Good List Monday & Challenges

Hey hey, friends! Happy Monday to you!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. As always, mine was way too short, but very nice. Jon's best-friend-since-forever friend Ben was in town, and on top of visiting with him we spend a good chunk of time with family. ...Oh yeah, and I ran 16 miles somewhere in there, too ;)

Anyway, I didn't get a chance to put up my Friday Good List at the end of last week, so I thought it would be a nice way to start the week off (it's looking like this week is going to be chock full of good stuff, so I'm not at all worried about having enough to pull together another list this Friday.) Sometimes life is too good to be confined to one list, you know?

So, tonight I am going to give you a good list to sum up my last week+ weekend+ today (whew), but before I do that, I want to tell you about a new challenge I am giving myself.

I'm bringing back the 21 day challenge.

Last year I challenged myself to take one picture a day and blog about it, and I thought it was a lot of fun. So this summer I am bringing it back, with a little twist: this year it's going to be more of a 21 day writing challenge! I want to work on developing my blogging skills to write short sweet anecdotal posts that I can take from brain --> publish in about an hour. If you haven't noticed, I tend to be a bit... uhm, verbose... and I think it will be freeing to challenge myself to get a little something out there every day. If at any time I feel like I might be starting to sacrifice quality for quantity, I'm going to stop... or maybe just take a day or so off to freshen up ;) So, in a nutshell: I'm going to blog every day for the next 21 days, in the process taking more pictures and (I hope) maybe finally resurrecting some of my writing from the "post graveyard."

I'm really looking forward to this, and I hope you'll come join me!
... Tune in tomorrow :)

And for tonight,

Good List:
1. Jon. We had some amazing heart-to-hearts this weekend. I swear, I cannot talk to anyone quite the same way I talk to my husband. He speaks right to my heart.
2. LAURIE PASSED THE NCLEX! Baby sister is a bona-fide RN :) I am absolutely glowing with happiness for her ♥


3. My 16 mile run on Saturday went wonderfully. And now there is absolutely no doubt that "Oh my gosh, I am actually going to do this thing." I am going to run a marathon, Woohoo!
4. Today's weather was absolutely gorgeous. Sunny and in the mid-70's. Perfection. Thank you, God!
5. Lunchtime walks (the picture at the very beginning of this post was taken during my 20 minute stroll at noon today!)


6. Retail therapy with Laurie. On Saturday, while Laurie was in town to take her exam, she and I met up to go shopping. I bought a book (The Help!) for my upcoming vacation, and amiably tagged along to clothing stores while Laurie searched for a new dress. At H&M I had to try on this little number-- it was just calling me from the hanger. And it fit like a glove! ...A very tight glove. I put the dress back without any regrets, but not before I happily snapped a picture to memorialize the moment.


7. I think that perhaps one of my greatest lessons in life is that almost anyting can be enjoyable if you allow yourself plenty of time to go slowly and enjoy it stress-free. Case in point: grocery shopping. Tonight Jon had the boys over for games, and so I took myself on a date to Trader Joe's. I spent a good hour and a half wandering the aisles and swooning over colorful produce & exotic sounding cheeses (Honey goat gouda?! Yes, please!) I emerged with 4 full bags, and one very full & happy heart :)
8. "Old favorites". Books, jeans, movies & childhood comfort foods-- they're all good.


9. I hate to get all "fallfallfallfall" on you, but the cool bite in the air and the lingering scents of wood fires in our neighborhood, coupled with the early sunsets and changing leaves has me pining for my favorite season. I. Can't. Wait. The newest potterybarn catalog has a multiple page spread devoted to all things fall, and you can bet it sets this heart a-flutter :)
10.

"Faith is taking the first step even when you can't see the whole staircase."
— Martin Luther King Jr.

Great words spoken by a great man :)

Your Turn: What tops your Good List for last week/this past weekend? Are you an 'Autumn Addict" like me? What's your favorite season & why?

Challenge Day #21: ....GO!

I did it!!

More details to come shortly, I promise :)

Challenge Day #20: Ready, Set...

Hi, friends - I hope you've had a wonderful Saturday!

I had big plans for mine, but actually it's turned out to be pretty low key. I got my hairs cut early this morning, did the "final" paint coat in the"former blue room" (I'll still need to do some touching up once the tape comes off, I'm sure...), and then (inevitably) napped with Gracie.

I've gotta say though, the nerves have definitely set in.

But, I've focused my nervous energies on preparing.

See for yourself:

I laid out all my race gear.

(...and Gracie approved. Here she's sleeping trying to sleep on my hat. She's really very sweet, even though she looks a little grumpy here :)

J & I took a nice little walk through our neighborhood.

...And, of course, I carbo-loaded

(Yes, in fact, that IS a beer next to my plate 'o' pasta. My father recommended it as a double threat-- to calm my nerves and load in a few more carbs at the same time :) Obedient daughter that I am, I took him up on his idea. Hehe.)

And now I'm loading my iPod with some fun, make-me-want-to-dance type songs to keep me moving tomorrow, charging my Garmin, drinking lots of water, and watching "Where the Wild Things Are" with J before bed. (I'm not sure about the movie yet, but I can say that I find it visually stunning.... just beautiful :)

I'll see you tomorrow for a recap!

Challenge Day #19 (continued)

Gah. All right... apologies for the broken up posting ... I'm having some blog issues today ... my "save now" button is doing all sorts of wacky things... {Hehe... J would probably ask me (lovingly, of course) if I was experiencing an "ID-10-T" error...} Anyhoo..

So since I've all ready given you the scoop on Sunday's 1/2 (the final thing I will say about it is this: I ate a banana yesterday, in preparation for the race. You may remember when I told you I don't like bananas. Well... I can report to you that nothing has changed on that front. That's dedication, friends... :)-- now I am free to tell you about the rest of my week (because it really wasn't all together consumed with nerves about this weekend's race!) ... And the week has been (as a whole) a good one.

Of course, we had a few "eyebrow-raising" moments (as you might ascertain, "eyebrow raising moments" are significantly better than "hair-raising moments" ...eeep!), which included a limping Gracie (she was probably more embarrassed than anything-- she's fine now!), a leak under the kitchen sink (gahhh), and racing outside in the wee hours of the morning to drag our trash to the curb (... as the trash truck pulled up next door. ...Our trash is usually picked up well after we leave in the morning, so this was quite the surprise :-/...) Actually, overall, this picture pretty much sums up my week (I shall count this as the photo for challenge Day#19):

Yup, it's been a 'fuzzy until I get my 2 cups of coffee kind of week. Whew, I'm tired ;)

But, as usual, the good came right along with it. My good surprise of the week came on Tuesday evening, when J and I were discussing our upcoming 1st Anniversary (I still can't believe it's almost been a year all ready...) This year for our anniversary, we're going to do a little "weekend getaway" at a State Park, and we're really excited about it :) I asked (jokingly, as I was relatively certain we had discussed it before, and decided "no"...) whether we were getting each other presents for our anniversary-- and imagine my surprise when J told me he had all ready gotten me something! After I picked myself up off the floor (don't get me wrong, I know, without a doubt, that my husband loves me ... but this gesture & planning ahead really surprised me!), it hit me: Hm... now I've got to think up something to get him (I had planned a couple cute little things... but that was before we mentioned the p-word presents...)

If anyone has cool 1st Anniversary gift ideas, I'm all ears! Do tell :)


Aaaand, that pretty much sums up the week. There's some good stuff (in addition to Sunday's race excitement) coming up this weekend, but I'll tell you more about that when we get there!

And now, a LIST for you!


Good List:

1. J. I love that even after 8+ years of knowing each other, the man can still surprise me :)

2. Chunky turquoise jewelry, that effortlessly moves from summer staple to fall staple.

3. New OPI nail polish. Ah, LoVe!

4. Swag Bags.

5. Silly Kitties. (You MUST watch this! I laughed until I cried ... and then? I watched it again :)
6. Crisp mornings. It was in the 60's this a.m. Positively delicious!

7. Coffee ...

8. September is coming-- and with it, so much promise! (i.e., 1st Anniversary Getaway, Races every weekend, Labor Day holiday...)

9. Apple Picking. One (unexpected) positive aspect of having such a hot summer is that the apples are ripening earlier this year. This weekend is the first U-Pick-'em weekend of the Fall, and I am so excited. (I am absolutely, unapologetically in LoVe with and ready for Fall.)

10. "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

And with that, I'm off to get a couple things done before I can really start my weekend :) Do you have any fun plans for your Saturday & Sunday? What tops your Good List for the week?

Challenge Day #18: Fall

Today we Central Ohioans were blessed with deliciously cool weather, as well as (to my delight) a Fall sky.

Fall is imminent, and I couldn't be happier :)

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth

seeking the successive autumns."

- George Eliot

"There is a harmony

In autumn, and a lustre in its sky,

Which through the summer is not heard or seen,

As if it could not be, as if it had not been!"

- Percy Bysshe Shelley

Challenge Day #17: Weekend wrap up

I must admit to you that Sundays have always been quite bittersweet for me.

On one hand, the day is filled with wonderful things: long distance days (for 1/2 marathon training -- Oy! 1 week left! :), church, Sunday papers (my favorites are the travel section & the comics-- J's favorites are the comics and the Best Buy ads, heh); Sunday dinners (mmm... pot roast.... I always think pot roast when I think of Sunday sit-down dinners. My Dad's was the best!) and, of course (lest I forget perhaps the most decadent & delightful of them all) Sunday afternoon naps ...

But some weekends, all the good can be forgotten in a moment when I remember that tomorrow is Monday, and I have to go to work ... Booo. (Honestly, it's not so bad... when I was in college and I had to travel back to Toledo on Sunday evenings, it was a lot worse...)

But this Sunday was all sweet :)

Although the way it started, I had my doubts.

... As I mentioned yesterday, the weekend I finally got myself in gear to re-paint the blue room-- and yesterday was phase 1 (sanding, sanding, sanding some more, vacuuming, vacuuming with attachment, vacuuming some more and finally washing down the walls to get rid of the fluffy blue dust that permeated the room...). I had initially thought that if I had a good start, I would be able to complete the project in 1 day ... but at about 6 pm yesterday, when I was gearing up to do my 'final vacuum', I admitted defeat :-/

Seriously, guys? Sanding kicked my butt... I was so achy this morning when I woke up, the last thing I wanted to do was tackle painting (what I imagine to be 3+ coats of painting... stripes are my nemesis...)-- much less get out of bed.

But I did, and things looked up significantly from there :)

First of all, this morning I had the chance to participate (read: attend) in an outside worship service. This year marks the Bicentennial of the founding of the township that my church is a part of, and so, in honor of the bicentennial festival, Pastor Bud donned period costume and took his church outdoors. Now, this may be very happy "hippy" of me, but something about worshiping outdoors has just always felt right to me. Like: this is how it's meant to be. It was a blessing to attend such a ceremony, and it was an inspiring way to start my week ;)

(PS: Unfortunately, I did not remember to bring along my camera, so you'll have to use your imagination-- imagine 75+ worshippers gathered under a big white tent in the early morning mist, raising their voices with the strings of a guitar. Got it? Good :)

And then, when I got home, I realized that I had a decision to make: I still wasn't feeling 100%, but I could slap up (not to say I'd do a bad job-- I just wanted to get through it quickly, as I had something to do at 2 pm, which I'll tell you about in a minute...) a coat of paint, or ... I could lie down for a while. ... Being the "Type-A-but-striving-to-live-in-the-moment" girl that I am, I crawled into bed and lay pondering my decision* ... until Gracie hopped in bed and curled up on my chest... and I promptly fell asleep :)

*And, for the record, I'd like to tell you that over the course of my Sunday I did manage to get a coat of paint on the walls (it took me 2.5 hours, in case you were curious), so I don't feel at all like I failed in my endeavors -- the only person who really cared if I finished this weekend was me... and I decided that I would rather enjoy my time and finish on Tuesday.

... 45 blissful minutes later, I woke to continue to the next sweet part of my afternoon-- a shopping trip to Fleet Feet (one of our local running stores) for their annual summer sale. Which brings me to:

Happiness is (Sunday edition):

A new pair of running shoes ! Wahoo - can't wait to break these babies in!

...and a snuggly Gracie sleeping next to them:

And tonight, having accomplished the shopping, painting & napping portions of my day, I am enjoying date night #2 with J. Sushi, a bottle of wine & "The X-files" (hehe... net.flix on demand is a glorious thing!)

Have a sweet Sunday night, friends :)

Challenge Days #15 & 16 : Busy Weekend

Hi friends :) This is going to be a quickie tonight, as I am late for date night ... but I'll fill in the blanks for you tomorrow, I promise!

Here are some pictures from my lunchtime walk yesterday, and my Saturday activities-- Enjoy!

Friday:

Why hello, little leaf! What a lovely beacon you are of the gorgeous fall season to come :)

Saturday:

Ahh... The Saturday morning coffee tradition. Apparently, Gracie likes her coffee, too (see below -- FYI: she is smelling the creamer-- not sleeping next to it...)

Aaaand, today's project: (finally) painting the blue room. Which of course isn't as simple as it sounds... I had to sand first, vacuum 3x, and then wash the walls to remove excess dust ... It's 8:41pm and I still haven't gotten to the painting yet...

Happy Amy. This is before I started the sanding....(If I never have to sand anything ever again, it will be too soon ...)

What are your weekend plans? Relaxing, tackling a to-do list, like me? Do tell!

Challenge Day #14: Wednesday/Thursday Musings

Hello, hello friends :) I hope your week is treating you well --T.G.I.a.F.!

I must admit that I (*sigh, eye roll*) forgot to take my Day #14 picture(s) yesterday .

.. Okay, that's not really true at all. Truth is, I thought about taking pictures several times yesterday, but my camera wasn't handy, and it wasn't really possible to 'hit the pause button' on life while I obtained either my phone or my camera. It was a good day, though, and in an effort to preserve the spirit of the challenge (although, for the record, I'm just going to continue the challenge with today being day 14 ... It's my blog, after all :) I can paint you a little word picture: yesterday involved twilight walks, thin mints, coffee, family dinner & "catch up talks' between sisters who haven't seen each other for almost a week (it's incredible how busy life is on campus ... I get tired just thinking about it, haha).

And today has been pretty good, too :) I treated myself to a Trader Joe's trip during lunch time (oh, Joe, it's been too long -- how I've missed you!) with the purpose of picking up a couple items for dinner, but, s usual, I think I spent more time just looking at all the crazy-cool merchandise they have to offer. I swear, that place inspires me and feeds my soul, as well as my tummy :)

Tonight has been blessedly low-key. Oh I love these quiet nights in -- the ones that don't really have any plans or to-do's attached to them, so we mostly just end up on the couch-- me blogging, J. reading, and the "fuzzies" snuggled in between. I suppose there really is something to being "old (er), predictable, and boring" :) I languish in the beauty of the routine.

I'm actually going to keep this short tonight, as I'm feeling pretty tired, and my brain is wrapping itself around some deeper stuff, which I am looking forward to sharing with you in the next several days. But, not to forget the important stuff, I'll leave you with....

Good List

1. J. Something that I hadn't expected when I got married was the dependence I would develop for my husband. Now, don't read this wrong, it's not at all an unhealthy dependence -- I can do perfectly well without him, I still maintain my own social life and interests, and really, I'm a fairly independent little girl. But honestly? When I'm not with him I miss him-- even when it's just a matter of not seeing him all day because we each have our separate obligations. ...And sometimes this takes me by surprise, and the power of these emotions scare me. ... But I can't help but think that in some way, this is a good thing :) I know I'm still young, and that I have a limited grasp on the concept of love, but what I have found is that (like with all of life), sometimes you need to allow yourself to be a little scared and uncomfortable to grow.

2. COFFEE. Oh boy, was this ever a coffee week. Now, I believe that I have sung the praises of my baby french press before -- but I'm doing it again because I finally got my act together and ground my own coffee beans. And really, enjoying your cup of french press is much more (erm) enjoyable when you don't have to drink 1/4" of ground at the bottom of your cup ...

3. Fabric softener. Would you believe me if I told you that I have never in my life used fabric softener before this past weekend?! I have (honest to goodness) never bought the stuff before -- but one a whim (& a whiff in the Kroger aisles) I picked up a bottle. Oh.My. Lavender scented sheets = awesomeness.

4. 5 am snuggle time with Gracie. I LOVE it. I hope she intends to make it a habit :)

5. G(oogle)-Chat

6. Organizing the little things-- and how it always seems to make the "bigger stuff" so much more manageable.

7. Peanut butter Puffins :)

8. Candles, wine, cookies & heart-to-heart chats

9. Sunshine & cool evenings -- Fall is on its way-- Wahoo! :)

10. "A happy heart makes its own song."

What is on your Good List this week?

Challenge Day #13: Today/Tonight/Tomorrow

Today was kind of a rough day.

Just one of those weird days when I couldn't shake the tired and melancholy, and all I really wanted to do was come home, curl up in bed, and start over (I have a sneaking suspicion that my sadness had everything to do with my extreme tiredness today …. 12 miles can do that to you, ya know…)
To put it plainly, I was in a funk.


But I did my best to find the good things. I strove to celebrate the mundane, fervently believing in the mantra "fake it 'till you make it."

Tonight I chopped vegetables with gusto, and sipped wine as I cooked dinner for my husband. Tonight when we sat down together to eat we dined on our fine china-- because china is for special occasions-- and what occasion is more special than having dinner with the love of your life?

Tonight I baked cookies, and enjoyed one (almost) straight out of the oven with an icy cold glass of milk. Tonight I scooped Gracie up every time she ventured near enough, and gave her extra kisses. Tonight I looked through my wedding pictures again, because they make me happy. Tonight I may have sighed a little deeper than normal, but I lingered in J's hugs for longer as well.

Tonight I will go to sleep in peace, knowing that , yes, this day will be over soon, and tomorrow will be a new start-- but today had it's redeeming qualities and it's "good stuff" in it's own right. ...You take the bitter with the sweet :)

Looking forward to the tomorrow ...

Challenge Day #12: 12 MILES, BABY!!!

We did it!

Distance: 12.00 miles

Time: 3:07:19

Average pace: 15:36/mile

Challenge Day #11: Finding the good in 'thwarted plans'

Today's "Challenge Post" topic has ended up being a bit more ... erm... challenging than I was planning. I was going to post this evening about my long walk for the week -- 12 miles-- which I was super excited about because I was going to be going with a 'walking buddy', my father.

However, due to some rain and some technical difficulties (iPhone FAIL), the walk has been postponed until tomorrow. ...Which really isn't a problem at all, it's just disappointing. I had been looking forward to it (in a characteristic 'long distance day' = butterflies in my tummy kind of way) all afternoon, after all. Bah.

Mad/Disappointed Face. "Thumbs DOWN."

But I guess it's time for me to put on my 'big girl pants' and stop pouting about it. (J an the cats will be glad when I stop stomping around the house, hehe:) There were lots of good things about today, and now I can look forward to a long walk tomorrow evening-- which will be a wonderful way to wind up the day after 8hrs at work.

Good stuff today was, primarily, down time. Thank goodness for weekends! Since Ben has been in town our weekend has been a bit busier than usual, but this afternoon J & I got the chance to wind down and spend some good quality time together, talking and snuggling the kitties. (see our little "cuddle bugs", below.)

Actually, come to think of it, it was a pretty perfect Sunday afternoon.

Here's to seeing the good stuff (even in imperfect situations), and those who have the patience to love us through our cranky moments...

Have a wonderful rest of your Sunday, friends!

Challenge Day #10: Rainy Saturday

After a hot, muggy morning (80+ degrees at 9:30 am... whew!) -- which, I must say, was pretty perfect car washing weather-- this afternoon we were blessed with some of the most spectacular storms I've seen yet this summer; replete with dramatic skies, gusting winds and pounding rain.

Perfect weather for crawling back in bed with a small purring fuzzy (Gracie is curled up at my feet as I type) and a book ....

Today's good things are fun & laughter with new friends, and magnificent displays of nature.

Challenge Day #9: Company, Part Deux

I love having company, especially when they cook for me :)

And now, if you'll excuse me, I have a homemade margarita calling my name .....

Happy Friday to you!

Challenge Day #8: Sisters

Can I be honest with you?

Having a sister is awesome, and the sisterly bond is everything its cracked up to be.

Laurie and I are, more often than not, delightfully and sometimes tragically on the same wavelength. She is one of my best friends, and I will miss her dearly as she returns to school tomorrow (but-- only 2 semesters away from a BSN-- YeAh!) Tonight we celebrated life by just being together; being silly and giggly and authentically, well .... US.

The following pictures need no further explanation:

(PS: photo booth is AwEsOmE!)

Okay... this deserves one comment : Where is our hair?!

Challenge Day #7: Company

Tomorrow afternoon, J's best friend from is coming into town from Texas. J and Ben have known each other pretty much forever (which, I have just been informed, means since they were in middle school together).

And so, in preparation for our guest (who is, of course, more family than guest, really), I went into "deep clean mode" this afternoon.

Unfortunately for everyone involved (which was, pretty much, just me... but poor J got an ear-full when I made it back inside...) "deep clean" also involve pulling some monster weeds:

Oh.Sweet.Heaven. I think these weeds almost did me in. Apparently there is something to "keeping up with the yard work". Gah.

However, as is often the case in life, not even the bad stuff (read: weeds) was all bad. I discovered these lovelies in one of our back flower beds. I have no ides what they are, or how they got there -- they might even be weeds, for all I know, but they mak me happy, so I'm not pulling them :)

And how are you, friends? I hope you have been having wonderful weeks :) Mine has been pretty good, if not (other than today) productive. I've started a new book (The Memory Keeper's Daughter, by Kim Edwards) which I'm really enjoying; I made a fantastic batch of chocolate chip cookies that I've been munching through steadily (no one can tell me that real butter in no big deal :); and Gracie has been on 5 am snuggle patrol all week (which, I agree, isn't terribly convenient, but she's just so darn cute!)

Some other good things:

Good List

1. J. Last night's date night was really nice :) It's not like we don't talk to each other normally, but it just seems extra special to sit across from each other in the dim closeness of a restaurant and really focus on each other. I was comforting, romantic, fun and (not to be repetitive, but this word is just perfect here) nice.

2, Talking "wedding details" with Katie. I'm just so happy for her I think I could burst.

3. Lunch breaks spent in the library.

4. Spending time with my family, around the dinner table; telling stories and laughing so hard we cry.

5. Inspirational, motivational true stories. We (my family and I) watched a movie on Monday night called "Gifted Hands", which is based on the real life story of Dr. Benjamin Carson. It was wonderful-- so positive & uplifting.

6. Heart shaped post-it notes.

7. The way the leaves flip over before a thunderstorm.

8. Vanilla ice cream

9. A weekend full of exciting activities (youth group is starting up!)

10. "I love you, not for who you are, but for who I am when I am with you..." - Roy Croft. I realize every day just how blessed I am by those around me; their kindness, their wisdom and the small, unspoken ways in which they are shaping me every day into the person I am meant to be.

What are some of your good things this week?

And finally, just for fun, here is a new song that I'm loving: Bad Company by Five Finger Death Punch. It's too good of a song & too good of a tie in with today's "Challenge theme" not to share!

Have a fabulous "rest of your Wednesday" ... More tomorrow :)