Everyday Comfort

My Meal Plan

2014-09-05T08:37:00.001-04:00

They always say if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail. I am not 100% sure who "they" are, but a lot of bloggers quote them, and it seemed pretty fitting for my goals.

I mentioned on Wednesday, that I would be loosely following IIFYM (some info can be found here), and I thought I should clarify. I have tried so many different "plans" out there to lose weight. Weight watchers worked for a while, carb cycling worked for a bit, counting calories works a little, but nothing stuck. Well, I never stuck at anything to be more accurate. After doing a ton of research, I decided to look into IIFYM a little more.

The areas that I struggle with are eating way too many carbs (this includes whole grans, pastas, breads, fruits, starchy veggies) and not enough protein. To be honest, these other "plans" also had me eating too few calories. 1200 calories a day for a person my height and bone structure is not realistic long term. Yes, the weight will fall off at first, but it is not a long-term approach for me.

When I plugged my stats in, I was told I should be eating over 1700 calories a day, and it broke it down to me with how many should be protein, carb and fat. I am not using this as a free for all to eat cake and donuts all day. That would make me incredibly sick. I am using it as a guideline to ensure that I am eating the correct amounts of nutrient dense foods, with small treats here and there where there is room. (By small treat, I mean some strawberries and angel food cake, or some sugary cereal that I am craving in my greek yogurt, not a large pizza because #iifym y'all!)

I want to be completely transparent and honest, if this doesn't work, it doesn't work. If it does, awesome. I want to find a way that works for me to be the healthiest version of myself that I can be. I want to pass down good eating habits to my future non-existent children. And I want to find a way that makes sense.

I have spent some time this week browsing pinterest and google for fun new recipes that I can try (especially with Julian being out of town, I can try things without him questioning), and ways to incorporate budget friendly, healthy meals for the week. I found a great speadsheet on-line (can be found here) and have been using it to plan out my meals for the week.

I am not done with it yet, but it is a work in progress.

Right now, it is a lot of work to plan out this much, but I find when I don't have a structured plan, I just eat whatever I want (which usually consists of tortilla chips or lots of pasta). This is a very rough draft, and I may tweak things slightly to fit what is on sale for the week at the store, but basically this is what I will be eating this week. I plan to take measurements on Sunday to get an accurate starting point and will be tracking on My Fitness Pal (bethjoy5). I also will continue to run 3 times a week (I really want to get up to 4 times a week though, but I am starting out with small goals that I know I can attain first).

WIAW

2014-09-03T08:37:00.003-04:00

I haven't linked up for a What I Ate Wednesday post in quite awhile, but figured that I need to start being a bit more accountable with my meals.

With Julian being out of town recently for work, coming up with dinner ideas have been a bit of a struggle. Yes, I can eat whatever I want, but then I also have to cook for just myself which is never much fun. Two nights last week I was pretty successful at whipping up some yummy eats (the other nights not so much).

Shredded chicken on a toasted flatbread with sriracha and asparagus with cherry tomatos

Quinoa veggie stir fry. I need to make this weekly

I really want to start eating better and will be loosely following IIFYM (I know, I know I just said that I hated the idea of this plan, but I need to get my carb intake under control). Granted, I think I ate my weight in tacos last night, but so far today I have had greek yogurt (with cereal) and coffee with unsweetened almond milk. That's a better start right?

This week's dinner will be fairly simple again, but I am definitely planning a stuffed baked potato and some whole wheat pasta with sauteed peppers. My food scale was delivered on Friday so I am excited to be able to start accurately measuring my food.

Cultural Differences

2014-09-02T15:24:00.004-04:00

This past weekend we attended (and was a part of) the wedding for our friends Ryan and Tracy. Something to note, we technically attended two weddings for our friends. A Vietnamese ceremony in the morning (Tracy is Vietnamese) and a more standard "traditional" American wedding in the evening.

The bride is in the middle with her sister and cousin on either side. The rest of us were the remaining bridesmaids

The wedding day was seriously a blast. After the first ceremony we headed to the salon for mimosas and to get our hair done. I seriously loved my hair that day. I wish I had a good picture of it, but the salon took a bunch and I am impatient awaiting them to post the pictures of our group.

The ceremony and reception were both so much fun. Julian and I were both in the wedding, so it was fun getting to spend time with him during pictures and all of that fun stuff. Erica (my best friend from childhood-on) was also at the wedding with her husband, and they actually stayed with us that night instead of making the trek back home (first official guests in the new house!)

Julian and I at dinner

So happy to see Erica! I don't get to see this girl nearly enough

Annnnd some blurry shots because I took them off of instagram ;)

The bride and I in her 3rd dress of the day.

The rest of the weekend was filled with house stuff and going to my dad's for a last minute cookout yesterday.

Goals

2014-08-26T12:42:00.000-04:00

I read a really great article today (found here) about keeping promises to yourself, and I couldn't agree more. I keep talking these big talks about getting healthy, losing weight, becoming more motivated, doing more with the blog, etc., but when it comes down to it, I lack the follow through. I do great for awhile, but my goals are always a little out of my realistic reach and I fall short and get overly discouraged.

Little attainable goals are great because when I hit them, I am encouraged to keep going and make another small attainable goal. This cycle continues until I can reach my big goal (this is seriously the only way I made it through my huge project at work this year, I took it one week at a time). Do I want to lose 20 pounds? Absolutely. Is that realistic at this moment? No. But, losing 5 pounds is. Consistently tracking my food on MFP (username bethjoy5) is easy, and my calorie goals are a lot more feasible than before. (Seriously, the site set me up with 1200 calories, no freakin way! I was always starving!) Now, I aim for between 1400-1600 for right now, as I get more consistent with my running and increase my mileage, I plan to up my calories as well. (There is such a thing as eating too little!)

Another attainable goal? Research things first, follow them second. Too many times I have hopped on board band-wagons of things that lasted about 5 minutes. My life is busy and my husband is picky. Whole30, Paleo and the like are not reasonable for me. Eating mostly whole clean foods as often as possible is easier and something I can get Julian to agree to. I am swapping white pasta for whole wheat. Guacamole for avocado. Regular peanut butter for natural. Little swaps that make a huge difference in the long run.

I am also realistic that some days are better than others. I was running late this morning so I didn't get a chance to pack lunch, but I had some snacks/breakfast ready to go and ran to Subway on my break. Turkey on wheat (no cheese) with tons of veggies and just a dollop of yellow mustard.

I am making promises to myself to take things one step at a time. To make healthy choices and to lose these first 5 pounds. If I can reach these for the month of September, I will be happy, and then I will re-evaluate and go from there. I want a family one day, and the best thing I can do for myself is to be in as healthy physically and mentally as I can be.

Decisions

2014-08-25T08:58:00.000-04:00

With the new house, I have had to become a bit more decisive on things. I can no longer just think, oh well it's only temporary. I have been trying to get the house put together, but it is taking much longer than I thought. Between trying to stick to a budget and being busy, we are still in boxes and don't have a lot of the things that we want/need. We have been very lucky that our parents have gifted us quite a few of the necessities (mower, washer/dryer, garage door opener).

So right now (when I am not working), my life is consisting of choosing curtains for the downstairs (I refuse to put up blinds and block out our natural light), picking out a new duvet cover for our bedroom, deciding on accent colors for each room (do I go with something bold for the living room or soft and calming?) and perusing Pinterest for hours on end. I realized that buying a house came with a lot of work, but I feel like it will be months if not a year before I get everything the way that I want it.

Something neutral and soothing like this

Or with bright pops of color like this?

My kitchen has pops of red (all to get with the bright red kitchen aid mixer of course) and the rest of the house is very neutral at the moment. Part of me wants to do something bright just to be different, but I don't know if it will be fun or just distracting.

In other news, I actually planned out my meals for this week and have a very healthy menu ready to go. And, I plan on running at least 3 days this week. Here is to finally getting into a better place.

Finding your groove again

2014-08-21T12:08:00.000-04:00

Now that the move is over, and life is slowly getting back to normal, I am struggling to remember what normal is. I am also trying to find out what I want my "new normal" to be.

This past year at work has taken about every ounce of creativity out of me. Now that this "huge work project" is stabilizing, how do I go back to my normal day to day functions? The past 6 months have been full of house updates. Now that we are in the house, what's next?

I have had a million excuses this past year why I have been lazy in other parts of my life.
"Oh, do the laundry? But I just ran, I need a break."
"Cook healthy meals every day? but I am soooo tired from work."
"Unpack all of those boxes? But we are planning to buy a house in a year..."
Now, work is normal, the house the purchased and running has gotten easier. What is my excuse now? The truth is, I have none. I can either go back to how things were a year ago, or I can find a new place for myself. Carve out a new nitch that I fit into.

I have always wanted this space to be a positive place for me. A place to remember all of the good things in my life. Right now, I am not sure what direction I want to take with it. Do I want to keep doing this, or do I want to go ahead and shut it down. Or, do I just change the direction of the place. I'm not sure yet. I am trying to find a focus for myself, and struggling.

As much as I love writing, I don't feel like I portray myself very accurately here. It is a lot of "life updates", but not much substance. There isn't a whole lot of depth. I feel that I have a lot of life experiences that could help make this better, but do I really want to open up that much on the internet? I'm just not sure.

Feels like the first time

2014-08-21T08:59:00.000-04:00

I haven't ran in about three weeks. Yikes. Three weeks ago, I got about 1 run in, and then for the past two weeks, nada. With moving, I just pushed it to the side and didn't worry. Well, something kicked into gear last night, because as soon as I got home from work I headed upstairs and changed to go running. I was determined.

I set out thinking that I could do at least 2.5 miles. I mean I was up to 3 when I had stopped running a few weeks ago, and moving is still a physical activity so I should be good, right? Wrong. I synced up my phone with the 3 apps I use when running right now. Pandora (Pit Bull station, for some reason this always works to get my energy up), C25K, and Map my Run. I am technologically high maintenance when I run, what can I say?

Anyways, I head out doing my 5 minute warm up walk. No problem. Even in 85+ degrees, it was easy. I start running. Not too bad, But very quickly, I realize how tight my legs are and I am drenched in sweat in no time. Yes it could be the heat, but this is what I have been running in all summer. In what feels like 5 hours later, my little app finally tells me that I am half way done. What?! Only half way? I feel exhausted. Out of breath and my legs HURT. I push on for a little longer, but eventually have to give up and walk home.

The end result? Not pretty compared to where I was, but still better than where I used to be.

I still want to run a 5k before this year is over, and I think that I have one all picked out. Now, just to get my stamina back up and convince Julian to run it with me.

Becoming a homeowner

2014-08-20T09:09:00.005-04:00

Well, it is official. Julian and I have moved into our first house. This past weekend was full of lots of hard work, late nights and sore muscles.

Saturday was the big day for us. We woke up bright and early to get the u-haul from the other side of town. I was trying to be practical and ordered the absolute largest sized u-haul I could get my hands on. 26 feet. Getting that into our apartment complex was not an easy feat. That I had nothing to do with. Thankfully, Julian is used to driving large trucks for work so it was easy for him.

Colton and I taking a moving day selfie.

After spending the entire day loading and then unloading the truck (with help from our 12 year old nephew, Colton), I am surprised that we survived with our marriage intact. Julian and I are both very stubborn people who feel that we are always right, so when you put the two of us together in stressful situations, we tend to bicker over little things. Such as the best way to get our king sized mattress down our apartment stairs which are smaller than said mattress.

Luckily, we got a nice little break from all things moving, when our friends Scott and Lydia stopped by with their precious baby, Sawyer. Tucker was quite intrigued with him, but luckily just wanted to see what was going on with the little guy I was carrying around.

Sunday was more moving, and getting some things from my dad's. Julian's mom and step dad stopped by later and helped us organize and place some of our furniture that we couldn't quite figure out, and then we had a lovely pizza dinner with our friends Ryan and Tracy and new neighbor, Jon.

Monday was supposed to be spent unpacking, but I wound up becoming incredibly sick and couldn't do much of anything. Needless to say, I need to learn to give my body a break rather than pushing myself as hard as I did this weekend. I also had yesterday off while Julian headed back to work, so I was able to get some more boxes unpacked and start organizing. We have a long way to go before we are done unpacking, but I can officially say that we are all moved in.

Finally listening to my body and taking a break on Monday. Even with a pile of boxes screaming at me to unpack.

Throughout the process, I have found that I am massively type A, indecisive and I get overwhelmed easily. Not a great combination. Luckily I have Julian who is very much a go with the flow kind of guy, a quick decision maker and seriously good at moving large objects. Now I just need to decide on how I want everything. So far though, I have two favorite spots. My kitchen which I LOVE and our front porch, early in the morning. Our neighborhood is seriously so quiet most of the time and when there is a nice cool breeze, I love just sitting and relaxing.

Things I am Loving

2014-08-15T09:02:00.000-04:00

This week has been a bit of a crazy one (I know I keep saying that, but seriously life has been pretty busy lately), but now that it is Friday, I want to focus on some things that I am seriously loving right now.

The weather here in Ohio. High 70s/Low 80s all week and into the weekend.
Moving day is tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I cannot wait to finally be in our house.
OSU football starts in two weeks. While I do not wish summer away, I am excited for football season.
Julian is going to run a 5K with me! I have been trying to convince him forever to go running with me, and he finally agreed to it! Next week we start running together. Since I am able to do a bit farther than him, I may run with him 3 days a week and then do longer mileage on the other 2.
Tomorrow is going to be perfect moving weather (kind of combining the first two points here). Low 80s and partly cloudy. Bring it.
Today is Friday and pay day! We have a ton of things to buy for the house, so pay days are going to be even more important to us for awhile. Lawn mower, outdoor lights, dehumidifier, ceiling fans, garage door opener, the list is seriously about 14 items long and I just started writing it out this morning.

Enjoy your weekend!!!

Closing

2014-08-12T08:25:00.003-04:00

WE CLOSE ON OUR HOUSE TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so excited that I cannot even sit still. These next 6 hours at work are going to drag by until I can leave and head to the office where we will get the keys to our very first home (and sign our lives away for the next 30 years, but hey, it's all about perspective).

Being first time home buyers, there are so many thoughts and questions that run through my head on a daily basis. We have had an amazing group of people that we have worked with through this process, and I am so happy with the way that our house turned out. We have also learned a lot. I find myself looking forward to the upcoming months and endless trips to Home Depot and Target. There are so many ideas that I have floating through my head, that I am struggling with nailing down just one.

Thank you to everyone who have left sweet comments on these endless house posts, I really appreciate it :)

This is officially ours in less than 7 hours. Counting down.

Re-commit

2014-08-05T13:11:00.002-04:00

Now that my crazy schedule is winding down, I have some more time to focus on getting into better shape. For the past year, I have been focusing on making little changes. Whether it is running a few days a week (I am successfully up to 3 miles!), eating cleaner, drinking more water, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, drinking less, sleeping more, etc. The point is, I am near the end of my 20s and really need to focus on my health and well-being.

With that being said, this summer threw a wrench in all of my good intentions. Work has been crazy. Life at home has been crazy. I still try to get in workouts, I still try to eat healthy, but I have definitely not been as regimented as I should have been. I know that as we move and settle into the new house, there will be days that things aren't perfect, but I need to put more effort in. I need to plan meals when I can, and get at least 4 days of running in a week. If I could get up to 6 miles by my 29th birthday, I will be a happy girl (that gives me exactly three months!).

This week, I am just focusing on getting back to basics. I made a batch of protein pancakes (recipe found here), that I am re-heating each morning and topping with natural peanut butter for breakfasts, packing snacks and lunches for the work day, and focusing on portion control in the evenings. I want to get a run in as many days as I can, but I am also packing up our apartment, so my big goal is being active at least an hour every evening.

I am also toying with the idea of going completely "clean" with my eating (with the exception of a weekend treat meal), and Julian has been surprisingly on-board so far. I explained to him that it will change a lot of the things that I cook for him, and that he will have to give up Little Debbie snacks and pop-tarts, but he agreed. (He was a little concerned, however, when I came home from the grocery with no "treats" for him, so I need to find some clean recipes for cookies or treats that he can take to work and still enjoy).

In an ideal world, I would buy all local, organic food, but for today, I am just focusing on the less processed stuff that we can afford.

Anything you are doing to "re-commit" to a goal you set for yourself?

2014-08-04T12:12:00.001-04:00

Another weekend in the books. Another weekend where I got absolutely nothing on my "normal" to-do list accomplished. I did, however, spend time with friends, finish painting the house, do landscaping at the house, watch movies from the 90s, eat pizza and drink some very yummy drinks. (By I, I mean we obviously, there is no way I could have planted all 10 of the plants we had by myself.)

Perk of having a landscaper husband? He does all of the work while I stand there and snap pictures. I tried to dig one hole and he immediately took the shovel from me because I was too slow. :)

The mulch will obviously get cleaned up once we have our sod in, we just had to get the plants in the ground before our final walk through on Thursday.

I feel like all of my posts are surrounding our house, but honestly, that is the main thing in our life right now. And considering that we move in less than two weeks, it's a pretty big thing. We have lots of big plans for this space of ours, and I can't wait to get started on them.

Travel bug

2014-07-29T08:24:00.000-04:00

Julian and I have been talking lately about wanting to take a trip together sometime this fall. We have traveled together (and apart) a decent amount of times, but not many trips with just the two of us. I am torn between us going somewhere we know (Charleston, NYC, Chicago) or someplace that we haven't been to before (Nashville). We want something that is within driving distance (so 10 hours or less from Columbus) and where we can explore over a long weekend.

Just because I think it would be fun, I want to list out the places that I have been over the years. As a kid, we didn't go on many vacations because we didn't have a lot of money. The ones that we did take, were always memorable and my parents always did their best to ensure that we had fun no matter what.

Niagra Falls (first vacation I can ever remember. I was maybe about 5 or so and it rained the entire time!)
Hocking Hills (in Ohio)
Florida (Orlando, Daytona)
Gatlinburg, TN
Washington DC (the traditional 8th grade trip that a lot of schools take)
Nassau, Bahamas
Charleston, SC
Iowa
Colorado
Myrtle Beach, SC
Poconos Mountains, PA
London, England
Wales
Chicago
Wisconsin (Geneva Lake for fun and Madison for work)
NYC
Hawaii
Las Vegas
Sevierville, TN
Punta Gorda, FL (honeymoon)
Ft. Myers, FL
various small trips to states near here (IN, KY, TN, WV, VA, PA, NC for basketball camp, GA, etc)

Any suggestions on places we should visit?

Weekends

2014-07-28T08:08:00.003-04:00

There are some weekends that are the perfect combination of everything. This weekend was just that.
Friday night, Julian and I went on our second anniversary date of the week. This time, having dinner at Level downtown and then walking around the Short North. We don't really go downtown all that often, and it was nice to spend an evening doing something different.

Saturday, we both had bachelor/bachelorette parties to get to, so we parted ways for the day/night. The girls had a hotel downtown and then we went to dinner at Haiku (a really fun sushi restaurant here in Columbus) and bar hopped. It was a great night, even with getting caught in the rain while walking between two places. As much fun as it was, it reminded me that I am not in my early 20s anymore, and that I am glad that I don't frequent the bar scene. The guys are just a lot pushier than they used to be, so I swear, things were much more laid-back 5 years ago!

Julian and I headed out to his sisters Sunday afternoon to have lunch/dinner and celebrate his grandma's and dad's birthdays. Both of us were exhausted, but feeling pretty good and it was a very enjoyable afternoon spent with family.

This week will be spent packing up the apartment and trying to get caught up on laundry at home.With all of these busy weekends we have been having, we haven't had much time for our normal routine and I am definitely noticing it in my selection of clothes for work this morning.

Plans

2014-07-24T08:26:00.003-04:00

I have so many plans for my future. I always have. Some of them change, and some aren't possible, but I am a planner. I like to know what life will be like in x amount of months. In college, I can remember talking with my friends and I always said that I would meet someone right out of school (check), married by 25 (check), house by 26 (well, a little late), baby one by 28 (uh seeing as I turn 29 in less than 4 months, this one is a big fat no).
The point is, even with what I plan, life has other things in mind. As I get older, the more ok I am with this. Yes, I want to have a plan (ask Julian how crazy this drives him, when I ask 50 times "but what's the plan?"), but sometimes that just isn't possible. My plans for the remainder of the summer for example? Pack up our apartment, move, and try to have a little fun! This summer has been so busy that I haven't let myself relax much and I am in dire need of a fun weekend.
This weekend should prove to be that. While it is planned to the max (old habits die hard I suppose), it's full of fun things. Friday night, Julian and I are celebrating our anniversary part 2 with dinner downtown at Level. Saturday, I have my friend's bachelorette party (and Julian has the groom's bachelor party the same day) which should prove to be a night of planned/unplanned fun. Sunday will be spent recovering, brunching and packing. We close in 2.5 weeks and move in 3 so lots to do.
I'm not really sure what my point was when starting this post, other than rambling, but there ya have it. I am a rambler.

And because every post needs a picture, here is one of our little family on our first wedding anniversary. Wow these three years have flown by.

Three Years

2014-07-22T08:15:00.000-04:00

Three years ago, I got the chance to marry my best friend. Marriage is definitely not easy, and every day we try to work on making it better. Yes, we fight and sometimes those fights make us question things. BUT, at the end of the day, we love each other and would rather fix what caused us to fight than throw it all away over something that is usually stupid in hindsight.

I always see these posts from people on their anniversary about how their marriage is all rainbows and sunshine, but that just can't be realistic. Whenever you take two people and put them together, things aren't going to be perfect. I really don't think that marriage is supposed to be easy. How can you appreciate something that you don't have to work hard for?

One of my favorite quotes about marriage that I have found is this:

And, I couldn't agree more.

Over the past three years, we have had our share of ups and downs. We have had good days and bad. The good days definitely outweigh the bad. We also realize that we are both stubborn and opinionated, and sometimes that leads to some pretty heated disagreements, but it also leads to neither of us wanting to give up on something so great.

We have had many big changes throughout the course of our relationship including new jobs, family situations changing and now, building a home together. I honestly know that we can accomplish anything we want when we work together, and I can't wait to see what the next 80 years brings us :)

Lately

2014-07-21T10:28:00.002-04:00

Our weekend was spent painting our new house, and relying heavily on friends who made the world of difference.

Friday night started off with my dad dropping off my 12 year old nephew (who was spending the weekend with us) at the new house while we finished prepping. Taping off all of the baseboards and dusting the white drywall dust off of the walls took 3 evenings. That is crazy.

Colton was pretty excited to help

Julian was not a happy camper

Saturday we began painting, and if I haven't said it before, I will say it now. We have the best friends. Hands down. Our one friend came over and instantly started helping us paint, and my best friend and her husband made the trek all the way from our home town to help too. This is the girl that has helped us move every single time, and I owe her big time. Erica-seriously, let me know if you need anything!

After a day full of painting, we took everyone to get some dinner and then to catch a movie as a way to say thank you.

Sunday we headed back over there again to finish up the rooms that hadn't been done yet. By Sunday evening when my dad picked up Colton, we had everything painted, and all that is left is the areas where we need to touch up a bit.

Clearly happy to be done for the weekend!

Our anniversary is tomorrow so we will be taking the day off from any house related work and just celebrating three years of being Mr and Mrs.

Blogmopolitan Quiz

2014-07-18T11:20:00.000-04:00

I thought that this was so fun the last time Erin hosted this link-up so of course, I had to participate again! I always loved reading these in Cosmos, and it is definitely fun to fill in my own little answers.

Hop on over to her page to join in and link up!

In other news, we are painting this weekend! We spent the past two nights taping off all of the baseboards and tonight we are going to remove all of the light switch covers and begin painting some of the smaller areas (closets, pantry, bathroom). Each time we go there, I can't believe that it will be ours in less than a month! Sooooooo excited :)

Closing time

2014-07-16T10:40:00.000-04:00

Well, we officially have a closing date on our house! It will be August 12. So less than a month. Eek!

I really haven't decided yet if I am more nervous about this or excited, but I think a pretty even combination of both. I am so happy about the fact that our house is almost done, but it is kind of scary. We have always rented, if something broke, it was someone else's problem. Not ours. In 1 month we will be home-owners. It definitely makes me feel more like an adult. Cause you know, working over 40 hours a week and being married never did :)

I guess the biggest thing, is that I am waiting for all of this to sink in. Julian and I have been talking about buying a house for three years, and now that we finally are, it still doesn't feel real. Maybe it will when we spend all weekend painting? (To be honest, I am still kind of nervous that the bank is going to call us up and say "haha just kidding, no money for you!" which would make me incredibly sad.)

We still have so many things left to do though. We have to complete our "sweat-equity" (thus why we are painting this week. We do work and they put money towards our house, pretty sweet deal). We need to figure out when we are moving. We need to pack. We need to start planning for how we are decorating our house. We need to pack. Ugh, I hate packing. Did I mention we need to pack?

Hopefully once all of this house stuff slows down a bit, and things get settled I can find myself more of a routine again. I haven't ran in almost a week, and I don't know if I will get to this week. Every day I am heading to the house directly after work to do some prep and running isn't fitting in like I want it to. There is next week, right?

I love seeing that "sold" sign in the window, knowing that it is ours. :)

Weekend happenings

2014-07-14T10:46:00.001-04:00

This weekend was fun, yet extremely exhausting. We headed out Friday afternoon because we were staying with Julian's oldest sister while we celebrated his cousin's wedding. Friday night was the rehearsal dinner for us to go to, but first we lounged by the pool at their new house (it is the year of new places to live in his family--his sister bought a house, his brother is looking to buy a condo and his other sister is moving to a new apartment. And we are moving into our house), and gave our twin nieces their birthday gifts.

The rehearsal went well and then dinner was seriously yummy with copious amounts of wine. I think the drinking gods were looking out for me this weekend because I mixed like crazy and was not hungover once. That is a miracle for me, I am always hung-over when I drink (to be fair to myself, these hellish hangovers happen after 2 drinks or 20--I am not a lush that gets drunk all of the time). After the rehearsal we all stayed up late chatting at his sister's house.

Saturday, Julian had to head out early since he was in the wedding, but I hung out poolside again just relaxing and playing with our nieces and nephews. The wedding was fun, just really hot. It was in a barn and very Pinterest inspired, and looked beautfiul. After the wedding we headed to the bar Julian's sister and brother-in-law owns to enjoy some good drinks. Around midnight we were all starving and ordered some pizza for our little gathering.

Sunday we headed home to pick up Tucker and check out the house. Cabinets were installed this past week, and we start painting on Wednesday. We have just over a week to paint all 1700+ square feet, and I am nervous. We have a bit of help coming, but we want to get it all done this next weekend since we both work. Closing is scheduled in less than a month and we still need to plan out when exactly we are moving and how. I want to hire the movers, but that entails me calling around to get a quote.

As much as I love summer, I am looking forward to mid to late August when things slow down just a little bit for us.

What did you do this weekend?

This week

2014-07-08T08:07:00.003-04:00

Try as I might, posting more than once a week has been challenging this summer. Life is just busier in the summer for us, and with work also being busy, I am lucky to even get lunch breaks let alone the little 15 minute ones that gave me time to update before.

The holiday weekend was a good one for us. We spent Friday by the pool, at an impromptu cookout and heading out with some new friends. We went to World of Beer at Easton, and I have to say it is a new favorite to go to. There are hundreds of different beers there, the waitress will let you try a sample before choosing, and it's always a fun atmosphere. For those of you in Columbus, you should definitely check it out.

The girls Friday night

Saturday we took it easy. We had a "picnic" at the new house (eating Chipotle on our front porch) and rented movies. After such a late night Friday, it was great to just relax.

Oh my gosh! They got the stonework and sidewalks poured last week, and we should start painting here in about a week or so. Anyone in Columbus area wanna come to a painting party and help? I will supply food! :)

This weekend we are heading out of town for a wedding. It is for Julian's cousin and he is in it so it should be a busy weekend again. I ordered a very cute dress that I am waiting to be delivered. It's open back so I am a little nervous about the bra situation, but figured I still have a few days to figure it out...

30 things

2014-07-03T06:00:00.000-04:00

I stumbled upon this list yesterday, and a lot of these points really struck home with me. With less than 2 years until I turn 30, I figured I better start wising up.

Click the link above to read the full post, or below, my commentary on a few points...

1. The end of a relationship does not always have to be someone's fault or a rejection of you. Sometimes, it's just the end of something that wasn't right for you. Actually, it's always that. This is true in all of our relationships. Remember, people come into our lives for a reason, a season or a lifetime

2. No one has it all, but some people do make the best of what they have and take very good care of it. Those people tend to savor their lives a bit more.
I need to take this one to heart. I always feel like a failure for the things that I don't have rather than appreciating and taking care of the things that I do

6. Smart is sexy, and anyone worth having sex with will be wildly turned on by your mind.
My mom always told me some version of this growing up (just substitute sexy for beautiful because uhhh, weird). Julian has been the one to prove it to be true. He is not intimated by the way that I think, in fact he tells me that I encourage him to expand his thoughts.

7. A few childlike traits can be charming, but immature is a huge turn off.
I had dated a few guys in the past who fit the latter category, and thankfully my husband is in the first. There is such a huge difference between immature and childlike!

8. Many people are under the misconception that time heals all wounds. Especially the ones they caused.
I always felt like something was wrong with me when people would give me that advice. It doesn't heal. Eventually you learn how to deal with it, but the pain will always be there. Kind of like a scar for a really deep cut.

13. Time is valuable, so spend yours wisely. This is true even when sitting alone in the space of your own mind.
I need to work on this one! I am a huge procrastinator and it makes life so much more challenging

14. Those who really care about you will support you when you need it and refuse to when you don't.
It took me a very long time to realize this.

19. Some people really, really, really suck. Trying to get through to them with all of the tools that will work with people who don't suck won't work.
And some people are just mean, horrible people for no reason. You will always come across them, but you can't let them get to you.

22. We all have sh^%. Getting yours together helps you get into the game.

24. People lie.
You don't have to though.

27. Pay attention to your audience, take a little time, take a deep breath and then say exactly what you mean to say in a way you would not mind printed.
Communication 101. I am thankful for my major because this is one of the first things that we learned. Also, it is not always what you say, but how you say it. Non-verbal communication is just as important!

29. A partner should add to a partnership. If not, it is better to keep everyone else's names off of the operating agreement.

It's not always easy...

2014-07-02T08:19:00.001-04:00

I know that I mentioned last week about how much I have been enjoying running lately. I really should have kept my mouth shut because then I had a horrible run yesterday. It was a combination of hot weather, the beginnings of a cold and my music not playing. And my head was not in it at all. It was really frustrating and I was feeling down on myself as I walked home, but then I remembered this quote...

or this one

And it is the truth. And I realized that the whole mantra of it won't be easy, but it will be worth it applies to so many things in my life. My marriage. My job. Building a house. Trying to be healthy. None of these things are easy. But if they were, would I appreciate them as much? I think that the fact that I have to try to be successful at these things is what makes them so much more important to me.

On the plus side, I weighed myself on Friday after taking a couple of weeks off from the scale and I was 170. I had been hovering around 175 the last time I weighed myself, so seeing an actual loss made me pretty happy. Now if I can just kick this cold to the curb, I can start feeling a little bit better about it all. Running with a runny nose isn't fun as I learned during allergy season, but I am going to still do it.

NSV

2014-06-26T07:49:00.001-04:00

I have never considered myself a runner before. Actually, I have always insisted how much I loathe running. It's boring, my too large boobs hurt, I get sweaty, I'm slow. The list really could continue.

Something has changed in the past couple of months though as I have begun running a few times a week. I start to look forward to it. I get antsy if I go too many days in between runs. I feel accomplished afterwards. It's weird. With as busy as we have been this summer, I have been able to use this 30+ minutes as some "me" time. Time that I can be alone with my thoughts, music blasting. It helps to clear my head honestly.

Yesterday, while I was running for the first time in 5 days (told ya, we have been BUSY), I thought to myself how much I was enjoying this run. Not just the endorphines or the solitude, but the actual run itself.

I have been doing the C25K, and while it is taking me longer than it should (if I feel that I didn't do well on a certain day, I redo it--such as the time that I had to stop running because I thought I would vomit, I redid that run the next time I went out), I feel like an actual runner. I really want to sign up for a 5K later this year (maybe fall after we move into the house), and maybe even tempt a half marathon next year sometime. I never thought that I would say those words. Anybody in Columbus wanna sign up with me?

There's just something about summer

2014-06-23T08:31:00.001-04:00

Whew! What an amazing weekend. While I didn't get nearly as much done at home as I had hope I would, I did score some major deals, and got to spend time celebrating.

Friday night we had our date night which consisted of Japanese Steakhouse (yum hibachi!) and seeing How to Train your Dragon 2. The thing that I love the most about Julian is that he is just as much a kid at heart as I am, if not more. The movie was cute, and I think even fun for adults minus kids.

Julian had to work on Saturday so I spent the day running errands and checking out a couple of sales. I scored 2 dresses from Old Navy for $10 and $12 each. Not too bad. When I got home, I started prepping food that I was bringing to my friend's bridal shower for the next day (chicken salad and fresh fruit).

Clean Chicken Salad on not-so-clean croisaants.

Once we got home we had a low key night at home because Julian has been so exhausted from working so much (seriously, July 7th can hurry up and get here so I can start seeing my husband again.)

Sunday I had Tracy's bridal shower, and after we checked out the house with Julian's parents. They have the siding up completely and have started drywall! It is crazy how quickly it is coming up. A little too quickly because we spoke with the guy that was in the sales office and he has out tentative closing date as August 7th. That is in like 6 weeks! Way sooner than we had thought or were told. While we are excited about getting in the house, we are nervous about it being done too quickly because we have our lease until November and are not able to break it without paying a hefty sum.

All of the bridesmaids at the shower

Our house! They still have to do stonework to the front and add the porch railings, but the outside is sooooo close to being done!

Now that it's Monday, how many more days till the weekend again?