Author: C

October Resolutions

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As I finish my last day of Hiketober, I started thinking about resolutions. I thought, why don’t we start our new years resolution to get healthy now. Before the holidays. Before the stress. Before all the fatty food. Why not set a healthy resolution that can stick through the season? Often times people think of September as their new year since it is the nostalgia of going back to school. So as I think about October, I think I’m going to end the month with some healthy resolutions and start the holidays off right. In my mind, right after Halloween starts the holiday season. And this next week, I’m also going to start the healthy season…with a few cheat days in there for good cookies and Thanksgiving eating! I started out this morning by making a healthy version of beef stew in the crockpot. But instead of putting potatoes in, I put zucchini and I used lean organic meat/veggies. And I made a homemade apple cobbler with less butter and sugar. I’m having a dinner …

Control

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* Courtesy of my iphone during a hike in Hiketober Control is so interesting to me. According to many things I read, people’s basic psychological needs include the need to feel secure, to feel good at what they do, to be loved, to feel connected to others, and to have a strong sense of control. (quoted in my happiness journal as well). And often times when we are out of control, our life is spinning and we lose ourselves. Yet, if we control everything, often your life spins as well. Control can destroy things too.  It is a very fine line. The newness of something or the unexpected is often what renews us, excites us, and opens our hearts and minds. Yet in order to have those unexpected moments you have to let go of control. You can’t be a perfectionist or you miss the unexpected non-perfect joys. If you try to control your partner, friend, family, or loved one, you lose them. If you let them control you, you resent them. Yet our nature …

Showing Up….

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As I was on my long hike in the woods today….I was thinking about how often we just don’t show up in our day. We are preoccupied with tomorrow or focused on something in the future. I read a great quote this morning as I started my day that got me thinking while I hiked (are you hiking in Hiketober by the way?!!) “It is one of the saddest facts of human nature that we commonly only learn their value by their loss….There are times in the lives of most of us when we would have given all the world to be as we were but yesterday, though that yesterday had passed over us unappreciated and unenjoyed.”- Williams Edward Hartpole Lecky I loved this quote because it is so true. How often we have regrets or miss something from the past, yet while in that moment, we didn’t fully appreciate or enjoy it. And this really applies to anything in our life. For example, our weight. We are always worried about weighing less verse appreciating …

Embrace a rainy day……Refuel. Get lost in your daydreams, Read, Snuggle, Nap…

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Rainy days can be the perfect day to refuel. Embrace them!! As I sit here on this rainy Saturday I am so incredibly content. And I forget that rainy days can be the best (as long as it isn’t for weeks straight!). Rainy days are perfect for your most comfortable clothes, a blanket, hot tea, a good book, and catching up with good friends via phone. Today I slept in and had a good cuddly lazy morning with my man. Followed by brunch, my one chore today…grocery shopping…., and then a comfy couch. With football on in the background, I have gotten lost in architecture magazines (I escaped to CA, beach houses, country cottages, and city living), InStyles, and pinterest. Pinterest is the best. You can really get your creative juices flowing, enjoy escaping into so many different things, and day-dream for hours. I love it!! I love the idea of reading a good book on a rainy day. Watching a good movie. Cooking something warm and flavorful. As I sit here, my candles fill …

Hiketober

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    Photo note: Picture of Hikeotober last fall. Hiketober is here! Every October I spend every weekend during that month going on at least one hike. It is my way to re-connect with nature, get time to reflect or just enjoy being outside, and really serves as a form of meditation for me. I go by myself a lot. But also do hikes with my boyfriend or with friends. It is a great bonding activity that is just fun. And usually ends with a nice glass of wine, beer, or hot cider. Today I started my hike month, with a hike in the city. Due to 5dys of rain, the hiking in the woods and mountains in the area were just too muddy and wet. So instead, I picked a spot in the city I never go to and walked it for 2hrs. Fun way to explore and see new neighborhoods. Next weekend I’ll start my nature hikes pending weather. In the DC area, I typically do Sugarloaf Mountain, Billy Goat Trail, and one …

Balance: The solution to most stressors

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I have found that most of my twenties and early thirties my balance was off. Balance to me means not taking anything to the extreme. For a long time, I either worked too much, worked out too much (I was always training for some race), maintained a strict diet,for a very short period drank a little too much (more in my twenties) and was an extreme friend or partner (always going above and beyond). I tried so hard in each of these that it was impossible to get it all right. And I usually ended up resentful and exhausted. I kept hitting walls. And I couldn’t figure it out. I kept saying I want more work/life balance but I didn’t know how to actually do it. I thought it meant working less. But I kept feeling drained in most areas of my life. I now have come to realize it is about working smarter and making sure the things that give you energy outweigh the things that deplete energy. So basically make sure your tank …

Grass is always greener?

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*photo courtesy of my iphone during a great vacation to Oregon…drive by Mount Hood I was literally talking to a friend about their grass. And how their neighbor’s grass was always greener and how jealous they were. A typical dialogue of anyone from the midwest who spends most of the summer perfecting (or paying someone else to perfect) their lawn. And it got me thinking. I have been very guilty lately of being a grass is always greener type person. We all do it. I’m sure some look at my life on social media and wish they could travel and have the single life I got to have this summer. And I wake up some mornings thinking it would be nice to have a family and be a stay a home mom. Or …which we all do…I look at someone on the street, or in social media, or even a couple that are friends, and want their life. Or I look at my partner, and wish they had a trait they don’t possess. but someone …

Through our eyes….

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I love this quote. I found it during a time I was feeling particularly down on what I was looking like. I have gained a few pounds over the summer, my clothes weren’t fitting quite right, and I was just not feeling pretty. We all have those moments. Some more than others. And there is SO much pressure to look a certain way. Social media and filters on our phones make it worse. And lots of articles have been written on this pressure.  What is beauty? And who gets to define it? But I also noticed as I was feeling down on my looks and after reading this quote that I when I check a woman or man out on the street I’m looking at them for all sorts of reasons…sometimes it is purely about their fashion or body shape, but it also about their body language, their mannerisms, sometimes I am trying to figure out what kind of person on they are, or simply I’m staring right through them in a middle of a …

The little moments

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After being away from blogging for a two months…I’m back. I took some time to disconnect. Today I start back after a wonderful weekend with my Dad. We didn’t do anything too big but just enjoyed each other’s company. And as we both get older, I am learning to enjoy every little moment together. Tomorrow anyone one of us could be gone from earth. And I want to make sure I don’t lose sight of every precious moment. We were driving home from church today and we started talking about how precious life is and how little time we actually get to really just enjoy moments with family. We are spread out across many different states (and countries!) and I start to realize how those moments when we talk on the phone each day really matter a ton. And how disengaging for a few minutes is so important to really listen to the other person on the line. Since we don’t live super close, when we are together, it is so important to be present. …