Loving/Not Loving: The Friday Five Edition

There's just so much to love lately. 

I am loving the fall weather that we have been blessed with! It has been amazing, with temperatures in the 60s and 70s, and minimal rain. It was super windy earlier this week, but with those winds came the warmth. I didn't love that it was warm for the marathon, but it could have been so much worse. I have to admit that after crossing the finish line, it was nice to be warm. I'm not loving that the Farmer's Almanac is predicting a cold winter for us again. I hope they are wrong, and that this warm trend continues into the winter.

I'm loving not being in training for anything! My runs are easy and relaxed. With no paces to hit, I can take time to smell the roses--well, it's fall, so not the roses, but maybe the leaves? Do you know that smell? When I was a child, we used to rake the leaves. There were no blowers back then. We made leaf houses and leaf piles to jump in. Today the smell of the leaves took me back to those days. I love not having to hit a pace or meet a distance goal. But what I'm not loving is in spite of all my free time, I can't seem to get anything done! My house is still cluttered. My closet is in disarray. Maybe I shouldn't have been blaming my marathon training for all that...

Speaking of the marathon, I'm still loving that my oldest son came to spectate with his girlfriend. And he even put his arm around me for the picture she took of us. He and I have had a tough year or 2. I'm starting to feel like he's coming around. We actually have conversations now. This past week, he baked a pumpkin and used the filling to make pumpkin muffins, which were delish. He also made scones. This is stuff he used to do when he was younger. This really warms my heart. But I'm not loving that he quit his job (he's going back) and that yesterday, he decided he wasn't going to school. No reason, he just didn't feel like it. Sigh. Baby steps, right? He did go to school today... small victory...

Looking vibrant as always!

Yesterday I had lunch with Marcia. I am loving that I have met some really nice, like-minded friends through blogging and Facebook. Marcia is one of the first bloggers that I followed. I have gotten to know her pretty well over the past couple of years and I really enjoy her company. Plus we are supportive of each other, and not at all competitive. Marcia has given me a lot of guidance, especially with running and my blog. At lunch, we talked a lot about blogging and one thing both of us are not loving is the undercurrent of ageism that seems to be pervading the blogosphere. Why do sponsors need to know the age of the blogger? Isn't it enough to be a good runner? A good writer? Gotta love those comments I've heard from people (not on the blog thankfully) after running Chicago about how I did well for "someone your age". Yikes.

I'm loving my new Apple Watch. Do you have one? This was a totally indulgent, "I want it" kind of purchase. I do love my gadgets. I'm still figuring it out. But I can't get enough of Mickey Mouse dancing on my screen. I need a watch with a sweep second hand for work, and you can switch watch faces to one that has that feature. Pretty cool. My patients are really intrigued by it. There's a basic fitness tracker, which I haven't tested out yet. Nike Plus has an app for the watch, and I've been playing with that a little bit. I've never used Nike Plus in the past, but I like the look of the screen and maps. Using it with the watch requires a couple of extra steps, but I'm slowly figuring it out. For now, I'm wearing both my Garmin and my Apple Watch on the run. Stay tuned....I'll be writing more about it as I get comfortable with it. There's nothing not to love here.

What are you loving these days? Not loving? Are you training for anything? Have you met any friends through social media? 

This week's Friday Five Linkup hosted by the DC Trifecta is 5 Things I Love. They are also celebrating their 2nd Linkupversary, so be sure to not only check out all the posts, but congratulate them on hosting a very successful linkup! Plus Courtney at EatPrayRunDC is getting ready to run MCM this weekend, so wish her luck!