Born. to. Run.

Some of you may have this book, some of you may have heard of this book, and some of you may not know what it is or care.  If the latter describes you, maybe this post will make you want to go buy this awesome book. 

I have heard many great things about this book such as, it got a non runner off the couch and out on the streets in no time, it changed the way runners think while running, or it actually made running fun.  I just got the paperback version in the mail yesterday (pre-ordered on Amazon for $8 bucks and it arrived the very next day it was coming out!)...actually Nick and I were sitting on our porch when it got delivered...I was so excited that I opened it up right then and there!  So I will start my new book today and I hope it changes the way I think and feel while running....to be honest, I think I am almost more excited about this book than I have ever been about anything!  Happy Wednesday!

*I will post my thoughts a/o favorite parts of the book in later posts :) 

my heart is heavy...

for many reasons....Japan, for one...my cousin and cousin-in-law (this is her husband, that I refuse to say he is just that...he is my cousin :) ) lived in Iwaki, Japan for 3 years and just recently within this year moved to Germany....what if they were still there?  God is good.
I read my friends amazing blog, where she has this charity on her page, and I have been wanting to help out since I have heard about the quake so today, I did.  I want to pass this on to whoever reads my blog:

if your heart is heavy and you want to help out, please do :) any bit helps.

My heart is heavy because of things going on personally....I continue to see God, and I continue to make Him my focus everyday....Nick and I both have made more of an effort to incorporate Him and to walk more by faith.  I can tell you that I have seen God move ever so slightly, but just because I don't see a lot of movement doesn't mean He isn't shaping our lives to be even better.  God is good.  With every tear I shed or every doubt that I have, I know that He is with me, He is with us...

This Saturday we took our dogs to the beach.  It was Lucy's first time... I think she was scared of the water...Yes, she is a Golden Retriever.  No, she doesn't care for the water.  Nick threw her in, she learned to swim, we will see how she takes it next time :)  Not the best pic of me, but she's cute :)

Aren't they cute?

Sparkling Thursday

Well, it's not so sparkly, but I feel like if I say that enough I will like this Thursday a little bit more.  Plus I love all things sparkly so I felt it just fit the title.  I also feel like Thursdays get the shaft when it comes to the days of the week and which days you like and which days you hate.  To me, Thursday is 1 day closer to Friday which for me, is Heaven because, ummm hello, that means the weekend is here!  But for others, also known as the more pessimistic kind, it means, we still have to go through the day just to get to Friday.  When I was in college, Thursday was my Friday.  I was done with classes then usually went out with friends that night, went to work the next morning, usually not feeling so "awake".  Not the case anymore....this girl has turned in her party hat for her running shoes and a bedtime nicely set at 9 pm every night.  Even on the weekends. 

Now that I am done with that rant, I realize I have been MIA lately.  My apologies.  I do want to try to get better at my blogging skills.  Wanted to keep you all up to date, remember this post?  I have already done some of my goals!! 

1. Legally change my name to Gray- Check!  Phewww...that was a toughy....after talking to the lady at the Social Security office about Hawaii and how she hated it, almost being late coming back to work (went on my lunch break), getting the stink eye because I made an appointment at the DMV instead of standing in that wretched line, and taking the new picture I am done....and I wonder if my picture turned out good.
2. Joint Checking-Almost check!  All we need is a copy of my new license and then we are set....C'mon California State Department, get on that license so I can do joint checking please!
3. Save money.  Wellll.......define save money.  I will say we are doing better with our budget and are not as tight as we were...however, I highly doubt we will be getting on  plane to go to Maui anytime soon.  In good time we will :)
4. I am going to go ahead and skip over #4 as I am still learning how to "go with the flow".
5. I am getting faster!!! and my legs are hurting because of it :)
6. The house is slowly coming together!  Nick bought me a rolling cart for the kitchen as my Valentines gift....Perfect present :)  We also got this bad boy for the wall.  Love it! 
7. Ahhhh probably the most important yet....my business.  I am happy to say that it is slowly (key word there) coming together.  I am not ready to unveil the website yet and most likely won't be for a while, but I am happy to report that I am in talks with some lovely people and it will come together.

I hope everyone is enjoying their Thursday and I hope it's sparkly for you all :) 

Transition from Hobby to Professional...

...is exciting and daunting at the same time, let me tell you.

Wanted to share my latelies as of this week with some of you.  My side business is becoming more and more real as I type this.  But as of today I now have my very own domaine name for my invitation suite business!!  My plan is to really work on it tomorrow, creating my logo and then putting it up on my professional blog :)  So I guess I have unofficially, officially started my business!  It will be a few weeks until I am able to share it with you all, I want to make sure I beautify it and get it exactly how I want it until I send it out to the real world.  :)

a prayer blog...

Today's post may be a little bit more personal than my normal post, and I will be honest, I think I am being far more honest and vulnerable on here than I have to anyone in a long time.  Some things have been on my mind lately and I feel that I keep seeing signs that lead me to writing this very post. 

I don't want to bother other people with my prayer requests. 
There I said it.

I often wonder if other people feel the same as I do sometimes.  Growing up I was taught to be prayerful, faithful, and true to God and all will be well.  I constantly surrounded myself with others that have the same morals and values and I have always had that one person that was my prayer buddy.  And when I had prayer requests or praises, I always shared them with others.  But as life has gotten busier and the hours in the day just seem to not be enough,  I have found myself not being diligent in confiding in my accountability partner. And not because I don't trust her or feel that I can go to her, but more because life has gotten me so bogged down sometimes almost all the time.  That at the end of the day I just don't want to bother other people with things sometimes.  And just as of yesterday, I realized that that's not being fair.  It's not fair to me, to my prayer buddy, to God, and to those around me. 

So I sat there for a while last night...in the stillness of the night (that's a song right?) and thought this isn't right.  I realized that I need that person in my life every day.  No questions asked.  And that instant, I made the decision to be honest, and to make it a point to let you all know that I have been doing this.

I also want this be an open invitation for those who may feel the same way I do, to let me know how I can be praying for them.  I encourage my friends in the blog world to email me (lindseycleveland@gmail.com) with a  prayer request.  This is my promise to you that I will pray for you. 

I hope this post finds you well....and I promise to have a not-so-serious post next time.  Enjoy your Friday, the weekend is almost here :)

just a little invitation fun

I spent the last few weeks working on an invitation for a friend.  She is celebrating her daughter's 1st birthday and wanted the invitation to be girly but still keeping it chic.  I had a lot of fun making this invitation and I hope little Emmy has a wonderful 1st birthday!  (I removed some of the personal info)

2011 Resolutions?

"Making resolutions is a cleansing ritual of self assessment and repentance that demands personal honesty and, ultimately, reinforces humility. Breaking them is part of the cycle." - Eric Zorn

And because this statement is indeed very true in most people's cases....I just don't make them. However, I do make goals. This year Nick and I made a (verbal) list of goals in which we wanted to accomplish:

1. Legally change my name over to Gray. This involes 3 steps. Step 1: Obtain a certified copy of the marriage license. Check! Step 2: Go to the Social Security Office to obtain your new card. Almost Check! Step 3: Sit and wait and wait and wait at the DMV to change your driver's license....and take a new picture. Check after the beginning of Feb! Made my appointment so we could try to avoid the long wait line to do this.
2. Sign up for joint checking at the bank. Because Nick belongs to a Credit Union, this process may be longer than most. We have to go out to Pasadena and because of my work schedule this may be easier said than done. But alas, it will get done.
3. Save money to go back to Hawaii. and buy a new car....and buy a house. I believe these items on this list will be one of those "New Years Goals" for 2012 and maybe even 2013 but hopefully we can check one of those items off the list right?

A couple of my goals that I have made for myself are:

1. Make more time to relax and just go with the flow...Due to my Type A, OCD personality that I have, I find myself over-stressing about just about everything. This year is the year that I will just learn to go. with. the. flow.
2. Continue to work my miles up and train to run a little faster.
3. Do more D.I.Y projects around the house (post will be coming soon of the recent updates around the house)
4. and four....probably the biggest goal on my list...build my side business and create more brand awareness. I already have told some lovely ladies that are engaged or will soon be getting engaged to come to me with any invitation ideas/designs that I could possibly help them out with.

Over the past weekend I found myself having more conversations like #4 on my list than ever. I spoke with 2 friends of mine about their upcoming wedding and the planning process. I got so excited about helping them or as some may call it, giving them un-solicited advice that I was beaming with excitement. It was hard to translate their confused look on their face but I am almost pretty sure that they were just overwhelmed with the daunting tasks of a D.I.Y wedding. I can totally relate to this by the way, because it is just that, daunting. But overall, it is fun and I tell anyone and everyone...if I was ok with giving my weekends up I would trade my sales job in for a wedding planner position. But I am just not ok with doing that. So instead I help my friends out when they need me. And not to mention, I help design their invitations. :)

Last but not least, I do need to say this, I got my first job (assignment) since I decided to make this a public announcement and currently I am designing a friends, daughters first birthday invitation. Can you say, hot pink fun girly chic inspirations? I am having a blast doing it and can't wait to post it when it's completed.