So it's not technically my birthday anymore, but I still took the day off work to relax and spend time with some family and friends. This included morning coffee with my friend Amanda, shopping and lunch at the Cheesecake Factory with my mom, and a sushi dinner with my husband and his parents. It was a great day! Plus, I've already started working on a few of the things on my 30x30 list. So here's an update...
#4: Complete the gallery wall in my house. Two and a half years ago, my husband and I bought our first house. But like a lot of new homeowners, we couldn't afford to furnish and decorate it right away. (In fact, the only furniture we owned when we moved in were four dining room chairs, a wingback chair that I bought at a garage sale, a small pedestal table that belonged to my husband's grandmother, and a roll-top desk that belonged to his grandfather.) So as we've accumulated more furniture, I've also started hanging stuff on the walls to make things more homey. This includes a gallery wall that I decided to "put up" in our main front hallway. The upside? Gallery walls are an easy design choice and there are lots of tutorials and inspiring pictures of them on Pinterest. The downside? Unless you already own 100 differently sized, but coordinating frames, they aren't cheap. So for the past two years, I've put almost all of my birthday and Christmas money toward picture frames for the hallway. Until yesterday, I had nine frames on the wall, but thanks to some birthday money, I was able to buy six more (though I have to exchange two of those because they are the wrong size). I also have another $50 in birthday money that I will put toward frames for the gallery wall, so I hope to have nearly 20 frames on the wall by the end of the month. Of course, I'm still far from finishing this project, but at least I've made some progress!
(I know this isn't ground breaking stuff, so I won't be offended if you decide to stop reading this post right now. I just really hate having "unfinished" projects in my home or my life and that includes insignificant things like the gallery wall. So, moving on...)
#21: Participate in/practice "Meatless Mondays." I can't quite explain why I want to do this, I just know that I do. My increased awareness of my health and eating habits started about a year and a half ago when I decided to give up all soda for six months. I thought it would be impossible, but six months came and went and I realized that I didn't miss it. (Well, that's not entirely true - I did miss soda a little bit here and there, but the benefits of not drinking soda far outweighed the cons, so it was worth it to me.) So I decided to do it for six more months, and by the end of the year, I realized it was no longer a personal challenge, but rather a lifestyle choice. During that time, I also started a regular exercise routine with Camp Gladiator (more on that in later posts) and then got interested in running. All of these changes inspired me to minimize my meat consumption as well, making today my first official "Meatless Monday." And it went really well! I had a banana and an ice cream bar for breakfast (C'mon, I'm still celebrating my birthday!), a pasta dish packed with asparagus and mushrooms for lunch, and sushi for dinner. So while I simply can't be vegan - I love cheese, eggs, and fish too much - I do like the idea of having one day a week where I remove other meat from my diet. And I promise my everyday meals are a bit healthier than what I ate today. Like I said, I was still celebrating my birthday!
#23: Read the entire Bible in one year. Throughout my life, I'm pretty sure that I've read every verse and line that is in the Bible. I've just never made a conscious effort to do it in a concentrated amount of time. So to accomplish this, I'm using a "blended" reading plan on the YouVersion Bible app on my iPad. "Blended" simply means that I won't be stuck reading the Old Testament until April, but will get to read chapters in both the Old Testament and the New Testament every day. While I've only completed the first day of the plan, I'm glad I started it. And I feel like it is going to work really well for me. I just need to make sure that I complete the readings for the second day as soon as I finish this blog post!
#26: Run a half marathon. I know. I'm crazy. I started running just two months ago and I already think I can run a half marathon. (Well, I think I can train for a half marathon. We'll see if I can actually run it.) So while I've only ever run two 5Ks, I have my sights set on a half marathon that is scheduled for Sunday, September 15. Yup, it's in 12 weeks. Yup, that's 13.1 miles. And the longest distance I've run at one time is 4.19 miles. So that means I have to start training now. As in, today. Fortunately, I am almost finished modifying Hal Higdon's half marathon training plan for novice runners, which I will share once it is finalized. Anyway, the plan for today was simple - stretch and strengthen. Normally, I would do this at Camp Galdiator, but it is an off-week for that, so I decided that hours of walking around two different malls and carrying heaving shopping bags would have to suffice. But tomorrow, I'll get back outside and run about three miles. So here goes nothing!
Overall, I think this is a good start to accomplishing some of the items on my 30x30 list. But I better go and read a few chapters of the Bible and get some sleep before running in the morning. Until next time!
you should post some pics of galleries walls you like - I'm curious what it'll look like. sounds like a neat project.
ReplyDeletei like the idea of meatless mondays.when i'm not pg, i eat a lot less meat and I can tell it helps me out.
good luck on the running! you can do it! just remember, you just have to finish. with you training, you'll be able to do 13 miles in a reasonable time.\
keep up the good work on the bible reading!