January Beach Day

Florida living sure has it's perks. December-March around here are perfect. For the most part we had a lazy MLK weekend, though on Monday we made time to visit a local state park.

Hugh Taylor Birch State Park was a nice combo of beach and woods. Here are a few snapshots from my phone:

The water was so blue that day, and very cold. We noticed that over half the cars in the parking lot were from Quebec, so I'm sure they thought it was plenty warm.

This tree is magical. It's called a banyan tree. The large branches put down these root/vine things (sorry for my lacking botanical knowledge) which eventually hold up the rest of the tree. This thing is mind blowing. 

David had to climb :)

Walking around and exploring this tree made me feel like I should be inside some sort of fantasy novel. I think everyone needs to see a banyan tree at some point. 

Just a spoonful of sugar! Or not.

As mentioned previously I have decided to pursue monthly goals again. We have made it about halfway through January, let me update you on my latest challenge. 

With my friend Candice, I have decided to give up sugar for the month of January. 

Never will I be able to deny that I have a sweet tooth. It's not that I necessarily crave sweet treats regularly, but when something is in front of me I really struggle to not eat it. You know how that happens, at Christmas especially? Normally I wouldn't eat 10 cookies in a day but when they are just sitting out, I just kinda grab one every time I walk by. And there is no "kinda" about it. 

Christmas is a time for food splurging and I have no problems with that. A lot of the foods eaten around Christmas are only eaten once a year. Have fun, enjoy heavy foods, eat a few extra cookies. But for me, come January, it is time for a reset. And this year that re-set is sugar. 

Later in the month I will post final thoughts of the challenge but here are some things I have found so far:

1. Sugar is in everything, especially my breakfast foods. 

When I eat oatmeal, yogurt, or cereals like Special K or Raisin Bran I feel like I'm being healthy. But with all the added sugars in these foods (or the amount of maple syrup I normally put in oatmeal) it's like having a dessert for breakfast. As one who has gotten an embarrassing amount of cavities, sugar is probably something I should avoid as the first thing I eat in a day. 

2. I'm actually...liking things without sweetener?

For the month I am trying to avoid anything sweet other than fruit. (No honey, no maple, I've only used Truvia once.) The biggest things here that I have stopped sweetening are coffee and tea. I usually have a cup of tea 1-2 times a day and add a little sweetener. Now I don't add anything and I am loving it just as much, maybe even enjoying the flavor more. And recently I drank coffee black and didn't even want anything sweet. So strange. 

3. Sometimes it gets frustrating. 

For the first week or so, being off sugar was a bit of a relief. I didn't blow through all the chocolate and candy David and I received in Christmas stockings. But now I'm ready for a treat. During the week David and I eat pretty healthy but usually we are more relaxed during weekends. Frankly, it is getting annoying to have no splurge sweet treat throughout the week. 

15 days left of this thing, I can do it!

Book reviews for January

It's Twitterature time again on Modern Mrs. Darcy (quickly becoming my new favorite thing).

Slim(er) pickings for this month:

Insurgent by Veronica Roth. 2nd book in Divergent trilogy. Quick. Fast paced. Didn't like quite as much as the first.

On our road trip up to Maryland and Virginia to stay with family for the Christmas David and I read Divergent (a re-read for me) aloud on the way north and Insurgent on the trip back down south. These books helped the road trip go by quickly. 

The Greatest Gift: Unwrapping the Full Love Story of Christmas, Ann Voskamp. We probably only ended up completing about half the days in this advent devotion. The writing was very poetic and probably would have made a better individual study. David and I found it tough to get a lot out of this one reading aloud. I'll probably pick this one up again a few Christmases from now and try it out as more of a personal devotion. 

The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays, Ree Drummond. This was a Christmas gift, I read it cover to cover. Funny stories, great step by step pictures, food that makes you drool...everything you have come to expect from the Pioneer Woman. I've already tried the Caesar salad, cheddar chive biscuits, and garlic rosemary roasted potatoes. Highly recommend. 

And a side note- I never really list my audio books, but I've been making my way through the Harry Potter series during exercise and work commutes. So that's fun. Earlier this month I finished up Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I've read this book somewhere between 10-15 times. No shame. Most of those readings probably happened in middle school. Seriously, I waited my entire middle school career for a new Harry Potter book so I pretty much memorized this one during that wait. 

Books in the works- Allegiant by Veronica Roth and Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. I'm making Gone with the Wind my "project". Other than finishing Allegiant and whatever the next book club book will be, Gone with the Wind is the reading plan. 

Starting the New Year

We're ringing in another new year. I'm a little behind on the resolution-type posts but in the scheme of the year it's not so bad. 

In the New Year I am not always one to make resolutions. Normally I think about them New Year's Day and then they are long forgotten months later. 

For a few months last year I did monthly goals and that seemed to work very well for me. I am planning on doing that again. With the monthly goals I have enough  time to accomplish a project or try something new. Throughout the year I can plan what I really need to be working on at that time. Monthly updates to follow.

Some very general resolutions that I have not quite figured out how to go about include:

• Becoming more involved in the community and getting to know more people
• Becoming more involved with our Church here
• Continuing to workout and eat healthy
• Florida weekend and day trips with David

Now that the weekend is winding down it is time to re-visit those to-dos from Friday

• Hang pictures and anything else that belongs on the wall, not the floor pile where they currently reside
• Look into frames for one of said pictures 
• Finish up the last of the wedding thank-yous
• Reorganize kitchen, but only if I feel like it (this is probably the item on the list that will actually get done)
• Bring donation items to Goodwill

I added that last one, but I meant to write it on Friday's list. Thank you notes will be the project for the week. 

Ready for the weekend

Home. Home for the weekend. I've already got on my comfy loose jeans and favorite t-shirt. Redbox sent me a free rental code and I am ready to chill. A cup of tea is in order here shortly.

But first, brainstorming a few to-dos for this weekend

• Hang pictures and anything else that belongs on the wall, not the floor pile where they currently reside
• Look into frames for one of said pictures 
• Finish up the last of the wedding thank-yous
• Reorganize kitchen, but only if I feel like it (this is probably the item on the list that will actually get done)

Happy Friday to all! 

Me. On a weekend. A while ago. 

2013

2013 was a year full of changes.

The year I moved to Florida, started my first real job, and got married.

These new life events have brought about a lot of smaller changes. Naturally, transitioning from student life to working life brings about some lifestyle differences. Whether big or small, here are several aspects that were a prominent part of 2013 for me:

The Year of the Audio Book
One of my new loves of the year. I am now addicted to audio books. This started as entertainment for my long work drives, and now I listen to them when driving, exercising, and occasionally around the house. I download books directly to my phone so there is almost always a book to listen to close at hand. The final count (though a few might be missing) is 17 audio books.
Favorite: Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin
Runner Up: My Life in France by Julia Child
Least Favorite: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

The Year of the Blog
Before 2013 I did some blog reading through feeds, now it is a regular part of my day and I really look forward to blog reading.
Favorite Blog: Modern Mrs. Darcy. You've seen me do link-ups to her blog before, so this was probably obvious. She writes about interests that generally pertain to women, be it fashion, relationships, or entertainment, and always keeps a heavy emphasis on books.
Runner Up: Rage Against the Minivan. The blogger is a mom and you hear a lot about her children's lives and how their family deals with various situations. She regularly post's stories submitted by readers that give a new point of view of sensitive topics. Her writing style is often sarcastic and humorous. Always a good read.
Other Runner Up: The Art of Simple. Simple living blog, what I really love most is the Art of Simple Podcast. Check it out.
And always asking challenging questions to Christians are Rachel Held Evans and Elizabeth Esther.
Some Standout Blogs By Friends:
Candice (a friend from Virginia Tech) does a great job documenting her and Alex's lives, shares recipes, thoughts, and workout woes.
Sarah (a friend from Texas A&M) mainly writes about topics pertaining to Christianity. She is a gifted writer and offers well thought out insights. I'm waiting for her to take the Christian writing world by storm!

The Year of the Workout
Ever since I went to Costa Rica in January of 2012 I have been more intentional about exercise. That semester my friend Lynn and I attended at least 3 classes a week at the gym. Cycling and yoga were favorites. The next summer and following semester that fizzled off a little bit but I would still do something active periodically. End off March/Early April of 2013 is when I really got serious about exercise. I started with a month of Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred and that upped my endurance significantly and brought about quick changes in my body. My next project was running. Unfortunately, quickly into running workouts a disc in my back popped out of place, forcing me to stick to lower impact workouts for months. Finally, (knock on wood) I can do higher impact workouts again and I'm 5 weeks into the Couch to 5K running plan. Exercise has really become a part of my life now. The second I get home from work I exercise. I've been pretty good about getting this in 5 days a week most of the time. I feel better, look better, and have an excuse to splurge on desserts guilt free during the weekends.

What sticks out to you as a change in 2013? Big or small, what was new?