Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Lent Lately

Life lately has been wonderful and trying. We've had some personal things going on behind the scenes; stories that aren't mine to share, ones best kept close to the heart, and others that are not quite ready to be put to paper, but maybe soon. In the midst of all this, I am doing my best to put my faith and family first. This space has been seeing an increasing amount of dust and last night I came to terms with that. This blog has always been an outlet and when I stop treating it as such it becomes a to do rather than a treat and in some seasons it is gosh darn hard to even squeeze in a minute to take care of yourself.

So what am I saying? Am I turning this site off? No, not yet. I don't think I'm ready for that, but at least for this Lent I am taking the pressure off myself and if something flows and gets posted, great!, but if all I can do is share tiny updates and keep my link-ups afloat, great!

This season is about refocusing our lives on clinging to what really matters and in the grand scheme of things, HE is what matters. So this Lent I am feeling called to filter the distractions and do a little more with my faith. Each week I physically want to be at a church event other than Sunday. I know I can pray more at home, but my environment is very important to me and being in an actual church helps me focus. I also want to do some more faith filled reading, but I'll be honest, I'm still trying to figure out when that will actually happen. I have always been more of a night owl, in that I can stay up late without a struggle, but have always loved the quiet of the mornings, except that I have the hardest time getting out of bed even when I go to sleep early...so that permanently exhausted pigeon is definitely where I fit! When I look at my days it seems like the only way I can do some of my goals is if I wake up at 5 am (which feels like a sucker punch in my gut), so I'm going to pray about it and see what the Lord has to offer me: I need energy, Lord and to wake up feeling like I slept, please!

Sorry for the ramble today, but wasn't that what blogging was originally a big ramble of thoughts? Sometimes I miss those days and then I realize I am fully capable of making "those days" today. Thanks for sticking with me!


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Wednesday, February 22, 2017

With Grit & Grace: March Goals

Oh, February! You do this to me every time. You creep up on me ever so slowly in January and then you pounce and just as suddenly as you appeared you hide away again. You are like a jack-in-a-box, dear February. Despite the fleetness of the month, February is one of my favorites. It is our last official full month of winter. And sometimes, like this year, it is the start of hints of spring weather. I also cannot deny that my favor may have something to do about my birthday in the middle of the month, but honestly, "Aren't I lucky to have been born in my favorite [month]?" (Meet Me in St. Louis)

I made great strides in my February goals. Not only did I only make two real goals for the month, but from the get go I told myself I was going for growth not perfection. Perfection was achieved in growth, but not necessarily completion.

February Goals Recap:
- Weekly Meal Planning
I made a meal plan 2 out of the 3 weeks that have passed so far. It is Wednesday and I have yet to plan this week's meals, but there is still time to redeem myself! And I think I'll give myself a B in carrying out the plans. The meals were made eventually, but most often not on the day I originally planned. Gauging leftovers is something I need to work on too. Some meals provided enough to spare for 3-4 extra meals. This is a happy accident, because it means less cooking! I plan to work on freezing a bit more to use throughout the month.

 Breakfast was a choice of eggs, Mock Oatmeal, or Protein Shake for me; the hubby stuck with his daily cereal and the baby had oatmeal with fruit or yogurt. Lunches were mostly leftovers, canned soup, or sandwiches. Dinners are where I put the most effort. This month I made a few staples, like Stuffed Peppers or Pancakes; but mostly have been trying out some old family recipes I haven't made in a good while, like Biscuits and Gravy; and new to us recipes, like Pear Turkey Burgers.

- Get Active
I think I get a B+ in this area. I have made more of an effort to get out of the house to walk, but with the cold weather that has meant walking stores and that requires a lot of self discipline to not come out with a few unplanned purchases, but I plan on using those handweights towards fulfilling this goal better! The Spring weather this week has made reaching this goal even easier. Our little guy loves being outside!

 March Goals:
Our boy turns one at the end of March (how is that even possible?)! We will be blessed to have all of our parents, grandparents, and siblings in town to celebrate the event so we are putting our focus on the house this month in addition to growing in our habits from the past two months. My plan is to create a master list of everything we would like to have accomplished prior to our guests' arrival and each day do at least one of those items.
- Daily Goal
- Continue: Weekly Meal Planning, Increase Activity, and Getting dressed each day.




Your Hosts
Christina
Blog // Instagram // Twitter // Pinterest
Keri
Blog // Instagram // Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest 
How about you? Do you make goals? If so I would love for you to join Keri and I for With Grit and Grace where we focus on supporting each other as we work towards our goals! 
Just a reminder…

  • We are all about building a positive community; please remember to read, comment, and share the posts of others- and let them know you found them at With Grace & Grit.
  • All forms of goal or intentional living posts are welcome. They can be for a specific area in your life, or your general goals for the day, week, month, or year. We love to hear updates on your progress, too.
  • Make sure to use the URL specific to your post and not your blog’s home page.
  • Link back to With Grit & Grace with our button or link in your post or party page.
  • Comment on the post prior to yours in the link-up. Support others through comments and shares– don’t forget to tell them you found them at With Grit & Grace.
  • By linking up, you give us permission to feature an image on our blog and social media. Proper credit and links will be given.
  • Join in on social media with: #withgritandgrace
  • We want to support you! Please follow your hosts in some way




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Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Pear Turkey Burgers

Ground turkey not smothered in cheese or hidden in soup always left me with something to be desired. It just came out 'blah' to me, but I wanted to love it for its health value. When my hairdresser shared with me that she ate a turkey burger for lunch almost everyday, I was a little surprised how she didn't grow tired of such a bland diet. I made a point to ask her the recipe once we decided we were going to focus on eating healthier this year and I finally got around to making the recipe with a few adjustments, of course. They did not disappoint! In fact, my burger loving husband said he wouldn't mind them being added to our regular rotation! If you love turkey burgers or are sampling some healthier options for your family, try these out. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

Pear Turkey Burgers

1 lb. Ground Lean Turkey
1 Pear chopped
1 Small onion chopped
1 Tbs. Ground Flaxseed
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg

Mix all ingredients together and make patties to desired size (I found the bigger patties held together better than the smaller ones, so go ahead and make quarter pounders).

Grill until cooked about 4 minutes per side. I used a grilling pan prepped with coconut oil.

Serve as traditional burgers or on a bed of rice and/or salad. 
They are also great with a bit of avocado. The warmth of the burger "melts" the avocado a bit so you have a nice creamy replacement for cheese.

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Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

 We just cannot seem to kick the illness bugs going around. It's been a constant rotation between the hubby, baby, and I. That and with a few other things I had to take a step back from everything outside of the home.
Snuggle with your loved ones a little more today and everyday!

We have some new faces here on the link up and I didn't give them a proper welcome last week.
Make sure you stop over and say hello to Stefanie at Lexie Loo, Lily, Liam, & Dylan Too and Lindsay at Lindsay's Sweet World. We are ecstatic to have them join us. Welcome Ladies!


Beth at Our Pretty Little Girls | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram
Crystal at Hall Around Texas | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram 

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Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Word of the Year and With Grit & Grace

2016 was a big year of change for us. We had our son and I left my job to stay at home and raise him.
It was not long after being at home full time that I began having doubts about our choice. There was so much going on in the world and I felt that being "just a mom" gave me no influence. I knew this was not true, but yet I let myself believe it and lost some of my joy.

In September and October I had some reflective moments and realized that I had forgotten to dream. When I closed my eyes and thought about how I desired my future to look, feel, taste, smell, and sound, there was one word that kept coming to me: home. At the core of my dreams was the home and family my husband and I were building. And then later in the year, I stumbled across a quote scribbled in a notebook and broke down in tears.

My heart felt like it could burst. For as long as I can remember I have felt conflicted with wanting to do something big, something that would change the world, and wanting to create a beautiful, loving home. And here was my answer to all the turmoil, doubt, and discontent. I was doing exactly what I was called to do and it fulfilled my deepest desires. God is so good!

 I have chosen a word of the year for the past few years and I will be honest at first I thought, This is it! I have my word. It is HOME! 2017 would be the year I focused on my home and growing there. Small home improvements, daily routines, meal planning, deep cleaning...those would be my focus.
Well, all of this is still true, but the Spirit nudged me a little further.

 My past words have all been virtues and that was something I wanted to continue. I wanted it to be an adjective that I could use to describe my life; a word that would describe my home. As I ruminated over all these little moments of reflection a sense overwhelmed me and I knew that was the word to which 2017 would be dedicated. I just had to swap out a letter and I had it!

 HOPE.

And the sense of hope I felt called to is summarized by a quote from one of my favorite Theologians.


"The one who has hope lives differently." Yes, 2017 will be a year lived differently. 
For me that is getting dressed in the morning even though we're staying home, planning healthy meals, daily routines, cleaning and decorating the house, playing with the baby, praying for the grit and grace to see it through, and intentionally living this beautiful life I've been given. My differently may look pretty darn ordinary to the outside world, but that ordinary is extraordinary and fills my life with love, laughter, and hope.

What is your word/resolution for 2017?

January Goals & Recap:
- Get dressed in the morning
- Pick Word of the Year
- Long term planning for 2017

February Goals: 
- Weekly Meal Planning
- Get active! 


Your Hosts
Christina
Blog // Instagram // Twitter // Pinterest
Keri
Blog // Instagram // Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest 
How about you? Do you make goals? If so I would love for you to join Christina and I for With Grit and Grace where we focus on supporting each other as we work towards our goals! 
Just a reminder…

  • We are all about building a positive community; please remember to read, comment, and share the posts of others- and let them know you found them at With Grace & Grit.
  • All forms of goal or intentional living posts are welcome. They can be for a specific area in your life, or your general goals for the day, week, month, or year. We love to hear updates on your progress, too.
  • Make sure to use the URL specific to your post and not your blog’s home page.
  • Link back to With Grit & Grace with our button or link in your post or party page.
  • Comment on the post prior to yours in the link-up. Support others through comments and shares– don’t forget to tell them you found them at With Grit & Grace.
  • By linking up, you give us permission to feature an image on our blog and social media. Proper credit and links will be given.
  • Join in on social media with: #withgritandgrace
  • We want to support you! Please follow your hosts in some way






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Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Crockpot Pesto Chicken

Continuing with the recipe trend on my blog lately (more on the reason why tomorrow :) here is a nutritional dinner that is not only easy, but yummy!

 

Crockpot Pesto Chicken

1-2 lbs of Chicken breasts
1 cup of Pesto (I used Kirkland from Costco)
3-4 cups of veggies of choice (I used brussel sprouts and can't wait to try some others)
3 Tbs. Water
Olive Oil


In a crockpot layer chicken, pesto, and veggies. 

Drizzle with Olive Oil and water.

Cover and cook on high for 3 hours.

Serve with multi-grain pasta or brown rice.

Ta da! That's it! So simple and yummy! This is going on my list of go to meals! 

Speaking of meals and planning...

1) you can still sign up to get Keri's Meal Plan Challenge! Check it out. It's really helped me in breaking down how to tackle my meal planning goals.
2) With Grit & Grace is back for 2017 and it starts tomorrow!


Waltzing In Beauty


  Please remember your lovely posts will be shared on our thirteen blogs and we would love it if you would return the favor and link back to us (you can grab the button above).  By linking back you'll have the opportunity to be featured in our feature posts and Pinterest board here! 












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Tuesday, January 17, 2017

The Perfect Breakfast Shake

One of our new year resolutions is to be more intentional with our health. Making smart food choices is integral for us. Starting the day off on the right foot is essential for me...otherwise I turn into a hangry (hungy and angry) bear or a puddle. That start for me is a protein filled breakfast of eggs, mock oatmeal, or a protein shake. I do like a little variety in my meals, so the versatility of a protein shake is perfect for my mornings. You can go simple or fill that baby up with fruits and veggies.

Right now my favorite blend is what I like to call, "Almond Coconut Joy," because it is joy in liquid form.



 Almond Coconut Joy Protein Shake

 2 Scoops Arbonne Essentials Chocolate Protein Shake Mix
8 oz. Almond or Coconut milk
1 Tbs. Almond Butter
3 Tbs. Unsweetened Coconut Flakes
3-4 Ice Cubes
1 Scoop Arbonne Essentials Daily Fiber Boost
1 Scoop Arbonne Essentials Greens Balance 

What's your perfect shake blend? Link them up below or share in the comments!



Waltzing In Beauty


  Please remember your lovely posts will be shared on our thirteen blogs and we would love it if you would return the favor and link back to us (you can grab the button above).  By linking back you'll have the opportunity to be featured in our feature posts and Pinterest board here! 















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