Plugged in.

I just finished my run and am enjoying a ggod peach and well deserved coffee. It's been a busy week of wedding stuff and the next one promises to be so as well, thus, I'm going to enjoy a bit of a respite today. I'd like to get done as much as I can before back to school meetings start in the middle of August and I'll be away for a week soon so I'm definitely feeling the burn, so to speak. Once classes start it's 10 days until our wedding so getting as much completed before work makes my life crazy and takes up most of my time seems to be the prudent choice.
Anyhoo, in preparation for said nuptials there have been a few things going on in and around the old house. We're putting in some stone work in lieu of grass in one part of the yard and my cousin is spearheading this project. He ripped out the lawn, got 1300 pounds of flagstone into my little-car-that-could

and laid it out in the yard with my brother's help. My grandmother's putting in fast growing ground cover type plants to go in between the stones. Nice work everyone! I watched and worked on wedding programs. 
On a different note, I carry my phone when I run. It's technically for safety but I listen to things while I'm getting in my miles. It used to be only music, fast tunes with a quick beat {think Black Eyed Peas and certain Taylor Swift songs} but in the past year I finally branched out into podcasts {I'm a HUGE fan of Ira Glass} and even more recently I've delved deeper into some category of base and shameless runner that I never thought could exist; I run while listening to TV shows or movies on Netflix. I can access Netflix on my phone, see, and I don't watch them, obviously I'd not see where I go, rather, I just listen and follow along. This morning I listened to Food, Inc..
There are some running purists in the world who don't believe you're one with your sport/nature/God/etc. if you do anything else but run while you're running. There are lots of races where headphones are not allowed, though it's more for safety {so that you can hear things around you...like people!} but some smaller races definitely ban them out of moral reasons.
I need to confess, though; I sometimes get bored. Please don't get me wrong, I love running. I suppose it can be kind of love/hate as I believe all running relationships are to a certain extent, but the overall feelings I harbor towards running are extremely affectionate-addicted. I run a lot though, and mile after mile can get tedious. I also get tired, especially after a day of standing up in front of adolescents. The thought of tuning out to some of my favorite music is sometimes what gets me out the door.
So I'm OK with it, really, I am. I wear headphones and listen to things while I run and I make sure I'm not too zoned out to hear the approaching cars at intersections. I don't really care how I get out the door and off the couch, as long as I do. The joy I get from completing any run, no matter how long or short, entirely eclipses any self imposed guilt. I also realize that I'm not always going to be able to run {though I'm going to try my dangdest hardest, by golly} and I am going to be grateful for the runs I get in every day, even if the Real Housewives are my only motivation.
xoxo, natty ♥