Well hello my friends! I am ALIVE!
We’ve had a crazy and interesting last couple of months.
In January a couple of my kiddos and I got COVID! It was kind of crazy and a little surreal to realize we had THEE Covid, like the cause of this pandemic and a lot of the craziness in the world. I kind of felt like a ticking time bomb because I had no idea what kind of effect it would have on me!
Thankfully we all made it through and it wasn’t too bad. However, it lingered on in me for like a month! I just felt very worn down and blah and it was frustrating! I’m fine though.
I will do a separate post all about our experience with Covid later. Several members of my extended family got it too. They’re really the only people we socialize with right now, so it was interesting how quickly it swept through my family!
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We’ve also had a bunch of things going on ’round here! Ya know, as a mother of many and as a lady who’s a bit of a busy body, I struggle to get all the things done that I’d like to get done!
Hence, this blog being neglected for so long! Gah!
However, I’ve been doin’ some deep thinkin’ and I think I need to do a better job of actually scheduling my life and being a little more deliberate with how I spend my time!
There are a LOT of things I would like to do and get done that I’m just not getting done! Also, my kiddos just keep getting bigger and bigger, which makes me sad, but I’m also starting to find myself with a little more time, WHICH IS AWESOME!
Sadly, I’m still not spending that time as wisely as I would like. BUT, since I’m starting to have a little more time FOR ME, I really want to start getting some of the things done that I’ve been wanting to get done for a looooooong time now!
Some of the things I would love to do are:
- Be a more consistent and deliberate blogger
- Put a bunch of my workout videos on my YouTube channel
- Make and post more videos to YouTube
- Paint several rooms in my house
- Organize all of our photos and videos
- Deep clean and organize my entire house!
- Read more books
Life is amazing and time is precious, so I really want to cherish and make the most of every day!
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Well, since I’ve been dark on this blog for a while now, I just want to share a whole bunch of pictures of some of things we’ve been doing ’round here!
First off, this sweet baby of mine got braces on a couple of weeks ago!
I always think braces makes them look so big! This same baby of mine is going to be a TEENAGER in a couple of weeks! Whaaaaaat?????
I really really really am not a fan of watching my kids grow up. I know I whine and complain about this all the time, but it’s a REAL THING for me! It just aches this momma heart of mine.
Here’s a pic almost 13 years ago of when this precious boy was born….
Seriously where in the world does the time go????
I don’t feel any older, so how can I be the mother of so many old kids, huh??? Sniff, sniff.
Speakin’ of getting older, I also had a birthday a few weeks ago! I am now 45! FORTY FIVE! What in the world??? I feel like I graduated high school like 10 years ago.
I had a nice birthday. I got some beautiful flowers from my husband, kids and a friend….
We also went out to dinner and it felt so nice to actually go somewhere and sit down and enjoy ourselves for a bit….
We went to Los Cucos Mexican Cafe and it was really good!
Oh, and my son’s friend came with us too, in case you’re wondering who the extra kid is, lol. I am surrounded by SO MANY boys these days!
My one and only daughter is currently serving a mission for our church in Portland, Oregon. She gets home in about six months. YAY!
I sure miss her and it’s super weird to be the only girl ’round here. Even my dog is a boy! Ha ha. You wouldn’t think it would be that weird, but it is! I sure love and am so thankful for ALLLLLLL of my boys though!
I also went to lunch for my birthday with mom, sister and niece.
It was so nice to go out with them and to be with some girls, ha ha. Seriously though, throughout this pandemic these peeps have really been the main people we see and hang out with, other than those that live in our house! I sure love them so much!
My sister also got me the sweetest present that I thought I would share with y’all.
She and I like to give each other some of our favorite things for our birthdays. She got me:
- The cutest, softest sweater from Old Navy
- Some Everything but the Bagel chips from Trader Joe’s
- Some Tea Tree hand soap from Trader Joe’s
- Some Coconut Body Butter from Trader Joe’s
- Some Built protein bars
- Some In Common Magic Myst Universal hair elixir (this stuff is awesome!)
- Some Paula’s Choice liquid exfoliant (I haven’t been able to use this yet)
- Some Paula’s Choice lip and body treatment balm (awesome!)
Isn’t that fun and so nice!?? Yes, I have loved everything she got me!
It was a really fun birthday!
I also recently helped my two boys make their Valentine boxes for school. I gotta say that every year it’s a bit of a pain to make these, but I’m always grateful we get the opportunity to do it! It’s makes us have to sit down together, be creative and make a craft. I’m grateful.
My 5th grader wanted to make a Rubix cube Valentine box this year.
He’s really been into Rubix Cubes lately. Kev is a Rubix Cube pro and he always enjoyed playing with them when he was a kid, so he’s had fun teaching our 10 year old how to do it!
My kindergartener wanted to make a volcano Valentine box.
I was actually so happy he wanted to make a volcano one because he used to be obsessed with volcanos when he was littler! He doesn’t talk about them much anymore, so I was happy he wanted to make one!
We just made a volcano out of paper mache, put a large plastic water bottle in the middle to give it shape (I cut the top off of the bottle) and then painted it!
It was pretty easy and he liked it.
I’ve also still been enjoying going on walks! I actually love them so much! The weather here in Utah has been so mild this winter and I’ve loved it!
I never would have thought I’d enjoy going on walks as much as I do!
There’s just somethin’ about being outside in the fresh open air, spending time deep thinking and moving my body that rejuvenates me in every way! It makes me feel so grateful for so many things in life and it shifts my mind to an abundant mindset. I love it so much!
That’s one of the good things that I’ve gained from this pandemic! I started walking because there just weren’t a lot of things to do!
There are certainly blessings to be found in every situation.
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I also gotta say that I restarted my New Year’s goals a couple of weeks ago! I was able to do them for about a week at the beginning of the year, but then we all got Covid, and it went downhill from there!
So, I decided to start them over. I’m really just trying to be more mindful and elevate my healthy living. I’m trying to be more deliberate with my choices.
So, these are the goals I’m working on….
These goals are nothing earth shattering. They are not overly complicated or complex. AND, that is exactly why I love them!
Seriously folks, if you want to improve your health and/or lose some weight….come back to these basics! They will bless your body, mind and soul every time!
Our society is so set on finding the “next best thing” or the new trend or the new diet. That stuff is bunk! Yes, a lot of times the latest diet will “work,” but more often than not it’s way too complicated, too strict and just not sustainable!
I promise if you just focus on eating real food, eating less (within reason) and just loving and taking care of your body…..you will love it! AND, it will last! AND, it’s sustainable!
Consistency is key. You do not need to do anything extreme and you don’t need to be miserable to be healthy and lose weight. I promise!
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Well I think that’s all I will share today. I certainly have a lot more I could share, but I think I’ve said enough. Ha ha.
I really am going to try to be a better blogger. I love this stuff. I love health and fitness, but more importantly I really love people! I love learning. I love finding ways to live a better, happier, more purposeful life and I love sharing all my thoughts with all y’all!
Thank you for being here and thank you for being my friend. I love you all!
So happy to hear you all made it out of the Covid sickness safely! We have been some of the lucky few that hasn’t gotten it. Hopefully we won’t! I think I’m going to start the 75 hard challenge just to get my mind out of this quarantine funk I’m finding myself in.
Thank you so much Patti! I’m sure glad to have Covid behind us as well. If you did the 75 hard challenge, I hope you enjoyed it! I’ve heard good things about it!