A list kinda day

Today's a list kind of day, so here goes...

1. We used our gas grill last Friday night - the one the chipmunks are living under. I was afraid they'd get scared and go away, but I saw them running around over the weekend. :-)

2. There's a pair of mallard ducks that has figured out our patio is a good place to find food. Trey saw them last week just chillin' under the window feeder. We think it would be really fun if they built a nest nearby.

3. The Cubs are playing tonight, which means that despite Kindergruppe practice tonight, I'll be able to listen to or watch at least half the game.

4. My company has Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance, and BCBS has this Blue Points program - a rewards program for healthy behavior. You can get up to 1,000 points per week for working out and eating right. I find the meal logging cumbersome, but have been logging my daily workouts for the past couple of months...so far I've cashed in at the 5,000 level for a yoga mat bag and am working toward the 50,000 points needed for a $200 Tiffany's gift card. In order to encourage Trey to work out a little, I told him we could spend $200 more on the new grill he wants to buy next year if he starts doing this, makes it to 50,000 and earns a Target, Lowes, or Walmart $200 gift card. Sneaky, isn't it. :-)

5. I love air travel. I know canceled and rearranged flights can be a pain, but I still love the fact that I can get on a plane and less than 3 hours later I can be in the same place it takes 16+ hours to get to via car. That being said, I think I'm starting to suffer from motion sickness - on our trip to San Antonio I got nauseous during takeoff and stayed that way for a good hour into the flight both going and coming home. Motion sickness runs in the family, so I think I will need to get some Dramamine for the next couple of trips I have booked this year.

6. I think I am suffering from allergies in a new way this year. I haven't had any major stuffiness like last year so I've tried to avoid taking Claritin....but last week in my voice lesson my teacher said I sounded really weird, like I was sick and congested. I've also had a hard time running because my heart rate gets up too high too quickly, and in other workouts my heart rate is up much higher than normal, too. I'm thinking this could also explain why I've been so fatigued for the past couple of weeks. I took a Claritin today, and will tomorrow morning...we'll see if my run tomorrow goes any better and if the next week is any easier.

7. There was something else I wanted to blog about...I thought of it Wednesday and I haven't been able to remember since. I need to start carrying around a pad of paper so as not to forget these things.

Happy Friday!