How to Make Your Blog into a Book

Have you ever considered making your blog into a book? I do! I make one every year, in fact. I love having an in-print record of all my posts and I like the security of knowing I have them if the Internet decides to freak out and delete my blog or something.

My blog books are also useful as historical records. I use these a lot to look up when stuff happened. If Jordan asks me, "When did we go to the lake house last year?" No worries! I'll just look it up in my blog book.

I use Blog2Print and haven't had any complaints. Their website is super easy to navigate. You really can't mess it up. I know there are other blog printing services out there, but like I said, I've been using Blog2Print for about 5 years now and don't have any complaints with how much books have turned out, so I'll just keep using them!

If you get a soft cover book in black & white and use one of their gajillion 15% off coupons, it will cost you around $30 for 1 book with a year's worth of posts in it. The total cost, of course, depends on how many posts you include in the book, so that price can definitely go up or down. They do offer the option of color photos and a hardcover front and back, but that is much more expensive so I don't go that route.

You have the option of including a table of contents, which will give a title and page number for each post. That way, you can find things easily. You also get the option to choose which posts to include in your book! I typically do not include things like my Blog Talk posts, sponsored posts, or other things that I wouldn't care to keep or read about later.

When you input your website address into the site, you can choose a range of dates, so you can make a book of just posts from a certain year or period of time!

There are a few options for pictures: you can pick the size (I usually go with medium, pictured above), and you can have them included in the post in the order they appear (pictured below) or clumped together at the bottom of the post to save space. For the first few books I chose the second option, but I realized I much prefer putting pictures in order, even if it does take up more space and cost a little extra. There are a ton of other customization options available too if you just click around.

As you can see below, some of my books are really small and some are larger. I started including an entire year's worth of posts, which is what the bigger ones are. But like I said, if you want to do 6 months or something, you book will be much smaller (and cheaper!).

 Have you ever made a blog book?

Leave a comment with any question about Blog2Print, and I'll get back to you!

*I am not being compensated in any way to write this review. I just wanted to share with you all about this awesome service! I paid for these books myself, and all opinions are my own.

The Illusion of Better + My Word for the Year

A few years ago, I saw that a lot of bloggers I follow had chosen a single word to define the upcoming year. This word would be something they could focus on and remind themselves of as the year continued. I've never chosen a word before, but as 2014 drew to a close, I felt one word impressed upon my heart over and over:

I'm ashamed to admit this, but as I look back on 2014, I realize that I spent a lot of time being jealous of other people and not being content with the many wonderful things I had. Last year I watched people proudly post about pregnancy announcements, job promotions, European vacations, and smiling pictures of themselves standing in front of a beautiful house with a "Sold" sign. 

I've felt like we're just here, treading water.

But seriously. 

Enough of that.

I don't want to spend any time in 2015 being anything other than content. 

Last July when Jordan and I got back from Nicaragua, we were amazed by the sheer blessing of running water, toilets that flushed, and houses with doors. We came home to a bed. And air-conditioning. I forgot about that.

This year, I want to wake up every day and be thankful. I want to see pictures of other people's successes and be happy for them without feeling bad that I don't have what they do.

Because when I honestly, truly, think about it: I don't want any other life than mine.

Until we see in ourselves how unique God's touch 

on our life has been, we will always live 

under the illusion that being someone else 

would be better. 

-Ravi Zacharias

"Recapture the Wonder"

Did you pick a word for the year?

Things I Like Doing (When I'm Not Blogging)

If you were to ask Jordan what I normally like to do on the week days after I get home from work, he would probably tell you I blog. A lot. And while that is true, blogging is not the only hobby I enjoy, nor is it (if I can toot my own horn) the only hobby I am good at. 

In case you're interested, here are some other things I like doing when I'm not blogging:

1. Crochet

I learned how to crochet in high school, and I've been doing it ever since. Mostly blankets and scarves because, let's be honest, I can't crochet anything not in a straight line. I tried to make a hat once, but it never turned up and I ended up with a giant circle potholder. Not really the same thing.

I've made blankets for almost everyone in my family by now. Here's a picture of my brother and I from this past Christmas with the blanket I made him. 

Crocheting is mostly a winter hobby because it's dang hot to have a huge blanket in your lap in the middle of summer, but it's so fun to snuggle up on the couch with my crochet hook and an episode of Downton Abbey.

Plus, it's awesome to see a $40 scarf in the window of LOFT and say, "I could totally make that myself!" Boom.

2. Scrapbook

I have my grandma to thank for my love of scrapbooking. Back in the day she was a Creative Memories consultant, so she was always buying us tons of paper and books to scrapbook with. My wedding scrapbook took me an entire year to finish and is the one I think I'm the most proud of. I also have books from middle school (that are quite hilariously terrible) and high school.

Sadly, in recent years physical scrapbooking has gone digital, and I haven't worked on a scrapbook in a long time. I do love making photo books in Shutterfly, though. I have one of 2013 and 2014 (if I don't do it immediately, it doesn't get done), and I made ones for our trips to Nicaragua and South Dakota.

This year, 2015, I've started something I'm really excited about: Project Life. I have Christina to thank for the inspiration to start! She is doing one herself and was really helpful in getting me pointed in the right direction. It can seem overwhelming at first.

I made a Project Life Inspiration Pinterest board to get the ideas flowing, and I finally got started last weekend. I'm loving it so far!

Follow Amanda Bumgarner's board Project Life Inspiration on Pinterest.

If you're interested, you can find out more about Project Life here. It's basically a hybrid of a scrapbook and a photo album. It's supposed to be quicker and easier than a traditional scrapbook while allowing you to add creative flair to the pages. I'm still totally a newbie to all of this, but feel free to let me know if you have any questions!

3. Read

Duh. This shouldn't surprise anyone. My parents saw it coming at the ripe old age of 4.

Usually I read a half hour to an hour before bed every time. Of course, that all depends on how tired I am/how long I get sucked into scrolling through my FB feed. Just keeping it real.

Follow me on Goodreads if you aren't already!

4. Watch TV

Yes, I do love watching my shows, although I'm typically doing something else while watching TV like blogging, editing pictures, or crocheting. Rarely do I just sit and watch TV for hours on end.

Jordan and I particularly enjoy the following: Friends (I own all 10 seasons and have seen them so much I can quote them all, but you can never have too much Friends), Parks & Rec (it's an acquired taste, but it's hi-larious), Castle (we're watching them on DVD and are only on Season 4 currently), The Middle, New Girl, and Modern Family. I also love Parenthood and Downton Abbey. One Tree Hill is terrible, but it's my Netflix guilty pleasure. Don't judge me.

5. Cook & Bake

I enjoy cooking and baking. I do not enjoy doing dishes, but that's inevitable I suppose. I love trying out new recipes and also making delicious staples we know and love. And I like baking cookies and pies. Yum!

Pictured: Pioneer Woman's French Silk Pie. Get in my belly.

Feel free to check out my Pinterest board of "Entrees I've Tried and Liked"

Follow Amanda Bumgarner's board Entrees I've Tried & Liked on Pinterest.

6. Run

Duh x 100. You guys, I literally cannot imagine my life without running. I say literally because I've tried, and I can't do it. All I see when I think back to those days before running is a giant black hole of sadness. I'm not exaggerating.*

*I might be exaggerating.

I know people say they hate it and blah blah blah, but you will not be able to convince me that you would not (double negative!) love running if you gave it a legitimate try and were patient enough to keep going even when you feel like you're dying. I might have to force myself out for a run because it's cold or I'm tired, but I never feel better than when I come back from a run. It's just the best.

// Want to know what it's like to run with me? Click here.

So those are just a few things I enjoy doing in my spare time or when I'm not blogging! Honorable mention goes to: organizing random crap, wandering the aisles of Target (click here for more on how I feel about Target), perfecting my selfie pose, Googling funny questions, and clipping my fingernails, which seem to grow at an abnormally fast rate.

Do we have any of these in common? Any Project Life fans out there? 
What hobbies do you enjoy?

I Do Believe in Turn Signals. I Do Not Believe in Aliens.

Happy MLK Day to my American friends, and happy Monday to everyone else! Today Megan and I are hosting a little linkup called "I Believe" in honor of one of the most famous believers in American history. Check out what I believe in and then write your own post and link up! I really believe you should. (Sorry, was that too much?)

I Believe...

That toilet paper should always be placed with the new sheet on top.

Why is this so difficult? And yet every time Jordan replaces the toilet paper, he puts it in wrong.

In the value of turn signals.

You know how you're driving behind someone, and they randomly slow down for no reason? And then they turn and you're like, "A turn signal would have been nice." Yeah, that.

Everyone should love their job.

If you don't love your job, find one you do love. It's out there for everyone.

Audio books should not count on the same list as total books read for the year.

I've been wanting to mention this for a while now, and I would love to hear your opinion on this. When someone says they read x number of books last year, do you assume they mean physically read the book? Or is it okay if this number includes listening to an audio book?

Here's my thing, and I'm sorry if this offends anyone but this is just what I think about it:

Reading is hard. You have to concentrate. You have to be intentional about it. You usually can't be doing something else while you're reading, so it's a lot more work to actually finish a book. Plus, if I learned anything from reading What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains, it's that we're all losing our ability to concentrate on actual books, so reading is an important skill we all need to continue to practice.

An audio book, on the other hand, you can do while doing basically anything--driving to work, on a road trip, cooking dinner, exercising. Audio books are still reading, but I don't think it's reading in the same sense as reading a book is.

So I personally will only include books I physically read in my list of books read for the year. Other people can obviously do what they want, but I maintain my position that audio books and books books should not be on the same list.

This is probably the most ridiculous discussion ever, but I've honestly been dying to ask you guys: what do you think?

Families should enjoy being together.

I take many things for granted that I shouldn't, but I don't take my family for granted. We have so much fun together, and I love it.

In the importance of going to church.

I really really love my church. Sometimes I do wish I could just sleep in, but honestly? Being there is the highlight of my week. I don't want to be one of those Christians who beats people over the head about Jesus, but in all seriousness I just want you to know that I wish everyone believed in the power of the Gospel, and I really do pray for you guys.

The Cubs will win a World Series... some day.

They WILL. And it will be awesome. And I will never stop talking about it ever.

I do not believe in ghosts. Or aliens.

I just don't. The end.

What do you believe?

Link up below!

Blog Talk #7: Using Social Media to Promote Your Blog

Welcome to blog talk! This is the seventh installment of "Blog Talk," in which I will give my opinion on different aspects of blogging and continue the discussion in the comments. Because I want to hear what you have to say! Yes, you're even allowed to disagree. Just be nice about it.

____________

CLICK HERE to read the other posts in this series!

I think we can all agree that social media is basically free advertising for your shop, business, or blog and is a great tool. It's also lots of fun. I will be the first to admit that I don't use social media to its highest potential. I don't regularly take time to schedule links or tweets, and I rarely share a link to a post more than once a day. So I understand that some of you won't agree with me about some of what I'll say in this post, but that's what this Blog Talk is about: discussing the good and bad of promoting your blog via social media. 

Below I am going to highlight some of main pros and cons I see and invite you to join the discussion in the comments. I would love to hear if you have any tips for promoting your blog that have worked (or not worked) for you!

Pro: Various social media platforms for readers to follow your blog

I have a lot of family and friends who read my blog who are not bloggers themselves. They don't read a lot of other blogs, so they don't have a blog reader like Feedly or Bloglovin, and many of them also don't have Twitter or Instagram. But they do have Facebook. The only reason I started a Facebook page for my blog was so friends and family could "like" the page and get updates on new posts. I don't have very many followers in my FB page, but I don't care, because having a lot of followers wasn't the point of starting it.

Likewise, someone might not have a Twitter but they have Instagram, etc. Having many different platforms allows many different readers to follow you and get updates on new posts. I think this can only be a good thing, and it's important to remember the different goals of your social media sites so you can post accordingly.

• Question: Do you have multiple social media outlets connected to your blog? Do you have different goals for each of them?

Con: Extreme self-promotion

It's easy for people to get a little too wrapped up in promoting their blog on social media. This is just my opinion, but it doesn't seem necessary for people to tweet out a link to the same blog post 6 times a day. I understand that there are high-traffic times to post and that you are trying to catch people at different times of the day, but if I'm seeing the same link tweeted out, I have to assume others are as well.

My thought is that if I saw it once and didn't click on it, I'm not suddenly going to decide I want to click on it after seeing it the second time. Promotion isn't a bad thing, but it seems like some people go overboard and saturate their feed with links to their own posts, which (at least for me) does the opposite and makes me not want to visit their blog.

• Question: How much is too much when it comes to promoting your blog? What is the main reason you follow someone on social media? Is it to get blog updates? Have you seen success with posting the same link multiple times?

Pro: An easy way for others to connect and share content

It's really fun when I see that someone has shared my post with their followers on social media or pinned a post to Pinterest. I also love the ability to share a post of someone else's, and I like linking back to them so they can feel warm and fuzzy too.

I've found social media can be a good alternative to comments in some cases as well. People will comment on a post or tweet me something if they didn't have time to leave a comment or if they don't want to leave a comment. Social media connects people and makes sharing content fun and easy, which again goes back to why it's good to have multiple social media outlets for people who prefer Instagram, Twitter, etc.

• Question: Do you share other blogger's content on social media? Do you ever tweet/Facebook/Instagram someone instead of leaving a comment?

Con: Paid shared content

The flip side of using social media to share content is when tweeting out a link or pinning a post is included in a sponsorship package. I understand that this is just a fact of blogging, and I don't begrudge bloggers who make money on sponsorship. But it is frustrating for me as a follower to see links tweeted out by people getting paid to tweet them. I'm left to wonder if the person really endorses that link or if they're just sharing it because they're being paid to. I have clicked a time or two on a post that sounded interesting, but for the most part I ignore these links, and I have to wonder how many people actually read them.

It's easier for me because I don't offer sponsorship on my blog. I only share links to posts that truly strike me or that I think others will find interesting. I can only hope my followers notice this and know that if I tweet a link to a post, they can trust that I am endorsing it.

• Question: Do you click on shared links? How do you feel about shared links being part of a sponsorship package? Do you think this is effective?

________________________

Want to weigh in? I would love to hear what you have to say about this topic! I'm sure some of you are going to disagree with me, and that's fine. Even encouraged! Please just be kind to others, or I will delete your comment. We're sharing opinions and learning from each other, and we're being nice about it.

Never Have I Ever...

Today I'm excited to be cohosting the Circle Linkup with Kiki! If you don't read her blog, you should. This month, the topic is: Never Have I Ever. You can link up your own list below!

I've actually done a Never Have I Ever post before, so I'm going to pick different things this time, but if you're interested, you can check out part 1 here. I still have never done any of the things on my original except a pull-up at the gym, which I have done! Go me. Anyway, on to part 2.

NEVER HAVE I EVER...

Done drugs.

Come on, guys. I was in D.A.R.E. in elementary school. I know what's up.

Broken a bone.

I have a scar on my head from an incident that happened during a childhood wrestling match with my younger brothers, but thus far my bones have remained in tact.

Gone snow skiing. 

I have been water skiing a few times, and let's just say it didn't go well.

Colored my hair.

I actually really love my natural highlights, and why pay for something you already have for free? That and I wouldn't look good as a brunette. Also, I'm cheap and lazy.

Liked black or green olives.

I pride myself on being the opposite of a picky eater. I will pretty much eat anything and like it. But for real. Olives are nasty. Jordan would disagree, but like most things in life: he's wrong.

Been to prom.

I have no regrets about this. If "She's All That" is any indication, prom is kind of lame anyway. (At least that's what people who don't go to prom tell themselves...)

Attempted to play a wind instrument. 

This violinist thinks strings sound so much prettier! Don't hate me.

Owned a smart phone.

Everything about this post still applies. Amen.

p.s. For things I have done, check out my reverse bucket list!

What have you never?
Write a post of your own and link up below!

Dreaming of Warmer Weather: California Wine Country

Since we're all freezing in our respective states, I thought I would share some pictures of my trip out to California that I took back in December. You know, where I could wear a short-sleeved shirt and not get instant frostbite.

You may remember Day 1, where we took the full tour of San Diego and saw the sun set over the ocean. Later that night, we awkwardly changed in the fitting room of a Marshall's and headed to Del Mar for the Electric Run 5k.

After the race we drove back to Temecula, where Alison lives, and passed out from our long day of sightseeing and run/walking the slowest 5k known to man. The next morning, (Sunday), Alison's husband, Brett, made us all pancakes for breakfast, and then we headed out for a tour of California wine country.

First, we went to Old Town Temecula, hit up a few antique stores, and found a delightful outdoor restaurant, where we ordered a smoked sausage trio appetizer.

^^^They had these bacon-infused fries that were amazing. Because regular fries aren't fattening enough apparently. Not that I'm complaining. 

After lunch, we spent the day at two different wineries. I've never been much of a wine drinker (let's be honest: I'm really not much of a drinker at all), and I'd never been to a winery before, so this was quite the experience. If you must know, when I do drink wine, I like it sweet.

^^^Don't be too impressed. That limo was not for us.

After the wine, we stopped in at a local grocery store for frozen pizzas and ice cream. We stayed up late playing spades, and when we woke up, it was Monday and time to head home. Boo real life!

^^^This is what the San Diego airport looks like on the outside. Just in case you were wondering! I probably won't be seeing palm trees again for a long time. Oklahoma isn't so much fertile ground for palm trees.

**Coming up! Two fun blog linkups that I'm cohosting:

January 14 --"Never Have I Ever..." (Never have I ever gotten the flu, gotten bit by a shark, etc.)

January 19 --"I Believe..." (I believe that crunchy peanut butter is the best, that a dress should always have pockets, etc.)

Why We Tithe

Writing a post on the topic of tithing is something that's been on my heart for about two years now, and I've started and stopped a draft of this post numerous times. It's a hard topic to write on for many reasons, but mostly because this post could easily come off as bragging about how awesome of a Christian I am because I tithe. So hear me with I tell you: that is not my goal.

I want to post on this topic for two reasons:

1) I hope to encourage those of you who are believers who are not currently tithing.  I want to share my story and tell you how consistent tithing has changed the way I view my finances and been a huge blessing to me.

2) For those of you who aren't Christians, I want to try to explain, as best I know how, what this crazy thing called tithing is and why we do it.

*Before I start, I want to define tithing as I'm using it in this post: Jordan and I tithe 10% of our gross income every month to our church. However, there is no biblical mandate in the New Testament for 10%. You need to give what you feel led to, whether that's 2% or 20%. The word "tithe" technically does mean a tenth, but when I use it in this post, I just mean setting aside a specific percentage each month to give back to the Lord.

// MY TITHING JOURNEY //

I never tithed consistently until I married Jordan. When I was younger, even through college, my idea of tithing was throwing $20 in the offering plate every month or so. I knew Jesus taught about giving a percentage back to God. He said our money isn't ours, and we need have open hands. I knew it, but I didn't want to practice it.

When we got married, Jordan was clear on the fact that we were going to tithe 10% of our income to the church. He had been doing it for a while, and I was going to start.

Writing that first check was hard.

To be completely honest: I didn't want to do it. I thought about all the things we could do with that money, how much faster we could save for a house, how many more vacations we could go on, how many more times I could go to Chipotle for a delicious burrito.

Writing the second month's check wasn't any easier.

"But it's my money," I grumbled to myself as I scribbled my signature on bottom of the check. "I earned it. I need it."

I knew I needed to change my attitude, but I didn't know how, so I started praying that tithing would become a joy. Every month when I wrote the check, I prayed that tithing would be something I took pleasure in instead of something I secretly begrudged. I shared my struggles with Jordan and told him that as much as I wanted to want to tithe, I just didn't.

// WHAT TITHING HAS TAUGHT ME //

It's now been almost four years that we've been married, which means almost four years of monthly tithing. I'm a sinner saved by grace, but until Jesus comes back to get me, I'm still human and I'm still a sinner. So I don't know if I will ever completely silence the part of me that whispers, "Think of all the things you could have done with that money. Think of the money you could have saved."

But I want you to know how much of a blessing tithing is to me.

Tithing has taught me to be generous. 

If you're not used to giving money away, even the littlest bit seems like a lot. But if you're used to giving money away, you see how much more you have to give. I had wanted to go on a missions trip for a while, but I always said no because I didn't think I had enough money to pay for it. It wasn't cheap for Jordan and I to go to Nicaragua this past summer, but I think the past three years of monthly tithing have been opening my heart slowly to the idea of being more generous with the money I have to offer, and I was more ready to say yes even though the financial aspect still made me nervous.

Tithing has taught me to be thankful.

The only reason I have money to give is because God gave it to me in the first place. When I tithe, I am only giving back to him what he gave me. In that way, tithing has taught me to be thankful. I look at the number of dollars on the check, and instead of seeing the number of dollars I'm giving away, I see one tenth of the money I have. And I realize I am blessed.

Tithing has taught me that God will provide.

When I first started doing it, tithing felt scary and impossible, but God has continued to provide for us. Last year I was out of a full-time job for 8 months. We continued to tithe during that time, although the check was obviously a lower amount. It was scary and stressful to have a lowered monthly income, but only for one month did we go negative in our balance, and we were able to make it up the following month. In other circumstances I see how God provides and is faithful to us.

// WHY WE TITHE //

The idea of bringing God your "first fruits" goes all the way back to the beginning, Genesis, the very first book of the Bible.

Genesis 4:2-4a

"Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel [his brother] also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portion."

Then see what happened after they brought their offerings to God:

Genesis 4:4b-7

"And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The Lord said to Cain, 'Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it."

After this, as many of you know, Cain becomes angry and kills his brother Abel.

This is by no means a full theological explanation of tithing. However, this is something I've been thinking about lately. Why did God not have regard for Cain's offering? Just like anything else God will ever call us to do, this goes back to a heart issue. 

Abel was willing to bring God his firstborn, his best offering. Cain brought an offering, but it wasn't his best. I feel like this is like me throwing $20 in the offering plate every few months. Yes, I'm bringing God an offering, but it's nowhere near my best.

I believe God didn't care as much about what Cain brought or how much as he did about Cain's heart. And as we see in the verses after this, Cain's heart is filled with anger to the point that he murders his brother. His offering being less than his best was an indication of a deeper issue: that of a prideful and evil heart.

So, again, why do we tithe? Is it some old-fashioned religious rule? Is it so God can make us unhappy? Is it so God will love us more than someone who doesn't tithe?

No, no, and no. We tithe because by nature as humans our hearts are wicked and evil and full of anger. By offering God our first percentage, we have the chance to practice being selfless, being generous, and being thankful. 

Remember what God said in verse 7: "Sin is crouching at the door, but you must rule over it." In the same way, sin is crouching at the door of our hearts. It's that voice that whispers, "It's mine. I earned it. I need it." Through tithing, we tell that voice to be quiet. We give back to God what is his, and we demonstrate a righteous, willing heart.

I encourage you, if you're a believer in Christ, to pray about setting aside a monthly percentage if you aren't already. It really has blessed me, and I'm thankful to have married a man who was already doing it and was committed to doing it together. 

If you have any questions about anything I wrote about in this post, feel free to leave a comment or email me. I certainly don't know everything there is to know about tithing or the Bible, but I'd love to chat with you!

Matthew 6:21 

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
* * * 

 Thoughts on this post?
Do you tithe? Why or why not?

By the Numbers: 2014

Books read: 30
Pages read: 10,868

Book reviews written on the blog: 4
//Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald
//The Paris Wife
//The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains
//Gone Girl

*Check out my favorite and least favorites of 2014

Miles ran: 582

Number of workouts: 140
Time spent running: 88 hours and 8 minutes

Donuts burned while running: 370
Pounds burned: 19

Races completed: 4 
(10k [6-min PR!], 5k with my mom, Tough Mudder, Electric Run 5k)
New pairs of running shoes bought: 2

US States visited: 8 <-- Double from last year!
California, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Texas, Oklahoma (Tulsa x2), Utah

Trips to Texas: 8 = 2,976 roundtrip miles = ~88 gallons of gas = $265. 
Worth every penny.

Stamps in my passport: 1 (Nicaragua)  **See all Nicaragua posts here.**

Blog posts written: 135
Tweets: 2,864 (Fun fact: In 2013 I tweeted 2,860 times. I find that very strange.)

Most Popular Posts
1) How to Cook Fresh Green Beans
2) Blog Talk #1: How Do You Get So Many Comments? (Pretty much all my Blog Talk posts were popular ones)
3) 5 Other Things Other People Like That I Don't
4) Tips for Running Long on the Treadmill
5) The Process of Blogging Shown in GIFs

Spent on gas: $1,645.13
Spent on entertainment (date nights): $1,418.59
Spent on clothing/shoes/jewelry/misc (for myself): $421.78
Spent on race registrations: $200
Average monthly savings: $1,689

TV seasons watched on Netflix: One Tree Hill seasons 3 & 4 (don't judge me; I already judge myself enough), Gilmore Girls seasons 6 & 7, Psych, New Girl seasons 2 & 3, The Mentalist season 5

30x30 list items completed: 4
1) Host a dinner party
2) Organize my recipes
3) Run a Tough Mudder
4) Do 3 unassisted pull-ups (click for video proof!)

*In case you're interested, 2013 by the numbers