“And I Wrote My Way Out”

Had to start with a #Hamilton quote. Because, Hamilton.

If you’ve been avoiding listening because (1) you haven’t seen it (I haven’t either) or (2) you don’t want to seem “trendy” then you are seriously missing out. Especially if you are a former history or political science major, the music will make your life.

It’s the ONLY musical/music that my husband, my mom, my aunt, myself, and my dad can ALL agree on. Now when does that ever happen?

Exactly.

And if you have Amazon Prime, you can stream the cd, so you don’t even have to buy it. No excuses. Listen to it today.

Annnnyways, now that I have given my #Hamilfan public service announcement, let’s check in on where I am in my challenge journey:

STILL WORKING ON

FYI – I will add or eliminate items monthly. This gives me time to actually accomplish things versus feeling like I have to try and start something new every week. If I didn’t have a full time job, plus 93859825 side hustles, that wouldn’t be an issue. But I do and that’s why tackling new challenges will come on a monthly basis.
  • My challenge for you is to do 5 minutes of planks a day in some combination of straight arm, forearm, all fours and side planks. – KQ [Restarted 7-1-17]
  • Attend yoga classes for a month. Being consistent with your practice. Feel the difference. Post postures in your FB feed – PL [Restarted 7-1-17]

Haven’t done these (though, in my defense, yoga classes last week were all kinds of messed up because of the holiday), but I have already booked classes for the coming week, so there are no excuses for me not to go.

  • Get up earlier and use that time to focus on something you love – DBQ [Restarted 7-1-17]
  •  Be physically active – AM [Restarted 7-1-17]

This one I did do! I got up a few mornings this week (minus the day it was raining) and went for a walk with my pup while listening to the S-town podcast. Something I have been wanting to do for awhile was listen to the most-talked-about podcasts and catch up on some of the amazing podcasts that I used to listen to back when I had to drive from Alabama to North Carolina. Since my drive to work is now 15 minutes tops, it doesn’t leave much room for podcasting. That’s when it came to me that I could combine getting in shape with listening to these podcasts! One of my coworkers had been raving about S-town and I had put it off because I never had the time. However, I finally took the dive, and it was well worth the rave reviews!  If you haven’t had a chance to check it out, I highly recommend it. I also plan on continuing this trend on the days I don’t go to yoga.

  • Do one nice thing for yourself every week 🙂self care, yo! – AK [Restarted 7-1-17]
  • Relax and spend some quality time with yourself at least one hour every week – JCT [Restarted 7-1-17]

Today is actually my Self Care Sunday! I did a mind map last week and realized how much I was missing being able to be creative via painting, sewing, or DIY projects. That’s why I decided to make Sunday’s my Self Care days so I can go back into each week feeling relaxed and refreshed.

  • Learning to meditate (even if you decide not to keep it as a practice) might be an interesting one. – KI-S [Restarted 7-1-17]

Still need to work on this one! But there will be a renewed focus on this during the upcoming week with yoga.

  • Strengthen relationships formed throughout your life. – KBH [Restarted 7-1-17]
  • Send a card to someone (as many different someones) every day. – MA [Restarted 7-1-17]

Spent about 20 minutes on Friday this past week writing some cards to family and friends just checking in and saying hi. It only took a short amount of time, but I realized how much I missed doing it and plan to continue doing it from here on out.

  • Read all of the books I own – Me 

Read some awesome books this week (and one dud). Be sure to check out the Bitchin Books section of this site. You can see my ratings and which books I loved or hated, and why.

Let me know how your week went, what you’re challenging yourself to do, and how life is treating you in the comments! I look forward to hearing about it!

 

Always,

Amanda

Cool For The Summer

You know, I really thought waiting until half the year was through to come back to this blog was a perfect idea . . . LOL. Yeahhhhhh, clearly my plan on blogging and keeping up with my challenges kiiiind of fell by the wayside in the craziness of my life.

However, I went to the absolutely amazing BlogHer17 last week and it reminded me of how much I love writing and creating and sharing my world on my two blogs. I came away with so much information and inspiration, both for my day job, as well as for my personal blogs, that attending was absolutely worth every penny.

I should probably also mention that yes, I did turn 30 in May. So while I obviously won’t accomplish all of these goals by the time I turn 30, I still plan on working to get them done in the next year.

So let’s play catch up on some of the challenges I’ve completed since we last met:

COMPLETED

  • Read a classic book that you’ve always thought about reading but never took the time. – SYM

I finally read The Handmaid’s Tale, and all I can say is

This book gave me so much anxiety, I almost couldn’t finish it. Not to mention, the fact that it was written in 1985 (aka before I was even born) and still rings so true in today’s world is terrifying. I could go on and on about how the book speaks truth to what could happen if we don’t #resist, but I don’t want to turn this into a political rant. Suffice it to say, this classic novel was worth the read, but I will not be watching the Hulu series as I’d like to be able to sleep at night.

LOOKING AHEAD

  • Go on a whale watch – WW

This is something I hope to accomplish either when my in-laws are here later this month or just with my hubby. Either way, it’s an adventure I’ve been wanting to tackle for awhile and now is the perfect time to do it!

STILL WORKING ON

If you’ve been here before, you’ll likely look at these and be like . . . come on, Amanda. You bring these up every single time! And while you’d be right, I know that tackling the rest of this list of challenges requires me to truly commit and focus on my personal health as well. Not to mention, we now live attached to a yoga studio so I REALLY don’t have any excuse not to go.
  • My challenge for you is to do 5 minutes of planks a day in some combination of straight arm, forearm, all fours and side planks. – KQ [Restarted 7-1-17]
  • Attend yoga classes for a month. Being consistent with your practice. Feel the difference. Post postures in your FB feed – PL [Restarted 7-1-17]
  • Be physically active – AM [Restarted 7-1-17]
  • Do one nice thing for yourself every week 🙂self care, yo! – AK [Restarted 7-1-17]
  • Relax and spend some quality time with yourself at least one hour every week – JCT [Restarted 7-1-17]
  • Learning to meditate (even if you decide not to keep it as a practice) might be an interesting one. – KI-S [Restarted 7-1-17]
  • Get up earlier and use that time to focus on something you love – DBQ [Restarted 7-1-17]

Non-Fitness Related:

  • Strengthen relationships formed throughout your life. – KBH [Restarted 7-1-17]
  • Send a card to someone (as many different someones) every day. – MA [Restarted 7-1-17]

I was so much better about this last year, and I really want to recommit to my Friday routine of writing cards to my friends and family.

  • Read all of the books I own – Me 

It probably doesn’t help that I keep adding to this number (#sorrynotsorry), but I will be sharing my thoughts and reviews over on the Bitchin Books section of this site. You can see my ratings and which books I loved or hated, and why.

Lastly, it’s not a listed challenge, but I solemnly promise to update you all on my journey every Sunday. Keep your eyes peeled for the progress!

Always,

Amanda