Life Lately

Well, hello there. I can't seem to slow down and/or remove distractions long enough to get a few simple thoughts written out. Anyway, as usual, life has been full of excitement lately. Here's a little peak into what we've been up to.

The work we've been doing on our yard and back patio is complete and it was so absolutely worth the wait because as I sit out here on this beautiful Saturday morning, there isn't a thing I would change. Well maybe I would have Jonathan out here with me instead of working, but that's a given. I can't get enough of this space. As every weekend approaches, I am already trying to figure out how I can spend as much time as possible out here. More photos of this happy space to come later this week!

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I just finished my second week of Couch 2 5k. I kinda stopped running a few months into this year and then after breaking my toe in July, it absolutely wasn't going to be an option for a while. While I've stuck with my boot camp routine, I wanted to ease back into running because while I love boot camp, I was sort of missing the additional cardio I used to love. I've never tried using a program like this but it was just what I needed to get back into running at a healthy and safe pace for me. Even though the impatient side of me feels like I should be doing more, It feels good to be following a plan. I'm certainly not the fastest I've ever been, but it feels better than expected to run again. The time outdoors is good for me after being stuck at a desk all day and I'm fairly certain it does wonders for my sanity. On my run last night, I felt an overwhelming amount of gratitude for running at all, no matter how slow. A few months ago I couldn't walk without intense pain because of my injury and knowing it could have been so much worse makes me extra thankful to be running again.

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We hosted some friends for dinner last weekend and it's worth talking about for a few reasons:

One: Life is chaotic for all of us but when the six of us get together I am so grateful for these friendships. These friends are two of Jonathan's best friends and their significant others. I love that meeting Jonathan brought these great guys into my life but even more so, I am lucky to call their better halves my very good friends. These girls support me, lift me up and give me so many reasons to be thankful for them.

Two: The boys prepped dinner while the girls chatted which is worth celebrating.

Three: I made this picture perfect pumpkin cream cheese bundt cake and in my humble opinion, it tasted just as good as it looks. It's funny because I'd been so focused all day of prepping our dinner menu and getting the house ready for guests, I hadn't even thought to whip up something for dessert. I like to think I've built a reputation at this point when it comes to having homemade goodies ready for all occasions so I tracked down this super easy and delicious recipe at the last minute and I'm sure glad I did. 

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After church last Sunday, we found ourselves with a whole day ahead of us with no plans. We didn't know what to do with ourselves so we started throwing ideas around since there were a few things we both wanted to do. Jonathan wanted to shop for new sneakers and we had a few other stops we wanted to make and of course, I suggested, "Let's go to Target" to which Jonathan replied, "Why? What do we need there?" I laughed, obviously because you never need a reason for Target. The joy of Target is grabbing a coffee and wandering around a bit. Whether you go there for something (and leave after buying 6 other things and forgetting that one thing you needed) or you wander around for a bit and leave empty-handed, it doesn't matter. It is time perfectly spent either way. He wasn't sold, but into Target we went and it didn't take long for me to see that he was finally getting it.

I probably pushed my luck by making him take a selfie of us on top of this but I had to capture the moment.

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At the end of October, we hosted the most fun adult field day and after party for my sister's birthday. This super fun day deserves a post of it's own but for now I'll leave you with this:

It's certainly my favorite time of year and we've got some exciting things going on. I can only hope I get a little better at documenting all of it over the next few months!