Category: Miscellaneous

I thought it might be fun to do a little reminiscing and share 30 highlights from my 30th year. 30 was a wonderful year, dare I say the best year (so far)! For any new readers, it’ll be a good way to get caught up. If you’ve been reading all along (THANK YOU) and don’t care to rehash this stuff, then feel free to skip this one.

I’ve heard that your thirties are great years and from my (somewhat limited at this point) experience, I couldn’t agree more! I have been able to accept struggles as life lessons and gain a greater sense of purpose this year. Life is fragile and precious. Spend some quality time focusing on aligning who you truly are on the inside with what you are doing on the outside and figuring out why you are truly here. We all have a purpose!

Without further ado, here are 30 things (some serious, some silly) in chronological order that happened while I was 30.

1. I started a new job that was horrible. You’re thinking … why is this a highlight, right? Just keep reading. But first I have to share this conversation that went down during my first (and only) week at the new job. Names have been changed to protect the innocent guilty.

Joe: I hear you are an expert in trust and estate returns. Is that correct?
Me: I have prepared them before, but I wouldn’t consider myself an expert by any means.
Joe: I asked you a yes, no question.
Me: Well, the answer would be no then.
Joe: When you get done here, come to my office, I have something for you to do.
Me: Sure, I’ll be right there.

There was another shareholder in my office during that part and when she left, I was going to head to Joe’s office, but I hear him on the phone at this point, so I wait until I hear him hang up. Immediately upon hanging up the phone, he pages me over the intercom in my office (I am about 10 feet away).

Joe: Did you not hear me when I asked you to come over here?
Me: Yes sir, I heard you, I am on the way.
Joe: (As I walk through the door … ) Did I not make myself clear enough for you when I asked you to come to my office?
Me: (Getting a little flustered at this point, but trying to stay calm) Yes sir, you were very clear, I heard you on the phone so I was waiting until you were done to walk over.
Joe: I don’t want to hear excuses.
Me: Blank stare.

Joe gives me the details of a project he wanted me to work on. I won’t bore you with those details.

Joe: So, I hear you run marathons.
Me: (Thinking, oh good maybe he’s going to be friendly now) Yes sir, I’ve done a few.
Joe: Which ones?
Me: I’ve done the one here in town a couple of times, I’ve done Boston …
Joe: (Interrupts) Oh really? Were you there the year that they blew it up?
Me: (Thinking, that’s a really odd and insensitive way to phrase that, but whatever) No sir, thankfully, I ran it the year before that.
Joe: So the race wasn’t on April 15th that year?
Me: Well, the race is always on Patriot’s Day, so it’s always somewhere around that time, but I don’t remember the exact date.
Joe: So you went to Boston, ran the race and then immediately came back to finish tax season?
Me: No sir, I had all of my projects completed or extended before I left and we stayed up there a few days after the race.
Joe: Just so you know, that will never be an option here.
Me: Exit stage right. Thinking to myself, “This isn’t really that big of a deal, I have no plans to run Boston again, but I don’t understand what he is trying to do here, other than be a total jerk.”

1. Cont … I quit said job. This is where the highlight comes in! I stood up for myself! I do not think that anyone deserves to be talked to that way or treated that way on the first week at a new job. Looking back, I think he was just testing me to see how I would react. WELL … I’m not going to stand for someone using a position of authority to jerk me around. I guess quitting was the ultimate reaction. It would’ve been really validating if I had quit right there on the spot, but honestly it was still a hard decision. Starting and quitting a job in less than 2 weeks is not really an ideal career move. The guy that hired me was so very nice. I really wanted it to work with that firm, but there was no way that I was going to be able to work with “Joe.” I don’t have thick skin (nor do I think that I should have to have thick skin).
2. I was able to go back to (a new and improved version of) the firm that I worked with for 4 years prior to making this change. HUGE BLESSING!
3. I trained for the New York City Marathon.
4. I coached the full marathon training group at Running Wild. This was my introduction to coaching and I loved it!
5. I was chosen as a top 10 finalist in the Runner’s World Cover Search. What?!
6. I went to New York City (for the first time ever) to participate in a photo shoot for the cover search.
7. Daniel and I celebrated our 5th anniversary!
8. We made a quick trip to 30A to run a half marathon.
9. I learned how to chop wood.
10. I ran the New York City marathon as a sub-elite runner.
11. We saw Lion King on Broadway.
12. The December issue of Runner’s World was released and I was so grateful to have been given the opportunity to share my story and glorify The Lord through running.
13. Daniel didn’t have to work Thanksgiving and we got to have Thanksgiving dinner together for the first time in a while.
14. We went rappelling!
15. I won the tacky Christmas sweater contest at small group.
16. We made another quick trip to 30A for Daniel’s birthday!
17. We got to spend quality time with my family (Christmas Eve) and Daniel’s family (Christmas Day), because once again … Daniel didn’t have to work! SO THANKFUL!
18. I had an absolute BLAST running the First Light Marathon Relay with my wonderful running friends (and got an unofficial 10K PR in the process).
19. I became an AUNT!
20. I ran my first trail race.
21. I made it through tax season with ZERO tears. Zero. Unless you have worked in public accounting and/or are a super sensitive person, you might not understand the significance of this, but trust me. It’s a BIG DEAL.
22. Mom and I went on our annual post-tax season relaxation trip to 30A.
23. I became an RRCA Certified Coach!
24. Team “Flip Flops in Porta Johns and Other Bad Decisions” dominated Ragnar Tennessee!
25. I celebrated National Running Day with some wonderful running friends!
26. I got major cool wife points for finding Daniel a motorcycle to play on.
27. I ran a MILK MILE.
28. Daniel FINALLY wrote a guest post on the blog.
29. Daniel and I had a wonderful vacation to Destin that included beach runs, a couples massage, good food, and jumping on a bungee trampoline!
30.  I ran a 2 mile PR on my last day as a 30-year-old.

There you have it. 30 things that happened last year. I can honestly say that this is the most content, appreciative and thankful that I remember feeling. Thank you to everyone who has made this one of the best years of my life!

First of all, thank you so much for all of the sweet comments and messages about Daniel’s guest post! I am SO GLAD that y’all enjoyed it. Maybe I will be able to convince him to make an appearance around here more often, but for now it’s back to the status quo.

Here is the weekly run-down:

Monday: 8 easy TM
Tuesday: 10 easy + RW group run
Wednesday: 5 easy
Thursday: 9.5 w/ some tempo miles
Friday: 11 easy

It didn’t seem to take me too long to recover from the 31 miles, but I think a lot of that was because it was broken up into two runs and we kept the pace nice and easy. Even so, this week was a bit of a down week with mostly easy runs. I have a two mile race next week and then I’ll be transitioning into training for the Baton Rouge Beach Marathon. Woo hoo!

We had some beautiful sunsets this week, which is another great reminder that fall is around the corner. Y’all know I love a good sunset. Come on Earth … time to get that axis rotated!

This week has been a lesson in patience.

Daniel and I found a house that we LOVE in the location that we LOVE (basically one block from where we are living now) and we put an offer in on it (!!!). Super exciting! We were supposed to hear back Monday … then Tuesday … then Wednesday … and now, today. Waiting is not fun, but at the same time I know that if it is meant to be it’ll work out and if not, we will find something else *almost as good* (kidding (kind of)).

Patience is one of the fruits of the Spirit that I need to cultivate. Be patient. Have faith. TRUST.

Just for funsies, I have to share this though. The day that we made the offer, the picture below popped up on my Timehop.

5 years ago to the day we bought our first house together as a married couple! I thought that was SO COOL.

I think that we basically bought the house because it just seemed like something that we were supposed to do. Isn’t that what you do? Get married. Buy a house. Have a kid.

P.S. Obviously, it doesn’t have to work that way! I’m just glad we figured it out on the house part, before we got to the kid part …

I will attempt to make a long story short (which is not really one of my talents). We bought the house in 2011 and then Daniel got in to grad school fairly soon after that. We were determined to pay for his grad school without any student loans, so things got pretty tight. We were making it by, but barely. Neither one of us was in love with the house or the location to begin with and we decided that the smartest thing to do would be to 1) sell the house, 2) move back to my family’s garage apartment (where the rent is CHEAP), 3) get through grad school and 4) save as much as we can before we do this again.

Our house sold within 1 day of us listing it. There wasn’t even a sign in the yard. God was watching out for us for sure! We have been here for 2 years now and we are ready to be homeowners again (and not squatters). I’ll keep you posted on how that shakes out!

I can’t wrap this up without some random quotes and pictures.

Exhibit A: Cat in a bowl. This is Debs (the cat that I owned for about a week that gave my ringworm and got adopted by my mom and has now replaced me as my mom’s favorite child). She is purr-ty. I know. I couldn’t resist.

Exhibit B: Jessica sent this to Rebecca and I this week. I love it. Life is all about finding people who are your kind of crazy!

Exhibit C: Dad and I on a boat ride. He doesn’t make an appearance on the blog often (mainly because it is hard to get him in front of the camera). I tricked him on this one by taking a picture of the sunset and then turning it around and getting a selfie. Once he realized what I was doing, he started laughing and BOOM … picture perfect.

Exhibit D: Figured out the hair situation. I was [thisclose] to chopping it off after a few not-so-pleasant run ins with the humidity, but I’ve got it now. I just need all. the. rubberbands. I wore my hair like this when I was a kid so that it wouldn’t get tangled on the boat … turns out it also works for an adult on the run.

Alright. I’m done. See ya later! What do you have planned for the weekend?

Hi! We are home from a short but wonderful family beach trip.

We live less than an hour from the gulf and we headed down Thursday morning to meet Daniel’s family. His older sister, Michele, and her husband, Brett, were celebrating their 2 year anniversary. They got married at the beach 2 years ago and we got to celebrate with them and their daughter, Ava, again this time around. We were really happy to be able to join them.

Here is the whole gang!

We got lots of baby snuggles. Here is Uncle Daniel looking like a pro …

We got to relax on the beach. Here is Baby Ava looking like a pro …

The view from our condo was great! We got to watch the storms roll in Thursday evening.

We went to dinner at LuLu’s (the same place as the 5K that I did a few weeks ago). It was weird being there to eat and not to run.

After dinner we went out for ice cream. I had to buy a sweatshirt because I was FREEZING! Does eating or drinking cold things make anyone else cold?!

We caught a beautiful rainbow in the sky!

Friday morning Daniel and I got up semi-early (not normal weekday early, but vacation early) to do my workout. I had a 10 mile run with 5 easy followed by 5 “brisk” (slightly slower than marathon pace) miles. Daniel’s dad rode the bike with us while we ran.

We averaged 7:42 for the entire run and averaged 7:04 for the brisk portion. The goal range was 6:50 t0 7:00 pace, so we were pretty close. I was planning to give myself a 5 – 10 second “vacation” cushion anyway, so we were spot on! Haha.

Gotta get that post-workout sweaty selfie …

A few laps around the lazy river made us feel a ton better!

Seriously, the lazy river is where it’s at! I could’ve floated around that thing all day. Unfortunately it gets super crowded as the day goes on, but when we finished our run we basically had it to ourselves. We “raced” around the river (Daniel won … ugh) and stood on the jets to massage our sore feet. I’m pretty sure that is what post-run recovery is supposed to look like.

Miss Ava joined us at the lazy river later that morning.

We relaxed by the pool and I finished up the book I was reading.

Speaking of this book … I read Fast Girl: A Life Spent Running from Madness, a book about former Olympian, Suzy Favor Hamilton, and her struggle with anxiety during her running career and the mental illness that she suffered from. The book is both fascinating and disturbing. I respect her for writing this and bringing much-needed attention to mental illness in general and the pressure on athletes (at the high school, collegiate and professional levels).

According to a Runner’s World article about the book, “In the years after her retirement from professional running, Favor Hamilton, 47, says she struggled with anxiety, marital difficulties, and postpartum depression after giving birth to daughter Kylie in 2005. After coming close to suicide, she sought medical help and was placed on antidepressants. Favor Hamilton candidly discusses her intentional fall during the 1500-meter final at the 2000 Olympic Games, her brother’s suicide, how she came to be a high-end escort in Las Vegas (with the knowledge of her husband, Mark Hamilton), and being diagnosed with bipolar disorder.”

The book is traveling around my group of running friends (I think 5 or so of us have read it at this point) and it’s still got some circulating to do. I’ve been joking that it is like the sisterhood of the traveling prose.

After a nice afternoon nap (running + being out in the sun all morning will wear you out), it was time for dinner.

We enjoyed more baby cuddles and more ice cream …

Saturday morning I met Lizzie to run. She lives really close to where we were staying and it was wonderful to get a run in with her! We had lots to catch up on. One of those things being that crazy book! Haha. She is the one that passed it to me. Jessica … you’re up!

We didn’t have to worry too much about whether or not little Brooksy was okay or not because Dog Ranch posts pictures of all of the dogs playing and we saw that he was living it up!

My friend Joy pointed out that he was obviously an only child. He doesn’t seem to be too concerned with sharing that pool with the other pups. He likely learned that from his mom.

It was a quick trip, but it was really nice to spend some time with Daniel’s family. We are happy to be home and cuddling with our fur baby now. Thankfully, he seems to have had a wonderful vacation himself and he also seems to be feeling much better than he was when we left.

We are all worn out! Having fun is hard work!

I hope you are all having a great weekend! Talk to you soon!

 

Hello, hello and happy (almost) weekend! I hope everyone has had a good week.

It’s been a hot one here in lower Alabama. The Hot Trot 5K (aptly named) is tomorrow, so I’m looking forward to that. Here is a brief summary of my runs this week.

Monday: Easy 5
Tuesday: 3 X 2 mile LT repeats (12:58, 12:49, 12:38) + RW group run
Wednesday: Easy 5 + Easy 8
Thursday: Easy 5
Friday: Easy 6

The push-up and sit-up training continued this week, but we bumped it up from 30 to 45 seconds for each set. I told Daniel last night that perhaps a better idea would’ve been 30, 45, 30, 45 for a week and then take it to 45. We basically added 2 minutes of work and it was really tough!

I’m going to do something new for the rest of this post and share some random “current” things. Sarah (I love her blog) did a post like this yesterday and I loved it, so with her permission, I am copying her.

Current book: Perhaps this one should go under my current confession category, but I haven’t been reading as much as I thought I would be this summer. I have a few books lined up to read though. Does that count?

1. Bare Bones by Bobby Bones. Daniel has read it and said that he thinks I would enjoy it.
2. First Comes Love by Emily Giffin. I love her stuff and I pre-ordered this one. It comes out June 28th and I’ll probably be done with it by June 29th. Her books are so fun and easy to read that I usually finish them in a couple of days.
3. Dare to Serve by Cheryl Bachelder. This book also comes recommended from a friend and discusses servant leadership. It is supposed to spark an introspective self-assessment to help you discover your path to personal purpose and service.

Current music: One song that I am totally digging is Lukas Graham “7 Years.”

I am behind the times on this, but it wasn’t until somewhat recently (in the last 6 months or so) that I got satellite radio in my car and so I pretty much only listen to that now. My favorite stations are 1) The Blend, 2) Prime Country, 3) Outlaw Country (I know, I know … showing my true roots), 4) The Message & 5) The Coffee House. If it doesn’t come on those stations, I don’t know it.

Current guilty pleasure: Online message forums (LetsRun, etc.). I don’t know what it is about those things, but I could read them for days. I’ve never commented on any of them, but I love reading all of the outlandish comments and accusations. People are crazy. I’ll go ahead and include myself in that category. I don’t know why I love it so much.

Current drink: Okay so, currently, currently (i.e., right now as I type this) it is coffee.

In general though, I have been all about the Nuun! I have been combining the Fresh Lime Nuun Energy with the Lemon + Lime Nuun Active and it is delicious. Very refreshing after a sweaty summer run!

Current food: Honeydew. I can’t get enough.

Current obsession: New Girl. We were late to this party as well, but y’all … this show is hilarious!

Current craving: Does cool weather count as a craving? I think that I get to make up the rules here and so yes, that is my final answer.

Current need: See above. We definitely need a little relief from the blazing hot temperatures.

Current indulgence: I changed my Stitch Fix schedule to quarterly (since I am not working as much this summer, that seemed like the smart thing to do) and they sent me one more box before they updated the schedule and wouldn’t you know it … it is perfect. Every single thing. I’m keeping it all. This is my favorite top!

Current bane of my existence: I have this lingering cough that likes to rear its ugly head when I am trying to sleep. I feel fine otherwise and I don’t cough during the day, so I know that it isn’t anything serious, but it is a tad aggravating.

Current procrastination: So again … currently, currently I am procrastinating my run, which is not good because it is just getting hotter and hotter by the minute.

In general though, I am procrastinating cleaning my car and doing laundry. I got my tag renewed in April and I have yet to put my new 2016 decal on the tag because it will stick better if the car is clean. I just keep the sticker in my car in case I get pulled over for an expired tag. How’s that for procrastination?

I am really talented at procrastinating the laundry as well, which is partly because I have an abundance of running clothes, so I don’t really run out and “need” the laundry to be done. Daniel on the other hand, runs out of running shorts (and underwear for that matter) in about a week and he isn’t too keen on my response of, “just go buy some more.” Ha.

I mean, let’s just talk about ironing for a minute. I don’t understand it. What is the point? It’s just going to get wrinkled again. Am I right? I definitely don’t own an iron.

Exhibit A) Last week’s (running only) laundry. It piles up in a hurry in a two-runner, sometimes two-a-day run household. It should probably be noted that only one of those piles belongs to Daniel though.

Current confession: Sometimes I think that I am a really hard worker trapped in a lazy person’s body, or perhaps it is vice versa … now there’s some food for thought. I’m kidding, but seriously … I tend to be super motivated and driven in certain areas and then totally drop the ball in other areas. I think my tombstone will likely read something to the effect of “She spent her life continually seeking balance, but the task proved to be too difficult and ultimately did her in.”

Confession #2: I purchased a foot pod for my Garmin because the indoor run setting on my watch has been pretty far off and I really just couldn’t stand it.

Case in point. Tuesday’s 3 X 2 mile repeats. The total workout was 10 miles, but my watch shows just over 9. My actual paces for the 6 miles of work were: 6:31, 6:27, 6:27, 6:22, 6:22, 6:16 and my watch shows that they were: 7:18, 7:52, 7:25, 7:43, 7:12, 7:35. Just going back and seeing those splits makes me bonkers. I worked SO HARD to hit the 6:20 – 6:30 LT repeat range that my workout called for and my LAZY watch just isn’t giving me credit for it.

Current quote: Let your smile change the world, but don’t let the world change your smile.

Current excitement: I’m pretty excited about the 5K tomorrow and spending time on the water with friends afterwards! Plus, it’s Friday so that’s exciting in and of itself.

Current mood: Excited!

Current companion: Brooks. He likes to lay right next to me, patiently waiting for the next time that we can go out and play fetch. Look at those paws. I think we might wear the same size shoes!

That’s all I’ve got for today folks! I hope you have a wonderful weekend! Happy early Father’s Day to all the dads out there 🙂

Daniel and I woke up early this morning and headed to Running Wild for the new (summer) Thursday morning group run. There was a good turnout and everyone kind of did their own thing, distance wise. After that Lizzie and I hit the tennis courts for a little bit, continuing my efforts to “cram” for the state tennis tournament next week. I am making some good progress on that!

I am obsessed with my new coffee cup. Do more of what makes you happy. I think this shall be my new motto 🙂

I mentioned this in my previous post, but we recently decided to sign up for Blue Apron, which is a meal delivery service that delivers fresh ingredients and recipes directly to your home.

I am extremely lazy when it comes to food preparation, but this is something that I am really trying to work on. In the past, I have blamed my lack of time as the reason for said laziness, but now since I have more time on my hands I have decided to try to make some healthy changes!

Blue Apron comes highly recommended and seemed like a wonderful start for me. My goal is to be intentional about making “cooking” a priority now in hopes that when I am back working more it will just come naturally. What is it they say?

I hadn’t heard about Blue Apron until recently, and so for those others of you that haven’t heard much about it, here is how it works …

First you go online to sign up. You can choose between a 2 person or family plan. The two person plan is 3 meals per week and the cost is $9.99 per person/per meal. The family plan is for four people, can be 2 or 4 meals per week, and the cost is $8.74 per person/per meal.

Then you schedule your delivery. You can choose a delivery day that works best for your schedule and you can skip any week that you don’t want to receive a box, as long as you do it 7 days in advance.

Once you are all signed up, then you get a box of fresh, pres-measured, pre-proportioned ingredients. All of the ingredients are labeled well which is really nice since Blue Apron often uses some new, exotic ingredients in their recipes. You may not know what a certain ingredient is, but if it is labeled it makes it easier. I love that the ingredients are pre-measured so that there is no waste. I always seem to have too much of something when I cook, so Blue Apron is helping me to keep the cost per meal down since I am only paying for exactly what we use.

There are detailed recipe cards (made out of sturdy card stock) in the box. On the front they have the ingredients laid out in a picture, the final product, and a list of the ingredients with the nutritional breakdown of your meal. On the back there are step-by-step pictures with directions. The recipes are seasonal and are never repeated in the same year. As someone who hasn’t done a lot of cooking over the years, the process was not intimidating at all and I was able to follow the recipe cards very easily.

Tonight we cooked our first meal and it was really good! We made seared cod with spring vegetables and lemon-mustard vinaigrette.

Here are the fresh ingredients …

And the cooked veggies …

Final product …

And we had a nice sunset to go along with our meal.

Our first Blue Apron experience was wonderful! I am excited to cook the other two meals now as well. Our next two meals will be seared steaks with mashed potatoes and hoisin-glazed chicken meatballs with zucchini and brown rice. If they are as good as tonight’s meal, we are definitely in for a treat.

Anyone else out there tried Blue Apron? What have your experiences been like?

Hey guys! I came home from my run to find this.

My June stitch fix and my FIRST blue apron delivery came on the same day!

I absolutely love getting my box in the mail and have had really good luck with the things that they have sent me so far! I haven’t tried blue apron before, but I will definitely let y’all know how that goes after I cook up some delicious meals 🙂

Stitch Fix is a new way to shop online. Their tag line is “hand-picked styles delivered to your door” and that’s exactly what it is. Totally convenient and so much fun! I wanted to share a little bit about the process in general, for those of you that may not have heard much about it.

Here is how it works …

First you go online to get started with a personalized style quiz. You will create a style profile so that your personal stylist can get to know you and your preferences. You answer a series of questions related to your age, measurements, sizes, etc. and then go through a series of other questions more geared toward that types of styles that you prefer. For example, it asks you the following:

• How do you prefer clothes to fit the top and bottom half of your body?
• How would you characterize your proportions?
• How much do you want your Fix selections to focus on the following occasions?  Choices include business casual / work, cocktail / wedding /special, laid back casual and date night / night out.
• What do you like to flaunt? What would you rather keep covered?
• How much would you ideally spend on items in each of the following categories? Choices include the cheaper, the better, $50 – $100, $100 – $150, $150 – $200 and $200+.
• Should we avoid any specific fabrics or materials in your shipments?

Once you complete your profile and sign up, you will begin receiving your “fixes.” Each fix will include five personalized pieces and they are delivered right to your front door. You can subscribe to receive a shipment either once every other week, once a month, once every other month or every three months. You can also sign up without a subscription and just manually schedule a shipment whenever you want it.

Once you get your fix, you can try on everything in the comfort of your own home and then you keep what you want and send back the rest within a week. You only pay for what you keep. A prepackaged shipping label and bag are included, so all you have to do is stick it back in your mailbox. You go online to checkout and you can leave feedback for your stylist about why you liked or didn’t like various pieces. The more feedback that you give the better the next fixes will be.

Here is what I got! I still don’t know what I’m going to keep, but I like all of it.

I don’t know about y’all, but I really despise trying on clothes when I am out shopping. Having the freedom to try the stuff on whenever you have time or feel like it is really a major plus for me. I have been doing Stitch Fix for just over 6 months and I absolutely love it! I hardly ever even shop for real clothes anymore. Now running clothes is a totally different story. I still shop for those all the time!

Who all does Stitch Fix? Do y’all love it as much as I do? If you don’t do it yet, but want to try, use this referral link to let you know you heard about it here (shameless plug).

This morning’s run was a nice easy 6 miles with Rebecca (go check out her blog)! She and I have been talking a lot about blogging recently, as she had a blog in the past, but stopped posting for a little bit and is now back at it (with a little persuasion for me). She made me go to yoga —> I made her start her blog back.

Today I wanted to share a few thoughts about blogging so far. It has only been just over a week since I started this blog, but I feel like it has already been very beneficial and I see its potential to make a big impact in my life (and hopefully someone else’s life as well).

• You become a better writer and better thinker. At its core, writing is communication. It is about recording your thoughts and the process itself is therapeutic, encouraging you to stop and think deeper. You will delve deeper into the matters of your life and the worldview that shapes them.
• You live a more intentional, meaningful life. Once you start writing about your life and the thoughts that shape it, you’ll begin thinking more intentionally about who you are, who you are becoming, and whether you like what you see or not.  Because it is not possible to write about every event, every thought, and every happening in your life, blogging becomes a process of choosing to articulate the most meaningful events and the most important thoughts. This process of choice helps you develop an eye for meaningful things. Sometimes the most meaningful things can appear in the most mundane of activities!
• You will become more comfortable opening up to people and will gain confidence. Whether you have 1 reader or 10,000 readers, your blog opens up your life to those on the outside. Transparency in certain areas of you life is good and offers some accountability for areas where you may need it.  You will discover more confidence in your life when you realize that you have something to offer others. People will identify with different parts of your story and you start to feel like you have the ability to make a difference to someone.
• Your blog can serve as a personal journal (albeit and very public, personal journal). Blogging trains us to be observant and give thought to the personal growth that we are experiencing. It trains our minds to track life and articulate our experiences. Your blog can become a digital record of your life that is saved “in the cloud.”
• You’ll find a platform to recommend. We all like to recommend something we have found enjoyable or beneficial, whether it be a nice restaurant, a good book, a new activity or an entire new outlook on life. The fullness of joy is not experienced until we have shared that joy with others. A blog provides an opportunity to do that very thing. It provides a platform to share the joy we have experienced and recommend good things we have discovered to others.

And just because you probably need something to make you smile (it is Monday after all), check out these pictures that my mom sent me last weekend. I don’t know anybody else that takes the cat on the boat with them, but leave it to my family. I love them.

I am headed back to yoga for runners this evening. Gotta run!