Feel Good Blog!!

This month I want to really spend time sprucing up the ol' blog. I feel like I'm just starting to get the hang of this whole thing and now it's time to really establish who I want to "be" as a blogger. This Fabulous Five On Friday post will help you understand the direction(s) I want to go with this blog and also help keep me focused with where I want to go. If you haven't caught on yet I love making lists ;) 

1- One thing I want my blog to be is "always evolving". I hope to learn (a lot) on this journey and constantly use this new information to upgrade, refresh and inspire me. I probably won't just talk about one thing because I am a whole person that is made up of so many different moving growing changing parts. It may take longer for readers to get "who I am" because I won't just be talking about one thing all the time... But I am A-OK with that! Stick with me folks!!

2- I want to exude happiness! I really just want to spread joy and help people become the happiest versions of themselves. Every where you look these days there is bad news and that's just not OK with me. We have so much to be thankful for and hopeful for! So you won't be sad or negative here. Nope not on my watch!

3- I want to be genuinely ME. I hope this blog also helps shape who I am and evokes some soul searching for both you and me. Everybody likes to read about soul searching too right??? :) I want to push myself out of my comfort zone and show the world the real me. All while trying to stay away from the pull to "be like" any other blogger. I hope to improve my writing style and make it sound more like "me"... I hope to make you laugh and cry all at the same time!

4- I partially started this blog to show the world that not all Christians belong in the worlds "religion box". I love The Lord and move along side the Holy Spirit daily. I feel no burden to follow "rules" or be a certain "Christian way". I try to act out of Love first and foremost. I want to be here for people that need me and share stories of miracles, hope, love and happiness... because it may be hard to find sometimes - but all of that really is out there! I see miracles every week you guys. I see some amazing things God does and I can not just keep quiet about it! It is honestly the wildest ride I have ever been on and I can't wait to share more.

5- I really just want my blog to be a space people can come to to remember the basics of life. We are all here to experience and engage with one another and I think we make it way too complicated! This is simple people! Love people and the rest falls into place! Eat simple whole foods and you feel healthy and live longer! Be kind and people will treat you kind! I hope you feel comfortable when you visit my blog and look forward to visiting! Despite all of my seriousness above I really hope to be entertaining and funny. I guess you could call this a "feel good blog".

Have a great weekend you guys!!!!

xoxo Katie

Monday Monday & The Help Program

Hello hello!!

Its Weekly Wishes day again! I love doing weekly wishes because my Mondays are sometimes rough at work and it gives me a chance to look out into the week and really get excited about things coming my way! Its perfect really :) PS I love my weekly wishes art this week! Its a picture I took last night during dinner! LOVE IT!

This weekend was jam packed with fun. The best part was going to a fundraiser for an AWESOME program. "The Help Program" in San Clemente is working with at risk children to help them keep their grades up and involve them in sports programs. There was a mother there that gave her testimony about her sons transformation through this program and it was so moving. When he first came to them he was failing all of his classes. Through the Help Program he started training in mixed martial arts (MMA) with a group called Fighters For The World that they collaborate with.  He loved this part of the program but to stay enrolled in his MMA classes he had to get his grades up... and keep them up. He started going to tutoring through the program and is now getting grades that are above average for his school! His mother was in tears and he was standing on stage super proud of himself. This is just one of many lives they have impacted. One of my wishes for this week.. or month... or whenever is to help them raise some money to bring more children into their program. They have waiting lists full of kids that want... no NEED to be a part of this dynamic group! If you are interested in donating any amount please comment or send me a message and I can get you more details! Thank you!!

Something I need to work on this week is stretching my body more and drinking more water. Sometimes I drink a ton of water but right now I have just been dropping the ball on it. I sit at work all day with an empty cup on my desk and just stare at it. It screams at me "FILL ME UP".. and I ignore it. But not this week.. Nope I am going to listen to the cries of my water bottle! I am also going to work on full body stretching in my free time (haha that was a joke - I have no free time!).. I am going to MAKE TIME for stretching this week. My body has been feeling so tense this week and knotted up from working out that I really need to!

Cheers to another GREAT week!!!


                                                      

3 Day Weekends

Hi! I hope you all had a great long weekend!

Don't you think all weekends should be 3 days long?? You need one day for errands, a second day for having fun and visiting people and a third day for relaxing! All 3 things are a must for me... and all 3 things were accomplished this weekend!

Saturday I got in my fun and visiting people day.I went on a 2 hour hike during the day and man it was hot. Later I met up with some friends for pool time and dinner. We had so much fun! And we may or may not have played Marco Polo... ;)

Sunday was my relaxing day. I enjoyed some gluten free pancakes (which never fail me), went to the sauna for a relaxing sweat, watched a movie from Red Box (Safe Haven - not my favorite), BBQ'd some steaks and played some briscola. Briscola is an Italian card game. Once you get the hang of it, it is hilarious because everyone has crazy hand signals with your partner. You have to try it!

Monday was my running errands day. Did some grocery shopping, tried out some new recipes (which I will share later in the week), cleaned a little, got in a quick run and went to church.

I didn't get to doing a Weekly Wishes post yesterday but I wanted to do a little recap of the goals I had set from the previous week.

1- Running 12 miles... ACCOMPLISHED!!! I actually ran a total of 13.63 miles this week! Which is awesome for me! This was how I did each day:

Monday - day off
Tuesday - 3.28 mile beach run with stairs
Wednesday - day off
Thursday - 4.59 mile run
Saturday - 5.76 mile hike / trail run

2- 4 Blog posts... YES! Done and done!

3- Finding people to inspire, encourage and uplift. I did a good job about being aware and available to people around me. I spent Friday night at a home group and prayed for people, saw people get healed and hopefully showed people a glimpse into the goodness of God! I will always keep you up to date on opportunities I get like this!

I am just getting back to business here this week but I hope you all have a super (short) weekend this week!!

What did you do on your 3 day weekend? How do you cope with working out in this heat? Did you have any inspiring moments this week?? Do tell!!!

xoxo
Katie

Weekly wishes & a secret about me.....

Happy Monday!!


So here is a little secret about me... I love making lists! (not as juicy as you had hoped for is it??). So when I saw the Weekly Wishes Linkup with Melyssa I knew I had to be a part of it! I had such a great weekend with family and close friends so I am going to try my best to make it another awesome week!!

So here are some of my goals for the week:

           1- Get in at least 12 miles of running between today and Sunday. In theory that should be pretty easy this week as my schedule isn't as busy as it has been (YAYYYY). Things always seem to creep up and get in the way of workouts though so I have to make it a priority and just do it! I also plan on doing so body weight training mixed in there (hopefully at least 3 days of this??). I will do a post on some of my favorite body weight exercises soon too!
       
           2- I want to try and write at least 4 blog posts this week. I am still getting into the groove of writing daily and fitting it in my schedule. I love writing though and am trying to do a better job of doing things I love! I hope to also get some extra posts written for a lazy rainy day when I can't get a blog post written. I also want to work on filling in parts of my blog that I still haven't gotten to.... like the "about me" section... Because I know you all are dying to know more :)

           3- This is a big one for me... This week I really want to find some people to inspire, encourage and uplift! It is SUCH an amazing feeling when you can bless someone else. I am not sure how this will look exactly this week, but God always makes an opportunity for us to show up and share his love... so I will spend my week being in the moment, actively paying attention to those around me and asking the Holy Spirit how I can help! Oh and you better believe I will report back to you on my stories that come from this! Pressures on now! ;)


What are your goals for this week??? How often do you make times to do things you love??

Go visit Melyssa at The Nectar Collective for more weekly wishes!