Photo Challenge & Update

What a busy busy fall! I'll get more into that later, but first, the reason I'm joining you again after months of silence.

I'm so excited to announce that I will be taking part in a photo challenge hosted by my friend Hannah over at The Ever Eclectic. You can check out a into to the project here. And the post of her first exercise here.

Each week, I'll post a photo as it relates to the exercises found in the book Shooting with Soul.

Stay tuned for the first exercise: "Glimpses of You" later this week. I hope you guys link up too!

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Now, I'm going to give a little catch up of the last few months. You can stop reading, if you want, I won't be offended. Or just scroll through the pictures. I do this more for me, than for you - I like going back and remembering too.

I started (and finished last week!) some classes online from a local community college. I'm working on the requirements needed to sit for the IBCLC exam.

Of course, the kids started back to school. 5th and 1st grade. How does that happen?

 

Lydia turned 2:

I ran my second half marathon. It was quite possibly the most difficult thing I've ever done, except child birth x3...That's a sore subject, so we'll leave it at that.

I registered and started training for the Myrtle Beach Marathon on February 14. Just under 9 weeks to go. Training is going great. Maybe someday soon I'll share my training schedule.

We had our first snow day!

We had a student of the month:

We had our first ever (of many!) band concert. Fifth grade band is about as good as it gets, haha!

The last few weeks have been busy with the big kids basketball schedules. Juggling 2 schedules is hard sometimes. Thankfully, we have very few games that overlap. So while I will be doing a lot of driving between now and March 1, I will get to see the majority of the games.

Five Friday Faves :)

 

 

I've taken some time- maybe too much? But I woke up this morning with a new resolve and eager to get into spring!

I'm excited to reflect on this weeks favorites with you!

1. Favorite Workout

Today! And before you ask, it was not my only workout. . .

3.14 miles for pi day :) can't be any more fun than that, right? It was a hard run. Wind+BOB=brutal. For real.

But look at this sweet face swinging after our run:

Oh, and have I mentioned she's nosy?

 

2. Favorite Article

I read this article on Finding Joy. I just need it this week. Read it. Maybe you do too.

 

3. Favorite Picture




Yeah, just hanging out eating blueberries in the middle of the kitchen floor. Love her.

 

4. Favorite Meal

I should have taken a picture. But imagine if you can: frozen waffle, scoop of plain Chobani, sliced apples, sprinkled cinnamon. Yum!

 

5. Favorite Moment

Lately, we have been trying to be diligent about having a family bible study 1-2 nights a week. Nothing makes me prouder than hearing those sweet voices recite 1 Peter 3:8. But beyond that, Noah's apology now includes, I wasn't loving as brothers. I love his tender heart.

Oh and that moment that taxes are done? Yeah love that moment too! Haha!!

 

Catching Up

Our winter has been busy. And cold. Bitter cold.

We filled our Saturday's with basketball games. And some Friday nights and Sunday afternoons. We have one last hurrah tomorrow night at the bowling alley with Noah's team. I sure will miss it, but am also looking forward to a free Saturday :)

I've certainly loved the nice weather the last few days. Lydia and I have been able to get out yesterday for a run and then today we took a walk and played on the playground. She giggled the entire time.

Chad had a meeting tonight, so after homework, we went to the basketball hoops to get some more sunshine:

(and then after dinner, we went for ice cream, shhhh... don't tell Chad :)

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Chad did a little DIY last week.
We started with this:

And ended up with this:

























Isn't it great?
Yes. Now I can delete my "House: Foyer" Pinterest board!

And our new "jumbo" coffee mugs:

oh wait? Swanky coffee shop? Nope! :)

And then these 3 :)














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What have you guys been up to?

Ever feel like you need a reset button?

<source>

You know how when you power down your iPhone, and when you start it back up, everything wrong magically is fixed.

Or when you call tech support and the first question they ask is, "have you restarted your computer?"

That's why I haven't checked in since last Monday. I needed a reset. I spent my time away from the blog (and other things) going to bed early, spending time with family, basketball games, napping, running, catching some Olympics, and trying to figure out how to be a better Christian, wife, mom, friend, runner.

<source>

Taking time away from the unnecessary is a good way to write a new plan. Not a pencil-me-in type of plan. A new life view type of plan. It forces you to decide what's important. I still don't have it all worked out, but I'm excited about this new direction.

Stay tuned, over the next few weeks, I'll be telling you about these changes, after I work out the wrinkles.

 

Friday Faves: Valentine's Day Edition <3

 

Happy Valentine's Day, friends! I hope you all were spoiled by your loves :)

1. Favorite Workout

I'm going to have to say yesterday's run. Not because it was a great run by any means, but because it was outside. I needed the sunshine. A glorious 2 miles with my littlest girl.

I also want to try this full body workout by Be Mom Strong:

2. Favorite Article

As a new Costco member, I found this article about real deals on real food. I mean, I did some price checking on some of the items we buy often and on our very favorite pasta sauce (that we use for pasta, lasagna, pizza, anything with a red sauce) and based on the rate we use a jar, we would make our money back for the year from the savings on the sauce alone. I was excited to find more things that we use that will be cheaper!

3. Favorite Picture

Chad came home from work (after sitting in snow traffic for over an hour) and surprised me with this delish treat (which I'm sure he waited at least 30 minutes during his lunch). He even made me latté. He spoils me.

4. Favorite Meal

I didn't actually drink this as a meal, but with a salad. But, I love my Bullet (fantastic Costco find, their set even had the extra large cup with the flip top lid). Happy V-Day to me (from hubby of course ;)

 

5. Favorite Moment

This week has been pretty low key, and well boring. The kids had today off school, so Noah was off at a friends for a sleep over- so we had a girls day (morning). I'm pretty sure Madison had the best day ever, how do I know? Oh, she only said it like 40 thousand times. And we didn't do anything earth shattering- a trip to Michael's to spend a gift card she had, wondering around Target and Marshall's until we went to pick up. Noah. But I think she was happy to see him back with us, but she would never admit it.

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What are you favorites from this week?

What do you have planned for the weekend? More basketball for us!

 

Friday Favorites: week 5

 

I'm late on this weeks Friday Favorites. Sorry! I've just now (ok, maybe an hour ago...) sat down for the first time since about yesterday at noon. I'll give you my excuses later :)

1. Favorite Workout

Thursday night, after I got Noah and Lydia in bed and Chad and Madison were still at her practice, I dialed up my friend YouTube. I found a great full body workout by Be Mom Strong.

Check it out:

 

2. Favorite Article

I read a great little blog post written by Kristen over at When At Home by called Let Your Husband Love You. It's easy to forget how hard it is for our husbands to leave every morning for work, knowing we're home with the babies. It's easy to think of work being a treat because they aren't dealing with the day to day crazy. You know, a baby that won't nap, the dirty toilets, the homework, the arguing kids, dinner prep with a still whiny baby... But I think any husband would agree, they'd much rather be home with you and the littles than heading off to work all day and often times bring more work home. While I know not all husbands have to work Saturday's, mine does. And I know, it breaks his heart leaving for work knowing we are heading to one or more basketball games. Thank your husband today.

 

3. Favorite Picture

I took this Thursday night at Noah's practice. Lydia helping Madison with her homework :)

 

4. Favorite Meal

Tuesday night, I fixed chicken philly subs and cheesy potato chips. We used day old Jimmy Johns subs. Not only was it so yummy, but the kids gobbled it up and asked for it in their lunch on Wednesday. Mom win of the week.

 

5. Favorite Moment

Thursday, at 2 days shy of 17 months old, Lydia poo-pooed on the pot! Clearly, we have a long way (and probably a long, long, long way with her stubborn hiney!) to go, but that first time is memorable, right?!

 

Polar Vortex? Just plain cold!

A busy day at home with the kiddos.

Snow day #6 here. Thankfully, Ohio came up with (and our district adopted) a plan to give us a few extra snow days without adding days to the end of the school year. Enter Blizzard Bags.

Busy working on their Blizzard Bags in their pjs:

 

 

Miss Lydia had to be in on what the big kids were doing:

 

So much so that we had a no nap day. Maybe she'll sleep tonight? Probably not.

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Funny story about the laundry today:

I was putting in the 2nd load of the day, I had a shirt and skirt of Lydia's on the dryer (pretreated with Dawn after an incident with a green marker). I started the water and tossed those 2 in, ran upstairs for the rest but completely forgot what I was doing. As in, I didn't remember what I was doing until I heard the dryer go off and went in to switch and noticed I forgot to put the lid down on the washer AND then I still didn't remember until I went to switch them to the dryer and whoops! There were only 2 pieces of clothing still in the washer. Oh, there's more- I switched them to the dryer and apparently forgot to turn it on. I may be losing it.

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Dinner:

Chicken philly sub and cheesy potato chips. The bun? Oh, just yesterday's bun from Jimmy John's. 50 cents. So yummy. It really made the sub. Go. Buy one or two tomorrow.

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Chad told Lydia to come say night night to Noah. She cracked up laughing and crawled into his bed. Cuties.

 

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The temperatures today were not as cold as it was a few weeks ago, but still so bitter cold. This has not been good for the running. . . I know I sound like a broken record. I keep thinking that at any point this winter will somehow turn into last winter. Remember? 30s and 40s all winter long? Yes please.

I am excited for Friday though, the forecast says 37! A run with the BOB is looking good :) Hopefully, the bike trail is thawed out by then, I'd really like 5 flat miles.

Oh, and I'm really hoping that next winter is less brutal since I'll be finishing up marathon training in December and January. I'm still in denial I'm even saying that out loud.

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Are you looking forward to warmer days ahead, whenever they get here?




 

Friday Favorites: week 3

 

It's been a seemingly busy week, yet when I look back I can't think of what we actually did. I do know there was a lot of coffee consumed.

1. Favorite Workout

I have to say it was my first training run for my next half marathon. 10k in 59:10. I originally planned 6, but decided to go the extra .2 to see if I could run it in under an hour. I've been chasing a sub-60 10k since my first 10k back in August, and check it- I ran it in a training run like it was no big thang.

2. Favorite Article

Why Runner's Need to Strength Train. I think the items listed are things we all know, but need to be reminded of from time to time.

3. Favorite Picture

I'm digging the closet this week. It makes me happy every time!

4. Favorite Meal

Wednesday night's dinner. I threw together "healthy" grilled cheese (no butter, olive oil spray in the skillet). I loaded mine up- avocado mashed up and slathered on like mayo, a slice of turkey, red pepper, spinach, and bacon. Does "healthy" go entirely out the window at them mention if bacon? It was so yummy!

5. Favorite Moment

Thursday morning. Waking up to the realization that I'm going to beach tomorrow helped me get through yesterday and today with smiles :)

Now I get all that last minute stuff ready so we can get out the door on time! And keep the kiddos quiet so Chad can get some sleep.

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What are your 5 favorites for the week?

 

Challenge Check-in

Since it is Sunday again, I wanted to check in to see how everyone's 4 week Squat, Crunch and Plank challenge is going.

In case you missed it or if you want to start today, here is the schedule:

Personally, I am loving this challenge. In a hate kinda way :) I love to hate it anyway.

I do know I have had sore legs for a week now. And I'm sure I'll have sore legs for 3 more weeks.

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And sweet girl has a new snack spot (I finally got a pic):

 

 

Basketball, an arm workout, training change, and hair. Random? Probably

I hope you guys had a grrrr-eat Saturday :)

We had a busy basketball Saturday. I had to miss Noah's game today- they both had a game at noon.

But I'm glad I was able to see both of them play their first games of the season.

Here they are this morning:

 

<Madison was chomping at the bit to go! She was so excited to finally have a game>

And a cute outtake with Little Sis:

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Oh, I almost forgot, Madison and I started out the morning with this little arm workout (like that segway?):

I wanted to do something, but my legs were (and still are) so tired from the 4x4 workout, and squats and yesterday's run that I wanted to rest them a little so they're ready for the extra miles on Monday. First run over 3 miles since December 16th. And actually, that's not as long ago as I thought it was. So, I'm feeling a little better about it than I was.

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Since I realized I'm not as far out from higher miles as I thought, I'm rethinking my training program for the Kentucky Derby miniMarathon. I was going to follow this Jeff Galloway training plan (the bottom one for a time goal) . But now I think I'm going to up my mileage a little quicker, focus on those first 10 miles- I HAVE to get them under 90 minutes to have a chance at a 2 hour half.

So here's what I'm looking at for my long runs:

January 13: 6 miles

January 20: 8 miles (on the beach, yes please :)

January 27 through March 3: 10 miles

March 10: 11 miles

March 17: 12 miles

March 24: 13 miles

March 31: 15 miles

April 7: 13 miles

Yes, that is 6 weeks in a row with 10 miles. It's a risk, but I think if I really focus on speeding up on those last 5 miles, it can pay off. My plan would be to take the first week one easy. And then each week that follows, I'll start running more miles as a tempo run, and hope I'm looking at 80-85 minutes by March 3rd- I only have to cut off 20 minutes from the last time I ran 10 miles :/ yeah, I've got some work to do!

Sorry Elizabeth!

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I got distracted tonight looking for something new to do with my hair.

Here it is down:

<photo by: Happy Daisy Photography>

I wanted something new, up (to keep the kids from crawling all over it), cute, classic, easy, and not a bun.

I think I'll try this:

<photo source and tutorial found here>

I'll let you know how it goes!

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How was your Saturday?

What awesome workout have you done/plan to do this weekend?

Have you made last minute training schedule changes? How did they end up working out for you?

What is your go-to hair style?

I definitely always go for the bun. Sometimes the "hoopty". Sometimes a braid.

 

Five Friday Faves: week 2

 

1. Favorite Workout

The mamas over at Be Mom Strong have outdone themselves again. This workout is 22 minutes of pure hurt. For real. They call it a 4x4 workout: 4 circuits with 4 exercises repeated. Chad actually said, "that was really intense!" After the workout, I did my 70 squats, 50 crunches and 60 second plank, my legs were pretty much jelly. I don't regret it one bit!

I was looking through their YouTube channel for a workout, and just arbitrarily picked this one. And then, they posted about it this morning? Say what?! Great minds think alike :)

Check it out:

 

2. Favorite article

This week, I have been doing a little blog research on how to do things better around here. Ironically, a post came through the BlogHer network called Blogger Beware: You CAN Get Sued For Using Photos You Don't Own On Your Blog. The author goes through her personal experience with using a photographers photo in a post. Her experience was very eye opening for me, a blogger who is just starting out. She also lists free open source resources to use. Thank you!

3. Favorite picture

4. Favorite meal

I have to say, it felt good to cook again. The menu this week was full of yumminess. But my simple Apple Pie Oatmeal breakfast from Tuesday was the best this week.

 

5. Favorite moment

While we certainly missed Madison while she was gone on Tuesday afternoon, I did enjoy the quiet time with Noah (and Lydia) making cinnamon rolls. He's getting more and more interested in helping out when I cook (especially when it comes to controlling the mixer). I need to swallow the "I know it's just going to make a big mess" lump more often and just let him. He was proud :)

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Tell me your favorites for this week!

 

The time has come, our fun is over...

Another "cold day" off school here.

Apple pie oatmeal:

 

Coloring a drawing of ourselves:

 

Hanging out with the dog:

 

Madison went to have sewing fun with friends, so Noah and I kicked it in to high gear and made some cinnamon rolls:

 

And Lydia tasted and devoured her first lollipop:

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After we got the kids in bed, Chad had some work to do, so I did some yoga and Day 3 of my SCPC (squats, crunches, plank challenge). I'm soooooo glad tomorrow is a built in rest day! Plus, I'll have the opportunity to move my challenge reps to the mornings instead of at night.

And then coffee and a cinnamon roll (or 2...). The cinnamon roll is a problem.

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Cinnamon roll(s) + mama not running as much = a much needed gym membership so I can get back to running 5+ days a week (without cold and wind!)

Tomorrow, I'm going to take on that challenge. Starting with a new place in town that's opens in February. It's going to be a center for women only with free day care- which would be my preference- but as always, money is a factor, their sales office is open tomorrow and they are supposed to be offering a pre-opening special, but we'll see how special it is! The fall back plan would be a new place a little further away, no day care, but it's super duper cheap. I'm kind of hoping the first place pulls through, but glad I have a back up plan.

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Extended winter break has come to an end and all alarms must be set for zero dark:30. Or 7:00, whichever comes last.


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How was your Tuesday?

Have your kids gone back to school?

 

I love days like this!

Today, school was cancelled for the big kids because of the extreme cold.

Freezing cold doesn't even begin to describe it. And it's only gotten colder throughout the day and night.

Tomorrow isn't looking promising either. And school is already cancelled. Longest winter break ever. I think cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate for breakfast.

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Since it's Monday, it was Chad's day off. But he helped me around the house. between me, him, and the big kids we cleaned up the house. The whole house, except the dusting, but I hate dusting. Between the trip and us all being sick, and all the kids being home the house had been put on the back burner for way too long.

And Lydia helped too.

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And the last load of towels is in the dryer. I'll fold everything tomorrow.

A few months ago, I started washing and drying all the laundry in one day day. And then the next day, I sort it by person, fold it all and putting it away. Some days it goes smoother than others. All in all, I think it's what works best for me.

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Tonight, I did a barre video and then day 2 of my squats, crunches and plank challenge. I gotta say, it was way easier yesterday when I didn't do a workout first. I suppose tomorrow's reps will be even worse than today's.

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PS: cross your fingers that Miss Lydia sleeps for he 3rd night in a row!

How was your Monday?

Are you experiencing the "deep freeze"?