Summer Lovin'

Hey, friends. Monday's here. Bring on the week.

During the summer, I'm the kind of person who gets bored really easily because I need to be doing something all the time - and not having a job, I find myself running out of options way too quickly.

I make to-do lists at the beginning of the week to give me a few ideas if I find myself lolly-gagging around the house - crossing off things I've done feels rather accomplishing, even if it's just something like washing my sheets. ;)

Note: the "Nutrigrain Bars," which I baked yesterday, should be called "Strawberry Crumble Bars." They're adapted from Angela's recipe, and they turned out seriously decadent! (Shh! They're whole-grain, low sugar, and vegan!)

Rebekah and Mom promptly gobbled some up before I even told them how healthy they were. Vegan win. The secret was Mom's homemade strawberry jam.

With summer finally being here, I realized that I've just gotten to my first blogging anniversary! I started blogging last summer to kind of keep myself on track and share my successes as I was navigating my way through the later stages of recovery. I spent a little bit of the morning looking back on those posts just to see what was going on in my life at that point - my, how things have changed.

I'll admit, I kind of thought I would have been writing posts at that point through rose-colored glasses, but I realized that all of them were really true to how I was feeling. Last summer, I had just gotten the okay to do any sort of physical activity on a regular basis, and that was seriously exciting for me! I swore I'd ever be able to run again, and here I am now getting ready to go out for a jog this morning.

On the food front, I can definitely see where I was still struggling - even just subtle indicators - but hey, I've learned, and I've confronted those issues.

Needless to say, I am so looking forward to this summer - it's going to be even better than last year!

This year kind of skipped spring - it was cold, then kind of warmish for a couple of weeks, and now the heat is starting to really kick in! The desert heat should be following behind soon. 

Things I love about summer:

Laid-back attire. My typical "summer look" is t-shirt, hair in a bun, bangs pinned back.....

Smooootthiiieess. I am a die-hard oatmeal girl, but smoothies are so much more appealing after sweating it out oustide.

Which brings me to getting outside! Hikes, walks, bikes, pool, wooohoooo.

Photography - without school, I have more time to think about getting good pictures throughout my day, which would tend to really lack throughout the school year. Unless all you wanted were pictures of notebooks!

Fresh, summer foods. Nectarines and peaches are at the top of my "I can't wait for" list. Mom and I will be heading out to some farmers' markets pretty soon. 

New York City! HolycrapI'msoexcitedIcan'teventhink. T-minus 13 days!

                               

Pinterest recipes and activities. Check out this balsamic veggies and quinoa bowl!

Have a fantastic start to summer the week!