four friday faves.

With this being the last Friday in January, and the fact that a lot of people have health + fitness on the brain this month, here are my very favorite workouts to do indoors ...

[1] "Love Your Body with Kettlebells"... I use a 10 pound hand weight instead.
[2] Bikini Arms workout ... love this because I can follow along on my laptop while watching TV.
[3] "The Best Ab Routine" ... this is a workout I totally despise doing, but feel great afterwards.
[4] "Love Your Body With HIIT" workout ... all you need is a mat or carpet!

back to reality.

So we thoroughly enjoyed our holiday break ... lots of Wii playing + TV watching; endless Lego playing; later breakfasts & bedtimes; countless pajama-wearing days ... it was pretty wonderful. But as much as I fight having a schedule & a routine, I REALLY crave it at the same time. It's back to the grind, but it's been pretty great :) We started school at home the week after New Years and CC this past Wednesday.

Our first day was frrreeeezzing outside ... which meant our house couldn't really warm up, so pajama day was a cozy way to start back to school. We kicked off the day with read-aloud time in the boys room, and then moved to the family room to work on sticker books while listening to Math skip counting music.

Presentation time - sharing a favorite Christmas gift with the class...

Our first day back at CC was also Science Fair day, and the boys loved seeing all the hands-on experiments!

Matthew's afternoon writing class [aka: Pre-Essentials] ... Mrs. Hellmann held her "Hellmann's Book Bonanza," so every kid picked a book to take home. 

avocado toast.

I have found a new favorite breakfast ... it's soooo delicious, filling, healthy, and quick to whip up. [many wins here!] Obviously, there are lots of ways to prepare avocado toast, but this is what I use:

::DIRECTIONS::
Mash half an avocado, sprinkle turmeric [many health benefits & does not alter the taste] + garlic salt to taste and stir ... spread on toast. Sometimes I'll grind a little pink himalayan salt on top if it's not salty enough :)

four friday faves.

[1] Steve Madden "Nyrvana" quilted booties ... i was so excited to snag these at 40% off after Christmas!
[2] Gray Away spray from CVS ... i heavily rely on this every month to cover my grey roots in between hair color appointments.
[3] Fitbit Flex in slate ... This was one of my faves a couple of months ago, and i almost bought this at Target last night until I realized my coupon was for a different style. On my wishlist now more than ever :)
[4] Tyler Perry's Medea's Witness Protection movie ... i know these Medea movies have been around a long time, but we just discovered them last weekend. So funny. We're watching this one tonight! 

four friday faves.

Since we are traveling, here are my favorite things about a road trip ...
[1] really good conversation with Gus while the kids are zoned in on movies. 
[2] being able to catch up on email & text responses. 
[3] the joy of just sitting and riding after being non-stop all day preparing to leave. 
[4] planning our route around a pit stop @ Starbucks :)

four friday faves.

[1] The Celebrity Apprentice .... so excited this show is back on again.
[2] Little Owl's Night ... Hollis received this precious + pretty book for Christmas, and we have loved reading it over and over again.
[3] TOMS for Target tee ... this made my list of favorite Christmas gifts I received. [p.s. the entire TOMS line is now on clearance!]
[4] Quilted slippers from the Gap ... hooray for cute and comfy slippers that, most importantly, don't make my feet sweat :)

twenty-fifteen.

I love it when the calendar rolls to a new year ... I love a fresh start; a new day; a chance to make some changes ... So I love coming up with some goals to strive for.

#1 Read more. I read some great books in 2014, but I also have books that are waiting to be picked up off our bookshelf ... Kisses From Katie by Katie Davis, Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, and Gifted Hands by Ben Carson are just a few on my reading list this year. I also want to read more to the kids. We go in and out of phases where I read aloud to them. We all love it, and I want to make that more of a habit around here.
#2 Serve more. I want to have eyes that are open and a heart this is willing to serve others this year in ways I never have before - whether in big or small ways ... and I want to teach our children to do the same, leading by example.
#3 Prioritize more. I am guilty of letting whatever I mark off my chalkboard wall to-do list determine how I measure my daily success. Working hard, managing a home, and providing clean clothes for my family are certainly very important, but I don't want to ever communicate to my family that my to-do list is more important than them. Instead, I want to go to bed each night knowing that in some way I showed Gus and the kids that they are such a treasure to me.
#4 Run more. I really love to exercise, and going for a run has been my very favorite. But after falling twice last year, I cut back for fear of falling again. I want to get over that fear, and run some races as well this year ... including a 10K.
#5 Listen more. This one is really hard for me when it comes to Gus and the kids. I'm not good at turning off my brain or putting my phone down when they want to tell me something. And I like to think I'm pretty good at pretending I'm listening when I'm actually thinking about something else. Truth is, I need to be listening to them ... I need to hear  Gus and the kids need to know I care about what they have to say, no matter if I'm really interested or not.

So these aren't necessarily my "new years resolutions" that tend to be broken by mid-January. It's about baby steps to changing some things about myself or making time for the most important in life. Thank goodness "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." [Matthew 19:26]

four friday faves.

[1] Fixer Upper on HGTV ... I've had 3 friends tell me about this show over the past few months, and I finally caught a marathon of it this week. Looovve it. Totally solidified my desire for acreage + a farmhouse.
[2] Tone It Up website ... I discovered these trainers about a year ago, and love their effective [and free!] workouts, as well as nutrition tips. I especially love how they post a weekly workout schedule every Sunday to keep things interesting + fun.
[3] It's All Good cookbook by Gwyneth Paltrow ... Gus gave me this for Christmas last year, and I love how it educated me on "clean eating." It's a good time of year to pull this one out again. Plus, every recipe I've tried has been delicious.
[4] Henderson Park Inn in Destin, Fla. ... sooo hope we will go back for our 13th anniversary next month :)

happy new year!