.the numbers are in.

I've calculated the miles from March when I either ran or walked intentionally ....

drumroll please......

With my longest runs being 6 miles and 8 miles at one time. 

My goal for April is to move more miles than March and keep building on this success! 

.Oregon Coast - Part 2.

Please enjoy some more photos of our quick trip to the Oregon Coast in December! I honestly can't wait to go and take all my friends who visit me to the coast. Coming from a land lock state that is filled with over 10,000 lakes, it still has nothing like the ocean (even though Lake Superior comes pretty close). I will always hear the ocean call my name and am happy to answer the call from time to time. 

(PSSSTTTTTTT....you can view Part 1, first..if you want..or after..whichever)

.when you see a turn off with a great view, you HAVE to pull over and 

place your bulldog in front of the view for a picture!! It's a MUST!!!.

.Pacific City, Oregon. 

This little gem was hidden off the main road. When driving down the highway we saw a scenic highway sign and took a sudden turn without thinking. The road lead us to a very small town, we turned down some really small roads and landed in this beautiful spot. We climbed a sandy hill, ran through the tall grass, and enjoyed the view that we had all to ourselves. 

.Rockaway Beach, Oregon. 

.Hug Point. 

(yes, we did hug...of course)

.Cannon Beach, Oregon. 

Have you seen The Goonies ( Hey you guuyyyyysssssss!!!!)? Well, if you have then you have seen Cannon Beach and you would love it as much as you love the movie!!! I truly wish we would have arrived earlier and spent more time at Cannon Beach, but I guess making it in time for the sunset is just as wonderful! Dave and I first pulled into a viewing spot, got out, pulled the end scene of The Goonies up on our iphones....and then realized we were on the wrong side of the rock! So into the car we went to try and get on the correct side because I HAD to see it just like in the movie. I don't know why I had to but I just did! 

Most of our stops along the coast, Dave and I had to ourselves. It was so peaceful, beautiful, and relaxing to take little breaks staring out into the ocean. The only spots we encountered a lot of other tourists were Hug Point and Cannon Beach.  Even though they had lots of tourists, I would go back to both places to explore more. The coast is only 1 hour 30 min. away from Portland, so if you are in the area make sure you take a day to explore! I know we will be making many trips this summer, answering those calls of the ocean whenever them ring us come!

.5 goods things this week.

1. Girls on the Run PDX started this week!!! This is my third season coaching and the first time in Portland. I'm super excited to get to know the girls better and get to running! This week we got to know everyone on our team and how to plug into the positive Girls on the Run plug!

2. This RV is now mine and I have MAJOR plans for it!! Making such a big purchase and moving forward with my dream makes me excited and want to throw up all at the same time! I don't like not knowing what I'm doing and this is all that waits ahead of me! 

3. Housewives of New York City is back!!!! YEEEEEESSSSSS!!!!!!! I love these crazy, loud, rude, entitled, dramatic (I could go on) ladies. I think it's because I don't have drama in my life (don't want it either) but I love watching it on tv. I'm such a sucker for trashy reality tv...I can't help it. How can someone not love Ramona 'Crazy Eyes' Singer? 

4. People doing amazing things for abandoned puppies - melts my heart and makes me cry. Have you read this story yet, about the dog someone thought was a pile of trash? Thankfully, they took a closer look and discovered it was a dog and then changed the dogs life forever. It was an amazing transformation from heavy, matted furball to a handsome prince. 

5. I got a job (part time) with this amazing non-profit!! I am sooo excited to go and start work on Monday! The Friends of the Library works to raise funds so that the library never has to worry about it's budget getting cut by the government. I LOVE the library and now I get to help support it while getting paid...amazing!!

.march goals.

For some reason, March just feels like a month of change. It could be because winter is slowly leaving and spring is just around the corner, the air starts to feel different. But there is something in the air, Dave feels it too. So what  a great month to start blogging again, making goals, and start to make some needed little changes in life.  

I believe in making small, attainable goals that push me towards living the life I picture for myself.   Here are the goals I have for March:

1. Bake a loaf a bread - different bloggers make it look so easy and I LOOOOVVEEE bread. So, why not push myself a little and try to make it myself! 

2. Create weekly meal plans - meal planning is a struggle for me. At the beginning of each week, I feel like I've never cooked before and have no idea what I like to eat...so we just eat stuff, not meals, stuff. Ick! I'm starting to pin away recipes on pinterest, so hopefully I actually have meals planned and not just all the delicious desserts I find!

3. BLOG!! - yay! I noticed when I was blogging regularly, I was happy. I had things to say, adventures to plan, music and outfits to share, and felt like what I was doing was worthwhile! When I don't blog, I feel kind of blue and boring. SOOOO, here we go, you my friend will be getting LOTS more of me..like it or not! 

4. Post 3 outfit posts/week - Currently, I nanny full time so I'm not getting dressed up for the 9 hours I am with two little kids. But on weekends I love getting dressed a bit, I'm hoping by posting outfits that I will actually get dressed more during the week as well!

5. Run a mile every day - ARRRGGHHHH!! I haven't really ran since my half marathon in October. I had a hip injury and then you know....I got lazy, real lazy. I need to get back to running regularly, so running a mile will help with that. The hardest part is to actually go out and run, but a mile is only 11 min. and I can do that. The hope is that when I'm running my mile, I just keep running because the hardest part is done, I've already started!  

6. NO TV 1 day/week - I love t.v., it's true. I LOVE reality t.v. and I watch it more than I should and I will lie to you about the hours if you ever ask me! There are more important things I could be doing with my time, so I'm going to try and ween myself off of tv slowly.  But the Housewives of New York start this week...so I definitely  will be watching tv on that day!

I would love to hear what your goals are for the month?

 If you don't have any, you can always join me on some of mine!

.Girls On The Run (is so much fun).

Remember when I was going to tell you about one of my favorite organizations, Girls On The Run, and how how much I believe in the organization? Well, you are in luck cause now is the time to share it with you!! EEEECCCCKKKKKKKK!!! Are you as excited to learn about it as I am to FINALLY tell you about it?

First off, Girls on the Run was founded by the amazing, Molly Baker, in North Carolina back in 1996. Now it is an international organization (what!?!) with the Twin Cities chapter starting in 2011 by Mary Urban and Kori Fitshchen (thank you ladies!!).  The mission of Girls on the Run is to inspire girls to be joyful, healthy and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum which creatively integrates running. They envision a world where every girl knows and activates her limitless potential and is free to boldly pursue her dreams (umm...are you not already falling in love with organization?) Also, an important thing to note, is that this IS NOT a running club!! We don't train girls to run and compete, we encourage girls to keep moving forward be it running, walking, or skipping! It's about setting goals and working towards accomplishing them, in your own style and time!

The trained coaches work with the girls and teach a 20 lesson curricula that empowers the girls to have a greater sense of self-awareness, achievement, a foundation of team building and enhancing their communities, all in order to help them become strong, healthy, and confident women.  Some topics inclue how to handle peer pressure, dealing with body image and the media, feeling comfortable with our emotions, and community service project. As well as the curriculum that we teach each week throughout the 10 week program (we meet twice a week ) we have interactive activities such as running and playing games. This helps the girls apply what they have learned, reflect, and express their own unique selves (as well as gets them moving their bodies).

After the 10 weeks of running and learning the program all the girls, their running buddy, and the coaches run or walk a 5k!  This is sometimes the very first 5k a girl has done (as well as some running buddies) and they worked hard to cross that finish line! I remember my first 5k, I was 25 and I struggled throughout the course but crossing the finish line I  felt triumphant and proud! This is going to be what all the girls, their running buddies, and coaches will feel when they watch the girls cross the line at the 5k!

NOW YOU CAN BE APART OF THE EXPERIENCE TOO!!! For the first time the Twin Cities chapter is opening up the Girls on the Run 5k to the public,300 community members to be exact! So now you can join 100 girls, their running buddies, and coaches in this great conclusion to the season!! Below are all the race details:

• The race will be Saturday, November 16th at 9 a.m. 
• The run will start and end near the Nokomis Community Center at Lake Nokomis
• There will be a fun group warm up before the race and food and festivities after!
• Registrants will receive a race t-shirt
• This is a fun run and will not be chipped or timed
• REGISTER...here!
• More info on the race, click here

I have one free race entry to give away (aaaahhhhhh!!!!)! To enter, leave a comment below telling me either why you believe Girls on the Run is important OR what MAKES you unique and how you celebrate it! (I hope to have a lucky winner by next week! Make sure to leave a way I can contact you if you win!!!)

GOTR: website  facebook  twitter 

.life in iphone pics.

This is what I have been up to lately in life...according to my iphone..that is!

.corn art at Minnesota State Fair. 

.Hanson at Minnesota State Fair. 

.Zac Hanson (what a hunk) and I.

.my best friend got married.

.family movie night.

.morning walks.

.swing patrol.

.birthday girl.

.beautiful skyline.

.daddy's girl.

.sister time.

.stone arch bridge.

.fall is in the air.

.Maggie and Lily story time.

.Maggie and Lily at nap time.

.date night with Atlas Genius.

WEEEELLLLLL, HELLOOOO THERE!

Whoa! Seriously, two months have gone by without a peep from me! I didn't even open up my blogger account once. I thought about blogging a few times and then decided that I really didn't want to force anything. I don't know.....I think I was in a mood, you all know how it goes! I think everyone has been there and done that and is now moving on, as I am now.

So let me re-introduce myself to y'all. My name is Sho (.PHOTOSHO. because I love photos) I love diet cherry pepsi, reality t.v. (seriously, can we talk about almost all the shows on BRAVO..DRAAAMMMMAAA!!), hanging out with my english bulldog (Margaret Thatcher Roberts..Maggie for short, expect if I'm mad at her), fashion, music, and exploring the world.

Now that we got that done and dealt with...let's get down to business. Why not start with sharing some pictures from the last months that I have been MIA...

The last few months we have been about exploring, being with friends and family, and celebrating life (and doing that dreaded thing called work). 

OHHH...and I have an instagram account now:

PhotoShoRoberts

we could be friends and learn about life via photos!

.let's be honest for a bit, shall we.

So, as you can tell...I haven't really posted any outfit pictures for months. And what the heck right, fashion is one of the main things I love talking about on the blog. So here I am to be honest with y'all for a bit and really but myself out here.  This first year in Minnesota has been one of the harder years filled with struggles. But what kept me going through these struggles was running. When running I was relaxed, focused, healthy, proud, and fit. I felt good about myself inside and out. In October, Dave and I ran our first marathon and it was an amazing feeling. However, after the marathon I was burnt out on running and took a few weeks off. The weeks then added up to months, then it become unbearably cold, and then excuse after excuse..blah, blah, blah.

When not running or exercise, I started to eat less healthy also.  Do you know what happens when an active person becomes sedentary and stops watching what they consume? BINGO! They gain weight! So during the winter months I have gained all the weight I lost over the spring, summer, and fall. While my weight went up I watched my self esteem and confidence go dramatically down. I watched it happen but was like a silent passenger...seeing it happen but not doing or saying anything.

Hence, no pictures taken during these months. I knew my body was changing, clothes not fitting, and I didn't want to see it and make it real. Last week while at work I was ringing up a fashionable, pretty, lady purchasing fashion books. When ringing her up I felt ugly, unworthy, ashamed and wanted to hide. After this one minute interaction, I really started to question why I had the feelings I did. I can't keep watching silently while I slowly destroy my self esteem and self confidence.

So now I have made a pledge to work on gaining back my self-confidence and enthusiasm for life.  I want to work on becoming healthier, simplifying our home, and focusing on what I want out of life! You may not see fashion posts for a while yet still, but I will be posting about my personal journey. I realized that when I wasn't blogging, I was losing the motivation to do things and work on myself. This means, I hope to have regular posts from now on.

I can't wait to get started and really get back to the person I know I can be!