my first twenty-ninth birthday

The first year I noticed Google's birthday doodle, I thought they had personalized my homepage because it was MY birthday. I think I went around all day thinking they knew my birthday and would personalize everyone's homepage when it was their birthday.

Turns out I was wrong. I just happen to share my birthday with the search engine mastermind.

So happy birthday, Google. Thanks for making my day a bit more special. Here's to my first twenty-ninth birthday. May there be many more (twenty-ninths) to come!

seventeen before twenty-seventeen

When I first came across the idea of creating a list of seventeen things to do before I rang in 2017, I was immediately in love. Mainly because it incorporates my love of lists and my love of setting outrageous goals for myself.

Thirty seconds later, I flipped to a brand new page in my bullet journal (because I've become one of those people) and started writing. I had fourteen ideas down when I enthusiastically told Ryan about my new prerogative.

His immediate reaction was, "Oh God, here we go."

Because he knows that I often come up with crazy, unattainable goals. And I mean CRAZY. I once started a greatist challenge while increasing my mileage training for a half marathon. Both of which never got finished.

But, I beat him to the punch. My mindset going into this endeavor wasn't to go all or nothing. I wanted to make sure these were achievable but still challenging goals. 

With my first fourteen goals "Ryan Approved" I finished up the last three earning approval by the end of the day. Some are a little vague but I have notes in my bujo (oh how I love that term!) explaining more about what my complete goals actually are.

Without further ado, my goals...

If you had to create a list of seventeen things to do before you ring in 2017, what would some of them be? What would be the one thing you want to do by the end of the year?

Until the next checklist. Peace out, cub scouts.

- A. Rae

math and logic | count me in

Let me preface this post by saying, I love puzzles. Especially, especially, especially, ones I can solve. Logic and reasoning make my heart go pitter patter.

So when my best friend texted me this picture last Friday, I immediately knew what I would be doing for the foreseeable future.

She also texted it to Ryan since he's a math nerd. Once he knew I was working on them, he got in on the action too.

The challenge is, using only the numbers 1, 9, 9, and 6. come up with equations to equal the following numbers. You can use any combination of operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, exponents, and square roots) but the numbers must appear in that order.

It's basically jeopardy for numbers. The numbers you had to solve for are:

28                         73

32                         76

35                         77

38                       100

72                    1,000

As an example 6 was solved.

6 = ( 1 x  9 ) + sqrt ( 9 ) - 6 

Alternatively, you can also create the formula a little differently.

6 = 1 x ( 9 - 9 ) + 6

Once you realize there's more than one "right" answer the challenge becomes a little more interesting. Which was even evident between how Ryan and I approached the solutions. When we teamed up on the numbers we knocked all the formulas out in just under an hour.

Care to try? Grab a math savvy friend and let me know how long it takes you.

Until the next puzz-lé. Peace out, cub scouts.

- A. Rae

thoughts on being a morning person

You know how sometimes, you're told something over and over and over again that eventually it feels like the truth? It takes on this life of its own and now it's a fact. 

For me, it's being called a morning person. I've been seemingly pigeon-holed into this character that joyfully leaps out of bed each day, ready to tackle anything that comes my way.

But in reality, my mornings are quite the opposite. Sure, I get up earlier than I need to. I like the morning quietness. Yeah, I get into work an hour before my coworkers. Because I like easing into the work day. And then, by the time everyone shuffles in, I'm finally "on."

Don't let my typical morning cheer fool you. I greet each new day with a grumble followed by a cry for more sleep. I just also realize that I need to get up, get out, and get done. 

And those mornings are full of quality ME time. By the time the rest of the city wakes up, I feel like I've at least done something. Especially on days like today when I logged seven miles for my twentieth run in a row. Even Smashrun told me I rocked it. Although, I think they indulge me when they say "fast."

I can't always rock these kinds of mornings but it sure does make the rest of the day easier. But what about you? Do you rise and shine or burn the midnight oil?

Until then. Peace out, cub scouts.

- A. Rae

Again, I am not sponsored by Smashrun. I've used it for about a year and recently paid for a pro membership out of pocket. The free service is really great, I just wanted to support the great work the team does. If you're already on Smashrun, you can find me here! If you're not, you can check it out here!

my life in numbers

After a truly horrendous commute home yesterday, I'm ecstatic it's the weekend. Mostly for two whole days with ZERO reasons to drive anywhere. Me + Traffic Jams = Nicht Gut.

After a little math pick-me-up (which I'll talk more about soon!) and a little chocolate, I started my weekend running my fastest mile ever. Ahem, a 9:39, thank you very much. *confetti*

So after restarting my weekend, I'm especially determined not to mope around like I've done the past few weekends. I'm gonna go explore a little and bring my camera to capture some of it. It's hard to believe my time here in Germany is rapidly coming to an end. Again.

In the meantime, here's some numbers I'm thinking about...

Twenty-five. The number of days until I jet set home!

Nineteen. My current run day streak.

Eleven. The number of working days I have left here in Germany.

Ten. The number of days until I kick start the last year of my twenties.

Seven. The countdown until Ryan comes back and we road trip it to Oktoberfest.

Side note: Wouldn't it be great if there could be magical confetti cannons that go off when you do something huge? No? Just me? Mmkay.

Until tomorrow. Peace out, cub scouts.

- A. Rae

it's the freakin' weekend

Every time I write that post title, I ALWAYS finish the line. It's like a compulsion a la Sheldon Cooper. Do you know the rest of it?

"Baby, I'm about to have me some fun!"

Let's just sweep the context of that song under a rug, though. My weekend will include no freakin'. Just things like lots of sleep, coloring, and running. You know, single lady stuff since Ryan is currently stateside.

Even though he is three thousand some odd miles away, this September is shaping up to be pretty fantastic. So far, I've run my first 15k ever! I've earned a couple of badges for running five and then ten days in a row.

I just finished day eleven and the streak lives on!

Then this past Thursday, Ryan had bought me a ticket to go see Sam Beam (of Iron & Wine) and Jesca Hoop on their Love Letter for Fire tour as an early birthday present. I'm not ready for you yet, 29! First, Sam Beam is eighty percent beard mixed in with a whole lot of pure talent. Second, you know how some people sound exactly like their albums when they perform live? Sam Beam is. So. Much. Better. I bought the tour album to only find out I have no way to play it! No disc player in my laptop. None in the car. Serious first world problems over here.

But first world problems, bring some pretty sweet first world benefits. Like my favorite chocolate being on sale! Guess who's going broke this weekend?

This month is just going to keep getting better and better.

Until the next chocolate bar. Keep it real, happy meal.

- A. Rae

adventures in heidelberg

The city of old stone bridges, older castle ruins, and even older universities. Birthplace of kings, x-men, and little liars. Home of four rugby clubs, dual doctrine churches, and one rabbit hole of a christmas shop. Our adventure for a weekend.

Until the next adventure. Peace out, cub scouts. 

- A. Rae

magic in the mornings

I just want to say that I hate seeing five o'clock in the morning. Sleep has always been my friend and I treasure it and our friendship dearly.

But there's something to be said about the quiet energy in an early morning. It's like this gently buzzing thing waiting to be set free. Although, to be fair, it could also be the wind rustling leaves, or the rabbits hopping around in bushes. I'm going to stick with the energy thing.

So three days this week I parted with my friend sleep and woke up at five. I wanted to get my runs out of the way since it was supposed to be scorching (it was high seventies/low eighties - read: I'm a wimp) by the end of the day. That and I had a little badge motivation.

Yesterday, after I dragged my ass out of bed and ran two miles, I finally earned that early bird badge. And when I'm doing these runs before dawn, after watching Game of Thrones, the whole "the night is dark and full of terrors" thing is a little unnerving. 

But that morning energy is unreal. I didn't even feel like I needed a nap on those days. And we'll just forget that I wanted to hug my pillow at eight each night and sleep for a thousand hours. I'm very serious when I said I treasure my sleep friendship.

Thankfully, the weather is supposed to cool off so I have a little more flexibility for my run schedule. That and there are other badges out there waiting for me to get them!

What motivates you to run? A training plan? All the food? I asked my husband what his was. His first thought? Food. He quickly reneged and changed his answer to beer.

Until your find yours, keep pounding pavement. 

-A. Rae

Again, I am not sponsored by Smashrun. I've used it for about a year and recently paid for a pro membership out of pocket. The free service is really great, I just wanted to support the great work the team does. If you're already on Smashrun, you can find me here! If you're not, you can check it out here!