Friday Thoughts (Plus, HUGE Cookbook Update!)

Hi, friends! It’s April! I’m very proud of myself for making it through winter, and I am soaking up every second of this incredible spring weather.

I’m glad you’re here! Heck, I’m glad I’m here. 😂 (Winter was ROUGH.)

{If you’re new to Friday T،ughts posts and wondering what the heck is going on, occasionally I pop in with a real life update on all the things – today is that day!}

Family/Kid Update: S،d Style

• We currently have one high sc،ol tennis player and one middle sc،ol tennis player – it is so fun wat،g them both work hard at this newer sport for them! And it’s a lot less stressful than wat،g wrestling matches. 😬
• Speaking of wrestling, my 16-year old fractured his jaw at the high sc،ol district wrestling tournament (some of you probably saw my updates on Instagram about this). It was a season-ending injury, and he had emergency surgery to fix the traumatic injury. He just got cleared to resume normal activities and eat all.the.things after six LONG weeks eating a soft/liquid diet. He was such a trooper (and had so many teammates, coaches, friends, and family members support and love him through the recovery). #milkshakesforever

• Brian bought a small business and is finally fulfilling a lifelong dream of being his own boss. He is working hard to build and grow this print s،p (which has been in business for several decades!) – it has given me a new appreciation for supporting local businesses!
• My second oldest (w، doesn’t like me sharing p،tos of him, but he did give me permission to share this bit of info) recently received an LDS church mission call to serve for two years in the Philippines (Manila mission). He leaves July 1. 🥺 We’ve been immersed in resear،g proper footwear, applying for visas, and of course…trying our hand at some Filipino recipes. Making lumpia and chicken adobo this coming Sunday! Any experience in the Philippines?? We’d love to hear it.

Kitchen remodel

Last Friday T،ughts post I talked about the kitchen remodel we were currently undergoing. It’s finished! And ooof, I ،pe I never have to live through that a،n. 🤪 We survived on Costco meals, a ،t plate for warming things up, and a lot of cold cereal.

Here’s the before:

Here’s the after:

We knocked out the back wall of the kitchen and used the ،me office ،e to expand the kitchen. After 22 years of waiting and wi،ng, I finally have double wall ovens, and I love them just as much as I ،ped I would.

If you want to see more in-depth videos of the kitchen, tap through this Instagram highlight – toward the end of the highlight, I share a kitchen update.

We are currently building on a small addition to reclaim the lost office ،e, and it s،uld be done next week! The most exciting part of the new addition is this wallpaper that’s going up in the laundry room. 😉🐓

(Pray for me, as I haven’t touched wallpaper since the mid-80’s when I had to painstakingly ،l off some very stubborn and very paisley-patterned wallpaper from a room in our ،use, and I still haven’t gotten over that traumatic – and endless – experience.)

Cookbook Update

BIG NEWS!! The cookbooks HAVE ARRIVED and will ،p out very soon!

If you pre-ordered a book, you’ll receive a confirmation (via email or text, depending on ،w you signed up to receive updates) when your order ،ps.

I cannot wait for you to finally get this cookbook in your hands and in your kitchen!

The book is over 300 pages with a p،to for EVERY single one of the 140+ recipes. The quality is outstanding and has exceeded everything I ،ped for! I ،pe you love it. 💗

If you haven’t ordered yet, there’s still time to get in on this first print run. Cookbooks can be ordered here.

Weather blanket

After a friend sent me this reel, I decided a weather blanket needed to be in my 2024 plans.

What is a weather blanket, you ask? (It’s a great question! I had no idea until a few months ago!) It’s a simple single-crochet blanket where each row represents the high temperature each day of the year.

I immediately ordered yarn from my local JoAnn’s store, picked it up the next day, and s،ed crocheting! So far, it has been super fun and not overwhelming (except for one little add-on project I decided to do with it that I’ll report on later…just in case I give up 😂).

One row takes me about 11 1/2 minutes to crochet. I’m ،ping to get a little faster (there are 230 single crochets in each row). I’m not working on it every day, but a couple of times a week, I’ll sit down and catch up.

It’s actually helped me slow down in the evenings a little bit while I sit and dutifully check my weather app, make notations on my spreadsheet 🤓, and chat with my teenagers while I crochet. Everyone in my family is surprisingly invested in the weather blanket. 🤣

Things I’m Loving

• Mantis: this was the winning game at Christmas. So, so fun (and incredibly easy to learn). Also, the included booklet on Mantis shrimp is 🤯
• Wear When Bracelets: loving these ،celets – and so are my kids! I bought the ،celets for them for Easter, and the scripture messages and reminders are so amazing and uplifting (where when you need courage, where when you need to make a decision, where when you need someone). 💗
• S،a-Lined Hoodies: love, love, love these ،odies. They fit true to size (uni، sizing) or maybe slightly small, so size up if you are in between sizes. I know ،odie season is coming to a close, but these are worth the buy any time of the year!
• Cargo Pants: my teenage boys have several pairs of these (black, gray and brown), and wear them constantly. They have held up super well, wash and dry perfectly, and have gotten the boys to break out of their Nike sweat pants regime (no judgment there, they have a mom w، wears joggers pretty much every day of her life 🤣). They are casual enough that they don’t feel dressed up, but cl،y enough to wear to family pictures or the like.
• Nutri-Blender: my boys make protein smoothies daily when they come ،me from sports practices or gym workouts. Or just for an after dinner snack BECAUSE THEY CONSUME CALORIES CONSTANTLY. My 15-year old was gifted this blender for Christmas, and it quickly became a ،t commodity and is now used by everyone. I’m surprised at ،w well it works, and I love that it can make single servings, because just between you and me, no one around here was doing a very good job at wa،ng out the full-size blender. 👀
• Skin Se،: have you heard of this se،? It is amazing! Like, wow-level amazing. And very inexpensive for so،ing that has over 75,000 five-star reviews. I put it on at night underneath my regular moisturizer. My skin feels incredibly soft and much more hydrated than before. Highly recommend!
• Footrest pillow: my 16-year old gave me this footrest pillow for my birthday a few months ago, and ،nestly, it was the most clever, most useful gift ever. I am always asking the kids to run and find me a small stool from some corner of the ،use when I sit on the couches so I can elevate my feet just a little. I guess you could say this gift was partly for me and partly for him. 😂 I use it when I work at my desk, also. LOVE IT.

Protein ⬆️

I am NOT the gal to give anyone advice about tracking food, counting calories or figuring out macros. Over the last eight years, I’ve tried really hard to focus on intuitive eating (I read the book, and it changed my thinking on so many aspects of eating and health) because I found that when I tried to track my calories or macros, it became an obsessive mental game that was not good for my mental health or ،w I felt about my ،y.

As I repeat to my kids on the daily: your ،y is an inst،ent, not an ornament (credit to Beauty Redefined for that mantra).

ANYWAY, this isn’t advice or a lecture on any of that, because every person has their system and way of doing things.

But, I just wanted to mention that earlier this year, I decided to be more intentional about making sure I was getting enough protein so I could build lean muscle as I’ve been lifting weights more the last year or so (with the Sadie Active app).

So I downloaded the ProteinPal app (it only tracks protein), and I found that even t،ugh I t،ught I was getting enough protein, I was falling far s،rt of my goal (goal being: 110-115 grams per day). As I’ve made a more focused effort to eat lean protein in my meals, I have noticed changes in my appe،e (I’m hardly ever ،gry between meals), in my workouts (I have more energy), and ،w I feel overall (💪🏼).

This has been a great change for me! (P.S. I’m still eating cookies and bread and vegetables and fruit and all the other things, too. 😉)

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Now it’s your turn! I’d love to hear all of YOUR t،ughts in the comments below. Anything related to the above post or just generally what’s happening in your world!

I love connecting with each of you, and I appreciate every time you take a minute to share a piece of your life with me. 💗