There has not been much running going on this week—as in maybe 5 miles total so far. It has been a crazy busy week, plus I am trying to lay low and let my hamstring fully heal before I start running crazy high mileage again. If I decide to. . .
I don’t enjoy being in this limbo land. I like my routine, running a lot of miles, being legitimately hungry, and feeling strong and athletic. Yet, sometimes when I’m in the midst of training, feeling tired all the time, and devoting every morning and evening to working out, all I want to do is come straight home after work and relax (which still never happens). But breaks like these always make me appreciate my workout routines.
With my extra time, I have enjoyed meeting up with friends and cooking dinner each night.
One night we had sandwiches and salads for dinner. I love preparing a nice salad and fancy sandwich because they are easy and don’t take much time to prepare.
The sandwich was the Gaullois Sandwich from Eat Live Run’s blog. There was ham, brie cheese, pecans, and sundried tomatoes on it. Amazing! I have made these sandwichs before and featured them on my blog a while back. 
I also made this Apple Pistachio Salad with Sherry Shallot Vinegar. I am not a fan of blue cheese, so this salad was just so-so in my mind. 
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I don’t know why, but I have been feeling especially blessed these days.
As you may know, if you have been following this blog for a while, I have really struggled with living here in Alaska. The transition was much tougher than I ever expected. There were many tears and times I felt lost in my new “home.”
I moved here six years ago and was fine for the first year—everything was so new and exciting, but shortly after that, I absolutely hated living here. Things were different than the Midwest, I felt out of place, and I desperately missed my friends and family. On top of not enjoying being here, I was trying to figure out my career path, find my place in a new church, was a newly wed, and didn’t have the support of friends and family being close by.
Not everything has ironed itself out, but I am in a much better place now. I still don’t care to live in Alaska, but I have come to terms with being here for the time being, I still haven’t figured out a career path, but I am hopeful that will come eventually. I am starting to feel more comfortable at church and now know everything there is to know about being married. Ha! TOTALLY kidding. I still live much too far away from friends and family, but we have made some good friends up here and enjoy spending time with them.
I have found myself feeling especially blessed these days. I have a much less stressful job compared to teaching (but something I am much less passionate about), a home we love, opportunities to travel a fair amount, friends to do things with, and a great husband who loves and supports me like no other.
Hi! I started following you recently, mostly because you are a runner in Alaska and I am moving there next May! I love running and was worried that I wouldn’t be able to run much up there. Anyways, reading this post is getting me to think a lot about how tough it’s going to be to move up there! My husband and I went there on our honeymoon in June and fell in love with everything about Alaska, although I know we haven’t experienced the cold yet! We’ve been looking for a new place to move and we feel that Anchorage is a good fit for us right now. Do you have any advice for moving up there? It sounds like it was tough to get used to it and I feel like we’re going to need all the help we can get! Sorry if these are weird questions!
Advice for moving. . .I’m not even sure where to start!! Are you talking about the physical move or just the transition to moving up here?? You can check out my post “Things I’d Wish I’d Known Before Moving to Alaska.” That might help.
Haha I guess everything! I don’t even know where to start. I’ll check out your blog post though, that might answer a lot of my questions! The whole thing is a bit overwhelming since I’ve never moved so far away (we live in Philly) and I just hope I’m prepared for the winters!
YAY! Feeling content is fantastic! I’ve been in California for three years (last week actually) and just realized that I’m in that comfortable place here too.
Thanks for sharing 🙂
I wanted to say I really enjoy these posts and your reviews of food and other products.
Michelle, God is always watching over you and Blessing You!! Glad you are feeling His Blessings now!
I stumbled across your blog and I’m so glad I did! It addresses my questions about relocating to Alaska, and my secret fear: What if I get there, and I don’t like it…I have much to consider.
I think there’s that fear with moving to any new place. However, it is a little more tricky and inconvenient when moving to and from Alaska.