Good morning! Here in Michigan we are waking up to about three inches of fresh snow (and finally some temperatures above freezing) on this Monday morning. I love the significance of pure, white snow – it represents a clean slate for me. Even better that it happened at the start of this week. It sounds all hippie-ish, but I really do find that my attitude on Monday mornings really sets my intention for the rest of the week. Lucky for me, I woke up in a good mood this morning and even made it to the gym already, so I’ve got high hopes for the next few days. 😉
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Our weekend was so super low key, and we were at home so much, but that was so necessary after the fast-paced holiday season. I barely had any real work to do on Friday, so I spent the majority of the day organizing our house. I went through each room, closet, and drawer and got rid of absolutely anything we didn’t need (threw some away and donated a bunch), cleaned it out, and then reorganized what was left. It’s amazing all the random crap I was holding on to for absolutely no reason. I also did a really good clean of our whole house and was honestly on like a high when I was done. Chris can account for me probably being in one of the best moods he has ever seen me in when I was finished. I have just been opening doors and looking at how good everything looks all weekend – I even have an EMPTY SHELF in our linen closet. It’s amazing. I also caught up on my Jen Hatmaker podcasts that I was behind on while I worked, which really made the time fly by.
Finally around 4pm we decided to leave the house for the first time that day to go to the gym to get a workout in. I knew it would be busy because of it being January and all, but the amount of people there for that time of day was astounding. After the gym we went to my parents’ house for dinner with them and my sisters and then, you guessed it, went to bed early like the grandparents we are.
As I was laying in bed reading with a cup of coffee on Saturday morning, happy as can be, I felt something weird on my foot and looked under the sheets to find one of our cats! Ignore my ridiculous face and her insane eyes in this photo, but I think it’s too funny not to share. Since discovering that hiding spot on Saturday morning, she has crawled under there just about any time I get in bed. It’s adorable.
The rest of Saturday was spent going to hot yoga (which was also crazy busy with new people), cooking/meal prepping a million things (this Whole 30 thing is so time consuming), finishing organizing my clothes, and watching a bunch more Lost. We did make a couple of Whole 30 recipes that turned out delicious for lunch – sautéed kale with almonds, garlic, and lemon and butternut squash soup. And I must admit – although I haven’t been doing it perfectly with Chris I have been doing a lot of the program, and I do feel lighted, my skin is clearer, and I have been sleeping like a baby. I hate to admit it, but it’s true….
I feel like a crazy cat lady sharing more than one cat photo in a single post, but I have to. Chris snapped this picture of our other two cats (I promise, we only have the three) and I as we were laying on the couch on Saturday night. For a while I honestly didn’t realize both of them were curled up there, but they just squish themselves together so tight so they can’t fall off. There is something to be said for a whole day at home just getting your life together and cuddling on the couch with cats and your husband. I love it.
Sunday was pretty much the same as it always is – church, volunteering with my girls, meal prepping, and getting ready for the week ahead. We made some more good Whole 30 approved meals, including mashed cauliflower and a citrus glazed tilapia. I’ve got to be honest. I am one of those people that laughs and shakes my head when a healthy person says something ridiculous is a substitute for cheese or whatever. BUT I will 100% throw this out there that mashed cauliflower can be a substitute for mashed potatoes. We truly could not tell the difference. It was really, really good.
I also made a Tone It Up recipe for oatmeal apple mini muffins (that are really healthy!) and oh boy were those good, too. I am a big fan. They have a “Love Your Body” challenge starting today that runs through Valentine’s Day that I will be kind of doing, and this recipe was included in their new nutrition plan they released for the challenge.
Later on in the evening I went to my friend Katie’s house for a bit, went home and watched Shameless with Chris (ugh, this season is so freaking good), read some of my book, and called it a day.
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And really quick before I sign off for today I want to touch base on the “Behind the Book” series I decided to start up last week. The first book I am reviewing is Braving the Wilderness by Brené Brown and the first topic I am looking at is that of “true belonging.” Take a look at the last post if you want a deeper definition of what she says true belonging is and how it is applicable to our lives, but I actually have an example from my week where I tried to practice my own true belonging:
For as long as I can remember, I have thought something was wrong with me for liking to be at home. Although I love my friends and family, I am most comfortable when I am just home with Chris. I find immense joy in having no where to go in a day and just having all the time in the world to cook, clean, organize, read, and be alone. I have spent a lot of my life feeling guilty for this, but something started to come over me this week where I realized that there is nothing wrong with being this way. The feeling didn’t last long, but it was a great one, and it seems like a step in the right direction for me.
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