A Mental Shake-Out

I have most definitely found in the past few years that taking a run:

(a) starts my day off really well, and feel I invigorated,

(b) shakes out the brain cobwebs, helps me sort through problems and approach things a bit more chill than my nature tends to allow, and/or

(c) exhausts me in such a way that things around me don't really rock my world because I'm too busy being too tired. (HA!)

This was a morning I could have used a run for any of the above reasons. But, I was already showered and ready for the day, so I opted to regroup by going for a walk. I put on the ol' gloves and sweatshirt, though! It's a chilly one out there!

Frost is Fabulous!

Elly was excited to see me come home. That usually means she gets to go for a walk. Jacques came, too:

Elly thoroughly enjoys when I walk instead of run because she gets exploring time:

So, while Elly was exercising her sniffer, I was thinking about how many coins I've found on runs and how fun it would be to find one today even though we're not running (all exercise pays, don't you know, and I like it a lot when it pays in cash ...). So, we wandered on, and I felt Elly tug me like she wanted to go to the other side of the street. I ignored it. A few feet later, she tugged again. I thought to myself that if she tugged one more time, I'd go her way. Well, a few feet later, she did. I complied. And, she walked straight to this:

I am not even kidding. It couldn't have been a straighter line to it if I'd designed it myself. And, no, I don't think my dog has super powers (but, how cool would it be if she did?!). A few feet later, there was another penny, too! Super score!

On our walk, I also found these:

They're BB's from an air rifle. We've picked these up for years. It started when the youngest Pit Crew members were wee ones; they'd find them and put them in their pockets. (I'm seeing a family theme here on collecting things from the street ...) We have a whole collection of them now. I'll share that another day. But, know that finding these made me happy because the Pit Crewers still think it's cool to add to the BB box. It's the little things ...

One more stroke of good news to continue the McDonald's Monopoly update; check out what I won yesterday:

Sweet! (Both literally and figuratively!) We love love love the Fruit 'N Yogurt Parfaits! But, WHATEVER we're cashing in on the McFlurry! And, Aaron got an email letting him know the Diet Coke t-shirt is in the mail! With any luck, we'll win enough points by the time the game is finished for two shirts ... stay tuned!

Enjoy this Friday!! And, if things start not going your way, may you be able to stop and regroup with what reinvigorates you! See you after the chilly morning jaunt!