Friday Favorites

Happy June everyone! I can't believe how quickly this year is flying by. Summer is here and I am so excited for beach days, time in the sun, and enjoying this season with my little tribe. I thought I'd share what I've been digging lately and what I've been grateful for in life, because God is good and I definitely feel blessed!

1. Father's Day cookies. I've posted about these cookies so many times, and you can find the recipe here. These are my husband's favorite cookies. They are so delicious and light, so I woke up early on Sunday morning to bake them for him! We've been munching on them all week, so delicious!

2. Disneyland days. I am beyond grateful to have the chance to enjoy so many Disneyland days with Emma! We went on Monday and had so much fun! I love watching her learn and notice new things every time we go. She is growing up so fast!!! I also had to stop myself from buying this  cute Beauty and the Beast tea set. Belle is my favorite Disney princess! Who is yours??

3. Limiting caffeine. Ever since becoming a mom, I've gotten into a bad habit of having 3-4 cups of coffee a day. So I've made a more conscious effort to just have 1 cup of coffee/day, and I'm feeling a lot better! I am definitely a bit more tired, but I know that I will get used to it and it's better for me overall, and might help my sleep too!

4. Free food at work. I used to not give in to the free food at work because it's typically not the healthiest, but this week I definitely enjoyed some! We had an all-day training yesterday and they brought Corner Bakery for breakfast and Panera for lunch...basically all. the. carbs. I ate what I typically don't eat, but health is not about being perfect 100% of the time. It's about eating nourishing food MOST of the time so that your body is able to handle the occasional treats and sweets! That's a much healthier mindset to live in long-term, and I got right back on my healthy eating plan today and feel incredible!

5. Emma's Mickey Mouse toys. My cousin got Emma these toys for her birthday and she has been OBSESSED with them. Every morning she wakes up and talks to them, carries them around the house, and sets them up all around her. It's absolutely adorable to watch her play and interact and babble! I just love this girl so so much.

I hope you can also think of some things you are thankful for in your life or the blessings God has bestowed upon you this week! Blessings are all around, you just gotta look for them! Happy Friday, everybody!

Rest for the Weary: Recap and Weekly Plan 12/22-12/28

"Come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. I am gentle and humble in heart. And you will find rest for your soul." Matthew 11:28

This past week was my second week of my 10K training plan. Things didn't go the way I had planned, but I am accepting it. I tend to be a perfectionist and if I mess up, it gets me down, which leads to more mess ups, more let down....well, you get the pattern. This week was a tough week for me. I felt EXHAUSTED. Usually, I wake up feeling energetic and ready to work out. This week, it was definitely a struggle. I still got two runs in, but also took some rest days and walking days. The fact that I had less-intense workouts isn't what really got me down. What got me down this week was the massive amount of sugary treats all over the place!!! And my lack of self control around them.

I tried to think through which treats were worth it to me, as I discussed in last week's post. Which treats did I want to have in SMALL amounts and only if they were worth it? But I truly believe that my exhaustion impaired my judgement. I tended to "eat all the things" if you will. I didn't go crazy, but I definitely didn't make wise choices.

I'm not perfect, and I think my strive for perfection actually leads me to make poorer choices instead of coming to Jesus, laying it ALL at His feet, accepting His love and rest, and finding my peace in Him verses other routes I have created for myself. I have a history of over restrictive and over indulgent eating, and when those habits rear their ugly heads again, I know something is off with me. Not just physically, but spiritually as well.

The verse at the top of this post has meant a lot to me this past week. I have definitely felt weary and in need of rest. Instead of finding my rest and relaxation in sugar (which always backfires, let me tell you!) I need to turn to Jesus and rest in Him. I need to look to him for fulfillment and comfort in times when I feel like I can't do it, whatever IT is. I also need to trust my instincts when I actually need rest!!! What is the point of waking up at 4:30 in the morning to workout and work hard, only to end up giving into sugary treats and sweets a few hours later because I am just too tired to care? And for me, usually and especially if I am tired, one treat turns into 10 which turns into a whole day of a "what the heck" mentality. Which never ends well.

I am not perfect. And I am not a food robot, as Melissa Hartwig from the Whole 30 program and the author of "It Starts with Food" reminded me this week. I'm not perfect and I'm tempted just like any of you. It's hard to stick to a healthy eating plan! But after our tough weeks, we just have to get up, brush it off, and do the next best thing.

And for me, after a week of rest and reflection, the next best thing for me to do is to eat something healthy and head to the gym this morning before church. To fill myself up with time with Jesus, good food, and to move my body a bit.

With that said, here is my tentative food plan this week! It's a short week at work, which I am very excited about! I only have 2.5 days and then it's CHRISTMAS! I want to try and use up the food we have at home before I go on a grocery shopping spree. Here is my food/fitness plan:

Pre workout: - banana w/PB - hard boiled eggs - nuts

Breakfast: - scrambles - sausage with taters - quest bar if in a hurry

Lunch/Dinner: - grass fed taco meat - turkey burgers - tuna salads - salads in general!

Workouts: I am going to try to do a couple evening workouts and see how that goes. I am morning person through and through, but I want to try something different this week.

Monday: 2 mile run (fast), Personal training session, Hanna circuits

Tuesday: 5 mile long run

Wednesday: TIU workouts (I have to take advantage of the tone it up workouts!!! I am a part of the TIU community and these are great, at home workouts to do when you are short on time!

Thursday (Christmas!): Run 4 miles (moderate pace)

Friday: Lateral elliptical, log book workout from trainer

Saturday: Run 3 miles (moderate pace), log book workout from trainer

Sunday: Walk, lateral elliptical, or rest day

And there we have it. I am so excited for this week! Christmas is my all time favorite season and I definitely don't want to ruin it by being too tired, too sluggish, or too high off of sugar! :) God is our strength at all times, and He wants us to come to Him. I don't know why I even try any other way! :)

I hope you all have a great, restful, and healthy week!

Sweets and Treats: The Right Motives

Decision making can be tough for people. Being an indecisive person myself, I know how crippling it can be to not know which way to turn, or which path to take. One way that I have found that helps me make decisions is to reflect upon my motives for these decisions.

I tend to struggle with emotional eating. I mean, who doesn't? This doesn't excuse my struggle, it just makes easier to admit to. At times when I am having a hard day, an emotional time, or am just feeling off, I try to not have too many treats or snacks, because I know myself and I know that one treat can turn into a day-long carbapalooza! Anyone else?? Anyoneeeee?

Don't get me wrong; I see nothing wrong with treats. I love sweets, I love chocolate, I love anything sugary, salty, snacky, and delicious. However, I have to be careful about when I have these certain treats. I have to ask myself why I want the treat right now. Is it because I'm at a Christmas party, I only have these cookies once a year, or I just want a sweet treat? Or is it because I've had a hard day and sugar would make me feel so much better(temporarily), so I might as well just give in to all of my temptations and drown my sorrows in a tub of ice cream and a pan of gingerbread? No. For me, the latter reason is the wrong motive. The latter reason is not one that constitutes having a treat for me.

This may be overthinking things for some of you. But for me, if I indulge because I am feeling empty emotionally and need to be filled, that is a red flag. That means that I am looking to other things for fulfillment. For some, it may be alcohol, drugs, inordinate amounts of spending money, a destructive habit, etc. But for me, it happens to be food. It is what I struggle with, and I have learned what works best for me. #dietitiansstruggletoo

God is our ultimate comfort in times of emotional distress. He wants us to turn to Him when we are stressed, lonely, overwhelmed, or any other emotions that drive us to use unhealthy behaviors to cope. This Christmas season, as we are surrounded by treats and temptations, let's all be more mindful about when we give in and what we give in to. No food is off limits, it is our motives behind our compulsive eating or overindulgence that can cause destruction in not only our physical wellbeing, but our spiritual one as well. I want to rely on God for everything because, as my fiancé reminded me this week, all I need is Jesus. ALL I NEED. I need Jesus more than food, clothing, shelter, and even the people in my life. I want to fill myself up with HIM this season, and every season of my life, so that I do not turn to destructive behaviors in order to fill up my emotional voids and struggles.

Solvang Day Trip: 11/29/14

My fiancé and I have been wanting to go on a day trip somewhere for a few months now. We were mulling over our options and trying to decide between Santa Barbara and San Diego. However, we both have been to each of those places multiple times and wanted to try somewhere different and "other worldy." We decided to head up to Solvang, somewhere we have both only been once and hardly remember. I am SO glad we took this trip! It was so fun to explore somewhere different together. This town has so much character and is like a little Dutch village. I took a ton of pictures and can't wait to share them! Enjoy! The morning started out early. We left around 8am and decided to stop at the outlets since it was Black Friday weekend and we hadn't done any shopping yet. Of course, I had packed some healthy snacks for our drive!

We got to the outlets and immediately went in to a kitchen store. Our first purchase was probably the one we were most excited about...a Pyrex glass container set!!!

We also went into Banana Republic and bought some clothes. My fiancé bought me a beautiful necklace too! I love it!

We left the outlets and made our way up along the coast. We drove past a beach and decided to stop for a bit and get some fresh air. We had some bananas with my yummy nut mix: almonds, cashews, and macadamia nuts, while enjoying the beautiful beach and ocean waves.

We loved taking our time to get up to Solvang, but were so excited when we finally made it! We had planned on going to Paula's Pancake House, a famous breakfast spot (even though it was 2pm) in Solvang that is known for their huge Danish pancakes.

My fiancé was all over that. Seeing as I am gluten intolerant and am trying to be as strict as possible with my GF diet so I can feel better, I decided to just get a veggie omelet with fruit. The omelet was SO good....I know eggs are just eggs, but oh my goodness, I polished off the plate! It was delicious!

My fiancé got their Danish pancake combo with a  sausage, biscuit, strawberries, and scrambled eggs. The man can eat! And he was so excited! :)

We were proud of ourselves for not getting too full after eating. He didn't finish all his food, and even though I did, I still felt light and not overly stuffed. Eggs have an amazing way of filling us up without getting us uncomfortable!

We walked around the antique shops and came across some interesting stores. We went into this really cool clock and music box shop. All of their clocks played music on the hour!

There were a lot of random shops in Solvang, but we loved walking around and exploring. I really wanted to buy this sign, since it basically describes me perfectly!

"If you can't stand the garlic, get out of my kitchen." YES!

Surprisingly, we got hungry a few hours after our breakfast/lunch. We decided to split 2 scoops of ice-cream, peanut butter swirl and vanilla. The lady at the ice cream shop gave us almost 4 scoops! The minute we got it we thought, "there is NO way we will finish this!" Then...we finished it.

It started getting cold, so we decided to bundle up in our coats and scarves and walk around the pretty Christmas lights they had decorated all around the town.

For dinner, we went to this little spot called Succulent Cafe. It had such a romantic atmosphere, we had to sit outside even though it was cold. They had their silverware in mason jars, and I LOVE mason jars! We were so excited to eat here.

We started off with their sea salt fries with homemade ketchup. These fries were delicious! But we had to exercise some self control and cease and desist while we were halfway through in order to fully enjoy our dinner! I loved that they were served in a pot. When I have my own kitchen one day (soon!), I would love to decorate with and serve food in mason jars and pots!

My fiancé ordered a pumpkin seed crusted lamb dish, which he thoroughly enjoyed. I got their side arugula salad with feta cheese. This salad was DELICIOUS! The feta was so good and I kind of wished I had ordered two of these salads!

After dinner, we decided to head back home since we had a pretty long drive. We had such an amazing time in Solvang and can't wait to go back. Sometimes, you need to just get away for a day and step out of your usual routine!