Done With #1 – Do You Feel the Allure?

30 Apr

I’m wearing sunscreen. Took me long enough.

Well, to be fair, I’m not putting it on every day as I should. But when I don’t I think about it – I remember –  which makes me comfortable crossing this one off The List.

I know this one isn’t the most earth-shattering to read about, so I’ll be brief. But it is a big deal for me. Being able to continue my sun-worshipping ways without looking like I have a crocodile bag for a face in twenty years is a win. And here’s the product I bought into that made it all happen:

aveeno radiant moisturizer with spf 30

And for the record, I only just found out this has been an Allure Best of Beauty pick for four years when I went searching for an image. Iso care about Allure, so I’m even more sold on the awesomeness of this product. *detect sarcasm alert*

Lightweight, silky, way cheaper than Benefit, and it doesn’t make my face taste bad. What it does is leave me with softly glowing skin without a lot of gross chemicals. I give it full credit for the surprising number of compliments I’ve gotten in the last months on how I look healthier and have a glow. (Or it could be that I’ve been working out 3-4 times a week, whateves. Not a big deal. 🙂 ) Not pregnant-lady glow, thankfully, but a just-walked-in-from-the-sun-and-I’m-full-of-life kind of glow. I’m in love. Big thanks to Sunrise, whose suggestion made me finally take home the pretty bottle I’ve looked at on the Target shelf for a year.

I said I’d be brief, so I’ll stop waxing poetic about lotion. I’ll just leave you with this last little nugget, one of my favorite ironic songs from high school.

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Friday Five – Before We’re 30…

27 Apr

My girl Sunrise sent me an article via Huffington Post of a list originally published in Glamor magazine called “Turning 30: 30 Things Every Woman Should Have And Should Know.”

photo from magculture on flickr

I understand this list has been passed around from girlfriend to girlfriend, so perhaps you’ve seen it before? In any case it is a fabulous list – and you know how much I love lists of things to check off before turning 30 – so I had to share my favorites. I couldn’t just pick five, so I took my fave five things we should do, and my fave five things we should know. Check out the full list here, then add your two cents in the comments!

By 30, you should have …

A decent piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in your family.

A past juicy enough that you’re looking forward to retelling it in your old age.

One friend who always makes you laugh and one who lets you cry.

Something ridiculously expensive that you bought for yourself, just because you deserve it.

A skin-care regimen, an exercise routine, and a plan for dealing with those few other facets of life that don’t get better after 30.

By 30, you should know …

How you feel about having kids.

How to quit a job, break up with a man, and confront a friend without ruining the friendship.

How to kiss in a way that communicates perfectly what you would and wouldn’t like to happen next.

How to live alone, even if you don’t like to.

That you can’t change the length of your legs, the width of your hips, or the nature of your parents.

Wether you’re looking forward to 30 or are hip and happy on the other side, what do you think we should have/know by 30?

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The Best Feelings…

25 Apr

image from chquotes

Have you ever thought about the things that feel the best? I’m not talking emotional, I’m talking tactile. The feelings that make you shiver, the feelings that make you sigh, the feelings that make all your muscles relax. I’ve always felt like these feelings are few and far between, but the more I think about it, the more I realize these are everyday pleasures if we just take the time to seek them out and enjoy them. So I thought I’d throw together a little list of the best everyday feelings in the world. Feel free to add your own, and let’s feel a little of the best today.

Waking up naturally on a Saturday morning, remembering you have nothing to do that day, and rolling over to read a book for an hour.

Dancing in the livingroom until you collapse.

Getting butterfly kisses from a child that calls you “Aunt.”

Sliding in between cool, crisp, freshly washed sheets. (Bonus points if you just shaved your legs.)

Getting your hair brushed by someone who loves you.

Finishing a workout where you really pushed yourself and ending with a reeeeeeally good stretch.

Taking a hot shower after said workout and stretch.

Giving an unexpected compliment and seeing the person smile.

Puppy kisses on the nose.

Getting sun-drunk lying on a blanket in the grass on the first sunny day of spring.

That moment when you finish singing, hold your breath, and the audience does, too, before erupting in applause.

Hearing your pulse pound in your ears and feeling your breath whoosh in and out in time with your sneakers on the pavement.

Laughing until your sides hurt and you can’t catch your breath.

Starting and ending my day in the arms of the man who loves me.

What would you add to the list?

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We’re Back, and Better Than Ever!

23 Apr

Oh, and when I say we’re back, I do mean we. A’s officially done with tax season, and he’s promised me that he’ll be putting his foot down about working crazy hours on the projects he has coming up. He’s planning on being home at four all this week, and I couldn’t be happier. I always know that having him home will be a huge relief, but I forget the feeling of peace and all being right with the world until it happens.

Per usual we made our annual trek down to the ever-gorgeous Carmel-by-the-sea (it’s not a town, it’s a lifestyle), with one small change. Make that two small changes. We took our doggies with us! Something I’ve wanted since we got Logan almost three years ago. We had a great time, the four of us. We discovered that Martigan – the newest – likes to show bigger dogs that he can still act tough even though he’s on a leash (something to work on) and doesn’t like when I leave him. Not to the point of being annoying, but he would whine and do his ‘talking bark’ very softly whenever I walked away to get us coffees or go into a shop. A and I have never been out in public with him other than taking the dogs for a walk, so this attachment was a new revelation. I would be lying if I didn’t say it melted my heart a little bit.

I thought about doing another One Day picture story, and then thought “meh.” Why spend a perfectly lazy weekend with my man worrying about a photo per hour. So instead a took a picture when I thought about it. If it looks like we read a lot, ate a lot, and drank a lot, that’s because we did.

my handsome man, it's so good to have you back!

a great start to the day...at 11am.

my littlest dog learned the fine art of waiting under tables while his owners were being boring.

logan, our sunshine boy, found patches of light to lie in wherever possible.

trying wines at one of our favorite garden hangouts. the dogs weren't impressed with the vintages, but loved the all-natural seaweed treats their sweet staff offered them.

can you see the relief? the peace? yeah, we can too.

It’s good to be back, I’ve missed you all! How was your weekend?

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Intentionally March

9 Apr

Happy Monday everyone! Little announcement before we get to the post: I’ll be taking a break from blogging for the next two weeks. A is in his last week of tax season, which is always a stressful time for our family, and the week after I’ll be too busy enjoying my newly free husband to write. I’m not taking a break from life, so I’ll still be around online, just a brief break from the daily content. I’ll see you back here on Monday, March 23rd. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in two weeks!

image courtesy of intentional life on tumblr.

March’s update on the year of living intentionally is a bit overdue. If you want to see how 2012 is going so far, January’s wrap-up is here, February’s here. So, on to March!

Pursuing the Lord’s heart like I did when I first loved Him.

I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to get on this one, but I feel like I’ve taken a step in the right direction. I can’t say how exactly. Maybe it’s because I’ve been praying more when things are going right. Maybe it’s because I’m praying just to tell God how I love Him. Maybe it’s because I actually picked up my Bible recently because I wanted to re-read a passage I’d forgotten, and found that I really missed it. I hope to have more to report on this one next month.

Moving into a season of greater spiritual and emotional intimacy with my husband.

March was actually fairly rough for A and I. He’s been busy, and has had to spend quite a bit of time in the doctor’s office, and we’ve had more than our usual share of arguments. All this isn’t a great recipe for building intimacy. And yet….
Sometimes you find out things about yourself and your spouse that you never would have known if it weren’t for disagreements. You wouldn’t know how much the other person is in it with you, for better or worse, if it weren’t for adversity. I love A, and he loves me. And the fact that we can say that, choose it, live it, after the month we’ve had is a win. Any tough time where we come out closer together rather than further apart, I’ll take. And I’ll give thanks to God for.

Making the most of the relationships I have, and taking time to nurture them.

I got to go to my ‘nephew’s’ baseball game this month, and he pitched for the first time. And he was awesome. The kid has a natural talent, and I’m super proud of him. I got to cuddle my ‘niece’ on the stands, braid her hair, and heat Lik-a-maids. I got to chat with my bff between her boy being at bat. All in all a great day.
A and I spent time with his work bff and his wife. We ran a 10k together, which was huge for us and gave us confidence in all the other races we have planned for this month. I had more than a few swirl dates with girlfriends, so it’s been a good month for relationships.

Tackling some of the harder things on The List, especially the ones that scare me.

Well, I crossed one off. That’s 1/15 for this year. A slow start, but I’ll take it!

Finding ways beyond words to show people that I love them.

I left love notes for A. On our mirror, around our dog’s necks. They had written words, but went beyond just saying nice things. Cheesy, but effective.

Finding fun, creative ways to get together with friends that don’t revolve around food.

A slow Friends Without Food month, but I did get a day with bestie Molly. We met after I got a pedicure and walked around Santana Row. We window shopped, tried in vain to find a Nike store, and ended up at the Irish pub for happy hour. Yes, it ended up involving food, but food wasn’t the point so it counts. So there. And it was one of the funnest days I’ve had in awhile.

Reading challenging, empowering, quality books instead of solely feeding my brain a mental fast food diet of chick-lit.

This month has been really weird, reading-wise. I’ve started several books, but none have really stuck. Sometimes I get like this, when I’ve read several amazing books in a row, if the next ones I read aren’t comparable I’m just not interested. If you have any good recommendations, let me know!

Putting my health first and making the time to exercise.

Well, I spent the last week MIA from the gym due to a tenacious cold, but my average visits per week for March was still 3.1. Yes, my gym lets you track these things. Since the average person at my gym goes 1.3 days per week, and pre-Club One Christy averaged, oh, zero, I’m loving 3.1 average visits per week. Next month I’m shooting for 3.5!

If you had a resolution or a word for 2012, how’s it going? I’d love to hear! Leave a comment or link to a blog post you’ve written on this below.

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