Hey, hey, hey FFF friends! I’m feeling good and spunky so let’s get this post going.

You would think I have some serious good news to report with that chipper greeting, but I don’t. Not really anyways. Today has trucked along like many other Wednesdays. I woke up at the ripe hour of 5:30 am to have my usual hour of morning time before needing to get dressed and out the door for my run. Quick pause – why does 5:30 am seem soooo much earlier than my normal 6:00 am wake up call? It felt like I lost two hours of sleep rather than thirty minutes. And yes, I know some of you crazy people (that I love dearly!) wake up at insane hours like 4:15 am. You crazy. Crazy crazy crazy!

Well. So much for a quick pause, huh? I would say sorry…but I just type and things like that happen. It’s natural. Anywaaaayyyyssss….

This morning I drove to the running path with a smile on my face ready to take on a five mile tempo run. My plan called for a one mile warm-up, three miles at an 8:20-8:25 tempo pace, then a one mile cool down. My legs took until mile four to catch up, but I’m still very pleased with the run. 🙂

• Mile 1 = 9:43
• Mile 2 = 8:39
• Mile 3 = 8:38
• Mile 4 = 8:19
• Mile 5 = 9:04

Interesting that my pace doesn’t look that different over the course of the run, but it sure felt different. And boy can you tell it takes me a couple minutes to find a steady pace at the beginning. Up down up down. Ha! Please excuse my running dweebism. I’m queen of the tangents apparently today.

After that the day looked pretty normal. I had some breakfast. I played with the kids. I tried to sneak in a few emails to catch up on. I put away dishes. And then, suddenly, something hit me out of the blue. I didn’t want to just coast through the day taking the precious people in my life for granted. Namely, Peter. I love trying to sneak in little spontaneous surprises for him and it saddened me that the last time I could remember was bringing him hot cocoa by surprise back in December! For shame, Tina!

So I pulled out some paper and jotted him a little love letter right then and there.

Then, packed the kids in the car and drove out to his work to slip it under his windshield wipers for him to stumble across when he gets out of work.

Little gestures like that make my day and I know he will appreciate it as well.

Peter and I certainly put forth the effort to show each other our love and support on a regular basis, but there’s just something about simple surprises that goes a long way in my book. It goes above and beyond and, in my opinion, keeps the spark more alive by lessening the opportunity to take each other for granted. Sometimes I have to remind myself that relationships take work and we shouldn’t just coast on through, even if they run well without the extra steps. I need to do these things more often! Heck, it will probably brighten my day even more than it will his because I’m a romantic cheeseball.

Now, I gotta get going. A typical Wednesday day has now become a typical Wednesday afternoon/night. Busy busy busy!

• What time of the morning is that breaking point of being too stinking early?
• What small gestures mean the most to you from a loved one?

I love a good workout for a burst of energy! I felt a little tired this morning but, after I got moving on my workout for the day, I instantly felt better. I repeated the same full body weights circuit from last week because I didn’t feel like coming up with something different and then tackled a fun session of intervals on the elliptical.

Repeat the 10 minute cycle until you reach your desired time. I did 30 minutes worth and accomplished a pool of sweat by the end. The perfect remedy for my tiredness. Which I really need to get under control. And believe me, I’ve tried! I just can’t fall asleep at a reasonable hour because I keep breaking one of the “rules” we received when going through our required pre-marital counseling - leave the bed only for sleep and “canoodling” to keep it a place of peace. Find somewhere else to talk it out. I guess I can see the point, but I have never been one to follow it!

We head up to bed at a reasonable time, but I then become super chatty. I guess I want to dump out all the thoughts rumbling around in my head? And I feel like we don’t have as much time as normal to talk talk talk when he gets home from work. Instead of having 2+ hours to talk his ear off after we get the kids in bed, we only have maybe one with limited other distractions right now.

The last month has picked up a few things for both of us to work on at night. He has a side project for work in something he finds interesting and a fun challenge. I have to fit in time to study for personal training to follow after that dream. We have to make time as a family with the kids, so those tasks inevitably fall to after their bedtimes. I guess I try to make up that extra hour of chat time when we crawl into bed. We’re figuring it out to make sure the ebb and flow of life loading more on our plate right now doesn’t become the standard. Having time for each other is most important to us.

And having enough sleep. Although I’m still not so sure on that “no talking in bed” tip. 😉

• What are some of the weirdest pieces of advice you have received?
• Do you have trouble shutting your mind off at night?