The other shout out I have to give to Nicole Culver the creator behind the amazing Food Entrepreneur Summit that I am so thrilled to be (online) attending right now!
Feeling seriously lucky to have such inspiring women who I can also call friends in my life.
How is it already June? I feel like the last few months have been flying and I just can’t seem to keep up! I’m not even really sure what I did in May it went so fast. I spent a lot of the month focusing on my passions (health coaching and essential oils). I made time for yoga and meditation and it feels amazing to be back at it. I also spent a lot of the month persuading my 22 month old to go to sleep because apparently this is the month he decided to learn to put words together, count, and so many other things – the developmental spurt is running wild and making sleep something that mama and dada are missing out on (and work because by the time we do get him to bed I’m ready for bed).
Anyways lets review those May goals…
May Goals
+Post at least two times per week. This just didn’t happen. Not for a lack of content but because life. I have about 10 post drafts saved and/or scribbled on a sheet of paper that ARE going to go up this month.
+Create an editorial calendar. I actually started this and while I still need to fill in some holes I’m pretty excited about what I have lined up.
+Workout at least 20 days in May. This was ambitious for me and it didn’t quite happen. I actually stopped tracking but I can tell you I tried a few new yoga studios, went to the gym a few times and walks with the kids.
+Put the phone down. I am still working on this but I felt I did okay this month. If you follow me on snapchat (username: lindsayingalls if you don’t) you’ll see I have taken to putting my phone into my vanity drawer so that I wouldn’t be tempted to pick up my phone everytime I passed it on the counter. This actually works pretty well to keep my email and social media checking to a minimum.
So I’d give May a B in regards to how successful I was with my goals. Lots of room for improvement but still feeling pretty good about everything.
Now on to the June goals…
June Goals
+Spend (at least) 30 minutes per day doing something related to self development. I have been thinking a lot lately about self development and looking at the areas of my life that could use a little extra attention. Right now I’m really thinking about where I am focusing my energy and working to shift to things that are more positive and supportive. I’m also working to improve myself as a business woman and as part of that I am excited to be participating in Food Entrepreneur Summit this week.
+Write Daily. I have so many ideas and topics that I want to share with all of you but the thing is unless I write it down the ideas sometimes don’t make it from my head to my blog/social media. So I’m going to write daily in order to record ideas and to also make room for more ideas and inspiration.
+Workout. Workout period. Just do it. I’m not going to give amounts of time and such I just want to make working out regular. Right now I have one gym session today and two yoga classes and a barre3 class planned for this week. We also have some hiking planned.
+Post Dinner Walks. As a family we used to be really great about getting out for a walk right after dinner but lately we just fell out of the routine. This month I want to get back at it because it’s great for digestion, it’s a bonding time for us a family and it’s a nice way for the kids to get out a bunch of energy and for me to get a bit of energy for post-bedtime work. It’s also just a wonderful way to for us to do something positive for our health.
+Eat More Simply. I am known for taking on a little too much when it comes to the kitchen. I just love creating meals and playing around in the kitchen but to be honest my over ambitious nature in the kitchen hasn’t been working in my favor lately. Instead of creating inspiring meals I have been turning to convenience meals or eating out because when I do my meal planning I just take on too much. So this month it’s about simplifying things in order to make eating healthier, cheaper and less stressful (p.s. blog post coming on all of this soon!)
So June is about self development, fitness, family and living life a little more simply and healthfully.
We started day three in bend at Backporch Coffee where I picked up this really good bottle of cold brew.
Once we were fully caffeinated we made our way out to Smith Rock State park because we all needed to finally see Monkey Face after reading about it at least a million times in Goodnight Oregon.
We got to Smith Rock State Park and it was actually quite packed with hikers, rock climbers and fellow sightseers. While I would have liked to have gone for a hike my parents were with us and they are not the hiking types. That didn’t stop us from finding a flat path to walk around although I spent most of my time holding my breath as I watched people (both big and super little) propelling themselves off the side of the rock cliffs. When I wasn’t holding my breath I was telling Neil to step away from the edge. Something I never thought I would have to say because he used to be petrified of heights and ledges. Looking back it was quiet a stressful visit! [you can find more photos here.]
After Smith Rock State Park we dropped the kids back off at the house with the grandparents and we made a break for it. We debated a few places to go and settled on Crux were we sampled a number of beers and loaded up on amazing vegan food.
We had some seriously amazing food and then headed downtown to walk around and find more coffee before heading back to our littles.
This was our third and last full day in Bend. The following day was pretty dull and basically started with breakfast, more Backporch Coffee and ended with us driving home with a few quick stops including Rowena Crest where we saw the amazing view below.
We are looking forward to our next trip to Bend and of course there is so much we didn’t do or see. What are your favorite things about Bend?
In January I joined the gym at Neil’s work. While not the most convenient gym for me to go to the facilities are top of the line and the cost for me to join was less than my monthly coffee habit. So I joined and I have been fairly dedicated to making it to the gym at least twice per week while supplementing with at home workouts.
The thing is I am only able to go gym when Neil gets out of work or on the weekends. For months we have been making it work but I’m going to be honest it’s not without it’s struggles. My gym time is right when I would normally be preparing our dinner so by the time I am done at the gym it is dinner time for our early birds. This means I either have to prepare a meal that can easily be eaten at the gym or we end up going out to dinner.
Sleep has also become a bit of an issue. Edith who is nearly four only naps [maybe] once per week and not for a lack of tiredness but for pure strong will that she doesn’t want to nap. That being saidcome 4pm I usually find her asleep in carseat on our way to the gym or both littles fall asleep on the way home from the gym which means bedtime is a struggle. Late bedtime means that often Neil and I have little time for each other and little time to work at night.
This weekend I was finally at my breaking point because we have been so behind on dishes, our organizing projects and oh the never ending laundry. To top things off because it’s a work gym most of the workout classes are during the day or just at a time that doesn’t work with our schedule so I haven’t been able to take advantage of them.
Since workout classes were a ‘no go’ for me I bought a personal training package assuming that I would be able to find a trainer that worked for my availability and not one was available. So since I usually just spend my time doing cardio while catching up on Pretty Little Liars I figured it was time to take the summer off from my gym membership. I can spend my time outside on walks and hikes with my family this summer and who knows maybe I’ll actually take up running again.
That all being said the decision to quit the gym was one that I was very conflicted about because I have fallen in love with routine and making that time for me. Unfortunately I just hate everything that comes along with it.
I thought about joining a gym closer to our house but it would still be a lot of the similar issues that I had with the work gym. I felt a bit at a loss but then I thought about ClassPass*. I had given it a try last May and while I loved the classes and the concept where we were living at the time just wasn’t ideal for me to keep with the pass after my trial month, but right now it seems perfect so I signed up. I have decided to go with the 5 classes for $45 option so I can see how much I will really use it. If I find that I am using it enough to get the the most out of the unlimited package I will bump it up.
With ClassPass* I can go to barre3, The Bar Method, a ton of yoga studios that I have had my eye on and a meditation studio that I am so excited to try. So my new workout plans include regular barre3 online at home, hikes and walks with my family [maybe some running?] and at least one workout class per week. It sounds pretty perfect, at least to me.
Where do you do most of your workout classes (home, classes, gym, etc)? Have you tried ClassPass*? If you are local to Portland or are traveling through Portland and want to attend a fitness or meditation class together let me know! I love to go to classes with others – especially new-to-me classes!
Happy May 1st! This past month life shifted a bit and the goals that I set in March didn’t all go as planned but I’ll be honest I’m pretty happy with how my month went regardless of how my goals went. The first three months of the year were not great for me but April was a nice change. I spent the month offline more than I had planned so that is why you will see there were only two post last month. It wasn’t intentional but I let life, learning and fun be the focus of my month rather than the internet. Now I’m feeling re-inspired, re-charged and ready to take on May but first let’s review my April goals.
April Goals
+Create more blog content. [FAIL] I am seriously laughing as I read this. I honestly probably had one of my slowest months for blog content this past month. Life was good this month but busy and I just chose to focus on other things and not feel guilty about it. In the past I would have put out mediocre posts just to keep up content but this month I just mentally needed a break. I needed to focus on other things and spend more of my time offline.
+Carve out time each week to work. [Still In Progress] This goal wasn’t a complete fail but it wasn’t a complete win. I started off the month slow and just wasn’t making time for my work but by the end of the month I had set up a schedule and May will be the first month on this schedule so fingers crossed it goes as planned!
+10 Gym Workouts + Daily Workouts. [Successful Enough] I am not sure how many times I made it to the gym, I am going to say seven times but I did get in regular home workouts. I am feeling really good about my workouts this month so much so that I’ll share it all in an upcoming post.
+Clean up my diet. [Still Working On] I would say that this goal was fairly successful. My month was filled with tons of veggies and fruit but there was also a lot of bread and some other packaged foods that I want to crowd out over time. So this is an ongoing goal.
+Get out for at least three social events. [Fail] I only ended up getting out once this month. I was hopefully to do more but it just didn’t happen. I will say this though I have two social events this first week of May so I am starting out strong at least!
May Goals
+Post at least two times per week. I am ready to get my content back up and flowing across all of my blogs so two times per week per blog seems reasonable.
+Create an editorial calendar. I know I have been blogging for far too many years and I have yet to master the editorial calendar. This month I would like to set up a calendar that has ideas ready to go for three months out. Also I’ll take any post requests at this time!
+Workout at least 20 days in May. Whether it’s at the gym, at home or outside I am making it my goal to get in at least 20 days of workouts. I also have a few personal training sessions to schedule and take and I’m so excited!
+Put the phone down. While I haven’t been on my computer as much this month I have been on my phone a lot. It’s easy to check in on social media or to pop onto snapchat (username: lindsayingalls if you want to follow) all day long but honestly it’s not very productive. I’m working on not using my phone during none “working” hours with the exception of needing to make a call or look something up such as directions or business hours.
So basically this month is all about creating more, being more productive and continuing to get my fitness back.
[This post is not sponsored – I am not working with Thrive Market just sharing the love.]
I know I have been a little absent when it comes to post but let me tell you they are coming while we wait to get back to our regularly scheduled posting why not be nosey and see what I bought on Thrive Market? I have to say one of my favorite types of post to read and YouTube videos to watch are food hauls. I love to see what people spend their money on and if there are new things I just might need to try.
This order was a bit of random one filled with a few staples and a few fun things. Let’s start with the boring things first like the aluminum foil and compost bags. I also was sent a free deodorant which is pretty cool minus the fact that it’s floral scented and that’s just not my thing. I’ll probably toss it in my gym bag as a backup.
Next it’s a few essentials that I just have to have in my kitchen at all times. While I love things like tamari and soy sauce I am over the moon about coconut aminos. It’s sweet and salty and just perfect on rice or over stir fried veggies. Ume Plum Vinegar is another staple that I use in almost every single sauce or soup that I make; it’s like magic it helps to balance all of the flavors. Lastly, nutritional yeast or nooch as I like to call it. Honestly this bottle will make last us a week but the price was right on Thrive Market so I bought it until I stock up in the bulk section at our local co-op.
Now on to the really good stuff the snacks and fun pantry items. I picked up a few different cookies from GOODBITES and some crackers as well. I’ll report back on how they are once I give them a try. Then there is some applesauce and Harvest Snaps for my littles and some Chaga for me.
Oh and then there is the pasta. I absolutely love Tolerant but a box of red lentil rotini goes for $8-9 most places so I never buy it but again the price was right and it was even better for the shells and macaroni. I also picked up a few cans of my favorited refried beans because I just can’t live without them.
I feel like I have talked about the above two items in a previous post but if I haven’t they are so delicious. Again another super expensive item, I think I saw them for almost $9 a box at Whole Foods, so I was thrilled to find them for around $6.50 on Thrive Market.
A few more snacks for my littles, these Ruby Rocket’s vegan yogurt tubes. I have no idea if they will like them but here’s hoping because I bought all three flavors. We love the Ruby Rocket’s popsicles so I am betting there are equally as good.
Lastly it’s all about the good stuff aka the chocolate! I know this seems a little excessive but Thrive Market was doing a chocolate package deal for these six chocolates so I said yes please and added it to my cart. I mean someone needs to fuel our family chocolate addiction right?
I have to say I am usually a Vitacost person but decided to give Thrive Market a try and I am super impressed with their selection. If you want to try it out for yourself just copy and paste this [affiliate] link http://thrv.me/naturallyfamily to get 15% off your first order.
Do you shop Thrive Market? What items are you loving?
Doing: Lately I have been spending most of my time trying to get life back on track. We had guests visit us for two weeks which is a really long time to have your routine thrown off when you have two little ones. To top it all off just as we were getting ourselves back to our normal routine Neil had a co-worker who was nice enough to bring the flu to work so that he could bring it home to all of us. Flu hit all of us one after another and it seems that all household chores and non-essential work went right out the window. I tell you people if you’re sick don’t go to work! So here we are about a week later and as it goes life still goes on so we are trying to catch up on work and house work (like the piles of dishes and mountains of laundry) and honestly I just haven’t had time to sit down and really write like I would like to (hence two weeks with no post).
In other news I have been diving into the world on essential oils (for a number of months now actually) and I have become basically obsessed (need evidence go here) so I have been spending a lot of time studying and reading up on them. I also have been focusing on my workouts and I am working on something new and exciting (for me) that I’ll share soon.
Thinking about: Another thing to hit me this week [probably because #PMS] is the fact that we aren’t pregnant [yet] and how if we hadn’t lost our most recent pregnancy I would be 21ish weeks right now. I don’t know why but it has hit me super hard this week and I’m just emotionally drained. Side note if you want to see what I am diffusing to help with the PMS head on over here. Also if you are interested in a TTC post let me know in the comments and if there is enough interest I will share over on Naturally Family.
Watching: Since I have been spending a ton of time on the couch cuddling sick babies and being sick myself I have been working my way through Netflix. I just finished Madam Secretary and I am dying for season 2 to get put on Netflix right away. I also bought myself the most recent season of Pretty Little Liars to watch [ONLY] when I do cardio at the gym. What have you been watching?
Looking forward to: Date night! Neil and I have a date night this weekend and it’s more than necessary. With all the sickness and chaos at home we haven’t really had time to connect so we are making time this weekend.
Reading: Basically if it’s about essential oils I’m reading it.
Loving: Regular workouts. Not being sick. Iced tea. A drop of lime essential oil in my water.
What are you currently doing, thinking about, watching, looking forward to, reading and/or loving?
