This weekend was my mom's 60th birthday and we threw her a 1920's themed birthday party. It was so much fun seeing everyone dressed up in their 20's gear and listening to music from the era! We had excellent food and the house was decorated amazingly. The best part about the weekend was the fact that we had family come in town to celebrate. 3 of my mom's 5 siblings made it down from Kansas along with 4 of my cousins! We also had a special visit from Caitlin (who is basically my sister). The friends that came for the party were so special to my mom and I know she truly appreciated everyone who made it!
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I recently decided that I wanted to take up bike riding as an addition to my regular workouts. I'm not sure what got me thinking about bike riding but I guess I just wanted to change up my usual, "hey let's go for a 3 mile jog" routine. For my birthday, I asked for some upgrades to my 15 year old bicycle. I hadn't ridden it in about 12 years and my tires needed an upgrade and so did the handle bars. Other than that, I was pleasantly surprised at how well it has lasted in storage! It's not nearly as cute as the one pictured here, but it's one heck of a bike! As we (slowly) ease into fall, I'm hoping for some cooler weather so I can spend some time outside after work and train my muscles to really appreciate all that a bike can do. There are so many benefits to bike riding! Some of my favorite reasons for picking up this new hobby are: 1. It's good for your mental health - it can provide a release and allow you to clear your head while getting exercise 2. It's good for your whole body - you get a full body workout when you ride your bike so you are working every muscle 3. You can do it anywhere - as long as there is a bike around, you can go exploring in any city! 4. It is easier on your joints than most other exercises - sometimes my poor knees and ankles need a break 5. It's a calorie-torcher - you can burn almost 500 calories in an hour when going 12-14 mph 6. It's an alternative to driving - this can save money and make you feel better about your quick trip to the store or coffee 7. It provides an activity to share with friends or a loved one Here are things other people are saying about bike riding: 30 Reasons to Take Up Cycling Reasons to Ride The Top 7 Health Benefits of Cycling 7 Reasons to Start Bike Riding And apparently I'm not the only one who has taken to bike riding. Below are just a few pictures of celebs who have also decided to start cycling! How many of you ride your bike? Thinking of maybe picking it up? This week I'm thankful for the chance to participate in a great cause. I just entered the Run 10 Feed 10 project to run a local 10K to raise money to help feed starving children living close to home. My sister Cate is going to run with me and I'm pumped to share such a great opportunity with her!! We are both raising funds for this and your support would be GREATLY appreciated. Even a $10 donation will feed several starving mouths!! Please check out my fundraising page and help me raise this money! Doing something like this is so fulfilling, I feel like I'm feeding my hunger to give as well as feeding children who can't afford meals!! Try it out! Giving really does feed the soul!! Visit my page here and you can donate a meal or 10!! I'm so thankful for the woman who found our dogs when they got out two days ago and then kept them safe in her backyard while Husband and I traveled from downtown all the way over to her house to get them. Our pups have been super sneaky lately and they love getting out and getting into trouble. Here is a picture of them plotting their next escape! I love my German Shepherd tumbler that my best friend gave me this week. I've been bringing it to work every morning and whenever I use it, I think of my baby Max and my bestie Salice :) Thanks so much, girl! It's perfect!! I'm thankful for love. I have been thinking about love a lot this week. As I drove past a place that always reminds me of Hurricane Ike, I remember how people banded together to help others during the crisis. I think people are good deep-down and during hardships, that love really shows. People are already donating to my fundraising site and I just launched it an hour ago! People are supporting others that they don't even know and that is truly love. I've also noticed that one of my strengths is that I have so much love to share. I absolutely cannot get enough of sweet babies and children or sweet pets/animals. I want to love everything around me and I want to share it with the world. Love is truly something to be thankful for and I can't even begin to explain how much I really just love love! Remember to show someone you love just how much they mean to you this week!! MUCH LOVE!!! xoxo, ME! It's Monday and I don't know about you, but I'd much rather be anywhere but work today. For some reason, I just REALLY wasn't ready to start my work week. Instead, I thought I'd post some pictures of places that I would rather be today!
So I've been seeing these pins on pinterest that are descriptions of people and who they are and what they love. They come from a couple of different blogs. One is called Little Reasons to Smile and the other is called ...And That's Who I Am. My friend Sarah has been pinning them and put them on a board called "All About Me" so I thought I'd pick a few that describe who I am and share them with you :)
This week I'm thankful that I got time to finish three books. I'm especially thankful for my relaxing weekend (that I mentioned a couple days ago) that I spent reading in a calm, quiet house :) Sometimes things get so hectic that I don't have a chance to just sit back and relax. If I want to read, I have to sneak it in between whatever obligations I have. This week, I got some genuine "me" time and it was fabulous! I'm so thankful for the free time I have right now. Love S & B and Gossip Girl so I chose this pic :) I'm also thankful for the girl time I had this week. So far, I have had dinner with two friends (my friend Kristen made me dinner - isn't that sweet??? and my best friend came over last night to catch up and eat with me!). I also had lunch with a friend from college on Monday (whom I hadn't seen for YEARS and it was great to catch up!) and yesterday, I had lunch with Erin, my old college roommate. I mean, seriously, this has been a great week! Who else gets to see THAT many friends throughout the work week??? Lucky me!! Speaking of girls (and friends), I'm thankful for lasting friendships as well as those that come back after many years. Each of the friends I spent time with this week have been in my life for years. Some of them I lost touch with for a few years but have reappeared recently and some have been there all along. I think it's incredible when you can have friends with history. Whether you went in different directions for a while or you grew WITH them, it's amazing to stay connected to people. When looking back, I don't know what I had expected for this point in my life, or who I expected to be a part of it, but either way, I'm thankful for the blessings I have today! Lastly, I'm grateful to work with Husband and have the opportunity to go to lunch with him when I want and share downtown life with him. His mom and brother came in town last week and met us for lunch downtown. We got to show off our office and give them a taste of what it's like to work in a big city (they are not from a big city!). Husband's mom took this pic of us waiting for them to meet us! Aren't we cuuuuuuute???? Happy Monday, Everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend! I made an effort to take it completely easy this weekend and it was amazing. Most of my weekend revolved around relaxing in my (clean) house and reading. The hubs and I went on a date Saturday afternoon/evening and saw Brave which was way better than I expected! I already had high hopes for the movie but I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that the story was much better than the previews had advertised. If you haven't seen it, I'd recommend going as soon as you can! It also has a great soundtrack! Both mornings Husband and I woke up and had breakfast outside on our deck. I recently fixed our espresso machine and it was a treat to enjoy a homemade latte and watch the golfers play in the morning (we live on the golf course). Saturday morning had a bit of cleaning and Sunday we went to church, but come lunch time (both days) I was free! I spent my free time reading Never Let Me Go (review coming soon!) while snuggling with my cat and enjoying the quiet of our house while Husband worked outside. It was so great to just relax while indulging in one of my favorite hobbies. I seldom get weekends with free afternoons and I made sure to cherish every bit of it. I even forced myself to take a nap! (Unfortunately, that energized me and I couldn't fall asleep last night!). What did you all do this weekend?? What is your idea of a perfect weekend?? Would you prefer to get away or stay home? Gretchen and me enjoying a Syracuse blizzard! This week, I'm thankful for my friend Gretchen and her creative support in my life! Haha. She's an amazing artist (if you don't believe me, check out her website here or the post I did about her a couple weeks back!) Gretchen has been helping me brainstorm ideas for my Sicilian kitchen and she's even going to do some of the artwork for it! She's so incredibly creative and I love everything she makes! She's also bubbly, free spirit that always puts a smile on my face. Today, she has an interview for an amazing job and keep your fingers crossed that she gets it! Today I had a "girly lunch" with a couple of my coworkers and it was so much fun! There were three of us and one found this pic that doesn't totally look like us but shows off the good time we had! I love girly lunch dates - they give us a chance to relax and talk about things that the husbands probably wouldn't care about! I mentioned that I'm nursing a strained IT band and by the end of the day, my knee is usually aching. My doctor prescribed this anti-inflammatory gel that you can apply directly to the injury and it's great. Now I don't have to take Advil every four hours and upset my stomach. Instead, the medicine can start working directly where it's needed. Lastly, I'm thankful for Pinterest. It sounds shallow, I know, but it's not the site that I'm thankful for, it's what it provides! I can look up something funny if I'm feeling down or I can look for decorating ideas (been doing that a lot this week!) or crafts or presents to make for people. I can also find delicious recipes and learn cool tricks about my new gardening endeavors. Today, my friend Kim and I were sending each other laughs back and forth with all of the hilarious pins we found. Sometimes it's nice to just laugh out loud (for real) and then share it with a good friend. |
AuthorLoving and learning a little more each day. Archives
June 2015
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