Happy April Fools Day–
I said “hello” to April today by starting my morning off with a delightful three mile run! WHAT A BEAUTIFUL DAY (to run)!! But before we get more into April- I think it would be polite to say goodbye to March first, especially since March was an INCREDIBLE month!
March was my Birthday month- March 10th! 
**I spent my birthday morning at home, in Charlotte, and when I came down in the morning mom had this beautiful set up ready for m!!!**
Birthday Breakfast- coffee + skim milk, 2 eggs, and a blueberry muffin
*The blueberry muffin served as my “sweet treat” for March! You see, March was also a wonderful month because I decided on February 28th that throughout the entire month of March I was going to give up “sweets” and unnecessary sugars. This was as a birthday gift to myself and to challenge myself! It was actually not as difficult of a task as I had expected. It’s April now and I do not even crave any sweets. I’ll probably just stick to the natural ones for a while: obviously fruits, dates (those stand in as my candy.. love em), 60% or more dark chocolate, and natural honey at times if I want. It was a fun endeavor… I’m very glad I did it. I must say though, there were three difficult times where I had to fight to abstain: when I was in Atlanta visiting family and they were eating “Thin Mints”- chocolate and mint is perhaps one of my favorite combos in the world, the second time was on my birthday- I worked at the studio that night and my boss gave me a really delicious looking brownie/cup cake which I had to give to my brother (he was happy about that), and the third was on my birthday celebration here in Greensboro and we got a cookie cake (those used to be my all time favorite). So- it wasn’t always easy but for the most part- it was! Fruit, Hot Tea, and Dates are great stand ins when a treat is wanted or needed.
March was also delightful because my best friend/sister Erin came to visit me from Wilmington! We had great weather… which meant: a day spent in Carrboro, laying out in the quad, and enjoying great food together! 
Erin- enjoying the sun!
Like I mentioned before- I got to spend some time in Atlanta with my family who lives there! Where we ate much great food and played indoor and outdoor games: soccer! My cousin is a great little soccer player.. After watching her game I decided that I really want to play soccer! I don’t know when, where, or how.. but I’ll figure it out!
Claire on the soccer field
And after my run this morning- I welcomed in APRIL with a yummy and nutritious breakfast to re-fuel!
Hot tea + 2 "cage free" eggs and avocado inside Whole Grain Ezekiel sprouted grain bread!
