Friday Favorites

 Hello friends! I hope you've all had a good week so far. I think we have finally hit the end of our winter weather-- spring and warmer temperatures appear to be here to stay! We spent yesterday afternoon playing in the creek and the kids were on cloud 9 (me too!).

Kid Tested Healthy Recipes from Our Meal Train

 Hello there and happy Friday! Today's post is going to be short and sweet. Hopefully it'll give you an idea of a new recipe to test out over the weekend. Since my diagnosis we have had a Meal Train to help alleviate the burden of cooking/cleaning while feeling sick. The Meal Train has been wonderful and I am very grateful to live in 2023 where Meal Trains are so organized and easy for everyone involved! Anyway, we have had some REALLY good food delivered to us and I wanted to share some of the recipes. Not everyone has shared their recipes with us, which is fine of course, but I wanted to share with you our favorite healthy meals that we did have a recipe for. Starting with breakfast:

Not Just a Mom-- Day in the Life-- Weekend Edition

 Good Morning friends and welcome to the March edition of Not Just a Mom! 

Today we are sharing "A Day in the Life of Us-- Weekend Edition" and I am excited to see what everyone is up to on their weekends. 

Today I am sharing this past Saturday in the life of us. Before I start, let me just say this "Day in the Life" was on a day when I was feeling really good. I was 11 days out from my last chemo treatment and therefore, was feeling pretty close to my regular self. I intentionally did not choose to document the weekend prior to this because it would've been very uneventful-- I laid in bed and napped all day. I only say this because I would hate for someone else who is sick to read this one day and think "what the heck is wrong with me?" because I was able to be up and doing normal things. This isn't a "typical" day, this is definitely a "good" day, and I am very happy to document the good days right now!

Life Update 2

 Hello again friends. First of all, let me please start by saying THANK YOU. Thank you for your kind, encouraging comments. Your emails. Your prayers. Your generous things you've sent me (I'm blown away-- truly!). This experience has been difficult but it helps to know we have people in our corner praying for us and helping to alleviate some of this difficulty. When I started this blog almost 6 years ago I was a bored SAHM who was just looking for something to do. All of my friends were still working and sweet Lily Grace napped twice a day (man, it was easier back then-- hah!). I never thought anyone other than my family would read this, and yet God used it as a way to connect an incredible group of women who may otherwise never get to "meet" each other. Thank you, truly.

Life Update

 Hello there friends, long time no see. 

I have sat down at my computer a number of times over the past few weeks trying and trying to come up with the "right" words to say what has been going on with us lately, and honestly, it's all still so numb and surreal, the "right" words just aren't coming. 

What I've Been Wearing to Work

 Hello there friends and happy Friday! Today I wanted to share with you some of the outfits I've been wearing to work lately.

I don't know about you, but sometimes I just like to look at other people's outfits because it sparks an idea for me of something I already own. I will try to link what I can, but just know that a lot of these pieces are old, so not everything will be link-able! Also, the typical workwear of a preschool teacher is more casual than that of someone who works in an office. So these may not work for you if you work in a more formal setting-- sorry!

What's Up Wednesday

 Hello there! Long time no chat! Life has been crazy busy around here these days and this little blog has been neglected. Let's catch up, shall we?

Harry & Meghan Drama

 Hello hello friends and happy Monday. Have you been as swept up in all this Royal Family drama as I have been? I have always loved the Royal Family and my sisters & I growing up thought William and Harry were so cute-- I mean what teenage girl in the early 2000's didn't?? 

75 Soft

 Good morning friends and happy Friday! Last week I shared some of the goals I had for the upcoming year, one of them being to complete the 75 Soft program. There were a few questions about the 75 Soft program, so I figured I clear it up today and tell you a little more about the version I will be doing. 

What is 75 Soft?

75 Soft is the much easier/more realistic/healthier (in my opinion) version of the 75 Hard that went viral awhile back. 75 Hard is a "mental toughness program," lasting for 75 days, that is supposed to help get good habits back on track and build self-discipline, perseverance, and fortitude. The rules are:

Thanks to Pinterest for the graphic. 😉

I like some of the ideas in the program, but 75 Hard is way too tough/strict/time-consuming for me. I don't have time for two 45-minute workouts a day, nor do I want to spend my time that way anyway. I'm also not taking progress pics every day, that feels unnecessary and my phone doesn't have that much storage anyway. 😆

Before I knew 75 Soft existed, I thought "I'd like to do that but maybe just do it my own way," and then after searching Pinterest found out I was clearly not the only one who thought that-- there are ideas/recommendations for 75 Soft everywhere! You can modify it to fit your needs, or choose a 75 Soft program/tracker that someone else has already created. This one is the one I plan to follow:

I'm pretty sure that's supposed to say take a progress picture on days 1 and 75, not 57. 😉

Why Am I Doing This?

I have REALLY been struggling to find my new routine since going back to work. If I'm being 100% honest, I am real quick to say "oh I'll just workout tomorrow" or "oh whatever it's fine to eat junk food, I'm tired" or spend my evenings scrolling social media instead of reading, when reading is obviously so much better for you. I also have been hoping to get more into journaling (my form of quieting my mind/meditating) each day. All of those things were things I wanted to make more of a priority going into 2023, and the 75 Hard/Soft program felt like a way to do all 4 at once under the same umbrella. 

How's It Going So Far?

As I write this, I am on day 12 and it has been GREAT! It feels so good to be back into a routine of working out, eating healthier, reading, and journaling. My favorite part so far has actually been journaling. There is something so therapeutic about putting into writing what's worrying me, or conversely, writing positive things about the day. And not surprisingly at all, after eating healthier, exercising, journaling, and reading a book at night, I have been sleeping better-- which just makes everything better!

I really love the flexibility with exercise too. In 75 Hard if you skip a day, you need to start over again at Day 1. In 75 Soft, you only need to work out 4 days a week. This is obviously more realistic for people who have busy schedules, and also better during winter flu/cold season. For example, last week we all had minor head colds and I needed to take a few days off from exercise to rest (obviously that's the smarter, healthier thing to do). I had already been able to get 4 workouts in that week, so it there was no need to start over from Day 1. 

It feels like the perfect amount of a "challenge" without being too difficult. 

Today I am linking up with Andrea and Erika for Friday Favorites. Have a great weekend!

NJAM January: Introductions!

Hello hello friends! Welcome back to the first Not Just a Mom of 2023! Today Adrienne, Dara, Jen, Joanne, Sarah and I are doing a little introduction to help you get to know us a bit better. 

Maybe you've been following along with our blogs for years, or maybe you're new. Hopefully you come away from our blogs today having learned something new about each of us!

That's a Wrap on 2022... and New Goals for '23!

 Happy New Year friends! I hope you spent the weekend surrounded by people you love and are starting 2023 off with a full heart. It wasn't until I started pulling pictures for this post that I realized just how quickly this year flew by. Each year goes by faster and faster, especially now with the kids! Here's a look at 2022 went for the Darrell family:

In January:

What I'm Priming December

Hello friends and happy New Year!! I hope you spent the weekend surrounded by people you love and are starting 2023 off with a full heart.

Tanya has brought back Prime Purchases in 2023 and this year it will be on Mondays-- woohoo! As someone who only blogs on Mondays and Fridays, thank you Tanya!!! 

Here's a look at what I bought in December: