Creating a healthy and purpose-driven life.
Man, oh man! This week has really been a whirlwind adventure! For years my family and I have been wanting to make this trip, and it hadn’t been possible until now. So Wednesday afternoon we left MD to start our roadtrip to California. Here’s my recap from last week starting Wednesday. 
This week has been a crazy one! My grandparents came to visit us a week ago, so we’ve been doing a lot of entertaining. Since this week has been so full of field trips and activities, I thought it would make a great recap post!
In the winter the last thing I want to do is go outside. I love running, but I don’t love it enough to brave the ice cold weather. Running while sniffling and teeth chattering is not my idea of a fun time (no matter the health benefits). However I have been loving the weather lately! Yesterday it was a beautiful 70 degrees outside with tons of sunshine to make this wannabe-Floridian happy. So I decided to start my training for the several 5ks I have planned for the summer.
Hello again!
The last few weeks have been all about new experiences..and I loved every second of it! It’s amazing when you have the right group of friends, how they’re open and eager to try out different things/experiences with you. I knew I had set out for 2017 to be all about strength and new experiences. That meant trying out things that scare me or that I never took the time for. One of those things was archery. Since it was freezing outside and I’m not a penguin, I found an indoor archery place and asked two friends to come join. We had a blast! It was a new experience for two of us, while the other had tried it out years ago. While I don’t mind doing things by myself, it’s always more fun to do things with others. Plus you all can laugh later on about how you accidentally stepped on someone’s feet during dance class!
Bonjour, mes amis!
As promised in my January Favorites post, here is my new favorite smoothie recipe! I’m usually not a HUGE fan of blueberries in my smoothie, but this smoothie works perfectly for me. I love the tartness and fresh taste that the lemon juice adds to it! I don’t go a day without adding lemon juice to something, so smoothie it is!
Hey guys,
so each and every time I try to commit to a certain blog schedule, I end up having an issue with my blog….is it a sign? Psh..of course not! Or if it is, I’m going to stay in blissful ignorance! 
So I have my wordpress problems all sorted out, and can finally return to posting regularly! It’s half-way through January and I feel like either time has flown by or the new year hasn’t started yet. However, since it IS January, it’s time for a January Favorites again! I have so many new monthly favorites, it’s hard to narrow them down!
Hey guys!
Are you excited about the New Year? I’m so excited about 2017, and have been for a while! In the beginning my mind went straight to New Year’s resolutions, but then I threw out that idea entirely. Because you know what? As soon as I had ditched my New Year’s resolutions for 2016, the real change began. The motivation of the new year only lasts so long, and it’s fueled by the kind of excitement that something new like getting a fitbit can bring. The excitement is there initially, but after a few weeks or months it wears off. Life happens. You get distracted. And that’s great! Because whatever truly needs changing, can only change if you’re willing to change. And often excitement isn’t part of the change.
I miss fresh berries. I really do! I already am anticipating the return of my favorite fruits and other produce, that are only available in the summer months. However, I’m very grateful for all of the frozen berries one can buy at the local health store year-round! My parents had fixed something similar to this blueberry crumble following a Tosca Reno recipe a year ago. I couldn’t find the same recipe, when my mom was invited to an outing with friends, so I found a similar recipe and changed several ingredients (since I didn’t have the time nor the will to run to the grocery store to buy the necessary ingredients).
So Blogtober hit a bit of a speed bump. My computer started acting up, and my mouse went everywhere but where I wanted to. Trying to get this fixed took a while, but I’m back and will of course post all of the fall-themed content I had planned for Blogtober! So here goes!
Yesterday I ate 10 protein bites. It wasn’t exactly ideal, especially considering how stuffed I was, but they certainly were worth it! Cranberries and pumpkin work so well together! I’m not a huge fan of pumpkin, but this worked perfectly. They generally had me thinking pumpkin cranberry cookies, scones, etc…my mind just goes to all sorts of places in food land! Next time I’ll be trying chocolate chips instead of cranberries, for a dessert-like treat.