I love Sunday. Well, I love Saturday too. They feel like a warm hug. Especially now that they mean that I get to spend the ENTIRE day with my girl and her daddy. But, despite Sunday being Monday eve, it has it's own special feeling.
In the research that I've done to prepare myself for this life change I saw a tip that I thought was genius. It was a "why didn't I think of that" moment. Prepping. Sunday is prep day. Prep your veggies and sides for the week. You then have easy access to all you need. No more excuses of no time, or laziness. Duh.
I was so proud of our grocery cart (buggy) today. We usually go to The Fresh Market on Atlantic by San Pablo after church. Today we had a different schedule and we were on the southside when it came to g-store shopping. So we decided to swing by Native Sun. I was less than impressed and missed TFM! Maybe they don't get as much traffic in their produce section? They had a nice selection. However, it all seemed like it had been sitting there for awhile and would go bad before we got home. They did not have a meat or a deli section either. They do have a really great natural medicine area. I've been many times just for that and have found everything I was looking for. Back to the point. Even our buggy at Publix made me smile. We stuck to the perimeter of the store and had an entire cart of GOOD food. Clean food. I just hope it was enough for the week. We came under our food budget and we've been going over the last couple weeks.
So, you may be wondering what I prepped. I always make my menu for the week, then my grocery list before we head out to go shopping (usually the day or night before). I wanted to prep my breakfast, dinner veggies, and dinner sides for the week. I cooked my spinach, quinoa and brown rice, zuccini and squash, and prepped my green beans and green peppers for the week. Again, I hope that is enough for the week. We'll see. Whatever I miss I will make adjustments for the next week.
Cheers to a healthy week! :)
oxoxo
Nicole
It's 8 o'clock on Tuesday night. The TV program you're watching is on a commercial break so you are on your phone checking Facebook and Instagram. Do you ever stop, look around, and wonder "what else"? I do this pretty often, it turns out. I will usually put away my phone and clean the kitchen or read a magazine instead. You can only do those things so many times before it's time for a real change. I've known for a little while now that I want to re-do my house (if you can call never really decorating "re-doing") and to re-do my body, aka get in shape. I'm starting to put together some plans and make 2014 the year of action. I have ideas often and never completely follow them through. I have to start finishing projects. I have to start setting habits that I want my daughter to imitate. The time is now. Coincidently, 2014 just started. The New Year makes things more motivating for some reason.
The House Plan
I am going to list every room in my house and what I want to change about them. Ideally I would like to do a room a month but time and finances are both issues that prevent that. So, maybe one piece of a room per month. As I tackle each room I will post before, progress, and finished photos so you can follow along. Hopefully you will be inspired too. Do you have someone that inspires you to do these things? I love coming home after spending time with her and feeling that inspiration to make my home better.
The Body Plan
Have you heard of Natalie Hodson? Two weeks ago I would have also said no. I found her through a Facebook post that my friend "liked". She is super inspiring to me. My goals are her goals. I want to be fit, I want to eat clean, I want toned muscles, and I want it to LAST. I want the lifestyle change. I don't want to keep going back and forth. I never really gain-lose-gain-lose a lot of weight, but I do go gung ho on something and then quit. As I said earlier, I'm done with that stuff. I want my life to be inspired. I want more for me.
The body plan has already started with the nutrition piece. We have the grocery bill to prove it. We started eating organic meat, fruits, and veggies when Livy started eating solids. We do not want to feed her the chemicals, hormones, and antibiotics that are found in regular meat and non-organic fruits and veggies. We weren't following that same step originally, so we are making that change now. I have also been making my own sauces and seasonings to cut out processed foods and preservatives. Next will come the gym. I have a good friend that I have to motivate me here as well. I can't wait!
I'm very excited when I think of my life in a month or two and can see myself accomplishing these goals. I've proven to myself that I can work hard for things I want and I want that to inspire me to carry that over to all aspects of my life. I hope you are excited to share in my journey!
So, you may be wondering where the heck my blog posts have disappeared to. Well, I'm happy to let you know they are coming back. A lot has happened in the time I have been away. But, most importantly to this blog, my laptop died. It lost its ability to connect to the internet. What is it good for now, I ask. So we went on a limb and purchased this tiny little tablet/laptop device. Although I'm getting very annoyed at this tiny ass keyboard, I am excited about getting back to blogging. I love reading blogs and I love the way they tell a story about peoples lives. I also like how it's easy to share what is going on to family and friends who are far away.
Things lately...
Happy Valentines Day!
Did you have the Valentines Day you pictured? I didn't set any expectations for Valentines Day this year. I wasn't excited about it like I usually am. I think I took a break from Valentine's Day this year. I hope my husband doesn't mind. I did get him a gift, However, I ordered it Tuesday so it won't be here for awhile since I wasn't willing to double the price on it. And cards are overrated, so he's waiting around for the post man :) My gift was very nice, thank you, honey!!! xo
Illness!
UGH. I hate germs. I hate that they get inside my little Livy Loo and they infect her and make her miserable. We're both on Rainbow Light now though, so hopefully it will help long-term! You know what I hate maybe even a smidgen more? TEETHING! Just the worst thing ever. She's getting like, 7 teeth at once. Ouch. But let me tell you, this kid doesn't let much keep her down for long. Kids are funny that way, aren't they?
High expectations, low hopes!
After coming home from Charlotte for Christmas I had high expectations for the house and I. We were going to team up and make this place nice. We were going to organize, shine, frame, rearrange, and decorate together until this place looks more like a home. Well, it's mid-February and I've done JACK. I have low hopes for this project already. I need to make a LIST. A PLAN. Where are my organizational skills at home? Maybe I use them all up at work. :(
Well, movie night is starting in the Butrimas household so this is "bye-bye" (as Livy would say) for now.
oxoxo
Nicole
