Recurring Series – Page 106

Currently…

Loving: Minimalism! My mom and I are moving into a new apartment in September and I’m trying to focus on downsizing my stuff as much as I can to make the move a lot easier. I’m getting rid of my desk (and adding a night table), 98% of my books, and various other items. If it’s something I haven’t used in the past 6 months, it’s going to Goodwill. Even though our new apartment will have more space, there’s something about minimalism that excites and thrills me. I can’t wait to go through the rest of my room and our apartment. (Let’s hope I can get my mom on board, too!)

Reading: I’m finishing up The Book Thief for #twookclub right now. It is seriously such a good story and one of those books that’s going to stick with me for a long time. I’m also slowly making my way through 20-Something, 20-Everything. It involves a lot of journaling and soul-searching so I’m taking my time with it. But I am getting so much out of it!

Watching: Big Brother! This is my #1 summer show and probably my most anticipated show of the year! I get so caught up in all the drama, game-playing, and excitement. It’s a show you have to dedicate time to, for sure, as it’s on three times a week but it’s so worth it. It’s quite a guilty pleasure for me. And this year, with the addition of the coaches, it’s even more intriguing! (I’m also ready to become besties with Britney at ANY TIME NOW. She’s the best, really.)

Anticipating: Our move! I am SO excited to move into a bigger, much nicer place. We applied on Sunday, signing the lease soon. (We’ve been approved, just can’t log onto the website to sign the lease!) I really love everything about moving. The packing, the cleaning, the unpacking, the feeling of newness, getting to know a new neighborhood… it’s all so fun to me. (I may be eating my words come mid-September…)

Listening to: Right now, I’m in love with Rihanna’s “Where Have You Been”. It is the perfect song for the stationary bike. It really gets me moving! (It also makes me wish I still had access to spin class. I’m about 99% sure they’re playing that one out at spin classes!)

Planning: Some money goals. Our move is not going to be cheap and our rent is going up by $400 so it’s going to require a much stricter budget for me. I need to be smarter about how I spend my money and how I save. There are a few fun trips on my 2013 horizon but they won’t happen if I don’t tighten up my budget. (And I also want to have some fun money to play with!)

Working On: Myself. Trying to live a healthy lifestyle is not going well and I’m trying to figure out exactly why I’m sabotaging myself so much and what I need to do to achieve the place I envision myself. I feel like a broken record, honestly, but I also can’t go backward. I can only move forward. Maybe I need therapy. I don’t know. Or I just need to stop making excuses and get tough with myself.

Wishing: For a money tree to appear outside my window soon. I am stressing a lot about money and I think a part of that stress comes from the unknown. And knowing all my travel plans for 2013 are flying out the window. Boo. Boo. Boo.

inspired by gina

Categories: Recurring Series

A Weekend in Pictures

Every now and then, I have one of those weekends that are full of adventures and exciting memories I want to keep and share with the world. Since coming home from my last cruise (and in between Cruise 1 and 2), my weekends have been low-key and quiet. And I love those weekends. But weekends where I get out, enjoy the beautiful Florida sunshine, and explore my passions are really the best.

Friday night started off with me at Target at 7:30, perusing the puzzles. Who says puzzles are only for kids and old people? I bought a 550-piece puzzle and my mom and I got to work on Friday night. We managed to get the edges all pieced and some of the inside before we had to call it quits. Puzzle-making is hard work!

This is how Dutch likes to let me know it is time to get up on late mornings. He cuddles me around my head and licks my face until I’m forced to get up and take him out. It’s a good thing he’s adorable. (And my bedhead was insane on Saturday. Whoa there.)

The highlight of this weekend was meeting Allison! We’ve been reading each other’s blogs for a while now and she’s really been a big sister to me, offering me advice and tough love when I need it. It was wonderful to finally meet her face-to-face, as she was in Orlando for a diabetes conference. We spent the afternoon out at the pool. It took me a while to warm up (I’m so nervous & shy when I first meet people, even bloggers I know!), but I think I came out of my shell? Maybe. Well, for me, I did.

It was a seriously gorgeous day. Sunny and hot, which made our dips in the pool so refreshing. But there was also a nice breeze to make the weather not seem too unbearable for July in Florida.

THIS is why I love Florida so darn much. We may not have seasons and it may get miserably hot in the summer, but the gorgeous days far outweigh all the bad.

After a few hours in the sun, we ventured out to Downtown Disney for dinner. We walked around until we found a yummy restaurant where we were given an awesome seat outside with the above view. We got to watch the sunset as we ate and chatted. Sadly, I had to leave after we ate to make the long trek back home but it was SO nice to spend time with Allison. Blogger meet-ups are a lot of fun! I need to do them more often. 🙂

Sunday was my mom’s birthday! We celebrated in a very low-key way but it suited us. This is definitely our most flattering picture ever.

A delicious birthday brunch. And yes. I took a bite of my bacon before taking this picture. IT WAS SO GOOD! I love bacon. So much.

How was your weekend? Who was the last blogger you’ve met?

Categories: Recurring Series

Everyday Moments: June 2012

1 – Finishing the Spartan 500 Challenge (50 jump squats, 100 push-ups, 150 sit-ups, and 200 burpees. Most people were doing the Spartan 1,000 which is all of that… doubled.)

2 – Making it through a tough boot camp, my mom making me cookies when I felt down

3 – Movie date with my brother, another successful #twookclub chat!

4 – Choosing to listen to my heart and not my head and having peace with that decision.

5 – Friends being there for me for my neurotic text messages and lengthy emails when I needed them the most. They are rock stars. <3

6 – A visit to the vet for Dutch after some weird behavior from him (having accidents in the house, vomiting, etc.) and him being okay! He ended up having a UTI and a “touch of colitis” but nothing major, all quick, easy fixes. YAY!

7 – Starbucks for breakfast. So yum!

8 – Seeing an alligator during my run! So awesome.

9 – A long, glorious nap, my nephew singing the Barney “I Love You” song to me

10 – Seeing “What to Expect When You Might Be Expecting”. Much cuter/funnier than I anticipated!

11 – Another great, killer boot camp. I could really get used to these!

12 – Tootsie is back after a long vacation!

13 – Starting a new Sarah Dessen novel

14 – Cruise shopping, Panera for dinner

15 – A quiet night in after a stressful day at work. Much needed.

16 – Being productive around the house, shopping for new running shoes

17 – Lunch with my grandparents, a quiet afternoon spent napping, reading, and getting some writing done

18 – Starting a 3-day work week. Woo!

19 – Bonding with my boss more and more. I’m really settling into my role here, even as it keeps changing and growing.

20 – Treating myself to a Starbucks frappuccino before work. Yum, yum!

21 – Boarding the Carnival Paradise

22 – A calm, relaxing day at sea

23 – Zip-lining and shopping in Cozumel, lunch at Senor Frogs

24 – A lazy day at sea. Due to crappy weather, we spent the day napping, reading, and playing board games. And playing putt-putt golf in the rain! Hardcore!

25 – Making it back to Tampa safely, reuniting with Dutch

26 – Making more 2012 travel plans: Georgia in September, NYC in November.

27 – A quiet lunch alone

28 – My triumphant return to Weight Watchers & receiving a lot of love and support from my Leader

29 – The start of the USA Olympic Trials for gymnastics!

30 – A new haircut that feels a lot more “me”, a night spent with my nephew & brother

Categories: Recurring Series

Five For Friday

1. The US Olympic Trials for gymnastics started yesterday. I haven’t really been following any of the other Trials because holy moly, there are a lot. I actually started looking at all the different swimming and track & field options and started freaking out. (Yes, I take the Olympics very seriously.) So I decided I’m just going to watch the gymnastics portion of the Olympic Trials. That’s all I can handle right now. (And can we please talk about the size of Jake Dalton’s biceps? PLEASE? He looks like Popeye. Heyyyyy there.)

2. I have a haircut scheduled for tomorrow. I’m still debating whether I want to chop it into a shorter style (closer to chin-length) or start growing it out again. I found this hairstyle on Pinterest which I love… but I’m not sure I could make it look like that every day. Oh, decisions.

3. Coming home from the cruise was quite the experience! The Sunshine Skyway Bridge was shut down due to the high winds, which is the bridge the cruise ship goes under to get back to Tampa. So the ship had to drop anchor in the middle of the ocean around 4:00AM and wait it out. We ended up not getting back to Tampa until 10:00AM (when we should have been back at 6:30) and I was four hours late for work. It was a crazy day, for sure! But I’m also so happy that Carnival took so many precautions for our safety.

4. I’ve been looking more and more into taking a long weekend in NYC for my birthday. I went as far as signing up for flight alerts on Kayak. I’ve been perusing hotel prices, looking into what I’d want to do, and trying to piece it all together. It’s just so much fun to plan and envision what you want out of your dream destinations! (And yes, NYC is a dream destination for me. I am not well-traveled at all, if you didn’t know.) The sad thing is that I’ll probably spend just as much (if not more) for 3 days in NYC as I did on my 6-day cruise. That, my friends, is why I love cruising oh so much.

5. I’ve been having a lot of regrets lately. I’m not a stranger to them, but the feeling that I may have screwed up something really good for my life because I let my fears get the best of me is not a fun emotion at all. (And how’s THAT for ending my Friday post on a bummer note?)

Categories: Recurring Series

Looking Forward (v.1)

I’ve seen these posts on Lisa’s blog from time and time and I thought the day before I left on a fun cruise would be the perfect time to do one of my own!

Today, I am looking forward to making it through my “Friday” and spending the evening packing and preparing to leave on my second cruise of this year. There is something extra special about that day-before-vacation feeling and I’m going to try to not wish today away, as I know Monday will sneak up on me and it’ll be back to real life.

This week, I am looking forward to my cruise! (That was an easy one!) I am so looking forward to spending a long weekend on the ship. I plan to spend a lot of time reading, journaling, and relaxing. With an earlier dinner time, my mom and I also hope to catch more of the nightly entertainment. (We’ve only had the late dining option on our past two cruises, which means we miss a lot of the nightly entertainment.) This is my last big vacation of the year so I want to soak it in and enjoy the moments.

This month, I am looking forward to getting back on track with healthy eating and exercise – as well as completing another “30-Day Shred” Challenge in July. I’ve fallen completely off the wagon with healthy eating in the past few weeks. My scale is not my friend. But I’ve started making plans and figuring out ways to keep me motivated to live a healthier lifestyle when I get back from my cruise. One of my better ideas: another “Thirty Day Shred” challenge. I did this in May 2010 with so-so results, so I figure combining the challenge with more exercising and eating better? I should see much better results this time around.

I’m just ready to stop playing around with my health and get serious. I’m really growing tired of being disappointed in myself and annoyed at my reflection.

This year, I am looking forward to moving to a new apartment and my 25th birthday. My mom and I have been planning a move since we signed our lease back in September. We’re not happy with our apartment management but with my new job, I was hesitant to move somewhere new. But we are ready for a new place, updated appliances, AND FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING HOLY A WASHER/DRYER IN OUR APARTMENT. I’m excited about apartment hunting and moving. (Yes, I’m a weirdo who actually enjoys moving!)

And also, my twenty-fifth birthday. A big part of me wants to spend a long weekend in NYC because hello, it’s my 25th birthday! But I’m not sure I can really afford NYC and all the travels I want to do in 2013. So I’m still pondering what I want to do. (Blogger weekend anybody?)

What are you looking forward to today, this week, this month, and this year?