Wednesday, January 30, 2019

2019 Goals: January Update

Can you believe January is already almost over?! Man, 2019 is already flying by but I desperately want it to slooooow down considering there is a ton I have to do over the next few months. As a way of keeping myself accountable, I will be posting a update at the end of each month on the goals I set for myself this year. By doing this, I am hoping it helps me remember the goals I have and the baby steps I can take to reach them.

Running in the cold and still smiling!

Goal 1: Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle
I have been keeping up with a good running schedule. I don't always hit the distances I want but I can't complain. As of now, my longest run post-marathon is 8 miles. My plan is to keep anywhere from 6-10 miles as my long run for the next couples weeks as I'm not training for any races right now. I haven't been the best with adding strength in but I'm getting better now that my brother taught me a few new kettle bell exercises. Meal prepping and tracking have been on point so fingers crossed it is becoming a good habit for me! Eating breakfast has become part of my routine but I definitely want to think of some new, easy ideas because overnight oats can get boring. I {partially} took part in Gazelle Sports #31HealthyHabits challenge which I think was a great kick in the butt I needed to start 2019 off strong!

Such a small purchase can go a long way!

Goal 2: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
In the beginning of the month I purchased produce bags that will be a big help with reaching this goal as they are so easy to use. I have gotten better at remembering to bring my reusable bags each time I go to the store. I need to remember to stash a couple in my car so it's not something I need to think of before I leave the house. My students can be pretty wasteful when it comes to paper, and my school is not the best with recycling, so I took matters into my own hands. Whenever my students clean out their binders (which should happen more often than it actually does...), I have been taking any papers with blank sides and cutting them up to use as note paper. It comes in handy when I just have quick lists or notes to jot down. I also take the stack of extra fliers in my homeroom and cut them up as note paper. I've been doing a lot of brainstorming this month as to how I can re-purpose items. 

Goal 3: Reduce Phone Usage
I wouldn't say I've completely reduced my phone usage to the best of my ability, but I'm pretty dang proud at how many times I chose to pick up a book instead of my phone. I've been working on deleting apps I no longer need and turning off notifications to keep my phone from being so tempting.

Air fried chicken tenders = delish!

Goal 4: Try New Recipes
John and I tried a few new recipes this month in our air fryer. I have been collecting recipes online and also bookmarking them in my cookbooks to try in the near future. On a recent grocery trip, I stocked up on a couple McCormick spices to start adding into my more basic dishes, such as grilled chicken or quinoa bowls.

One box down, many to go!

Goal 5: Give Back
On one of my lazy Saturday's a few weeks back, I decided to go through a box of clothes that I'm embarrassed to admit has been sitting in my room since the move. The box was primarily old t-shirts that was moved from my college dorm, to home, to my new house, never being opened which clearly means they weren't important. I went through all the t-shirts (who knew someone could accumulate SO. MANY. T-SHIRTS!) and filled a box with a bunch to donate. Man, did it feel good to not only declutter, but also give to those who will actually wear them.

Goal 6: Save Money
Without even being too active on Poshmark lately, I was still able to make 3 sales. It's better than nothing! I have started being pickier with my shopping list after clearing out a bunch of expired items from my fridge and pantry. I am trying to buy only items we will use within the next week or two, unless it has a longer shelf life or can be frozen. I have also been focusing on buying things able to be frozen in bulk since it is much cheaper. John and I have collected a good amount of gift cards for restaurants so we are making a point to only go out to eat to places we have gift cards for.

Question of the Day: How are you doing with your 2019 goals or resolutions so far?

Monday, January 28, 2019

My Week in Pictures VII

Is the weekend seriously over already?! Looking back at last week, I was pretty busy each day. John and I actually realized we didn't eat dinner at home any night this past week because of prior dinner commitments! Talk about crazy. As I sit here to post my week in pictures, I realized I didn't really take many photos so enjoy what I did document :)


I had off Monday, which was the perfect reason to go on a nice run, but the weather convinced me otherwise...


Tuesday was a much better day for a run but Nuun Energy was a must considering I was exhausted after adjusting to work post-three day weekend.


Dexter was up for many snuggles this week since he isn't a big fan of being cold!


Thursday was such a rainy day but for once it wasn't freezing outside! I ended up going grocery shopping with my mom and sister after work.


My student, who is clearly not an adult, brought in this mug on Friday and it made my day because I was feeling the exact same way!


Friday lunches are my favorite because I can read while I eat!


Friday after work I drove up to Millersville to visit one of my best friends! I was having so much fun that I didn't take many pictures. On Friday we went to dinner at Core Life {the most delicious healthy eatery!}, went to the local mall where we spent a majority of our time in Lush, had some tasty ice cream, watched a movie, and caught up on life!


After a relaxing morning full of tea and banana pancakes on Saturday, we went for a run! One of our favorite things to do together :)


By time I got home Saturday night, John and I were in no mood to cook, so we used some gift cards and went to get sushi. The rolls on the left were absolutely amazing! I enjoyed the rolls on the right, as well, but they weren't the same as the others.


On Sunday we went over to John's parents for a birthday dinner for John's mom. They made crab cakes, shrimp, scallops, corn, grilled pineapple, and more! It was simply delicious!


After dinner we played Ticket to Ride since we got it for his mom for her birthday. It was such a nice night :)


Question of the Day: What is something fun you did this past week?

Friday, January 25, 2019

Friday Five: 5 Things I’m Loving This Week

Happy Friday! Even a 4 day week seems long at this point so this weekend is much needed. All that stands between me and a weekend trip up to my old college to spend time with one of my best friends is one more work day. I’m hoping it speeds by so I can get this weekend going! Enjoy your Friday and weekend!

1. Air Fryer
My grandparents gifted John and I with an air fryer for Christmas and we are loving it so far! We were already pretty familiar with them since my mom has one so we were excited to have our own. Our favorite thing we've air fried up until now is breaded chicken tenders! We simply cut up chicken breast into smaller pieces, dipped them in flour, egg, and then a bread crumb mixture John made with some seasons, and then threw them in the air fryer. The whole process takes less than 20 minutes, depending on how many chicken tenders you want to make and they are super yummy! They've become a reoccurring dinner for us each week!


2. Gold Bond Overnight Lotion
I feel like I'm constantly sharing new lotions I'm loving but that is only because I'm always on the lookout for a new lotion that just might work a little better than the last. This lotion came into my life thanks to Influenster and I'm hooked! It's an overnight lotion you put on before bed and it's supposed to soak in and leave your skin feeling soft and smooth into the next day. I was a bit hesitant at first but let me tell you, so far it's great. I love the think, yet not greasy consistency. It also has a nice, soothing scent, similar to the Bath & Body Works Sleep Aromatherapy Lotion. I received it free through Influenster for reviewing purposes but I plan on purchasing once I finish this tube!


3. Nuun Sport
About a week ago, Nuun announced that Nuun Electrolytes would now be called Nuun Sport. Personally, I like the new name and the design of the tube. Supposedly the formula has changed as well, but I don't have a new and old tube of any flavors so I can't compare just yet.


4. Nuun Sport + Caffeine- Fresh Lime Flavor
Yes, another Nuun related item but this is a specific flavor! I tried the Nuun Sport with Caffeine in the Fresh Lime flavor and I was blown away with how tasty it is! Let's be honest, all Nuun flavors are pretty dang good, but this one has quickly become my favorite. It has a light, fresh taste that makes me feel like I should be drinking a margarita, haha.

5. Running with a Hoodie
Up until a few weeks ago, you could find me decked out in tech gear for any of my runs, both hot and cold. I guess I thought if the clothing is made out of sweat-wicking material, I'd feel great? No clue, but with how cold it has been lately, I've been resorting to layering up with tech gear but then putting on a big hoodie over all my layers. I find that the hoodie holds in all the heat, keeping me warmer during my run. I've actually overheated on a few (not many because it's so dang cold) of my runs. At this point I'll wear anything to stay warm!

Question of the Day: What is something you're loving this week?

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Cheers to 8 Years!

This past Sunday John and I celebrated our 8 year dating anniversary! It's hard to believe we have been together that long but then it also feels like it's been much longer. For today's post, I'm going to share 8 photos and the memories that go along with them in honor of 8 years together.


We went to prom together senior year (May 2011) and took this photo together at the venue. In 198 days (a little after 9 years since this photo was taken), we will be standing in the same exact spot as we say "I do."


For John's 19th birthday in August of 2011, we went crabbing down in Ocean City, New Jersey. While crabbing, we experienced our first earthquake! It was such a strange experience.


In December of 2013 we took our first official trip as a couple in New York City. We planned this trip as a way to celebrate both of us finally being 21, Christmas, and our anniversary.


John surprised me with Taylor Swift concert tickets for my 20th birthday. We attended the Red Tour that following summer. It was amazing! I even convinced John to make and wear matching shirts with me.


In August 2015 I took my first trip out of the country with John and his family. We went to Riviera Maya, Mexico. On our last morning there, we woke up before sunrise to go watch it on the beach. While down there, we witnessed baby sea turtles going from their nest out to sea!


In December of 2016, we added a new member to our little family when we adopted Dexter. It was the best decision we ever made and we love having him!


During my 4 years at Millersville, John would come visit and we would go to the pond on campus (my favorite spot!) and feed the ducks. Knowing this was something I loved to do, John tied this in with his marriage proposal the day before I graduated from Millersville.


After months of looking, we finally found our dream home! Our settlement date was such an amazing day and also a huge step in our relationship.

Monday, January 21, 2019

My Week in Pictures VI

Another week, another post full of food pictures to show you everything I ate throughout the week.. haha but seriously, I have a habit of just taking pictures of my food and hardly anything else. Eventually I'll get better at this. I hope everyone's Monday is off to a good start, especially those who have the day off for MLK Day! Enjoy your Monday :)


My week started with making a bucket list as part of Bucket List Tummy's Better Than Dieting challenge. I already have a bucket list written in a notebook somewhere in my house, but I wrote this one off the top of my head based on what I wanted to do in that moment. I'll have to add it to my original list once I find it!


John surprised me with chicken taco bowls for dinner after I told him that's what I've been craving.


My Built Bar sample pack finally came in! They're protein bars that are nut free AND supposedly taste amazing. I'll let you know my opinion soon!


With the beginning of my week being busy, I was still able to get in a run to start breaking in my new Brooks Ghost 11's!


I also had a spontaneous relaxing night in with John. It had been awhile since we had one.


Yay for a new VoxBox from In]fluenster that actually has things I'll use {besides the false lashes cause ain't nobody got time for that...}!


Amazon had a great deal on Nuun this week so I definitely stocked up.


We had to go shopping for a birthday gift for John's dad so of course we ended up at Red Robin. I loooove their sweet potato fries!


After my Saturday morning run, which ended up not being as cold as I anticipated, John made us omelettes. I don't know where he learned his omelette-making skills...


Saturday was John's dad's birthday so we join him, his mom, and his aunt, uncle, and two cousins for dinner at a nice restaurant. I tried a chocolate covered pretzel martini and man, was that yummy!


I forgot to snap a photo of my food before digging in, but I didn't forget to take a photo of this drool-worthy key lime pie! I wasn't even hungry for dessert but I couldn't resist!


It's been awhile since we got a nice picture together so we tried to get one before we left.


We invited everyone back to our house after dinner since his aunt and uncle hadn't seen our house yet. We played Left Center Right {I usually call it Left Right Center but the box corrected me...} with Hershey Kisses as the tokens because I wanted to get them out of my house haha.


Sunday was our 8 year dating anniversary we spent most of the morning lounging around, enjoying the natural light that comes through our window in our bedroom.


It was a rainy day here in Jersey so some hot chocolate with breakfast was a must!


It is restaurant week in Philly so we decided to go to dinner at Chima, a Brazilian steakhouse, in the city. We dressed up and everything which I regretted on our three-block walk from the parking garage to the restaurant {we may or may not have gotten a Lyft back to the parking garage after dinner...} haha. The food made braving the cold worth it, though!


Prior to dinner, we went searching for a photo booth to keep up with our tradition of a photo booth picture every 4 years. Sadly we never found one :(



Question of the Day: Did you do anything fun last week?

Friday, January 18, 2019

Friday Five: 5 Things I’m Loving This Week

This was another week where I wasn't really sure Friday was EVER going to get here but alas, here it is! I'm really looking forward to this weekend as it is a 3 day weekend. My school has off for MLK day on Monday so this tired teacher is happy over here! I have a pretty good weekend ahead of me but that will all depend on how the weather goes since we are due for snow on Saturday. John and I's 8 year dating anniversary is on Sunday so I am really hoping snow doesn't keep us from going out for the day! I guess we'll see... Now onto 5 things I have been loving this week!


I found myself in Target during my holiday break and like always, I perused their clothing clearance. There clearance on clothes is usually hit or miss but this particular day was a major hit for me! I found an adorable purple cardigan that fits me really nicely for less than $12! A goal for me this year is to downsize my wardrobe, which I realize I wasn't doing by purchasing a new sweater, but I do have good intentions for this. In order to downsize my wardrobe, I am trying to build up my wardrobe with good quality clothes that I really love AND can be interchangeable with outfits. This is exactly it. I went home that same day and threw a couple older, cheaper sweaters into my donate/sell box to jump-start my process!


2. 10 Year Challenge
I'm not really sure how it started or what the whole story is, but I've been loving the 10 year challenge people have been doing. If you've been a hermit the past week or so, then I'll explain. On social media, people are sharing a photo of themselves from 2009 and then a photo of themselves from today to show how they've changed in 10 years. I know some people are doing there first Facebook profile picture versus their current one, as well. After seeing a ton people doing it, I decided to dig back into my Facebook albums and find some old pictures of me. Man, was that a trip down memory lane. After awhile I finally chose my sophomore year homecoming picture (this was technically the end of 2008 but oh well...). I honestly don't think I changed very much besides the length of my hair but you tell me haha.

3. Safe
Something about it being cold and dark outside most of the time make John and I feel like we need to constantly binge watch Netflix shows. Over the weekend we started the Netflix original, Safe, and sure enough, we finished it up on Monday night. The show is about a guy whose daughter goes missing after a party one night, along with her boyfriend. Her father takes it upon himself to try and find her himself. It's such a suspenseful story line with tons of twists and turns. It is only one season and I'm unsure if there will be a second.


4. Pimple Patches
Pimple/acne patches have been all over the internet, or at least Buzzfeed, for awhile now. While in a Big Lots store a few months back, I found a small pack of them for less than $2 so I figured it was worth a shot. The whole idea is that you put the patch over a pimple that has already come to a head. The patch is supposed to suck the yuckiness out while also reducing redness. I read somewhere that the pimple had to be one that was popped but I'm not sure if that is true or not. I had used these a few times and saw some good results but it wasn't until this week that I realized how magical these babies really were! On Monday, I had two of the most red, painful pimples that I've had in years. Seriously, I felt like I was back in middle school... Before bed I showered, washed my face, and then put one of these bad boys on each pimple. When I woke up, the previously bigger than ever pimples were now non-existent, except for a little bit of redness left behind. I couldn't complain about the redness, though, because that poor patch had a lot of hard work to do in just one night's sleep. Unfortunately, as soon as I realized these were actually the best thing ever, I went back to Big Lots and I couldn't find them :( I found a lot of them on Amazon but not at as good of a deal as Big Lots was.


5. That's Not What Happened by Kody Keplinger
I got this book from my school's book fair a few weeks back and I finally got around to reading it. It's a young adult novel, which meant I probably could've read it quickly, but busy schedules happen. Anyway, I found this book really interesting. It's about a girl, Lee, who is a survivor from a school shooting where she witnessed her best friend being shot. Three years post-tragedy, Lee is trying to share the real truth of what happened the day of the shooting since there are many false stories being shared in the media. To do so, Lee begins collecting letters from the other survivors who were witnesses and have their own stories to tell of the events that day. It's really interesting to see how the media can contort any story to make it sound "better."

Question of the Day: What is something you're loving this week?

Wednesday, January 16, 2019

My Top 5 Favorite Races

Over the past few years I have ran my fair share of races ranging from “OMG I’ll never do this again” to “I could run this each year and never get tired!” While this was a tough task, I took the time to pick out my top 5 favorite races and wrote about why I chose them. I hope this list may encourage you to try out a new race or two :)


1. Philadelphia Marathon (Philadelphia, PA/Typically the Sunday before Thanksgiving)
This probably doesn’t come as a surprise that this is one of my top 5 favorite race and it  has a special place in my heart for many reasons! Number one being this was my first marathon. I’ve also spent my whole life living super close to Philly, so there are a lot of memories tied in with the city. If we’re gdtging technical, though, this race is great because it’s a primarily flat course with great scenery. You run all throughout the city of Philadelphia, and the sights are definitely worth seeing, from University City to Old City to Manayunk. This marathon can be comparable to one big party as the music and spectators are plentiful! If you’re looking for a perfect first marathon, look no further because Philadelphia Marathon is your race!


2. Hershey Half Marathon (Hershey, PA/Late October)
This was my first half marathon and what a perfect first it was! There are so many amazing perks to this race. For one, you get two free tickets into the park (they have to be used either race weekend or the following weekend, if it's still the same) which makes for a very eventful weekend! Second, the area around Hershey is beautiful so the course is just great. Third, you get chocolate before, during, AND after the race! They typically throw some candy in your bag at packet pick up, they had out mini Hershey bars on the course around mile 11 or 12, and then at the end, you get a whole reusable lunch bag full of snacks and candy! I'm all about the post-race snacks so the bag at the end is perfect. If you're looking for a fun race weekend and maybe even a racecation, this is it!


3. Garden Spot Village Half Marathon (Garden Spot, PA/April)
Most people would probably be shocked that I'm putting this in my top 5 because the course is hills for days and the year I ran it, it snowed... in April! Not gonna lie, the snow made it so much fun and added to the experience. My main reason for choosing this race is because the the overall hospitality of the race directors and other people who help run it. From sign up to crossing the finish line, this race was phenomenal! The swag is incredible. They give you not only one, but TWO race shirts. "One for running in (tech shirt) and one for running around in (regular t-shirt that comes in men AND women's fit)" is how they explain why. The non-tech shirts are always so nice and have cute sayings. I actually went back a year I wasn't running it and purchased one of the shirts because I thought it was awesome. And this comes by no surprise, but the post-race food is spot on! Oatmeal, soup, chocolate milkshakes, and more. They have so much, I honestly can't remember it all. I could go on for days but I'll end with this: if you run this half along with the Bird in Hand half (a close contender when it came to making my list) in the same calendar year, you'll get the Road Apple Award. Wondering what that is? It's literally a plaque with petrified horse poop on it. I know it sounds strange, but it's so cool!


4. Rock N Roll Half Marathon/5K (Philadelphia, PA or anywhere else the Rock N Roll series takes place)
I wish I had all the money in the world to be able to travel and run all of the Rock N Roll series races! I've had the opportunity to run the Philly twice and the 5K twice. Both were awesome races with cool swag and great music along the course! The courses are similar to many Philadelphia races but I can't complain because it's the coolest route in my personal opinion. Like many Philly races, it has a cool expo! I wish I had more to say but it's hard for me to explain just how fun and awesome the Rock N Roll races are.


5. Broad Street 10-Miler (Philadelphia, PA/First weekend in May)
This was my first long distance race and what a great race it is! Everything from the expo to the finish line area is amazing! The course is pretty much just 10 downhill miles of parties. Seriously, everyone comes out to cheer on runners and the vibes are phenomenal! I'm totally motivated by people cheering me on so I have no problem at any point during this race. This is the perfect race for anyone who wants to run something longer than a 10K but isn't quite ready to go for the half marathon. Broad Street is the race I have to thank for getting me into running longer distance. I had so much fun running for more than just a 5K and it made me realize I could definitely run a half marathon (and even longer!).

Question of the Day: What is your favorite race?