Weekly Goals #30

 Helloooooo ladies! Happy Monday! Last week off from classes was oh-so-lovely! I spent the whole week with my family in Florida, where we biked around, ate so. much. yummy food and just generally hung out. Even though it was rainy a good part of the week, we still got enough beach time in for me to get sunburnt. Where did I get sunburnt, you ask? My armpits. Like that little crook in front of your shoulder. Somehow, that's the only place (other than the tops of my feet, which always get scorched) that got as red as all the traffic lights that I occasionally run. I'm almost cried trying to put on a sports bra the next day (is that TMI? #sorrynotsorry).

Aaaaaanyways, I'm back to school this week and all the excitement that that brings! I've got about a month until exams so while the learning in my classes is winding down, the crazy stress of exams is right around the corner. :/ to add to that stress, I have something almost every weekend in April. Prayers, y'all. Send 'em this way. 

Last week, I talked about trying to find time for all the minutiae that comes with blogging beyond simply writing posts--the comments, the social media, the sponsorships, etc etc etc. I tried to be intentional about spending time doing all these things. I didn't do quite as much interaction as I had hoped as far it's social media (I'm working on it, really!), but I still feel good about my effort. 

I had been frustrated, as others of you are, that there's not a good way to comment from the bloglovin' app or even an iPhone in general. Just so ya know, I have found that the google chrome browser app will remember your login info for websites so it will keep you logged in to disqus. So that makes commenting a little but easier. I still have to bother to open up the post in chrome, but at least I don't have to log in every single time that I want to comment. 

So obviously, it's a process. But I'm on my way. 

Sort of shifting gears (I'm terrible at segues), I want to share my goal for next week--and really the next few weeks. I have a big, formal event with H in about a month. To out it straight, I'm really nervous. I get super anxious (like I cry and have to go home like a three year old who missed her nap) at social events, especially ones that require dressing up and being perfect all evening and socializing and dancing and yucky yuck yuck. But H really, really wants to go and I'm trying to be the fabulous girlfriend that I know I am somewhere inside, so we're going. 

I'm trying to plan ahead and make as many things as stress-free as possible, so that I have as little anxiety as possible. I made sure that I got a dress I like and that I feel good in. But I'm also going to work on getting in shape for the event, because I always feel better when I'm in shape. This week, my goal is to exercise today, Tuesday and Wednesday, since I'll be out of town Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday with no chance to work out. 

I've found this treadmill workout that involves really short intervals (:30 to 1:00) that make up four bigger phases: incline, sprints, endurance and hills. I've never been a huge fan of the treadmill but I've run it a few times and it's not bad! I'll be doing that at least twice this week. 

What are your goals for the week? How do you exercise when you're out of town and without a gym/fitness center?

P.S. Today's my birthday! I'm not big on birthdays, but I just couldn't write this post without sneaking that in. :)

This post is brought to you by Netflix, orange-cranberry scones and Jillian Lorraine!

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weekly wishes #22

So I've decided that the first sentence of a blog post is officially the most awkward sentence in the world. Usually I just say 'hi, friends' or something like that, but I kind of feel like I'm just greeting my computer + that's just weird. So super random survey, how do you start your posts? I need help...

Wow, I'm beyond weird today. 

For real, let me just get to it. Last week, my goals were to spend intentional time with my family + get some cleaning done! I made the first goal because my family is very sociable + likes to spend time together (I know, and they think I'm the weird one). When I hole up in my room, people tend to get mad at me. And it's not because I don't like them, I'm just an introvert. So I made sure this week to spend time with people on my own terms. That means generally not in big groups + doing non-stressful things. Like my grandma and I spent time reading together and my sister and I organized our jewelry together. Things like that.

And let me tell you, I aced my cleaning goal! I did make a goal to do 30 minutes a day, but I never really timed it. But I pretty consistently kept things put away in their proper place + spent a little time cleaning up areas that got out of control, like my desk or bathroom cabinet. 

In the process, I found that I hoard pencils, hand sanitizer + makeup. I have four bronzers. Four. I don't even wear bronzer... I also have over 200 pencils, and six bottles of hand sanitizer. That's just weird.

(p.s. is that font so Seventeen magazine or what?!)

Point is, I did good. 

So when I was brainstorming goals for this coming week, I sort of made the mistake (uh, I mean brilliant decision) of asking H for ideas. So in case it wasn't obvious, we have H to thank for the first two...

+Well first some background. I hate just about any social situation in which I have to make small talk. I hate meeting new people (except like through blogging or other common interests). I hate dancing. The last time I was at a situation that incorporated just one of those (dancing), I had a panic attack. Obviously, I'm not in a hurry to relive that experience. But unfortunately, weddings incorporate all of the above. And even more unfortunately, H has a cousin getting married on Saturday and I just might die (okay, okay, I'm happy for the guy; it's not unfortunate). It seems kind of silly to make a goal not to die, but I'm gonna do it anyways. And I'm going to dance with H, that's part b. Oh, sweet baby Jesus in the manger, this might be bad...

+Send H a random compliment every day of the week. Haha of course, this was all his idea, but I'm happy to oblige. And while we're at it, let me introduce you to the amazingness that is Daily Odd Compliments. You're so welcome.

That's all for my goals for the week! But since we're on the topic of awesome things, let me share with you a non-literal rockstar who is quite possibly the most awesome blogger around, Z of Sometimes Z Takes Pictures (off whom I totally ripped yesterday's post).

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weekly wishes + being efficient + volcanic lightning

Hello friends! Happy Monday! Unfortunately, today's not too happy of a Monday for me. I've got a big week with papers + tests + prepping for midterms next week. So the blogging may be a little sparse for the next two weeks but I'm here, I promise!

So how did I do on my weekly wishes this past week?

Goal #1: Unpack (on Monday). Okay, that definitely did not happen on Monday, but I did unpack Wednesday night, which is so much faster than I've ever unpacked after a vacation before. So I'm counting that as a success.

Goal #2: Catch up on design. Did I succeed? Sort of! I've finished Kelly's moodboard/plans and am working with Hannah. I definitely will work to be efficient this week to get it all done though!

Goal #3: Update my list of post ideas. Done, done and done! I can't wait for you all to see what I have up my sleeve for the new year! :)

For this next week, I'm making one overarching goal: be efficient. I have more to get done than Martha Stewart does at Christmas (not really) and in order to do it all, I need to be organized and focused! Expect a post about organization later this week ;)

That's really it for this week! Short and sweet.

Science Bit of the Day

Can I just say that it makes me really happy to know that this is actually a thing? Volcanic lightning (aka "dirty thunderstorms") is basically what happens when you mix a volcanic eruption with a lightning storm. And because eruptions are kinda sporadic these days (duh), they're also really difficult to study. Read a cool article about volcanic lightning for more information. And enjoy this photo for a minute please (from the link).

That's all for today, loves! Tell me--what were your weekly wishes this week? How can I be more efficient?

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