Author: Jenna

Jenna Volden has a degree in business and has spent the last 10 plus years working for others. She believes it is time to start her own photography and writing business. She enjoys running, coffee and helping others achieve their goals. Gluten-free foods are a lifestyle, not a choice, for her due to celiac disease. She is currently based in Phoenix, Arizona.

The Magic of Snow

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In Phoenix, we don’t get a first snow.

Captain obvious, huh? Even though I am not a fan of Wisconsin winters, I have to admit there is something magical about a first snow. It feels like a chance at a fresh start, a clean slate. We get to enjoy this beautiful blanket of pure white snow covering the dead brown earth.

It makes me almost miss snow. Almost.

Snow means winter is really here. And winter means ice skating, sweaters, and hot chocolate. It’s a whole different experience from the oppressive summer heat. The twinkle lights seem brighter in the snow. It suddenly doesn’t feel as cold when it’s snowing.

snow

As a kid, waking up to snow meant no school. A day of sledding instead of studying. Building snowmen instead of being stuck indoors. Snow, to me, means Christmas is coming. It never feels like Christmas if there isn’t snow. And it also means cookies, cheesy movies, and singing along to Christmas songs.

So, although we don’t get snow in Phoenix, Im going to try to bring some snow magic to December. Ill think each day is magical and there for me to create, to do something fun, and not to stick to my usual routine. Sometimes we need to shake off our normal and have a snow day.

How will you bring some snow magic to your December, even if you have no snow?

PS Did you watch Gilmore Girls? One of my favorite running storylines was how much Lorelai loved snow. She could smell it coming, even if it wasn’t in the weather report. She totally got the idea of snow magic.

Do you travel for holidays?

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Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say on a bright Hawaiian Christmas day

That’s the island greeting that we send to you From the land where palm trees sway

Here we know that Christmas will be green and bright

The sun will shine by day and all the stars at night

Mele kalikimaka is Hawaii’s way to say Merry Christmas to you

Lyrics from Lele Kalikimaka by R. Alex Anderson and performed by Bing Crosby

No, I haven’t spent Christmas in Hawaii. The only place I’ve traveled to for Christmas is Wisconsin to see family. I think it would be fun to travel and spend the last two weeks of the year somewhere, not Phoenix. I can imagine a Christmas in Hawaii. It would be sunny and warm. I would sip drinks by the ocean (or pool). All the palm trees would be covered in twinkle lights.

It would be so great!

Since Im stuck in Phoenix for now, I went back through my Hawaii archives. I redid a few photos, thinking about the spirit of the holidays while singing along with bing Crosby (can I just confess how much I adore this mans voice?). I’m trying to get in the holiday mood. I find editing photos while listening to Christmas songs is helping.

I hope you enjoy the new edits of old travel photos. It’s been fun for me to re-visit and see how much I’ve grown! Travel is something I’ve always loved to do, and this year has been tough in that department. If you are missing your travels, why not do a photo project? If all of your travel photos are digital, get them printed! You could make a photo book for each vacation. Then when you are missing travel, pull out your album and reminisce. I know, I know, it’s not quite the same but it will keep you busy making photo albums!

If you could spend the last two weeks of the year somewhere different, where would you go?

Every Damn Trail

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Every Damn Trail from Aravaipa Running is a challenge to finish every trail (duh) at a park of your choice from September to December. I picked Estrella Mountain and finished in about a month and a half.

Estrella has about 50-55 miles of trails between the regular trails and the competitive track. When I finished I had done about 92 miles. It probably could have been a few less but mishaps and bad runs happen.

This challenge was so much fun!

I had to plan routes and be consistent with going to the park each weekend. It was definitely an interesting alternative to virtual races and a fun way to push myself.

I also learned somethings I like and don’t like. And experienced parts of Estrella I probably would not have otherwise ventured.

I plan to continue through other parks. I have three parks in mind. I need to plan how I want to do it. I may rotate between the three parks, which will take longer to finish, but will keep it more interesting. Eventually, I will venture out beyond the parks closest to me but for now, I like staying within a 15-30ish minute drive.

I may even do a run every street in my zip code or HOA. This may be a summer challenge when I don’t want to drive or drive far at 4 am.

Have you don an every street or trail challenge? Would you do one? Why or why not?

November Book Corner

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The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James 5 Stars

In 1982, Viv heads to New York with dreams of being an actress. Instead, she ends up in Fell, working the night shift at the Sun Down Motel. Strange things happen during the night, and soon Viv disappears. In 2017, Carly’s mom passes away, and she decides now is the time to finally learn more about her aunt Viv, who disappeared in 1982. Carly packs her car and heads to Fell, New York.

The Sun Down Motel weaves together 1982 and 2017, switching between Viv and Carly’s point of view. I’ve read several books that take this approach, switching times and point of views, and I think The Sun Down Motel is one of the most successful at it. It’s very clear who is talking and where. St. James weaves hints between the different times. She does an outstanding job at keeping you on the edge of the seat and wanting to keep reading because you need to know what happened.

I finished this book in three days. I couldn’t put it down and when I wasn’t reading I was thinking about it. I’m sure the genre (ghost + mystery) isn’t for everyone, but I loved it. So much so, I added all of St. James other books to my library wish list.

Nothing Like I Imagined by Mindy Kaling 5 Stars

Nothing Like I Imagined is six short books from Kaling. She covers different topics in each book from being a single mom to finding friends in LA. All with Mindy’s humor coming through. I’ve been a fan of Kaling for years and always enjoy her writing. I’m not a mom or Hindu, but I could see myself in her stories. Maybe because we are the same age? Or share social anxiety? If you are a fan of Mindy Kaling, I think you would enjoy these essays. If you’ve never read or watched anything from Mindy Kaling (are you living under a rock?) these are short enough that if you hate them you didn’t waste over 20 minutes on one.

Feck Purfuction by James Victore 2 stars

Feck Purfuction was nothing new. It was a very surface level look at being creative and doing what you love. It was well written and a fast read. I also enjoyed the art between chapters. Feck Purfuction is a friendly reminder if you need it.

Ugh, he just lost a star by telling people to go gluten-free. No. Do not do this unless you medically need to. This is terrible advice for many reasons. Without this little footnote, I’d have given this 3 stars. It became very hard for me to finish the last 10% or so after reading that. Seriously. It diminished everything else he had to say to give such awful. He even called it a “pro tip” Not very pro at all.

Ugh. This book. I wanted to like it. I liked some of it BUT and this is a big but it was so simple. And that gluten tip. It’s still bothering me. It’s actually not healthy to give up gluten if you have no medical need to do so. You miss out on vital nutrients. Ok, I’m done now.

I didn’t finish Atomic Habits this month but only have one section left so I will cover it in Decembers book corner. I also started another book, The End of October, which will be in December’s blog.

What books did you read in November? Drop them in the comments!

Nature Refresh

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We recently returned from a trip to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. It was the kind of reset I needed. There’s nothing like being out in nature, especially when human interaction is limited and wildlife is on display.

When we first arrived at our campsite, we were greeted by elk. We noticed them all around as we drove to the site. It was truly amazing. They came back each day and wandered around. The second night we could hear coyotes howling.

Being out in nature, seeing, and hearing wildlife is good for the soul.

Too often we get stuck in our daily routine of life. Wake up, work, watch tv, go to bed. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Maybe you workout a bit, go for a walk to get some vitamin D but you still are surrounded by the sites and sounds of the city.

Humans need nature. We need to get away from the screens.

I love screens. Don’t get me wrong. Clearly, I use the internet and social media. But I think we need a break. We need to put the phones and computers down and head outside. There’s something about fresh air and sunshine that clears the soul.

I also love it when we have time away from the internet too. If you get far enough away from the city, your cell service might not work which is not a bad thing for a few days. I only used my phone to take photos and videos. At the campsite I enjoyed the elk, reading my book, and enjoying the fire. With s’mores of course.

We don’t need to be connected all the time.

We need time away. There’s nothing quite like enjoying only the sounds of nature. Of not feeling tied to anything. To have the freedom to just sit and think or reflect.

Although not the same, I try to get out each weekend for a trail run. Being outside helps me feel more connected to nature and to reset from a tough week of work and responsibility.

Where is your favorite place to get away for a bit and not deal with screens and other people’s problems?

How I’m Planning in 2021

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I’m putting together my planners for 2021. I am changing a bit from what Ive done the past few years. Previously I used a vertical life planner, a daily petite, and a desk calendar. The system worked pretty well for me and I love the vertical planner. It makes sense in my head.

I used the vertical life planner for my daily life: workouts, appointments, to-dos, bills due, etc. I used the daily petite for content planning for my photography business. My desk calendar was a Hodge-Podge of personal appointments and business blogs.

For 2021, Im switching it up a bit.

I had planned to continue the same setup. I received the daily petite planners from Erin Condren and was going to order my vertical life planner during the Black Friday sale. But in the holiday box Erin Condren sent out, I received the new monthly planner. I thought about giving it away but wanted to switch up my planning a bit.

I have a pretty good handle on my photography business content, but I’m struggling with Runs on Espresso. I want to be a better ambassador and affiliate, so I need to put in the work. Ive been experimenting a bit this month (November) with how I will use my planners going into 2021.

For next year I have a daily petite, the monthly petite, a monthly coil and binder, and a desk calendar. I swear I didn’t plan to use this many! It just happened.

As stated, I use the daily petite for content planning. For 2021, I am going to use it as a combo of content planning and daily to-do lists. It was a lot of room for what I was using it for. It makes more sense to use the to-do section for all things I need to do, not just blog or social media related. I have also been transferring my workouts from my monthly binder to each day so I can see it in several places.

I was originally going to use my petite monthly to content plan but changed my mind. I haven’t worked it out yet, but I’m making this my goals journal and tracker. I will use the pages in the back to write out and break down my goals and add notes throughout the year. I’ll use the monthly calendars to track “due dates” for steps of each goal.

My monthly coiled planner will be for tracking my personal stuff like appointments, paydays, and bills do. You know, the fun stuff. I love the dashboard and have made notes of how I’ll use each section (important dates, books read, and business goal tracking). I’ll use two note pages per week and add anything there that I need to remember or do for the week that doesn’t fit on the monthly calendar.

You may have seen my previous post, Who is Ready for 2021?, in which I mentioned my plan for the monthly binder. I have been using this now for almost two months and like it. I can plan out a month of my ultramarathon plan, track my races, weight, and measurements. And when 2021 starts, I’ll add my notes on workouts on the lined pages for each month.

Lastly, that pesky desk calendar. I love how it looks so I order it every year but haven’t really had a plan for it. I’ve changed how I use it throughout each year. But not for 2021! For 2021, my desk calendar will be my content planner for my business and this blog. I already started plotting it all out. I’ll list the blog posts, newsletters, social media plans for each month and week. I’ll note the promos or what I’m “pushing” (for lack of a better term) each month.

Whew, that’s a lot of planners and organization I’ve got going on! If you want to see the planners in action, head over to my YouTube channel where I walk through each of these planners.

What planner(s) will you be using next year?

My Favorite Image – Joshua Tree

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Joshua tree

Have you ever been to Joshua Tree National Park?

Joshua Tree is a vast place with several diverse areas. You can hike to a palm tree oasis, off-road to see some of the oldest and largest Joshua Tree, or hike to an old mine. On the hike to the mine, there are several old cars.

I always wonder how these old cars get to these random places. They aren’t easy places to get to, by off-road vehicle or on foot. And why leave them behind? Did they breakdown? Run out of gas? This is where my mind goes when I see random things in the desert. I start making up stories!

The old cars are rusted, have holes in the floorboards, and nature has taken some of them back.

I think this green one is my favorite of the cars we came across. It was the most hidden in a grove of trees. The others were all out in the open. I love the exposed wood in the door. I love the way the leaves and sticks are filling up the driver’s side floor.

If you like this photo and want to see more cars from Joshua Tree, head over to my gallery!

What story would you make up about these cars?