School's out for summer!

Today was Audrey's last day of pre-school for this year. I cried in the car when I left her that first day, but she was never even phased by me leaving her there. She dives into everything head first with no fear! She LOVES school, her teachers, and all her little friends, and it's almost unbelievable how much she learned this year. But what's most shocking to me is how much she has grown in the last 9 months! (Yes, that is the same door!)

So school's out! And we're ready for some summer fun!!

Pinterest Favorite Food Finds - Part 2

I'm going to let you in on a little secret...I love to eat! Okay, that's probably not much of a secret. But I do. And that means I constantly have my eye out for new recipes to try. Last year, I wrote a post about a few of my favorite food finds on Pinterest. I don't make everything I pin, and not everything I try is successful, but I've tried a few things that have made the cut into our regular rotation of things we like, so I thought I'd write a Part 2 to my Pinterest Favorite Food Finds!

First up is breakfast! Or if you're anything like us, dinner as often as once a week sometimes! I used to always make pancakes from a box mix that you just add water to. But I'm trying to reduce chemicals and prepackaged foods from our diet one thing at a time, so I was on the lookout for a pancake recipe. When I found and tried this recipe for Greek Yogurt Pancakes, I never turned back and this is our tried-and-true, go-to pancake recipe now!

Photo from favoritefamilyfoods.wordpress.com

And then there's dinner. Like most households, dinner is often a struggle for us. I ask the infamous, "What do you want for dinner?" and get the ever-dreaded, even more infamous, "I don't care," or "Whatever you want," responses! Ugh! Not to mention trying to cook something that everyone enjoys so I'm not making 3 different things for dinner. So when I try something new that we all love, I'm ecstatic! These Mini Chicken Parmesan Meatloaf Cupcakes were an instant hit! We call them Chicken Parm Meatballs and I serve them with spaghetti for dinner, but they're great reheated in the toaster oven for lunch the next day too! The only change I make is that I use half the panko bread crumbs that it calls for. Half a cup is plenty!

Photo from tablespoon.com

I also love finding recipes that are both healthy and delicious! These next two recipes live up to that! First, One Pan Mexican Quinoa! We just had this for the first time the other night, but it was delicious and most definitely will be a regular! And the little tiny bit that was leftover was even more delicious cold for lunch!

Photo from Damn Delicious

The next recipe even I was skeptical about! I am not a cauliflower fan. But Cauliflower Pizza Crust recipes are floating all over Pinterest, so I decided to give it a shot! And I was more than pleasantly surprised! YUM! I did add about a handful of Parmesan cheese in also, but otherwise kept the recipe the same. Mine TOTALLY stuck to the foil. (Turns out that regular foil is not the same as non-stick foil. Who knew?!) It was more work to peel it off than it was worth, but what I did eat was worth making again. Next time, I may try parchment paper or just spray a cookie sheet.

Photo from One Good Thing By Jillee

And finally, dessert! I first tried this recipe when we had lots of carrots and zucchini from the garden last summer. I made a few modifications, but these Carrot Cake Cookies became an instant hit! I skip the frosting because I don't think they need it, but they'd probably be even better with it! I use 1/2 cup of coconut oil and 1/4 cup of softened butter instead of the shortening. I also do 1 cup of shredded carrots and 1/2 cup of shredded zucchini instead of all carrots. And I have done both raisins and dried cranberries on separate occasions and both are yummy! They're best right out of the oven because they have some crispiness on the edges. But if you are okay with a cake texture instead of a cookie texture, they're good for a couple days (if they last that long!)

This photo is actually mine. :)

That's it for some of my tried-and-true recipes from Pinterest today! If you try any of them, be sure to let me know what you think! And please feel free to share some of your favorite Pinterest recipe finds too!

Earth Day

Audrey and I were in line at the grocery store the other day and there was a little, elderly woman in front of us. She must have swiped her debit card 10 different times and kept entering the wrong pin number. I thought about paying for her groceries myself, but I only had cash on me and not enough for her groceries and mine. Finally, the woman behind me swiped her card and bought the woman's groceries for her. Even though the kindness wasn't directed at me, I knew I wanted to pay it forward somehow. Today, we did just that! In honor of Earth Day and that kind, selfless woman behind us at the store, Audrey and I picked up an entire trash bag full of trash from just a small section of a street in our neighborhood that we walk on all the time.

So now I'm asking you to pay it forward somehow. Take pride in your neighborhood. Happy Earth Day!!

Sharpie Decorated Easter Eggs

This year, I decided to pass on the messy, traditional dip-dyed Easter eggs. I saw these pretty, intricately designed eggs on Pinterest, and thought it would be fun to just let Audrey have at the eggs with colorful Sharpies herself and see what she came up with!

Turns out that we both had a lot of fun! Sharpies are "Mommy's markers" in our house. And my little artist was over the moon that Mommy was actually letting her use them!

She mostly scribbled on them, but did one with polka dots that was super cute. And I think she felt more creative and had more fun than just dipping them in a colored dye.

I know what you're thinking, "Are Sharpie's really less messy?" For us they were! She had a paper plate to put her egg down on if she wanted to, so the table was kept safe. We didn't have dye splashed all over the place and didn't have to wait for them to dry. We did get a little marker on our fingers, but some rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball took it right off and we followed up with good old soap and water!

So whether you forgot to pick up the Easter egg kit or you just want to skip the dye this year, get out your Sharpies and get creative this Easter!


*UPDATE* I do not recommend eating these if you use Sharpies! It might have been our eggs, but I don't think so. Some of the color did seep through the shell and they have a nasty chemical smell to them after peeling! I think it would still be fun if you blew out the eggs instead of hard boiling them though.

Real

So I was wasting hours of my life browsing on Pinterest yesterday and I scrolled past a picture of a beautiful, curvy woman with the caption "a real woman." I'm not going to post the picture or the pinner. We've all seen something similar, so it's not necessary. The woman was gorgeous...I wish I had a few more curves like her. But the caption kind of bothered me and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it.

I understand where this pinner is coming from with the caption. Magazines, television, social media and movies all put this image out there of what a woman should look like. We see models, who are already very thin, photo-shopped beyond recognition. Unrealistic expectations of what a woman should look like surround and overwhelm us every day. As the mom of a little girl, it is something that I am very aware of and concerned about.

But as women, we come in all shapes and sizes. What makes a curvy woman "a real woman" and not a thin woman? How we speak about our bodies and others' bodies has as much of an effect on us as the media does.

Growing up, I was overweight. I taught myself about nutrition, I identified my emotional eating triggers and I changed my lifestyle. This didn't happen overnight. It was a process for me, and it is still a conscious effort. Though I am not overweight anymore, I am still very aware of my body image. It is something that I think will always be a part of me. If we are not comfortable with ourselves, we judge ourselves and feel judged by others. I am much more confident and comfortable with myself now, but that mentality creeps in, and I still have moments when I feel judged by others. But instead of feeling judged for being overweight, I now feel judged for being thin.

Here's the thing: I don't eat a crazy diet. I try to eat healthy, whole foods, but I am no stranger to a brownie or real butter, potato chips or pasta. I approach eating with an "everything in moderation" mentality. I don't count calories. I don't deprive myself. I just try to fuel my body with what it needs and what makes it feel the best. Sometimes that's a kale smoothie and on occasion it is a hot fudge sundae.

I don't have an insane workout routine. I go to a yoga class twice a week, but that has only been in the last year. I don't run. I don't go to the gym. I just try to live an active life. I walk or take the stairs when I can. I play outside with my daughter. I try to move and not be sedentary.

That is enough for me. It is not enough for everyone. I know that. Many people struggle with weight loss and weight maintenance. I have actually struggled with keeping weight on since my daughter was born. I know a lot of you out there are thinking, "Oh, shut up, bitch!" But seriously. I've seen doctors. I've had blood tests. I'm perfectly healthy. But I am also the lowest weight I have ever been. I have had moments when I look in the mirror and think I look too thin and it is not because of anything I'm doing or not doing. I can't forget a meal or snack. I have to consciously eat. That can be as  mentally exhausting and frustrating as trying to count calories or not eating as much. Trust me, I have been in both places.

So does being naturally thin at this point in my life make me less of a woman? I don't think so. I am a real woman too. I have real feelings, goals, struggles and triumphs. I don't aim to look like women in magazines, this is just how my body is naturally. I have never had hips. My stomach is flat. My legs are long. I have muscle tone from practicing something that I love and brings me peace.

As a woman and, more recently, as a parent, I have become aware of the snap judgments I have for others and that others have for people who don't look like or parent like they do. Through this awareness, I have made a conscious effort not to equate different with bad. Different is just different. Different is often beautiful.

So, yes, I'm thin. But I am still very much a real woman. I am made of both my strengths and my weaknesses, my attributes and my flaws. I have loose skin that hangs from my upper arms when I wave. I have armpit fat that hangs over my bra. My thighs touch. Gravity and breastfeeding got the better of my breasts. You may not see those things when you look at me but they are there. And they are part of me. I embrace them. I love myself, flaws and all. I think we would all be better off if we loved ourselves a little more.

But we need to love others a little more too. Is calling a curvy woman "a real woman" any better than portraying only unrealistically edited, skinny models in the media? I don't think the intention of the pinner was to imply that thin women aren't real. But at the same time, I don't think this characterization is a positive influence for us or our daughters either. A woman is "a real woman" whether she is thin or curvy, tall or short. She is "a real woman" whether she is confident or self-conscious. She is "a real woman" whether she is happy or struggling. Real is both with and without make-up. Real is all different weights, and shapes, and sizes. Real is all different colors and life experiences and opinions.

I know the person who posted that caption probably meant no harm. They probably feel as frustrated as I do about how women are portrayed in the media. I am not trying to be critical of them. But little things often send my mind on tangents. No matter what our size, I think we all have moments where we feel pigeonholed. This picture happened to be one of my moments. I look nothing like this beautiful, curvy woman. But I do not aspire to look like women who are airbrushed beyond recognition either. I aspire to be the best me that I can be. I am just working with what God gave me. And I am very much "a real woman."

L L F M D: Smile.

15. Smile.

Smile when you look in the mirror in the morning. You are beautiful and your beauty shines from within you. Be as kind and compassionate with yourself as you are with others.

Smile when you are walking down the street.  Smile at the people you know and the people you don't. Something so simple may brighten someone's day. 

Smile when you have a happy thought.

Smile when someone smiles at you.

Smile when you witness kindness and selflessness.

Smile even when you are sad because there is always something good in every situation. If you teach yourself to recognize and celebrate the positive, the negative will never seem quite so bad.

2014 Goals

I shared already how 2013 was a year of personal growth for me. And I know we're into February already, but I also have some goals for 2014. In an attempt to get them written down and hold myself accountable, I'm going to share them here today.

1. Expand My Yoga Practice
Building on the last year, my first goal is to expand my yoga practice and to challenge myself more. I love the Sunday morning Hatha class that I go to and I will never give it up, but I've decided to add a more challenging class to my week as well. I have started taking a Slow Flow class on Thursday nights. Slow Flow is a class kind of between a Hatha and a Vinyasa class. It is more challenging and a faster pace, but not quite as challenging as a Vinyasa class.

This class is a workout! It also has a completely different feel than the Hatha class I take. A year ago, I probably wouldn't have gone back for a second class. But the challenge and opportunity to push myself excites me now. So I dropped my expectations, adjusted my attitude, and opened up my heart and mind to what this instructor and class can offer me.

2. Let Go
One of my favorites Bible verses is Jeremiah 29:11.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

I believe with all of my heart that God has a plan for me. This verse has brought me indescribable comfort in very difficult times. But despite that, and despite wanting to let go of control, I never fully put my problems in God's hands.

We are only a month and a half into 2014, and it has already been a trying year for me. But somehow, something clicked in my heart and in my mind. I have let go. I have not put my problems in God's hands, but I have finally realized that they are already there. I'll say that again: they are already there! What a revelation! I don't have to do anything. He has a plan and He has control. All I have to do is let go and trust in Him and what I already believe. I believe that everything happens for a reason. I believe that sometimes we have to feel pain and struggle in order to learn and grow. I have let go of what other people think or may think of me. It doesn't matter. What they think might be the truth and it might not. But it doesn't matter. Because I am not living my life for them.

I can't tell you how liberating this has been for me. Habit pokes at me to try to control things still, but I am resisting and I hope to continue to.

3. "Live More From Intention And Less From Habit"
I read this somewhere, hence the quotes, but I didn't write it down and I can't remember where. Forgive me! But it really resonated within me. I am most definitely a creature of habit. But I have discovered over the last year that when I step outside my comfort zone and take a leap of faith, I am more often than not pleasantly surprised with what I am capable of. So I am consciously reminding myself daily to "live from intention." And that reminder seems to lessen the fear of the unknown.

4. "Inspire, Don't Demand"
Here I go again, not writing things down. But even though I can't remember where it came from, I haven't been able to forget those three words. I am really trying to take this to heart in my parenting. I'm human, and I get frustrated just like everyone does. When I get frustrated, I tend to demand things in my parenting instead of inspiring or teaching like I intend to.

So when I start to get frustrated, I tell myself, "Live more from intention, Sara. Inspire. Don't demand." I'm not perfect. And this is one of my goals I will need to put the most effort into. But I know it will be worth it, not only for Audrey, but for me as well.

Those are my four main goals. I also have goals financially and for my marriage. In the past, I would have felt overwhelmed by these goals. I would have failed before I even began. But I have released myself from the burden of potential failure. I will fail at some things. But great rewards require great risk. And if I don't even try, I have failed already.

I am incredibly grateful to be in this place emotionally. I have tried for years to force myself here, but I wasn't ready. Finally, I have let go. It was a conscious decision and at the same time it wasn't. And the pieces just fell into place. I am expecting big things from myself this year, but there is no pressure. Even the tiniest step forward is progress.