Friday Ideas (Plus, HUGE Cookbook Replace!)

Hello, buddies! It’s April! I’m very pleased with myself for making it by winter, and I’m absorbing each second of this unbelievable spring climate.

I’m glad you’re right here! Heck, I’m glad I’m right here. 😂 (Winter was ROUGH.)

{For those who’re new to Friday Ideas posts and questioning what the heck is occurring, often I pop in with an actual life replace on all of the issues – right now is that day!}

Household/Child Replace: Velocity Fashion

• We at the moment have one highschool tennis participant and one center college tennis participant – it’s so enjoyable watching them each work exhausting at this newer sport for them! And it’s loads much less anxious than watching wrestling matches. 😬
• Talking of wrestling, my 16-year outdated fractured his jaw at the highschool district wrestling event (a few of you in all probability noticed my updates on Instagram about this). It was a season-ending harm, and he had emergency surgical procedure to repair the traumatic harm. He simply received cleared to renew regular actions and eat all.the.issues after six LONG weeks consuming a comfortable/liquid weight-reduction plan. He was such a trooper (and had so many teammates, coaches, buddies, and members of the family assist and love him by the restoration). #milkshakesforever

• Brian purchased a small enterprise and is lastly fulfilling a lifelong dream of being his personal boss. He’s working exhausting to construct and develop this print store (which has been in enterprise for a number of many years!) – it has given me a brand new appreciation for supporting native companies!
• My second oldest (who doesn’t like me sharing photographs of him, however he did give me permission to share this bit of information) just lately obtained an LDS church mission name to serve for 2 years within the Philippines (Manila mission). He leaves July 1. 🥺 We’ve been immersed in researching correct footwear, making use of for visas, and naturally…making an attempt our hand at some Filipino recipes. Making lumpia and rooster adobo this coming Sunday! Any expertise within the Philippines?? We’d love to listen to it.

Kitchen rework

Final Friday Ideas submit I talked concerning the kitchen rework we had been at the moment present process. It’s completed! And ooof, I hope I by no means need to stay by that once more. 🤪 We survived on Costco meals, a sizzling plate for warming issues up, and a whole lot of chilly cereal.

Right here’s the earlier than:

Right here’s the after:

We knocked out the again wall of the kitchen and used the house workplace house to increase the kitchen. After 22 years of ready and wishing, I lastly have double wall ovens, and I really like them simply as a lot as I hoped I might.

If you wish to see extra in-depth movies of the kitchen, faucet by this Instagram spotlight – towards the top of the spotlight, I share a kitchen replace.

We’re at the moment constructing on a small addition to reclaim the misplaced workplace house, and it needs to be executed subsequent week! Essentially the most thrilling a part of the brand new addition is that this wallpaper that’s going up within the laundry room. 😉🐓

(Pray for me, as I haven’t touched wallpaper because the mid-80’s after I needed to painstakingly peel off some very cussed and really paisley-patterned wallpaper from a room in our home, and I nonetheless haven’t gotten over that traumatic – and limitless – expertise.)

Cookbook Replace

BIG NEWS!! The cookbooks HAVE ARRIVED and can ship out very quickly!

For those who pre-ordered a ebook, you’ll obtain a affirmation (by way of electronic mail or textual content, relying on the way you signed as much as obtain updates) when your order ships.

I can not wait so that you can lastly get this cookbook in your arms and in your kitchen!

The ebook is over 300 pages with a photograph for EVERY single one of many 140+ recipes. The standard is excellent and has exceeded the whole lot I hoped for! I hope you adore it. 💗

For those who haven’t ordered but, there’s nonetheless time to get in on this primary print run. Cookbooks might be ordered right here.

Climate blanket

After a buddy despatched me this reel, I made a decision a climate blanket wanted to be in my 2024 plans.

What’s a climate blanket, you ask? (It’s a terrific query! I had no thought till a number of months in the past!) It’s a easy single-crochet blanket the place every row represents the excessive temperature every day of the yr.

I instantly ordered yarn from my native JoAnn’s retailer, picked it up the subsequent day, and began crocheting! Thus far, it has been tremendous enjoyable and never overwhelming (aside from one little add-on venture I made a decision to do with it that I’ll report on later…simply in case I surrender 😂).

One row takes me about 11 1/2 minutes to crochet. I’m hoping to get a bit quicker (there are 230 single crochets in every row). I’m not engaged on it day-after-day, however a few instances per week, I’ll sit down and catch up.

It’s really helped me decelerate within the evenings a bit bit whereas I sit and dutifully examine my climate app, make notations on my spreadsheet 🤓, and chat with my youngsters whereas I crochet. Everybody in my household is surprisingly invested within the climate blanket. 🤣

Issues I’m Loving

• Mantis: this was the successful recreation at Christmas. So, so enjoyable (and extremely simple to be taught). Additionally, the included booklet on Mantis shrimp is 🤯
• Put on When Bracelets: loving these bracelets – and so are my youngsters! I purchased the bracelets for them for Easter, and the scripture messages and reminders are so superb and uplifting (the place once you want braveness, the place when it’s worthwhile to decide, the place once you want somebody). 💗
• Sherpa-Lined Hoodies: love, love, love these hoodies. They match true to dimension (unisex sizing) or perhaps barely small, so dimension up if you’re in between sizes. I do know hoodie season is coming to a detailed, however these are well worth the purchase any time of the yr!
• Cargo Pants: my teenage boys have a number of pairs of those (black, grey and brown), and put on them continuously. They’ve held up tremendous properly, wash and dry completely, and have gotten the boys to interrupt out of their Nike sweat pants regime (no judgment there, they’ve a mother who wears joggers just about day-after-day of her life 🤣). They’re informal sufficient that they don’t really feel dressed up, however stylish sufficient to put on to household photos or the like.
• Nutri-Blender: my boys make protein smoothies each day after they come dwelling from sports activities practices or health club exercises. Or simply for an after dinner snack BECAUSE THEY CONSUME CALORIES CONSTANTLY. My 15-year outdated was gifted this blender for Christmas, and it rapidly turned a sizzling commodity and is now utilized by everybody. I’m stunned at how properly it really works, and I really like that it could actually make single servings, as a result of simply between you and me, nobody round right here was doing an excellent job at washing out the full-size blender. 👀
• Pores and skin Serum: have you ever heard of this serum? It’s superb! Like, wow-level superb. And really cheap for one thing that has over 75,000 five-star opinions. I put it on at evening beneath my common moisturizer. My pores and skin feels extremely comfortable and rather more hydrated than earlier than. Extremely suggest!
• Footrest pillow: my 16-year outdated gave me this footrest pillow for my birthday a number of months in the past, and truthfully, it was essentially the most intelligent, most helpful reward ever. I’m at all times asking the youngsters to run and discover me a small stool from some nook of the home after I sit on the couches so I can elevate my ft just a bit. I suppose you might say this reward was partly for me and partly for him. 😂 I take advantage of it after I work at my desk, additionally. LOVE IT.

Protein ⬆️

I’m NOT the gal to offer anybody recommendation about monitoring meals, counting energy or determining macros. Over the past eight years, I’ve tried actually exhausting to concentrate on intuitive consuming (I learn the ebook, and it modified my pondering on so many elements of consuming and well being) as a result of I discovered that after I tried to trace my energy or macros, it turned an obsessive psychological recreation that was not good for my psychological well being or how I felt about my physique.

As I repeat to my youngsters on the each day: your physique is an instrument, not an decoration (credit score to Magnificence Redefined for that mantra).

ANYWAY, this isn’t recommendation or a lecture on any of that, as a result of each individual has their system and method of doing issues.

However, I simply wished to say that earlier this yr, I made a decision to be extra intentional about ensuring I used to be getting sufficient protein so I may construct lean muscle as I’ve been lifting weights extra the final yr or so (with the Sadie Lively app).

So I downloaded the ProteinPal app (it solely tracks protein), and I discovered that despite the fact that I thought I used to be getting sufficient protein, I used to be falling far in need of my purpose (purpose being: 110-115 grams per day). As I’ve made a extra targeted effort to eat lean protein in my meals, I’ve observed adjustments in my urge for food (I’m rarely hungry between meals), in my exercises (I’ve extra vitality), and the way I really feel total (💪🏼).

This has been a terrific change for me! (P.S. I’m nonetheless consuming cookies and bread and greens and fruit and all the opposite issues, too. 😉)

Now it’s your flip! I’d love to listen to all of YOUR ideas within the feedback under. Something associated to the above submit or simply usually what’s occurring in your world!

I really like connecting with every of you, and I admire each time you are taking a minute to share a chunk of your life with me. 💗