Cafe Coziness

It's a pretty dreary day here in Chicago, as most of the past six months have been. Sean is doing a bar prep class, so I have most of the weekend to myself. I've decided to cozy up at our favorite local cafe, Cafe Vienna. 

It's a great little bakery and cafe that actually inspired our final honeymoon decision. As I sit here on this gloomy day, all I can picture are the bright ones ahead. A wonderful summer with friends, marrying Sean, traveling to Austria and Prague. 

Maybe it's the cafe's atmosphere or the amazingly strong cup of coffee brightening my mood, but on this cloudy day, all I see is sunshine. 

Just Being

I feel like I haven't blogged much lately, and that's partially because I feel like I haven't had much to say. I'm in a state of just being - going to work, coming home, relaxing. The usual. Nothing exciting or crazy or awesome or not awesome happened. I just am.

This morning, I decided to enjoy the just being. I snuggled up next to Sean, and just listed in my mind all the things I am thankful for. I recognized all the wonderfulness that my life is. I acknowledged the beauty that is just being. 

Getting to a point where I could just do that has been a long road. By nature, I am a high-strung pessimist. I often find it hard to turn my brain off. But one of my goals from last year was to learn how to ease my mind. And as I optimized my health through food and exercise, I knew optimizing my brain was the next step. 

The website Mind, Body, Green has been an amazing resources for helping me do this. Not only have they helped my physical health (they have great recipes!), they have helped my mental health. 

When I listed things I was thankful for this morning, just being able to make the list was at the top. Before, I'd would get terrible sleep (both due to stomach pains from poor nutrition, and stress. I'd wake up worrying about work, the day, food, working out, who said what and who didn't. Though that still happens sometimes (change takes time!), the fact that I was able to take some time to just be grateful felt so good. So if you don't hear from me from time to time, know that I'm not busy. I'm just being. And it feels great. 

Spring Ahead

First day of Spring! Though it's snowing here in Chicago - because why wouldn't it be - I'm so excited for the Spring. There are so many amazing things that will be going on from now through the rest of the year, and this is pretty much the starting line of it all! 

Last week we went to Nashville and the warm sun on my face felt like heaven. It reminded me of all the wonderful things that are coming up and how wonderful they'll be - like the wedding of one of my best friends, my own wedding activities, Yankee games, BBQ's and so much more. 

Though I don't know that I'll feel warm sun on my face anytime soon, I know my heart will be warmed with love from family and friends and all the wonderful things in my life. And that's good enough for me. 

Some photos from my Nashville trip:

A Day, or Two, Late... But Who's Counting?

198 days until we are married! (I wanted to do a 200 days post, but the week got away from me).

I did some quick calculation (so leave room for error) and realized we have been together for 1,670 days. And that has flown by. So 198 days is going to feel like a blink. And that's ok, because I'm so ready. I can't wait (even though I have to). 

It's hard to believe that the two crazy kids in this picture are going to be MARRIED soon. 

March, the Lioness.

My issues with winter are well chronicled. Even March in Chicago isn't great - we started it with back to back snowstorms. But March holds the promise that really motivates me and takes me out of my winter slump. The promise that the weather will improve. The promise of travel. The promise that I can work hard AND play hard (not just hibernate). They say March comes in like a lion, but it goes out making me feel like a lioness, who is ready to take on anything!

So I'm ready. Bring it on, March. Bring me warmer weather, travel, great times with even better friends, lots of loves and laughs. And really, please bring me that warm weather. 

My New Bad Habit Leads to a Big Milestone

When I first started this blog, it was to hold myself accountable to my 2013 resolutions/lifestyle changes. It's grown and changed since then, but I'm bringing it back today to reflect. 

When I first started, I ate a ton of junk and never worked out. Now, I eat fruits and veggies every day, no processed food and have tried probably 20 new foods, including fish and sushi! I also work out a couple times a week which is a big change. 

However, I'm developing a bit of a bad habit (in my opinion) of deciding my work out wasn't good enough. It used to be amazing just because I did it. Now I sometimes notice myself thinking I should have pushed harder, worked an extra 10 minutes, etc. I try to remind myself every work out is good, because it's better than the nothing I was doing. But my old competitive self is starting to creep back in, which is great, but also I should be proud of how far I've come. 

Today when I stepped on the scale, I really realized how far that is. I reached a big milestone - losing 25 pounds!! Though my true goal was to build a healthier lifestyle, this feels like a really big deal. 

And I'm so happy to say I did it the healthy way over a year, learning about proper nutrition, building healthy habits, and still enjoying life, dinners, celebration and treats. No crash diets, no crazy hangry mood swings. I've never felt better!

Taking my health into my own hands was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I know it's something that will last throughout my whole life - a long, long, healthy one! 

(If you're interested in learning more, two of the best blogs I've read and followed are 100 Days of Real Food - www.100daysofrealfood.com - and the Food Babe - www.foodbabe.com.)

FOMO

I've recently learned about the term FOMO - Fear Of Missing Out - from Sean's cousin, Shannon. Then I came down with a bad case of it.

Though we've been in Chicago for 2.5 years, and it has become increasingly easier to view Chicago as home, once in a while I get a bad, bad homesickness (or FOMO). 

It more often occurs in the winter, because I go home far less often than the warmer months. I was home for Thanksgiving, and two days the first weekend of January, and I won't be going home until the end of May. That's a REALLY long stretch. And I miss my people.

I know the time will fly by. Work is very busy and we have some fun activities planned, and before I know it I'll be saying how exhausted I am traveling back and forth every couple of weeks. 

But it's my favorite exhaustion in the world - getting on a Monday 6 a.m. flight and rushing to my office after an amazing weekend. Staying up way later than I should (ok, that's like midnight at this point in my life) to get in EVERY last minute of quality time. Rushing around all weekend to see everyone I can. It's the best, most loving, most fulfilling exhaustion ever. And I can't wait for it.