We are officially one quarter of the way through 2016. How is that possible? Time goes by sooooo fast! I’d appreciate it more if I didn’t have to work on month end reports at work. The end of a month always seems to come too fast.

March was a pretty busy month for our family. We had school conferences, spring pictures, birthdays to celebrate and warmer temps which have had the kids playing outside most days. I can tell spring is here and I’m looking forward to brighter, warmer days. Since my youngest son and I share a birthday in March, I have quite a few favorites I’d like to share with ya.

You might wanna grab a cup a’ coffee cuz it’s a long, fun-filled list!

March Favorites

☆ Compact Passion Planner.

passion planner compact

I have tried a number of different planners in the last 18 months or so. I fell in love with the Erin Condren Life Planner but I just didn’t find it practical for carrying around with me. It’s just too big. I do love the Erin Condren sticker books though! Then I tried the Happy Planner which is a little smaller, but I still had the same issue: it didn’t fit well in my purse and I am not buying a bigger purse. Then I decided to try the Passion Planner thinking I’d just keep it on my desk because it’s large yet much thinner, but nope, the large size kept me from using it. I loved the Passion Planner and I was excited to see that they had a compact size. Boom. I found my planner soulmate. It’s practical and it fits in my purse. I’ve been using it happily for the past month.

☆ Zero Gravity with the family.

zero gravity trampoline park birthday

This place was so fun! Zero Gravity is a local indoor trampoline park that has what seems like a million trampolines and they also have games like laser tag and dodge ball. They also have a foam pit you can jump and flip into which the kids loved! Being around so many kids that weren’t my own wasn’t so fun but it sure was fun seeing our kids jumping around all over the place and having a great time! My youngest son Cayden and I share a birthday and we both definitely had fun. He enjoyed the jumping (so much that he puked after we left) and I enjoyed our little family outing with lots of laughs. :)

☆ Fitbit Blaze.

fitbit blaze blue band

I have been eyeing the FitBit (any FitBit!) for a super long time but never bit the bullet. During the Super Bowl this year I saw a commercial for the FitBit Blaze and my heart was set on it. It was released in March which made it the perfect birthday gift! Hubby agreed. :) I had a hard time deciding on what band color to get but ultimately went with the blue. I love it! I also love that you can purchase more bands to change it up once in a while.

What I’ve learned so far:

A fitness tracker really is very motivating
I don’t take nearly as many steps as I should be in any given day
I’ve never been a watch-wearer, I don’t even own any others, but this one I only take off to charge
I’m not gonna lie, I kiiiiinda wish I had gone with the purple (though I do love the blue)
You can compete against other FitBit users!
It tracks calories burned, sleep, heart rate, floors climbed and the number of steps
I know fitness trackers aren’t 100% accurate but they’re pretty darn motivating so that doesn’t bother me

☆ VSX tights from Victoria’s Secret. These are ahhhhhmazing. (Very spendy at regular price too.) I ordered one pair that I got with a sports bra/pant combo deal and once I tried them on, I logged on to purchase a couple more. One pair was on clearance the other I clearly splurged on. I used to be more of a jeans girl and never understood the legging thing. Well, now I know. In fact, we have an excellent relationship! The VSX leggings hug you in all the right places and you can’t see through them – leggings that are opaque are so hard to find. Nothing like doing a squat and having a bright pair of undies proudly on display for all the eyeballs of the world to see!

☆ Bible Journaling. I haven’t actually started this yet but I’ve been doing a lot of digging over this past month to learn more about it. If you’re interested please check out the Journaling Bible Community on Facebook. There are thousands of helpful people in there who are constantly sharing ideas and inspiration. You can also find a ton of examples on Pinterest. Admittedly I don’t really know my way around a Bible too much but I do have a few favorite verses. My plan is to start journaling and with the help of a recent book I read, I’m excited to dig in!

☆ The Modern Girl’s Guide to Bible Study. If you are confused like me when it comes to Bible Study then you need to read this book. It is amazing. Jen outlines a simple plan for you to get started – whether you’re brand spankin’ new to studying or not – and it’s so helpful. She brings the humor too which had me laughing out loud several times. She suggests which book(s) of the Bible to begin with and she also lists questions that she likes to think about while she studies and works on her journaling. I actually made a laminated “cheat sheet” that I can refer to easily – though she does outline everything in the back of her book too.

☆ Supergoop! CC Cream.

Lately I’ve been having an issue where liquid foundation looks really great once I put it on (7:00 am) but then it begins to separate before lunchtime (11:00 am). Gross. My skin doesn’t seem too oily or too dry but it may be on the dry side which could be causing it? I don’t know but it’s not pretty. Like at all.

supergoop cc cream

The only foundation that seems to be working for me right now is Supergoop! CC Cream. This stuff is just as amazing as the reviews say! It goes on really nice with fingers, a Beauty Blender or a makeup brush and it doesn’t separate on my face. Since I don’t want my other foundations to go to waste, I’ve been mixing the Supergoop! with them and it’s been working really great. And hey, the name is fun too!

and last but not least…

☆ Metallica Tickets!

metallica us bank stadium volbeat

The presale for this concert was the day before my birthday and my parents said they’d buy me a ticket for my birthday! It’s gonna be our second major concert as a family (the hubs is going too)! The first concert we went to was KISS and Motley Crue at the Minnesota State Fair. That was a blast. The public on-sale for Metallica was Friday, March 25th (It was meant to be!) but I’m glad we took advantage of the presale because tickets sold out in under 1o minutes ~ probably with the help of those dang resellers.

Oh! And I already purchased a top for the occasion, hahaha!

It’ll be even more exciting because it’s the first rock concert to play at the brand new U.S. Bank Stadium. So excited I am. Can you tell?

Things I Accomplished:

Read 2 books. Miracles from Heaven and The Modern Girl’s Guide to Bible Study (Each easily get ☆☆☆☆☆ from me!)
Track fitness with my FitBit Blaze!
Four 52 week money challenge deposits (weeks 13-16)
Saved 3% of all income – I don’t know exactly what this savings will be for but I just thought it’d be fun to save the percentage of money according to the month of the year: 1% for January; 2% for February; etc. We’ve completed 3 full months now so we’re up to saving 4% in April.
Made dentist appointments for the family.
22 Minute Hard Corps “Hell Week Challenge”! This was seven full days of back-to-back workouts to jumpstart my journey into this program. I really like Tony Horton in this one (wasn’t as big of a fan in P90X).
The first of many “birds and the bees” talks with my older boys. I feel relieved and frazzled all at the same time. Tweens are greaaaaaaaat.