I DID IT! {Chicago Marathon 2016 Initial Thoughts}

If you follow me on social media you probably saw that Sunday was one of those perfect race days. It went so smoothly I still want to pinch myself to make sure it really happened that way. 

Obviously since it was my third year in a row running the Chicago Marathon, you might have already guessed that I was a fan. Besides the flat and fast course, the whole thing is so well-organized. I love the city route, the atmosphere, the spectators that line the entire course, and all of the amazing volunteers. 

Race morning was a breeze, and I stayed calm, collected, and just let myself run. I can't thank all my friends, family, fellow runners, and followers for all the love, support, and good vibes I was given.  When I knew at Mile 20 that I had a Boston Qualifying time and my goal in me, it was just a surreal moment. I wanted that dream of running Boston really badly. 

I tried to tell myself not to get too excited since the race was just starting at Mile 20, but deep down I knew I could do it. I spend a lot of time trying to fake confidence and believe in myself (#workinprogress). The days before the race I was anxious about my goals and saying I was ready for the marathon despite so many people telling me I was going to rock it, yet it took race day for me to positively believe it.  I trusted the training and myself especially once I past the halfway mark. I knew that my legs and heart were going to get me to the finish line strong.  All those early mornings, hot & humid summer long runs, and tough workouts were worth it. 

The last 6 miles hurt (I'm pretty sure that's just a given in all marathons), but it was one of the couple marathons where I felt so in control for most of the race. My mental game was on point, and I stayed fairly composed during race until I saw the finish line. Immediately after crossing it I started sobbing. Sobbing so that people were asking me if I was okay, and I was like it's all good-they are happy tears! That elusive Boston Qualifying acceptance time (not just qualifying cuts it anymore!) was mine. I crushed and surpassed my goal time of 3:30 all while not only telling myself that I was strong but truly believing it.  

I'll have a full race recap up at the end of the week, but just remember to run happy & dream big. You have all the power to achieve your dreams already inside of you.  

My custom Momentum motivate wrap bracelet with my mantra from last year still holds true. 

And sorry that you'll have to keep hearing about the 2016 Chicago Marathon. Most of my races aren't this amazing so I'm soaking it alllllll in. 

If Girls Ran the World {Free registration giveaway to run/walk challenge}

Through my partnership with Fit Approach and SweatPink, I was given the awesome opportunity to learn about and participate in the If Girls Ran the World program.  Their tag line is "Run Because you Care."  If you follow my blog or me on social media, you know that I am ALL about empowering women and girls to do whatever they want to do, dream big, and realize their full potential. 

I LOVE supporting women in athletics so I'm excited to share some information about this virtual running challenge for girls. This October, thousands of women like me, around the world will be logging miles and running virtually around the world to benefit charities that empower girls around the world.  I pledge to run 100 miles in October! 

When you register for $25 you not only receive access to the month-long challenge in which you can track your miles running or walking as well as your own personal fundraising page but also insipring emails with tips and recipes, access to in-person and online running groups, and the opportunity to take part in weekly fitness and fundraising challenges.  

When I registered for the event, I choose from a list of charities which one I wanted to support through my running and fundraising with a goal of raising $250. I choose the Women's Refugee Commission Inc because I think that empowering refugees especially in today's world, is so important.

Without getting too political, while there is gender discrimination in this country, women in other parts of the world and especially refugees aren't afforded the same basic necessities, freedoms, and opportunities as women are in the U.S.  $250 can provide a family with training and livestock so they can earn the necessary income to pay for their daughter's school fees and supplies, think about that impact.  

On Traveling Solo

I haven't posted in a bit because I was travelling out on the west coast. I had an amazing time at Seawheeze half marathon (more on that later) and fell in love with Vancouver, British Columbia. Who wants to move to the pacific northwest with me, haha? Taking the whole trip solo was a really great experience. I've done plenty of longer weekend solo trips including 2 last month, but this was the first time in a while that I was travelling solo for a full week.  

Of course everywhere I went people were asking who I was travelling with and were a little surprised when I said I was out here alone.  I'm assuming the feelings are the same ones I was having. People are scared of being lonely, feeling unsafe, or looking like they don't have anybody-similar to taking yourself out to dinner alone.  I have some social anxiety which makes it a little understandable for me but still, people are constantly on their phones and rarely just sitting anytime they are on public transit or waiting for someone. The beginning of the trip during my couple days in Seattle was still a little stressful for me. I had some things going on in my personal life still messing with my head and was feeling a little insecure about being out on my own. 

Obviously I had friends.acquaintances, and November Project people I met up with in Seattle and Vancouver so it wasn't like I was in a completely foreign place with no one. Still, there were a few days where the world was my oyster, and I had hours and hours to fill. I was also having a stressful feeling those first few days like "what am I doing here?" & "why am I spending all this money when I'm a broke graduate student?". There was also the big question of "What in the world do I want to do, today?" 

Eventually post-race in Vancouver, I spent a lot of time outdoors and with the amazing views that Vancouver has to offer and reached a really nice place of zen that I had not found in a while. It was a very centering experience and has helped solidify for me some things that I was feeling anxious about. I am an awesome person and settling for anything in life is not worth it. I may be paying off this trip for months, but it was freaking worth it. My saying that I always tell people is that I'll never have time and money all at once, so if I want to travel-I'm going to make it work. That has been my feeling really since the amazing experience I had flying across the country to go run Hood to Coast in Oregon 2 years ago this month. Flying solo and being able to stay in hostels or Airbnbs nowadays also helps keep things cheaper! 

Top of Quarry Rock in Vancouver, BC

Also travelling solo became really relaxing. My day didn't have to be jam-packed scheduled with things. I didn't have to worry about someone else's schedule or figuring out what they wanted to do. If I wanted to grab a coffee and pastry and leisurely window-shop for a couple hours, cool. If I wanted to check out this art museum that I really wanted to go to it was great. I didn't worry about if others were bored or how long to spend at each piece-I took my time.  Another perk was that pretty much any restaurant or place that had a bar meant not waiting for a table!  I got okay with sitting at a bar and grabbing a beer to watch the Olympics at night. I love planning, but I spent a lot of time living in the moment and letting the day take me where it would. Jumping into plans I was just invited to turned out to be the best times of the trip.  

As far as for Seawheeze I was in a Facebook group, and there were many "orphans" or people who were coming out solo for the race that connected and posted about meeting up for dinner or activities. I ended up meeting a fellow Baltimore runner lady for dinner after connecting on the Facebook group!

While travelling with family and friends is great, I really recommend that everyone travels solo even for just a weekend. I would also like to thank Google Maps and Starbucks free wifi for making navigating an unfamiliar place easy for a lady with a terrible sense of direction like myself. I saw an amazing part of the country and met some awesome people.  Now the hard part is being back in the real world with school, work, and stress and trying to keep this little piece of zen inside me. 

This quote at the top of Grouse Grind has become my mantra for the trip and beyond!

This post was linked up with my fave Friday Linkup ladies Courtney, Mar, and Cynthia  as well as Nicole and Amanda.

Have you ever traveled solo? Have you ever taken a solo race-cation? 

2016 Goals: The Year to Be Bold

Here we go, another post about someone's goals for the new year and vague feelings about getting better, faster, stronger. How original. 

Real talk and thinking out loud, I think setting goals is a useful reflection activity. It's a way to think about improvements you'd like to make in yourself and keep yourself accountable for positive changes in your life. Past January when life gets in the way, things can get hard to keep. I know it's really easy to set goals that are way too high or unrealistic. Sometimes goals are set and shit happens, and therefore the goal is unattainable. 

Anyhow this year I plan to set some goals not resolutions and am keeping them fairly broad. I don't really want to hold myself to running X miles a week or hitting a PR in everything, or losing weight, or having 10 things I want to do every week because I know it won't happen.  So here are my goals for 2016-let's hope that I can check most of these off as completed in a year!

2016 Goals

1. Journal everyday in my One Line a Day journal.  
I started this journal last year and majorly slacked. All I'm asking for is at least one line of journaling a day so I'm trying to stick with it this year because I think having a record of some private thoughts and a space for reflection is important. 

2. Stay in strong running shape year-round. 
 I always say this and then winter hits like it did this week and instead of running I just want to put on a million layers and cuddle under a blanket on the couch with Netflix. Here's to keeping my running fairly consistent throughout the year! 

3. Get back to lifting regularly. 
At first I had written at least 2x a week added to this goal, but specific goals seem really restrictive. Ugh I've been saying this but honestly since I stopped Crossfit because of money and haven't belonged to a gym it just doesn't happen. I'm not a lift at home kinda gal. I plan on joining a gym and actually making this happen because I miss my baby muscles and feeling strong.   

4. Work on being confident. 
Always a work in progress and as most everyone probably feels, how I feel about myself fluctuates day to day. Here's to taking chances, speaking up, loving my body, and believing in myself. My word or mantra for 2016 is "Be bold." Bold is a little different from confident in that it means not hesitating based on fear and being brave. I think I need to have confidence but also be bold in putting myself out there and taking chances without fear or doubt. 

5. Fuel my body. Eating pizza, french fries, and dessert is delicious and is something I will not give up because life is too short for steamed broccoli and boneless skinless chicken breast everyday.  However trying to get some more veggies in never hurt anyone. I need to work on having solid, satisfying meals, especially once school starts up again this semester and all I want and am surrounded by is junk. Fueling my body isn't just healthy, it leads to me feeling better and better workouts! 

6. Budget better. 

 I realize that as much as I don't want to be, I am actually a full blown adult. While I have most things under control, I really need to budget better. I need to actually have a solid savings account and not spend money on frivolous and unnecessary things (I'm looking at you Target and Whole Foods). That means buying things online and especially food shopping, thoughtfully. It also means looking at monthly spending and using my credit card less. It's easy to buy things, but I know I want to spend the little money I have after all of my bills (don't even talk to me about student loan debt I'm piling onto my undergraduate debt) on travelling and things that are actually important to me. 

7. Travel to at least two new places.

Because of my wanderlust, I probably don't really need to have this as a goal however I think having it in writing is a nice thing to hold myself to. I'd love to go out west again and explore a little more of the North by going to Vermont or Maine. 

8. Set a running PR.  
My goal for qualifying for the Boston Marathon happened last year, but my time is just under the qualifying time so I know I won't get accepted this year. Getting a faster qualifying time is a goal, but I really don't want to put pressure on myself this year, especially because full-time school AND work really impacts my free-time and training. I am still figuring out racing plans and what I want to accomplish in 2016, but let's just say I'm shooting for a PR. Whether that's a half marathon, 5K, 10 miler, or marathon PR-I'm cool.

Here's to a 2016 filled with more adventure, love, and happiness!

Do you set a goal or resolutions? What is one of your goals? What would be your word of 2016? 

Thanksgiving Gratitude and We Finish Together Organization

A couple weeks ago I read this article on RunnersWorld.com, and soon after it was quickly being shared by various members of November Project. Kim Stemple is a runner and member of November Project-DC. After reading the article for the first (and second) time I had tears in my eyes.  There had been an earlier article on Zelle  about Kim that I found through this article as well. 

She created the organization We Finish Together  in 2012 which donates finishers medals sent in by runners with handwritten personalized notes to people all across the country who need recognition such as sick children, veterans, and police officers. 

Kim is a competitive runner, special education teacher, and cross-country coach. In 2009 she got sick and doctors diagnosed her with a rare mitochondrial disease which causes progressive physical & mental deterioration. She was then diagnosed with more problems in the years following including lupus and lymphoma and has lived 2 years past expectancy for someone with her diagnosis. Despite currently being on weekly chemotherapy, 51 year old Kim has not stopped running or living her life. 

She founded We Finish Together in 2012 after a friend who ran a race that Kim was too sick to travel to gave her a medal. The positivity from the medal shared by herself and others inspired her to start this organization.  

She finished her 4th marathon in Boston 2014 and then moved to DC with her husband for further care. The article goes on to say "When Stemple told one of her doctors she was going to run the 2015 Marine Corps Marathon, he asked her what mile marker she wanted to die at. He believed her condition so fragile, she wouldn’t live through the race."{now as I try to type this blog post there goes the waterworks again!}

Kim ran the marathon in honor of her husband who is a former Marine and finished in 4:15 with a 2 minute PR.  {more tears}

She donated the medal to her husband and has continued living life and running. 

I unexpectedly met Kim after the Annapolis Running Classic this past weekend. A friend had said she had seen her running on the course, and we happened to bump into her and her husband in the post-race party tent. We went up to her and she pointed out all of our November Project grassroots gear and gave us all hugs after we took a bunch of photos together. 

After meeting her, the first line of the article "Kim Stemple didn't want this story to be about her" became apparently obvious. We all told her how inspiring she was and she shushed us and kept saying it wasn't about her. She said she wants to "create a spark".  It's all about her message and living life to the fullest.  She was so happy, funny, positive and full of life.  

Some of us NP-Baltimore ladies and Kim (blue singlet) after the Annapolis Running Classic 2015

Thanksgiving is always a time for gratitude. It's a time for reflection on family, health, love, and all the blessings in my life. In my day to day life I usually try my best to stay positive, be kind, and chase happiness. With all of the seriously effed up things going on in the world, when there is so much uncertainty and things can change in an instant, it is important to make each and every day count. It's cheesy, but it's true. 

At the post-race party Saturday, Kim said we are all going to die, it's a fact of life. I don't care what she says, but the way that she lives her life inspires me. I gathered a few medals to donate to We Finish Together (you can mail them in!) and have been taking the time to reflect on trying to make the most of my days and encourage you to do the same this Thanksgiving.

You can follow We Finish Together on Facebook,Instagram , or check out their website. 

I'm sure if she reads this she'll remind everyone that's it's not about her. I just want to spread her message and help create more sparks in people. Think about what positivity and love you can spread in this world. 

I'm so grateful for the opportunity to briefly meet Kim and be reminded that every one's days on this earth are numbered. Never lose sight of actually living in the here & now instead of taking things for granted and putting your life off. 

What are you grateful for this Thanksgiving? 

Goal Digger {End of year goals with HERstory Apparel}

Disclaimer: I was sent a complimentary shirt of my choice from HERstory. I was not compensated in any way for this post, I really just wanted to share the brand's story because I love their message! As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

If you know me (or at least follow me on social media!) you know that I am passionate about women's rights, and women generally doing kickass things in the world. I love empowered women, girl power, and girl bosses!  So when I read about HERstory Apparel on the HelloGiggles (a positive online community for women founded in part by Zooey Deschanel), I knew I wanted to share the brand's story on my blog.  

HERstory Apparel is a clothing line that wants to "honor the trailblazing women of the past, inspire the amazing women of today and ignite a future generation of girls." They create inspiring apparel for women and girls while also honoring many of the amazing women that mostly get ignored in history books such as the "fly girls",women who flew military aircraft as part of a program during World War II.

HERstory Apparel carries t-shirts and tanks that come in unisex, women, youth, and toddler styles and sizes.  Also a portion of their proceeds are donated to "organizations that empower women and girls." To celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness month, they have special collection of STRONGHER apparel from which $5 of each sale from the collection in October will be donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

I love that the website says that "this brand is for badass women...young and old!". 

Right on! 

I reached out to the brand because I really wanted to share their story on my blog and collaborate with the brand. They offered to send me a shirt of my choice so naturally I went with the GOAL DIGGER design. I'm always reaching for bigger and more amazing things in life! It especially seemed like the perfect message for me post-Chicago marathon and as this year begins to wind down. 

I have been thinking a lot about my goals life-wise and fitness-wise lately. I'm not quite sure what my racing goals for next year will be. I'm toying with the idea of running a spring full marathon or perhaps just trying to get faster and PR a half marathon. For now, here are my goals for the rest of 2015 after reflecting on my initial goals for the year.  

1. Journal everyday in my One Line a Day journal.  

I fell off the wagon hard with this but really want a little piece of my days to have, especially as I take on graduate school and a new career path.  

2. Stay in strong running shape. 

I always say I will keep myself in great marathon running shape. However the past 2 years after a fall marathon the holidays and winter weather interfere, and I never do. I want to keep some longer runs and speedwork in my schedule. 

3. Get back to lifting at least 2x a week.  

Just trying to hit the school gym might not work, but I really crave feeling strong again.  

4. Work on being confident. 

Some of my classes have reaffirmed that I really need to build my confidence in myself or at least fake it until I am confident. 

5. Fuel my body.

I've been eating a hella amount of junk lately. I can't keep hustling like I do without lots of good fuel for my body so I'm going to try to clean it up before the holidays. Don't worry there's always room for ice cream, pizza, and beer! 

6. Survive my first semester of grad school in one piece. 

Self-explanatory!

Stay connected with HERstory on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

What's one goal you have for the rest of the year? What inspirational message would you like on a shirt? 

Momentum Jewelry Ambassador Discount and Wish Wraps

Disclosure: I am a Momentum Jewelry ambassador and receive complimentary products. This blog post contains my affiliate link. As always, all opinions are my own. 


I am really excited to announce that I'm a new ambassador for Momentum Jewelry! I love getting to a part of the teams of brands I love so it is exciting to support an athletic jewelry company that I've been a big fan of since I reviewed their products last year. 

I am completely obsessed with good vibes, positive thinking, and inspirational mantras. Having a reminder on my wrist or shoes while I'm working, running, or going about my day really helps me focus. 

Momentum's motivate wrap bracelets are my favorite with their cozy, tee shirt-like wrap material and great choice of mantras.  You can pretty much always find one on my wrist! 

If you use my ambassador link, you can save 10% off any order from Momentum!

I totally had positive energy during my awesome race at the Love Run Philadelphia half marathon this past Sunday and loved having that reminder on my wrist to glance during those tougher miles. 

You will be hearing and seeing more from me about Momentum Jewelry, but right now they are having an amazing sale to debut their new WISH wraps.  These beautiful leather wrap bracelets with little rhinestone studs are chic and inspiring.  They are available in brown or black leather with an assortment of sayings.  

I chose one that says "dream big" as a reminder to always reach for big goals and remember that I have the power to achieve anything that I want. I chose the brown leather and love how great it looks on my wrist, especially now that the weather is warming up and I'm able to show off my stacks when I'm wearing short sleeves. 

If you purchase a wish wrap through me as an ambassador you can save 25% (so they are only $30 instead of $40) through April 20th at midnight.  

Just click on my link, and click on suede & leather at the top of the website, and then click on wish wrap to order. 

These make a great gift, especially with Mother's Day around the corner!

Check out Momentum Jewelry on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or online.

Do you have a favorite inspirational saying or mantra? 

Pre-Thanksgiving Gratitude

I've been having a rough week in my personal life, and my anxiety levels have been high.   It's already Thanksgiving tomorrow and now less than a month until Christmas.  Life's bumps, work, grad school applications, and a to-do list that only seems to grow longer instead of shorter are constantly on my  mind. I haven't even gotten to planning my 2015 race schedule!

 This morning in my inbox I received this email from Runner's World motivation, giving me just the reminder I need not only for running, but for life.

It's funny how sometimes the universe gives you what you need, even if it's in the form of a silly email subscription.  So as I try to re-center myself, breathe, and focus on the positive, I offer you some words of wisdom as we go into a holiday weekend.

Things happen but guess what? After that it's over, just like the RW quote says. There are consequences, but you can't go back and change a moment in the past. Dwelling on it and worrying it does nothing but make you more upset.  This is really hard for me and is definitely a work in progress.

Active Nation Day with Lorna Jane on 9/28/2014

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Lorna Jane in a partnership with Fit Approach and the Sweat Pink Community.No compensation was received for this post. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

If you missed it, be sure to check out my post on the Body Love Tour and body image yesterday!

I've recently become familiar with the Lorna Jane brand of activewear and hopefully will get my hands on some their cute fitness gear soon like this adorable polka dot sports bra and this inspirational running tank. 

This Sunday the brand is hosting Active Nation Day which is in align with the principles the brand stands for- "Move. Nourish.Believe". I was excited to be given the opportunity to spread the word about Active Nation Day because I wholeheartedly believe in the message!  

Active Nation Day is this Sunday, September 28, and all over the world Lorna Jane will be hosting events to bring a whole group of women together, all committed to living their best life.

Hi I'm Lauren. {thoughts after Fitbloggin'}

If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook you saw that I had a fabulous time at Fitbloggin' in Savannah this past weekend. After a delayed flight and long drive last night, I'm dragging a little this Monday morning. At the same time I am feeling very motivated and inspired by the weekend. 

I'll do a Fitbloggin' recap and photo dump later this week, but I today I'm sharing all the thoughts swirling in my head from the conference. I met so many awesome people and heard so many inspiring stories. I was given a lot  to think about and reflect upon. It's a weird world to be in. I have real life friends, blogger friends, and total strangers reading my blog. I love sharing snippets from my life and stories about my training and races with others. 

Even if you're a brand new or long-time reader I thought I'd reintroduce myself to you.

This is a snapshot into what's swirling in my brain now. It's not everything, but it's a little picture of who I am.  I typed, proofread, and hit publish so it's of the moment.

Own Today {Momentum Jewelry Review & Giveaway}

Did you check out the reasons why I run yesterday? I hope you had a great National Running Day whether you got a run in or not!

Lately I've been really into mantras. Little words that help me reflect on the moment or task at hand are really helpful, especially with my anxiety. I love posting inspiring sayings on my walls and writing little quotes on post-its I put all over the place. 

Having some words of motivation and happiness can be really inspiring when you are having a hard day or a tough workout (or trying to complete the #RWRunStreak!). For the Baltimore Marathon back in October I wrote mantras like "dig deep" on my hands in sharpie, but they ended up coming off by the end of the race.  

I was really excited to be offered the chance to review Momentum Jewelry, a line of jewelry by Amy and Wendy which blends their passion for fitness and over 20 years of jewelry-making experience.  They make motivational jewelry that is workout-proof so you can be inspired while you get your sweat on!

Tara Stiles took the words right out of my blog post?

Well I had a blog post in the works for today about my life being chaotic right now, and my decision this week to put my foot down and take care of myself. I was sick with a lingering head cold and pushing myself, stressed out about finances and school, which was manifesting itself in acne and more tummy troubles, and using shopping and nut butter as my therapy. There is no stopping the nut butter addiction, I'm not that silly. Still, I've been eating a lot of bananas with nut butter.  I just finished reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin which also is probably contributing to my wake up call.  

I open my email inbox today and see my all of the thoughts I was feeling and trying to express in my blog post, nicely said by the lovely yoga guru Tara Stiles in the blog emails I get from her. She stole the words right out of my head and blog post! (Go to her site to sign up-she always has nice musings, contests, and recipes!) 

I'm trying to put myself and my happiness first in life. My time and money and most of all, energy is precious so I'm not wasting it or doing things I don't want to do that I don't have to.  Being healthy and happy and taking care of yourself not only helps you, but makes you a better person to be around.  In the email Tara says "We all have our stress. It's a part of life. It comes and goes and comes and goes again. The trick I've learned along the way is to deal with it when it comes so we aren't only happy and calm when it's on a gone cycle. ". 
This is true and usually it's a balancing for me, but lately it has seemed I can't get a a good grip on everything in my life. 

I'm going to repost her 5 Simple Steps to Take Care of Yourself Now, along with a few of my own steps that I am personally going to take in the next week or so. I've bolded and highlighted some major points that I like from the list!  If you want to see Tara Stile's full blog post, click here!

"5 Simple Steps to Take Care of Yourself Now by Tara Stiles

1. Get enough sleep. Wind down your night by putting your phone and computer away. Don't fall asleep checking instagram. (I'm guilty so I'm just saying) Sleep is essential to your health. Get enough. Start tonight. Here is a routine to wind down your night. 

2. Prepare more meals for yourself. If you cook, you are going to pay attention to what you are eating. Get interested in the kitchen. Start preparing your meals. Some of my favorite super simple heathy meals are here.  

3. Spend your time wisely. Your time is more valuable than your money. Think about it. It's true. Spend your time with people that make you feel good. Align yourself with work that fuels your creativity. If you have a job that stresses you out, find ways to not let it consume and squash you.

4. Don't postpone your happiness. Your life is happening right now. Watch out for thoughts like, I'll be happy when this happens, or I'll be happy when this isn't happening any more. Make changes now that help you feel better so you can take care of your self.

5. And don't forget You are Perfect! There is nothing to fix. Cultivate and work toward things that inspire you and make habits of things that nurture you. Your health and your life isn't a goal, it's an ongoing experience that is happening right now. Enjoy!"

So I've mentioned frequently lately that I need to work on getting more sleep. I'm working on it. I've also mentioned that putting the phone, computer, etc. away helps because those bright lights from electronics disrupts melatonin production and keeps you awake longer! I've been pretty good at meal planning, packing lunches, and preparing lots of my own food so that doesn't really apply to me.   You are an awesome person, but everybody has areas they can improve upon. 

This whole blog post I had planned for today was focused around NOT postponing your happiness. We get so caught up in the day-to-day activities that time just passes, and then we realize we aren't having all that much fun.  Everyday, the good and the bad, is life. Don't say you'll be happy when you get through this busy stretch, when this major work project is over, when you lose 10 pounds. BE HAPPY RIGHT NOW! You don't know what tomorrow brings so live life the fullest, carpe diem, and all that jazz. 

5 Things I am doing this week to make myself happier

1. Painting my nails/toenails. I put this off and now my fingernails are chipped and toe nail polish has been on for a while so I'm going to have a glass of red wine this weekend and take the time to paint my nails. This seems like a silly thing to schedule but remember to pamper yourself, people. 
2. Taking a bath. Okay so this has two benefits. One, it is relaxing and two, my legs have been really sore. I saw that Carlyn from Just Keep Sweating  had instagrammed earlier this week that she was taking an epsom salt bath for her sore body. I just can't manage an ice bath right now, so a warm, scented, salt bath sounds wonderful right now. 
3. Getting some frozen yogurt. It's been a while since I've gone to a frozen yogurt shop, and I'm craving a delicious frozen treat with fresh fruit and chocolate chunks on top. Yum. 
4. Setting up a financial plan.  I have a lot of expenses right now, with more on the way, so I need to actually use the Mint.com account I set up and budget my money. I'm going to set aside some money from each paycheck to put into a savings account, along with a set amount of money set aside to spend on unnecessary spending since that is kind of on the fritz.  Lastly, I'm going to start a jar of loose change and extra dollar bills as a "happiness fund".  Once it's pretty full, I'll get it counted and spend it on something that will make me happy. 
5. I could teach you how to speak my language, Rosetta Stone. Okay so not really the Drake lyric reference but actually getting back in speaking French again. I minored in French in college (would've double majored if I had planned it out better) and haven't spoken it since graduating. It's a skill I'd like to maintain and improve so I'm going to look into dusting off some language books or finding an online program on the cheap to get back at it.  I can allot 30 minutes a day that would be spent surfing the internet (using that phrase makes me feel old) to studying some French.  

If you didn't read all this and are just scrolling here's the recap:

Life's too short to be anything but happy, and the time is now. 

I'll update you on my progress of course. 

What are some things that make you happy that you could work on doing?