Friday Fives

1. Bella certainly appears to be enjoying the new couch. Chunks of fur are everywhere.

2. Just a reminder.

3. Because I have some of the coolest friends ever who know my insane love for both IPAs and Taylor Swift.

4. A group of us are starting the Whole30 Challenge on Monday. This is my mental prep weekend and meal prep weekend… and last chance to indulge in KC with my wonderful mother. The last time I gave up sugar I had to go to the doctor because my body went into a total freak out mode.

5. I had a very profound moment on Wednesday morning at about 11:30 a.m. I decided my level of interest in a person (both professionally and personally) is strongly associated with how much time they spend on your phone when I’m trying to talk to them or work with them on something. Being present with people appears to be a lot to ask of people these days.

Friday Fives

1. Holy smokes this week was a doozy. First & foremost, POP UP YOGA DSM launched. It has been brewing for up to two months in my brain and I messaged a friend who I thought would be the perfect fit to help get it up and rolling and well, here we are. Intention of it: bring yoga to all of Des Moines, not just the west side. It should be affordable (free most of the time) and accessible. Here’s where my two passions merge: community development & yoga! How cool, right? Des Moines has awesome parks, great buildings and areas that could use some human bodies. After working in the east side, I have fallen in love with some parks. Seriously, let’s yoga together. Find us on Facebook & Twitter. We will be launching our park series soon…

2. So many realizations are happening this week & this is me capturing them all:

• I don’t really care if I fail. I don’t plan on starting anything I know I’m incapable of actually executing. But if I’ve exhausted my resources & done the best I have, well, there it is. Move on.
• The more you put yourself “out there,” the more people are going to criticize you.
• People want to do good in this world, they just don’t always know how.

3. Gahhhh. I don’t know if it’s appropriate to actually say this before it comes to fruition, but let’s just say there’s some major interest in the grain elevator public art project. #eastsidepride That’s all I can say for now.

4. I have some serious procrastination issues with grad school, which has led me to make some great soup, listen to Yes Please, read Scary Close and learn all about social entrepreneurship. By the way, Donald Miller is one of my heroes. He wrote Scary Close and while the title about “finding intimacy” can be misleading (it’s not just love, folks!!), it has rocked my world. Don talks a lot about us being actors in life and hiding behind a mask because of insecurity, shame, blah blah blah. He really nails it on the head. If you’re all small-talk and don’t care about your heart & soul, this is not the book for you. If you want to dig a little bit deeper and love a little transparency/vulnerability then a) read this book and b) read all his other books. This guy convinced me to bike across the country, so be warned. 

5. Speaking of biking, I biked to work last Friday. Getting pumped for warmer weather and being more strategic about alternative transportation this spring!

Off to Minneapolis for le weekend!

 

Friday Fives

1. I managed to see and hang out with nearly all of my closest friends (and brother…gasp) to some capacity this past week and weekend. From going to the fair to random Target shopping trips, I feel so lucky to have the friends I do. 🙂 Here we are, fairing it up. Broke the Paleo for a brief moment in time. Cause…duh. This is right before a group of went to see Lady Antebellum. I don’t know why I haven’t been recruited to be in the band yet.

2. On Monday, I picked up my “little sis” to take her to Zombie Burger. She had a Rice Krispie shake and I ate a burger that basically disagreed with me for the rest of the night. We walked out of the restaurant and out popped a tooth. Such a fun thing to witness with a nine-year-old. Today, I’m visiting her and her class for lunch and then taking the rest of the afternoon off. Holla!

3. Since the moment we decided to combine three neighborhood plans into one big initiative, we had to give the initiative a name. I attended neighborhood meetings and got a lot of different votes from residents. The number one name was: Viva East Bank. Well today we are finally giving it the formal attention it deserves and going into launch mode. The east side needs some major attention – if you live in Des Moines you know that downtown gets so much of the development, but there’s not nearly the investment seen in the urban neighborhoods. Before I go on my soapbox, I’ll end with saying we have a logo! And a website! And an official email! It isn’t anything too special, but I put this little WordPress together over the past month and below is the beautiful logo created by our neighbors at 87 Central in the East Village.

4. “Most humans are never fully present in the now, because unconsciously they believe that the next moment must be more important than this one. But then you miss your whole life, which is never not now.” – Eckhart Tolle

5. I’ve become the queen of making egg scrambles, filled with the goodness of any and all vegetables. I’d like to host a scramble party, although I’m not entirely sure what that looks like. Other than mimosas will be included. Suggestions? Half kidding, half serious.

Friday Fives

1. Power Life Yoga teacher training is complete! I am not… quite… certified, but I am getting closer. I am teaching groups of friends, coworkers and focusing on some areas of growth so I can instruct people better. It will be nice to have a free weekend, although I most certainly already miss my fellow trainee family.

2. Still really loving Be More With Less posts I get delivered to my inbox. This one was thought-provoking to me and a great reminder about the reality of living a more simple life.

3. My dear mother came to town on Friday afternoon. We started out at HOQ and made our way out to the west side of town. I wasn’t super impressed with many things out there… mostly clothes, but managed to find some work professional stuff and a new bag so I don’t have to carry around a gym bag to meetings. 🙂

4. Added this little number to my home to set up a little coffee bar. Since I live and breathe that stuff, I figured it should get its own space.

5. I’m eating so beyond clean I don’t even know who I am anymore. I have always been the girl who can’t find any reason not to eat frozen yogurt or go grab Snookies ice cream at any given moment. So this Whole30 slash Paleo challenge is teaching me a lot about this thing we like to call discipline. 😉 Which I totally need in this area of my life.

Mini Frittatas & Sweet Potato Soup

I’m not the person who is going to document what I’m making during all the steps. I did that for a while back in college and it’s just too much.

What I will continue doing is taking pictures of how things turned out after they are made!

These frittatas were inspired by nom nom paleo. I used bacon instead, which I am regretting. I love prosciutto, but was at Aldi and they didn’t have it. So in all honesty, I just take the wrapped bacon off before eating it. I really only enjoy crispy bacon. It’ll be eaten, just not with the frittata. This took me forever to make. And by forever, I mean like forty minutes, but that is a long time for me. Sara Bareilles kept me going though.

Right before I made those time-consuming frittatas, I made some sweet potato basil soup from paleOMG. It sat in my crockpot and then I grabbed my fancy hand mixer and blended it into an orange mess. Delicious mess. I liked it, but not a lot. It was certainly a pleasant experience, but I didn’t fall apart and many times I do fall apart inside when something tastes so delightful. Anyway, here’s a pic. Feel free to try it. It was fairly easy to prepare.

The end. Also, I don’t claim to be Paleo. Trust me, you should see the block of cheese I’m about to devour with some fancy red wine.