An interesting statement on my mental health...

Tuesday (which was a short but ridiculously hot day) I got a "thank you" gift from my Team:Work teammate.  Ha!

Wednesday is the day my mental health probably started to decline. I slept all day. It sounds wonderful and once in a while it is nice. Ultimately though, it's probably not that healthy. I actually ran two errands, once to get bread for breakfast and once to the bank to cash a check.  I took naps in between.  I did not exercise. I did not cook. I ate plenty though. My "plan" was to do a long run Thursday morning to justify the food and laying around.

Thursday (that's today) I woke up at 4:00am because I have the wrong blankets on my bed and I was hot. I knew I'd be falling asleep as my alarm would go off to wake me up for a run and I just wasn't feeling it. So I turned my alarm off. Which is probably the most telling statement about my mental health. Because I love long runs. (Laying around all day sounds good, but there's a price to pay.)

Sometime today after naps one and two I had a "you should forgive yourself for everything" moment. These are the moments that I need to have to get myself back on track. So I forgave my lazy ass for not wanting to run and took myself out for a nice long walk instead. It was a really pretty day. And only in the mid 60's. (Yes, two days ago it was 100*.  As a Minnesotan I can assure you, the crash from 100* to 65* is nothing like the crash from 65* to 30*.)

This picture was taken in the middle of the city.  Seriously.  And that is why people in Minneapolis love it here.  Bonus points to anyone who can identify the lake!

Red winged black bird at the same lake pictured above (if that helps!).

Pretty flower growing in a neighbor's yard.

Irises are all over this week.

After the walk, I basically had no food in the house. I also had an episode on Tuesday where I took lunch to work only to discover it'd been frozen for about a year and was just generally a surprise. I basically subsisted off raisin bagels that day. But that lead to motivation to do some cooking for lunches. I had another goal of 'shopping on a budget' meaning paying cash for groceries. When's the last time I did that? So, I reviewed recipes, made a list and headed off to the Co Op. With my quartlerly discount I had just enough in my wallet for all my food and the super big box of laundry soap.

I got home around 7pm. It's 11pm now and I'm finally done cooking. I made:

• Wild Rice Salad except not really. It turns out Wild Rice is like $14/lb at the Co-op. Seriously!?! I refused. I got Black Quinoa instead. This dish wins the prize for looking the least appetizing. I did sample and it's pretty good, but I may have to verbally remind myself of the potential taste before deciding to pack this for lunch.
• I made Sesame Green Beans using this recipe substituting the green beans for kale obviously. I've made this before and love it. I usually use less honey than the recipe calls for.
• Tangy Cauliflower Salad is an 'oldy-but-goody' recipe. I don't make it a whole lot because it's really a side dish, not like a main thing I could really take for lunch. But it's so good that once in a while I make the effort of zesting a lemon anyways.
• Paleo Chicken Salad looks to be the winning recipe of the night. (Totally substituted sour cream for the mayo. I don't actually care about the paleo diet...) I was remembering the chicken salad I had that Mark made when I was in New York and wanted to try and make my own. WIN! Also, because I substituted sour cream for mayo it means that if I ever make it at home Dad will eat it.

Now I'm feeling a little bit better about myself and life. I seem to have recaptured my purpose a little. I swear, I think I love cooking even more than I love eating what I make. (Although I am going to dream about that chicken salad.)