Travel, Travel and More Travel.

I've realized that I like Arkansas more than I thought I would. I guess I always envisioned this state as flat and boring, but there are parts with lots of mountains and hills and so far Fayetteville and the nearby suburbs have proven to have good coffee shops, museums and restaurants.

A cappuccino with soy from a place called Mama Carmen's Coffee in Fayetteville, AR.

It's kind of embarrassing to admit that one of the hardest things about traveling for me is my inability to cook and try out new recipes. I used to hate cooking growing up and would always tell my Mom that I would rather clean the entire house than help cook dinner. My, how things have changed. Having all these good restaurants to eat at hasn't made things easier either. I keep coming up with new ideas of things I want to bake once I get home and can't wait to experiment in the kitchen. I've even made a list so I don't forget.

Another hard thing about this trip is lack of endorphins I've been able to get. Somehow I hurt my hip last weekend. I've only gone on two runs since I've been back from Africa and the day after a really short run I realized that my hip was killing me, even just to walk. So with a hurt hip, lots of meetings, and staying at our friends house it's been challenging to find time to exercise.

We finally checked into a hotel last night and this morning I was able to do some elliptical, walk on the treadmill and lift weights. Even though I didn't get to get my heart rate up very high, it still felt so good to move. I'm hoping this hip problem won't last long and that I'll be able to start training for my next half marathon soon. I have a limited window of time that I can train for another half marathon before heading overseas again, so I'm hoping I'll be able to start next week. We'll see!

A typical breakfast while traveling...microwaved oatmeal with chia seeds and almond butter.

We fly home tomorrow and I can't wait to spend a whole week at home! I'm hoping to soak up some sun, go on a long bike ride and whip up some new recipes to share with you all. Stay tuned.