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Happy Thursday! I hope your week has been going well. Here’s what I’m thankful for today:
I’m thankful for the farmer’s market. The past two Saturdays I’ve gone to the Farmer’s Market in town, which has been a lot of fun! They have great produce, beautiful flower arrangements, and delicious food to eat. The past two weeks I’ve gotten fresh egg rolls and iced pumpkin spice coffee, and both are absolutely delicious. I wish I had started this at the start of the summer!
Weird combination, right?
I’m thankful that my air conditioning is fixed! I rarely use air conditioning in the summer, as I prefer just opening my windows and enjoying the fresh air. However, with the temperature in the 90s last week and my house hitting 84 degrees, I decided it was time to turn on the air so I could get a good night’s sleep… only to find that the air conditioner was broken. What a time for it to break down, right? It’s back up and working and I’m thankful for that!
I’m thankful for my new job! I enjoy opportunities to try new things and to be challenged in ways I haven’t been before, and my new job definitely does that! I’m thankful that I finally get the opportunity to teach!
I’m thankful for a productive weekend. Some weekends just seem to click a bit more for me than others, and this weekend was one of those. I got a lot of things checked off my “to do” list which felt great! I also had some great time to play and have fun, which felt like a good balance to me.
Now it’s your turn to share! What are you feeling thankful for today?
A few weeks ago I mentioned a job announcement that I had, and promised I would tell you all as soon as I could. Well, now that I’m a few weeks in, I thought I’d finally share with you all what my newest venture is: college professor!
I’ve consistently said that I would love to be able to have a job where I can counsel part time and teach part time, so while I’ve been counseling for awhile now, the teaching thing sort of just nagged at me in the back of my head, and I kept waiting for an opportunity to arise.
While I was out west visiting my brother last month, I checked my work email one day, and in that moment the course of the rest of 2015 changed up just a bit: I was offered a position to teach a course at a university nearby! I had a number of conversations with the head of the psych department there, and once the details got ironed out, I was set! I got the course textbook the day that I left for the bike trip to Mackinac Island and obviously didn’t have time to start prepping while on the trip, so by the time I sat down to think about the class, I had 12 days until my first day of class. Talk about a quick turn around!
I spent the week before classes coming up with a syllabus, trying to figure out what assignments and papers I wanted the class to complete, and trying to brush up on the content of the course! And somehow, I was able to pull it off!
Everyone needs a first day of school picture, right? This is the best I could do!
I’m in my third week of teaching now, and it has definitely been a great learning experience for me! I teach in a classroom that students call “the courtroom”, and it’s definitely a different environment than I’ve ever lectured or talked in before:
Needless to say- it’s been a LOT of extra work for me that I wasn’t expecting for the semester, as I’m writing the class lectures, tests, assignments, etc… from scratch! It’s especially difficult that I didn’t have the summer to work on it, and am just trying to stay a week or two ahead of where the class is currently at in lectures. It makes for lots of extra hours each week, and while some of that is stressful, it’s also been quite a bit of fun!
I just wanted to share this next big step for me with all of you. Hopefully it won’t change too much around here, but I’ll see how things go once the semester gets busier!
Now it’s your turn to share! Is there something that you’ve wanted to do for a number of years that you haven’t gotten the opportunity to try out yet?
Disclaimer: I received a UV Buff to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!
You might remember that earlier this summer I had the opportunity to test Buff USA’s Half Buff (and loved wearing it on hikes out west like the Pikes Peak Incline and Lover’s Leap Trail at Custer State Park!), and a few weeks after posting my half buff review, I received a full Buff (Bibrave sent us all orange buffs since that’s the official Bibrave Color. Good thing I love bright orange! 😀 ).
Just like the UV Buff, I wanted to test it by doing lots of different activities while wearing it!
This past weekend I had a 6.75 mile long run on the schedule, and I had my buff around my wrist so I could just wipe my face easily as I ran. It’s so lightweight and breathable that I didn’t even notice it there!
I’ve worn it on lots of walks this summer as well! My sunglasses seem to fit really well with it on (sometimes headbands get in the way of glasses, but I’ve never had that problem with the buff), which I was pleased about!
I’m also a big fan of wearing my buff while outside doing yard work! On the day that I took this picture, I mowed the lawn and then spent about two hours weeding and watering my pots. It was SUCH a hot day when I took the picture below, and it was so nice to have the buff to not only block UV rays (I moved it around so it covered my forehead and top of ears as well!), but also to stop the sweat from burning my eyes!
I’m also using my plantronics wireless headphones here.
There are so many ways to wear the UV Buff, and I haven’t even scratched the surface, so I thought I’d add this video on “How To Wear Buff Headwear” here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=21&v=sSvRm4CHmvE
Here’s great news for you: you can get 10% off your Buff purchase through the end of the month with the code bibrave10 :
Feel free to share with your friends as well!
I actually wish that we had gotten the full Buff once the weather cooled down a bit, because I think I’ll be using the full Buff quite a bit through the winter! I imagine that the buff will be fantastic to pull over my nose and mouth while running, since it’s thin enough to let air through, but will block out the biting cold! I absolutely love my Half and Full Buffs, and they have become a regular part of my active lifestyle. Plus they add a little extra fun to my workout outfits 🙂
Just like the half buff, I would definitely recommend getting a buff for yourself, and find them to be so useful while exercising or doing daily active tasks outside! If you’re interested in getting your own buff, you can check out their website here.
You can also find them the following places: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Now it’s your turn to share! How might you use a buff in your active lifestyle?
Something I’ve noticed quite a bit in myself is that I’m so tempted to pulled out of the moment. I worry about things in the past or the future, and the planner in me likes to make lists and think through things (planning and thinking ahead is good, if not done in excess). All of that takes away from the joys, processing, and relationships that are occurring in real time. It causes extra stress and anxiety. It takes away from the potential that I have.
I’m not special. I would bet that most (all?) of you reading can recognize some of that in yourself as well. We live in a world of consistent distraction- texts, Facebook notifications, snap chat, TV, instagram, other social media… it all can be SO good when used wisely and intentionally, but unfortunately, there are times where I (and I’m guessing you as well) passively attend to those things, drowning out the present moment. When I think back to that, I feel really frustrated at the time I waste. And ultimately, it IS the choice I make. I don’t want to do that.
Which brings me to this quote…
What a call, and how difficult it truly is to be fully present!
Here are some of the ways this quote challenges me:
- It encourages me to engage in the present moment.
- It challenges me to put down my phone more often.
- It guides me to engage with whomever is in front of me.
- It challenges me to work hard instead of putting in a half-hearted effort.
- To follow the above point, it challenges me to choose “my things” (commitments, activities, people) wisely, as my time is limited and I want to invest well.
- It encourages me to set aside specific time without distractions (can’t necessarily do this 100% of the time)
- It has caused me to live with intentionality
Live passionately. Live Intentionally. Wherever you are, BE THERE in your life instead of letting it pass quickly by. Will you join me?
Tweet ThisNow it’s your turn to share! What does this quote challenge you to do? What step can you take this week to “be all there”?
Hello and Happy Friday! I know- it’s been awhile since I’ve done a nail polish of the week/Friday facts post (August was busy with travel and moving, so that was something I cut out), but I’m happy to be back! This week, in honor of the 90 degree weather, I painted my nails Sally Hanson’s “Kook-a-Mango”.
I really love this color, and love the pinkish undertone that it has. I think I’m doomed to consistently painting outside the lines. haha.
And now some fun Friday Facts for you!
- I am starting my 7th year at my job, and I absolutely cannot believe it. I feel like I should be starting maybe my 3rd or 4th… I guess time really does fly when you’re having fun!
- You all know how much I LOVE seasonal things, right? The fact that the next six months are crammed with seasonal things definitely helps to balance (a little bit) the sadness I feel about summer ending. This past weekend Bath and Body Works had these cans of fall scented products for $25 (retail value at over $75), and I’m a sucker for great deals on seasonal items, so I snatched it up! I can’t wait to break into it soon!
- I had an awesome 4.1 miler last week with fantastic negative splits. It was a cooler morning, which I think helped- it’s the fastest pace I’ve had in many weeks!
- I went to a Greek Festival this past weekend with a friend, and had an awesome time! They had live Greek music (it sounded just like the streets of Athens!) and amazing gyros! I devoured mine.
- Did you see that Truest was published recently week? You can find links to order it (and find more information about it) here.
Now it’s your turn to share! What’s one random fact from your week? How long have you been at your current job?
Happy Thursday! I really enjoyed having a long weekend and time with friends this past week, and am anxious to start getting into a good routine with my work schedule! Here’s what I’m thankful for today:
I’m thankful for a HOT weekend! I know a lot of people weren’t so thrilled about this, but most of last week/the weekend was in the upper 80s and low 90s, and I was so happy about it! I’m trying to soak up every last minute of the warm weather that we’re having.
Enjoying the beautiful sunshine by reading outside!
I’m thankful for pumpkin spice drinks! I try to wait until labor day weekend every year, which was extra tough this year since Labor Day is so late, but I made it! Since the weekend was so hot, I tried pumpkin spice iced coffee for the first time, and I have to say I’m quite the fan!
I’m thankful for great memories of hiking. The memories I made while hiking out west are some of my favorites from 2015 so far, and I’ve loved looking back at pictures from those hikes.
I’m thankful for my rose plant! I took a runner off my parents’ rose bush when I went to visit them earlier this summer, and I thought it might either die (I couldn’t plant it for 3 weeks so I kept it in some dirt in a plastic bag!) or not bloom at all this summer. I’ve been trying to take good care of it, and I’ve now had three little blooms off of it! I’m thankful for this sweet little reminder of home.
I also weeded and cleaned up the flower beds last week!
I’m thankful for brothers that enjoy talking on the phone. I know lots of people don’t love talking on the phone, but especially because we all live in different states/at times different countries/continents, I’m thankful that they are willing to talk so often on the phone.
Now it’s your turn to share! What are you feeling thankful for today?
This month I’m a sponsor on Cassie’s Blog “Sage”, so I thought I’d share just a little about that today (today she’s doing a little intro post to me, so you can also head over to see that if you’d like).
Cassie is one of my favorite online friends, as she’s so honest and invested in creating a meaningful online community. I’m also hoping to have the opportunity to meet her in the next few weeks! Since she’s doing a little post on me today, I thought I’d share a few of my favorite recent posts from her, and encourage you all to check her blog out!
- My 2015 Word: An Update
- Sage Synopsis (I love that Cassie is starting to do these Friday compilation posts!)
- Busyness
- Moderation > Restriction
Head over to Cassie’s blog and say hello- I know she’d love to meet you!
After DNS-ing Rock’n’Roll Chicago this summer, I began to hunt down my redemption race on the Rock’n’Roll website (remember that, as a Rock’n’Blog ambassador, I get 3 free races this year!). St. Louis had been on my mind for awhile, but what really sold me is that a friend from growing up (we first met during figure skating lessons at age 7- we were bunnies in the ice show that year, but lived down the street from one another and went to high school together as well) texted me and asked if I was interested in running the race. Neither of us were runners in high school, so this is definitely a newer thing for both of us! So, after a few weeks to let it set in, we both signed up for the race, which is the middle of October! SO… I’m officially back in training! I’m excited to run a race in Missouri, and especially to have a friend from growing up there!
If you’re interested in running Rock’n’Roll St. Louis (or another Rock’n’Roll race), use the following Rock’n’Roll Discount code:
Discount codes haven’t been released yet for the RnR Vegas race in November, but I’m releasing one to you today! RUNWITHCAROLINELV <- Use this Rock’n’Roll Discount Code for any distance for RNR Vegas, and feel free to share with your friends as well!
Finally, I wanted to share with you a great little gift that the Rock’n’Blog team sent to all of the ambassadors! It was filled with all sorts of great products and samples!
The shirt, made by Brooks, is SO comfortable and fits really well (something I struggle with sometimes with tech shirts)! Brooks also sent us a hat, which I was interested to try out! I’m not a fan of hats usually (my hair is so thick that my head gets hot too easily wearing them), but this hat is awesome! I’ve loved wearing it on hot and sunny runs this summer, and it’s breathable enough to allow lots of great air flow still!
They also included some gatorade powder, Gu energy (I use them often while biking, so I was thrilled to get a few gifted to me!), and a portable charger for my phone (from Transamerica), Qi’a Cranberry Vanilla Cereal, a pair of CEP compression socks, and a few coupons for things. Sounds amazing, right?
Now it’s your turn to share! Have you signed up for any fall races yet?
When my brother and I made our list of things we wanted to do out west, Harney Peak wasn’t on the list; in fact, I had never heard of it before! However, once I heard that it was the highest point in South Dakota (from a Custer State Park Ranger who suggested it to us!), I was immediately intrigued.
At Trailhead, there are options for several different hikes: Cathedral Spires, Little Devil’s Tower, and Harney (the longest one). We took the Little Devils’ Tower trailhead to Harney Peak, which is marked by the color blue. There’s a bathroom at the trailhead, but there’s no water, so make sure to prepare ahead of time. They suggested it would take 4-5 hours to hike (it took us about 3). I ended up bringing 52 ounces of water with me, and drank all of it (but didn’t need any more water than that), and my brother brought about 75 ounces, which he didn’t need (all of), so we were more than fine on water.
The first mile was pretty easy and gentle, which is how I like to ease into a hike. There were lots of little raspberries growing on the side of the trail, so we took time to eat those along the way! There’s nothing more delicious than fresh, juicy raspberries warmed in the sunshine! We wound through a beautiful meadow as well, and stopped to enjoy the views:
At the first mile we stopped to eat lunch, and enjoyed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and some killer views. And within 10 minutes we were on our way again! Around mile 1.3 or so the trail got a little more technical, with rocks and roots to navigate and some loose dirt/gravel to navigate. We popped out into an opening to see this:
Beautiful, right? In person, it felt pretty breath taking. One of the things that we talked about during almost every hike is how “big” everything felt that we were seeing. I’m not talking just about size, but also the emotion connected to being so small out in nature with huge, absolutely gorgeous scenery. It’s hard to really allow yourself to feel part of something as big as all of that- I feel like I don’t have the capacity to deeply appreciate all of it as much as I’d like!
The trail got increasingly technical as the trail continued up, but it never felt unreasonable. About 2 miles (give or take) into the hike we left Custer State Park and entered Black Hills National Park, so we had to fill out a registration form at that line (there’s a 100 dollar fine for not doing so). That took a few minutes, and we were on our way. About half a mile from the top we had a lot more stone stairs to climb up, and that felt a bit difficult after almost three miles of uphill climb! We hit the top at 3.3 miles and climbed out onto some rocks to sit and eat some dried fruit and enjoy the view. Unfortunately it was a bit hazy up there, so the pictures aren’t fantastic, but it was great to see it!
We sat up there maybe 15-20 minutes and headed down. The stairs and first mile of the hike felt a bit more difficult going down, as I felt that gravity was causing my body to jar a bit more as I hit the ground. Pretty quickly that stopped though and we were able to enjoy the rest of the hike down.
We hit the meadow area again and enjoyed more delicious raspberries! My body felt great throughout most of the hike, and we ended the hike back at our car at 6.6 miles! Like I mentioned, I needed all the water that I had brought, and in 20 ounces of water I had put some watermelon nuun, along with one nuun plus tab for some extra carbs!
A bit of a panorama view!
Again, I would definitely encourage any of you to consider Harney Peak if you’re looking for something to hike out there (as long as you/your doctor decide it’s safe for you to do so!). A few stats according to my garmin watch: The highest elevation we hit was 7,200 feet and we gained 1,176 feet of elevation throughout the hike. It definitely is a more substantial hike than many trails you would find out there, but it is absolutely beautiful and well worth it. This was another hike that was in our top three!
For other hikes I’ve done out west, check out: Pikes Peak Incline and Lover’s Leap at Custer State Park. For more information in general about my trip out west, click here!
One topic that I really enjoy reading about on others’ blogs is books and what people are reading! I’m always on the prowl for good books, and love adding them to my “want to read” shelf on goodreads. So, when I saw this reading challenged that Sarah posted, I immediately wanted to join in on the fun! The challenge runs from June 21- September 21, so there’s still a little time for you to join in the fun as well (or at least you can use it to challenge you to read one book the next few weeks)!
1. A YA book: Eleanor & Park, by Rainbow Rowell
2. Non US Author: Three Wishes. This book is by Liane Moriarty, who was born in Sydney, Australia (and her books are also set in Australia). I actually have read three books by her this summer, but this is the only one I’ve read since the end of June when this particular challenge started.
3. A book that was recommended by a blogger (or instagrammer/you-tuber/goodread-er) Nineteen Minutes, by Jodi Piccoult (recommended by Cassie!)
4. A book that has been on your TBR list for a year or more. The Help – I’m so glad I finally read it!
5. A book with a kickass female character. My Sister’s Keeper. I hadn’t seen the movie, so I had no idea what was going to happen in the book. The two sisters in the story are both so strong in their own ways, and I really enjoyed the book.
6. A book that is or will be a movie (or TV show). The Rosie Project (I can’t wait to see it!)
7. A book written by a comedian or celebrity- or even a memoir if neither of those are your jam. Killing Lincoln. OH GOSH. I can’t believe I’m going to use Bill O’Reilly for this, but I am. I recently read this book, and loved it.
8. A book with a one word title. Matched, by Ally Condie (I actually read the entire 3 book series. Enjoyed the first book, didn’t love the other two so much…)
9. A suspenseful book- a mystery, a thriller, a book about revenge. Everything I Never Told You (by Celeste Ng). This might not exactly count, but the book starts by saying “Lydia is dead” and the reader spends the entire book trying to figure out what actually happened, so I guess that counts sort of as a mystery/suspense. I guess that Killing Lincoln would fall under this category as well.
10. A book about summer, with summer in the title, or in any way related to summer because this is a summer challenge! The Blue Bistro, by Erin Hilderbrand (takes place on Nantucket during the summer season!)
Now it’s your turn to share! If you’ve read this summer, tell me what category you completed (and what book it was that fell into that category!).
