Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Action Item Update: Summer Success!

I've been crazy busy these past two months with running my new business but it's been simply amazing and I couldn't be happier with my decision to do it. However, in an effort to remain focused to my original mission, I'm going on posting about some of the things that I've committed to doing: specifically, my action items.

Here's a look back to my last post:


Now check out all the green I've added!


Here's the highlights of what I've been up to this month!

- I just got back from my first trip away from home without my son. I was invited to attend a convention for a women's organization that I volunteer for and the trip was fabulous! While Dad and son hung out for four days, I got a chance to network, learn, and get inspired. So yays for attending a networking event, taking a class, and having a night out!

- Working on my business as giving me plenty of opportunities to learn new (blog) skills: I've been using a software to create email marketing campaigns and I've got a ton better at using a social media scheduler like Gremln and HootSuite.

- I've only managed one book: Water for Elephants which I LOVED! However, I'm halfway through an awesome recommendation from Joanna: MWF Seeking BFF, that unbelievable hits home for me.

- This summer my husband and I decided to join a CSA (farm share program) that preps a box full of fresh local veggies for us each week. We've spent the past month making a real commitment to eating healthier and less processed and the box of veggies has really motivated us to eat a more diverse array of veggies. It's been a fun challenge to learn to prepare new veggies like: cabbage, kale, chard, Choi, kohlrabi, garlic scapes, and beets; (sadly some of these aren't even that rare but they are new to us!) So essentially, I've rocked out in the recipe department. Here's a few faves: Avocado with Bell Pepper and Tomato Salad, Garlic Scape Pesto (with quinoa), Kale Slaw with Red Cabbage and Carrots, Spiced Butternut Squash and Apple Soup, Grilled Salmon with Orange-Avocado Salsa, Sesame-Kale Crisps, and Red Lentil Soup. I picked a few faves to post here but this seriously isn't even a taste of all the new things we've tried...like this which I had a hard time talking my husband into because I wasn't even excited for it...but it seriously was pretty good. To be honest, this whole eating fresh thing kind of came about (for a number of reasons) but one being that we noticed a disconnect from what we were feeding our son and what we were feeding ourselves. It could seriously be a whole other post...but if your looking for resources we used a lot of the recipes from Whole Living's 2012 Action Plan Challenge.

- The home projects have been kind of lackluster...ideally we've been wanting to DIY redo our kitchen this summer but we've been really unmotivated in that department. We'll see...

- Lastly, I've been maxing out on the nights out - mostly because my awesome sister came into town and my husband and I capitalized on a free babysitter (we saw our first movie in a theater in over a year) but I've also managed to get out with the girls too which in some ways is equally as nice. I managed 5 nights, all of which were awesome: shopping date with my sissy, movie with husband, dinner with husband, dinner with the girls, and a happy hour!

I'm still not even halfway there but I've been busy and it feels good!

Sincerely,





P.S. - Anyone else trying the CSA thing? (I love recipes!) Or planning a major home remodel? (I need guidance!) Or just getting some time out of the house with the one(s) you love? (Yay!)