Things I am loving this season:

The genuine, organic warmth of a wood stove blazing and warming my home.

A cup of hot coffee to warm my veins in the frosty mornings.

Seeing my One and Only go to work looking sexy in his hugely warm Carhartt jacket. (okay, I don't like seeing him leave... but he looks handsome all the same...)

Seat warmers!.

Chocolate almond milk warmed up. Wow.

A freshly awakened blonde baby boy warmed from sleep with bright rosy cheeks and a very confused expression.

My vast collection of warm, fuzzy socks that are purely for comfort and absolutely not for looks.

My good ol’ faithful warm Charlotte Russe sweats that are missing both buttons on the back pockets and the draw string.

Watching my Man devour my warm tortilla soup invented by mois that he just adores.(the soup, although he adores me too)

The satisfaction of feeling Clint’s warm hands hold my ever frozen ones.

My warm hot pink/orange/purple knit Pier 1 throw blanket some well-to-do Nashville-ite tossed that I snagged for $2.99 at Goodwill.

Wow. I’m noticing a theme. I’m super into being warm. Why is that? OH! I know! It’s because I live in Tennessee and the winters are like death here! I would never survive in Michigan. I was bred for warm to moderate temperatures and to be either barefoot or in flip flops throughout every season. When you come home from Nashville in the evening and your car thermometer says 29 degrees, you know something is up.

But thankfully I have acquired a new skill. Actually, I acquired it last year, but have been able to weild it much more as of late. I am an expert wood stove fire builder girl. Really, I can whip out a fire from scratch in no time. (I do use matches. Is that cheating?) My Man didn’t believe me until recently when I proved it to him. This definitely makes my winter much more pleasant and has sown a strange love within me for building fires. Really, I enjoy it. There is something very satisfying about getting it done. I have become a huge promoter of woods stoves: it’s amazingly cheap (living in the woods really makes firewood quite easily attainable), and the warmth is pure; so different from central heat, which makes me feel tingly and hot and my cheeks turn bright red (not cool). We don’t have that wicked bill every month, and it feels so... so... woodsy. What is there not to like?

Lately I have been on a baking extravaganza. I made four apple pies in one week, which Clint devoured. I am supremely jealous of  him; he is incredibly toned, one ripped out six feet of lean muscle, approximately 0% body fat, can eat anything he wants, all day long, the most caloric stuff, and his weight never changes. It’s not fair. He could breathe in the whole Maggiano’s kitchen and still have the body of an elite athlete. He also has an insane vertical and is a volleyball beast, basketball extroirdinare, and excels at every other sport he tries. And he never works out. That’s the disturbing part. Oh, and his eyelashes are really long. What is up with this world???

I made peanut butter cookies on Wednesday, which he finished off in about four hours (they were the most perfect consistency ever... I don’t blame him...), chocolate and white chip cookies last night (which he ate most of), and am itching to bake more if I wasn’t trying to lose a couple pounds and didn’t have such an uncontrollable love affair with dough. Cookie dough is my nemesis. My mother in law kept a bowl of egg-less batter in her fridge for a couple of weeks specifically engineered for my enjoyment. I’m pretty sure I should be embarrassed by this. But I ate it unashamedly. 

I have also been running lately. A lot. I have “run” for several years for the exercise benefits, but never pushed myself and never ran a full mile without stopping (this is embarrassing to admit!). After the baby was born I decided enough was enough and I needed to become a real runner-- as in not stopping for miles and actually being fit. And I’ve done that. My first 5k was a wake up call to my inability compared to other runners. Therefore, I’ve been on a successful running stint for a few months now and am proud to say that I can run without stopping. For miles.

Over the course of achieving that goal, running has become more than a fitness/weight loss regimen for me. I love it now. It’s a daily habit I can’t skip. If I do, I feel unaccomplished for the day. Something is missing. It’s what makes me feel strong, capable, and in control of myself. And being able to see the long miles of running become easier and shave minutes off my “time”, makes all that sucking-in-air-for-life-after-a-long-hill feeling worth it. 

I was blessed before CJ’s birth to find a good deal on a good quality jogging stroller. It is by far my favorite piece of baby gear that is indespensible to me, next to diapers and wipes. And clothes. And blankets I guess. I use it every single day for more than just running... I couldn’t do without it! Every day he and I head out for “our” run... a couple times a week Clint will take him so I can run alone. BOY, when you’re used to pushing a 25 lb. child in a 40 plus pound stroller up and down hills, you feel like an Olympian when you’re running without it. I’m positive that pushing that stroller has made me a stronger runner. I'd highly recommend it although it can be painful.

Clint supports me in my athletic endevors, and I in his. It’s our little unspoken exchange. Of course, my abilites pale beside his. He’s amazing. *sigh* He hates to run, but he can run like nobody’s business. Lucky him... he ran once... ONCE... before our 5k early this year, and finished at 22 minutes. He never runs, did one practice run, and that’s how fast he did the hilly course? Is any one else amazed? I can’t get over it.

While I’m babbling on from one topic to the next, my Babelette (as Clint calls our mini-Clint) is snoozing and my Man is driving home from work with a huge load of old shingles on his trailer. I can’t wait for him to come home... he’s my best friend, my companion, my LOVE, and a thousand other things I can’t even define.

My faithful commenters are my dear friend Beth and my lovely (crazy) friend Morgen... but I want to hear from the rest of you too, or I will shut down the blog. Yes, that was a threat. Therefore, I’ll be asking a couple questions for y’all to answer. I used that word JUST for you.

1. What ways do you stay in shape? Running? Biking? Weights? Are you insane enough to do Insanity?
2. What is skill/sport/talent  your man excels at (if you have one...*wink*...) that you are crazy proud of and makes your heart go thumpity-thump?
3. If you are a runner, what is your fastest 5k time? (you tell me, I’ll tell you)

Let’s hear it! Wow that sounded super inspirational. Don't you want to comment now that I added that little excited "let's hear it!" at the end there? I think that'll be my new signature.