Hey y’all! I hope you are all doing well and this week is off to a great start! Things are busy as usual over here but I can’t complain, thats the way I tend to like it. For today’s post, I am going to take you though a few recent favorites / what I have been up to over the past several weeks….

1. Bullet Journaling….have you heard of it?? I am in love with it! I read about it on Haley’s Blog a while ago but have really just gotten into it and it is great. A quick overview of it… Start the very first page with an index. Then on your next two page spread, label the left page with the Month and down the left side of the page write the dates. On this page you write your major events for the month. On the right page of that same two page spread label it tasks / goals you want / need to accomplish that month. Turn the page to your next two page spread. Here I start my week. The first thing I do is a week at a glance. In this section, I put my weekly workouts, personal training clients, and work schedule. Then you start with the individual days. Within the individual days an open circle represents an event, a bullet point represents a note, and an open box represents a task to be accomplished that day. I love it because there is no set amount of space you have per day and it is easy to keep up with everything day to day.

2. Long distance relationships….THEY ARE HARD! I love Dylan but dang it is tough. I definitely value the time we have together but I am certainly struggling not to plan out every second we are together and then not to plan when to see each other again when we are apart. I will say thank goodness for FaceTime though cause it allows us to have an “in person” conversation most nights which is amazing. Something about getting to see his face makes it seem like we aren’t apart quite so much. Any of you who have done the distance thing before, do you have any suggestions?

3. It’s my favorite time of the year…. lake days are in full swing now!! I am so lucky to live so close to the lake and I am taking full advantage of it nearly every weekend. My most recent favorite lake activity is wake surfing. And as lame as this is, I think it is because it doesn’t make your entire body hurt the next day and falls aren’t painful at all haha (does this make me sound old?!)!

4. Speaking of the lake, ironman training is coming along. I just did a mile long open water swim this past Friday and it felt great. Biking and running are getting there as well. A lot of miles are being logged on the trainer and treadmill but I figure that is better than nothing and hitting the pavement in the dark isn’t my best bet. I have also adjusted my training schedule to where I am only (for the time being) doing one workout a day with a mid week rest day. I was getting really frustrated not having the time (or energy) to get in double workouts most days of the week like previously planned so now that I have taken some of the stress off of myself each of my workouts seem to be of much better quality and I am enjoying them more.

5. Smoothie season! Y’all can thank Dylan for this one….here is my current favorite smoothie recipe:

• 1 – 2 large spoonfuls of vanilla greek yogurt
• 1 Banana
• 1 cup (ish) Frozen Berries
• 1/2 cup (ish) Frozen pineapple
• 1 tbs chia seeds
• 1 cup (ish) orange juice

Sorry for the “ish” I am not much for the whole measuring thing. 

6. So I am not much of a movie buff but a couple weeks ago I finally watched Gone Girl and it was AMAZING! I didn’t have super high expectations going in so needless to say I was blown away. I think I need to watch it again to catch onto all the little details though. The main character was cray – cray! I have to give the writers props for coming up with her and the all the little twists and turns throughout the movie. Who else has seen it? What’d you think?

7. Finding what makes you happy. So as y’all know my days seem to be planned to the millisecond with work, training, and other commitments which can be great but can also be exhausting. Yesterday though, I finally had the realization that I was building my own coffin at the rate I was going as I was forgetting about the most important thing in life, myself and my personal happiness. This got me thinking about all the things that make me happy. Here is the list of things I came up with:

• Playing soccer <— even made time and did this today!
• Blogging <— look at me, two “happys” in one day!
• Serving Others
• Playing Recreational Sports….has anyone joined any of the adult leagues around the South Charlotte area? Thoughts? Suggestions?
• Running with friends….I got on meet-up today so hopefully I will get connected with a running group or two in the area soon.
• Being outside…hiking, paddle boarding, running, biking, and even just taking a nap in the sun.
• Reading a good book (in the sun of course)…any suggestions? I tend to like something that is kind of educational. I really enjoy learning 🙂

What makes you happy? What is your go to stress buster activity?

8. Target swimwear is on point this year. I got a few bathing suits from there this year and I am loving them! They are cute and stay in place well…. Such a great combo!!

9. I am thinking about changing up my hair style…. I just can’t decide, long or short?? I’m ready for a change but not sure what exactly I want to do. What’s your opinion?

10. “Great people do things before they’re ready. They do things before they know they can do it. Doing what you’re afraid of, getting out of your comfort zone, taking risks like that – that is what life is. You might be really good. You might find out something about yourself that’s really special and if you’re not good, who cares? You tried something. Now you know something about yourself” – Amy Poehler 

I love this quote. Personally it makes me think about what I am doing with my life and brings a few questions to mind… Am I being complacent? Am I taking appropriate risks? Am I putting myself out there to be successful? What am I capable of that I haven’t found out yet? I feel like it is always good to keep questioning what you’ve got going on. I feel like this helps you to keep growing as a person.

So there are my 10 things…feel free to play along in the comments with what you’re loving and what is new with you as well as answer a few of the questions throughout this post.

Have a great week!