two of a kind

March Goals:

I did complete 22 work outs this month using Move Your Booty as motivation, and I was all smiles this morning when I finished my run.  I may have had to do multiple work outs a day to complete it, but hey, I still did it!  And I can't wait to do more than 22 work outs next month!

• manage social media of this blog: B

I commented on blogs that I read daily and tweeted most of the posts.  (Follow me! @smoult). I'm going to keep trying with this one.  

• don't waste left overs or food: B
• train for this 4 mile run: B
• stretch most nights: C

I stretched after every work out, but not every night.

I love reading goals that people set; I find it inspiring.

Tell us: What are goals that you set for yourself?

-SM

Lately, I've been in a bit of a reading rut.  

It's probably because I'm reading too many books: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People for this book club, The Namesake, and I just picked up The Happiness Project from the library.  

What I have been keeping up with are my blogs.  Here are my favorites right now:

1. rebuild (health + home): I find this blog therapeutic and reassuring 

2. Adulting blog: A fun blog to remind those of us struggling with adulthood on how to act 

3. Jess Lively: Again, these posts are reassuring as well as thought provoking.  I like that Jess is spiritual and considerate.  And I've already mentioned here how the book club has already positively affected me. 

Tell us: What have you been reading recently? How do you get out of reading ruts?

-SM

image via pinterest

I am going to try this: Psychiatry professor, Nancy Rappaport, suggests to replace "worried thoughts" with "brave thoughts."

I recently rediscovered the Adulting blog and found this post.

I actually unintentionally did this yesterday when I started counting how much money I'd spent in NYC for the St. Paddy's Day parade, and then I thought, why don't I think of how much my cheeks hurt from smiling instead.  And I instantly felt better.  

Tell us: Do you have any tips/tricks for being optimistic or trying to change your outlook?

-SM

I think I found my yoga teacher.  I felt calm throughout the entire class, empowered even. The class literally flew by.  She kept repeating the phrase, "surrender, put it out there and let it happen." 

I've been taking yoga since sophomore year of college (7 years ago, ouch) and I have liked and looked up to many of my teachers.  But there was something about this woman, Janet.  I just liked how I felt relaxed, positive and hopeful in her presence.  

Tell us: Is there any one in your life who makes you feel like you can conquer the world?

-SM

It's been steadily pouring all day so when I looked out the window at 6pm, and saw a break, I decided to go for it and walk down to the river.  Today really felt like spring because of the rain and the temperature (55 degrees here in NJ!). I didn't even mind getting caught in the rain on the walk back. 

Tell us: Any evening rituals? What makes you think of spring?

-SM

1. It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want To Be which Jen first posted about here. She sent it to me in a care package/our version of Birchbox.  It's a business focused book, but all of the rules apply to life.

2. That a glass of wine makes me sleep like a baby. 

3. Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri. I finished Sweet Tooth yesterday.  Review coming soon!

4. That it's still an acceptable time of year to climb into bed at 7pm. 

5. Good, thoughtful friends.

(inspired by Jess Lively's post)

Tell us: what has been the best part of your day?

-SM

Happy Friday!

I. Here is a picture of the dogs to start this weekend off right!

I've been a bit homesick lately, and looking at pictures of these two sweet dogs always makes me smile.  

II. And I've been thinking a lot about this quote recently:

"When I have a terrible reluctance to go near it...I generally know that something is badly wrong." -Alice Munro

I tend to not be able to multitask working on my craft, so I focus on writing or my stationery side project.  Can you guess which one I'm avoiding?

III. I've been making an effort to buy flowers more often, and I picked these up.  How pretty are they?

Tell us: What has been inspiring you recently?  Does the Munro quote resonate with you?

-SM

I've been thinking a lot about the quote in this picture, which has been my phone background for the last few weeks.  

Being on the cusp of change is a bit scary, but this reminds me of how to start transitioning.  

Another photo I love.  Puppiesforall is definitely an Instagram favorite.  

Though we were raised Catholic, I wouldn't say Jen or I are very religious, but we are spiritual. And though I am not practicing, I still give up something, each year, for Lent.  This small gesture still makes me feel like I'm connecting to a greater good/higher power.

So here is my Lenten sacrifice: no buying coffee out.

This is one of my favorite treats, as anyone and especially Jen can tell you, so it will be tough. I even have a Starbucks gold card (pictured above).  I also forsee this being a bit hard because I do most of my writing at coffeeshops, but I will adapt.  

I also want to not eat meat on Fridays; I'm thinking of it as a form of Meatless Mondays.  

Tell us: Do you participate in Lent or make any type of sacrifice during the year?

-SM

As a psychology student, I was interested in a few areas—deviant behavior, archetypes and social interactions.  Even though I don’t use my psychology degree much, I’ve maintained the same interests into adulthood—I read books about them (Quiet is an excellent book on introverted behavior) and apparently take quizzes (skeptically, I might add).

If you are active in social media then you probably saw this Archetype Me quiz go viral.  I have never been one to believe in magazine quiz results but couldn’t help myself.  I was actually surprised by how accurate the quiz was (at least, how I see myself, which might speak against the integrity of the quiz—any good pollster knows to include questions that rule out bias).  Regardless, I wanted to share my results in case anyone else might be interested in taking it.

 

 My results

It’s hard for me to split out percentages but I would describe myself as a caregiver, creative and intellectual (and probably in that order).  If nothing less, it’s interesting food for thought.

You can find the quiz here.

I’d be interested in Sara’s results, wouldn’t you? 

Tell us: Did you take the quiz?  Do you agree with your results?

-JCM