Saturday night was when the moon was as close to the earth as it was going to get for the next 18 years. The strivingcynics went out into the cold to take some photographs.

the moon was big and bright....

My camera doesn’t hold a candle to mr. strivingcynic’s (he has a dlsr, I’m a point and shooter) but I thought this shot wasn’t bad. Plus it was cold and I wanted to get indoors (the advantage of pointing and shooting as opposed to carrying around a tripod I guess).

So, I fulfilled my countdown goal of  working my way up to running 5.0 miles in March. I ran 5.0 miles on the treadmill Monday in 49 minutes and 44 seconds. Admittedly, I do take a one minute break every 10-15 minutes, but the point is I RAN 5 WHOLE MILES!!!  W-hoo!!! For the moment, I think I’ll stick with 5 and maybe start working on getting the time down a bit. That’s a decision to make for April though.

As is only reasonable after running 5 miles (!!!) I found that I had food on the brain. So, I decided to treat myself by having pancakes for dinner that night. I have rarely ever made pancakes, but a family friend gave me a box of Kodiak Cakes flapjack mix (flapjack/pancake…same difference, right?). All you have to do is mix them with water (I’m just realizing this is probably the case with all pancake mixes…that’s why they’re mixes). I’d recommend this mix highly (I promise I’m not affiliated with them in any way, I was just really impressed with the mix).

But why just make pancakes when you can do add-ins? So, I cut up some bananas and threw in some slivered almonds (a new purchase for me, I usually buy whole almonds…I like the crunch so I like how the slivers scatter throughout).

my pancake making ensemble

Add a touch of maple syrup and……….they were so good! There will definitely be some more pancakes in my future!

the pictures don't do them justice...very yummy

While I’m recommending things, I had mentioned previously that I was reading a book called Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Dan and Chip Heath (which was more for work purposes, so I wasn’t thinking in terms my 2 countdown goal books). But, as I was reading it, I realized it was good to think about what the book was saying in terms of all aspects of my life.

Source

This is a very interesting book about why people find change hard, and how to motivate others to change. The metaphor they use (which they acknowledge comes from Jonathan Haidt’s The Happiness Hypothesis) is of a Rider on an Elephant. Both your rational side (Rider) and emotional side (Elephant) have to work together in order to bring about real change. Even though the Rider holds the reins, the Elephant is bigger and won’t always obey (or goes charging off in the direction he/she chooses). The Heaths talk about looking at a situation in such a way that is going to appeal to the Elephant and the Rider. There are also some really fascinating stories about people who were able to make important changes (even changes that saved lives) when the odds were against them by focusing on what was doable.

Well, enough of my randomness.

Did you see/take pictures of the moon last weekend? Do you want to brag about something? Recommend something?