It’s Friday and my mind is all over the place, so I figured that a blog post that is all over the place is only fitting, right?
Months ago, I saw a ton of bloggers post “A to Z” surveys on their blogs, using each letter of the alphabet to highlight a simple thing that brings them joy in their life.
I love surveys and always find them entertaining when other bloggers post them and since Chelsey brought the dying survey back earlier this week, I figured it wasn’t too late to hop on the bandwagon. (I think Dory started the survey?)
Let’s do this!
The Simple Things: A to Z
A – Apples. I eat at least one apple a day. They’re portable, refreshing and so darn delicious. (Alternate selection for the letter A: Ass Grass. Still one of the top three most hilarious moments we’ve had with Sadie!)
B – Blogging and you guys! Before I stumbled upon healthy living blogs, I thought blogs were creepy websites on the internet that crazies updated with complaints about the word. Sure, they are that, but they’re also so much more and cover every niche imaginable. The joy I get from sharing my life with you guys and interacting with you every day is beyond anything I could have imagined just three years ago.
C – Christmas. Is it just me or are you seeing more and more people pinning holiday-related things on Pinterest? At first it was Halloween costumes, but this week I saw (and re-pinned) this pin for prints you can print out and frame around your house during the holidays.
D – My dad. He is such a supportive person in my life and always lets “his girls” know how much he loves them.
E – Exercise. Sometimes we forget that exercising isn’t a “given” and I feel grateful to have the ability to workout regularly without pain or injury. (Knock on wood.)
F – Freelance writing. As much as I love blogging, the writing you see on this blog is conversational and informal and very different from most of my professional work. While I love writing blog posts more than anything, I also like having assignments away from the blog that don’t have anything to do with food, fitness and healthy living. Sometimes it’s nice to write brochure content for a local business!
G – Gone Girl. I read this book for two hours last night. I couldn’t stop! When Nick got that text on his disposable phone!?!?!? Ah!
H – Home. To quote my mother-in-law, my home is my sanctuary.
I – Inspiring athletes. Watching the Olympics is so much fun and the athletes are truly incredible. <—Look another “I” word!
J – Jokes. Silly email chains. Ridiculous websites. Anything that makes me laugh in the middle of the work day. Like this and this:
K – Kind people. You make my heart sing!
L – Leslie. When I think about my sister, I cannot help but smile. She is a ray of sunshine and I’m so happy that I’ve had a best friend by my side all my life.
M – My mom. The most optimistic, loving woman I’ve ever met.
N – Nature. Outside is the place to BE!
O – Oreo Birthday Blast ice cream. No lie, I think it has quickly become my favorite ice cream flavor of ALL TIME. Second runner up: Chocolate marshmallow.
P – Pandora. I love music and feel like my Pandora station “gets me.” We had a rocky patch there for a while when it kept playing various versions of “Hallelujah” and trying to depress me, but our musical relationship is now thriving since I’ve “thumbs upped” and “thumbs downed” enough songs on my favorite stations for Pandora to know my taste.
Q – Quiet time.
R – Ryan. My husband and my best buddy. I love spending every day with that guy.
S – Sadie. As if you couldn’t guess this one. She makes me laugh every day and is surprisingly quite wise…
T – Traveling. Exploring new areas, near and far, is one of my favorite things to do.
U – Upcoming vacations!!! First up: Bachelorette party in New Orleans, baby!
V – Vitamins. Specifically gummy vitamins. I never took vitamins as an adult until I started buying gummy vitamins again. They’re just so darn good and as someone previously diagnosed with osteopenia, I’m all about taking a calcium supplement. Now, if only I could find some Adora disks in Ocala somewhere. So good!
W – Weddings. So far, within the next year, we have four weddings to attend for people we care deeply about and I cannot wait to celebrate such a special day with wonderful friends.
X – Xylophones? X-rays? My choices for this letter are rather limited. I’ll cheat and go with x-tra thick Greek yogurt.
Y – You!
Z – ZOOMA runs! I’m already excited for the Amelia Island races in January!
Question of the Afternoon
- What are three simple things in your life that bring you joy?
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LOVE all your ABCs.. This sounds creeper status, but I feel like we’d be good friends if we lived in the same city! Anyways, I need to get my butt in gear w freelancing – always appreciate your tips!
Happy Friday!
just discovered your blog through Pinterest and i’ve become obsessed! you are so helpful and funny 🙂 so glad i discovered your blog!!
XANTHAN GUM.
i thought of that one, actually! but i think it was upsetting my stomach for a while there so i haven’t used it recently. rocky relationship.
xylitol?
My husband loves it when I add xanthan gum to our smoothies. It makes a huge difference!
hmmm 3 things that bring me joy? Food wise would DEF be the dark chocolate almond butter I got :p My sister brings me joy too– we’re best friends 🙂 and my Boyfriend 🙂
and the fact that it stopped raining as of now so hopefully my drive home won’t be too crazy haha
three simple things:
1. blogging – I just started about 5 weeks ago and I am HOOKED, to say the least.
2. the boyfriend – pretty self explanatory.
3. the parmesan garlic popchips I can’t keep my hands off of. So yummy. 🙂
Howdy! I am a senior at Texas A&M University, and I find it trying at times to maintain a healthy lifestyle in college. Your blog has helped broaden my recipe list for the foods I try to keep fit on. I am also engaged, so reading your wedding stories was great! Sean and I will definitely do the behind the door thing. I created a grocery list by looking at your recipes and just tried a chocolate strawberry smoothie and watermelon arugula salad. I got so full, but still feel so great! What I’m trying to say, is keep up the great posts! I’m looking forward to trying more recipes and workouts!
My family (that includes my kitty), my home and yes exercise!
That Gilligan poster cracked me up!
Fun post; thanks for sharing 🙂
Fun post!
Happy Friday!
Definitely my boyfriend and my family, every kind of food (except bacon – i know, i’m the only one on the planet that doesn’t like bacon!), and exercising 🙂
Simple things: good friends, beautiful weather, running pain-free!
about those adora calcium disks- im 17 and my mom and i both eat those every day. i usually eat two a day, usually one after lunch and after dinner! they are soooo good! they’re like candy more than a vitamin! i was just going to tell you that me and my mom order them online at drugstore.com and we order a ton and they are just shipped to our house! love them!!
I love my gummy vitamins too! I’m 20% into Gone Girl and liking it so far. And my dog brings me more joy than I ever could have imagined 🙂
Simple thing: A healthy animal!! I just found our my beloved 10 year old Boston has a non-operable cancer tumor and we don’t know how much longer we have with him. I will simply enjoy every second we have with him from here on out!!!
I have been wanting to do this A-Z post, too! Some random things that make me happy…farmer’s markets, cooking and trying new restaurants (just love food!!), the face my dog makes that makes him look like a bunny rabbit, hitting a heavy bag, and ice cream!!!
Blogging, Cooking, Family! 🙂
I love the ass grass and the Gilligan poster! It was just the thing I needed to pass this looooonnnng Friday afternoon at work. I can’t stop laughing now!
I think I’m going to do this survey next week! I love being at home too. It’s comforting.
Awww you and Ryan are so cute! Such a fun survey 🙂
i just read the ass grass post because obviously i had to with a seductive title like that. it reminded me of this time (preface: this is gross, but since you told the ass grass story i feel like it’s okay) my family dog sheila ate a baseball. she was not really a fetching dog, but she loved to chew, and one day she found and chewed up an entire baseball. in case you didn’t know, the inside of baseballs is basically a very tightly wound ball of string. well, a lot of that string was consumed during the chewing process and therefore, sweet, dumb, sheila had to process all of that string. she walked around for the next few days with string hanging out of her butt after every poop. before that happened, i had no idea that dogs could look embarrassed. if sheila weren’t so brown, she would have been BRIGHT red, i’m sure of it. still one of my funniest memories with my dog.
I found Adora discs on amazon for less than $10. Not sure if that’s a good buy or not, since I can’t find them around here, but I’m obsessed with Amazon. I could live as a comfortable hermit because of that site. And Pizzahut.com.
My 3 things are: my children, cooking, and a heck of a good deal at my favorite thrift store 🙂
Love it!
B-for BodyPUMP
M-Massages
K-kale!
Love ’em.
Pandora did that to me too with Hallelujah! I thumbs downed it, too.
Three things that bring me joy:
1. My dog, he is such a ham that you can’t help but love him. 🙂
2. My HOUSE… it is totally my sanctuary. Comfy, cozy, fun, welcoming, warm, etc.!
3. My family, friends, and my boyfriend (does that make this 5 things that bring me joy? ;)). I love them all SOOOO much! Time spent with them is the best!
I would have to say that these 3 things make me happy everyday: 1. My husband 2. My health 3. My best friend
I cannot stop reading gone girl!!! However it went the way I thought it was going to but still has my interest!
Summer nights, unexpected phone calls and the first bite of breakfast make me happy 🙂
Breakfast, family and the rain. Sounds silly but in my house in Seattle family breakfast on the weekends was a big deal! Can’t wait for a re-do of this great tradition over labor day with the extended family.
I love your list! it’s great to reflect on simple things
First glass of wine, Thursday evenings thinking about Friday, Getting magazines in the mail 🙂
I love that dog sign! Makes me want to make one for my pup 🙂
I agree with Meghan above me – getting magazines makes me so happy!
What you said about your relationship with your pandora station was hilarious. I laughed out loud at that dog sign too. Haha
Love Pandora!! I don’t know what I did before it. Oh yes I do, I burned cheesy CD mixes. And before that I waited until a song I like came on the radio and recorded it to a cassette tape. haha
I just received Gone Girl in the mail 2 hours ago! Can’t wait.
X is funny. My daughter’s boyfriend said if he has a little boy he wants to all him Xavier Raymond. I said it was cute then my daughter said “WAIT, tell her why”. He said so he could call him Xray!
@Heather: So the deal with osteopenia is that it is common in both post menopausal and young women – two completely different age groups. It is especially common (~20%) in young female athletes. Often times diet may not play a role at all, some people who are naturally slim, just have lower bone density which results in more fragile bones. And although it never hurts to take Ca supplements, recent studies have shown that the body is more effective at absorbing Ca when it is ingested through one’s diet.
I’m finishing up medical school now but if you do have any questions you should definitely ask your doctor. Hope that helps!
thanks, skyler! super helpful. i am not young or naturally thin, but I could still work on getting more ca in my diet thru greens.
ooooo. it makes me nervous that someone like you was diagnosed with osteopenia? esp. b/c you seem to eat healthfully, do weight bearing exercise and strength train. i don’t eat a lot of dairy, and i don’t take calcium supps. was this awhile ago or a family thing?
hi heather! see skyler’s comment (above). she accidentally replied to jacki, but i didn’t want you to miss her comment!
as for osteopenia, i was diagnosed back in 2006 (before i started taking a calcium supplement) and osteoperosis runs in my family.
Thx. I understand more now. Love the education 🙂
Three simple things: My family, music, and a peaceful tummy.
Peanut butter – but I know you get that one! 😉
Friends and Family
Exercise and writing – both are easily forms of stress relief for me. I couldn’t live without ’em.
Where did you get the flower prints you have hanging on the wall above your desk? So bright & cheerful – love them!
thanks! they’re from IKEA.
I wish you would tell us more about some of your free lance pieces. I think sometimes I forget that you (and others) do more than just blog and I would love to know more about it! 🙂
1 ~ Waking up in the middle of the night thinking its already time to wake up to realize its barely midnight…it’s like fooling father time!
2 ~ Glass of Merlot.
3 ~ Kissing my daughters goodnight.
I have to agree with your O:Oreo bday ice cream is my favorite ice cream. I’ve been trying to stock up on it, because I know its nit going to be on shelves for much longer. Oreos bday was in Feb. Some other things that bring me joy are:
P: peanut butter!!
A: Addison (3)and Aubrey(4months); my two nieces.
J:Jesus
K:Kindergarteners(I’m a K teacher)
S: Summer!!!…too bad mine is over. I just had our first week of school. 🙁
R:Running!!!! 🙂
3 things that make me happy…
1. my boyfriend, Max. He is so supportive and loving and makes me feel incredibly lucky
2. being able to teach yoga. This had been a dream of mine for a few years and the fact that I was able to achieve it really makes me smile.
3. the feeling I get after I complete a really tough workout. 🙂
A few things –
1. GONE GIRL IS AWESOME. I finished it about a month ago and I still know what part you are referring to.I thought I was going to die if I couldn’t continue reading.
2. I love that picture of the dog on the poster. Oh my gosh, I kind of want to do one for Charlie so others know just how awesome he is.
what a fun and cute post Julie! 😀
1. God’s love
2. Husband and his quirks
3. fitness, yummy recipes, blogging, and so much more I can’t chooooose!
4. COFFEE and TEA.
I am in New Orleans right now for work for 5 days! While it’s a really neat city with lots of culture and people it is rather dirty and smells weird! Oh lawd the smells LOL!! My boss and I have found ourselves covering our noses with our shirts numerous times. I am having fun on this work trip so you definitely have fun for the party!
GONE GIRL!! Oh my gosh – I read it in a day and a half while on vacation this week. It seriously kept me guessing the ENITRE time. Amy – what a CRAZY bitch. 😉
Well my most recent things: my boyfriend setting the table so we can chat whilst we have dinner, mum putting some problem foods for me in opaque containers and my little Dotti (dog).
Love following all of your fitness and nutrition! Do you workout everyday? Or take a day off to recover?
i always take at least one day off a week. you can see all of my workouts logged here: https://www.pbfingers.com/work-it-out/daily-workout-log/
I loved Gone Girl. Gillian Flynn’s first Novel, Dark Places is really twisted too.
New Orleans you say? My hometown! Have fun in my neck of the woods!