doing: january 2015

celebrating NYE outside of the house {and not in sweatpants!}

tweaking my new blog template

planning a wedding prep trip to the mitten

gathering addresses for save the dates

trying to convince greg to elope

writing cover letters

running out of brain power to write blog posts

figuring out what I want to be when I grow up {or the next few years :/ }

driving to work still {lame}

sleeping in ‘til 6am

struggling through my jam-packed work days

eating way too many conversation hearts

bribing myself to meet my 40 miles this month #runningishard

where do you keep your house key?

i'm very low-key {ha!} when it comes to running. i don't listen to music or carry water. i put on my shoes, watch, Road ID, and head on out. it's just me and my thoughts {watch out!}. but nothing annoys my brain more than having things jingle and jangle around. followed closely by the paranoia of loosing my house key in the woods somewhere.

so i turn to the always handy binder clip. just unhook one of the metal legs, thread your key on, and put it all back together. 

clip it to your waistband and tuck the key inside. ta-da! now if i could only get some of those awful random tunes out of my head.

hello december 2014

last month was a struggle with the cold and darkness, slowly but surely i'm adjusting {no other options, right?}. i got lots of stitching and running done, and this month looks about the same:

 

> small biz christmas: oh target, you've got me hook/line/sinker with so many lovely things, but big box stores, are the problem.  so kickin it up a notch from last years goal, i'm shooting for 75% of my gifts to be from small businesses and/or handmade {by me or others}.update: success! between wandering into small shops around town, finding fun things on etsy, lots of stitching, and stocking stuffers from Trader Joe's, only a few books were ordered from Amazon. yay!

> blog revamp: new year, new fresh and shiny spaces. that's the dream, right? well not much can change in our rental house, so i'm thinking it's time for a blog renovation instead. also, not nearly as expensive or messy :) update: i've got a {secret} pinterest board of inspiration, but so far, nothing ready to go live.

> finish rennie garb: i always forget how complicated these outfits are. mostly it is the pattern adjusting or the coordinating fabric finding that slows it down, but now that everything is in house and cut out, it's time to pull it all together. update: still working on them, and i'm oh so close to being done. it's always the finishing bits and buttons that trip me up.

> run 50 miles: ahhhhh! that's all i need to get my {adjusted} goal of  300 miles this year. i'll be super pissed if i miss it by a handful of miles. super. pissed. update: eff, eff, eff. i was going strong the first few weeks, but then a week of heavy nor'easter rain, a wicked cold, then focusing on christmas presents.....and that's where i'm going to end the excuses.

how to get the stink out of your work out clothes

oh summer running......i love getting up at the crack of dawn with the sun, enjoying the cool(ish) breeze off the river, and getting one thing checked off my to do list before work....no matter what though, still i end up a hot and sticky and sweaty mess, ugh. i guess its better than heatstroke later in the day.

with all of this sweat, things get stinky. even {especially} the fancy sweat wicking work out clothes. the smell tends to linger, even after they've been washed. but no fret my friends, i've got an easy, eco and wallet friendly way to get rid of it. and I promise you won't smell like pickles at the end. say what?!?!

oh yes, the wildly underrated, plain ole white vinegar. seriously. i promised, no pickle smell. just pour a 1/2 cup into the wash with your detergent. then another 1/2 cup into the softener dispenser for the rinse cycle. done!

i keep a plastic 1C measuring cup with my giant jug down in my creepy basement, and measure everything out as i go along. when you take your clothes out of the washer it will smell a little vinegary, but once they're dry you won't smell a thing. oh, and for the things you cant throw in the wash, The Creek Line House has a great solution.

what do i listen to?

well that just depends on what i'm doing. or how i'm feeling. or where i am. and even then, who knows what's already stuck in my head.... but lately here are my fav sources of audio entertainment:

Dave & Chuck the Freak~ an awesome morning show from detroit that i've been listening to for YEARS now. they mix 13 year old boy humor with weird internet findings and no person or topic is safe. it's semi-embarrassing to admit that i am a huge fan. caution though, they may be technically radio friendly, but probably not appropriate for work, or your grandma....

Freakonomics Radio~ data mixed with pop culture. they talk about anything from business and crime to economics and competitive eating. covering what they like to call *the hidden side of everything.* not as nerdy as it seems, and super interesting.

After the Jump~ grace bonney from the ever-so-famous {in the blog world} design*sponge talks with {and about} artists, designers, makers, and all sorts of other stuff in the creative community. i've developed quite the pavlovian response to this series.... after the jump=time to go running.

Elise Gets Crafty: she covers lots of small biz and blog stuff. her style is pretty low key and honest, and her blog is awesome. huge fan of this gal, i just want to be her bfffffff {i promise i'm not a creeper, lol}

hello july 2014

june was the last quiet month for a while {heaven help hermit me}, with the annual 4th of july lake house extravaganza, weddingpalosa 2014 kicking off at the end of the month {aka 6 long distance weddings in 2 months, aka, that's why we opted for a 2015 wedding}, and lots of other things to get done in between, i'm gonna keep this months list pretty simple:

> soo have you checked out my etsy shop yet?!?!? right now it's looking pretty sparse {boo}, but after a recent trip to the fabric store, i've got lots of fun fabrics to work with. check this post out for more details and a special coupon {woohooo!} update: well i did get some new stuff stitched, photos of it all, a few things actually listed in the shop, and more of the preppy collection ready to go!

> we're not gonna talk about how i'm having issues with the jeepy and am stubbornly ignoring it. once again, we're gonna focus on how i only live 1.5 miles from work and i shouldn't be driving anyways.  it takes me just as long to ride my bike as it does to drive, and i get equally as sweaty walking home in the afternoon, so i might as well speed up the process. update: the jeepy's going in next week, and i've enjoyed riding my bike around town this month.

> every couple of years my mom and her hubby request a new set of renaissance faire garb, made by yours truly. this seems simple enough, and after making 3 sets you'd think i'd be more realistic with the timeline. so in all reality, i'll be super pumped if this is the only thing that actually gets done this month. update: ummm, nope, not yet, sorry :(

> i finished june with 21.3 miles, and with how busy this month is, 25 miles is gonna be super hard to do if i skip runs when i'm outta town.  so i guess i'd better pack my runnin gear {and not stay up too late drinking :/ } update: i started working on longer runs, which meant fewer runs, but i still ran around the same {small} block until i hit the last tenth of a mile i needed to finish, yay!

hello june 2014

oh it never fails, the longer days and perky sunshine get me super motivated, but then reality kicks in and i've bitten off way more than i can chew. last month was semi-disappointing, boo. my brain was working way faster than my poor body could keep up. so this month there's gonna be a few do-overs:

> the first two weeks of last month i spent a half day at the library and wrote my posts for the upcoming week. it felt awesome, super-duper awesome, to have it all wrapped up and taken care of. then greg was out of town, and i figured with the house being quiet, i'd be able to just get it done at home. haha, nope. sh*t got haphazard. in the back of my head i was super stressed, and i couldn't focus and so i sat, like a lump, on the couch instead. update: so you can totally tell when this didn't happen and i went for 2 whole weeks of no posts, whoops. it did work well when actually implemented though... :/

> if we go waaayyy back to last summer, this was a pretty popular goal for me. but running in the AM and walking to work multiple times in a week was just too much. so 1.5 times a week should be do-able. update: we ended the month with 7 bike rides, woohooo!

> re-do from last month, see couch-blob above. update: i went on a bit of a caffeine fueled cleaning binge, and donated a ton of clothes and other stuff. mission accomplished.

> week 5 day 1 and its running for 5 minutes at a time kinda kicked my butt, w5d2's running for 8 minutes at a time, knocked me flat on my ass....then i just laughed at w5d3's run for 20 minutes straight. ha, no way. so i've gone back to the 8 minute segments and by the end of this week i should be able to *comfortably* {aka still be able to breath and not want to die} finish those and continue on as regularly scheduled. {fingers crossed} either way, you can follow along here. update: meh. i'm back to running 5 minutes at a time, and i've paid attention enough to realize it's my legs pooping out before my lungs. so i've added in a weekly hill run, and riding my bike to work should help make 'em stronger too.

off my butt: couch to 5k

via

so i joke {quite often} that if you want to run with me, be prepared to walk. a lot. which, lately, is pretty true. don't want to be a fast runner, nor a long distance runner, i just like to get outside and force some fresh {city} air into my lungs.

even though i'm getting out there pretty regularly now, the run/walk progress is pretty low and i'm not really pushing myself {mostly i'm too lazy to increase the intervals on my watch}. so, instead of using precious brain power to figure out what my run should be, i've given in to the c25k program.

to make it even easier on myself, i've downloaded an awesome app on my phone.  it does all of the math, the counting, and the buzzing all on its own. so now, all i have to do is lace up, turn on my crazy podcasts and go, wooohooo!

sunday i finished week 3 day 1, so {fingers crossed} by mid june, i should be able to cover 3 {turtle-slow} miles, non-stop. so follow along, cheer me on, start your own, do whatever you want, just get off your butt :)

hey ryan gosling, how's the 2014 boston marathon?

how do you make lots of girls (and a few boys too) smile at mile 19 of the 2014 boston marathon?

Mile 19 stats: Ten thousand Boston Strong signs, one Ryan Gosling poster  pic.twitter.com/Ko5uXerwbO

just make a poster with Ryan Gosling's face on it

throw out some free high-fives

and stand there all day yelling & cheering!! woohooo, this is my favorite way to spend patriots day!!

hello march 2014

whoops, well hello there....apparently i needed a vacation after my vacation....too much sun and too many fruity rum drinks can kick a girls butt....anyways. i may not have been 100% on last months goals, but here's what i'm working on this month:

> i get home from work relatively early, usually 4:30 or so, then i tell myself i'm just gonna watch a little bit of tv, then work on something til greg gets home....ha, yea right! what really happens is i get sucked into the black-hole of netflix, and it's game over. so, if i just ban tv all together til dinner is done, i stand a much better chance of actually accomplishing something during the week. update: haha, nope, netflix zombie.....

> now that the days are getting a longer, my list of week day running excuses is getting shorter by the day.....3 miles a week should be totally do-able. update: soooo close, if i wasn't so stubborn, i would count the 6 miles spent wandering the city the last saturday....

> i took a calligraphy class in january, and i have all sorts of pen holders, sample letters, nibs and practice sheets, its time to actually use them. fingers crossed though, this is also where my word patience comes in..... :/ and because i can't just set myself the vague goal of *practice calligraphy,* i'm going to shoot for a minimum of 15 minutes a day. you know, like after i get home from work.... update: i don't think i even touched my calligraphy stuff this month, lame.

> oh our dining room/my sewing studio....what a disaster.  i tend to be a bit of a fabric hoarder, to put it politely. i need to decide on a minimum scrap size to keep, get rid of the rest, purge fabric in general, and organize my other bits and baubles. then, while i'm in there, i should hem my jeans.... update: not a whole lot on the fabric front, but things did get tidied, and my jeans did get hemmed.

what are your goals for this month? leave a comment!

running ahead: the best running log, ever!

in january, i gave up on my monthly off my butt goals; it was disheartening to be missing it month after month.  lately i've been getting in a run once a week {or so, ish..}, and i don't want to NOT give myself credit for it either.  instead, i'm gonna amend my new years resolution.

by adding......running 500 miles this year {yikes!}. that sounds like a whole lot right now, but really breaks down to only 9.615384615384615 miles per week.  i know some weeks are going to be shorter, but as i build my mileage back up, and as the days get warmer {and longer!!}, it'll be easier to catch up.

via

there's nothing i like more than a good chart to track my progress, and for a while i tried to track it on paper.  but i'm lazy it was kind of a pain in the butt. so after neglecting it for a bit, i'm going back to running ahead to track my runniinnnn.

i've tried other running sites, but they're either too flashy or not customizable {<-- is that even a word?!?!?}. this one allows my inner number-nerd to to chart what i want, how i want.  bar graphs, number scatters, whatever. and i can track the progress on custom goals.

so i've added a button on my side bar that'll bring you to my running log.  i'm going to try and update it more than once a week, but we'll see. so follow along, cheer me on, start your own, do whatever you want, just get off your butt :)

ps, how are your resolutions going? leave a comment!

around here: october 2013

 

beautiful fall runs // peanut butter m&m's are my version of crack(and part of the reason i run) // the fiance can make a mean breakfast sandwich // being touristy in my own town with the in-laws // working on some fancy things // lunch cruise at work

my favorite running season!

the smell of fresh cut grass AND the crunch of fallen leaves....oh running in the fall. AND i'm not a sweaty mess either, love, love, love!

one problem year round though, is getting my gps watch to connect. usually i start it up as i'm leaving the house and sometimes it's connected by the time i'm done warming up.... sometimes i end up standing on the corner, waiving my arm in the air, looking like a goober. so here are some handy-dandy tips to get you connected a lil easier.

i'm sure living in a crowded area and riiight next to a super busy highway (hello Massachusetts Turnpike) have something to do with it. hint, hint, i'm ready to move out of the city so i can wander the woods again ;) oh nature, how i miss you!

but on a side note, as i was swapping out my summer running stuff for the winter :( i had a bit of a realization.....
most of my running t-shirts consist of either booze or makeup related things....hummmm, about that...

ps, what's your favorite thing to do in the fall?

hello October!

well i may not have made as much progress last month as i would've liked, but at least i had my goals written down and staring me in the face, making me feel guilty. which, i think, helped me to get a lot more done. surprisingly i was more focused and pushed harder in the second half of the month instead of just giving up.

so this month there are a few repeats, but that's because they're still a challenge for me:

>last month i used a :30/:30 run/walk ratio, and this month i'm going to do a 1:00/:30 run/walk. the 20 miles will motivate me to get off my butt, and the increased ratio will make me work harder.

>last month 2 blogs per week was successful, so lets up it a little more. i've got my posts pretty well planned out for the month, and only a few are silly things, some are tuts and most have words ;)

>i wasn't very successful with last month's goal of backing up my computer. so this month i've changed gears and start even smaller, clean up and organize alll of my photos. baby steps.

>and then edit and organize them correctly. every week.

>i was soooo close with this last month. so we'll try it again. so far, no so good. it's October 2nd and ive driven to work twice, boooo

ps, what are your goals this month?

september goals-mid month update

so far my goals this month are slightly behind, but i still have some time to catch up:

>i've put in 6.8 miles, meaning i have another 13.2 to cover in 15 days. .88 miles a day. it'll be a challenge, but i've been more consistent about getting off my butt, which is the real challenge.

>so far, so good with the 2 blogs per week. just trying to keep it simple to start. nothing ground breaking, but i've done quite a bit of actual writing. no rants, nonsense posts or all photo posts. yet. i've got lots of ideas and pictures lined up, so i shouldn't peter out any time soon.

>i've gotten rid of some terrible photos/outtakes and old documents, and have done a little research into the best way to back up. i'm not sure if its better to go on a deleting rampage before or after i back up. eh, we'll see.

>so i put off publishing this post so i could get in another walk to work, but then that didn't happen. not to make up a bunch of excuses, but here they come it has either been 85*+ or pouring rain the last two weeks...so i now have a grand total of 2. yikes! i plan on walking my butt off the rest of the month. i do have a bike, and i would totally count that too, but i'm still too afraid of helmet hair being run over to ride it on the mean streets of Boston.

p.s. how are your september goals coming along?

hello September!

>trying to get back in to the swing of things, running-wise.
yes, an easy mileage but it gets me off my butt

>just get in the habit, slow and steady wins the race

>too many important things and too much clutter

>i live 1½ miles from work, no need to drive, quit being lazy

and...go!!!!

p.s. what are your goals this month?

UPDATE:
>so i ended the month with 16.2 miles of running, buuut i also rode my bike to work 4/5 days of the last week so my legs were tired. and i still went running when they felt like rubber. so ha. excuses.

> check +

>nope, the external hard drive slowed me down. i'm still working on buying one.

>8 times, and i blame the heat wave in the begining of the month. but i'm not sure what my excuse is so far this month.....