Good Intentions

Hello friends...when I last blogged in January, I said I was going to do my best to post more often this year...at least once or twice a month. Well, I posted once in January and have been trying to post for a couple weeks now and finally decided to just get it done before February is gone. Can you believe tomorrow is the last day of the month? 2018 is flying by!

I decided to share some things I have been up to so far this year. I never shared my 2018 Word but this year I chose...

Intentional

I have been trying to be more intentional in every aspect of my life. 

Keep scrolling and I will share.

At the beginning of January, I joined Weight Watchers. I have been needing/wanting to lose weight for years now and decided it was finally time to get down to business. Something I haven't shared on the blog is my choice to become a vegetarian last October. I won't go into detail but I will say it is a personal choice due to the inhumane treatment of animals raised for consumption. I have never been a meat lover so this was a pretty easy transition for me. Around December, I decided to switch to Pescatarian which means I added fish and seafood back into my diet. I was having a difficult time consuming enough protein and it was also very difficult to find something I wanted to eat when we dined out. I don't eat fish or seafood every day, usually 2-3 times per week. I also only purchase fresh seafood or wild caught frozen. I do not eat farm-raised fish. Anywho, in addition to this lifestyle change, I am now doing Weight Watchers Freestyle and absolutely love it. I eat so much more fruit and vegetables and have learned to make smarter choices with all foods the majority of the time. The great thing about WW is that nothing is excluded. I can eat anything as long as it fits into my points. I definitely eat the rainbow these days as you can see in the photo collage below. The bottom center photo is a meal I had at Ikea. They have veggie balls which are like meatballs but made with veggies. They are quite tasty and Joey even liked them. They also sell them in their market so I purchased a couple bags for the freezer. I am enjoying eating mostly whole foods. I eat very little processed food these days which is a really good thing.

I have also been intentional with my 2018 goals this year...one of which is to read the bible this year. So far...so good. I am right on track. Another goal was to rise earlier each morning and have time to do this before work and also just have more time in general so I don;t have to rush. I am doing great with that goal as well.

I have been enjoying bringing some live plants into my home. I have started with succulents and an air plant in my kitchen window. I bought a large plant to hang which I will share soon. I am ordering a macrame plant hanger for it before I share.

I try really hard to live a hygge lifestyle...see below. I have always lived this way but didn't realize there was a name for it until a year or so ago. 

I replaced my glass desktop with this one from Ikea...I love the top part with the drawers! I have already rearranged things since I took this photo. :)

Speaking of Ikea, I bought these lanterns the day I bought the desktop and Joey hung them for me. I love how this wall turned out. We still have to hide the cords, but I love it.

And my candles with timers give my room a very hygge feel in the evenings. 

I have spent time with my furn babies. Rooster is such a lover. He needs snuggle time every day. 

I have been very intentional with my planning each week. I set goals and check them off. I make lists of things that need to get done and try my best to get them all done. I use my planner to plan...imagine that!

I have been walking a lot over the last few weeks. I usually walk with a teacher friend who is also doing WW and we walk between 2.5 and 4 miles as many days as we can each week. 

We walk the trail near work. It goes over the Suwannee River. This is the old train trestle over the river. It;s a beautiful place to walk!

I walk from home occasionally. Rooster likes to drag me along...lol!

I have been more intentional in spending quality time with family and friends. This is my friend Heather's fire bowl that we enjoyed sitting around a couple times lately. By the way...for those of you who prayed for Heather (she's the one who had stage 4 cancer) she is doing great and is cancer free. I pray she stays cancer free forever!

I celebrated Valentine's Day with my firsties and made them these crayon hearts. They loved them!

I went down a size and haven;t been in this size in nearly 30 years! I was over the moon excited about this. I have lost 19 pounds so far and feel so much better overall.

Joey and I went to the beach for a quick little getaway. We are trying to do something different each month. Last month it was the trip to Ikea, Not sure what we will do in March. We went to Saint Augustine and spent the night in Crescent Beach. It was such a great weekend.

Excuse the grey streak in my hair...I really need to color it again. :)

We had such a great time together. We did a lot of walking. I was thrilled to find this beauty. It came home with me. 

I enjoyed some reading time while listening to the wind and the waves crashing. I have been trying to be more intentional in reading for pleasure. This is something I used to do more of. 

I have started visiting thrift stores again...I'll explain why in a few minutes, but in doing so, I found a few baskets to add to me basket wall. This is my latest decorating project. I am tweaking me living room and will share when I finish it. I am adding a little boho flair to it....or my idea of boho anyway. 

I have been intentional in enjoying my porch. I love to sit on it and even eat out there occasionally. Speaking of eating...this is a favorite of mine...avocado toast. I like it different ways...with salsa...pesto...tomato and onion, you get the idea. It's so yummy!

Sadie and Rooster like eating on the porch too. Of course, they like eating anywhere...anytime...anything. LOL!

And I saved the most exciting news for last. I know many of you have already seen this on Instagram, but for those who haven't, Miranda is engaged! Slade proposed to her a couple weeks ago. They had tickets to go see Phantom of the Opera (which is one of her favorite things) and he proposed before the show. She's on Cloud 9 and I am so excited for them both. Isn't her ring beautiful...it's rose gold, another one of her favorites.

This brings me to the reason I am hitting up the thrift stores again. We are using mismatched china and glassware for her wedding reception so I am on the hunt. I already have quite a bit but will be collecting over the next several months. She wants some boho flair in her wedding and reception and I am excited to bring her vision to life. 

We want to do something similar to this with the glassware. 

And, that my friends is the end. I am sorry this turned out to be a long, rambly post. If you made it to the end, thank you so much. I have enjoyed catching up and letting you know what has been happening with me lately. I hope you are having a lovely week. Hopefully I will be back soon...I am trying to be more intentional with blogging too. 

Until next time.....