2018 Planner

Raise your hand if you purchase a new planner every year, start out strong and are done using it before February 1st?  I’m guessing I’m not alone in this guilted truth?!  I’ve decided I’m going to make 2018 my year…I mean after all, I am 30, I should have my life fully together, right?!

Planners are used for a variety of organization and scheduling. Work, school, kids, family activities, church meetings, you name it and someone is using their planner for it. I honestly prefer to use my phone to keep track of appointments and traveling but I always feel like typing an engagement has less meaning and emotion behind it.  Anyone else feel this way?  There is something to be said about physically writing things down.  I find more pleasure and satisfaction when the event arrives or I get to cross something off the list when written in a planner.

I have decided a written planner, in conjunction with my phone, will allow me the opportunity to be more intimate with goals, but yet organized and on time.  My planner for 2018 will be used to track blogging ideas and posting dates, meditation and spiritual progress and God willing, pregnancy milestones.

What is your 2018 planner goal?

My planner is from here, purchased at my local T.J. Maxx/Home Goods.

running shoes

thumb_DSC00264_1024My husband and I became “runners” a couple of years ago.  It has been quite the journey, but has brought us closer and helped us to become more fit and healthier than ever before.  During this new journey, I found another thing to collect in my closet…running/workout shoes!  If I would have known running involved new shoes on a pretty regular basis, I would have taken this up years ago!  ANY excuse to buy more shoes! 🙂

The most important thing we have leaned about running shoes, are there are specific shoes for every type of runner.  Just picking up a pair of tennis shoes at your local sports/department store and thinking they are the right fit and make of shoe for your gait can cause issues rather quickly.  After taking a Learn to Run class at our local running store, we learned that running shoes come in 3 different levels of support: neutral, guidance and stability.

We also learned that a runner’s gait can change as they become stronger, meaning they may require a different shoe.  Our local running store offers a gait analysis where they put you on a treadmill and record you running, playing it back in slow-motion to get an accurate read of the true running gait.  This informs the foot specialists as to what level of support the runner requires.  Each brand of shoe makes all 3 stabilities, often times numerous options in each category.

I can honestly say that having the correct shoes and different pairs to swap between is what I believe has made this running journey and experience successful.  I have tried many times in the past to take up running but quite a few days or weeks in, due to pain in my feet or legs.  To anyone interested in learning about running, or having issues with their feet or legs, I highly recommend visiting your local running store and visiting with the foot specialists shoes, specifically what level of support you require.  The research, time and investment is well worth it!

Happy Trails!

new year, new planner

thumb_DSC00236_1024There is something exciting about a new planner at the beginning of a year!  I look forward to picking out something that represents who I am, will inspire me to stay organized, accomplish by goals, chase my dreams and something I will be proud to carry with me every day for the next 365 days!

This past semester, my husband and I have been using our iPhone shared calendar to help keep us organized and in check with life’s craziness.  We are both in grad school and he continues to work full time while I have a part time practicum placement and research project…so something to keep us organized is an true necessity at this point in our lives.  I have enjoyed using technology but honestly miss writing things down, crossing off completed tasks and watching lists become smaller.  There is a true satisfaction in crossing off to do lists.  So this year, I decided I would continue using the iPhone (for the sake of our marriage and sanity) and also enjoy a planner for my personal kicks.

Planning has become a new fad on social media from watching YouTuber’s “plan with me” videos to IG accounts.  I would love to dabble into this  colorful, fun, organizing hobby but have settled with a basic planner and colored paper mate pens.  When time and budget allows, I look forward to the purchase of an Erin Condren planner or the like, plenty of washi tape and an abundance of stickers!

The planner picture above was purchased at Marshalls and the pens are from Target.

Happy New Year and happy planning in 2016!