Slump Bust

It's time for some changes around here.  I've been feeling in a bit of a slump and I need to come out of it!


1.  Exercise: Time to get back in shape!  I'm craving a mix of cardio and yoga.

2.  Food:  It is too easy to eat poorly!  Remember when I tried 2 new recipes every month for a year?  Lunch and dinner haven't been very nutritious.  I can change that with better meal prep/planning.

3.  Create:  I love to create and I need to allow myself time to do more:  craft, scrap, write, knit, etc.

Ready. Set. Go!

Soundtrack for this evening:  Diana Ross "I'm Coming Out"

Color Run 2014 #happiest5k

Today I ran in a Color Run race!  It was a blast!

I was thrilled to register for a Color Run race in my city.  I have always wanted to run in this race because it looks so colorful and fun.  Last year I raced in a "Color Vibe" race which is pretty much the same kind of running event. 

I was nervous going into this 5k because I haven't been very diligent about running and exercise lately.  Honestly I probably only started running 3 weeks before the race.   I started out easy making myself run 1 mile without stopping, then 1.5 miles, then 2 miles - but I never actually trained myself back to the full 5k length.

This week I went running twice with my friend that registered to run in the 5k with me.  She kept a little bit faster of a pace than I normally do and I was able to keep up!  Phew!

Today we were in the first group of released runners and we kept a good pace.  We ended up doing the race in about 28 minutes.  I usually run an 11 minute mile so I was really impressed with our time!

We ran through 4 color stations:  yellow, pink, purple, and blue.  I wore cheap sunglasses to keep the color out of my eyes.  The color stations were motivating to run towards.  If I felt tired I would focus on the next station and this motivated me to keep going. 

At the end of the race we received color packets and went over to the DJ station where we danced a little and then tossed our color in the air.  After this, we were plastered with color!!  I had so much green color on my face I felt like a ninja turtle!

I had a great time and I highly recommend The Color Run to anyone considering!

Lately

I just noticed that I haven't blogged in 1 month.  Okay, I haven't just noticed but I have been pretty bad at checking in around here!  I want to get better, truly I do! 

Here are a few highlights from July:

1.  I finished reading "A Feast for Crows" by George R. R. Martin.  One more book in the series to go!!

2.  A hot air balloon landed in our back yard.

3.  My dad turned 70 years old!!

4.  Hubs and I had our beach weekend up in Maine.

5.  I have done some scrap booking.

Hosting Family Meals

This past weekend we hosted Hubs family for a summer party.  BBQ, pool, and yard games were on the agenda for the day.  We had great weather – sunny and in the 80s!

In total we had 9 adults and 3 children at our house.  It was a full house and we had so much fun!

Hubs Family

We prepared chicken, steak, and veggie shish kebabs, potato salad, fruit salad, and pasta salad for the main meal.  I baked strawberry rhubarb pie, lemon meringue pie, and homemade vanilla ice cream. We picked up a sheet cake and celebrated Hubs dad’s birthday.

I can’t believe I never blogged about it, but last summer we hosted my family for a summer weekend and we prepared essentially the same meal for 10 adults.  Hubs was grilling in the rain last summer for this meal and by the time we finished eating together, the sun came out and we were able to enjoy the pool.

My family

Preparing meals for large groups is a lot of work!  For both families Hubs and I spent time preparing menus, grocery shopping, prepping food, and cleaning house in preparation.   

It is worth it to bring family together for good memories!  We hope to host our families at our home again soon.

There you have it.  This 30/30 item is complete!

TEXAS!

One of my 30/30 goals is to travel to 4 new states.  Last week I had the opportunity to visit San Antonio, Texas!

Texas was hot and sunny and I loved every minute of it!

The hotel that I stayed at was just a couple of blocks away from The Alamo.  After checking in, I grabbed my camera and headed out to see it.  It was a lot smaller than I expected it to be!  Admission was free and photos were not allowed once inside.  Really there wasn’t too much to see on the inside!  Visitors are quiet and respectful as they navigate between a few different rooms to view small exhibits.

The San Antonio River Walk is a walking path that follows the San Antonio River underneath the street level of the city.  There are several restaurants and shops along the walk.  Tour boats carry tourists through the maze pointing out unique architecture and city history.  At the end of a workday I caught a guided tour by “Rio San Antonio Cruises.”  My tour guide was pretty funny.  The tour was only $8.25 and it lasted approximately 30 minutes.  I recommend it if you find yourself in San Antonio!

 

At the recommendation of my boat tour guide, I ate dinner at Rio Rio Cantina on the River Walk. I ordered Chile Rellenos and a margarita – YUM!

On my last evening in Texas I wandered the River Walk to the Tower of the Americas.  A ticket to the observation deck cost just over $5.  There was no line so I went for it!  Only 1 elevator was running at the time I visited.  The observation deck was empty – I basically had the place to myself to check out the city from a new height.

 

I had a great time in Texas – I will need to take Hubs with me next time!!

Dairy Princess Celebrations

This past weekend I celebrated 50 years of dairy promotion through the Dairy Princess Program in my hometown. 

Each year, daughters of dairy farmers have the opportunity to compete for the title of Dairy Princess.  The selected princess works with her court of ambassadors and the American Dairy Association and Dairy Council to promote the dairy industry. 

Throughout the year the girls will visit various schools and events in communities to talk about the benefits of dairy in the diet.  The girls will also submit public relations pieces to local newspapers and radios to spread their message as well as attend local farmer meetings to provide updates.

How do I know all of this? Because I once served as Dairy Princess.  In fact, I served 10 years ago! 

Enjoying a milk based beverage before the banquet!

The Dairy Princess program had a great impact on me as a high school student. Learning how to coordinate large events and present to varied audiences was a skill that I took with me to college and even now continue to build upon in my current career.

I was thrilled to be invited back to the 50th Annual Dairy Princess Banquet and Parade. Of the prior 50 princesses, 23 returned to participate in the banquet and parade.  It was so fun to meet other women that have served over the years! 

Former princesses!

Although I am a bit removed from the dairy industry now, a part of me wishes that there were some way I could continue to give back to the program.  It would be fun to go back to coach and mentor new girls as they go through the program.

CHEESE!

The shirt reads "Once a princess, Always a princess."

The parade!!

Recently

Recently...
 
We painted our kitchen!  We painted it a similar shade of white to the previous color pictured below.  Nothing beats a fresh coat of paint!

The ice cream truck made its first swing through the neighborhood and Hubs and I pounced!  We literally waited in line with children in our neighborhood.  It was worth it!

We had post-Easter sighting of the Easter bunny.  He lives on the back 40 and he likes to take the scenic route around our pool.  Fingers crossed he doesn't interfere with our veggie garden!

Speaking of gardening, take a look at our raised veggie garden!  The garden has doubled in size and height this season.  We are looking forward to eating some homegrown goodness!!

Here's what it took to get the veggie garden and flower gardens in shape for the season.  Hubs lives for moments like this with his Subaru.

I was craving chocolate chip cookies and I attempted to make the family recipe.  They did not deliver on my expectations.  Nobody does it quite like sissy.

It's May 19th and nobody has been in the pool yet.  I'm thinking Polar Swim Party?

5 Random Things

1.  I am on the hunt for a new refrigerator.  Our fridge has made humming alien noises since the day we moved into our house.  Enough is enough.  It's not efficient, my cat is scratching some sort of foam backing off of it, and I refuse to clean it.  Currently accepting all sorts of opinions and advice on the topic of appliance shopping.

2.    April 29th marks 1 year of homeownership for Hubs and I.  Time sure does fly!  My current obsession is to get the kitchen painted before the 1 year mark.  I started this process by hanging up approximately 35 neutral and light blue paint chips on the wall.  Hubs and I are slowly narrowing down the hues.  We are currently at 21 paint chips still in consideration.  Wish us luck!

3.  I'm in the 8th week of a "weight loss" pre-programmed elliptical workout.  I have 2 more workouts to go until I have completed this workout program.  I am stumped at how I continually only burn 350 calories during each workout session.

4.  It was 80 degrees yesterday.  It is snowing at this very moment.  Winter. Just. Won't. Stop.

5.  Have you every washed the blinds in your house or apartment?  It is so tedious but so necessary.  I recommend jamming to your favorite Pandora station to help you make it through.  My spring cleaning goals are as follows:
April:  Clean the blinds
May:  Clean the windows
June:  Buy some curtains or something

Window Pane Decor

I acquired this old window pane from my mom.

She gave it to me when I was in grad school living in a HUGE apartment all by myself.  At the time, we put some pretty batika fabrics behind each pane of glass and hung it on a wall in my living room.  All of my apartment visitors commented on it and I felt like it was a really unique piece.

I have had aspirations of hanging this window pane in the master bedroom of our house for some time.  It has been residing in our basement collecting dust for almost a year until I recently sprang into action to get this back on the wall!

Our master bedroom is painted a light gray-blue color and our bedspread is a neutral light brown.  I decided that I wanted to pull in coral as my accent color for the room.  Coral is a tough color to come by - but after 2 fabric store trips, some Etsy browsing, and google searching - I found what I needed.

I decided I would select 4 coral based prints and 4 blue based prints to balance all of the color.  I searched for geometric prints and patterns that I thought would look good side-by-side.  The majority of my fabrics were purchased online via Etsy.  One of my fabrics came to me all the way from Australia!  Pretty cool, huh?

I cut my fabrics to size, ironed them, and taped them around cardboard cut to the size of the glass panes.  Next, I taped the cardboard to the wood panes of the frame.

Here is a picture of my final product hanging on the wall opposite of our bed in the master bedroom.  I love it!

I recently picked up coral sheets at Target and light blue nightstand lamps at Homegoods to continue tying the room together.

My next project for this room:  a homemade tufted headboard!  I think that a tufted headboard will really complete this room.  I've been surfing tutorials on how to do this online.  Hubby is up for it - we just need to find some time to get started!

I'm still here!

I'm still here I promise! It's been awhile, eh?  Regular posts to resume soon. :-)

New Year, New Goals

Happy January!  As we enter the new year I’ve been thinking a lot about my personal 30/30 goals.  There are a few goals on my list that seemed ho-hum to me. I don’t think that I should keep items on the list if they don’t excite me. 

With that being said, we’ll be saying goodbye to a few goals I originally identified and welcoming in some new ones:

Visit Barbados

Pay off student loans

There – I said it.  Yes – this is a big deal.  I just want my student loans to be gone and to have the extra dollars in my wallet.  It’s going to be amazing when I send that last payment.  It’s going to be more amazing to have that monthly payment as income every month.  I can’t wait to drink to this. 

This item is replacing my “Visit Barbados” goal.  I still dream of visiting Barbados and I know that I’ll visit someday.  Realistically, I may not get there before I turn 30 and this is okay with me.

Buy a Bicycle

Hold a garage sale

I currently have my little sisters bike on borrow.  Since she’s joining the Peace Corps, the bicycle borrow time is pretty significant.  I think I’ll stick to riding hers around until I have to give it back or I’m able to find a good deal on a bike for myself.

Last summer our neighborhood had a garage sale day.  Unfortunately, Hubs and I didn’t realize what was going on until we walked around and saw all the garage sales.  I plan to be prepared for an upcoming garage sale day.  I am ready to purge some items we have in storage.  I’d also like to see how much extra cash we can bring in by letting go of the old.

Join a book club

Start a craft group

I enjoy reading.  For some time I thought I might enjoy reading with others and other social aspects of a book club.  Sometimes the idea of joining a book club that already exists gives me anxiety. I picture the club as a group of women that already know each other and are friends and I would be the new person and it would be too much pressure to try to assimilate. I’m a bit of an introvert and I think I may just enjoy reading for pleasure on my own.

I do love the idea of doing more crafts and doing them with others that are interested.  I think it would be fun to start a craft group where each member rotates selecting a craft and hosting a craft night.  I didn’t come up with this idea on my own.  Growing up my mom participated in a “Craft Group” with several of her friends in the area. I remember tagging along to a few events with her.  I think this could be a fun “girls night” of sorts and I feel like I have plenty of inspiration from Pinterest to get started.

Learn to play chess

Learn to play a new song on the piano

I don't know how to play chess and this is why I identified it as a goal.  However, the idea of learning chess and playing chess seems like a chore.  Therefore this must go.

 

Hubs and I will soon be acquiring my grandmother’s piano in our home.  I’m very excited to have such a significant item in our house.  It will really help us pull together our second living room which currently is in a state of identity crisis.  When the piano arrives, I’ll be transforming the space into a music and reading room.  I took a few years of piano lessons growing up.  I’d like to brush up on my piano playing and play for fun every now and then.  Once the piano makes the move to our house, I’ll be searching for a fun new song to learn.

 Cheers to new goals!