Where did March go? My life is a blur. A good blur, but a blur nonetheless.

I hope your Wednesday is starting off great. I'm linking up with Shay to share an overview of what I've been up to this past month, so grab a cup of coffee before you settle in.

What I'm eating:

I still do my best to eat Whole 30, which is very similar to Paleo except Paleo allows natural sweeteners like Stevia, honey, agave, coconut sugar, etc. This means I eat lots of fruits, vegetables, protein, nuts. I avoid dairy, legumes, wheat, corn, grains, rice, sugar, etc. and I avoid natural sweeteners. I've been eating like this since October 1st 2016, and yes there have been a few incidents out of my control where I am sure something was prepared with butter and I have picked up a Starbucks coffee with almond milk on occasion and I have no doubt their almond milk has sugar in it. I do not make that a habit between the sugar and the expense though! How are they so proud of their coffee? It's like taking out a small loan for burnt coffee that you have to add a ton of flavorings and sweeteners to just to tolerate the stuff and convince yourself it's a treat. But, I digress. Clearly I still pop in there from time to time.

This being said, I have always acknowledged that I still drink alcohol so clearly I consume sugar that way. Maybe one day I'll go 30 days without alcohol and see how I feel...maybe. In the mean time, I'm continuing this because I do not have a craving for the things I'm avoiding so I figure I'll just keep on keeping on. I never imagined I'd willingly experience a life without cheese.

The recipes I've shared over the past month are:

Upcoming dishes that I will be sharing recipes for soon are:

What I'm reminiscing about:

I am most definitely reminiscing about my trip to Miami at the beginning of March. I cannot help but smile ridiculously every time I scroll past the photos or videos of my nieces and can't bring myself to delete them from my phone even though I've long since uploaded them to Shutterfly to be stored.

Tia Becca needs to move to Miami, stat. Can we talk about how cute they all are? ;)

What I'm loving:

I am totally loving this weather we've been having! There are only a handful of decent days in Houston throughout the year between the humid, scorching temperatures and the random cold days we like to call winter. Right now we are in the safe zone that feels like spring to us and summer to our northern friends. Highs are in the 80's. The breeze feels good, versus how the summer breeze just might suffocate you if you take too deep of a breath. It's all good right now. Praise God!

I am also loving the series BRK THR at Hope City, the series about CS Lewis at Ecclesia, and Breakaway Ministries recently finished covering Ecclesiastes in a six part series. I cannot get enough of these from all three churches. Great stuff happening there that fills my heart.

The video below is from this past weekend's service. I cried until I laughed. I laughed until I cried. It was great!

What I've been up to:

Goodness. This past month I traveled to Miami to see my family, I went to the Houston Rodeo twice, I went to dinner after dinner after dinner, watched an amazing pianist provide a private performance at a dinner party, I brunched with my girlfriends, I went to church, I visited with Cyndi and her family before she went back home and visited with my family. I've worked on blog stuff a little, though not as much as I should have but have been tired and busy and tad bit unmotivated. I've been reading and exercising and planning more vacations for this year!

What I'm dreading:

My usual response: nada.

What I'm working on:

Me! This is redundant, I am aware. However, I think it's important that we all continue to try to improve ourselves in one way or another. I'm working on blog stuff and growing my blog (which I need your help with sharing it!). I am working on sharing my poetry on my new Instagram page @everypiecefits so that in time I will type up the ones that still need to be transferred to a digital format will all be added together to potentially publish one day. I'm working on growing in my faith and my walk with the Lord.

What I'm excited about:

Napa! Some of my besties and I have booked our flights and hotel to Napa in a few months and now we're in the planning phase of picking out where all we'll wine taste, other fun things like spa time, amazing dinners, etc. Truthfully these gals and I could pack our bags, stay in a hotel here in Houston, drink some wine and I would have the best time with them. I have amazing friends (and family) and am ever so grateful when I get to see any of them much less get to travel with them.

Austin! I am awaiting final details but am supposed to be traveling to Austin with my girl cousins next month and cannot wait to get some closeness with my family. We've narrowed down the weekend and are picking where we'll stay. Have I mentioned how blessed I am?

Knoxville! I will be going to visit my family in Tennessee next month and the departure date cannot come soon enough. There is something about (all of) my family that just fills my heart right up with love and contentment. God blessed me when he chose them for me.

What I'm watching / reading:

Watching: I am admittedly not watching anything but I have it in my right mind to change that. I recently thought to myself that perhaps I should give my brain a mental break every other week or so and rent a movie, make myself sit down, and actually watch it. Let's see if I have an update on that next month.

Reading: I am so excited to share this part y'all.

I finished Grace Filled Marriage this past month and it was soooo good! I am glad I picked it up and felt engaged and inspired by it. I've added it to my list of books if you feel inclined to check it out or any of the other books I've read.

I am currently reading my One Year Bible (that I will be mentioning all year long) daily and am in Numbers, Luke, Psalms, and Proverbs. I cannot tell you enough how much I look forward to picking this up every day.

On the treadmill / iPad, I am re-reading the book Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How it Can Help You Find and Keep Love. I read it back in 2012 and as I finished up Grace Filled Marriage on my iPad at the gym and didn't have another book purchased to start, I thought I'd go back to this one. It is a very interesting book about the different types of attachment styles and what I found when I read it the first time is that I have been all three types of attachment styles throughout the years of growing up and relationships. Good stuff. It is helpful to understand what style you are, how it affects your relationships with others, and what you should seek out or avoid in others based on their attachment style.

Separately from those I am reading about one chapter a day in the books Life After the Storm and The 21 Day Financial Fast.

Life After the Storm was given to me as a birthday (or Christmas?) gift that I put off reading because I have a stack of books that I want to read and wasn't sure if I was ready to address what this book might unearth. So far so good!

The 21 Day Financial Fast is a day by day book about fasting from excessive spending. So far I have failed miserably, but am still reading it and soaking it in. Life has been too hectic with events and things to put an abrupt stop into the plans I had already made. At least, that is my excuse. And you know what an excuse is? A pathetic reason to delay starting the fast. I know it. But, here I am breaking all of the rules considering redecorating my living room and looking at my next major vacation this year while planning out my trip to Napa. All of my wants, none of them needs. So, soon I will go through the full book a second time and actually stick to the principles. I think it's incredibly on point with everything it's saying and the guidelines it recommends which is why a financial fast is difficult to face.

What I'm listening to:

I'll keep this brief by saying all of my usual podcasts and sermons, plus of course, Hillsong United, Coldplay, Lord Huron and everything on my running playlist on Spotify. I've provided the links to my favorite podcasts in a former post here. They include: Hope City (Your Hope City, here in Houston), Breakaway Ministries, Joyce Meyer, Marriage Today, Love & Respect (not currently producing new content but former stuff is online), and Bayou City Fellowship. Also, you can listen to the services at my church Ecclesia online, just not in podcast form.

What I'm wearing:

I am making every effort possible to wear my cuter outfits right now. I think I go through phases on this depending upon the weather, comfort, and of course those inevitable days us females just want to curl up in yoga pants with a comfy sweater to read and not feel constricted.

So, lately I've worn these things (maxi dress, jeans, off the shoulder top, over the knee boots) from Target that I've shared before:

You can find those outfits and more by clicking on any individual picture below to expand the view for items. Note: you cannot see these images from the blog email, only when you open the blog post in a web browser.

What I'm doing this weekend:

It's Monday as I'm wrapping up this post and I can truthfully say that after the insane month I just had I would like to do NOTHING this coming weekend. But, I will be visiting with friends on Friday night, seeing another group of friends on Saturday, going to Hope City Sunday morning and Ecclesia Sunday afternoon, and hopefully see my family in between those.

What I'm looking forward to next month:

Eeeekkkk! I'm looking forward to my trips with/to see my family plus some other fun plans already on the books like a wine event and group dinners. Plus, Cyndi will come back to town for a quick visit and we'll get to celebrate her birthday. I will miss Easter services at my churches as I'll be traveling which truly hurts my heart, but I am looking forward to taking my Mammaw to church for Easter. =}

What else is new:

I think I've summarized it all. It's been a wonderful and hectic month of great moments, laughs, hugs, tears, meaningful conversations, exciting trips being planned, and intensely powerful messages at church.

How was your month of March? What has changed for you, or even remained the same? Any fun trips taken for Spring Break?

Wishing everyone a wonderful Wednesday. The count down is on to Friday! Please remember to subscribe below if you haven't already and it would mean the world to me if you could help spread the word about my site with your family and friends.

XOXO

Every Piece Fits

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