to bed and not leaving it for approximately 5.5 months.  Tears are shed, dramatic exaggerations are made, and ultimately, you know every minute of your ridiculous negative mood is unnecessary, but it still sticks to you like a leech.  

Yep, that was my Tuesday.  As I'm nearing the end of the quarter, the assignments are stacking up for both PA school and my Master's program.  Plus the usual studying for finals, and the added pressure of my board exams nearing in just 5 short months.  The main factor missing in this equation is my motivation.  For some reason, I am struggling to have quality study sessions.  It's the "in-one-eye-out-the-other" syndrome.  Call it burn-out, call it straight lazy... I don't know why I've hit a cement wall, but that's where I am!  Luckily, Jake is the most supportive husband in the world and helps reason with me when I have weak moments. I am the luckiest girl in the world to have cheerleaders in the longest PA "game" in the history of time. (Perfect example of my dramatic over-exaggerations. ha)

Noted. 

I am swimming along like Dori from Finding Nemo, and I know the stressful times make the good times THAT much better.

Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. What do we do? We swim, swim. 

November 14: I am grateful for my love of cooking.  And these delicious morsels of Pumpkin goodness that I whipped up.

Pumpkin-mousse-filled cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting.  All from scratch! 

November 15: I am grateful for the hostess with the mostess, Carrie.  And her PHENOMENAL Pre-Thanksgiving dinner.  

My Thanksgiving table will never look like this. I didn't even know such creativity existed outside of the Food Network channel! 

How does it get better than this?!

Dessert Heaven

November 16: I am grateful for Fridays.  Even if I have to work on Saturday.

Seriously.

What is it about Fridays?! They are phenomenal.

November 17: I am grateful for my new road running replacement: deep-water running.  

Okay, I have a secret.  I'm still not back to running.  My half marathon last weekend felt fabulous, it's true.  But 4 hours later, I did not feel fabulous.  My PT ordered me to stay off it for two whole weeks to allow it to heal completely.  I was at 95% healed before the race... then I thought it was wise to run a half. Now I'm probably back down to 70% again.  Oh well.  Lesson learned. 

To save me (and those around me) from my lack-of-running-induced psychosis, he also introduced me to my new found running replacement.  You know those awesome people that you see in the pool that look like this??

Insert Brittany Here. (You'd better believe I bought a sweet flotation belt.)

Well, it turns out that this really funny looking sport actually is the closest replacement to running you can find.  Many injured world-class elite runners do this while recovering and they actually come back stronger and faster than when they were training on roads.  And let me tell you... it is NOT easy.  Boring...?  Well.. maybe.  But by incorporating intervals and imagining you are running on a track, you can almost feel the ground under your feet.  Okay, that's a complete exaggeration- unless you regularly run in a sumo suit against a brick wall and can't escape from a giant raincloud splashing water in your eyes, it is nothing like running outside.  But it does mimic the running movement and it is a killer workout.  So, be ready.  I will be back in action - and hopefully stronger - in about 2 weeks!

For more information, this is a GREAT website: HERE

Overall, it was a week of learning more about myself than anything which is something to be VERY grateful for!  Thinking of all of the amazing people in my life... I miss all of you!