Today has all the makings for a miserable day. Alex and Ashley went back to college yesterday after being home for five days. It's cold in the house and I'm too cheap to turn the heat on when I'm home alone. It's foggy outside and I may not see the sun all day. And oh yeah, it's Monday. But it's actually a really good day, for the following reasons:
1. Persimmons
This picture of our persimmon tree was taken a couple weeks ago on another foggy morning. Now most of the leaves have fallen, leaving probably 100 or so bright round persimmons on a scraggly-looking tree reminiscent of A Charlie Brown Christmas. I decided I better pick some of the persimmons before they too fall to the ground. I have a confession to make - I've never picked a persimmon from this tree before. I usually let a friend pick them and have them all, but he didn't ask for them this year so I decided to acquaint myself with these strange little fruits. I picked a few then hesitantly cut one up and ate it. It was heavenly! Crisp like an apple, sweet like a pear, with a little bit of a tropical-mango-type flavor. So I went back out and picked another 20 of them. I still have no idea what I'll do with all this fruit but I guess I'll figure something out.
2. Exercise
I'm still plugging away at my Couch to 5k workout. It's progressing very slowly and I've repeated a couple weeks and taken a few days off. Last week I was wavering between giving up completely and going in for a check up to find out why I'm unable to run any length of time without feeling like I'm dying. Today I had a breakthrough. It's not my legs or lungs that keep me from being a runner, it's my mind. When I'm distracted by thinking of all the things I need or want to be doing, I forget I'm running and I can go farther. When I concentrate on time, speed or distance I psych myself out and think I can't do it. I'm still much closer to "couch" than to 5k, but I'm making progress, I'm challenging myself to do something hard, and most of all it feels really good when I've done something I didn't think I could do.
3. Spicy Food
I'm feeling a little bit of a cold coming on. Maybe it's allergies instead, or maybe I'm just coughing and sniffing because it's cold in the house. Whatever the reason, my favorite cold remedy is a spicy kimchi-flavored noodle bowl (a distant relative of cup-o-noodle or top ramen). That's what I had for lunch today, with a few drops of sriracha added for good measure. It was a nice hot bowl of throat-burning goodness and it made me happy.
4. Hawaii
Rick and I are leaving for Hawaii on Friday to spend a week vacationing with his dad and step-mom. I really dislike flying but I think I can put up with it this time so I can trade 50 degrees and foggy for 80 degrees and sunny.
I'm sure there are more things to like about today but it's still early and I haven't discovered them all yet. In the meantime I think I'll start packing and I'll eat another persimmon.
