Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Positivity

Happy Tuesday! I hope that every single one of you kicked off this brand new week yesterday in a positive way! Whether it was with an early morning workout or just with a positive attitude, it doesn't really matter. What's important is that you were, are, positive.

I woke up yesterday morning feeling completely rested and overall just feeling happy. That doesn't normally happen for me on a Monday, but it definitely set the tone for the start of my week and how I was going to approach this new week.

Positivity is my mantra! In my opinion, a positive mindset and attitude just makes everything better.

As you see here, this picture from my commute into the office yesterday morning, truly shows just how happy I was...

For the past few weeks, months, I have tended to put every single little thing about myself under a microscope. It's been all about the "Why's?" of my life.

"Why are my wrinkles so prominent?" (Um, you are almost 43 years old and the above photo does demonstrate why there are wrinkles on your forehead!)

"Why are my eyebrows suddenly patchy in spots?"

"Why is it that as soon as I think my skin is FINALLY looking great, the next day it breaks out?"

"Why am I struggling getting my workouts done and keeping my eating on point?"

"Why are my pants ill fitting?" (Previous "why" may explain this one, duh!)

Why? Why? Why?

We all have done this. It's nothing new. However, all this negativity and questioning doesn't help anything.

I'm not 100% sure why I have been doing this. It may have been a result of the incredibly long, cold winter we had. Or that I spent less and less time running (which clears my head and makes me feel good) through this past winter and more time feeling down (especially about not running).

I am here to tell you today, that all that negativity is getting booted to the curb! It's not helping me in any shape or form. I am really going to try and focus on all the positive that I have in my life.

A new month is right around the corner and it's time to make some positive changes. So who's with me? What are you going to start doing that will add some positivity (or even more positivity) into your life?

Thursday, April 17, 2014

A Wordy 8 Month Catch Up

Woah Nelly! I left in the summer, survived the winter and am back in the spring! Life has been such a whirlwind during these past few months. So much has happened in my little world.

Where do I begin?

August to September

My honey and I went on a 3 week Backpacking European Vacation! We left on August 23rd and didn't come back to the United States until September 14th.

We started in Barcelona and traveled via the Eurail for the next 10 days to Nice, Monaco, Florence, Siena, Rome and Bari. From Bari we took a ferry to Greece where we spent the last 10 days of our trip between Athens and Chios.

I just have to say that this vacation was more than we ever expected! It was such an adventure and even though we were backpacking and didn't stay long in each place until we got to Greece, it was so relaxing and so much fun! I also managed to lose 6 pounds on the trip! Win!!!

September to October

After returning from our trip, like the next morning because we couldn't sleep, we returned to our regime of morning running. I must say, we took 3 weeks off from running and it felt like we never stopped! It felt amazing. So amazing that a week later I was contemplating signing up for a fall marathon.

Guess what? I did! With 8 weeks to spare for training, my honey and I both signed up for the Philadelphia Marathon.

Let me tell you, this training cycle for a marathon was the best one I ever completed. I have never felt so prepared for a marathon before and I knew I was ready to rock it on November 17th.

November 17th

My honey, myself and a dear running friend of mine rocked the Philly Marathon! My honey is a super speedy runner and he finished his first official marathon in 02:51! He qualified for Boston with 29 minutes to spare. Too bad he isn't interested in running it, but I am just amazed at how awesome a runner he has become.

A couple weeks before the marathon I found out an old friend that I hadn't seen since 2007 was also running the race. We decided that we were going to start the marathon together and see how things went from there. Let's just say, we ran the whole entire race together! It was the most amazing racing experience I have ever had. The miles flew by for us. We kept the pace that I had planned out for the race and we supported each other every single step.

Our official finish time was 04:47, but in reality we ran a 04:37 race. There was a 10 minute porta-potty line stop that we made at mile 4. It was 10 minutes that we could never make up and I know we ran the race that I had trained for during the previous 8 weeks. I look forward to running another marathon together!

Thanksgiving

My honey and I flew down to Georgia to spend the holiday with my family! Even though it was a quick trip, it was wonderful to spend time with my family, especially since it's the first holiday without my brother.

We all stuffed ourselves with a homemade dinner and yummy desserts! My father made this incredible Peanut Butter Pie that we apparently couldn't get enough of it!

December to April

The month of December really was a blur with the Christmas holidays and New Year's! I didn't take any time off from work like I usually do and before I knew it, January was upon us.

January through March has been the longest, hardest, coldest winter ever! All I wanted to do was hibernate like a bear. It truly amazes me how last winter I ran outside through the whole entire winter and this winter not so much. My running, and let's be honest, my working out really took a turn for the worse. I became a slug. My winter softened belly shows this so perfectly well.

April has really been my turning point. The weather has turned to spring, with the exception of yesterday and today, and I have been working on getting my running act together. I have spent the last 2 weeks running 4 times a week. The past 2 Sunday's my honey and I have gotten back out to our trails to run and let me tell you, this is exactly what my little cold winter heart needed so badly. Nature, sunshine, wild animals these do a mind and body good! I am now in my 3rd week of running consistently. It's still a little bit of a mind game struggle, but I know once the weather turns a bit warmer in the mornings, I'll be back at the top of my game.

Other Life News

Back in February, my honey and I decided it was time to move out of our little basement apartment to the top floor apartment! Of course, we couldn't move right into it. We decided to do a little remodel that ended up turning into a complete remodel! Funny how things work out that way.

As of right now we are 9 weeks into this thing and hopefully we will be completely done in the next 2-3 weeks. I am so ready to be done and moved in to where there are big beautiful windows that let sunshine into the apartment from all sides! If you have ever lived in a basement, you know how sunshine window deprived they are.

Anyhoo, I have been taking pictures of the whole process. Once we are done, I will be doing a little reveal here on the ol' blog. It's going to be pretty amazing if I do say so myself!

So that's what's been happening in my life for the past 8 months. Can't believe I've been neglecting my little blog for that long. I am hoping that once we are moved and things settles back into some normalcy, I'll be back to blogging on a more regular schedule. I can't wait to get back to my scrapbooking, knitting, sewing, exercising. I'll definitely have lots to be sharing!