Four Mile Run Fun

Sean worked all day yesterday so I dropped him off and took the car to visit my mom up north. She lives in a small town just 30 minutes or so from the city and I always enjoy going up there since it is where she and the rest of my family grew up. 

We had a nice day together watching The Mummy and The Mummy Returns, exchanging thoughts and ideas on Downton Abbey's upcoming season, and giving her morkie (a yorkie/maltese mix) Lily a bath. 

Mom received some real Alaskan fish from some coworkers so she made us fish, spicy mayo, avocado, and tomato sandwiches with a side of homemade onion rings. It was all really yummy, and I was glad to have my mom's cooking again. 

At around 7:30, I decided to go on my run. I try to take advantage of running in different surroundings when I can because it keeps me interested, so I brought my shoes and clothes to go on the trail by my mom's house. The trail is very pretty. It winds between open fields and forest and you can always see deer and cardinals and other wildlife out there. I had no idea, but apparently they built a hiking trail in the forest. I told Sean that next time we visit my mom, we should try it out. We love hiking! 

I am familiar enough with the trail from years of riding bikes with my grandparents (they lived down the street from Mom for twenty years before recently selling their house and moving to the lake) so I knew what it looked like and how long it was.
Only, maybe not completely. I thought there was a turn off point where after a mile or so, you could head back home but maybe I missed it? Or maybe it just doesn't exist anymore? Because about two and a half miles in, I realized that there was no turn off and I was stuck on the trail until the end...which is nearly five miles. 

I hit my wall at about three miles but I kept going, probably faster than normal actually, because it was getting dark and I started hearing weird sounds coming from the forest. I spent the 'run' only actually running a little under half the time. At this point, I can run for about a minute and half before my chest and my sides begin to punish me and then I stop for a minute to recover before running again.
But despite all that, it was still great fun. In the end, I did 4.63 miles in 1 hour and 27 minutes. I know that's probably pretty long for only four and a half miles, but this is coming from someone who never ever ran before just three or four weeks ago, so I am pretty proud of my progress. 

Poor Lily...she's so ugly when she's wet, it's cute.  

Yes, that is deer poking his head up through the field plants! There were a whole bunch of them just sitting out there, munching away.

Kaleigh

Inspiration and Minimalism

Sean has been working a lot lately while I've been at home, taking in the last days before school begins again. As much as I have wanted to just continue my business selling things and live off of that, Sean simply doesn't make enough on his own for us to afford this apartment. So we've decided that I should go back to work and have my business on the side for now. I had an interview at a retail store last Wednesday and I am hoping to hear back about it since it pays well and I think I would enjoy the environment.

School begins in a week and I am very much looking forward to it. This is Sean's last year and my last full year as I plan on graduating next December. I am not looking forward to all the papers and studying, but I will be glad to begin the year so I can sooner finish it.

I've been in a kind of rut lately with who I am and where I think things are going for me. Learning to ignore negativity and be better because of it is a hard lesson to learn, but I think I am getting there. I have found inspiration in a number of places including a blog called Les Jours Contents by Lisa Horan and I am finding her and her boyfriend's adventures to be something of an awakening for me. They're living Sean's and my dream of traveling the world and up until very recently, I had almost given up on that dream. I love Lisa's writing and the way she talks about their experiences everyday, even if she is sharing how they stayed indoors all day and watched movies together. It make me feel like I can write more and be happy with what I write. I feel like I can talk about things and not feel like I need to put on a show that isn't me in order to entertain. This, I am thankful for.
Another source of inspiration for me lately has come from my thoughts on leading a more minimal lifestyle. I have always loved the idea of living out my backpack, but I am far too sentimental to throw everything away. I've been spending a lot of my time at home rearranging and sorting through all of our things. Our front door is lined with bags upon bags and boxes of things we are selling or giving away, and since I went through everything, our apartment has felt so much clearer and spacious. I feel like my anxieties are slowly drifting away, and as soon as we get everything in order, I will be free.

Something that was very difficult to do was get rid my craft supplies. I now have about four boxes, containing about 90 percent of my supplies: stickers, scrapbooking paper, stamps, and all sorts of things to give away. I made the decision to get rid of them because one, they took up too much space, and two, despite how much a really loved and used them, I felt that relying on stickers and washi tape to decorate my journals, or whatever project, was cheating myself out of creating with my own talents. I feel like I need to rely more on drawing, writing, and pasting things I find than just making it look pretty with some stickers. 

I am trying very hard these days to get myself up and out of this place I've been for the two or three years. I know that I can be better and I will do everything I can to make sense of that. 

I found this on Pinterest and I think it is so true.

 Both of these photos below depict the mess in my craft/work space. It was kind of a feat to get everything picked through and organized, but I finally finished, for now.

After...

Slowly, things are coming together.

"It is surprising how contented one can be with nothing definite-- only a sense of existence." -Henry David Thoreau

Kaleigh

Week at Truman Lake

I spent the last week at my grandparents' house at Truman Lake in Warsaw, Missouri. Sean and I have been going through some tough times since a person in his immediate family passed away very suddenly. The week before last was a long and difficult week so getting down to the lake was very helpful. Unfortunately, Sean could not come along so it was just me and my grandparents.

The house was built by my great-grandparents Dean and Barbara in the 1980s. I would go there a lot as a child and spend days to weeks with them. It was my favorite place to be. When my grandma Barbara died when I was sixteen, there was a lot of talk about selling the house and having my grandpa move closer to their daughter, my grandma Debbie, but after a few years Grandma Debbie and Grandpa Carl decided it would be best to sell their home and move in with Grandpa Dean at the lake. Now all three of them live there together and they really love it. The house looks better than it ever has and part of that is because Sean and I are getting married there in October.
But I think my grandma takes a lot of pride in keeping up her mother's house.

The peace and quiet there was really perfect. I spent a lot of time reading and helping to get ready for my Grandpa Dean's brother's 90th birthday party.
I just wanted to share some photos of my week at my favorite place in the world.

Happy August!

Currently

I've been having a difficult time trying to find some things to write about, but the good news is I have found a couple ideas which I will be presenting within the next couple weeks! Until then, here is what I am currently doing:

Reading: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Honestly, this is only slightly embarrassing. I've watched every single Harry Potter movie in theaters, but I've only read parts of the first four books. So really, it's like I never read the books.
I am also a terrible book-reader. I will read a book everyday for a week and then just stop before waiting weeks to come back to it again. Harry, Ron, and Hermione have been sitting in the abandoned girls bathroom, mixing potions for like, a month.
I'm getting to it. This book will be finished by August!


Playing: Terraria

I spend much more time than necessary playing this game. It's very fun, addicting, and frustrating. I am at the point in the game where all I can do is psych myself up for the big boss fight because every time I try to fight him, I die within the first eight seconds. I continue this hope that the more I play the game, the stronger and more well-equipped I will be to kill him and move on. It's crazy town in my world!


Cooking/Eating: Burgers


I literally have a burger (or two...) a day. You see, I tend to have these weird 3-6 month relationships with certain foods or drinks. They only happen about once a year when all I want to consume is that food, before finally becoming burnt out on it and not being able to even look at it for a couple years. That's me right now with burgers. Cheeseburgers to be exact. I've had this relationship with milk, apple juice, Chipotle burritos, BBQ-flavored Frito's, and hot dogs. The reign of hot dogs recently fell at the hands of the cheeseburger and now I eat one daily. Guys. I have problems.

Crafting: Books


I have been on a book-making kick these days. I make little notebooks as well as hardbacks out of recycled paper and cardboard. My binding skills have gotten much better, but it still messy. I also need to find a glue that is appropriate for bookbinding instead of using a hot-glue gun. 

Going: To the lake!


That's right! For the fourth time this summer, we are headed to the lake tomorrow! I plan to make alcoholic beverages and be happy with my life by the pool.


Listening to: Lights Out by Angel Olsen

Lastly, I've been obsessed with this song for a few weeks. The lyrics are really motivational for me right now, and I think Angel Olsen is such a beauty. She has a great voice and it seems like she's just really focused on her music and the things she puts out.
Check it-

What are you guys currently doing?

First Etsy Items Sold!

Hey, guys, guess what?! I opened my very first, very own store last week!! And guess what else? Today, I sold two items! My very first! How exciting!

My store is called, Thrifty Rabbit and I sell vintage clothes, books, and other accessories! Here are some of many items I have in store! ;)

I hope you are enjoying your summer!!

Fun with friends

Sean and I spent last night with a some friends and this is the proof. We quite enjoyed ourselves.

My First Time at The Color Run!

My sister, my mom, and my grandma, and I all took part in the "Happiest 5K on the Planet" on Saturday morning! It was our first time and as you can see we had such a blast getting all colorful!

Some favorite moments include:

• The free stuff was super awesome! I love my t-shirt and all the little accessories that were included!
• Waiting at the start line, I was regretting my decision to skip the sunglasses. Bad idea. The sun was so bright and I had to squint the whole time. While we waited, a DJ on a tower above us played music and threw down prizes like t-shirts, beach balls, headbands, bracelets, handkerchiefs, and...sunglasses! As soon as we began, he announced that he had some sunglasses to give away. I shouted as loudly as I could muster, which apparently caught his attention because he threw some my way and I caught them! It's silly, but I was super proud. 
• Doing the Color Run with my Grandma was very fun and my favorite part with her was when we went through the purple station. She was very excited because purple is her favorite color, so I told every person I could as we walked through the station and she was definitely purple when we made it out! I loved seeing my Grandma so giggly and happy. She really had a lot of fun!
•  My sister decided to scream, "Woooo!" right as someone was getting ready to throw blue into her face. She was spitting out blue coloring for a while after that. 
• Getting colorful was the most fun, of course! We all tried to get a good amount of each color on us before the end, and I think we pretty much accomplished that.

Visit the Color Run website to see when they are coming to your town! You won't regret it!

Have you ever done the Happiest 5K on the Planet? What made it so happy for you?