Without running, I have been tired every night this week by 8:30. It’s an odd thing; one would think that if I DID run, I’d be tired but exercise boosts me in a very significant way. I’ve come home every day, gotten the kids fed, then fed myself and Ash but I haven’t really felt compelled to eat. Last night I made a fried egg sandwich on sourdough bread with a slice of colby jack cheese. Then I ate a banana. My entire life just feels out of whack this week. I always relish in taking time off from running right after a race. But give it a few days and I barely know what to do with myself and an open schedule. (Well, aside from these other jobs.)

I hate holding patterns like this. I have to work through the daily minutia to get to another place in my life while at the same time, I can see how quickly time passes and I’d love to hold on to it, use it to the best of my ability. And yet, there’s always that portion of my brain that feels so BORED and UNMOTIVATED. That’s the person who wins out when I fall asleep on the couch at 9 PM, wishing I’d just done one more load of laundry or graded a few more papers. Goal for 2012: work past the sleepy hump and make it to at least 11 PM to be productive. Caveat: if there is no actual work to be done and/or my body tells me to rest, omit this goal.

I ordered a ten pound kettlebell the other day which should come in today’s mail. Though running does help me lose weight, it does little for my stomach area. Though I claim that this extra skin/fat is my battle scar from having kids, I would really like to tighten it up a bit; just a little. I’ve studied video now on the best ab exercises. Seems like most focus on across the body pulls, which work the obliques. Pretty sure the only real way to burn that belly fat is straight up crunches. Perhaps 2012 will be: the year I finally stick to a weight training plan that includes crunches. Plan: Run 3-4 days a week and do kettlebell 2 times a week. This will also factor into those long, tired evenings.

2012 will definitely see some more advancement in these areas; let’s see how long I can keep it up!

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On a different note, someone new has picked up Spin Cycle, which I usually read on Vandy’s blog. Now Gretchen at Second Blooming is hosting.

So this week’s theme that you are to put your spin on is DREAMS. I’m going quite literally only because I have been having some very odd nighttime episodes lately.

Let me preface by saying that although I read a lot of vampires/werewolves/demons, etc, I am not into zombies. I could count the number of zombie movies I have seen on one hand and not even use all five fingers. I’m just not into them. However, I could probably count 7-8 zombie dreams I have had in the past year alone. Sometimes no actual zombies are present. In one dream, I was with a group of people driving a large van and headed towards what everyone claimed to be the road west, which was our salvation. I was in a mall parking lot that was trashed and the mall was clearly deserted, presumably after zombies killed and ate a bunch of people. We drove towards a road block where the pavement ended and only a vast wasteland lay ahead. I knew that on our tail was a horde of the diseased and this was our very last chance at survival.

The dream I had two nights ago was slightly different. It was as if I were watching the replay of something I had already lived. I was telling people that this was when the zombies would emerge so we’d better be ready to fight. I sat in the very last row of a semi-covered amphitheater and we awaited some sort of meeting. And I just knew zombies would come from the corners and attack. Cue random interlude in which we were actually in an Xmen team meeting and I was meeting up with Wolverine after what appeared to be a long absence from each other. The dream got weird here when I sat in his lap and listened to Cyclops drone on and on about upcoming missions and all the while, I kept thinking this magical moment with Wolvie would end soon when the zombies came. And then it did. And the sun suddenly disappeared from the sky and a giant lurching band of the undead pursued all who sat in the stands.

I seem to go weeks without remembering my dreams but then I’ll have 3 or 4 nights of exceedingly vivid imagery, which usually leaves me waking in a sweat, heavy breathing ensues. Then I can’t get back to sleep for a while. It’s not very conducive to my overall well-being.

Do you often remember your dreams?