Are you running anymore?

"Are you running anymore?" a friend asked.

No, not lately.

But I haven't given up. And I do have a half-marathon on Sunday.

This morning, a guy got shot and killed by a police officer in my neighborhood. It's a good thing I wasn't running around.

We went to Ventura and visited the mission there. I don't have any 4th graders, which is when California usually has people study the missions -- but my friend does, so we tagged along on her field trip and my private school is offering mission studies to 1st, 3rd, 7th and 9th-graders this year.

After the mission tour, we checked out the thrift stores. My 14-year-old found records, which are his new passion. Paul gets a kick out of how our kids romanticize old technology. First, the 12-year-old got fixated on typewriters; now, the 14-year-old is interested in records.

The highlight for me was I found a pair of black Tony Lama cowboy boots. In my size. For $12.99. I usually have a pair of black cowboy boots, but I usually pay $30-$50 for a fashion-y pair, not something of such high-quality. They usually last a year or two. These will last a lot longer -- and were quite a deal.

Eating out at the grocery store

I was on the road for a lot of yesterday, doing a little job.

At dinner time, we had lots of options. There was fast food everywhere.

But, it is really hard for me (or anyone) to eat something satisfying and still on plan at a fast-food place.

So I stopped at a grocery store, where I was able to pick up salad, a Greek yogurt and a bottle of sparkling water for me. I had Ry-Krisp crackers, which are on my plan, in the car.

People always talk about how it's more expensive to eat healthily, and there was an element of that with my meal. The Perrier was an indulgence, of course. But even without the water, my meal came to $3.50. There are plenty of fast-food options that would've cost less than that.

Current compulsions

In the past I've eaten a bit compulsively and bitten my nails compulsively.

I don't do either anymore.

But that's not to say that I haven't developed other, less damaging compulsions.

For a while I was running a bit compulsively. I've also escaped with reading.

I'm doing less escaping right now, but I have slightly odder compulsions.

First, there's Groupon. I am a bit addicted to those kinds of sites, the ones where you get a limited-time bargain.

Then, I'm addicted to picking up small jobs I find online that involve evaluating customer service. The money usually isn't particularly good, but there's almost always an interesting experience involved. Or a free meal.

The problem is that they keep me out of the house.

When what I should really be doing is developing a vacuuming compulsion or something else more directly helpful.