Monday Mindspacing Vol. 151

1) I have at least 5 gift cards with $.94 to $5 on them... to 5 different stores (Crate & Barrel, Express, Container Store, Macy's, Madewell). Does that make me a failure??? If so, does it help that I've used every last penny on every Target gift card I've ever had? LOL
2) The comments on some of the most popular blogs I read have me convinced the popularity is just not worth the headache. Why are people so mean???
3) Lord help me. I'm so jealous of everyone who has run a half marathon in the last 3 months. SO JEALOUS!!! Can I say I'm appalled at the prices of these races, though? So appalled. The NY Marathon is $255. To torture challenge yourself for 26.2 miles. Other marathons are about $60-100. Considering the logistics (road closures, security and timing being top concerns) surrounding a race of this distance, I don't want to but will almost allow $90-100 but anything over that is highway robbery. Many races are too expensive, period. That's the real reason I've only done a handful of races this year. Even with 5Ks and 10Ks at $25 to $45 on average, it starts to add up and unfortunately, it's just not in the budget.
4) If you've run during the heat of the summer, your time gets a huge boost when the temperatures drop in the fall. I can't tell you how exciting and gratifying that is to watch in myself! With running (like so much else), consistency is key. Your body will adapt to what you're asking it to do if you just keep running consistently. Really! I looked back at my times over the last year and I've dropped 2 minutes per mile on my slowest days. SOOOO exciting! :)
5) Last week I surpassed my goal of reading 52 books this year. Woohoo! That's due in large part to the 8 books I read in January and September and 7 each in February and March. I'm now at 54 books and going to keep going. Do I create a new goal of 60 or 65 or just wing it? I think I'll wing it.
6) I'm going to post my 35 Before 35 list this week. YAY!!!
7) I also start working as a poll worker for early voting this week. EXTRA YAY!!! How did I not know they paid people for this?? I volunteered to help with kids voting when I was a teenager and loved it.
8) I've already started planning my menu for Thanksgiving... I can't help myself! It's just over a month away and I got a Thanksgiving issue of a food mag in the mail last week so I feel justified! Thank you, food magazine publishers, for fueling my obsession!
9) My film got into another festival! Yay!!!
10) The best thing about starting work this week (after money)? Returning to a normal sleep pattern!! I'm so sick of sleeping a few hours at a time. It's absolutely ridiculous and I can never stop it until I have a reason to leave the house at a normal, non-running, hour.
11) In my shout out to new shows I like, I left out "Ben & Kate." I dig it! :) Of old shows, New Girl is amusing, Dexter needs to kill someone and "How I Met Your Mother" is frustrating me like no other! OH MY GOODNESS TAKE ME TO THE MOTHER AND SHOW THIS DOGGONE BARNEY WEDDING!!!!
12) Don't tell anyone... but I've heard some pseudo holiday sounding music & I'm tempted to break out my Christmas music already. I know, guys! I know! But I just can't help myself! I'm proud I've made it this far! I've been known to pop out the Christmas music in September for the year and randomly in March or July. I'll try to make it through the week but I make no promises! (Just talking about this means I probably won't even make it through the day. LOL)