My Amazing August Recap

Happy last day of August!

This year is flying by and I love it! I just read my comment in the beginning of August about summer ("By Labor Day, despite living in the Sunshine State, I will feel like summer is long gone.") vs. my comment this week about it lasting for many more months. Haha! Whoops...guess I'm a little indecisive on that issue. ;-)

Do you remember my list of ways I wanted to make August amazing? Let's see how I did...

10 Ways to Make August Amazing!

1. Celebrate Seasonal Produce. I'm going to keep checking out my local farmer's market and fill every meal with delicious fruit and veggies that scream summer like watermelon, zucchini, salads, etc. Check! My sister and I have a standing Saturday date at the farmer's market. We just discovered the kettle corn...O.M.G. It's fantabulous! Kettle corn is produce, right? Right?! Seriously, I have been using a lot of fresh, summer produce like corn, tomatoes, summer squash, watermelon, etc., and we have been loving it!

2. Take a new class. There are 3 new fitness classes at the Y that I've been eyeballing- Zumba, Bootcamp, and Kickboxing. I tried out Power Yoga last month and liked it much better than the other yoga classes offered. Maybe I'll find another class to add to the rotation this month! Whoops. I fully intended to try every single one of these classes...that didn't happen. I still want to try them out though because variety is the spice of life and it keeps me from getting bored! Moving this to next month's list.

3.  Host and Olympics-watching party! Not sure I'll be doing this...the hubby and I work (what feels like) really loooong hours so we don't socialize much during the week. I HAVE been glued to the tv every evening watching the gymnastics, beach volleyball, and swimming competitions! Love me some Summer Olympics! Like I said before, I didnt' host a party, but we did soak up the olumpics. I felt like a little girl again, enthralled by the gymnasts and their skills. :-)

4.  Engage in an act of kindness.  Hmmm...I've got some ideas, but I like to keep my kind acts a surprise for the recipient. It's so much more fun that way. :D Staying a surprise...

5.  Plan a date night. I have already planned a Sister date night...now I just have to plan a special date night with the love of my life...any great ideas? My husband and I had a lovely date night this week- dinner, wine, desserts, our favorite tv show on Netflix. It wasn't really planned out in advance, but turned out to be exactly what I needed and oh-so perfect! He makes everything wonderful.

6.  Change something.  I'm thinking about organizing my apartment for this one...what do you think? Pantry and closet overhaul! WOOT! I can't be the only woman who gets excited about organizing, right? Riiiight. I'm also contemplating an outlook change. I know this isn't something you just "change," but I'd like to work on being more self-affirming...baby steps. I did overhaul my pantry. It is a million times better! And of course, the pantry organization led to rearranging the kitchen too.

7.  Start a new book. I've read some great books already this summer. My favorite so far was "Bloom" by Kelle Hampton. LOVED every minute of that book. The August book list includes: Odd Apocalypse by Dean Koontz, Wild by Cheryl Strayed (if I can ever find it at the library), Off Balance by Dominique Moceanu, and I'd like to read Divergent by Veronica Roth, but that one has been MIA at my local library for months. I read Odd Apocalypse. It was fantastic!

8.  Invest in new workout gear! I'm dying for a pair of Sketchers Go Run! shoes...  I picked up new running tanks and shorts, and a couple awesome items on clearance at Kohls- running capris (that I'm mostly using as yoga capris) and a half-zip running pullover. The pullover is amazing. It has those thumb holes. I can't wait until I can pretend it is cold enough to wear it! ;-)
9.  Pick a race to do with a friend! There's a 15k I want to run in September. It isn't in August, but its close! I'm trying to talk my sister into running it with me, or at least running the 5k. My sis and I are running the race in September! I've been training for it and am so excited to finally run it!

10. Commit to strength training. After participating in the Fitnessista's Summer Shape Up 2012 and loving it, I decided to give it another round this month. Because I'm training for the 15k in September and my first (EEK!) half marathon in February, I had to modify to keep my running workouts on consistent days (Tue, Thurs, Sun). I'm hoping it is still as effective, but I also know there was no way I could manage the stress of having my runs juggled around right now. Less stress = the way to go. I finished up my second round of the Fitnessista's Summer Shape Up 2012. I loved it the second time around as much as the first! I also love the definition I've started to see in my upper body. I'm looking for something to challenge me again in September...hmmm.

Did you meet any of your Amazing August goals?