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This is the face of a 44-year-old woman who ran her first 10k last Sunday – without stopping!!!!
I seriously and truthfully cannot believe this!
And I’m sharing my running journey with you all because I hope it inspires you to go try that thing you’ve always told yourself you can’t do.
Some things I did to prep: I ate 100 extra grams of carbs on Saturday. (I usually aim for 240 grams/day – I ate close to 340 grams on Saturday.)
I drank extra water/electrolytes on Saturday and took a complete rest day with no exercise and lots of down time.
I got a good night’s sleep on Saturday night. I ate half an English muffin with peanut butter 45 mins before my run. And then paved myself and ran 12-min miles for the first 4 miles. I gradually increased my speed with the last two miles. I felt great the whole run and afterwards, too!
Kierstyn and I went to Disney this week – something that has been a dream of hers for three years!!! It was absolutely everything she had hoped and dreamed and so much more – and we did it on a budget!
We didn’t watch TV or movies growing up, so I didn’t really get or understand the Disney enthusiasm. But going with @alliworthington as an adult changed that for me. There’s something that this place does for my soul and body – I feel like it helps you rediscover childlike wonder. And getting to experience it through the eyes of my child was really incredible!
Seeing her squeal with absolute and incredible delight at seeing the characters actually made me super emotional. She could not contain her excitement and joy and it was deeply moving to experience. I can’t help but think this is how my Heavenly Father feels towards me when He sees me delighting in something.
We didn’t spend any money on experiences or upsells outside of our ticket, but ended up getting to meet 5 princesses – which was a huge highlight! I think because we went on a Tuesday in April, it just wasn’t as crowded.
Highly, highly recommend the princess-meeting experience at Fairytale Hall. We waited for about 20 minutes two different times to meet two different processes at a time. They’d spend a few minutes with each person and it was very personalized feeling. The princesses were fantastic and so kind. And it was completely free!
You can bring your own food and drinks into the park. I always bring a backpack with snacks and a water bottle to refill. (Note: the water at the refill stations doesn’t taste great so I recommend bringing electrolytes or something to mix with it or asking for free cups of ice water at the food service stations.)
If you want to buy food, the best deal (I think) are to get the kid’s meals. Adults can get them and they have some healthy and yummy options – all under $10. Most come with a drink and two sides.
You can easily spend thousands on a Disney trip if you get a lot of upgrades, etc. But you can also easily do it for just a few hundred per person (or even less!) if you only buy the tickets, bring your own food/drink, don’t buy things at the parks, and stay in a budget hotel with a free shuttle to the parks.
The one thing Kierstyn had requested to do was to get her face painted, so I had told her we’d do that as a really special treat. It’s $28 (which is pricey) but they do offer free touch-ups all day long if your face paint gets messed up. There was a girl who came back because her face paint was almost completely gone and they redid the whole thing for free.
Thank you to my friend @adventureadvising for all the Disney tips and for helping to plan the trip and saving us $$ on our hotel! It was truly such a special experience that Kierstyn and I are going to treasure for years to come!
(Note: So many of you have asked on Instagram for me to share more about going to Disney on a budget, so I’m planning a full post with a lot more details this coming week!)
Thursday night, Kathrynne got inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma and got awarded a significant accounting scholarship (she’s an accounting major).
Also, it was weird that they didn’t clap for each individual last night. But it did make things go faster!
I watched her going around talking to so many, many different people last night and had to stand in awe of who she has become. To think that in 5th grade, she was too shy to even talk to anyone her age and struggled with extreme social anxiety. And here she is today leading so many things, juggling so many different responsibilities, chasing her dreams with gusto, so confident, and incredibly outgoing.
I’m so, so proud of her!
I also adore her friends – I got to hang out with her roommate and bestie, Emma, all night and we had the best time and may have whispered and giggled a little too much during the ceremony. 
Kierstyn had her in-class speech meet at school on Friday. She was SO excited to get to stand up and share her poem and said she hopes she wins the top 3 in her class so she can move onto the finals in front of the whole school. This girl and her confidence cracks me up!
Meanwhile, Kaitlynn did this amazing highlight this week. She is so talented with hair and I am SO proud of her going after her longtime dream of cosmetology school and how she’s just knocking it out of the park. She’s already building up a client base and I’m not surprised because she does such stunning work! (If you are looking for a new stylist, I’m kinda biased, but I think you should check her out. Details on how to book with her are at @curledbykait!)
My secret to fitting a TON in a carry-on – these vacuum sealed travel bags from Ekster!! You have to see how they work! Watch this…
Highly, highly recommend these bags if you travel regularly! These would make such a great gift idea for anyone in your life who flies often!
They are up to 50% off right now + I got the company to give you all an additional 20% off any order with code CRYSTAL20
Let’s normalize boys being gentlemen! And let’s start teaching our sons from an early age!
Micah is three and we’ve been working him on teaching him to let ladies go first and to open up doors for his sisters, other women, and me. He loves to do it and will often run ahead to open up the door.
He’s watched his daddy model this from day one and he’s excited to follow in his steps! Watch the video here
Books I Finished This Past Week
Tiny Tweaks, Happy Life by Erin Port — If you need a boost of motivation to live a more purposeful and organized life, this book has so much practical encouragement as well as tried and true inspiration to help you babystep your way to better habits and joy!
English (US)