Loving: cooking and CrossFit! Since I started CrossFit I decided to go Paleo and I'm loving it. I'm not doing it 100% all of the time (more like 90/10), and it's been a lot of fun trying out new recipes. A good chunk of my close girlfriends eat the same way, so we've been having a great time trading recipes and ideas. I've been enjoying a couple blogs - PaleOMG and Everyday Paleo (recommended by Emily), and this morning I'm actually making the crockpot Green Chile Chili from PaleOMG that looks delicious. I'll post most things that I like on my Instagram, so feel free to follow along there too (@danihampton). I've been trying not to talk too much about CrossFit here because I could go on forever about how much I've fallen in love with it over the last 3 weeks, but I will talk about it now and again. The craziest thing to me is how I've been working out forever and always felt "in shape," but never really at my personal best or in tip top condition. I liked the way I looked but never thought I looked the very best I could or how I totally wanted to look. I had been doing the same exercise stuff forever and I think even though I'd mix it up, I was in a rut. 3 weeks of doing CrossFit and I've seen more results than I've ever seen in my strength and even my appearance. Pretty awesome and I am absolutely hooked. Hank also goes 5 days a week and is loving it. And I love that we are doing this together.
Reading: Looking For Alaska by John Green. I finished 50 Shades. (Very) bad writing, I know, but you're talking to the girl who really enjoyed Twilight, every Nicolas Sparks book every written, and a million other ridiculous books like The Uglies series. It's kind of my "turn off my brain" literature and I love it. But John Green's books are totally the opposite; they make you think about so many different things and really take your emotions for a ride. After I finished The Fault in Our Stars (see my review here) so many of you recommended this book, and I'm so happy I started it. It's amazing, and I'm only about 1/3 of the way in. I'll do a full review when I'm done.
Watching: Pretty Little Liars. So I guess this post is really just highlighting my cheesy side because here's another ABC Family show I've fallen in love with. My love affair with this network started with Make It Or Break It, and is continuing with this gem. I've heard about it forever and the other night Henry went to bed a little earlier than usual so I turned on Netflix to try and find a new series to get into. I came across PLL (I love it so much it's even getting an acronym now) and asked Twitter, yay or nay. The resounding answer was yay! I started it and was immediately hooked. I'm only about 5 episodes in, but I can tell I'll definitely be enjoying it for awhile.
Thinking about: lots of blogging stuff. Recently, I dealt with a weird bout of negativity in regards to this space. I had been feeling kind of off for awhile in regards to writing and sharing here, and I even touched on it a bit in a post last week, but it kind of went beyond that. I was stuck in this weird zone- not really sure why I felt so off, wanting to change it up, but unsure how. Oddly enough reading a bunch of negative things about me/my blog made me feel super inspired and even more excited to blog (after I got over the intital "What?! Everyone doesn't like me and think I'm the greatest thing ever?! haha...). I was confused by this reaction at first- I always knew that I wasn't everyone's cup of tea, like everyone isn't mine, but hearing that and reading that made me realize more than ever that really, who gives a shit what anyone thinks (still not totally there but working on it!). It absolutely does not matter. No matter what I do or write here there will always be someone out there who thinks it's the dumbest thing they've ever read, and at the same time there will be someone who loves it. What matters is that I am happy and feel like I am putting my best forward, and writing what I enjoy. Reading all of that made me feel even better about that, strange as it sounds.
Anticipating: tomorrow! It's a BIG day for our family...my sister and Abe find out the sex of their baby! I have a strong feeling they're having a girl, but I also thought that I was having a girl so who really knows. Their appointment is at 3:15pm and Henry and I can't wait to be in the room for the ultrasound. It's going to be awesome. It totally takes me back to the day we found out and how nerve-wracking it was. I'm so excited for my sister and Abe to have this experience too. I'll be sure to let you guys all know, as soon as I get the go-ahead!
Wishing: that I could make the next four months go by incredibly slow. I live for the fall and adore everything about it. I am already way too excited about Halloween (how is it just a little over 2 months away?!) and can't wait to decorate the house, go pumpkin picking, and enjoy all of the gorgeous fall leaves in our town. My goal is to just soak it all up as much as possible.
Making me happy: beauty tutorials on YouTube and trying out new looks with my hair and makeup, Henry being able to understand and communicate so much more, taking a ton of little videos with my phone like the one above, Chia seeds (more on this later in the week), discovering new blogs, Pink Lady apples, pedicures with Veronica, and nightly walks with Hank and Henry.
So, how about you? What are you up to today? Feel free to do your own "currently" post on your blog and link back in the comments for everyone to check out. And thanks again to my dear friend Megan for providing the original inspiration for these posts.