the blog is moving!

yep. 

a new name. new direction. new look. 

i started the belle account years ago as a way to document my move from alabama to texas. i'd always journaled in one way or another, and it felt like a good way to keep family and friends up to date on my life while i was 100s of miles away.  

now that i've gotten married, changed names, and finished school, it seemed like a good time to make the blog switch one final time. i'm calling it my grown up blog. :]

i'll continue to craft, decorate, and post a nauseating number of pictures of the fur babies, but i'm also hoping to blog more about our life and family in general...

so if you'd like to follow along, click here or the picture above to visit!

You can also follow our blog at bloglovin!

7/52

Our Griffin monster is a crier...pretty much every single second of every day. Last week I finally broke down and got him a thundershirt hoping that it would help with some of his anxiety. This little grey shirt has been an epic success in the Osborn household. Grif seems much more calm and comfortable, and I no longer want to pull my hair out every evening. He also rocks the shirt look pretty well! We may have to invest in some additional colors and styles. :)

6/52

There is nothing Miss Stella loves more than a toy battle.

10,000 steps: one month in

One of my resolutions for 2014 is 10,000 steps a day. 

Husband and I have made a pact to be more active this year and 10,000 steps a day is our way of making that a measurable reality. Back in August we were both gifted Fitbits as early Christmas gifts (thanks Mom!). The Fitbit is so stinkin' nifty. It's a wristband pedometer that allows you to track your steps, calories, etc., and lets you measure your own progress against any friends that also have a Fitbit using an app on your phone. This thing has changed the way we spend our evenings. No more coming home and turning into a couch potato, because now I can see what that looks like in terms of daily activity...and so can all my friends. It's really motivated me to spend more time on my feet during the day. I am officially a pedometer convert. 

So 10,000 steps. Daily. No excuses. To keep us moving on those not-so-motivating days, we added a little reinforcement. If we meet our goal everyday during the month, then we get to treat ourselves to a little something that we normally wouldn't splurge on. My reward this month was a Polar heart monitor, and Tanner treated himself to router table.

I know. I know. I look a hot mess. I'd just finished running! It's allowed. Anyways.

I thought it would be nice to take a little look back at the end of every month by answering a set of questions. So here's how I'm feeling one month in:

What's been the hardest part of meeting your daily goal this month? Getting my steps in when days weren't routine. We hosted some friends from Alabama for a couple days earlier this month, and it was definitely a challenge to hit 10,000 on those evenings when all I wanted to do was hang out on the couch and watch movies with my friends.

What did you choose as your reward? A Polar FT40 heart rate monitor. It is ridiculously awesome.

What time of day do you get most of your exercise? I'm still doing most of my moving and shaking when I get home from work. I'd love to be a morning exerciser, and I did wake up early a few days this morning, but I'm just not there yet. Sister likes her sleep.

What activities are you doing to meet your goal? A lot of treadmill walking (mostly a 3.5 mph) so far. I've also done some interval running/walking with a 10k training app, walking through our neighborhood, and FocusT25 workouts.

Noticing in differences in the way you feel or look? Nope, not really. Just proud that we made it through month one!

Best moment? Making it to the "twenties" this month. I knew I was going to meet my goal when we hit those last days.

Worst moment? The first day back to work from the holidays was ROUGH. I spent most of my day at my desk and got home that evening with about 1,300 steps total. That was my one really tough push-through moment this month. I cried as I got ready to leave the office and was so certain that I wouldn't be able to make my goal. I'm thankful for my supportive mister and for trashy television that helped my trudge through that rough spot.

5/52

Once January hits my spring fever gets to going and I absolutely cannot wait for sandals and sunny days. Unfortunately old man winter is not quite ready to give it up. It's been COLD around here lately, and in an attempt to liven things up around here, I planted some flower seeds! I've never been much of a green thumb. Last year I killed 2 trees and multiple potted plants...but every spring I feel the need to give it a go one more time. This is my first year of sprouts! It's pretty amazing how quickly these little guys have been growing. Every morning they look visibly taller. I'm pretty proud. :)

i'm ready for my close up

:]
those little gappy griffin teeth just get me.

happy friday!

4/52

Tanner and I visited a new "cocktail craftery" in wacotown last weekend to hear some live music and have a couple drinks. Muddle was such a cool little place. The atmosphere was nice--crowded but not overwhelming--and the drinks were great. Our favorite was called Strawberry Fields Forever, which was a whiskey and muddled strawberries mixture. Good, good stuff. I'm loving the changing face of our little city on the river. There are so many new places opening these days! We may just have to try another this weekend.

3/52

We hosted some of my favorite Alabamians this past week/weekend who were in town for theater auditions at Baylor. I love having people from my first home come visit me at my second. It was fun to act like a tourist in ole' Wacotown for a few days and visit some of the spots that you seem to forget about when you pass them everyday. Fingers crossed that Miss Beka joins the BU family this fall!

1&2/52

I need more pictures in my life. This is a fact. In an attempt to be more cognizant of my surroundings and what we're doing with our days, I'm embarking on a little photo-project for 2014. Like bleubird said last year, I'm just not ready to commit to a 'picture a day for a year' kind of thing. That's quite the lofty goal for this picture taking novice.... So instead, I'm going to stick with one picture a week. 

Naturally I am late. We're half way through week 3 -BUT- thankfully I've been taking pictures. Maybe I knew I was going to attempt this project before I really 'knew'...ya know? Hm. 

Week 1:
I got a vitamix for Christmas and it is amaaaaaaaazing. It's my new favorite kitchen toy.

Week 2:
Stella in her natural habitat.

resolutions and such

our chalkboard for the new year 

Goal setting is one of my favorite things to do. I love this time of year and try my best to take advantage of the new year enthusiasm to simplify, organize, and make room in my life for better, healthier habits.

This year my goals all revolve around a central theme: stress relief. Fall was a draining season. Work was tough, and I spent a lot of time anxious and unsettled. I picked up a lot of unhealthy habits (like copious amounts of television in the evenings) in an attempt to decompress, which didn't help one single bit. Shocking, right?

I decided that this new season would be different, and I've chosen goals that will hopefully be simple, healthy, and stress relieving. Here is what I've committed to:

• Taking my work email off of my phone. Such a handy tool...so anxiety provoking. No more Friday evening emails to stress over for the next 3 days. I'll only be answering (and looking at) work-related emails during work hours.
• Walking/running at least 10,000 steps a day. I feel so much better when I'm active. I've put a reward system in place (like a new pair of lululemon pants!!!) for each month that I get my 10,000 steps every day. Hopefully this will encourage me to push through the early months when habits are still forming. 
• Clean eating 80% of the time. Like exercise, I just feel better when I eat well.  "Clean eating" can be so vague, and honestly, I'm still trying to figure out what it means for my life. Where I think we are headed is non-processed, organic foods that nourish. Lots of vegetables and lean meats. Foods that are high in fiber and protein. No added sugars. Smaller amounts of dairy. My thoughts on clean eating are still changing and forming...and so what this looks like for our family may very well morph in time.
• Unplugging at least 30 minutes before bed. I love my social media, but sometimes it just stresses me out. Nobody needs that right before sleep. That time is much better spent reading, preparing for the next day, or catching up with the mister. 

So there you have it! My goals. I'm sticking to them so far! We've been eating well, exercising most days, and moving all days. I took work email off of my phone on the 1st, and I instantly felt lighter. It's been so nice. Unplugging at night as been difficult, but I'm confident it will get easier with time.

We start back to work on Monday and I feel more peace about going back than I have in a long time. I think that's a good start. :]