Although spring is finally in the air, I am still enjoying making and eating soups. This Spring Pea Soup recipe can be served hot or cold, and would make a great side dish at Easter dinner or a spring brunch.
The recipe is based on Ina Garten’s Fresh Pea Soup recipe, but I used frozen peas and made a few other changes. Continue reading
I’ve been on my bike a few times this winter, but between the frigid temperatures and snowy bike paths, I’ve had to do most of my pedaling inside. Now that spring is here, I am ready to get back out there, and Bicycling and Rodale PR sent me the perfect book to review that has me motivated and inspired to up my cycling game.
Last year, I got to review The Bicycling Big Book of Cycling for Beginners, and I am still trying to put its lessons into practice when I ride. The Bicycling Big Book of Training is the perfect sequel, with information and guides to help you improve performance on your bike. Continue reading
What does As Good As It Gets have to do with being a Christian? A few weeks ago, my priest was able to draw an unlikely but fitting connection, based on this scene.
If you haven’t seen the movie (or haven’t seen it in a while), you need to know (or remember) that Jack Nicholson’s character (Melvin) is a miserable person–“a cranky, bigoted, obsessive-compulsive writer” according to the summary on IMDB. In this scene, you also get a glimpse of his obnoxious self-importance and overall rudeness!
You also need to know that Helen Hunt’s character (Carol) is a waitress who works where Melvin has breakfast every day. When she doesn’t show up for work, he tracks her down and helps her for largely selfish reasons (no one else puts up with him they way she does!), but her kindness and gratitude seep into a crack in his crusty outer shell.
In this scene, Carol insists that Melvin pay her one compliment–just one–or she will walk out of his life forever. After struggling to come up with something, he finally says:
You make me want to be a better person.
Do you see where this is going? 😉
Being a Christian–striving to follow Jesus’ teachings and live the life He calls us to live–can make us want to be better people. We may fall miserably short like Melvin, but hopefully we are at least a bit kinder for trying.
[Tweet “Who inspires you to be a better person?”]
After church, I found myself thinking of the people in my life who make me want to be a better person. Some people came to mind immediately, but I wondered about the influence of others.
Take my BFF at work, for instance. I had almost decided that she does not make me a better person since she is the person I turn to when I need to bitch vent, but then I realized that she is really good at taking the time to get to know people … and listen when they need to unload. 😉 I could be a better person if I followed her example and made more of an effort to get to know my colleagues at a more personal level.
Are there people in your life who make you want to be a better person?
While Eat Pray Run DC, Mar on the Run and You Signed Up for What! have suggested “Spring” as today’s Friday Five link up topic, I want to talk about heart rate training and ask for your advice. I’ve been using my heart rate monitor for a few weeks, and now that I have a general idea of my heart rate data (as you can see from the five graphs below), it’s time to figure out what–if anything–I want to do with it.
I have a hard time remembering to photograph my food for a full What I Ate Wednesday post, but on Sunday I decided the accountability would help me get back on track after a week of conference meals and restaurant dinners. So, for this What I Ate Wednesday post I’m sharing what I ate last Sunday.
![The Ultimate Coffee Date](http://got2run4me.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Ultimate-Coffee-Date.png" "The Ultimate Coffee Date")
