“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together” -Vincent Vangogh

The beginning of our half marathon training began on Monday, February 1st, a great day to get started! Some of you might be confused as to why we’re already starting when the race isn’t until mid-June, well, here’s the two part answer: 1) I still dread running and quite frankly still use the word hate to describe my relationship with it some days and 2) I wasn’t graced with a “runner’s body”, so for me, slow and steady is the ONLY option-resulting in not being able to successfully increase mileage as fast as others might be able to.

The training schedule I have picked identifies my Monday runs as “easy”, so running at a pace that feels “easy’ and a pace that you could carry on a conversation with. Monday morning before work, Bobby and I took advantage of some of the last “warm” winter weather for a while and ran 1.5 miles at a truly “easy” pace. Too easy? Maybe…it was pretty dang slow. But, going much faster wouldn’t have made it feel “easy” for me, so for now that pace looks like a 12 minute mile. It felt nice!

Unfortunately, “nice” wasn’t what followed us through the day…Monday night we played cat and mouse with our fire alarm again:/ This time, NOTHING on the stovetop. The oven was at 425 degrees for about 45 minutes as I was roasting potatoes and salmon. I opened the oven to pull out the pan and about 30 seconds later “BEEP!! BEEP!! BEEP!! BEEP!! BEEP!!”. **Eyeroll**. Thankfully it only happened once, but man it’s starting to really peeve me. Bobby worked on getting it “reset” the next day while I was in the office, and it hasn’t gone off since, so fingers crossed that it won’t have spaz attacks going forward.

Wednesday’s run was also a 1.5 miler. About ten degrees colder than Monday, so 16 degrees rather than 26 degrees. My training program has identified my Wednesday runs as “moderate”, meaning a pace that is faster than the easy runs. You wouldn’t think a little over a minute would make much of a difference but wow, it really does. We finished with a 10:52/mile pace for Wednesday’s run and the last half mile was significantly more difficult than it was on Monday. Like so difficult that when we finished, I stood at the intersection with my hands on my knees for a solid 3 minutes lol. I might just blame that on the cold air in my lungs though 😉Nonetheless, we made it through without anything too dramatic, ha!

Friday is considered a “recovery” run, something to just shake out my legs before my long weekend run. This week the recovery run was a leisurely mile on the treadmill…or the dreadmill, depending on your relationship with it haha.

Saturdays will likely be my designated long run day. This week “long” was a 2 mile run. For a lot of people that is very, very easy. But, for someone like me who is still working on developing a positive relationship with the act of running, 2 miles feels like a great accomplishment! My two miles were also on the treadmill, thanks to the polar vortex, but I’m just thankful that we have access to a treadmill at our apartment complex:). As I was hoping for, the 2 miles felt great! With it only being the first week of training I had the expectation that everything would be rather doable and that my excitement and motivation would be at a high enough level to fight through the moments of mental weakness. My expectation was thankfully the reality of the week, overall it was a great first week of training!

Aside from training, and our fire alarm frenzy, we put together a fun little clip of our weekend up north at the cabin from last week! Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfF71EGAcE8 🙂

I also tried a new recipe this week, as I try to every week. Shrimp Curry was the lucky winner this week, and it was WONDERFUL!!!! The recipe came from the Pioneer Woman Cookbook-one of my Christmas cookbook gifts! It was bright and citrusy for a curry, something that was quite refreshing and warm for this cold weather week. It was also rather simple to make, and didn’t set off our fire alarm so that’s a plus, too 🤪

All of that aside, today will be filled with many, many snacks-isn’t that the only way to respectfully participate in the viewing of the Super Bowl?? Homemade 4 cheese, garlic, and basil pizza is one of the many for us today which will be followed by my families signature football dish : Buffalo Chicken Dip. YUM. Cheers to you wherever you are!

Have a great week-see you after week two!

xoxo

Jos

“My mama always said, life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.”-Forrest Gump

Happy last Sunday of January, 2021!

It sure went by fast, didn’t it?

I feel like it was a whole lot of not accomplishing anything while also being a month of realizing what I need in the weeks and months ahead.

I’ve finally finished my first book of the year…I know, it was pretty slow start, but nonetheless it’s the first one-the goal is to read 15 this year (yes, I know, that’s not an impressive number at all considering there are 12 months in a year, but that’s all I need)! I’m all about autobiography’s from people I admire, so the first book of 2021 was one I’ve been waiting a while to read: “Live In Love” written by Lauren Atkins, wife of Country Music Star, Thomas Rhett. Overall, I would give it a 7/10. Not my favorite, but also enjoyable. And I adore their family, so it was fun for me to learn about what makes them who they are. I always enjoy reading about how even such a “perfect” looking family still endures the pain, hurt, joy, laughter, and feelings that make us all human.

Aside from that, the last two weeks have been a mellow two weeks with a busy work schedule. Also, a disclaimer for those of you who deem Christmas “over” on December 26th…I just took our Christmas Tree and decorations down a week ago. Not sorry about it either. I am very much so looking forward to filling our little space with more plants now that we have more room! We currently have a “ZZ Plant”. I would HIGHLY recommend it for ANYONE. It is the strongest lil’ plant I’ve ever known. Doesn’t require much attention at all, very low-maintenance as far as light and water requirements, too. I love mine 🙂 Openly taking recommendations for other varieties to add to our little home.

In addition to seeking out some new plant babies, we had to seek help last week with our smoke detector…let’s just say our little 640 square foot space went through the ringer for a few days last week lol. On Tuesday night I made two new dinner items. Which, in hindsight, was probably a bit too ambitious considering I was going to be using two new cast-iron pans in combination with the two new recipes…lots of new at one time if you haven’t gotten the jist by now lol. In the larger cast-iron pan of the two, I would be trying my hand at homeade cauliflower couscous. In the other, smaller, cast-iron pan I would be frying up some turkey burgers. Now, neither of these menu items are difficult by any means and to be fair, I have made turkey burgers more than a few times in different kitchens with a different pan. So, I get things rolling per usual right? The process for the cauliflowers couscous is a little tedious and slow, just needs a lot of simmer/steam time in order for the cauliflower to soften. And for the burgers, I’m sure you know they just fire off right away and get cookin’. Well, apparently, having two cast-iron pans pushing out steam simultaneously isn’t a good idea in a little apartment. About seven minutes in, we had a raging fire alarm party in our place. And by that I mean, we had two fire alarms going off within a mere 4 feet of each other. NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS WOULD I HAVE EXPECTED THIS TO SET THEM OFF. I guess Forest Gump is right, you never know what you’re gonna get. So we scrambled jumping on furniture to reach up and mute the damn things while we dove for the patio door in hopes of pushing fresh-air in the joint AS FAST AS POSSIBLE. Maybe the pure panic set in because I’m used to living in college housing where if one alarm goes off the whole building has to evacuate, or maybe it was because the worry of being “those ppl” in our new apartment complex was setting in, but boy was I freaking out. Oh, and our property manager lives right across the hall (palm to forehead). We got things cleared out a little and I made my way back over to the stove because we still had two burgers that weren’t quite done yet! I swear 30 seconds went by and the dang “BEEP!! BEEP!! BEEP!! BEEP!!” started in again:(!! It was awful!! We set the same emergency action plan in place once again and after a few minutes got things under control. At this point our neighbors for sure think we’re burning the place down. The worst part?!?!? NOTHING even burnt!!!! Both Bobby and I agreed that it was one of our favorite meals I’ve made to date. It turned out perfect! But it set of the spastic fire alarm, TWICE!! (by the way, the cauliflower couscous recipe was inspired by the one in the Magnolia Table cookook-with a handful of modifications to fit our pantry inventory).

Now I’m terrified to have any bit of steam kick off of the stove top. So for lunch the next day I declared a microwave meal just to be sure. Then, for dinner I decided on oven-baked salmon, oven-baked potatoes, and steaming broccoli on the stove. My thought was “okay, the salmon and potatoes are in the oven so we are all good there-no worry for steam or smoke. And steaming broccoli is pretty mellow and low-risk too right? I’m thinking we are for sure safe tonight”. Boy was I wrong. I had just gotten the potatoes and salmon in the oven, Bobby was in the shower, and I had just lit the burner for the broccoli to get started. I had the frozen brocolli steaming for 3 minutes or so and became immediately triggered when the “BEEP!!BEEP!!BEEP!!BEEP!!” started in again. I kid you not people, the broccoli was steaming for 3 minutes…3!! Bobby came flying out of the bathroom, I swear nearly doing the slip n’ slide accross the floor to get to the alarm lololol. Thankfully this alarm didn’t last near as long, and didn’t come back on again. But, for the record, I think I now have PTSD triggered by fire alarms.

After two days in a row, I decided for my sanity that we needed to have the maintenance guy come and check things out. There was no way in hell I would be cooking on the stove top if this dang fire alarm was going to keep going off every night.

Our friendly maintenacne man came the next day and diagnosed our fire alarm as “troubled” (I thought that was a nice way of putting it), so we participated in a fire alarm exchange with the empty apartment down the hall. Haven’t had any troubles since, and really pressed our luck by making fajitas the first night with our new alarm :). Phew. my heart rate has risen just typing this out haha, I don’t wish it upon any of you. We did find out that even if our alarm is going off, the whole building doesn’t have to evacuate-THANK THE LORD. Hopefully going forward we’ll be A-OK now with steamy kitchen events haha.

I also made something very new this week-I know, lot’s of new recipes lately haha. But hear me out. I’ve always wanted to try making tofu at home and finally did it! It was an interesting experience and turned out better than I had imagined. I used the firm tofu from Trader Joes and would probably opt for the extra-firm option next time, but it was still great for the first time making it at home! Bobby even really liked it, too! Here’s the Pinterest recipe I used : https://www.pinterest.com/pin/154811305931336722/. I also made the dressing she links using tahini. I’ve never used tahini before, but again, used the Trader Joe’s tahini and it turned out very nice! If you’re looking for something different, or trying to incorporate more plant-based options into your lifestyle, I would recommend giving it a shot!

With a week full of a tense, wrinkly, forehead as a result of work and our fire alarm party’s, we headed up north to relax and have some guranteed peace and quiet. Wow, that just made me sound like an 85 year old, yikes, I swear COVID has changed me lol. We were able to soak up all kinds of fresh air and put our feet up by the fire which was so, so lovely. We’ll be busy making a video recap this week that will be on the blog next time, it’ll be a fun one! It also included three meals consisting of burgers and fries…totally went against the effort behind having tofu the day before lol. It’s a work in progress just like everything else.

Tomorrow, and this first week in February marks the begining of my training plan for the 2021 Grandma’s Half Marathon. Yep, we’re going for it for real this time folks. COVID or not, I’m running it this year-and you’ve heard it here first! I expect this week to be doable and nothing that pushes my limits yet, atleast that’s the hope lol. My luck I’ll feel like an elephant wading through muddy water on my first training run:/. As much as I know it will be difficult and that I’m going to HATE many moments of it, I am looking forward to dedicating myself to something physically bigger than I ‘ve ever done before.

I’ll be sure to recap week one of training and hope to share our Walker video next week! Here’s to making month #2 of 2021 better than #1!

Have a great week!

xoxo

Jos

“There is no challenge more challenging than the challenge to improve yourself” -Michael F. Staley

We have officially surpassed the two week mark into the New Year. And wow, the first two weeks of 2021 have already brought our Nation through a series of tumultuous waves. I think we’ll leave it at that for now.

Sometimes the start of a New Year brings pure excitement and fresh motivation, and other times it brings pressure and anxiety. For me, this New Year has been a combination of excitement with a touch of daunting. Daunting in the sense that, I know the goals I have set for myself are going to take work, hard work. The easy part for me is always setting the goals, and the hardest part is establishing the habits required in order to reach them. Often times, the first few weeks and months of each New Year yield the feeling of pressure to not “fail” when working towards new goals. While it is definitely important to start on the right foot, we sometimes forget to give ourselves grace when reaching for the stars. As you intentionally create new habits, give yourself an appropriate amount of forgiveness during the transistion. We all know you can’t just make things happen over night, they ususally take some time. So give yourself just that. Know that it will take time to make the changes and adjustments you are striving for. Weather it’s re-focusing your diet plan or working out 30 minutes everyday, it likely won’t be an “easy” change to make. Lean into the time it takes and give yourself grace for the days when you don’t quite get where you need to go, just don’t make the grace moments turn into the majority.

With that being said, I’ll share a few of the things I’m working on this year. For starters, each morning to get my day started, I am working on incorporating a series of quick stretches that help my body and mind naturally awaken themselves. It takes no more than 7 minutes. I then drink a full glass of water because 1)hydration is key and 2) I am part camel and drink more water than the average joe lol. I then sit down and spend 10-20 minutes writing in my “Go All In” journal and reading my bible/devotions. For a while I was incorporating a quick 15 minute morning walk to get some fresh-air to start my day…but then one morning it was 7 degrees and windy so I decided that’s just gonna be a perk of some work from home mornings. While these are rather small doings in the scheme of life, I, in just two weeks, have already felt a greater sense of calm and peace with my morning routine. On days when I have missed my routine, or skipped parts of it because of running late, I notice that my actions for the rest of the day are lacking the sense of calm and love that I feel grounded in when I DO carry out my routine.

Since our half-marathon training will get started during the first week of February, I am spending the month of January working on developing my muscle base again. It is something I had built up over the course of summer and fall, but lost all that I had gained once I lost routine in November. So, here’s to re-creating my foundation for training to get started in less than a month!!

In addition, both Bobby and I are slowly getting our diet-plan “back on track”. Does this mean we don’t eat carbs or sugar? Absolutely not. We just found ourselves consuming more refined sugars and junk food at the end of 2020 than we both prefer to. So, making subtle changes day by day and week by week will help us realistically get back “on the tracks”. One thing I struggle GREATLY with is consuming foods in moderation. I swear there’s some weird switch that goes off when I eat something yummy and my brain just wants to compulsively consume the entire batch of cookies or eat through the whole half-gallon of salted caramel ice cream…it’s a real problem!!! Things started out rather decent, I have been trying to put the foods I eat in containers rather than just grabbing the entire bag of potato chips-which has seemed to help. But, only on the days when I have a great sense of self-control. Other days, like Wednesday night this week, I sat down with a bag of dried mango and all of a sudden I was reaching my hand into an empty bag…like I said, I’m working on it haha.

Now my favorite part!!! We have tried some really great new recipes in the last week that are share worthy! The first is a winter salad with sweet potatoes and chickpeas and the second is a lemon-butter, cayenne chicken! Check them out below to add a little spice to your life this week hehe. You’ll catch that little joke in a bit.

We’ll call the first one the “Warm Winter Salad”. I’m someone who can’t just eat the same old salad over and over again or it creates an angry relationship between me and vegetables lol. So, I’ve been seeking ways to enhance the “salad” and get creative with it! I found a recipe I thought sounded interesting, but of course didn’t have all the ingredients in our pantry, so I’m sharing with you the version I created with what we had on hand!

Here’s how it happened:

1. Slice two sweet potatoes, pretty thin..like 1/2 in thick or so. Toss them in olive oil, salt, pepper, and Cayenne pepper (to add a little spice to your life:)), bake them at 425 degrees on a baking sheet for 20-25 minutes.
2. While the potatoes are sun-tanning, fill a large mixing bowl with kale. You could try it with spinach or lettuce, or whatever other greens you’re interested in…but I can only guarantee it’s greatness when you use kale! 🙂 Also, open a can of chick peas (aka garbanzo beans), drain and rinse.
3. Also while the potatoes are catching a tan, I mixed up this super yummy salad dressing that doesn’t taste like any other pre-made dressing I’ve ever had!
4. —-(I used a hand blender to mix it all together, but feel free to mix however you can!)— Combine: 1/4 cup of Olive Oil (make sure it’s the good stuff. DONT GO CHINSY ON OLIVE OIL PPL…I use what I shipped home from Italy last year but I suspect you might not have that luxury…so just be sure it’s at least a mid-class olive oil or you’ll have nothing but regrets…okay, rant over. Back to the COMBINE: in addition to the oil…2 Tblsp of lemon juice (I just squeezed our lemon juice container for a solid 10 seconds-I’m guessing about 2 Tablespoons), 2 Tbls spicy brown mustard (I use trader joe’s and love it), 2 heaping spoonfuls of greek yogurt (ours had honey in it too), 2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce, 1-2 minced garlic cloves, salt, pepper, and somewhere around 1/3 cup of grated parmesan cheese. Blend together for an amazing flavor burst!
5. Now, assuming your oven timer has gone off, sprinkle the rinsed and drained chickpeas over the sweet potatoes on your baking sheet. Drizzle some additional olive oil, cayenne pepper, paprika, salt and pepper. Place them back in the oven for another 20-25 minutes or until slightly crispy.
6. Now you just wait!
7. Once potatoes and chickpeas are crunchy, mix them into your bowl of kale. Toss with salad dressing and sprinkle parmeasean cheese on top.
8. ENJOY the GREATNESS!!

We’ll call the second recipe “Simple Chicken with a Kick”. If you haven’t figured out by now, Bobby and I both like our foods to have a bit of a “kick” or spiciness to them. Not a ton, but enough to get the tastebuds buzzing. This is a SUPER SIMPLE way to change up your plain old chicken breast entre.

Here’s how to get started:

1. Season chicken breasts or tenders with salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper 20 minutes before you’re getting dinner started to soak up the flavor. (I cut chicken breasts in half for more reasonably sized chicken chunks)
2. When ready, heat 2 Tbls of butter in a cast iron skillet. Once butter begins to melt, place chicken in the skillet.
3. Let the chicken sizzle for 5-6 minutes on med-high heat.
4. Add 2-3 minced garlic cloves and a tablespoon or two of lemon juice to the center of your sizzling chicken skillet. Let the aromas develop and spread throughout skillet.
5. Flip chicken over. Let brown on opposite site.
6. Once both sides have been seared, you can turn to medium heat for the remaining cook time until they are cooked thoroughly. In total, mine cooked on the stovetop for about 15 minutes.
7. THAT’S IT!! ENJOY!

Thanks for tuning in, I love hearing about if you try my recipes, so HMU with your thoughts!

Wishing you the best wherever you are in your journey of the New Year and your new goals. Let’s make 2021 the best yet!!

xoxo

Jos

“Intention is one of the most powerful forces there is. What you mean when you do a thing will always determine the outcome. The law creates the world.” – Brenna Yovanhoff

Heading into the Christmas week after a very complicated year certainly feels different than “normal”. Usually this week is filled with family reunions of all sizes, warm hugs from loved ones near and far, the shared experience of a Christmas meal or church service, and spending quality time with the ones we love. This year, it most likely looks different for you. Perhaps isolation for 14 days leading up to Christmas only to spend it 6 feet apart and unable to see the smiles underneath a mask, or maybe a Christmas zoom call with not so great internet speed, or maybe this year Christmas will be spent finding inner peace as you grace the holiday with your roommate(s) or partners.

While I was unwinding one night last week doing a quick yoga stretch compilation before bed, I got to thinking about how we often set “intentions” for a yoga practice. Sometimes my intention is my breathing, sometimes it’s core strength, and sometimes it’s simply to refocus. While I thought about my yoga intention for that evening, I started thinking about how my favorite time of year, Christmas, doesn’t feel so bright this year. But maybe we can just add a touch of additional light by changing the way we think about Christmas this year.

I’d like to challenge you to join me in something this week. Join me in setting a few intentions for your holiday celebrations. Weather you’ll be spending it on your couch in pjs or at a dining room table across from family, determine an intention, or two, or three that you’d like to set to help bring light back to Christmas this year. It’s easy to get lost in the bluster of the differences this year has brought; but let’s not let that damper the most wonderful time of the year.

I’ve had the chance to reflect on some of my past Christmas memories and use them to guide my intention setting for this year. In case you’d like some ideas for what you might chose as your intention this week, I’ve outlined my choices for Christmas of 2020 below:

–Listen to Laughter

I love hearing people laugh at all times of the year, but there’s something special about a genuine laugh or giggle with family. Maybe that’s because I’m a sucker for my little sisters belly laugh, but this Christmas I have chosen to intentionally listen to the laughter that surrounds me. Some of it may be a result of bad dad jokes or some from stories told about old memories, nonetheless I will be on extra alert for the laughs, soaking up the unique sounds they bring, and the warm feeling they give.

–Savor the Flavors

This might be the most tangible of my intentions, but no less important than the rest. The holidays, especially Christmas, are a time associated with the memories of certain foods and flavors. As a little kid, the minty fresh peppermint taste lingered in my mouth for days on end as teachers and classmates handed out candy canes. As I got older I began to look forward to the peanut butter blossom cookies my mom and I would make and taste test together. Over the course of the last few years I’ve grown a greater appreciation for the work that goes into making the Christmas meal(s) simply because I’ve been able to try my hand at helping with the prep of the meal. So, this year-I am setting an intention to really, truly savor each unique flavor palette. Sometimes I get so excited about all of the yummy food in front of me I eat it so fast and it’s suddenly gone!! Not this year. I want to enjoy each bite as it’s own and appreciate the amazing variety we get to enjoy together.

–Notice the Absence

This one is sort of a two fold intention, if you will. While the absence of many things will be very clear, I think this can serve as a double sided intention. One side being: consciously noticing the absence of physical family members, friends, smiles, and the usual hustle and bustle of a family gathering. While it might bring sadness, it can also bring an appreciation for all of the joy that a “normal” Christmas might bring. In another part, I think it’s safe to say the true meaning of the holidays might’ve changed for some of us this year. Perhaps this year we might be able to lean into the absence of things like greed, and the usual expectation for physical gifts, etc and come to notice the true meaning of the season. I’ll let you reflect and determine your own meaning this year.

So, will you accept my challenge? Set a few intentions for this Christmas and see what it might do for you this season.

Aside from setting my Christmas intentions, I’ve also been up to something for 2021. My boyfriend, Bobby, and I have decided to launch a YouTube channel! It’s call Touring our Twenties, and will feature a variety of fun, adventurous, and educational videos! Some things you might find on our channel will be highlight reels from trips we take, cooking with a new recipe-or a favorite recipe, fireside chats with some folks we admire, and really anything we find enjoyable and think you might like too! I’ve linked our channel below-subscribe to our channel to get a notification that we’ve uploaded a new video!! Don’t worry, it won’t be anything more than once or twice a month! I’ve also linked our first video which is a short highlight reel of our trip up north this summer-something we’ve been watching to remind us of all the good things in life and nature. Go have yourself a look 🙂

Channel: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCs8pQtvdsYXnxggVQLmP07g/videos

First video: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yc-9yUNfzdY&feature=youtu.be

In additional news, running has been a cascade of continuous highs and lows. For instance, on Wednesday after work I was pretty pooped out and not feeling like much of anything. Bobby on the other hand decided to have a burst of energy and was relentless about me joining him. After a solid 20 minutes of me choosing to be difficult and resistant, somehow he convinced me to go and as always, I felt so much better afterwards. Even thought it was just one little mile, it continues to prove to be mighty. ——— on the flip side, I have my good days too, like this morning! We set the alarms for 5:30 and hit the sidewalks around 5:45 as a promise to ourselves that we would soak up all the decent weather possible. Well when it’s 36 degrees at 5:45am on December 21st, you take advantage of it!! I felt great and had a definite pep in my step while bobbo( my name of choice for bobby) was experiencing the “typical” Josie mindset. In between the two stories I’ve mentioned, we’ve compiled a handful of short runs, usually one milers, but on occasion a 2 or 2.5er. As we near the new year we both have new goals to tackle-so I’m enjoying the current mindset of “working out when I feel like it” instead of on a training plan. To say the least, quarantine has shown its presence in our world of health and fitness, so we’re looking ahead to 2021 for improvements all around.

If you haven’t already, subscribe to my blog so you receive it straight to your email whenever it’s posted!

I hope this has brought you your own reflection on what Christmas means to you, and maybe you, too, will set intentions for this week. Wishing you and your loved ones nothing short of a Merry Christmas if that is what you choose to celebrate. Find peace, joy, and love this Christmas-I know we all need a little extra this time around so don’t hold back giving.

Take care.

Xoxo

Jos

“Depending on what they are, our habits will either make us or break us. We become what we repeatedly do” – Sean Covey

First off-HAPPY FRIDAY!!!! You’ve made it through another week of 2020. 🥳

When thinking about what I wanted to talk about this week, it only seemed fitting to talk about the part of my life that has changed-for the better-in the last two weeks.

For the last 6 months, even though I was fortunate enough to go to work every day, I found myself really falling out of the routines that I had finally established right before the pandemic began. Don’t get me wrong, I love spontaneity, and quite frankly relaxing or not having to worry about sticking to a schedule. But it’s not the sticking to the schedule and lack of relaxation that I’m referencing when I say I fell out of my routines. I mean doing the acts, both for myself and others, that I now realize have brought me joy without sometimes realizing it. Things like reading my devotion in the morning before I start my day, doing a few stretches as I get out of bed, actually eating the lunch that I pack instead of snacking all day long, and even things like going to bed around the same time every night. Not to say that I’ve grabbed a hold of things again-because let’s face it, I certainly haven’t-but, I’m aware of what I need to get things rolling again and that’s the first step…right?

Anyways, I guess what I’m trying to say is that amidst the chaos and uncomfortableness of the world right now, I think whatever you’re doing and however you’re doing it is most certainly okay. Heck, some mornings I have 3 cookies for breakfast AND I pour Peppermint Mocha Rumchata in my coffee…and some days I intermittent fast until noon and proceed to fuel differently with a salad and a run to follow. All I’m saying is, it’s been rough, it’s been hard, it’s been gross, and all of us are dealing with things differently and that IS OK.

But, I do think that establishing any type of routine, whether that’s something like an entire morning routine, or something as simple as making your bed everyday-nonetheless a routine can help us ground ourselves. What have you found yourself doing each day as a way of grounding during these times? Maybe you don’t even realize you’ve started new routines?

I’d love to hear things that keep you feeling sane each and everyday. Although I am very in and out of a routine right now, I will tell you that when I consistently do these things a few days in a row I definitely have a greater sense of calm throughout the day. That being said, I need to really truly establish my routine again. But here’s what I have discovered helps in my morning routine:

•having a good stretch in bed/ as I get out of bed

•drinking a glass of lemon infused water before I do anything else

•obvious self care things like brushing/flossing teeth, brushing hair-etc.

•making time to ENJOY a cup of coffee with my devotion/journal BEFORE I have to commit to work/to do’s for the day.

•a morning movement REALLY helps me. BUT IM HORRIBLE and don’t always make time for it. Even a walk around the block makes a huge difference for me. Something about that fresh morning air ☺️.

One of my goals for 2021 is to genuinely establish a true routine for morning and night. Something that I WANT to commit to, and find grounding in. Mark my words.

That’s my two sense for the millions of thoughts I have each week, now on to the fun part!

I want to share a few fun things for you to make your time worth it:)

So, first, as to be expected, is an amazing new recipe I tried and LOVED.

Except it’s not really a recipe because I pretty much combined three different recipes together to make it my own. We’re gonna call it “Creamy Wine Sauce”…cause that’s basically what it is. Actually let’s call is “Dank Creamy Wine Sauce” because it truly is DANK. Some of you will appreciate that descriptor more than others haha.

Here’s how I made it:

1. Throw a chunk of butter and some fresh chopped garlic in a saute pan until you get is sizzlin’. (I’d do probs 2 ish Tbls of butter and 1-3 chopped garlic cloves depending on how well you like garlic lol)
2. While that’s sizzlin’ get your water boiling for whatever noodles you prefer to use. I made mine with bowtie noodles and definitely won’t not use them for it again :).
3. Toss in a carton of sliced mushrooms with the garlic and butter combo. (I used plain old white mushrooms but you could certainly get fancy and use cool mushrooms).
4. Let it simmer a few minutes, then add a few stalks of fresh rosemary (make sure you pull it off of it’s stalk haha)
5. Let that simmer a few more minutes. Then my favorite part: ADD THE WINE. But, actually, add a cup or so of white wine. I used a sauvignon blanc and it was DE-LISH.
6. Let the wine simmer down until it’s reduced to about half of what you started with. Then add a whole container of heavy whipping cream to the mixture. Yes, a whole carton, I mean you wouldn’t have to, but I would!
7. After the mixture comes to a boil all together, you can use your judgement on consistency, but I like to add a few handfuls of shredded parmesan cheese for added thickness and flavor!
8. By this time you should probably check your noodles again cause they’re likely just about done!
9. And then Wallah!! Serve the sauce over the noodles for the best dang pasta ever!! I added a little salt and peppa to step up my game at the end, but you certainly wouldn’t have to.

LMK what you think if you give it a try!! It was super easy for me, and I absolutely loved the flavor!!! SO YUMMY. Only downfall is that I now want to eat pasta every single day so that I can have this dank sauce everyday. Crap!!

One other fun recipe I just made the other day that will for sure stay in my wheelhouse and is something I thought I could share is a mediteranean style salad. Sometimes I get sick of traditional lettuce salads and like to mix things up for my lovely little tastebuds. So here it is:

1.Combine 1 can of chickpeas (rinsed and drained), a heaping handful of cherry or grape tomatoes sliced or halved, one normal sized cucumber diced, a half of a red onion chopped, a few handfuls of feta cheese.

2. Mix it all together and add more of whatever you’re feeling like.

3. Add a few Tbls of olive oil, a few Tbls of lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste.

Again, SUPER simple, but SO good and SO refreshing!!

In other news, I’m completely in the Christmas mood…and for those of you who know me well, you know I’m a little obsessed with this time of year. Our apartment is completely decked out in holiday cheer, baked goods are ready to be made, presents are wrapped, and The Grinch has been played many, many times :).

I almost through a few pics in of my apartment with it decked out, but then thought that might be weird…would you want to see some of my favorite holiday decor pieces??

On the holiday note, I wanted to link a shop this week that is offering 25% off all online orders and free shipping up until Christmas. It also happens to be my favorite place and will always hold a piece of my heart. It’s also a small business run by an amazing rockstar woman, mom of two great girls, and just an all-around gem of a human being. So, if you haven’t finished your holiday shopping-or just need to treat yourself, take a look at what they have to offer!

https://atozinnia.com/shop

Some of my personal favorites for gifting or self-care are:

1. ANY of the hats. I have gifted two and kept one for myself. I love them! They fit perfectly and aren’t too tight on my head lol, they’re also super warm and cute. Here’s one that I love :https://atozinnia.com/shop-all/p/loose-knit-duo-hat-with-yarn-puff
2. This super cute and festive zipper pouch for when we can actually gather for Christmas again: https://atozinnia.com/shop-all/p/plaid-zipper-pouch
3. I adore these ornaments. They are such a good reminder of what the season is truly about and can stand alone as a piece of home decor if your tree is full. https://atozinnia.com/shop-all/p/shadow-box-ornament

As the journey continues, I’ll try to get back on a regular schedule again-just still getting settled in my new home and getting used to my new job, while trying to get back to a routine but making it NEW and FRESH to sustain the NEW year that is just around the corner!

That’s all the time I’ve given myself to write today, so that’s all for now! Next time I’ll share my running highs and lows of the week…it’s been a collage of really good and really bad days lol. You’re in for a real treat.

Have a great weekend!!!!! 2020 is almost over…just let that sink in for a minute. Wow. AND only 14 more days until Christmas!!!

Peace and blessings.

Xoxo

Jos

“What a caterpillar calls the end the rest of the world calls a butterfly” -Lao Tzu

A lot of the last two weeks has been confronting the fact that my chapter of college is coming to a close-and quite frankly in a way that I would’ve never imagined prior to this. In my head, it was spent enjoying the spring weather on the hill every weekend, soaking up time with friends that have become family, and doing all of our favorite things together while we still had the chance. Clearly, all of that came to a halt much sooner than one was planning for, but now it’s holding onto the hope that we’ll have one last chance to give hugs and exchange our farewell’s in a more formal way-the way we all have envisioned for the last four years at a college graduation ceremony. Suddenly what has been my whole world for those 4 years, is now coming to an end.

That being said, the last two weeks have been me trying to look at things from the eyes of the rest of the world and feeling more like a butterfly instead of a caterpillar. Last week brought a lot of new as my mom had eye surgery to remove scar tissue and receive a stem cell transplant which meant I got to wear the hats of nurse, chef, maid, daughter, and sister for the week, much more so than normal. I totaled the week with about 8 miles, so not a very high number, but I had nice runs when I had the time. I also found time to finally interact with someone besides my family-and since she lives in the same county as me, my mom finally approved an outdoor hike- at social distance of course! It was so refreshing to have actual face to face conversation with a good friend while enjoying the beauty of Fort Ridgely…not to mention the fact that she kicked my butt hiking up the hill lol, so much for thinking I was in good shape from all the running.

Saturday was a weird day as I felt some different emotions because it was supposed to be Honors day at Gustavus, and my little sister’s first prom…both of which did not happen in the way they were supposed to. On the bright side, I have started to turn my sister into a runner one mile at a time! She biked with me while I ran three miles that evening and by the end of it she said “It’s so nice out right now, I think I want to run too” so we proceeded to run a mile together after exchanging her bike for running shoes :).

The week of May 4th (may the fourth be with you :)) brought many new beginnings, too. I started my first day of a new job as a Marketing Assistant for Schell’s Brewery in New Ulm-and for those of you that know me, you know that I love beer, and Schell’s brewery, so this was super exciting for me! Monday also brought the beginning of Mother’s Day week at the flower shop-for those who aren’t familiar with the chaos that goes on in flower shops during a holiday….in simple terms it goes like this: you work as much as you possibly can, you go home and sleep, and then you resume working as much as possible again. Monday also brought the beginning of a 4 week core program that I’m doing virtually with a dear friend-it’s on the Peloton app which gives you 90 days free and it’s been great so far-would highly recommend checking it out peeps!! At the close of Monday evening, I enjoyed a 3.5 mile run that looked like this: run a mile, walk a minute, run a mile, walk a minute, run a mile, walk a minute, run the remaining distance to home.

Tuesday and Wednesday were both a blur of working two jobs and having no time for runs, but doing the 10 minute ab program before crawling into bed for the night.

Thursday I made a promise to myself because I needed it for my mental health that I would leave work earlier to ensure having time for a run. I left work around 7 and proceeded to do a 5 mile run that evening, and it felt amazing. It was so healing for me both physically and mentally as I was feeling a bit overwhelmed with starting a new job, working busy hours at the shop, and going through interviews for a potential new full-time job, too, and still helping get mom on the mend after her eye surgery! I ended up going 5 miles after setting out on my two feet with no plan in mind, simply because the sunset was so so stunning, and I’m a sucker for a good sunset, so I turned around and ran towards it-legit brought little tears to my eyes-such a good run. After this I got to thinking that I might try and run my 13.1 miles after all, I have until the end of July to submit my virtual race, so stay tuned!!

I haven’t had time for a run since then, but am hoping this week will bring much more time for that seeing that Mother’s Day has now passed!

Also in the last two weeks I finished book #5 for the year and would definitely recommend it to my fellow young adult women out there! Its a super easy read-once I started I had a hard time putting it down-it’s a fiction book that follows a few friends post-college and walks through their lives separate and together all at once! A good light-hearted read that is a reminder of our humanness (I might have just made up that word lol). I’ve dropped a pic of it below so you can check it out if you’re looking for a fun summer read!

Stay healthy and hopeful out there peeps, and remember sometimes you have to see yourself from the point of view the rest of the world has….spread those wings, you butterfly you 🙂