CAPTURE

1) to take by force
2) to gain control of or exert influence over
3) to take possession of, as in a game or contest
4) to represent or record in lasting form

Today is April 1st -- April Fools' Day for all you pranksters. For me, this marks the start of second quarter, which means the first three months of 2014 have already flown by in the blink of an eye. For someone who loves to track things, the beginning of Q2 is the perfect time for me to check in on my new years resolutions:

Pray: I have shared prayer more often with my family as they have been driving up to come to Church with me as often as possible. 
Run, lift, and practice yoga: I have ran my first 15K and signed up for a half (more to come on both of those!). I have added AM lifting sessions multiple days a week to compliment my evening yoga classes.
Eat clean: The majority of my meals are paleo and still having a blast trying out new alternative recipes.
Save weekly: I have been sticking to the reverse plan for the 52 Weeks of Saving. If you haven't heard of it -- check it out here! It is so simple and you end with over $1,300 put away. 
Establish balance: This is not a goal that is easy measured, but I do feel like I have been keeping busy and allowing myself downtime. Also, I deleted the Facebook app from my phone for Lent -- which has really helped in balancing my time and phone usage. 
Nix the negative: That is where this post comes into play! Read on!
Travel near or far: Currently, I have a few "near" places on the calendar (Minnesota in June, Las Vegas in July, and California in August). Now I want to focus on the "far". 

Looking back on the first three months of the year -- I am really proud of how I have maintained my focus on my resolutions and I want to keep it up! This brings me to the #100happydays challenge I just read about. 

All this challenge involves is capturing a photo of something that has made you happy each day. Surprisingly, the website notes that 71% of people who tried to complete this challenge failed, attributing a lack of time as the main for the not completing the challenge.

WAIT! WHAT? People actually think they don’t have time to be happy?

The converse side of my resolution "nix the negative" is to "promote the positive". It is all too easy to focus on what is missing, but what if we shifted our mind set and focused on what is going well? Conscious happiness, that is what will happen!

I am starting today and my 100th day will be on July 9th. Why don't you join in the challenge and make the time to welcome happiness into your life each day (click here!). I will complete my challenge via Instagram (using the hashtag #SMB100happydays) -- but you can do it with any format you desire. Can you do it? You are part of beautiful moments each and everyday, memories that ask you to CAPTURE.