Wear this.

 

DRESS: MARA HOFFMAN $396
SHOES: JEFFREY CAMPBELL $220

year two

August 20th this year marked our second wedding anniversary... and in typical Ben-Dana fashion, we didn't exchange gifts (all I - always - want is to spend time together and maybe dress up & go out to eat). This year we've made tremendous strides in paying down our debt and gaining some financial stability - that it seems silly to give each other gifts when all we want is to use that money to buy paint, wainscoting, build our savings, or a new couch.

The other weekend we saw someone's save-the-date on our friend's fridge. It was cute, as it showed a short timeline of when they met, fell in love, proposed, and are getting married. Ben compared our timeline:

2005, met.
2005, fell in love.
2009, started dating.
2010, proposed.
2011, wedding.

Sooo, we were a little out of the normal cycle but it worked out perfectly IMO. I was crazy for Ben the moment we met in physics lab. That kind of - needtobearoundyouconstantly kind of love. It provided literally the best friendship I ever had. I was really busy with schoolwork (of course, we had the same degree/classes) and beyond involved in SWE and another half dozen organizations on campus. I didn't have time for dating my future husband.

But I kept him close.
And he kept me close.

And when it was time to graduate, grow up, and move across the country, I finally listened to my heart. And I made sure I would never be without Ben, my best friend.

xxdana

Being aware - health

 

 I've been feeling really good lately - having those moments where my body feels clean, my mind is sound and my clothes have been fitting looser. I'd like to attribute it to a few things:

1) Getting out of my workout safety net

2) Meal Planning

3) Getting more sleep and having more fun

1) Getting out of your workout rut - you've heard this before, I know. Me too. I've always loved work out, instructor led classes. They can be tough, intense, but also a little repetitive. So after I got my strength and toughness back from working out at a local fitness center, I signed up for a weekly running club and started cycling once every other week. I started noticing a huge difference after three cycling classes. The combination keeps me fresh and working on all aspects of my body.

2) Meal Planning - We primarily use three recipe books to plan out our meals each week (also the internet, if we have a certain ingredient we want to use up! We use Smitten Kitchen, Dinner: a love story, and It's all good. They are great books that we are always finding more recipes from. We also buy our breakfasts and snacks (we eat at work) during each shopping trip. My breakfast currently includes plain greek yogurt (less than 5g sugar) with a handful of berries, a half cup of almonds or cashews to snack on, a piece of fruit.  Lunch is always leftovers, and the afternoon snack tends to be a vegetable (cucumber slices, carrots, broccoli) dipped into hummus. My 2pm carb cravings have  significantly decreased eating this way. I also try to avoid coffee (or at least sugar laced lattes and mochas!) as best I can. Needless to say, this saves some serious cash - going from $12/day (latte, breakfast snack, lunch) at the work cafeteria, to about $6 when I bring and make my own food which is a lot healthier.

3) Get more sleep, be more fun. For the last four years I was always tired. I wasn't losing any weight and I couldn't seem to find myself out of this constant rut cloud. I would get tested for thyroid problems and the tests would come back normal. Then I got a new job, had less stress, and started managing my work, workouts, my SWE to-do list, social and work on the house schedule a lot better. And it helped because I didn't have to be at work really really early, and I made going to bed early a priority. It is so obvious now, that the days I cheat and binge on crunchy carbs, are the days when I am running on less than 7 hours of sleep.

What are your triggers or pitfalls? 

are you actively tackling them?