This is Day 82 of 100 Days of Blogging.

Today is Mother's Day. I'm not a mother, so I'm no expert on the matter, but I do have a mother, so I suppose I'm allowed some say on the holiday.

My relationship with my mother hasn't always been what it is now. (The now being one of my closest friends and confidantes.)  She had to overcome a lot of her own struggles before she could help us overcome any of our own. There were times when I thought I hated her. (Using the "h word" is the quickest way to break a mother's heart.) There were times when I thought she was magical creature sent to make life easy. (Something akin to unicorn, but in a practical, opposable thumbs sort of way.) Growing up, well... It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

I mean, really, we have we been through some stuff. (Together, of course, because that's how mothers and daughters go through things.) Happiness. Tears. Stress. Graduations. Loves. Lost loves. New loves. Rants. Responsibility. Traumas. Death. You name it. We've seen and/or lived it.

I realized today that I can't yet fathom what any of those things feel like as mother. It's an intense concern, love and binding that I haven't yet experienced. But, the more I love my fiancé and the more I understand what that love means, the more I understand all of the decisions and choices my mother made in the past - for herself, for her husband, for her family.

This morning, I was reading Proverbs 31 and it made me realize even more how much my mom has done and continues to do for her family and the people she meets. Being a wife and mother is the most important and difficult job that you can take on in life! so.much.responsibility.to.everyone.

Today, let us celebrate those brave and wonderful women who raised us! Their love for us knows no bounds.

To my mom - I love you oh so well. And I am oh so glad to have learned life & love from you. I hope I am able to impact this world even half as much as you have.

"Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.” Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate." (Proverbs 31)

Today is Day 81 of 100 Days of Blogging.

I am ready to revert back to my goal setting ways. To-do lists & whatnot. I don't want to make it stressful for

myself, but I don't feel like I am achieving what I wish to be achieving - professionally or personally. I'm making strides. I'm certainly being productive. But, recently, I've had one of those moments... a wake up call... that says "Hey you! You are not where you'd like to be." So, let's change it. I have control over what I do, where I go, who I affect, how I feel. I just need to take the reins again.

Also, I've been trolling the interwebs for good words and ideas to motivate myself (and maybe you, too!). I read a billion blog posts to pull out the best ones to share. Here are the ones that have touched me recently:

"So tonight I lay on the beach. And as I watched the sun slip below the horizon I realized that tomorrow is another day. I may not have been getting it all right lately, but if I’m going to get to where I want to be, that has got to be okay." Such good, true, freeing words from the wunder year.

Minimize. Stop collecting things in your life that you don't need. (Physical or otherwise.) Also, just read this whole blog. 

Dear Moms in My Life, You know I love you because I will be making you this dish on Mother's Day. Love has no greater gift than cheese + carbs.

I love Elise. I love her honesty. I love her California life. I love her green thumb. I cannot obtain a west coast life style at the moment, but maybe I can keep my plants alive with this post on raising indoor plants.

And last, but certainly not least,

Drink more water. For everything you've ever wanted to be healthier or better about your life. Here are 50 + Ways to kick up your H20. (My tip: get a bottle, tervis, cup that you just love. I drink more water because my tumbler has funny little goldfish.)

Time to start my day, friends. Thanks for reading. xo.

This is Day 77 of 100 Days of Blogging.

“It is always the simple things that change our lives. And these things never happen when you are looking for them to happen. Life will reveal answers at the pace life wishes to do so. You feel like running, but life is on a stroll. This is how God does things.” Donald Miller

I've been spending a lot of time here.

That is all.

xo.

I'm so overwhelmed by wedding + work these days. I guess I can't leave out sinus pressure + breaking household appliances + car dents. How do people get through life without being born millionaires? I mean, really. I sometimes have a hard time getting through one day without some sort of financial freak out.

So there's that.

But there's also goal setting. There's also budgeting. There's also making up your damn mind to goal set and budget toward something. (cough *Hawaiian Honeymoon* cough)

And sometimes you just have to run with it.

[Much like life...]

"Running is just falling forward and catching yourself. Try it." - the wunder year

This is Day 68 of 100 Days of Blogging.

Wedding Color Inspiration by MudHandChan

This is Day 64 of 100 Days of Blogging.

photo credit

This is Day 56 of 100 Days of Blogging. I haven't been committed to it though. I think that's obvious to all of you. My apologies. My apologies to you for setting an expectation I didn't follow through on. My apologies to me for spending so much time trying to do and be what and who I thought I was supposed to do and be... when really all I wanted to do was 100 Days of Blogging.

I haven't decided yet if today was the worst day ever or just a big wake up call. Nevertheless, it has been utterly disappointing. And today I will wallow. I just finished The Fault In Our Stars - providing both sadness and a perspective shift. Now, I will eat Chickfila or boxed macaroni cheese or something equally unhealthy. I will order new shoes to try and make my feet happy. I will lie around feeling defeated. I will try to focus on anything other than the pounding coming from my head, but will eventually be defeated at that, so I'll take a nap. I will pity party all the live long day.

I can do that and write about it and talk about it because I know today is not the end of the world. My life and hope cannot actually be defeated. And pity parties are excellent excuses to eat waffle fries and start over tomorrow.

And if you're having the same sort of day as me, then I hope you find some sort of solace in my post and some sort hope in this other post I stumbled upon today.

Take a deep breath and try showing yourself some grace today. If you feel like you're behind, just know you're not, and enjoy your story wherever it is. And trust that no matter what time zone you might be in right now, the sun will come up.

Photo Credit: Katie Gandy

Yes, that's me! Yes, I said yes! Yes, I am so very happy and excited and a whole host of other adjectives! Yes, this is my favorite blog post ever! 

Oh my goodness - so much has been happening! And right now I should be putting away my laundry or doing some dishes, but I am dedicated to writing this post. Also, I hate putting away laundry and doing dishes.

Yoga. Easter. Kittens. Family. CSA. Cookies. His & Hers donuts. Toms. Chipotle. Oil change. Thug Kitchen. And so on and so forth. The best way to keep up with it all would be to look at my instagram or hack into my iMessages. (Please don't do the latter.)

What I am going to write today, however, is going to be about cookies. The Perfect Single Serving Cookies (for eating two or sharing). Here we go!

I was having a dilemma the other day after work. Should I:

a. go to yoga
b. take a nap
c. eat a cookie

What I really wanted was both b and c, but I convinced myself that I wanted c more and if I was going to eat a cookie, then I needed to go to yoga. So, a and c. Then the dilemma of, do I bake an entire batch of cookies or buy a cookie? Never fear! Pinterest to the rescue! This recipe caught my eye and here is my rendition of it:

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons (about halfway melted) butter
2 firmly packed tablespoons light brown sugar
1 tablespoon of white sugar
A pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (don't skimp)
1 egg yolk (I don't care what you do with the white)
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 ish cup of All-Purpose flour (ish means more in this case)
3 heaping tablespoons of dark chocolate chips

1. In a cereal sized bowl, mix butter and sugars. (I used a fork.)
2. Add egg yolk and vanilla. Mix again.
3. Add the salt, baking soda and flour. Mix. If your dough seems runny, add a wee bit of flour.
4. Stir in those yummy dark chocolate morsels.
5. Form two cookie dough mounds on a baking sheet. (My dough was too sticky for rolling into balls.) And make sure they are several inches apart because are cookies are going to be sizable!
6. Bake for about 12 minutes at 350 degrees. Until they are nice and golden all over.
7. Remove baking sheet. Give it a nice little drop on the counter to deflate the cookies. Let cool.
8. Enjoy!

We made these two nights in a row because they were so simple and SO DELICIOUS. And then there's no guilt involved because you ate a dozen freshly baked cookies because you only have two. (Crisis averted!)

If you try them out then, let me know what you think! And if you adapt them, then I'd love to know what changes you made, too!

This is Day (Something. I'll do the math later) of 100 Days of Blogging.

Thanks for sticking with me :)

Hey Interwebs!

It's certainly not that I haven't been thinking about you these past three days. I've thought about this blog every.single.day. I just haven't had the time to sit down and type. And that's ok.

Everyday, I went to work at 7am. Everyday, I left somewhere between 4 and 5. Everyday, I went to yoga. Well, Wednesday, I cleaned and put away laundry and went for the best shopping experience ever at Earthfare before visiting some friends to retrieve Brown Sugar Cinnamon Poptart ice cream and an antique sewing machine. Everyday, I've shared food and time with someone I love. Everyday, I've been in bed around 9pm.

It hasn't been crazy, but I've enjoyed every single day. Today and tomorrow are well planned, busy days, so I'm glad I had three good days to delight in.

My yoga teacher this afternoon encouraged us all to just let go of what we were thinking of - trying to guess what's next. She said, "I have my weekends well-planned by Monday afternoon. That robs me of being in the present because I'm always thinking of what's coming up." And I do the same thing. How do I stop that? Does lack of planning mean lack of productivity? Probably not. What would happen if I went a whole week without any planning? Oy. It's giving me anxiety just thinking about it!

We'll see.

Anyway, here are a few other things that have been on my radar.

This post about changing your health and your habits. I love Andrea.

High Straightenence: Organzing Your Pantry

One of the reasons why I LOVE my city.

The Most Important Part is Just Show Up.

This girl. And all of her books that I want to read. (Don't judge me.)

Well said. I'm not a parent, but we've all had these life days. It's ok.

I don't know if I'll get back here tomorrow and Sunday, but I will try my best.

xo.

This Day 37 of 100 Days of Blogging.

via Joy the Baker

It's always hard to go back to work on a Monday after two good days off, but today wasn't so bad. Not at all.

Outside of working 7-5, I've been sort of, well, lazy. I need to finish cleaning the kitchen, make tomorrow's lunch and put away laundry. Instead, I've been perusing Google Reader and Pinterest while watching Storage Wars. Have you ever watched that show? It's oddly addicting, but it seems like a lot of work to keep up with auctions, haul that junk and then resell it all. I hate keeping up with my own junk.

Speaking of my junk... Spring is here and I'm ready for some spring cleaning! Unfortunately, this constant sinus headache I've been experiencing really just makes me want to nap. I'm also ready for some spring baking - Pink Lemonade Cookies, anyone? And I'll be ordering some new, beautiful TOMS. Our CSA from Ambrose Farms starts on April 2. Spring is such an exciting time of year! It's a time for bright colors, health, freshness and newness!

Until you can get into the swing of Spring - learn to Break out of Control. And remember this - 

"People get stuck, thinking they are one kind of person, but they aren't ... The human body essentially recreates itself every six months. Nearly every cell of hair and skin and bone dies and another is directed to its former place. You are not who you were in February." - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

This is Day 33 of 100 Days of Blogging.

Blogging is hard work. Kudos to everyone who posts daily and/or makes their living via their blog. I missed another day of my 100 days. I'll be honest, I don't feel guilty, but I do feel like I'm learning a lot about real life blogging. (Not the kind that forgets to post for months at a time...)

So, what was I doing if I wasn't blogging? Oh, well, I was in Savannah. Nbd - just visiting my dear, sweet friends - David and Faith and their kids. And the oh so enlightening Courtney and Andy. I would venture to say yesterday was both fantastically comfortable, but also a big look into what the future my hold. There was a lot of coffee and food and conversation. (We went to Starbucks, the Farmer's Market, Starland Cafe, Foxy Loxy and Green Truck!) There were also conversations about marriage, children, gardens and home ownership. Oh my, how the time flies! I suppose conversation about such things are what make us adults, yes?

That brings up an interesting topic - adulthood. When does one go from young adult to regular adult? How does one present themselves as old when their body is still young? Where does wisdom and maturity come into play and how big are their roles? I was recently told, "You don't look your age. You're nearly thirty and I'm sure you still get carded." Is thirty old? I was also told, in spite of professionalism, "You still come off as young." But then I've also been told, "I just assumed you were my age because of the way you carry yourself." How does one leverage youth and age together?

Just wondering.

Today was much different from yesterday. There wasn't much venturing out of the house. As a matter of fact, the only time we left was to go to brunch at Black Magic Cafe. (Not even the deluge of rain could keep me away from that pumpkin chai.) There was no yoga or running. There was a lot of lying around and sniffling of allergy noses. There was Game of Thrones - four episodes to be exact. Season 2 is over and I am anxiously awaiting the premiere of Season 3 next week!

There was also much time spent in the kitchen today - baking protein bars and cooking dinner. Have you all had pierogies? They are fast become a staple in this house. And, in between, there were toasted coconut mocha frappuccinos. Oh, my favorite kitchen activity today? Lunch. Avocado toast sprinkled with sea salt. So simple and delicious.

I think sometimes it's good to just stay in the house. If it's flooding outside, then it makes the decision easier.

It's close to bed time since 7am is work time. I suppose I'll say goodbye now.

I hope your weekend was less allergy-filled than mine, but just as full of friendship and food.

This is Day 32 of 100 Days of Blogging.

Shoot. I forgot yesterday. I turned off my blog alarm on Tuesday because it was going off at work and, well, the rest is history.

Yesterday was just a busy day. I spent most of it visiting various people: mom (we walked the bridge pictured over yonder), dad, boyfriend, doctor, mom (again!), sister, lots of friends. It was a good day. Of course, my room is a disaster, my laundry still isn't put away and I received by car taxes, but that's really neither here nor there.

Good news is - I have the weekend off! And I get to travel down to Savannah to see some of my very dear friends. It's going to rain, but that is ok. Rain is nothing coffee shops and Green Truck can't fix.

Does anybody have big weekend plans?

This morning at our morning meeting I shared my love of coconut with everyone. (Remember last post when I said I was currently obsessed? More like always obsessed.) Yesterday, I had two big coconut wins at (of all places) Walmart! I was finally able to get my grubby little paws on some of the new Chobani Flip! It is.... flippin' amazing! But seriously, Chobani has a product locator on their website and it helped me track down the Almond Loco Coco and the Key Lime Crumble. Enough about the Key Lime whatever - the Almond Loco Coco will blow your mind. Coconut flavored Greek yogurt with real coconut in it (on one side) and toasted almonds and dark chocolate chips to mix in (on the other side). I die. And, after I found that little gem, there was Coffee-Mate Coconut Creme. Are you kidding me?! Like a kid in the candy store. Maybe I bought 8 yogurts and a giant bottle of creamer. (And by maybe I mean I absolutely did.)

Summer is coming. Follow the coconut trail.

And, no, neither Coffee-Mate or Chobani endorsed me (although I'm certainly not opposed to the idea).

Well, enough about me and my obsessions. I'd love to hear from you all whether email, text, phone call or comment. I truly love to read you words as much as I hope you love to read mine!

This is Day 30 of 100 Days of Blogging.

Passion: noun 
strong and barely controllable emotion

What I've learned over the last three days... Passion requires fuel. It will not always be there when you need it - especially if you've overextended it or if you let it be overshadowed. I'm talking personal and professional passion. Passion is hard work.

What are you passionate about? How do you show it?

I'm currently....

Watching... Game of Thrones. I have to finish Season 2 before the next season begins March 31!

Eating... Liz Lemon Greek Frozen Yogurt by Ben & Jerry's. And homemade chocolate syrup I made so I can finally get around to experimenting with homemade Coconut Mocha Frapps!

Listening... to the new Justin Timberlake album. Thanks, Spotify!

Reading... Blogs. Oprah Magazine. And, still, The Fault in Our Stars.

Inspired by... People's belief in me. (I have a lot of personal cheerleaders! Thanks!)

Obsessed with... Yoga. Mint Green. Coconut. Egg salad. (Random. I know.)

This is Day 28 (27 went on vacation) of 100 Days of Blogging.

Just another manic Monday...

Today was a Monday like any other. I went to work at 7am and worked until 4ish. During those hours I counted things and rang out things and fixed issues as usual. I also was given the opportunity to practice my interviewee skills. That's not usual, but a wonderful experience.

After work, I finished watching the season finale of Girls on HBO. Oh goodness. I'm not sure how I feel about the way Lena had this season wrap up, but I have faith that it will come back strong in Season 3. Any Girls viewers in the crowd?

I headed to yoga for a sweaty flow workout. It was just what the doctor ordered after such a long weekend. And, when I got home, there was a huge mushroom and onion pizza from Andolini's waiting to greet me. How lucky am I?

Its been a laid back Monday which will be followed by what appears will be a very busy week. Yoga. Meeting new friends. Going to Savannah to see old friends. All good things. Busy, but good.

Hopefully, I will get through this week without a nervous breakdown like last week. Hopefully, by Thursday, I'll remember that's my day off because I keep telling people I work until 7. (Hello mind? Where did you go?)

The new Justin Timberlake album comes out tomorrow. Maybe I'm excited about that.

I'm probably going to finish Game of Thrones Season 2 this week. I'm definitely excited about that.

And everything else? Well, let's just wait and see what happens.

This is Day 26 of 100 Days of Blogging.

Tell me about what you did/learned this weekend...

This is Day 25 of 100 Days of Blogging. (25% complete!)

Sometimes days don't go exactly how you planned.

The beach isn't as beachy as you had hoped. You don't go see a movie, but instead crash a wedding reception. Your cardio changes from a leisurely walk to fast paced line dances.

I don't do well with rushing or last minute changes. It's something I've been battling my whole life. What I need to learn is, days may not got exactly how I plan, but days always end exactly how they should.

I'll get there one day.

This is Day 24 of 100 Days of Blogging.

I used to think I was a 75 year old trapped in a 27 year old body - just an old soul. However, now I know that my body is old, too. I started Couch 2 5k today. Let's just say running and I - we're not friends. And, here I am, in bed on a Friday night at 11:16pm wishing I had remembered to blog earlier so I could be asleep already. I'm just a 75 year old.

A 75 year old eating ranch tortilla Pop Chips in bed right now.

Onto other things... I'm trying to teach the cat to eat treats out of my hand. As it turns out, she's not that smart. Also, we went to see Crowfield play their last show tonight at Charleston Music Hall. (They're still playing, actually. See first paragraph as to why I am at home.) They're fantastic, so I wish I had listened to them sooner. If you have Spotify, you can get most of their discography. Check them out!

Tomorrow is one of my days off for the week, so I'm quite excited to get that started. I see yoga, the beach, and Oz in my future. And Abita Strawberry Harvest Beer? Yes, please! If I'm really lucky, I'll get to watch some Game of Thrones. And (because I know I'm really lucky) I'll get to start my day back to work with breakfast at Black Magic on Sunday.

Life is so good.

This is Day 23 of 100 Days of Blogging.

It appears I skipped Day 21 and headed straight to Day 22.

Sometimes you just have to move forward quickly. (However, I promise to try not to forget days again.)

Every night at 8pm, the alarm sounds and "blog!" appears across my iPhone screen, so it's normally not a problem. As a matter of fact, it even happened last night, but I found myself wrists deep in pie dough. I kept hitting snooze, but ended up with pie all over my phone and by the end of it all, well, I forgot. But you know that already.

So pie. I baked Apple Hand Pies by mixing this recipe from Joy the Baker with this recipe from A Cozy Kitchen. And then I vented them with pi symbols because today was Pi Day! 3.14. Get it? I like any reason to celebrate with baked goods, but being irrational is one of the best! (Bahaha. Irrational. Get it?) Oh geez.

Tonight, when the alarm went off, I was in the middle of a more hands-off oven activity - roasting brussels sprouts. (Which I am currently eating with a fried egg on top.) I LOVE brussels sprouts. They may very well be my favorite vegetable. I'm weird, I know. But if clean them, cut the bottoms off, and quarter them. Then drizzle with a little olive oil and garlic. Crack some pepper if you like. Then put them in the oven at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes. I flip them in the middle and sprinkle crunchy sea salt over them. Voila! Yummy roasted brussels sprouts and then throw an egg on top for protein.

Now, I want Cookie Dough Coconut Milk Ice Cream. Don't mind if I do/Let me just undo all of the good from yoga tonight.

In other news, I'm devastated about the decline of Google Reader. If any of you use it, then you feel my pain.

That's all I have for the interwebs tonight, plus it's my bedtime. xo.

This is Day 22 of 100 Days of Blogging. (RIP Day 21)