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Showing posts from February, 2021

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The First Time is Always the Hardest

September 5: A few hours ago, anxious as heck, I sat in the parking lot at my local gym, waiting. On a whim I signed up for a membership last week with some friends and tonight was my first time visiting said gym. We were taking a 30 minute #HIIT class and while I was excited to try it, I was crippled with fear and anxiety. I’m the heaviest I’ve ever been. My belly gets in the way of everything. I’m not bendy in any way. Like at all! And, I have hip issues. I hate being watched.  My anxiety made me get to the gym 40 minutes early. Scared I’d be late. Scared to show up after the class started. Everyone looking at me. So I sat in the car waiting. Fretting. Beating myself up for letting myself “go” all these years. If I had stayed in shape, I wouldn’t be scared I’d throw up in front of everyone. I fretted until the very last minute before the class started. But knowing I had a friend waiting and counting on me made me move my butt out of that car. Inside the gym, I swipe my pass and I can

Weekend Recap: Snow, Snow, and More Snow

This past weekend was COLD. And it snowed. A LOT. I shared my Friday night adventures with you already ( read about it here ). So I won't get into it but here's a much better, natural light selfie of me wearing one of my new soft and comfy Costco sweater finds....which was PERFECT for Valentine's Day don't ya think? Sweater from Costco , lipstick by L'oreal   Between Friday and Sunday my kids basically lived in the snow. I believe it was on Saturday morning when they decided to clear the snow off the trampoline. Except instead of snow it was really thick ice. They were very impressed and tried to save it...I won't even ask what the heck they're learning in school (facepalm). Then they decided to try to make a skating rink on our back patio. Sounds like a great idea in theory, but, our patio is sloped and I knew it wasn't going to work. HOWEVER they were working so well together I didn't have the heart to tell them their dreams of a backyard skating r

Costco Fashion Finds: Is That Even a Thing?

Did I mention I'm not really a selfie taking pro yet?  When I was a kid, I used to HATE getting dragged to Costco. No idea why. I just hated going. I was also ultra mortified if my parents even THOUGHT about buying my clothes there. Sooo uncool mom. So uncool.  Now, fast forward like 100 years later, I'm OBSESSED with Costco. I follow every "Costco Find" Instagram account and am like a top commenter/over sharer in my local Costco finds Facebook group. Last Friday night, I was psyched. My hubby took the kids tobogganing and I, decked out with a mask and hand sanitizer went to Costco to pick up groceries for the week. I prewarned my husband not to look at any online banking or credit card statements later that night. I was a mom on the loose. We are under strict COVID-19 lockdown measures and I hadn't left the house in weeks. My mission was simple. I was going to spend as much time looking at every single item in that store...even if it killed me. And even if I didn

Friday Favourites

  Today I'm liking up with Momfessionals and A Little bit of Everything for a Friday Favourites link up. It's been a really rough week, so I'm happy to use today's post to reflect on a few of the more positive things that happened this week... This cookbook (Skinnytaste Air Fryer Cookbook) restored my faith in trying "new to me" recipes. Everything I have made has turned out juicy, crispy and delicious. Our air fryer isn't huge, and I was worried about having to cook in batches (and it taking forever). But the author provides oven cooking times for every recipe so for me, problem solved! Have you heard of Skinnytaste before? I've been obsessed with her blog for years. Check her out: www.skinnytaste.com . Do you have a love affair with an air fryer? I think we need to be friends 🤣 I've tried so many things from this book, but the buffalo chicken wings have been the families fave so far. I made them on Superbowl Sunday....we didn't even watch th

#CurrentlyJenBookClub: The Lies that Bind by Emily Giffin

You're never going to believe this, but in January I read two whole books! In a matter of days. And while it spurred a sense of motivation to read more, I haven't cracked open a book since. But let's not get into the nightmare that is these past few months in lock down filled with remote work, remote school, remote playdates and family chats. Remote. Remote. Remote. Remote. I'm over it. January was a great time to escape into the world of fictional characters. I was drawn to this book because I am a huge Emily Giffin fan, and also, I have a love for any book that will take me out of reality for awhile and sweep me off my feet by way of a romantic comedy. You can read a full description of the book here on Emily Giffin's website . But in a nutshell, fresh from a recent breakup, the main character Cecily finds herself in a bar at 2 am drinking her sorrows away. As she is contemplating drunk dialing her ex, she hears a deep, unfamiliar yet intriguingly handsome voice s

Living With Intention: 5 Things that Made Me Smile

It’s been a rough two weeks. I think the lockdown is getting the best of me and the family, and work is a bit haywire right now. Lot’s of drama and hurt feelings amongst team members. It’s so easy to get sucked in to other people’s hurt feelings. When my friends or people I care about hurt, I hurt too. I can’t turn it off. Know what I mean? So today I’m starting my day with a positive intention: to focus on 5 things that have made me smile this past week.  Here we go…. Talking to an old friend on the phone after months of not being in touch. Learning that my family and I will be making more memories together this summer (and next) regardless of what happens with the pandemic. We’ve rented a cottage and can’t wait for our little getaway. Even though the kids are sick of eachother (remote school and the lockdown situation is most likely to blame) they’ve also found comfort in one another since they aren’t able to see or play with their friends. While they do fight and bicker, they also

Conquering Health and Fitness Goals in 2021

Did you know I’ll be 40 this year? So in light of that new revelation, I did a thing. I made a promise to myself for 2021.  SOME may say it’s a resolution if you will. Like many years before, I’ve resolved to get my "healthy on" and get back in shape. Yup. You’re stuck listening to me about this again. Back in January I committed to stop throwing away my money to WW (Weight Watchers). While I still believe tracking every BLT (bite, lick, taste) is an essential way to keep myself accountable, the WW program just wasn't working for me. So I downloaded a free calorie counting app to help me in my weight loss journey. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE WW and I don’t think it’s a waste of money per se...I just can’t find a way to make the program work for me. No matter how I slice and dice it, I always seem to lose one pound and then spend the next three weeks gaining another 3. It’s mind boggling. Am I the only one who this happens to? So back to my plan. I know that eating healthy