First off, I just want to say I LOVE YOU ALL! I SO appreciate the sweet comments you guys leave on my blog, my Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram and/or email. It really means a lot to me. One of my very favorite things about being a blogger is being able to connect with so many amazing people all over the world.
I know my life is an open book, I certainly wear my heart on my sleeve, I babble a little lot too much, and probably overshare in every single post! But, it’s always so nice to hear from readers/friends/wonderful people out there who buoy me up, help me feel like I’m not alone in my struggles, make me smile and give me good tidbits of advice. Mwah.
The internet is so amazing and I’m constantly in awe of the opportunities, knowledge and vast amounts of information we all have at our fingertips. People nowadays seriously have got to be about 70000% smarter than they were even 20 years ago because we can share knowledge with each other and anything you ever want to know about anything can be Googled or found on Pinterest! It’s insane.
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Well, this week has been crazy and I’ve been run run runnin’ a lot, but I’ve also been having a LOT of fun!
I was able to go out to lunch with one of my best friends, Melodi this week….
It’s always so nice and refreshing to go to lunch with really good friends because we can both show up in our cozy, stretchy clothes and couldn’t care less! Ha. Seriously tho.
I also can’t believe I’m down to just one sweet little kiddo at home now, at least for 3 hours of the day. Most of my friends stopped having children years ago, so I always feel like the Woman in the Shoe with all the kids! Ha ha ha. It’s weird, sad and kinda nice to only have one sidekick with me now. I know I’m going to bawl and blubber all through this last child’s life though. He’ll probably grow up thinking his mom has serious issues.
We went to lunch at Oasis Cafe in Salt Lake City and it was fabulous! Melodi is always introducing me to wonderful healthy restaurants and I love it! I ordered the Fresh Mixed Greens salad with chicken…
It was divine. It had a pear vinaigrette on the side and I loved it; it didn’t seem oily or sugary…it just seemed pear-y and was almost just like pureed fruit. Yum!
Melodi ordered a chicken sandwich, but asked for it to be served as a lettuce wrap instead of in a bun. It looked so good!
We had such a great time catching up and chatting. I <3 my friends!
We’ve also been able to go to a couple movies this past week/weekend! Kev and I sneaked out on a date to see The Martian last weekend and we loved it!
Matt Damon was awesome and the movie was very well done, thought provoking, interesting and just good. I highly recommend!
We also went to a Tuesday night movie ($5 Tuesdays!) with my bro and sis-in-law. We went to see Bridge of Spies and it was…..interesting.
I can’t say it was my favorite movie ever, but it was worth seeing. I love Tom Hanks, it was very well done, I love that it was based on a true story and it was a very amazing story to learn about, BUT it was very slow moving and a tad bit boring. Still worth seeing, but not my fav.
Kev’s a HUGE movie buff, so he was very happy we hit two movies last week!
We were also able to take the kiddos to Wheeler Farm last weekend! If you recall a couple weeks ago, Kohl’s surprised me and my family with tickets to go to Historic Wheeler Farm’s Pumpkin Days and Hay Maze. The kids couldn’t wait to go and since the weather was beautiful (sunny and in the upper 70s), we decided it was the perfect time.
We sported our soft, cozy and comfy Columbia jackets that Kohl’s gave to us as well! They’ve become favorites! I’m a “cold wuss,” so I’m sure I will LIVE in my jacket all fall and winter long! I’m the type of person who likes to wear a warm, comfy jacket around the house at all times.
I also want to mention that my seven year old left his brand new jacket at Grandma’s house, so he couldn’t wear it on our trip to Wheeler Farm. 🙁
I hadn’t been to Wheeler Farm in a very long time and most of my kids had never been there, so it was a lot of fun to go! We walked around and spent some time at the duck pond and looking at all of the animals…
We also went on a Wagon Ride (although you can’t see the wagon too well in this pic!)…
Here’s a more “wagon-y” one…
We got to go on a cute Cow Train ride around the farm…
I snapped this beautiful picture of Wheeler Farm while we were out on the ride…
It’s such a serene and beautiful place! It’s nestled right in the middle of the city, but feels like you’re out in the country! It kind of reminds me of Central Park, but in a less park-y New York-y, more farm-y Utah-y way. Make sense?
Boy, I’m making up a lot of words today, aren’t I?
I just love that Central Park is located right smack in the middle of New York City, but it feels like such a peaceful place, especially Sheep Meadow. Oh, how I HEART New York!!!
We then headed over to the Pumpkin Days area and went through the Hay Bale maze; like a corn maze, but with hay bales too!
They had lots of fun Halloween stuff scattered throughout the maze. My kids all loved it! Oh, and I’m sure my daughter will appreciate this beautiful “mid-talk” pic. Hee hee. I guess it makes her look more Halloween-y though, huh? Kinda like she’s growling.
Oh dear, I’m in a weird mood. 😉
The kids loved picking out pumpkins too!
We’re looking forward to carving these pumpkins next week. Woo hoo! I love fall and it was so much fun to get into the Fall Spirit at Wheeler Farm! It was also fun to steal all of my kids away for a bit and spend some quality family time together. #lovethesepeeps
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Well guys, I’m liking my healthy living mojo right now! I’m not being hardcore; I’m just trying to be in tune with my body and make good choices that will make me happy and healthy…and a few crappy choices that just make me happy! Hee hee.
I’ve been really intrigued with macro counting lately, but I haven’t wanted to jump in 100% with both feet…just yet. I’ve told you guys that I’m focusing on just existing and surviving right now and am not in the mood to start anything major. I’m thinkin’ after the New Year I’ll be ready to start a new challenge. But, for NOW I just want to live, work hard-ish, eat well-ish, sleep more and see where it takes me!
Anyhow, I’ve been keeping track of my food intake and macros in My Fitness Pal and it’s been interesting. I’ve been loosely trying to follow a 40 Protein/35 Carbs/25 Fats Macro ratio right now and I’ve been learning a lot! I really feel like that ratio will give me good results, but for now I’m not being uber strict, I’m more in a “learning and educating myself about it” stage.
Oh and BTW, if you’re interested in learning more about Macros, just Google Macros or IIFYM (If It Fits Your Macros) and you’ll learn more than you probably want to! Once I adopt it more into my lifestyle, I’ll talk about it more on the blog!
For now, it’s just making me more aware of what I’m putting in my body! It’s amazing how easily the percentages can get all out of whack if I’m not careful. Since I’m not being super strict right now, I’m not too concerned if the percentages are off….I’m just chalking it up to experience and education.
Oh, and BTW, I’ve read about the IIFYM lifestyle for years now, but it’s always seemed soooo complicated to me! #aintnobodygottimeforthat But, now that I’m opening my mind up to it a little bit, I’m realizing that it’s really not that complicated! In fact, it seems very straightforward and practical! My Fitness Pal makes it doable too! I used to think, “How in the world am I ever going to keep track of the percentages of Macros I eat!??!?” Really!? But, now that I can just plug my food into an app, it’s very simple! Woot!
I had one small success that I thought I’d share. A few days ago I found myself at the grocery store, hungry!!! Dun, dun, duuuun. Seriously, it wasn’t good! Hunger is not a force to be reckoned with!!! For a few brief moments I didn’t care about healthy, I just wanted to buy everything in the store, take it all home and make a truckload of yummy things with it!!
Then, I talked myself off of the ledge and said, “Calm down…chill…you are hungry….go home, make something healthy and then rethink things!” So that’s just what I did!
I got home and made myself my favorite Chocolate Yogurt creation…and took a cheesy victory pic…
I just mixed 3/4 cup Plain Greek yogurt (Kirkland brand) with a spoonful of cocoa, a pinch of stevia, a splash of unsweetened Coconut Milk and some mixin’s (Rice Krispies, a few chocolate chips and a small crunched up graham cracker!)
I was hungry and feeling deprived, so I justified the sweet additions! I was happy I made a lot better choice and once I’d fed my body a little somethin’, my cravings went away! Works every time!
However, when I plugged all the things into My Fitness Pal, I realized the mixin’s didn’t come without a price! They skewed my carbs up a bit. That’s why I love counting macros because I realized I would have probably still enjoyed my yogurt creation without the additions OR I could’ve toned down the additions and kept my macros in check more. It’s really really fascinating to me!
I’ve been learning a lot of things as I’ve been keeping track of my food, like….
- I gotta be careful with how much cheese I add to my eggs
- how much fruit I consume or add to things
- the amount of peanut butter I use (I’ve been using PB2 a lot more!)
- the amount of butter and oil I use
- I’ve been cutting my portions of carbs like oats, quinoa, Ezekiel bread, brown rice and wraps so that I don’t blow all my carbs in one meal!
- I’m learning that treats and splurges CAN fit into a healthy macro plan, but it just needs to be well thought out.
- It can be hard to get all the protein in, so I try to have a little bit with each meal.
It really have been eye-opening! I’m sure I’ll be talking a lot more about macros/IIFYM on the blog as I learn more and commit more to it! For now, it’s just very intriguing to me!
Well, that’s about all I have to say today! I hope you all have a fabulous day!
**Kohl’s gave us the tickets to visit Wheeler Farm and the Columbia Jackets, but the opinions expressed and text are entirely my own!**
Sounds very interesting. I’ve always thought the same thing about macros, too complicated. I can’t wait to read more about your experience.
I know, Macros have always intimidated me and so I’ve never given them much thought. However, since I’ve been opening my mind to it a little bit, I’m quite encouraged!
Love all your pictures ! Isn’t fall great ?
Thanks Karen! Yes, I love this time of year!
What a great farm trip. It looks like such fun! I can’t wait to take my kids to a pumpkin patch. I think it’s great to learn about MACROS, it’s something I need to consider in learning and applying into my life.
We had such a fun time! 😉 I’ve been so intrigued by the whole MACRO thing. I’m just going to keep experimenting with it in hopes that it will become second nature….fingers crossed!
A healthy living mojo suits you well. You look so happy. Wait. Did I say the same thing in my last comment haha! It’s true you do look happy so repeating it is ok.
Lol, thanks Jill! I really love healthy living and most days, I really love life! I feel like a crazy lady most days, but strangely, I love it!