Category Archives: Life

Day 3371 – Achieving Big Goals – or – Why You Should Listen To Your Spouse – or – My Plan To Run 121.9 Miles

Posted on by
3

I’ve been running on and off for years. I’ve tried so many different plans and all have failed me, or I just quit. Until now.

For a long time, Bret has encouraged me to start very small and build on my workouts. After a few plans had me running so much I couldn’t do anything else for a few days, he suggested I start by running around the block and slowly increasing. Like many things my wise husband says, it took me a long time to listen.

See, if you haven’t picked up on it so far, I’m a big jump in type of person, but then let it fizzle out. I finally took his advice and started small, 0.25 miles. It worked out to be just about around the block where we live. I would then increase the distance by 10% after my fifth run at each distance. This is my current plan and I’m at 0.61 miles.

What’s so great is that I’m not really sore after each run, which means I can run three times a week, and work out every other weekday. I can also tell that it’s juuuuuuust about at the max of what I can do. Being the numbers gal that I am, I’ve mapped out how much I’ll be increasing my runs by date and when I’ll hit different milestones.

I planned on doing different races once I hit them in my plan, so a 5K (April), then a 10k (July), then a 10 miler (September), etc. While just the improvements in distance increase alone are super motivating to me, not being at a race length yet is a little discouraging. So I was SO happy when I found Yes.Fit.

Yes.Fit is a virtual race system. Basically, there’s a race course set up, and you run it virtually…or wherever you are, really. I signed up for The Unicorn, which is a 121.9 mile run mapped out in Scotland. It starts in St. Andrews and ends in Edinburgh, My current mileage is 3.6 out of 121.1 miles. According to my math, if I can run every week, I’ll finish in about April.

Again, I am super motivated just by the act of showing up and running, but this has added a new level to my running practice. I’ve even been using Google street view to see where I’ve “run” each day. At the end, I’ll get a t-shirt. You can also get a medal, which I’m thinking I will add on since it’s going to be a nice achievement.

I’m not sure why it took me so long to listen to Bret about this. I mean, he was a personal trainer, and health is very important to him, he’s broken world records in running and actually knows what he’s talking about.

So spouses, take a listen to your spouse’s advice, especially if they are smarter than you in a certain area.

If you’re interested in doing a virtual race, whether it’s this one or one of the others they offer, check them out! My typical “affiliate policy” is that I wait until I have used something before sharing. But while I haven’t finished the race yet, and I haven’t experienced the shipping of my merch, I’m super happy with the platform and that it syncs with my running app and shows my progress on the map.

I got a Promo Code that allows you to get a discount (a big reason why I’m sharing before I finish the race) and I’ll get a gift card. This one-time discount can be applied to any race, as long as it’s your first. Use this code during checkout – hxdcxC3X Check out The Unicorn Race to sign up!

If you sign up, or if you’re using Yes.Fit now, let me know about your experiences in the comments below!

Since I don’t run and take selfies, here’s a shot of my progress in the race!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Did you like what you read? Here’s some ways you can support us and this blog!
Join our Facebook group, Planning an Epic Road Trip on Any Budget
Join the Journey With The G’s email list (bonus – you get my Epic Road Trip Budget spreadsheet)
Buy my book, Planning an Epic Road Trip on any Budget.
Buy my book, Trusting God With 2 Cents: 22 Days To Becoming A Successful Christian Business Owner.
Shop on Amazon (no additional cost to you, this gives us a percentage of what you order).
Check out our resources page.
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

Day 3370 – You Never Know What’s Going On Behind The Scenes

Posted on by
Reply

As I scrolled through my On This Day (much later in the morning thanks to blocking Facebook on my phone), I noticed this post, How Is The New Reading Plan Going?, where I talked about doing a devotional plan with Bret.

I wrote this post a few days after I got sober. I said this “Up until this morning, we’ve only missed one evening!” What I didn’t say in that particular post is that the one evening, I got plastered. I was so drunk, we couldn’t read together.

There have been many times on my blog where I only share part of a story, there are times when I cannot share the full story for a myriad of reasons. It got me thinking that we need to be aware of this in our day to day lives. There are folks out there going through things you would never know.

Sometimes it’s good things like carrying a large check into the bank that will finally pay off the debt that has taken years to pay off. Sometimes it’s the death of someone, and their pain comes across as anger. Sometimes it’s a secret, long carried, and never or very rarely shared.

I don’t think we can every truly, 100% know someone. There are just too many layers and experiences and moments that cannot be shared. As you’re going through your day today, remember that you never know what’s going on behind the scenes of someone else’s life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Did you like what you read? Here’s some ways you can support us and this blog!
Join our Facebook group, Planning an Epic Road Trip on Any Budget
Join the Journey With The G’s email list (bonus – you get my Epic Road Trip Budget spreadsheet)
Buy my book, Planning an Epic Road Trip on any Budget.
Buy my book, Trusting God With 2 Cents: 22 Days To Becoming A Successful Christian Business Owner.
Shop on Amazon (no additional cost to you, this gives us a percentage of what you order).
Check out our resources page.
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

Day 3369 – Controlling Your Environment And Watching What You Consume

Posted on by
1

Today, I just finished up An Audience of One: Reclaiming Creativity for Its Own Sake by Srinivas Rao. I absolutely loved this book and it has helped me think differently about my work and a number of other things. Today specifically, there was a section about your consumption, from what you read, and watch, and see on Facebook.

“For the most part, our consumption habits, the way in which we take in information, are incredibly reactive… Everything plants a potential seed for something we might create.” Srinivas Rao

I realized that I’ve been WAY too tied to my phone and social media sources recently. My first waking task has been checking in to a number of games to get daily rewards, checking my Facebook on this day (and any notifications that came in since I last checked), all before even getting out of bed. All these things were also my go to when I was bored.

I tried out one of his suggestions by turning my phone monochrome, which I have to say, is a BIG help, but I kept finding reasons to turn it off. Today, I took some drastic measures. I deleted every single game, even ones that I thought “make me use my brain.” I deleted messenger and blocked Facebook on my phone. I deleted the app a few weeks back, but I was still checking Facebook dozens of times per day.

In the few hours since I made that change, I actually started reading a book on Kindle I’ve put off for a while, and have felt a little better creatively.

We have to be ruthless about what we consume. We have to be aware that things we consume can help build us up or tear us down.

What are you consuming too much of….or not enough? Let me know in the comments below.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Did you like what you read? Here’s some ways you can support us and this blog!
Join our Facebook group, Planning an Epic Road Trip on Any Budget
Join the Journey With The G’s email list (bonus – you get my Epic Road Trip Budget spreadsheet)
Buy my book, Planning an Epic Road Trip on any Budget.
Buy my book, Trusting God With 2 Cents: 22 Days To Becoming A Successful Christian Business Owner.
Shop on Amazon (no additional cost to you, this gives us a percentage of what you order).
Check out our resources page.
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

Day 3368 – Update Of Reading Challenges – Read A New Book Month Day 30!

Posted on by
1

I decided to use the last day of this awesome month to share what I’ve read recently and to give an update on my reading goal. As I close out the 3rd quarter, me thinks 300 books is not going to happen. I’m shooting for 175 at this point, but we’ll how the next three months go. p.s. holy smokes this year has flown by!

I definitely learned a lot about having one focus on this blog for a month…in that I’m a fan (because I knew what to blog about) and not (because I knew what to blog about). My life is too varied and too many different things happen to be limited to one topic and I really enjoy the freedom of this blog to share whatever the heck I want. So, I can’t wait to jump back into the “I have no idea what I’m going to blog about today.”

Without further ado, here is my update.

Book #112 – Obama: An Intimate Portrait The Historic Presidency in Photographs – this fulfilled A book you heard about online in the Reading Bingo challenge. This was a really cool read and I recommend you check it out.
Book #113 – Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You – this fulfilled A book with an ugly cover in the Popsugar challenge. This was a really helpful guide to meditation and opened my eyes to different ways to meditate I’ve never tried before.
Book #114 – The Cake Therapist – this fulfilled A book with food on the cover in the Mommy Mannegren 52 books challenge. This was a slower read for me, but fun story. lol, made me hungry every time I read. 😀
Book #115 – Cape Cod and the Islands: A Drone’s Eye View by Christopher Seufert – this fulfilled none of my challenges. I’ve added in some photography books to my reading challenges and this one did not disappoint.
Book #116 – The Wendy Project by Melissa Osborne – this fulfilled a book with a character who shares your name (there was a Jen in there) in the Mommy Mannegren 52 books challenge.
Book #117 – The Many Deaths of Scott Koblish – this fulfilled a funny book in the Reading Bingo challenge.
Book #118 – Little Moments of Love by Catana Chetwynd – this fulfilled none of my challenges.
Book #119 – The Third Door: The Wild Quest to Uncover How the World’s Most Successful People Launched Their Careers by Alex Banayan – this fulfilled a book written by an author under 30 in the Mommy Mannegren 52 books challenge. This was one of the best books I’ve ever read.
Book #120 – Me & McDuff: How a Dog Inspired My Journey to a Creative Life by Leslie Oschmann – this fulfilled a book with bad reviews in the Mommy Mannegren 52 books challenge.
Book #121 – Kid President’s Guide to Being Awesome by Robby Novak – this fulfilled Read a book you’ve always meant to read in the BCPL reading challenge.
Book #122 – Blue Sky White Stars by Sarvinder Naberhaus – this fulfilled a book with your favorite color in the title in the Popsugar challenge.
Book #123 – Passive Aggressive Notes: Painfully Polite and Hilariously Hostile Writings by Kerry Miller – this fulfilled a book that scares you in the Reading Bingo challenge.
Book #124 – Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine by Mike Michalowicz – this fulfilled a book based on a true story in the Reading Bingo challenge. I highly recommend this one. We’ve already seen big changes in our finances because of this.
Book #125 – What Do You Want to Do Before You Die?: Moving, Unexpected, and Inspiring Answers to Life’s Most Important Question by The Buried Life – this fulfilled a book of social science in the Read Harder Challenge.
Book #126 – Mother Bruce by Ryan Higgins – this fulfilled the first book by a favourite author in the Reading Bingo challenge.
Book #127 – PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives by Frank Warren – this fulfilled a book about a current world issue in the Mommy Mannegren 52 books challenge.
Book #128 – Not So Different: What You Really Want to Ask About Having a Disability by Shane Burcaw – this fulfilled none of my challenges.
Book #129 – Great, Now We’ve Got Barbarians! by Jason Eaton – this fulfilled none of my challenges.
Book #130 – Real Estate Fast Track by David Finkel – this fulfilled none of my challenges.
Book #131 – Santa Bruce by Ryan Higgins – this fulfilled a book with non-human characters in the Reading Bingo challenge.

If you want to check out the full lists of each of the challenges mentioned, here they are:

The 2018 #BWELLREAD Reading Challenge
The 2018 Popsugar Reading Challenge
The 2018 Read Harder Challenge
The Mommy Mannegren 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge
Reading Bingo – this was one I got from my local library. It’s from Penguin Random house, but I can’t find a link to it.

What are you reading right now? I’m ALWAYS looking for book recommendations!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Did you like what you read? Here’s some ways you can support us and this blog!
Join our Facebook group, Planning an Epic Road Trip on Any Budget
Join the Journey With The G’s email list (bonus – you get my Epic Road Trip Budget spreadsheet)
Buy my book, Planning an Epic Road Trip on any Budget.
Buy my book, Trusting God With 2 Cents: 22 Days To Becoming A Successful Christian Business Owner.
Shop on Amazon (no additional cost to you, this gives us a percentage of what you order).
Check out our resources page.
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

Day 3367 – Read My Books! – Read A New Book Month Day 29 (And Four Years As Sober Jennilyn!)

Posted on by
Reply

I would be remiss if I didn’t suggest my own books this month. As an aside, today is my FOUR-year soberversary! If God hadn’t changed my life four years ago, I don’t know if I would be able to say I published two books.

Being sober has changed so much of my life and I’m so thankful that reading more and writing more is included in that list. I have found my voice through this blog and my books. YOU my readers, have in many ways changed my life. Your interest in my alcoholism has encouraged me to pursue writing a book about my experiences. Your blog views have meant the world to me.

My first book, Trusting God With 2 Cents: 22 Days To Becoming A Successful Christian Business Owner, was quite a journey. I learned so much about myself, writing, and what God has to say about work while writing. It started in one place (very much about ME and MY experiences) and ended in a completely different (very much what GOD says about work, and very little about me).

I always said that I would consider that book a success if just one person was impacted. If you check out the link above, you’ll see a wonderful review. That book is a success to me.

Earlier that year, 2016, we took our fourth cross-country road trip. That trip changed me in so many ways. The biggest was my love of road trips was rekindled and my desire to share the joy of more travel was set ablaze.

The worst thing I hear is “I’ve always wanted to do that, but….” I want to grab folks and say, that’s just not true! I started my journey in sharing my knowledge about road trip travel in my second book, Planning an Epic Road Trip on any Budget. I also started my road trip community on Facebook.

I definitely see that book as a success as well because of the folks who have made changes in their travel lives because of it. I’ve loved growing with my community and sharing the joys of planning for and taking trips. If you want some help planning a road trip, come join us!

Even if you haven’t (and aren’t planning on) buying/reading one of my books, you showing up here on my blog means so much to me. I’ve blogged before about wanting to stop some days, but it is you, my dear readers, who help me to carry on. You are a part of my growth as an author and a blogger. Thank you.

Check out all of my 2018 Read A New Book Month recommendations.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Did you like what you read? Here’s some ways you can support us and this blog!
Join our Facebook group, Planning an Epic Road Trip on Any Budget
Join the Journey With The G’s email list (bonus – you get my Epic Road Trip Budget spreadsheet)
Buy my book, Planning an Epic Road Trip on any Budget
Buy my book, Trusting God With 2 Cents: 22 Days To Becoming A Successful Christian Business Owner.
Shop on Amazon (no additional cost to you, this gives us a percentage of what you order).
Check out our resources page.
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel