March Recap & Fashion Fast Update

It's April!
Winter is over!

Well, sorta.
This is Iowa.

We definitely had more sunshiny days versus cold ones and I'm glad to say things are finally turning green with the rains of this month.
Even though the rain never stops.
I'm not complaining.
Sorta.

March came and went so fast. I literally blinked and we were 2/3 of the way through the month.
However, I did manage to meet some of my goals:

- Run 100 miles this month: I made 111 miles in the month of March! This turned out to be a goal that kept me sane during this busy month. You can follow all my training on dailymile (I have a widget on the sidebar)
- Finish War & Peace: I'm still reading. I have less than 500 pages to go and a few days to finish. I'm hoping to wrap this up mid-month. I have now checked this out from the library 4 times....

- Send out wedding save the dates: DONE!

- Make some progress on baby Gwen's blanket: About halfway. I didn't have as much time to work on this during March as I would have liked, but it'll get done in April. 

Here is a little update on the rest of my goals for 2013:

- Spend time in the word and prayer more

Thanks to some amazing She Reads Truth plans for Lent and Holy Week, this has been easy. Our small group also started back up and I'm feeling very encouraged and blessed by the things I'm reading in the Bible. I think this is the first time in my life that I really WANT to read the Bible. All of it. Over and over. I want to be one of those people that can relate real-life scenarios to a Bible story.

I've been trying to pray more often and more effectively. She Reads Truth plan for post- Easter is all about prayer and I'm learning so much! Mornings with devotions and prayer has really become a special time for me.

- Stop over committing (rule of 2)

This has been pretty easy. I think I'm getting better at saying 'no' and not having a license sort of makes it impossible to do just do whatever, whenever. I'm really, really, looking forward to tax season being over so I can spend time reading and sitting on my patio writing.

- Get simple (fashion & spending fast)

I broke down.

I forgot I scheduled a Stitch Fix box for the last week of March as a reward for not buying anything for the first quarter. This was before I decided to not buy for the whole year.

Of the 5 things, there were 2 shirts I really liked.

So I caved.

See? how could I resist? I'm calling it an early birthday present and I made myself get rid of 4 shirts as penance. #balance

As for other spending, we booked a trip for our birthdays and I hired a painter for my house...so yeah. I see the trip as a good investment and treat for us. We are seeing one of our favorite bands and visiting lots of friends. It will be a really good time and probably the only trip we take this year. Also- we paid cash for it with bonus/tax money so I didn't charge anything.

- Eat (mostly) vegan

I think I've mentioned more than once how my sugar habit is out.of.control.

Jami did a #whole30 and is now all hatin' on sugar. Like the sugar police.

(I kid, I kid. She's awesome and I live close enough to her we could be real life friends. That may just happen.)

But anyway- it inspired me to be more mindful about my sugar intake and QUIT FEEDING MY FACE WITH DESSERT.

Seriously.

I haven't broke myself of the chai or the latte (I love that creamy spiciness), but I do sugar free when I can and I'm considering a pre-30 years old 30 day clean up of me. In honor of getting old.

At this point, I'm picking one day a week that I get a treat on. This varies because things come up. Last night I had this.

I split it with T and it has vegetables in it so it basically doesn't count and makes up for the vegan peanut butter cup I had on Monday.
Right?

Obviously, I have work to do here.

Use the #imoversugar hashtag on Instagram to share your healthy eats. It's super inspiring.

Also, check back Saturday for  a Homemade Larabar Recipe.

- Give priorities priority (more family, regular volunteering, scheduled write sessions)

I got to spend a lot of time with family this month.

Maybe it doesn't seem like a lot but we aren't the 'see each other every week' kind of family, so a birthday dinner, Easter celebration and whole day with my nieces was a special treat.

Volunteering is going great. I love, love, love serving food to my people downtown.
I'm actually signing up for more days and hoping that I can get to know each one of them a little better.

My scheduled writing sessions have been damnear impossible during tax season, but I expect that to change very soon.
I can't wait.

- Rest in the big picture

You know, T and I have had so many talks about our upcoming marriage and what our future will look like. I was dealing with my old house this month (finding a renter which came through- seriously, Praise Jesus) and we had a serious discussion about our future living arrangement and fears with being in such close quarters together.
We love each other. A lot. But we also love our alone time. It was good to admit that and talk through all those things we might be feeling a little nervous about. And also, to remember that we get to be married. To each other.
It's pretty exciting stuff.
Our future is so bright and the big picture in front of us is an adventure I can't wait to start.

Goals for April:
-#imoversugar: Give this a real shot. No excuses
- Finish War & Peace: i swear. this time. for real. I WILL FINISH.
- Blanket: It's going to be too warm for blankets by the time I finish if it's not April. So this one is getting top priority.
- RELAX:  #restisbest Tax season is coming to a close. Bike season is starting. Taco Tuesdays!! Yesssssss.

How was your March? Can you believe 1/4 of the year is OVER??

What goals do you have for April? What is your favorite thing about spring?

Talk to me, people.

Sunday Seven 3-24-2013

It's been a quiet, snowy Sunday around here.
I ran a quiet and steady 6 miles before church this morning.

Total of 25 miles for this week

I baked some delicious Irish Soda Bread, prepped meals for the week and went on a little clean and purge.

Delicious with a small tab of sweet cream butter

Soup for dinners, rice/veggies/black bean burgers for lunch, overnight oats

It's been a nice day, good ending to a pretty good week:

1. I got my first Voxbox in the mail this week!

So far I've tried the Nectresse all-natural sweetener, the Dickinson's witch hazel wipes and the BelVita breakfast biscuits. So far, I'm really enjoying trying out these products. Thanks to Influenster for sending me the items to try!

2. This was my first Tuesday night off since January.

Yum- Stout beer. 

I enjoyed a little happy hour and chatting with this guy. It's been a long time since we had Tuesday night date night!

3. We got to have a lovely birthday dinner with my mom and sisters

She got a GIANT cookie skillet at the restaurant so I made her pose. :)

Look how tiny baby Gwen looks with Aunt Amy!

I'm not sure what she thinks of me, but I like cuddling her. :)

4. NCAA wrestling tournament was in town this weekend.

T and I volunteered to serve at the IA Craft Brew Tent

We stood in the cold for 6+ hours selling 16 oz beers to a bazillion beefy, squatty, cauliflowered-ear guys. It was pretty entertaining actually.

5. Saturday was a great day: race, relaxing and a birthday party for a friend.

I got 6th in my age group!

Post run oatmeal

Amazing donut cake, cute kids and cool guy. Happy 30th Wayde!

My 2 item makeup routine even worked out perfectly Saturday night. 

6. Screen shots I love from this week:

This made me laugh

Great picture, great quote. 

This sounds fantastic

I love this shot. Mornings are my favorite. 

7. Did you know that Google Reader is going away? I'm sort of irritated about that. Probably because I am 1000 blog posts behind and I don't think I'll be caught up by July. Ha! But I think I'm going to switch over to Feedly. What about you?

How was your week? Did you watch any March Madness? Do any power reading to clear out your Google Reader?

February Recap & Fashion Fast Update

It's the first day of spring but it sure doesn't feel like it!

We are experiencing some bitterly cold windchills here in the Midwest...nothing like the warm temps we were experiencing last year at this time.

However, we've had our daylight savings time switch and our days are getting longer so warm temperatures can't be far away!

Plus- our little indoor plants are starting to bloom!

Either way, I'm ready for bike rides, sunset dog walks and reading on the patio. 

In the meantime, here's a little update on what I was up to during the month of February.

Just to remind you, I had some general goals for the year:

- Spend time in the word and prayer more
- Stop over committing (rule of 2)
- Get simple (fashion & spending fast)
- Eat (mostly) vegan
- Give priorities priority (more family, regular volunteering, scheduled write sessions)
- Rest in the big picture

I'll be honest, I didn't even plan any specific February projects until about halfway through the month and by then I was overwhelmed, burnt out and ready for some rest.

So...instead I'm just going to focus on the GOOD that happened in February.

I've been really focused in my morning devotions. I changed up my morning routine to do my #shereadstruth before I even get out of bed. I like to read while I'm under the covers and then say my prayers out loud. I started doing that a few weeks ago after our small group started back up. My pastor likes to use this quote when talking about prayer: 

'To clasp hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world.' (Karl Barth). 

Since I gave up coffee for Lent, I think it is the best way to start the morning. Just me, the good word and Jesus. I dig it. 

My last espresso latte on Fat Tuesday

I still miss coffee. HA.

BUT- I think I've finally found a balance with the occasionally soy chai tea latte or steeped green tea when I'm craving something warm and soothing.

And speaking of giving things up...

This book is wrecking my life in a bazillion amazing ways. 

I'm really enjoying walking through the book with my church small group and connecting with other bloggers who have worked through the series. I don't think I'll ever be the same after reading this book.

I sucked at time management in February.

As I mentioned, I ended up overwhelmed, burnt out and ready for some rest in mid-February. 

So I took a couple days off work. I cooked, cleaned, met  my brand new niece and just enjoyed a break from all the craziness of working 7 days a week- sometimes 12 hours in one day. 

4 course Vday dinner created by yours truly

Baby Gwen

Evening sunset in my hood

I still have so much to learn about finding balance in my day-to-day life but lately I feel like I hit a stride. Hoping it sticks around. 

Aaaaaand....month 2 of NO SHOPPING!!!!

I'm not having any issue with this. I have been purposely avoiding catalogs and fashion emails and since we are in perpetual winter maybe that makes it easy. 

Along with stressed out and burned out- my eating habits suffered. 

My favorite local ice cream sandwich- Fat Tuesday indulgence

One of a few cupcakes I ate this month

I still meal-prepped and ate mostly healthy during the day, but at night when I had time to assess all the things I had going on, I'd get stressed. And miss coffee and want snacks. So I may have ate a lot of popcorn and cookies. 

I'm trying to turn that around this month!

I'm avoiding late night eating and keeping a food journal to help me identify those times when I feel snacky. I think staying up late leads to bad eating habits for me so working on more sleep too.

My volunteering gig is going great. I love serving people so much. 

My amazing fiance recommended a writing night and it was so therapeutic. Just what I needed!

 I had a great girls night with my running group friends- love those gals!

I even found an hour to donate blood one lunch break- feels good to give back in such an easy way!

T and I spent a Saturday afternoon with the little of my family- checking out dinosaurs and eating Zombie Burger. The kids loved it.

And of course- date nights with this guy.

Never. gets. old. 

February was a trying month. 

I struggled with my schedule and with emotions. I felt like staying in bed for days at a time. 

But I came out of it. And I'm learning. 

How to listen to my body. 

How to listen to my soul.

How to adapt to challenges.

How to not always fight the flow of life. 

How to try again.

So for March- I'm making goals:

- Run 100 miles this month: I'm already over 60 miles and 2 weeks to go. I hit a BIG goal last week of 30 miles!! If you don't already- find me on dailymile.

- Finish War & Peace: I'm about 500 pages in and it's getting interesting. I'm scheduling reading time and plan to make big dents in it this weekend. 

- Send out wedding save the dates: almost done! Just a few that I had to gather addresses for.

- Make some progress on baby Gwen's blanket: I started it but have a ways to go. I might need a little coffee shop time for reading and crocheting. 

- And of course- #restisbest

How was your February? Do you have any goals for March? Does it feel like spring yet in your city?

Sunday Seven 3/3/2013

It's been a couple weeks since I've done a real Sunday Seven.

You know, all kinds of things cutting into my blogging time...you know, like life. :)

So you are going to get a random assortment of all the things I've been loving these past 3 (wow, has it really been 3??!) weeks:

1. This little lady graced the world with her presence.

Meet my newest niece- Gwendolyn Mae. Already a Hawkeye fan!

2. I made a 4 course meal for T for Valentine's Day. It was so fun to take a day off and cook and clean and do something super yummy and sweet for the day of love.

I made beet and goat cheese hearts for salad with BLT tomatoes, an antipasto tray, pasta puttanesca (thanks for the recipe Lisa!) and my very first cheesecake. It was fun and tasty.

3. I did some volunteering with the American Heart Association.

It was a great excuse to wear bright red lipstick!

I also started volunteering 2 times a month at the local youth shelter- serving an afternoon meal. I cannot tell you how much I LOVE it. It is probably the most rewarding experience I've ever had to date.

4. I have been having some GREAT runs. I'm keeping close to about 20 miles a week and the random 45 degree days here and there are a blessing.

After a great 7 miles in the warm Sunday sunshine. 

5. I got to spend some time little people. T and I took my nephews and one of my nieces to lunch and to the Science Center. It was fun and chaotic and crazy. 3 kids under age 6. I have no idea how people do that!

I love this picture. Perfectly captures the day. 

Little girls are slow walkers and get free rides. from Uncle T. 

Someone loves the camera!

Then we all went to my sisters house where the kids played and played and I got to snuggle this one. It was a great day! (I was asleep by 9 PM on a Saturday night- I'm so old. HA).

6. I met a girl named Deena through my run group. We clicked and became fast friends. But now she's getting married and moving to Mexico! We still sent her off in style- girls night at Louie's Wine Dive complete with mini cupcakes!

The delicious butternut squash flatbread I had

Mushroom soup- SO GOOD

Our little run group! (horrible pic by waiter)

Because every celebration needs cupcakes!

I am so glad I met Deena- she's the coolest! Check out her blog about training for a 100K!

7. We've had a lot of snow lately. And wind. And ice. I'm over. it.

Roxy is sick of it too

What happened to that fat groundhog and his spring predictions???
Hmmm.

What have you been up to? 

Can you believe it's March already??