An Attempt at Healthy Living

On April 8th a friend and I decided to challenge ourselves to run 40 miles in 30 days as well as live a healthier lifestyle in general. Today marks the half way point of this 30 days.

I feel like I have been doing pretty well on the running front. So far, I have ran 18.5 miles! I have never been a runner. In fact for the majority of my life I wasn't even able to run a mile... I kid you not! So I am extremely proud of myself for being able to run 3 or 4 miles routinely. I am using the word routinely loosely, because let's be honest I don't usually workout that often. I will workout for 2 or 3 times a week then take 3 weeks off. This is partly the reason I wanted to challenge myself to run 40 miles in 30 days. I want to have a more regular workout routine. Even throughout these first 2 weeks it has been hard to find time to run. Life gets in the way, but I am hoping this is a step in the right direction.

As far as eating healthy goes, I definitely have some room for improvement. Those of you who know me well know that I have some health issues that myself and doctors are having a hard time diagnosing. Because of these issues, I have adopted a gluten free diet. This has definitely helped but the problem is still there. Having an undiagnosed health 'condition' That doesn't seem like the right word :/ I have scoured the internet for healthy eating tips and recipes. So I know what I should be eating but with hectic scehdules and tempting sweets around it is hard to follow a healthy diet.

For the first 15 days of this challenge I haven't really been trying to improve my eating habits. So I am going to focus on that for the next 15 days. So, today I started the day off with a delicious green smoothie. Usually I just throw whatever is on hand into my smoothies, but I stumbled upon this recipe and decided to give it a try.

Kale, Peach & Coconut Smoothie

1 cup frozen unsweetened peach slices
1 cup packed kale, torn into pieces and stems discarded
1/2 banana
3/4 cup coconut water
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1 teaspoon raw honey
(you could also add a glug of almond milk for added creaminess)

• Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend on high till smooth.
• Pour and enjoy!

via Instagram

I have another one of these bad boys ready for tomorrow morning. One of my goals to help me stay on track is getting better at meal planning. So wish me luck on my new health kick... hopefully it will stick!

Texas Wildflowers

Hi y'all! I hope everyone had a great weekend! We had a fun, relaxing couple of days. We were able to catch up with some friends, enjoy the amazing weather, and spend some quality time on the couch. And of course there were margaritas. It was such a good weekend that I was in a surprisingly chipper mood this morning... and still am! :)

I was a bad blogger again and forgot to take pictures. There isn't a single one from the whole weekend... boo! But to make it up to you I have pictures from the previous weekend!

J and I took a trip out to Fredericksburg to take pictures in the bluebonnets and of course we brought the bear. Since living in Texas we have seen some pretty serious droughts and this is the first year that I have seen the real beauty of the blue bonnets. Two years ago, J and I did the Pedal Power Wildflower Ride and there were NO wildflowers... Thank goodness for rain!

Gracie was particularly cute hopping through the bluebonnets as she weaved her way around them so as not to walk over any. I wish I could have gotten a video of it but the pictures will have to do...

Being silly... typical

Bows

Bluebonnet bouquet

Look at that sweet face

There were lots of bikers! One even stopped for a pic

Family portrait where Gracie isn't looking... also typical

Lately...

Sorry for my absence the past couple of weeks. I haven't abandoned this blog, I have just been struggling with the direction I want to take it. Everyday that I post I feel like I have been pulling at strings to decide a topic. I want to find more of a focus for this blog but I am not sure what that is yet. I do know that I am ready to get back to blogging. I will just continue to post about things I like, it might seem a bit random at times, but I hope it will eventually turn into something and I will find my true voice for this blog.

To be honest, after my hiatus I was ready to blog on Monday but with all of the tragedy and disasters that have happened this week I kept finding it hard to put words down. I am sure we have all been watching the news more than usual this week (it is hard to turn off) and there is lots of sadness to see. My thoughts are with those who have been affected by events in Boston, MA and West, TX. But throughout this week it is also evident that there is a lot of good in this world. And I am choosing to focus on the good and the things that make me happy.

So in the spirit of happiness, here are a few things that have been making me smile lately.

My bear dog.

J and the bear. He has held her the exact same way since she was a puppy. Aren't they cute?

My beautiful Grandma who just turned 88. Wish I could have been there to celebrate.

Inspiration

Restaurant week!

And lastly, Get Lucky by Daft Punk w/ Pharrell. Time to get your boogie on...

Also, since we are so close to West, for those interested, 365 Things to do in Austin, TX made a good list of ways to help. You can find that here.

We plan to donate some non perishables through J's work and we are thinking about donating blood (I'm a little terrified but maybe I can finally find out my blood type! Looking for the positive).