Wednesday, October 31, 2018

What's Up Wednesday (10/31/18)


Happy Halloween!  One of my favorite holiday's OF THE YEAR!  I can't wait to do all of the fun things with the kids today from their school parades, parties and trick-or-treating tonight.  I hope everyone has a fabulous holiday!  Here's a little look at what we've been up to this month...



On the last Wednesday of the month I link-up with Shay to answer these questions:



1.  What we're eating this week...
Not this week, but last week at my yoga retreat, we had the most amazing food options!  For breakfast, lunch and dinner, each day we had fresh meals to choose from.  Here's a look at a full day of meals.  





Also, did you see my post a few weeks back about meal prepping?  Since that post, we bought meal prep containers and have been doing our best to meal prep for the week on Sunday nights.  

2.  What I'm reminiscing about...
The most amazing weekend away in the mountains during the Soulful Season yoga retreat...  







I spent 4 days/3nights in Dahlonega, GA with my sister-in-law doing yoga 2x a day, eating, sleeping and bonding.  If anyone has ever considered doing something like this, DO IT! It's the best self-care you could ever do for yourself.  We met amazing humans and enjoyed the beautiful fall season.  We visited wineries and went on an almost 4-mile hike in the mountains.  I am still buzzing from our trip, and hope to one day be able to hold space for people on yoga retreats like this. 



3.  What I'm loving...
I recently had a henna eyebrow treatment and last-lift and tint.  You guys, the before and after pictures are amazing!  It's not too noticeable, but I feel like I can leave the house with a little tinted moisturizer and be ready for the day.  The pictures below are with no makeup. 

4.  What we've been up to...
All things fall!  We definitely soak it up this time of year. We went to our first fall festival...


We started swim lessons for Vincent and Arianna this month...


Painting pumpkins with your bestie is certainly a fun fall activity...


A day off from work, but the kids in school, meant Food and Wine festival time for us!  It was so much fun and the best day!  You can see Mariseli's post about it on her blog here...



Skate night for Vincent's Elementary School was so much fun...



More T-Ball games...

We went to see Smallfoot as a family, it was a cute movie...

Morning dance parties before school...

Meeting Cinderella at our local cupcake shop...

Spending time with friends...

5.  What I'm dreading...
The next time I have to fly through DFW, which is hopefully never again! I had a horrible experience trying to travel for work a few weeks ago and got stuck in Dallas for HOURS when their airport shut down due to weather.  Here's a picture of the customer service line I stood in to get a new flight home and make sure my bag followed me, which they assured me it would, and then I finally got 4 days later...

6.  What I'm working on...
In November I have two yoga workshops that I'm working on.  

I've also been working on my #fivetothrive and completing the last 90 day challenge.  

7.  What I'm excited about...
Next weekend Vincent and I are heading to Austin to visit my niece and nephew, and also my brother and his wifey too! We will have so much fun and can't wait to see them all!

8.  What I'm watching/reading...
Still working my way through my The One Year Bible and finding moments for gratitude in each day...

I am almost through with When Life Gives You Lululemons and I can't wait to see how it ends...

I read When Things Fall Apart this month, and there were so many quotes that spoke directly to me...

My favorite show is back, This Is Us!  I have been enjoying this season, even if it is a little slower-paced...



9.  What I'm listening to...
Love the new album from Khalid, although I'm wishing it was more than 7 songs. Also, is it too early for Christmas music?!

10.  What I'm wearing...
I got this BP cardigan during the Nordstrom anniversary sale, and I'm obsessed with it!  It's currently only available in plus-size, but I would highly recommend it. 


11.  What I'm doing this weekend...
Yoga, t-ball, oil change, swim lessons and family pictures are on the agenda for this weekend :) 

12.  What I'm looking forward to next month...
Next month I get to see my brother, complete my yoga mentorship and celebrate Thanksgiving with family! I have so much to be grateful for. 

13.  What else is new...
Vincent has been working on his t-ball skills since he started a few months ago.  This picture has three of my favorite men in i! I love watching Mike, Vincent and my Dad spend quality moments like this together...

14.  Bonus Question - What is your all time favorite Halloween costume...
Vincent as Michael Jackson! I mean, just look at him!  My mother-in-law made this costume for him, and it was just amazing!


Happy Halloween everyone!

XO

Shari

Wednesday, October 10, 2018

How We - Meal Plan

Happy October everyone!!  I had the most awful travel day yesterday, but I am here today for the link-up with Mix and Match Mamma and A Little Bit of Everything for this month's "How We" post, all about meal planning and sharing recipes!   

I've been linking up on Wednesdays' this year to share how we...

You can see my January post here
You can see my February post here
You can see my March post here
You can see my April post here
You can see my May post here
You can see my June post here
You can see my July post here
You can see my August post here
You can see my September post here

I am so excited to read the other blogger's posts today, because I honestly am not that great at meal planning.  I'd rather cook than go out to eat, but I haven't figured out how to prep for meals that the entire family will enjoy.  I'm hoping that today's posts will share all of the ways to make this easier!  If you're anything like me, your meal planning looks a little like this...

I am no expert, but here are a few of my tips for meal planning...

1.  Grocery shop...
Mike and I have always done the grocery shopping together.  It makes it easier to know what we want to have for dinner that week, and we spend that time together as well.  Now that we have kids, that means we also take them along, so sometimes we end up with more in our cart than we actually need.  Cooking during the week is tricky in my family because my husband is a vegetarian, and my kids are picky.  My son is the pickiest, and my daughter will generally eat anything that we make.  When we go to the store together as a family it makes it easier to get everything that we've run out of and need for the week so that we aren't making constant trips to the store.  As our schedules have gotten busier, time is our biggest commodity, I am thinking I may need to try out one of those grocery delivery services.  Which one is the best to use?

2.  Plan around our schedule...
We know that Tuesday I teach yoga, so I'll want something light.  Wednesday, Vincent has tball, so it will have to be quick.  Thursday, Mike plays pool, so I kind of use that as our night to each eat whatever we want.  Knowing what we have planned for the week and any additional dinner plans in between make it easier to know what we will want to eat each day.  Breakfasts/lunches are usually the same for Mike and I, we both love eggs and I will usually have a salad or sandwich for lunch.  I did a post about how I'm packing Vincent's lunches here.  I want to get my kids eating healthier meals that they enjoy, and that's something that we're working on.  

3.  Get ideas and recipes from some great places...
This month marks one year of being a lifetime WW member!  That's a huge accomplishment, and I am so proud of it.  One of my favorite websites to go for meal inspiration is Skinnytaste.  She has weekly meal plans and calculates all of the Freestyle points for you, which makes staying on track easier!  She also breaks her website down into different keys so it's easy to find vegetarian, keto, kid-friendly meals quickly. 
She also lists all of the recipe ingredients that you'll need for each meal, which makes food shopping a little easier.  

She also has a FREE weekly meal-plan that I love to steal ideas from, but they don't all work due tot he dietary restrictions in our family.  Here's this week's Skinnytaste meal plan if you want to check it out.  

I also like to share recipes with friends.  We don't have any tricks for that, we usually just text each other the recipes :)  

How do you do meal plan? Share all of your ideas with me because I am always looking for ways to make "momming" it a little easier!

XO

Shari